There isn't too much in this world that can be easily molded into a total package. With people, you can at least have a decent physical stature while also finding yourself blessed with good personality, charm, or smarts at the same time. Money? Well, you either have a lot of it or you don't. With a car, it can be left alone (which is totally fine) or you can go overboard. Then, there's the total package-to me it's a good blend of parts from every standard category. Anyone can build a car, but not everyone can make it say, "wow," like Matt Hartford's done. Let's show you why.
Enter Matt Hartford's '99 Civic Si. Working with the factory equipped B16A, the block was torn down and rebuilt with an 11:1 compression ratio using JE Dykes forged pistons, company-issue Total Seal Xtreme Dykes rings, and Crower high-strength rods. The entire bottom end was also completely balanced upon its reassembly. The cylinder head was taken to MACH Development, where it was redone with Ferrea +1mm Competition Plus valves, dual valve springs, and radiused titanium retainers to accommodate the higher lifting and breathing Crower shafties. Lastly, the intake and exhaust ports were opened up and polished for higher flow.
You can't take advantage of a built motor without the essentials, so the standard elements were also added. To help increase the amount of incoming and outgoing air, Matt used an intake, header, and exhaust gear from DC Sports. The factory ignition was boosted with Denso iridium plugs and MSD's 6BTM power box, external coil, red vines, and modded distributor cap. When the need for speed is felt, additional 200 nitrogen oxide horses are on stand-by with a NOS Pro Fogger kit. Also in the works is a prototype procharger. For those who don't know, that's an intercooled supercharger kit.
To maintain a well-balanced suspension, the factory springs and shocks were pulled. Passing on the idea to go with a high priced kit from Japan, the combination of Neuspeed coils on top of Bilstein coilover struts were used and seem to work out just fine. Also figured into the sus-equation are the DC Sports upper strut brace with improved handling and increased firmness provided by the Energy Suspension urethane bushings. Just an inch shy of tucking underneath the wheel-well are the American Racing Pinzetti wheels wrapped with Falken 205/40ZR17 Ziex 502 rubbers. And alas, the additional power on-hand can't be controlled for long with factory shoes, nope. The Baer 13-inchers provide exceptional braking power while the rears, a mere 10 spot, stop vehicle momentum just as responsively.
Without taking away from the natural showroom appearance, a Wings West body kit was paint-matched to the Flamenco Black glaze. Custom graphics from Modern Image trail the sidelines and accent the front clip. The interior almost seems to have not been touched other than the DC shift knob, lever, and Simpson harnesses, but this is far from true. An Alpine deck now finds itself housed within the dash with a matching disc changer ready to feed hours of sound. The sound is harnessed and then made dynamic with the use of PPI amps and subs. Fine precision tuning is done with a PPI preamp equalizer. An ear-shattering 600 watts of power is created with this setup.
Keep an eye out for the Total Seal Xtreme Civic while you're at the shows or races. It has all the show, go, and stereo that you'll need. After all, it is the total package.