Civic x Integra x Prelude: A Wild Honda Mash-Up

Amongst on a regular basis site visitors this Honda Civic is a wild sight; each angle and form has been exaggerated to ranges thus far past the common commuter fare. It’s no shock then, that the second I noticed it blitz previous me by way of congested Friday afternoon site visitors I needed to hunt it down instantly.

That hunt led me to Brian Desmond, and a day spent within the presence of his EJ2 Civic coupe. This supplied an alternative to speak in regards to the development of what has been a prolonged construct, the boundaries being pushed when it comes to type, and his voyage into the world of Honda ‘H2B’ swaps.

We’ll get to the efficiency upgrades in a second, however first the aggressive exterior that caught my eye within the first place.

There’s so much to speak about on the subject of the way in which the Civic seems, however the defining characteristic needs to be the facelift, which is definitely extra of a complete face reconstruction. The Civic-to-Integra entrance finish transformation was achieved utilizing Honda OEM 98-Spec DC2 Sort R headlights, bumper and grille, plus a J’s Racing carbon fibre hood and {custom} entrance fenders.

The fenders, initially manufacturing facility metal objects, at the moment are vented and pumped out +50mm on either side, and it’s all executed in metal.

Brian and his native bodyshop will be credited with that work, and likewise the modifications made to the Sort R entrance bumper in order that it matched as much as the fenders seamlessly. The bumper now additionally contains a carbon consumption, First Moulding entrance lip, and beneath {that a} do-it-yourself splitter.

The aspect profile advantages from BYC aspect skirts and traditional APR carbon fibre mirrors, whereas the inventory rear fenders have been custom-modified with metal lips from the entrance fenders of a later-model Civic. As soon as all of the bodywork was completed, the complete automotive was resprayed in Audi’s iconic Nardo Grey.

On the rear, a Mugen Gen 2 wing grabs the attention first, its towering presence extending from the boot deck. Then you definately discover the half-cut bumper, Beaks rear decrease tie bar, and the shot-gun type Solidfab exhaust. Which brings us properly to the swapped powertrain…

For all of its aggressive exterior components, Brian’s Civic has all of the go wanted to again up its wild type. How he’s gone about creating the efficiency is a bit of totally different although.

In upgrading from the EJ’s factory-fitted D-series engine, Brian selected to forgo the anticipated B or Okay-series swap, as a substitute taking a extra distinctive route by becoming an H22A from a BB-series Prelude. That’s the ‘H’ in ‘H2B’ – the ‘B’ comes from the B-series transmission used, in Brian’s case an S80 5-speed LSD-equipped unit fitted with a 4.7:1 closing drive and operating an Exedy Racing clutch and flywheel.

The two.2L had already been totally rebuilt when Brian received his arms on it, however he’s added a 1320 Efficiency steadiness shaft delete package, 70mm throttle physique and Okay-Tuned inline gasoline filter and braided hoses. Issue within the {custom} consumption 1320 header and full exhaust, and the engine is reputed to be making round 250hp, which is a lot for a light-weight Civic road automotive. The tune was accomplished by Cian Walsh Motorworks, a reputation synonymous with excessive efficiency Honda tuning in Eire, and whose work I’ve featured beforehand.

Making the H2B engine and transmission swap a complete lot simpler was a whole package by 1320 Efficiency. This bundle features a billet aluminium transmission adapter plate, a metal crankshaft spacer, uprated engine mount brackets, an aluminium clutch slave spacer and a baffled sump.

The suspension has seen loads of upgrades, together with Yellowspeed coilovers mated to Hardrace entrance and rear camber arms, a Whiteline anti-roll bar and Perform 7 billet decrease management arms. Moreover, the EJ chassis has been stiffened up with a full course of Extremely Racing braces. Within the brake division you’ll discover EBC discs, PBS ProRace pads and chrome steel braided brake traces all through.

For wheels, Brian has gone with a set of 15-inch Enkei CPS-2s, which have been {custom} refinished in blue. The Enkeis are a cult wheel inside Honda circles, and are an ideal selection for this construct, particularly given they’re now wrapped up in sticky Toyo Proxes R888R rubber.

Stepping inside, it’s all fast-road spec with the important thing driver interplay factors having been up to date. The seats are old style Brides, the wheel is from OMP and the gear shifter is a Okay-Tuned merchandise.

This Integra-faced and Prelude-powered Civic coupe was constructed for enjoyable, and standing out, of which it positively does in site visitors. It’s no present queen and has the scars of on a regular basis use to show it.

It made me smile the day I first noticed it, and I do know it makes Brian smile each time he bashes the redline on the native ring street. And actually, that’s all that issues.

Cian Donnellan
Instagram: Ciandon