Builds of this stature are not common around the upper Midwest, especially in the Sioux Falls area.
I was talking to Daniel here from MWE a few weeks back about Eric’s hatch and he gave me the opportunity to shoot it and get some coverage, so I jumped at the opportunity.  I had the privilege of turning some wrenches on this car during the latter part of the build and I can say there is no stone left unturned with this build.  What started as a broken bolt when trying to replace his worn suspension turned into a masterpiece, and this is Eric’s first build!

Over the course of 3+ years this hatch has been flipped and stripped down to nothing and built back up with brand new OEM hardware throughout.  Nearly every bolt from the bottom/up from front to back; new.  He didn’t stop there though, this wasn’t going to be just a rebuild.. it was destined in Eric’s mind from day one to be a reBUILD.  During the rebuild process Eric wasn’t going to leave the bay alone and if he wanted to do a full respray to the Captiva Blue you see, shaving the bay was added to his dry erase board ToDo List.  During the shaving process he didn’t want the bathtub look either, shaved in the right places but classy and timeless.  In addition to shaving the bay Eric tucked the engine harness thanks to ChaseBays, the misc lighting and fan wiring were tucked in addition to the brake lines thanks to himself.

Initially Eric wanted to do a gnarly built turbo D series but changed his mind after doing some research and realizing what he really wanted with his hatch.  Control, improving on an already good design from Honda, making it handle better, pushing it through corners as well as down the straights but allowing him to commute too and from track events or around town when weather permits.  Plus finding a hot deal on a K20A2 at a regional salvage yard didn’t hurt either lol.  Simple bolt-ons like a RBC intake manifold, his self-made intake w/ K&N Filter, and Spoon Throttle body in addition to the RCrew Header, custom B-pipe and Spoon Street Silencer he put down 202 whp this past weekend up at Full Blown motorsports in the Twin Cities.

In addition to duckin corners at the occasional track weekend or cones at the Autocross Eric wanted to be able to drive his hatch too and from work when he felt like it or to regional and national meets.  All things considered Eric chose to run PIC Select coilovers allowing him adjustability per driving requirements, picked up the Buddy Club adjustable upper control arms as to not eat away at the meaty 205/50-15 Bridgestone RE-11′s wrapped around his freshly refinished (by himself yet again) Spoon Sports SW388′s.  Even though he’s still in the market for the right front/rear sway bar setup Eric bolted up an ASR subframe brace and Spoon Sports tie bar out back in preparation, up front lies a Spoon Sports strut bar as well as Spoon Sports rigid collars to keep it in check while decisions are made.

Continuing with his quality over quantity, less is more mentality on the exterior; Eric is donning J-Spec style throughout including the bronze door, rear and hatch glass.  Up front he picked up OEM Headlights with city lights, clear corners, fogs and side markers as well as optional power folding mirrors that have been fitted with Spoon convex blue mirrors were installed.  To add a little flavor to the exterior Eric ordered up a Spoon Sports front lip and spoiler, which I think accent the SW’s quite well.

In the near future Eric plans to bolt up a freer flowing exhaust as well as dial in the suspension to let the K20 breathe and allow for better track times at autocross or the circuit.  From there it’s up in the air, he’s toyed around with the idea of shelling it out for a cage and building the engine, amongst some more brake upgrades… but… only time will tell. For now he would like to just enjoy it, take it on some road trips and beat the piss out of it at the track.

Eric’s 1993 Honda Civic Hatch