Integra Type R Swapped EG Civic is the Pinnacle Golden Era Honda
An unexpected, but delightful gateway to Golden Era Honda euphoria.
Hardcore Honda enthusiasts preach of a Golden Age with a zeal and dedication that few other brands could even hope to achieve. These superfans all agree that the age of prosperity and good fortune was from 1988 to 2001. The Honda and Acura products developed and sold in this era were of like mind and like kind in their raison d’être. The cars featured lightweight and simple designs, double-wishbone suspensions and rev-happy, naturally-aspirated engines. These were the Golden Era Hondas.
No car better represented the ethos of the brand than the Type R. These race-ready machines were lighter, stiffer and offered a more “‘pure” driving experience. However, of the Golden Era Hondas, there were just four Type R models in all, and only one made it the United States. From 1997 to 2001, North American Honda enthusiasts were graced with the presence of the Integra Type R. In that five year span, they sold just under 4,000 units in all. So the cars were quite rare to begin with, and have only gotten more desirable since.
But what if you wanted a different kind of Type R?
I forgot to mention another perk about any Golden Era Honda: they are very easy to work on yourself. If the car isn’t what you want out of the box, bust out the tools and get wrenching. That is how Kevin ended up with this 1994 Civic EG hatchback, he saw the potential. It was a VX model with a 5-speed manual, and crucially, the paint and body was pretty solid. A perfect base for things to come.
It started with a B16 swap, but after running into issues with the motor Kevin decided to go full bore with this EG and swap in the powertrain from an Integra Type R. He sourced a model year 2000 JDM B18C engine and matching Type R LSD-equipped transmission and got to work. He had a custom 4-2-1 style header built for the swap, which runs into a custom-built exhaust with a Magnaflow high-flow catalytic converter and a Burns Stainless muffler. A Comptech air box rounds off the power modifications to the otherwise stock B18C. Even the ECU is the stock unit. Oh yeah, and during the swap he threw on a lightweight flywheel and heavy duty clutch kit.
Look around the engine bay and a few things are sure to pop out at first glance. Kevin opted to use a full-size Skunk2 radiator, sans cooling fan. He states even an offset-mounted slim fan would have fouled the header, which looks about right. The extra cooling capacity of the full-size radiator keeps coolant temperatures in check as-is. Can we go back to the header for a second? It’s gorgeous. Big primaries, smooth bends and built by someone who clearly knows their way around a TIG welder.
Track cars need more than straight line speed.
To that end, Kevin has basically breathed upon every important suspension component for a track-prepped Golden Era Honda. Hard Race lower control arms are used front and rear. He also has Hard Race rear camber arms. The front upper control arms are Skunk2 units. PCI Racing supplied the spherical rear trailing arm bushings and toe links. Custom-valved BC Racing coil-overs with Swift springs suspend this EG hatch, and paired with that are Type R OEM sway bars and an ASR rear subframe brace. Rounding off the suspension upgrades are front and rear strut bars from Blackworks Racing.
It all sounds very thorough, but the list continues from there. Specifically, the stock VX rear drum brakes were a no-go, so Kevin swapped in the rear discs from an EK4. Up front two-piece rotors work with Type R calipers and Hawk race pads to slow things down. And for good measure Stop Tech stainless steel braided lines are fitted to this EG, because the 24 year old brake lines had likely seen better days.
All of those goodies peak out from behind some stunning Volk Gram Light 57DR wheels and BFG Rival tires. Wanna know the specs? Of course you do, the fitment is dead-on. The wheels measure 15×8 with a +28 offset, and the tires are sized 225/45R15.
Continue reading about this B18C-swapped EG Civic.
