[HondaDustR]

I would say it is best to use the DME version and engine controls that the car came with, unless you want to (or have to) swap the entire wiring harness around. The 87 and earlier 8v shortblocks/top ends are all the same and can fully fit up to early or late external components such as vacuum lines, intake/exhaust manifolds, belts/hoses, sensors, etc. The '88 blocks are all the same as all of the earier motors except for the pistons. You'd just have to swap a few external things around from the motor that was in your car or one from the same series to fit a motor from a different series. The DME versions are a little different in their internal construction and operation, but they both do the same thing basicly the same way. THe only difference that makes matching DME to engine important is the '88 motor with the higher compression pistons which used a different tuning. A late DME can be converted with a chip from an '88, but an early DME probably won't work well with the '88 pistons and cannot be updated with a chip.

So short blocks can swap around pretty much any way early or late. The DME, vacuum lines, engine controls/sensors, and wiring harness, while being mostly the same parts, differ between the early and the late enough that it's much easier to leave them in place and just swap the short block. My current motor was out of an 86 944 but the block and internal parts were cast in 84 by the date stamps, and it fit up to my 87 924S with no issues.