Just had an engine swap on my 1996 Integra Special Edition. The swap was for another b18b. I noticed that the new engine has very little power. I have a hard time speeding up to freeway speeds and I can't get up hills very easily. I don't see how the engine could have lost compression with less than 60k miles. When I step on the gas it takes forever for my engine to rev up. What could be causing this, what would be my next step?

 

Is the check engine light on?
If so, have you pulled the codes?

Did you get all the ground straps connected properly?
Is the fuel pump producing sufficient pressure?
Is the ignition timing correct?
Have you done a compression test of the new motor?

I can go on..... h:

 

Sounds like maybe the ignition timing is retarded, as suggested, might be set to TDC (white mark) instead of xdegrees BTDC (red mark) like it's supposed to be. My throttle response went way up once I set my timing correctly.

 

Well, I paid a professional Honda shop to do it so I have no clue whether or not any of that was done. I assume they set the timing correct but I don't really have a way to check. No CELs, my car used to have the CEL on all the time before the swap.

 

If you know someone with a timing light, you could borrow it. Otherwise, I purchased mine for $15 on ebay.
I'm not saying your timing is off, it was just a guess. If it were set a TDC or close to it though, a normal side-effect would be that at low rpms in a tall gear like 4th or 5th, if you floor it and then slowly let up on the gas pedal, the acceleration will actually pick up just a bit as you begin to give it less gas. Also, the distributor would be cocked pretty much all the way towards the firewall.

 

Then that's your first step.
You paid a shop to the job right; take the car back, let them diagnose it.
Do not tinker with it in the mean time.

Ask them to confirm that the timing is set correctly and if that doesn't fix things, ask them to run a compression and leakdown test to get a sense of the motor's health.

 

I expected that kind of answer, I really wish I hadn't taken the car to a shop so far away from my home. Thanks for all the info... One last thing. Could my spark plugs/distributor cap+rotor have anything to do with it?

 

It's remotely possible, but again... it is better for them to follow up on their own work.

 

Take it back to who you paid to to do the work. Don't mess with it and deny it if they ask if you have. (Just in case) so they do not try an get out of anything.

 

exactly, if you do anything as far as replacing things then they aren't liable seeing how the problem could have come since you did it. Since they can't drive it the way it was when they last saw it could come down to a simple "it must have been something you did, it ran fine at the shop after installed"