1999 Acura Integra - Cold Fuzion

Before it was ready to start showing, Shelley knew the car needed a lower street profile, so when he got back home to Brewster he took it to The Radio Station, where the staff installed a full air-ride suspension. The system incorporates a 9-gal. air tank, air cylinders at all four corners and two 3/4-hp compressors. No less than 10 switches mounted on a custom panel allow Shelley to dial in his ride height, positively slamming the car to the ground when it's showing, and raising it to stock height when he needs to negotiate extreme angles or high water.

Incidentally, The Radio Station also performed interior enhancements and installed Shelley's ICE, which consists of Polk/MOMO component speakers and subs, chromed Xtant amps, a custom-molded speaker box for the subs and Street Glow white neon illumination. An Alpine CVA 1005 sits at the head of the system.

Shelley's most recent changes to the car were effected for the 2002 season, which drew to a close just as Editor Mulroney shot the car for this month's cover. First on Shelley's list was new paint, blazing candy-apple red on the outside and sleek S2000 silver on the inside. Speedesigns provided the vinyl graphics. Additionally, three final touches were made on the exterior, all sourced from APR. A carbon-fiber touring wing was placed on the trunk lid, and up front APR bumper "canards" were added to the lower nose-small blade-like fins that serve to set off the completely custom front end. The last addition was a pair of tiny APR carbon-fiber Formula 3 rear-view mirrors, the first such mirrors we've seen on a feature vehicle.

On the flip side, the entire interior has been smoothed and treated with silver, giving it an extreme custom appearance that kicks the shit out of any vinyl-wrapping techniques I've seen. Sparco Torino racing buckets were also installed. To keep a simple, unified theme throughout the cabin, Shelley had the back seats and headliner re-skinned in Sparco's black "Jacquard" polyester material to make them match the Torinos. Other interior additions include a GReddy shift knob, carbon-fiber e-brake handle, HP Racing steering wheel and Street Glow pedals. As in the trunk, Street Glow neons also take up the task of lighting the interior. For information on the goings-on beneath the hood, three Autometer gauges were placed in a three-gauge pod on the driver's A-pillar. Oh, and if you're wondering if the tank placed behind the front seats is the nitrous reservoir, you're wrong. It's actually a CO2 bottle that's hooked up to spray the intercooler with carbon dioxide, for enhanced cooling properties, obviously. It's marketed under a friend's company, called Cryofuzion. The actual nitrous bottle is in the trunk with the amps and speakers.

For 2002, Shelley also picked up a new sponsor, Baer Brakes, which set him up with full binder upgrades for all four corners. The brake assemblies incorporate huge 13-in. slotted and drilled rotors, polished calipers and stainless braided lines.

As of this writing, Denis Shelley has been one busy guy, having attended 13 shows in the 2002 season. This number doesn't account for the really big show he made the first week of November, the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas, where he showed his ride off in Baer Brake's booth as a feature vehicle. And, two days after that show ended, he was in a Southern California studio having his car shot for the cover of Import Tuner. By the time you read this, he'll be back in Brewster laying out plans for 2004, both for his car and for Fuzion Marketing. What'll he come up with next? Take your punk ass out to an East Coast show next year and have a look for yourself.

By Jason Mulroney

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