Free Civic Turns Into Gridlife Podium Track Weapon
This free Civic used to be a junker. Now, it’s a K24-swapped track monster that took second place at Gridlfe!
In most cases, a free car comes with a pretty gnarly to-do list. This awesome free Civic is certainly no exception to that rule. However, the owner, Eric Kutil, wasn’t afraid to roll up his sleeves and carve a diamond out of the rough. Now, he’s not only got an amazing track-ready Honda that he built in only eight months, but he also has a trophy to go with it.
Larry Chen outlines this phenomenal build in a recent video on his YouTube channel. If you aren’t familiar, Chen is a legendary automotive photographer who captures the most important racing events as well as some astonishing builds in modern car culture. More recently, he started putting together YouTube videos to accompany some of these photo shoots and to highlight awesome builds like this one!
Tubbed, Caged, and Ready to Rage
Kutil describes that after totaling his EG Civic Hatchback race car last year, he received this EJ1 Sedan for free as a bare chassis. To start the process, Kutil says he stripped the car all the way down to bare metal.
“The goal was to build a competitive GLTC race car that is heavily inspired by JTCC. That means it’s got to be low, it’s got to have very simple aero, it’s got to have big wheels, and then it’s got to be fast. I’m not going to build a car that’s going to, you know, be a mid-pack kind of car,” says Kutil.
Kutil describes that the chassis had to undergo some serious modification to achieve the desired ride height. All four corners of this Civic are tubbed, giving a few extra inches of clearance for the big wheels and tires while still allowing the car to sit low. He explains that the tubs start as steel trailer fenders that he then welds into place.
Finally, Kutil installed a rally-spec roll cage that ties virtually every component together. Undoubtedly, this is a super stiff and well-planted car that eats corners for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
Free Civic Throws Down and Dominates the Track
Under the hood of this rags-to-racing Civic is the holy K24. His tuner refines the power band for racing by using the drive-by-wire system to restrict how much the throttle body opens in response to pedal use.
“Full power, this makes about 235 to the wheels on E85, but we detune it down to 187. Rick from Haltech, he’s my tuner, we just pull power, and it makes 187 from like 6K all the way to 8,000,” Kutil explains.
In addition, it’s got flat-foot shifting, and auto-blip downshifts to make it as efficient around the track as it can be.
Overall, Kutil’s build is super inspiring to those looking to turn an old Honda into a race car. Even with something that starts as a hollow hunk of junk, you can build yourself a champion! Check out the full video below for all the nitty-gritty details on this phenomenal car!
