What is the right engine for my Del Sol

Technical Topics specific to the Del Sol body - NOT where you post pics/build specs of your car.
 Reply

What is the right engine for my Del Sol

By IdahoDelSol
- Sun Aug 25, 2024 9:13 pm #6909272 So, first of all, its not really mine. Its my wife's. Unfortunately, she is not a big believer in warning lights so when her 1993 Del Sol lost coolant she thought she could make it to the next town. She didn't. So now I'm looking for a new engine, but I"m not sure what I'm looking for. The fried engine currently residing in the car's carcass is a 1.6L, L4, VTEC, single overhead cam, 16 valve. In looking for a new/rebuilt engine there seems to be a lot of civic motors out there but not the VTEC. My question is: Do I have to put a VTEC engine in, or will another motor work fine? I'm definitely out of my depths here so any advice would be appreciated! (I'm not even sure I'm posting this to the right section?)
User avatar

Re: What is the right engine for my Del Sol

By teal_dx
- Tue Sep 03, 2024 8:15 pm #6909280 Hi, welcome to the forum! It looks like you're from the US, so your wife's Del Sol would have the D16z6 engine. I haven't shopped for a D-series in years, but if you can find a good used one, that would be the easiest/cheapest way to go. The D16z6 is an OBD1 engine and everything will be plug and play with your harness and ecu. If you didn't care about having vtec, you could install a D15b7 (1.5 non-vtec 16v) but then you'll need the matching harness and ecu - extra work for an engine that makes less power. So, you might as well get the D16z6 and it's found in the 92-95 Civic Si and EX models, as well as the Del Sol Si. These used to be $500 all day long, but I haven't followed the prices in recent years, so I'm sure they're more now.
User avatar

Re: What is the right engine for my Del Sol

By EconoBox
- Tue Dec 17, 2024 4:18 am #6909300 The replacement D16z6 engine is getting difficult to find and they are running around $1000 in my area.

You didn't really specify the extent of damage to the engine but that engine is fairly resilient even to complete neglect so depending on your comfort with mechanical work rebuilding the original engine is almost always an option.

If it died from overheating it's possible its as simple as a blown headgasket. Repairing it is as simple as taking the cylinder head off and having a reputable machine shop clean, deck, and do a valve job and to re-assemble the engine with a fresh OEM multi layer steel head gasket and an OEM timing belt setup. There are a ton of youtube tutorials and great advice you can find searching through old forum post or even just finding a PDF of the Honda Service Manual online. I've done this job multiple times and if you follow the manual step by step I'd always go this route over putting in the non vtec engine.

If you decide to go non vtec for costs or time reasons the D15b7 engines usually run in the $300-500 range depending on mileage and condition. This engine would need to have the non vtec distributor and intake manifold. Everything else as far as I can think of swaps over and they even use the same fuel injectors. Assuming the car is a manual you could visit Phearable.net and order a chipping kit and the correct program file to run the non vtec engine with no codes. If it is an automatic finding the matching D15b7 automatic ECU should set you back $150-200 on ebay.

You also have fairly unlimited engine swap (B,D,F,H,J,K,L... started singing the alphabet) options if you want to go faster or just like spending money.
 Reply
Return to Chassis - Del Sol