By now, you should all be very well-acquainted with this Honda Civic Wagon. If not, shame on you. We've spent the past few months documenting the build-up and even had Bisi Ezerioha himself take time out of his busy schedule to tell you all about it. Bisi is definitely one of the best in the business and is a very thorough guy. There are details that he has discussed in the six-part series that not even the great minds here at Super Street could explain to you correctly. Perhaps curiosity has struck you now and you have the sudden urge to see what Bisi has to say. If that's the case, we'll wait here while you go to the bathroom or wherever you keep your magazines so you can catch up. For those of you who are up-to-date or simply want the Cliff Notes version, you're in the right place.
To call a Civic Wagon from the late 80s a "beast" would be, in most cases, a stretch of the imagination. They're not the most popular platform to build of off and they shouldn't be. It's a wagon, it's old and it's definitely outdated. The general public would think you a fool to even attempt to build it. The single-slammer that is the heart of this particular wagon is much the same: old, outdated and unpopular. In the broad spectrum that is the Honda community, B-, and now K-series is king. The D-series is usually tossed aside and left for dead.
The engines that aren't tossed out usually end up in SOHC heaven, otherwise known to the world as Bisimoto Engineering. Though Bisi Ezerioha is handy with both single and dual overhead cam engines, he is mostly known for his ability to squeeze gobs of power out of naturally-aspirated single cams. He can do things to these engines that no one would ever think to do. Bisi has taken the single cam engine to new heights of competition.
A couple years ago, Bisi was asked by our crew to act as our representative in the Castrol Syntec Top Shop Challenge. It was an engine building challenge, which was ultimately won by another shop using a boosted set-up. Bisi hung in there with us and probably had the most unique engine build-up which was a naturally-aspirated F22A on pump gas that produced 360 horsepower. During the awards ceremony, Bisi was approached by another competitor (who shall remain nameless of course), who asked him why he chose to do an NA set-up. When it was explained to him, this mystery man scoffed and stated that the only reason Bisi built NA was because "that's all he knew".
It was that call-out that motivated Bisi to approach us about his next project - a completely street capable, force-fed, small-displacement powerhouse. When it was all said and done, the single-cam engine would make 650-700whp and run on regular pump gas. Oh, and it would find its home in an old Honda Civic Wagon. Why a wagon you ask? Well, simply because it's silly. The idea of a Civic Wagon that makes 700whp is almost as ridiculous as asking Jennifer Lopez to make a movie that anybody wants to watch.
Though Bisi has built many-a-turbocharged engine in the past, this build marked the first time where he assembled a complete vehicle based around a boost set-up. At the heart of this boosted wagon is a Golden Eagle-sleeved D16Z6 block and Bisimoto-spec Portflow-ported head. The fortified guts of the single cam D16 make it possible for the engine to withstand the 40 lbs. of boost unleashed by the Bisi-spec Turbonetics BTX6565 turbine. Making no effort to hide behind the modified Civic front bumper is a 28-inch wide Turbonetics/Spearco intercooler. This gigantic intercooler brings fresh air in while the biggest blowoff valve ever aka the Turbonetics Godzilla, is used to relieve boost pressures. Spent exhaust gas is sent to the custom 3.5'' exhaust pipe where it exits through a Burns 3.5 inch 2-stage muffler.