I Bought a K24 Engine on a Whim... What’s Next?

Did I waste my money?

Sometimes, we make decisions without much thought—just gut instinct. That’s exactly what happened when I bought this Honda K24 engine. I’d heard about the K24 over the years, knew it was popular in certain circles, but never really dug into why. I’d come across mentions of K-swapped Hondas, seen the excitement around these builds, but it always felt a bit distant from what I was doing with my own projects. Still, the K24’s reputation lingered in the back of my mind.

 

The Impulse Buy

What really triggered the purchase was a late-night rabbit hole I fell into on YouTube. I had just finished watching a Gears and Gasoline video where they swapped a K24 into their FD RX7. It was one of those moments where everything seemed to click—seeing that engine in action, how they pulled off the swap, and what it did for the car made me curious. The thought started forming: “Could this engine work in something of mine?”

Soon after, I found myself scrolling through Facebook Marketplace, not really looking for anything in particular. But then there it was: a K24, listed for a price I couldn’t ignore—$600 (I got it for $500). Something about it just spoke to me. I didn’t have a plan for it, no concrete idea of what I’d even use it for, but I thought, "Why not?" So, I bought it.

 

 

                                                                   Getting ready ot load the K24A8 onto an engine stand

 

After picking it up, I dove into some research and quickly realized I hadn’t exactly struck gold with this buy. Turns out, I bought the K24A8—pretty much the "nugget" of the K24 family. While it’s solid in terms of being a block and maybe a crank donor, it’s not the high-performance variant I was hoping for.

The K24A8 lacks the aggressive VTEC that makes other versions of the K24 so desirable, and it has lower compression. In short, it wasn’t exactly the K24 dream engine. But hey, it was still a K24, and I figured it could serve as a base for something down the line. 

 

 

The Search for Redemption

Months passed, and that initial spark I felt when I first bought the engine started to reignite. I knew I needed to step it up if I wanted to really dive into this K-series journey. So, I went back to Marketplace, this time armed with a bit more knowledge and a clearer goal. 

After some searching, I managed to pick up a second engine, this time a K24A3, along with an RBB-1 VTEC head—both for $1,000. This was exactly what I needed to turn things around and make this build worthwhile. And while I joked that I "jammed it in the Yaris," that was just for transport—not an actual engine swap! But it gave me a little taste of what could be possible with the right setup.

A Reflection on VTEC

While I’ve always been more of a Nissan guy, there’s been a lingering Honda influence from my past. Back when I was an apprentice, I worked with a guy named John who was a Honda guy through and through. He’d always talk about VTEC—how it "kicked in" and made the engine come alive. At the time, I never really understood what all the fuss was about.

But now, as I dig deeper into this K24 engine and learn more about its capabilities, I feel like I’m starting to get it. VTEC, and Honda’s engine design philosophy in general, really shines when you start to modify and push these engines. It’s not just about making power, it’s about how the engine feels when you drive it. The high-revving nature, the response when VTEC kicks in—it’s all starting to make sense.

What’s Next?

So, what do I do with this K24 setup? With the right combination of parts, the potential is there for something great. Whether it ends up as part of a bigger project or becomes the heart of a future build, I’m excited to see where this takes me. And John, if you’re reading this—I finally get what you meant about VTEC.