thanks for your advice. i agree it would be a waste of money, i was hoping to do that with about 1,300(thats with ex tranny) with parts from ebay and the local salvage yards.
i suppose that modding a d15b7 isnt at all like modding the old d16's from the 88-91 dx. i would not argue with anyone that a b series is the way to go, i was under the impression they wieghed about 75 lbs more. but 40 lbs is hardly a difference. thanks for clearing that up for me, i was unsure of the weight difference. it seemed like a cute idea, and since im looking for an inexpensive temporary solution id still be better off just doing a swap.
i was inspired to read of jafro's cx to dx head swap, and was thinking that by doing that i could have acess to the common dx mods such as air intake, header, exaust, cam gear, etc. like the 88-91 civic dx d16 did. i suppose the d15b7 dx engine and the d16 from te 88-91 dx(i cant remember the code) are i bit different. because with the 88-91 dx hatch, you could actually give it a little more power by addding the si tranny, intake and header/exaust, cam, advance the timing, "chipped" ecu(for what thats worth), etc. i was under the impression that a mod chip would alter the engine management system, but was unsure of exactly how and if its even that noticable, why wont it help? is the engine design just not capable enough to respond to the chip, visa-versa, or is it all just hype...

the reason i wanted to do this was that i wanted to able take hills without losing too much speed, and to be able to maintain speed in traffic, plus the advantages of having an ex tranny. it does seem like much more time, $ and trouble to go through vs a swap. since my clutch went out on the cx, i am forced to drive my truck, and i deliver pizza. the cx was great for putting in 5-7$ worth of gas and profiting at least 50 clear a night.

the cx is in rough shape though. the oil pan is dented, there is a blown seal in the tranny on the pass side which leaks about 1 qt every 4 days. the block is old(1992) and the piston rings are almost gone, as it smokes in the higher rpm range. there may be a cam seal leak as well. so i was thinking, if i have to replace the clutch, may as well replace the whole tranny with an ex($300). then may as well add a "stage 1" light flywheel and clutch kit($190). of course that made me curious what i would get from doing that, and then i stumble upon jafro's cx to dx head swap, so then im thinking i can just run down to the local yard, pick up a b7 head & ecu($100), slap it on there, add the intake($30)/header/exaust($200) and better cooling system($120), and change the oil pan($50), and since i was down there pull the pistons and rods and fix that problem with maybe aftermarket or vx rods + high compression pistons, rings, etc($300). but it would still be a 1.5 liter. and im having doubts that it could pull up hills riding around on 16's, if it wont een give me what a mildy modded d16 from an 88-91 dx would do. and for all that i could just buy a d16 z6 and an ex/si tranny, with maybe enough left over for an intake/ header /exaust, oil change, and lucas treatment. but i would have an engine thats expandable, vs a dead end investment that cant be built practically past the 140 hp limit, which a d16zc, z6, and b18b1 can. hmmn. the objective is to get my car back up but with parts i can trust will last, with an engine that i know is sound, that i wont have to rip back apart to install new parts 4 months later. but with no option of swapping on a vtec head, it seems to be very limited to future upgrades.

my car is a joke atm. its a 92 cx, r(paint is peeling), tiny dings here and there on the body, there is rust on the back fenders above the wheelwell, on both sides. the hood is painted black, and from the right angle you can see the un-evenness and the little dents. the weatherstripping needs to be replaced, the pass side windshield runner came off when the brittle brackets snapped, the entenna is broken, about 3" pop out of the fixture, $30 little round driving lights mounted in the air dam that seem to light up everything around me but the road, crappy headlights, missing drivers side window glass($50) ..that happened because there was a problem with the window track. slamming the door in a hailstorm when i couldent roll up the window didnt help. no rear iterior exept for plastic sides, awful cheap seats that are tearing(gonna replace with 89 -91 prelude seats $50) the pinstriping has been obviosly scraped off, its sitting on 14 x 6 black steelies with kuhmo 195/60's. so far ive ran a little sunpro tach to the ecu return, cut the a/c belt(lol like it made a difference) added a strut tower bar(but realised i dont have enough power to throw my car into a turn aggressively to test it) added the 14's, stripped the rear interior, and did a little touch up paint, and added a decent audio system. to top ot all off, its got a big chrome muffler on the stock exaust(no im not intentionally that ghetto) i ended up doing this because i didnt want to spend the money for a new oem muffler, just to pass inspection, and its been on there since. ghetto rigged, with one side on using 4 zip ties!! now thats ghetto. i would like to do away with all of that, and i have a plan and a long list of exactly what i parts i want internal and external tobuild my ideal eg hatch. it would of course be packin a d16z6 or b18b1 boosted. or my desire to put an h22 in a 88-91 crx running 8-10 lbs boost, lowered 2.5-3", 17's, huge wing with invader style body kit plus rear bottom air deflectors, with the rear set up to break lose easy as to reduce understeer so i can powerslide around, but thats later on down the road )

so now i guess im doomed. i guess ill have to save up money for a d16 and keep driving the truck until it all comes together. i was hoping to have found a nice hax for the b8/b7.

thanks to those who were patient enough to read all this, and any critisism / thoughts would b appreciated