Dut's first move was to liven up the Civic's tired appearance. The entire car was gutted and taken to Chapparone Autobody, San Diego, for a fresh coat of its original Championship White dress. During the time he had waited for the car to arrive and the paperwork to clear, Dut had Pacific Honda source the hard-to-find Japanese OEM items that he knew would need to be replaced. When the time came for reassembly, Dut had added fresh JDM headlights, taillights, side markers, emblems, decals, rear door handles, moldings and weather stripping, a new front bumper, lip spoiler, antenna block-off plate, windshield, rear glass, and grille. Similarly, with the help of San Francisco-based N1 concepts, the original interior was upgraded with a new Japanese OEM carpet, headliner, center console, gauge cluster housing and pair of floor mats. Dut was quick to swap the factory red Recaros with less flashy-and less worn-black replacements. The addition of an Alpine CDA-7998 head unit, linked to a JL Audio 300/4 amp and Boston Acoustics ProSeries 6.5-inch system front and rear, added some much-needed luxury to the driving experience. Dut's only exterior modification to the car was the replacement of the bulky OEM hatch spoiler with a subtle Spoon carbon fiber one.
Disregarding advice given to him by countless JDM junkies, Dut elected to part with the car's original B16B CTR driveline. Besides, collecting dust in his garage was a JDM ITR engine and trans he had Hmotorsonline.com conjure up for a past project, which would make a worthy replacement; especially once modified with the addition of an ACT clutch, Comptech intake, custom Vibrant Performance exhaust and a Skunk2 short shifter.
Also harkening to the ITR is Dut's choice to replace the stock halogen headlight bulbs with HIDs-but he did it his way, with BMW E46 M3 ballasts and igniters sparking 4300k D2S bulbs inside Casper Shield adapters.
With almost 10 years and an unknown number of hard-fought miles on the chassis, Dut decided it would be best to replace the CTR's stock suspension. Ground Control coilovers, rated at 450 pounds-per-inch front and 400 pounds-per-inch rear, were mated to Koni struts with Ground Control extended top hats for increased piston travel. Rounding out Dut's modifications to this rare car is an equally rare set of wheels; 16x7 Sprint Hart CP-Rs, bolted on by a set of Rays extended lug nuts and wrapped in Toyo 205/40/16 rubber.
If seeing truly is believing, then look at this EK and understand the knowledge and judgment that come with experience. Modified only in areas where genuine improvements could be made, without going over the top, this Civic both preserves the original intent of its designers and serves as a perfect example of how one should be enhanced. And each image of it speaks louder than a thousand opinions otherwise.
Behind The Build
Head to the message boards at www.importtuner.com to chat about this feature VEHICLE
Quote.
"My only goal was to have a clean, rare, daily driver."
Name.
Dut One
Age.
Twenty-Seven
Hometown.
San Diego, Calif.
Occupation.
Pc Technician
Hobbies.
Cars, Photography, Art/Graffiti
Build Time.
Five Months
Feedback.
Dut619@Gmail.Com