1993 Honda Civic - Raw Material

We now come to the elephant in the room. Or in the cabin, to be more precise. Study the picture featuring the headliner. It's covered in a custom fabric Bourne calls "sashimi" and it also covers the door panels and armrest. Chances are it looks great on a child seat or as a pair of pajamas. Then again, there's nothing wrong with a bit of healthy self-expression.

The $20,000 or so spent on this project could have bought a brand-new, cookie-cutter Civic. But that's not the point. Following that route, Bourne would have missed out on the learning experience of building a car nearly from scratch, the joy of snagging an HIN gong with it . . . or the embarrassing moments that inevitably come with it all: "In 2007, when I first got the car on the road, I went to the alignment shop and it broke down on the lift," he says. "Everyone at the shop was trying to help me get it started, but the car just would not turn over. I even sent my friend over to a Honda dealership to buy a new main relay, thinking that was the problem. Little did I know the original gas gauge was broken and I was just running on E. I put a few gallons in and she started right up."

So, apart from avoiding a certain alignment shop for evermore, where does Bourne go from here? "A limited-slip differential and Hondata K-pro ECU," he says, "then, it's off to the track to get 'er dirty!" He might even be angling for a feature in our sister magazine, Lowrider: "I'll always have Hondas, but I want to get into a '73 Chevy Impala drop-top or a '62 Lincoln Continental." Just one piece of advice: think twice about the pajama material.

'93 Honda Civic

Output NA

Engine K20A2 engine; Hybrid Racing fuel rail, engine mounts; Walbro 255 lph fuel pump; Aeromotive fuel pressure regulator; Marshall fuel pressure gauge; Russell Performance inline fuel filter; P2R throttle body adapter; RBC intake manifold; K-Tuned A/C, PS, radiator relocation kits; Rywire harness; Cusco radiator cap; Summit Racing aluminum overflow tank; Magnaflow muffler; DC Sports header; Integra Type R crank pulley, Civic Type R ECU; custom powdercoated valve cover, fuel line tuck

Drivetrain RSX Type S six-speed manual transmission, base RSX axles; Karcepts shifter box kit

Suspension KSport adjustable coilovers; Carbing three-point front strut bar; Skunk2 front camber kit; Omni Power rear lower control arms; Ingalls rear camber kit; Blox adjustable endlinks; Energy Suspension trailing arm bushings; ASR subframe brace; GSR anti-roll bar (front); Integra Type R 24mm anti-roll bar (rear)

Wheels/Tires 16x8 CCW LM16 wheels; 205/40-16 Nitto Neo Gen tires; Volk Racing Formula lug nuts

Brakes Wilwood Dynalite calipers, 11.1-inch rotors (front); Fastbrakes brackets; GSR calipers, drilled/slotted rotors (rear), master cylinder, booster, proportioning valve; Hawk Performance pads; Earl's stainless steel lines

Exterior SiR fog lights, headlights, corners, side markers, thin moldings, window visors, rear spoiler, hatch glass, taillights w/fogs; APR carbon fiber mirrors; Password:JDM fog light covers; Backyard Special carbon fiber front lip; SRR quick bumper release system

Interior SiR dash, center console, floor mats; Personal steering wheel; NRG quick-release adapter; Splash short hub; Status carbon fiber driver's bucket seat; SRR pedals; Integra Type R Recaro front passenger seat; custom harness bar, headliner, door panels, armrests

Electronics Alpine head unit; Infinity Kappa door speakers

Gratitude My beautiful girlfriend; my family; Carlos at Label One Garage; JDM Rick; the whole Beast Coast; Sunworks

Behind The Build

Head to the message boards at www.importtuner.com to chat about this feature Vehicle

Name.
Andre Bourne

Age.
26

Hometown.
Miami, FL

Occupation.
Mercedes-Benz sales assistant

Hobbies.
Cars, cooking, sports

Build time.
Two and a half years

Feedback.
dreb20v@yahoo.com

Favorite Quote.
"I've had so many problems with this car, I wouldn't even know where to start. Even simple suspension changes became a mission sometimes."

By Colin Ryan

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