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| The car when it was still functional |
It happened again... almost a year after we thought all the oiling issues in the H-series engine were resolved (by the oil accumulator and special oil pan), a few laps at Calabogie in the dry were all it took to kill yet another engine in the Civic. I was at Calabogie on June 18th for a race school and was participating in the track day on the 19th when it happened.
To make matters worse, when I called Canadian Tire roadside assistance for a tow, they refused service because I was at a race track. I was pretty pissed off because I had successfully called from a track many times before with no issue, and I had no other plan to get home. I ended up leaving the car at the track, with the nice people at Powersports, who operate a lovely race shop on the premises.
I wasn't sure if I would have the car fixed there, but I planned to figure that part out afterwards. Choo offered me a session in his Civic, which is of the same generation as mine, but already has a K20 swap with a 6-speed transmission and LSD. I was not pushing his car anywhere near its potential, but I could feel that the car itself was fast. I am not really jealous of the power the K-swapped cars are making, but rather of the reliability of that performance.
I was going to have to figure out what to do with my car and the rest of my season. There were three options for what type of engine to install:
a) My spare H-series... with the result that I would simply avoid ever coming back to Calabogie, since the oil problem would still be there for certain tracks;
b) Some kind of B-series: not too expensive for a non-Type-R, but less power than the H-series;
c) Bite the bullet and spend the money for a K-swap. These engines are affordable, but the initial installation is not.
I rode home with Choo, who was pulling his Civic on a dolly, and we got to talking. During the 3-hour ride home, we hatched a plan: he could install a K-swap in my car in his spare time. I would take my time to find good deals on all the necessary parts. I knew it would be a tough sell to convince Alex to spend a couple of thousand dollars more on my Civic. However, it was not that hard to convince her once I explained that I accepted that my 2021 season was now over and that I would focus on 2022. Given that I hadn't bought any tires or much of anything for the car this year, the 2021 savings would at least partially offset the cost of the swap.
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| The Civic on Choo's dolly |
I also managed to borrow Choo's van and dolly and pick up the car this week, so it's already at Choo's shop. I have made arrangements to pick up an Acura RSX Type S engine and transmission in the next few days (in Toronto) and then it will be a matter of buying the smaller parts like engine mounts, header, etc. Although it's nor as fun to work on cars as drive them, at least working on the project with someone like Choo, who is very upbeat and knows what he's doing, will take some of the sting out of cutting the season short. Stay tuned for updates on this project!
