1992 Honda Civic - Triple Threat

In all honesty, it would be a little too easy to steer this story’s focus in a direction based purely on the Civic’s geographic location. Yes, it is from Australia, and while that is impressive in itself, it most certainly isn’t the main draw of this build. We can throw all the Australian clichs at you; even title this story Thunder from Down Under or something to that degree then call it a day, but that would just take away from the car. Instead, we’ll dissect this build in an attempt to show you just how multifaceted this custom Battleship Grey hatchback truly is. At a glance, this Civic is a beautifully executed show and street vehicle. Assembled by Yonas Liu and the JDMyard crew, it has all the popular aesthetic details of the day. The Honda community has shifted towards the track look. This preferred look enthusiasts are after revolves around show cars being fitted with all the functional track performance parts, whether they are actually used for function or not. The difference between Liu’s Civic and other track-prepped show cars is that his actually performs. Dubbed the EGK24A, Liu’s ’92 hatch sees regular duty as a track car. In fact, Liu runs regularly at Wakefield Raceway, one of Australia’s premier circuits, and produces some very respectable lap times.

What’s even more impressive than Liu’s 1.64-sec 60-foot time is the fact that his once ZC-powered hatchback runs consistent 11-second passes without the use of forced induction, and a stock K24 bottom end. I really wanted to see what the K24 engine was capable of, Yonas says. I intentionally left the bottom end stock so I could extract as much as I could out of it. I did a similar test with the (cylinder) head before I decided to upgrade to the Buddy Club camshafts. Liu set out to make power the old-fashioned waymore air, more fuel, and very few restrictions. With the valvetrain upgraded, he opted to improve airflow by utilizing a larger intake manifold. He wasn’t very happy with the aftermarket options that were available to him at the time, so he designed his own, based off the K20 PRB manifold. Responsible for bringing air into the custom intake manifold is an 80mm Wilson Manifolds throttle body. The exhaust side is enhanced with a custom JDMyard 4-2-1 header, connected to a 3-inch exhaust system that can easily be swapped out for a Burns stainless megaphonewhen he decides to travel down the 1320. There’s nothing special or unique about the fuel system, it’s tried and true in that there is just plenty more of it at Liu’s disposal, courtesy of a Walbro 255-lph fuel pump and Aeromotive regulator. The overall motor setup may be simple, but it’s efficient enough to squeeze out 245 horsepower to the wheels.

Weight reduction is a contributing factor in making this chassis a potent circuit and drag race vehicle. No sheetmetal has been cut, so the body remains perfectly intact, but all unnecessary amenities have been removed to lighten the load. Radio, sound-deadening, carpet, and all other miscellaneous items served as fat that needed to be trimmed during the Civic’s diet. The only original remains of the cabin are the dashboard skin and some bolts to hold it in place. The OEM seats have been replaced with lighter Bride Zeta III units, and a Nardi steering wheel was installed to improve driver position. The chassis has been stripped of all bumper supports, even the sway bars have been removed. The engine bay is straight to the point, with only the essentials necessary to keep the motor running.

Since this Civic also served as a demo vehicle for Liu’s shop, JDMyard, he wanted the exterior to be easily recognizable. The original blue hue just wasn’t cutting it so he elected to redo the entire body, inside and out, in his own custom mix of grey. They say that a car’s build is a reflection of its owner, and this holds true in Liu’s case as well. His Civic is multifaceted and so is he. Not only does he build motors, he also taught himself how to prep and paint an entire car. He even managed to construct his own paint booth. There was no other place for Yonas to paint his car, so he temporarily converted his carport space at his apartment complex and painted his Civic there. This was no small operation. He had drop sheets to act as walls, sealed them properly, and even had fans to ventilate the small space. Complaints from neighbors were an issue, but the end result was more than worth the trouble.

