Plastic is Fantastic: Part 6 – Assembling the Beast

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After finishing the clutch install, we bolted on the transmission and mounted the B18 into place with the HASport mounts. You won’t find nicer parts than these when it comes to doing a Honda engine swap. These guys know their stuff, and they’ve invested in top quality equipment to build their products right here in the USA. Most of the parts are CNC machined from aluminum, and the fit and finish is second to none. They also manufacture axle shafts in-house, so they’ve got just about everything you need under one roof. Since we’re using a hydraulic clutch transmission out of a later model Integra, we also opted for the slick cable-to-hydraulic adapter bracket system. It’s a clever system that uses the stock cable to actuate a remote-mounted master cylinder that activates the clutch.

Props to Action Clutch for the great support. It was a pleasure dealing with a company that really nderstands what we needed, and builds their own products here in the U.S. Everything we needed to do the job right –  new throwout and pilot bearings, and an alignment tool, as well as a nice lanyard to display my credentials when we get to the track. A little swag is always welcome!

A nice lightweight Fidanza flywheel. The friction surface (with their special green coating) is replaceable if necessary.

We’re going to be running a dry-sump oil system with this engine – first and foremost, because we needed the ground clearance! Second -because the old motor used one and we could reuse the components. All we had to do was build a dry-sump pan and adapt the pump drive and mounts. Going to a dry-sump system means we don’t need the stock pump anymore, and it was a simple matter to just disassemble the pump and remove the gears, then reinstall the pump housing.

The obligatory “burning the midnight oil” shot. The driveline resting comfortably in its new home.

With everything bolted in place, we’ve got a big plumbing and wiring job ahead of us, along with routing the exhaust and finishing the interior panels. Here’s a bit of a preview of what’s next – a remote electric water pump, AEM Infinity EMS (engine management system), and an AEM AQ-1 data acquisition system. I’ve tinkered with the Infinity already, and the ease of use is pretty amazing. Some of the best features are the user configurable inputs and outputs, which we’ll be using to enhance not only power but safety and reliability as well, through the control of things like the fuel pump, water pump, cooling fan, and alternator field. By the time you read the next installment, we’ll have made some laps at the track, so stay tuned!