"The majority of the people who try to knock the K-engines have probably never driven one," Anh says confidently. "All it takes is a test drive to get you thinking. They just have so much potential and react very well to modifications. Whether you decide to boost or go N/A, you can't go wrong. I'm happy with my choice and I'll never look back."
"The K20 R that sits in my ITR is pretty mild and it already makes a ton more power than my previous B set-up. It currently has Supertech valvetrain components, TODA Racing N2 cams, some basic bolt-ons and there's still a ton of room to squeeze more power out of it."
There are some Type R fanatics and enthusiasts who might say that pulling the ITR engine out in favor of a K20 is Honda-sacrilege. They would say that the Integra Type R was built for that engine and nothing else, and getting rid of it would ruin the balance of the car. There is definitely some truth in that statement, but it's most certainly debatable. An ITR was built for that engine... back then. Guys like Anh set out to exceed the maximum potential of their ITRs and the K-series engines are the perfect tool to do just that.
Anh credits his Integra Type R's most current Super Street cover-worthy state to a dream, the right team of people and his strong religious faith.
"I remember seeing my first Integra Type R at a local Burger King when I was just a high school sophomore back in 1998. I knew at that moment that it would be my dream car," he reminisces. "I didn't get the opportunity to actually own one until I was in college. Looking back, I'm actually thankful that I didn't get it until that time because I wouldn't have known how to take care of it. I'm pretty sure it would have been stolen or I would have done all the ricey things to it that I did with the Prelude I had then."
"It took me a while to find one that I liked. There were so many salvaged ITRs at the time and the only one with a clean title was sold minutes before I arrived to pick it up. I was so bummed that I began scouring Craigslist and strangely enough, I found the Integra that I own today. I cherished it even though it was a bit rough around the edges. There were some dents and it needed new paint but I took care of it. I was a youth minister at my local church then and they were kind enough to let me keep my car inside the church on weekdays."
"I slowly began the modification process and even had the car re-sprayed the OEM Flamenco Black. I began to get more comfortable within the Honda community and eventually I decided that I had to step my game up to see if I could take my build further."
Anh's rationale to go K-series was not without merit. A spun rod with his first motor and similar disaster with his second lead him to contemplate the K.
"It was nothing but problems with the two ITR engines I had before. The car just never received the treatment it deserved and needed," he says. It may be "divine intervention" or just a case of being at the right place at the right time, but another member of ATS Garage, Vee, just happened to have a JDM K20A for sale. Anh quickly jumped on it and began making calls to assemble a dream team to complete his rebuild.
"The plan was simple: to make this very complicated build top notch with no short cuts and quality parts. I was lucky enough to be able to lock down famed Honda-builder, Fred Chapman and wiring guru, Ryan "Rywire" Basseri to assist me throughout the build."
It took less than a day for Fred to get to work on the tear down. Chapman aka "ATS Fred" immediately pulled out the B18C to make room for the new heart. The dash and interior were also yanked to allow room for Ryan to mock-up custom brake lines and removal of unneeded wires. The battery and fuse box were eventually relocated while the heater, A/C and power steering were removed altogether. Fred then dropped the K20A into its new home and Ryan applied one of his signature Rywire mil/spec harnesses to make everything fully operational.