The paint finish and overall stance is what evidently made it such an international Internet sensation. Pictures began to surface on Honda forums all over the world and people were instantly drawn to the ever-popular Battleship Grey tone and aggressive sizing of the 15-inch 949 Racing wheels. It’s not every day that a build pops up like this and is so unique that it touches every aspect of the tuning community. We often get asked what it takes to be deserving of a feature in Honda Tuning and our answer has always been the same: we search for groundbreaking, well-rounded builds. Liu’s Civic is the epitome of a well-built, multi-purpose Honda that touches on every characteristic that our community strives for. Above all, the owner has all of the knowledge and drive to constantly take this project to the next level.

What’s even more impressive than Liu’s 1.64-sec 60-foot time is the fact that his once ZC-powered hatchback runs consistent 11-second passes without the any use of forced induction, and a stock K24 bottom end.

Bolts & Washers

Propulsion

K24A3

Hasport EGK1 engine mounts

Buddy Club N+ camshafts

Buddy Club dual valvesprings

Buddy Club titanium valve retainers

K20A 50-degree VTC

JDMyard custom intake manifold

Wilson Manifolds 80mm throttle body

Ford calibrated TPS

K&N air filter

JDMyard custom 4-2-1 exhaust header

Custom 3-inch exhaust

Metal catalytic converter

Walbro 255-lph GSS342 fuel pump

Golden Eagle fuel rail

Earl’s fuel lines and fittings

Earl’s fuel filter

Aeromotive fuel pressure regulator

NGK Iridium iX spark plugs

Koyo half-sized radiator

Mugen fan switch

JDM Y2M3 6-speed transmission w/ LSD

JDMyard lightened flywheel

4.7 final drive

R Crew K-swap shifter box

Exedy 3-puck race clutch kit

JDM EP3 Type R flywheel

DC5 Type R driveshafts

DC5 Type R midshaft

A/C deleted

P/S deleted

Complete engine wiring harness tuck

Stance

Tein Super Racing coilovers

DC2R OEM front and rear antiroll bars (removed for drag racing)

Assorted Mugen suspension bushings

Assorted Spoon suspension bushings

Buddy Club rear camber kit

Skunk2 front camber kit

Skunk2 front cBenen Industries 3-point strut bar

ASR subframe brace

Function7 rear lower control armamber kit

Resistance

282mm slotted front brake rotors

262mm slotted rear brake rotors

Project My HC+ front brake pads

NSX front brake calipers

DC2 rear brake calipers

APP brake lines

DC2R brake master cylinder

DC2R brake booster

Wheels & Tires

15x9 949 Racing 6UL (+36 offset) front

15x8 949 Racing 6UL (+36 offset) rear

225/50-15 Yokohama A048

Exterior

J’s Racing front lip

Livesports rear wing

Vision Technica Type DC side mirrors

Vision Technica smoked amber corner lenses

Interior

Bride Zeta III seats

Bride seat rails

Bride reupholstered door trim

Nardi Deep Corn 350mm steering wheel

HKB 80mm steering boss kit

Mugen shift knob

OEM Honda radio block-off plate

Bonds 5-point bolt-on half cage

Electronics

Hondata K-Pro

Defi tachometer

Defi Link Display

Defi Link Control Unit II

Props

JDMyard, Top One Automotive, Westside Mufflers, Pulse Racing, Beau, Zico, Philip Nguyen Photography, Jason MJ Digital, Matt Mead

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Owner Specs

JDMyard is one of Australia’s premier Japanese tuning parts suppliers. They have cemented their reputation down under over the years and are known to be one of the fastest and most reliable importers of Japanese goods. Certain parts are sometimes hard to source on the other side of the world, but they help to bridge the gap between Australia, Japan, and even the U.S. They carry everything from Spoon Sports and other popular Japanese companies, to American products like Skunk2 and Hasport, and even custom engine harnesses from our very own Exhaust Notes Honda expert, Ryan Basseri of Rywire.com fame. Check out their website at www.jdmyard.com.

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