I'm looking at getting a free car, which I believe is a 88 hatchback Accord, I'll have to check, it might be 87 or 89 but its a white hatchback accord. It has a broken radiator and blown headgasket so they owner is just going to give to me instead of fixing it. I was thinking the repairs will be about 5-600 since I"ll be doing the labor myself, but then I thought I might as well put a different engine in it. I live in Cali so emissions are a little tough but I just happen to be a mechanic & a smog tech just not that knowledgible in Honda stuff anymore, so... my question is - What other motors can I swap in the accord other than its original stock one? I want to stay away from custom stuff and fabrications as this will be my beater for winter commuting (15-20 mile round trip).


So any suggestions or anyone know for sure if there is any newer/better engine I can throw in there instead of taking the head off, pressure test it and put a new head gasket? Thanks for the help in advance

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ok so it will be a 3rd gen accord, I've seen a couple with an h22 but its a lot of work for your year(s). I think yours has the a series motor.
for your year the following swaps are available (meaning engines that will bolt on the car with no major modifications)
A20A
A18A
B20A (From the JDM 3rd gen Accord and 2nd gen Prelude)
B18A (From the JDM 3rd gen Accord)

they have mounts for your years too that let you swap any b series
http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=413
3geez.com has all the info for your gen

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is it fuel injected or carbed? i hear a20s take boost pretty well ............thats if its fuel injected.

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the car got towed in today, I will take a look under the hood and snap some shots later. I'm not looking to buy it for mods, simply a beater/back up option is good to have. Its engine needs work but I figured instead of dumping time and money into fixing an old engine, might as well put something newer in.

As long as it bolts right in and I can find it easily, I'm sold

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i like the b20a swap out of the jdm 3rd gen accord myself (dohc, 160hp/140ft-lbs)...the only real hard part to it is finding the motor.

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BK - 1994 CD7