88 civic b16a swap missing bad

[bizkit18]

About two months ago I took my car to Mahdavi Motorsports in Atlanta. They swapped a b16a into my 88 civic hatch. They also installed a cold air intake (too small), high flow cat, DC sports header, custom piping, and a new stage 1 clutch. With high expectations I went to pick up my car. When I left it ran good for about 40 to 50 miles ( maybe less). After that it started to act funny like it was missing. I thought it might go away (ha). Now two months later the car is still missing. It spits and sputters sometimes as I'm climbing in the RPM's, then all the sudden it clears up. It seems to do this throughout the rpm range and even worse if I'm driving normal. If I gas it hard it seems to be less noticable but its still there. Its especially noticable at about 3 to 4000 RPM right before V-TEC. To try and remedy the problem I bought a fuel pressure regulator and gauge kit. I bumped the fuel up to 35 psi from about 22. It seemed a little better but not much. I'm new to imports and don't know what to do next. I was thinking about trash or rust in the fuel tank because the car set up for a while before i bought it. Or maybe its one of the sensors or something. Any help would be greatly appreciated.:bow:

[ebpda9]

have you checked the spark plugs ? ignition timing ? also check the coil, the distributor cap and rotor on it. the ones that come stock with hondas are very weak.

[bizkit18]

They replaced all of that so they should not be the problem. On the timing, I thought about that but they tightened the bolts on the distributor so tight I can't loosen it. But once again I am new to Honda's so is that where you adjust the timing. I've worked on alot of chevy V8's so I understand some of the basics, but Honda's and Chevy's are two very different worlds. Thanks again for your help.

[ebpda9]

i understand they are 2 compele words but the engines work about the same: same 4 stroke pricnciple. i had a hard time on my car looseninf the distributor, but make sure you use some of the wrenches that will work on brake lines ( the ones with the 5 sides) so you won't strip the heads, and will provide a better grip too. even thou they changed the plugs you gotta recheck them a lot of them are gapped incorrectly out of the box so there is your problem. How many miles on the engine ? if the compression is uneven will cause the car to miss like that.

[bizkit18]

What should the plugs be gapped at. And if it has something to do with compression how would I remedy that besides a rebuild. Don't know about the miles. You know how they do. " It came from Japan, we don't know exactly how many miles are on it". They give you an approximate and I can't even remember what that is. Do you think it could be the TPS or some other sensor. I know they didn't change any of my sensors except for my o2's.

[ebpda9]

yeah it could be the sensors but if those were messed up your CEL (Check Engine Light) would come on. i don't know about the plugs what they should be gapped at, on mine it's .39-.43". as for the compression you can't fix that without a rebuild. i never mentioned this befer but did anybody do a valve adjustamant on the engine ? that will help too.