Nothing sucks harder than a job you don't like. While a lot of people get stuck in dead-end jobs simply because the work pays the bills, the trick to being really happy in life is making money doing something you enjoy. A lot of times this takes luck, and often it takes a little bit-or a lot-of dedication and hard work.
Brewster, N.Y., resident Denis Shelley is a prime example here. In the beginning, he thought he was simply buying a new car, a 1999 Integra, on which he would perform simple mods, like adding a body kit and wheels and upgrading the stereo. Improving these areas only left him hungry for more, though, and it wasn't long before he made the conscious decision to go straight off the deep end with this project and make it something that would truly be respected-and possibly even feared-on the Eastern circuit. In the course of its assembly, this one project car actually blossomed into something far more than a mere project, and today Shelley and a few friends head their own marketing company, Fuzion Marketing, and build project cars to promote themselves. They've done a good job, considering this is officially the first East Coast car to make it on the cover of Import Tuner. Props for that, indeed.
The first thing Shelley set out to do was make sure no other car on the show circuits would resemble his, and turn it into something no one had quite seen before. He found a front-end conversion that he really liked at Importfan.com, a widebody 240SX treatment that could be adapted to his Integra's front end. To really set the nose off, Shelley decided to ditch the American-look 240 lights and graft in a genuine set of JDM S15 Silvia lamps. For the remainder of the body treatments, Shelley made the drive from New York to York, Penn., and Best Finish Autobody for a fleshing out of the rear end. Best Finish grafted MR2-style side vents into the panels just in front of the rear wheels, added a Top Fuel rear bumper lip and rear fender flares, and smoothed everything in for a clean one-piece look. A set of Supra taillights was also installed for a completely dysfunctional front-to-rear demeanor. All in all, the car spent about half a year in Pennsylvania, receiving its external makeover, giving Shelly a long time to think about what he'd put on it next. During this time, Shelley made his decision on running gear, so he called on Enkei to provide him with a set of 19-in. RP-07s. These were strung with Nitto NT555 tires, sized 225/35R19.
With the cosmetics enhancements already in full motion, Shelley decided it was time to start planning what to do with the engine. He spoke with representatives from GReddy, who liked what they saw in Shelley's Integra and took him under their collective wing. GReddy is still one of his major sponsors on the show circuit. A full turbo kit was provided for the B18C mill, with a front-mount intercooler and Jet-Hot coated plumbing included in the package.
With his go-fast parts in tow, Shelley picked the Integra up from York, Penn., and proceeded to Modified Motorsports in Harrisburg, Penn., for the installs. Modified ingested the forced-induction system into the engine bay and installed various other hard goods, such as the GReddy exhaust, HP Racing intake manifold and fuel rail, and an enlarged Koyo radiator. Various dress-up items were also placed in the bay, including an array of dress-up items like the oil cap, spark-plug cover, dipstick and fuse-box cover. For over-the-top power delivery, a Nitrous Express direct-port kit was introduced to the cool side of the combustion chamber. Harnessing all this extraneous power falls to the task of a factory five-speed tranny equipped with an ACT street/strip clutch, designed to make a decent compromise between ease of operation and suitable clamping power.