Brace yourself. I'm about to introduce you to a sexy and enticing Honda Civic. What makes this Honda so appealing is its simplicity. It hasn't been turbocharged, supercharged, or artificially boosted in any way, shape, or form. It's clean and lightweight-pure JDM. It's been through a total metamorphosis for a seemingly impossible Type R replication. That's right, it's not the authentic Japanese R, but it certainly comes close to it. So close it made us look twice.
Here in the U.S., the only Type R we get to see is the Integra. In Canada, one particular Type R Civic can be spotted-the EK9. So it's no wonder we get excited when we see anything that resembles an R, especially one that comes in the form of a Civic. Wilson Lim and Chong Hong from Ontario didn't just let this enthusiasm pass them by. Instead, the two decided to revamp the compact car into what you see now.
Whisper the name Mugen to Wilson and Chong and they get all tingly inside. That's because they reminisce of their 2000 Civic rebuild that resulted in somewhat of a carbon copy of the Type R. The beaming yellow paint and the five-bolt wheel conversion are just a few of the ingredients they used to whip up this tasty ride. The hatchback was taken to Station 28 Autobody in Canada where it was dressed in a Mugen type SS body kit. A sweet Type R rear wing was added and a customized molded lip took care of the front-end flair.
Underneath its gleaming hood, the stock engine was swapped for an older '98 B18C Integra Type R. The cylinder head was ported by Station 28 and fitted with Toda camshafts and Mugen valve springs. The spark plugs and wires from NGK Racing are responsible for setting things off. The 1.8L also works alongside an HKS air intake, a Mugen four-to-one header, and an after-cat exhaust. Additional equipment includes cam gears from Spoon. The stock throttle body was exchanged for one from Spoon, custom made bigger and better to 68mm (originally 62mm). Finally, a Mugen N-1 computer was added to finish things off in the engine.
For the suspension, each corner is fitted with Tein coilovers while a true Type R strut tower brace stiffens the chassis. Right between the '98 R tranny (installed by Ken Lam) and the engine, a metal Mugen clutch can be found. The two-way limited-slip differential from Mugen that has been fitted with 4.785:1 gears is what sends power to the front MF10 Mugens wrapped in a set of 205/45/16 W10 Dunlop tires. And for stopping power, the car relies on Type R brakes in the front and rear.
As for the furniture, a pair of the factory-made Honda Recaro racing seats (yes-with the sliding rail) fit perfectly while it took the place of the original ones, matching nicely with the red carpet. Although this ride was created to look exactly like the true JDM Civic, nothing could be done to switch the steering wheel over to the right side. So it was left alone and a MOMO steering wheel took the place of the stock one to act as part of the driving force, along with pedals yet again from Mugen. Obviously, the car has been set up to race, but it hasn't been out on the track yet and Wilson and Chong can't wait to test out the Mugenized Civic. The high compression engine loves to suck down that 94-octane fuel those lucky Canadians have, so performance will inevitably be remarkable.
So that's the whole package. It took a good six months to create a close twin of the Type R Civic, using practically all Japanese parts. The buildup wasn't as easy as it looks (the bill wasn't too pretty either) or sounds, but it turned out quite impressive.