I found a guy on craigslist selling a f23 VTEC engine for peanuts. My engine is still working but I was thinking of getting it as a backup but I'm not too sure its worth the trouble. The engine has 210k kms on it (around 130k miles) which is roughly the same as my current engine.

Will a F23 even fit in my '95? How much trouble is it to get VTEC working on a non VTEC wiring harness?

 

yes it will swap. Some wiring modifications will be needed. But if you want to upgrade your engine I would stick with a h22 or h23. The f23 engine is a pretty good engine but if you are trying to make power not worth it. Go with a H series engine. Also if your wanting to buy the engine cus it's a "vtec" engine then don't bother. Just b/c is says vtec does not mean its fast. All the vtec f22s have a SOHC vtec camshaft so it get better fuel economy but lacks in power. DOHC is where the power is made. I'm not saying you want the engine for vtec but if you do pass it up and save your money for a h22. Now if this engine would be purely a back up engine and its cheap enough like $75-100 or lower I would snag it. Break it down and do a rebuild to have a fresh engine for when your engine pukes on you.

 

He offered me $50 and I am having a hard time refusing...

 

that’s not a bad deal. There is a few things you can do since you will have it sitting around. Explore your options that block has some performance potential if your willing to put some money into a build.