Do you see what I see? A cherry red Civic flaunting its devilish good looks. That's what I see. And ten bucks says you won't be able to find a ride quite like this anywhere in the Midwest. That's just where Super Street found it (actually, we really found it on the SS Tour) and decided that this car was too sweet to be overlooked. But before we delve into this sweet sexy thing, let me introduce you to the man behind the wheel.
Kevin Bunch is the proud owner of this little ride. Being the avid racer that he is, Kevin knows Honda 101 all too well. You see, over the years Kevin has had quite a history with Hondas. It all started back when he developed a mild interest in the marque, so he got himself a '92 Accord. But soon he was introduced to racing by his good friend and roommate Ron Cardona-that's when he wanted something that could go a bit faster, so he replaced his '92 with a '96 Accord. Before he knew it, he was knee deep into the import scene, and the automatic shift Accord didn't quite meet his demands for speed, so it was swapped for a '98 Prelude. Leaving the stock engine as is, Kevin added nitrous and took it to the '98 NOPI show, where a Civic hatchback with a GS-R motor burned him bad. When he got back home, he didn't hesitate to immediately put his Prelude up for sale. To remedy what had just felt like a third degree burn, he picked up a Civic hatch and installed a '98 GS-R engine. That's when it happened. Kevin started seeing red. In fact, that's about all he saw for the next year as he and Ron transformed the Civic.
The GS-R engine is impressive, and although it is only a 1.8 liter four-cylinder DOHC with VTEC, and it pushes out 170 hp at the flywheel without any modifications. Now imagine if you will, adding more power to an engine that's already got a fair amount. For instance, the boost comes from a Garret turbocharger that Kevin added to warm it up even more, along with an HKS turbo blow-off valve and a Turbonetics wastegate. Other turbocharger add-ons include a completely fabricated three-inch down pipe and ceramic coated Spearco intercooler pipes. His buddy Ron also added his personal touch by fabricating a full-length complete drop-in radiator, and installed a custom inline oil cooler for the turbo. To test its performance, Kevin took the car out on the track, where at the first pass, he hit 13.2 seconds at 118 mph. The second time around, he pushed it too hard and the motor blew up in Third gear, and it was sent to Benson's in California to get patched up with JE pistons and Crower connecting rods.
Kevin tells me the most unique features in his car are the Japan-only parts, like the steering wheel, hood, mirrors, and gauge cluster from Spoon Sports. As for other essentials for the fierce hatchback, Kevin and Ron installed all the necessary components for its suspension. Riding low is how the Civic flows, slammed down barely missing the ground (three inches in the front and two inches out back), with Ground Control coilovers, Koni 5-way shocks, and a rear strut brace from Spoon Sports.
With all the work mentioned so far, it was obvious that Kevin was determined to go full out with the buildup. A separate set of wheels and tires is used when the car is taken out to the track. On the street, the Civic rides on 16-inch SSR Integral wheels and the Yokahama Paradas. But come next race day (when Kevin takes the car out to run the 10s), the wheels will be replaced with 9-pound Lensos and M&H slicks will act as the street tires' substitutes.