Project Honda Civic Si: Part 1

Our Project Honda Civic Si began life back in 1999 when I worked for Popular Mechanics magazine. I was given the assignment of modifying the car for that year's SEMA show. The editor of the magazine wanted the car to be a modern interpretation of the classic hot rod. So I built just that.

First the car needed some horsepower, so we installed a Jackson Racing supercharger making 5 pounds of boost and a DCSports intake and header. The editor said no hot rod is complete with dual exhaust, so we had a custom cat-back system welded up with dual chrome tips.

Then we bolted on Tokico coil-overs to improve the Honda's stance and handling and big Baer brakes front and rear. For tires we ordered a set of shaved Hoosiers from the Tire Rack and wrapped them around a set of chrome American Racing wheels.

We had a budget of $10,000 for the whole car, so we ran out of money and left the interior stock except for a DCSports short throw shifter. We even left in all the insulation, the air conditioning and the audio system.

The editor also said a hot rod has hood louvers so we had a couple of rows punched into the Civic's hood before Pete Santini of Santini Auto Body in Westminster, California sprayed on the world's coolest flames. The car was originally blue, so he first painted the car black, including the doorjambs and underside of the hood and decklid. The pinstriping is all hand done, and after four years, the paint still looks great.

We also added that billet grille from Trenz Manufacturing for a final touch of chrome.

The car wowed everybody at the SEMA show, and ran great during testing, running the quarter mile in 14.7 seconds at Los Angeles County Raceway, which is 2000 ft. above sea level.

If you're interested, the entire sordid tale of the car's first buildup can be found in the Project Cars section of www.popularmechanics.com.

After SEMA the car sat in Honda's basement for a while. Then we heard it was driven in the 2000 One Lap of America by some Honda employees, and we're told it became a fun weekender for Honda's public relations staff.

Then the curator of the very prestigious Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles called. He wanted a modified Honda to display alongside the Duesenbergs and big buck Italian exotics that litter the museum's three floors.

So the flamed Civic was waxed up, the Hoosier was replaced with Pirelli P7000 Super Sports, which it still wears, and it became a tourist attraction for about a year.

When the museum was finished with it, the car was headed to the crusher. That's right, the crusher. Because it's a pre-production car, it will eventually have to be crushed.

I couldn't let it happen, so I called Honda and gave the Si a new lease on life. At least for a while.

It's now our Project Civic Si, and will be updated periodically on this website. All the parts on the Civic still work great. I've been having a blast driving it to work. The custom exhaust is very loud, but it sounds great and the car always draws a lot of attention. But a lot has happened since the car was built in 1999. There are better parts out there now, plus I never did get to do the interior.

The first round of upgrades is a set of lightweight Center Line RPM wheels, which measure 17x7 but only weight 14.7 pounds apiece. Plus they look great. Center Line has been in the wheel business since before any of us were born, and it has a long reputation for lightweight wheels with excellent build quality. The 5-spoke RPM wheel is forged for strength, and comes in white, gold, silver or gunmetal. We chose the silver finish.

Then we went to Tokico and replaced the car's dated coil-overs with the new Tokico RAK502 competition kit, which offers ride height adjustability and far superior damping than the old units. The Tokico Illumina R shocks are 5-way adjustable, so we can ride LA's freeways in comfort and tighten things up when we hit the racetrack.

The difference from the old Tokicos to the new kit is truly amazing. The car's ride is much more controlled, and less harsh over big ruts. It also handles better. The Honda now feels much more stable in transitions and it turns in better than ever.

Then we called the guys at JIC and order up one of their tubular aluminum strut bars. Sure the Si came with a strut bar from the factory, but it's ugly. The JIC unit, on the other hand, is gorgeous and it uses the factory bars mounting holes. We installed it in 5 minutes and immediately knew we had spent our $140 wisely. The JIC bar is available through JIC dealers and technical garages across America.

Next time we hope to have the flamed Civic Si equipped with a nitrous kit, racing seats and a roll bar. Gauges are also on our to do list. Keep an eye out for part II of Project Civic Si. It's coming soon.