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We all face dilemmas: what am I going to have for lunch? Should I put on pants today? Whatever, but some of us have more unique problems. Problems like: should I drive my VIP RL or my right hand drive Integra? Omar had this problem, and he chose the Integra.
This Accord Integra comes straight from Japan, where we can only assume it lived a decent life. It then came here, where dreams come true and everything is set up for the LHD life. Not deterred, Omar began making this slightly used ’97 Integra his.
The first thing you notice about this DC2, other than the steering wheel being on the wrong side, are the bright white 16×8 Gab Sports wheels. Those white wheels have black Falken Azenis tires mounted on them, and the whole wheel/tire combo is mounted on 4×114 Integra Type R hubs! Those hubs came with the brakes and all the other what-have-you you get (except for the lower control arms! Those are BLOX pieces) when you pull them off of an ITR. Holding the car up, or keeping it down, are a set of Raceland coilovers. Rounding out the suspension set up is an ASR subframe brace, which stiffens the rear and looks mighty fine while doing so.
The next things you’ll see when perusing the car are the little body accents that have been fitted. Small, hardly noticeable things such as the Backyard Special front bumper and Carbon/Kevlar lip or the replica Mugen generation two spoiler or the OEM Honda window visors, side skirts and rear valences. These, minute details pale in comparison to the pronounced carbon fiber hood and Integra Type R headlights. To be frank, if you didn’t know what you were looking for you would think that this is how they come stock.
So we have established that it looks pretty, but how does it get along? Is it still rocking the B18C mill it brought with it on the boat ride over? Does it have some obnoxious, straight pipe exhaust? Is there anything else under the hood besides the vin tag and radiator cap?!? Allow me to answer all these questions, starting with the last one: yes.
The 1.8L VTEC mill has been replaced with a new hybrid motor! A K24 block has been fitted with a K20 head and has been jammed under the hood. Air conditioning and power steering did not make it under the hood, but a Karcepts A/C and power steering delete kit did. The OEM intake manifold and throttle body are being used elsewhere (doorstop?) because Skunk2 pieces have replaced them. The old fuel rail has also been turned into a giant comb upgraded to a Golden Eagle piece. An SSR header exits to a 3 inch APEX’i exhaust now for a few reasons, but mostly because this whole setup is more powerful and sounds better. A pair of Drive Shaft Shop axles get the power to the wheels, allowing this whole thing to get to moving.
Inside the cabin is where the magic happens! Or it would have if this shoot of ours didn’t get rained out. While I cant show you, I can tell you. You sit in red Recaro seats, while Takata harnesses hold you firmly in place. You grip a Personal steering wheel attached to a NRG quick release hub, and you change gears with a Circuit Hero shift knob atop the stock shifter wrapped in an ITR shift boot. Your feet, when not on the pedals, rest upon ITR floor mats.
And there you have it. A man was faced with a dilemma, and after some coaxing, he made the decision to drive his other awesome car that day. Now should I have a can of frosting for lunch?..
-Words and Photos by Michael Chandler, Video by Trent Bray
*Article, Video, and Photos are copyright of CAMautoMag.Com and their respective owners. Images and words may not be re-posted, re-distributed, modified, or copied without expressed written consent from CAMautoMag.Com
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