Hello, I'm Josh Gibson and im somewhat of an automotive enthusiast. Having modified a c3 corvette and a gen 4 camaro, I decided in 03 it was time to start modifying an import. I picked a Nighthawk Black Pearl 2001 EM2 Civic as my platform. In 03, I really hadn't seen that many modified and found out why shortly after my pursuit of more power, there were no parts. Aftermarket support is just now starting to pick up and still people don't seem to like the d17a2 found in the car, most go for the K swap, but I stuck with it. It started off simple with different intakes and exhaust which yielded a whp of 109hp and 107lbs. This was done at the dyno at UTI in Houston were I went to school. After that, nitrous went on the car, and needles to say, I popped a headgasket after 5 bottles at 75hp level. So out with nitrous. I tried a ITB setup utilizing gsxr 750 throttle bodies, but driveability and power outputs were not up to par, so out they went. Finally, I decided to have reliable power and turbocharged it. No bolt on kit or manufactured parts, the only part meant for the car was the turbo manifold and fuel pump. The heart of the the power plant is a T57 turbocharger mated to a OBX-R stainless manifold with a custom 90 degree turn so the turbo faces forward. A custom downpipe was fabed by friends at midas as well as the wastgate dump tube from the 38mm wastegate from XO. the rest of the exhaust flows through a limited production true 3" stainless. A crankcase vent system was then added to catch blow by. With the turbine facing forward, radiator clearance was an issue, so a 92-00 civic aluminum race half radiator was bolted in placed using a custom made front hood and rad support bar. After radiator position was figured out, intercooler setup was next. A JDM sport 3" intercooler was bolted to the front of the car and the front core support was modified to fit 2.5" intercooler piping. After the bumper was cut to fit, it was reinstalled. The 2.5" intercooler piping runs into the stock intake manifold, and pressure diversion is done by a type RS blow off valve. A manual boost controller mounted in the cab controls boost pressure at 7.8psi. The car is fueled by a 96-00 Mr. Gasket fuel rail turned backward for clearance and custom aluminum support bar is used to hold it down. Injection is a set of VW 1.8T injectors feed by a walbro 255lph pump. Tuning is through a Apexi AFC Neo. Also, as you probably noticed the battery is gone, in its place is a Bellon volatage stabilizer with huper ground kit, the battery was moved to the trunk and is a optima red top. Hp figures are unknown at this time but dyno time is in the future. The transmission was rebuilt due to a faulty 2 and 3 gear and a fidanza 7.9lbs. flywheel and f1 6 puck clutch was added with a heavy duty pressure plate. Shifts are made through a shortened shifter, short shift adapter, and solid shift busings, and shifter mounts. Suspension mods are pretty light including DZ dampeners, Eibach spring, inside coilover design up front, and coilovers in the rear along with SRE camber adjusters. Energy motor mounts and lower control arm bushings were installed and a ingalls torque dampener was added, as well a RE works strut brace. The interior was dressed up by custom painted accents and an array of gauges including A/F ratio, Volt, Boost, Oil Pressure. Custom made carbon accents were added as well to hold the Apexi turbo timer and shift light controller. Safety is insured by adding a Corbeau Forza 1 drivers seat, and Corbeau adjustable passenger seat along with a matching set of corbeau harnesses. The steering wheel was tossed for a Sparco unit mated to a quick release hub. Outside, mods are simple. Front lower lip from ABS dynamics, blacked headlight housings, blacked taillamps, side marker lamps and low rise rear wing. The wheels are evotion 17x7 with nexen tires and another set of 16x7 enkei RS 10 wheels with yokohama tires are used when driving is going to be spirited. All in all the car is an excellent daily driver, as it was built for that. It is driven every day in my home town of Tupelo, MS and the car will be shown at the NOPI Nationals in Atlanta this september. And thats the full story of the car, I may have bored some, but I may, and hope, I have excited some and gave some hope to those with the "crappy" d17.