Even something as horrible as having a car stolen can have a positive outcome. That's what happened to Ryan Nakamura of Honolulu. He had a '92 Civic hatchback show car, blue with red rims. Then one day, he didn't. It was stolen from his shop, TechOne Customs, and (said Nakamura) stripped. But demonstrating the principle that the most important thing in any situation is one's reaction to it, his response was: "You can steal my car, but I will build a better one." He didn't get mad. He got busy.
His goal was to create another show car from the ground up, even more detailed than the previous one, in six months-he started in March of 2006, and was ready for the Streetcar Showoff the following August. The project began with the shell of a '96 Civic EX, which was somewhat of a steal at $100. "I felt it was a good base to start with," Nakamura said, then began a period of meticulous planning. "You have to do everything in sections," he said. "Engine, suspension, body, interior-you have to learn what goes before what."
The beauty of Honda engines is that they don't necessarily need a lot of time (or money) spent on them. Nakamura kept it relatively simple with a naturally aspirated, B16B engine from a '98 Civic Type R, retaining stock internals and compression-with the exception of Skunk2 Stage 2 camshafts, retainers and valvesprings, APR head studs, and a Cometic head gasket. WMR of Honolulu carried out the mods.
Fuel supply and engine management received slightly more attention. A Hondata ECU oversees a BBK high-flow fuel pump, an AEM fuel regulator and rail, RC Engineering 370cc injectors, MSD 8mm wires and 6ALN ignition, and NGK G-Power spark plugs.
The motor's exterior is where Nakamura behaved like a distant cousin of King Midas-everything he touched turned to chrome. Well, maybe not everything, but certainly the Edelbrock intake manifold, the Spoon radiator cap, a custom-made Billet Specialties overflow catch-can, the 3-inch custom cold-air intake and the custom valve cover. The shiny theme continues with a polished Edelbrock 70mm throttle body and Fluidyne radiator, plus a DC Sports stainless steel header. He's also running a Buddy Club Spec-2 60mm exhaust and a custom 2.5-inch test pipe.
In contrast to the chrome are black Samco hoses and, tucked away inside the bay, are Password JDM radiator diversion panels and a Flex-a-lite fan. Show car cred means that every bracket is chrome; both the block and transmission case were sandblasted; and every nut, bolt, gasket, and plastic cover were replaced. All the MSD hardware is hidden under the dash, so it appears as there is no wire harness.
Coupled to the engine is a Honda B16A2 transmission featuring a Comptech Stage Five clutch and lightweight flywheel, Kaaz limited-slip differential, a Spoon shift kit and a DC Sports lever. Other mods, again performed by WMR, include urethane bushings, stainless steel braided clutch lines, and the inclusion of a Type R final drive custom.
Omni-Power makes a strong showing in the suspension department, with its Sport line of springs, struts, and coilovers deployed throughout, and with Energy Suspension bushings; the car is now slammed 4 inches at the front and 5 at the rear. Two 1.75-inch antiroll bars-the front from an '00 Civic Si, the rear made by Blox-joined Password JDM front and rear strut braces (the front being a three-pointer, the rear rolling OEM-style) and the rest of the suspension components at the powdercoating shop; the only exception being an A-Spec Racing lower rear brace-which, what a surprise, was chrome-plated.