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With Mugen MR5 15x6 alloys and Michelin Pilot Preceda 195/55R15 rubber. Cool? Like all good aftermarket wheels, the MR5s 'just' sticks out slightly, compared to stock. A bit dated, and 'old school', nevertheless they match the street sleeper look I'm trying to create with the EF Sedan. Michelins are good, no complaints but I can't help feel the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3s on my bro's Ford Laser TX3 are quieter.
DREAM NO SMALL DREAMS, FOR THEY HAVE NO POWER TO MOVE THE HEARTS OF MEN - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Just for your viewing pleasure, if you like car stuff like this. This is a long story, so brace yourself. Otherwise, just print out and save it for toilet reading material.
Pics above were taken after a Meguiars polish & wax session at Autodetailer (call Darren @ 012 383 8961 / autodetailer@gmail.com).
I've been involved in lots of special Hondas, but no one really knows what I've done. As I approach the ripe old age of 28, I just want to do something significant. It's time to build something special for myself! Thus began PROJECT EF SEDAN!
Money to blow, you're thinking? Hahahah! Yeah right. If I had that much, I'd start with an EG Civic as a base. The EF Sedan cost me RM13k to buy. A one-owner family man car, no serious accidents except a minor bump to the front. I don't spend on much else so this car is my stress relief project, which I pour my heart and soul into. But I have learnt that you often get what you pay for. Buy based on quality. That's the bottom line. The stuff you buy is going to be there for a while. The thrill of cheap stuff lasts a while, but the satisfaction of owning quality lasts longer!
*** BEFORE ***
This is what it looked like when I got it. Plain Jane EF Sedan! Check out the super stock exhaust, 13" wheels and stock ride height springs. It's becoming extremely hard to find a Civic which has NOT been modified in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! Check out the size of the EF Sedan compared to the new 7th Gen Civics parked next to my EF.
My original plan was to drive it to work and back like a real workhorse and not be bothered with the crap paintjob, 13" wheels, torn upholstery and lousy head unit. Two things happened which changed everything.
A) I came across this site with a really, really cool EF Sedan owned by Chad Castelo from California. http://www.jtuned.com/ (Look for OLD SKOOL 1990 HONDA CIVIC under 'Statics'. Chad is the guy who inspired me to build the best EF Sedan I could thanks to his efforts!
B) I met a friend of a friend and dropped her off someplace in my car. I realised the inadequacies of what I had, and felt so poor in that EF cos it was so ratty. She didn't complain though. However, I vowed never to give an impression of having a tatty old rat wagon ever again!
THE ONLY ONE ADMIRABLE FORM OF IMAGINATION: THE IMAGINATION THAT IS SO INTENSE THAT IT CREATES A NEW REALITY, THAT MAKES THINGS HAPPEN
Sean O'Faolain
This is the concept I have for ‘PROJECT EF SEDAN’:
CONCEPT
1) Stealth
2) Classy Looks (Shibui)
3) Sporty (in an unobtrusive way)
4) DQR UP!
DRIVABILITY
1) DOHC VTEC 1.6L engine (B16A)
2) 'R' or equivalent performance header, complete with heatshield for OE look (maybe)
3) K&N Filter
4) Mugen muffler or equivalent (transverse type)
5) Fluidampr (helps lessen vibrations - www.fluidampr.com)
6) Venturi plate (from Spoon. Increases low end torque)
7) B&M shifter (shorter shift throw)
8) EF8/9 SiR braking system
9) Project Mu brake pads
10) Lightweight, space saver spare tyre
11) 195/55R15 tyres on Mugen MR5 wheels (UTQG: 280AA A)
12) Raybrig headlight bulbs for better visibility at night (OR HID)
QUALITY/APPEARANCE
1) Top notch paintjob
2) Mugen MR5 Wheels
3) Mugen Shift Knob
4) Mugen Sports Steering Wheel
5) Mugen Sports Pedals
6) Nappa leather stock seats, with EF3 Si Sedan sports headrest
7) New carpet mats
8) JDM OE tool kit (Original was missing. Otherwise Mugen tool set)
9) NSX aluminium scissors jack (IF it can work on this car)
RELIABILITY
1) Genuine Honda parts only
2) New Timing Belt Set
3) New Water Pump, thermostat, fan switch and hoses
4) New OE engine mounts, OR Mugen engine mounts
5) Mugen FMVSS compliant brake hoses
6) Rebuilt OE SiR calipers
7) New suspension bushings all around (Mugen)
They started work on the car, stripping it and applying a thin coat of filler to make sure the body gets 'STRAIGHT'. Rear looks good; no accident damage visible after the bumper was removed.
Here's the car, primed and ready. Notice that a 'guide coat' of black has been applied. This is a tool used by body shop guys to check if the body is straight or not.
Trunk lid had damage in the centre. Someone had mounted a whip antenna or something similar. Bad news as the body shop guys tried to weld a plate in to fill the hole but the flat surface ended up getting warped. A new hood from an EF3 Sedan 36i/Si was purchased. Check out the cool red centre section! My stock piece is plain black as can be seen in the first few pics!
Compare the 36i/Si front bumper to the original. More aerodynamic shape, lip spoiler and longer turn signals make this a nicer choice.
The front had minor accident damage, and was perfectly good to use but they went all the way, drilled out the spot welds and installed a new front piece from an EF3 Sedan 36i/Si. Meanwhile, my bro and I bought a set of used Mugen MR5 15" x 6 wheels, with +38 offset. Wheel caps and nut caps were missing though! :(
I visited N1 Racing. I didn't buy anything, as the Mugen wheel nuts I saw were black. I was looking for chrome. RM350 for a 4-lug set! I'll have to wait until the correct ones to suit my taste arrive. Are they being sold anywhere else cheaper?
Subsequently, I went over to Kosmo Honda in Glenmarie (03-5569 5259) to see my friend Christopher Kong (one of the youngest service managers around), as he had found my door protectors for me. The early EF has a clip on/screw on type door protector whereas the later ones were stick-on. Chris managed to find them for me as Michael Lai my painter friend said they were expensive and he could only find the stick on type. Kosmo was where I sent my EF8 CRX SiR while I had it. First Honda service centre I ever went to.
Next stop: Nikon Body Repair in Sunway Damansara. My car was in its new skin of paint. In shock and horror I realised my Rolls Royce dream wasn't a reality. There was still orange peel!! However to my relief the guy named Onn told me he hadn't buffed it yet. Michael Lai's right hand man Wa Shin Den (Vasanthan), the guy who first checked out my Civic and told me what needed to be done wasn't around. He's also known as "Washington".
Upon closer inspection I realised they had done a GOOD job. Final gap adjustment hadn't been done yet (Michael came back and do it himself), but the bodywork was finally completed last week, and they had put on 2 coats of paint, and 5 coats of clear. They have since shifted to Setapak, and the new name is Sri Sutera Body & Paint. Michael Lai still does a GREAT job at painting, and does 99% Hondas ONLY! His new place is practically a hangar, and is filled with Civics, Accords, Stream, Mobilio, etc. Touch ups are totally invisible! You can reach Michael at 019 311 1570.
Onn told me that the cars they usually do get 3 coats of clear but in my case - 5. The paint itself was just a thin layer over the flattened and primed body. The doorframes were in matt/satin black and they added extra hardener to make it last. New cars like current Accord, City, etc. use black tape, not paint. The car really has a different look now. A bit sad to note however, that despite their best efforts at flatting the body, the left side had a bit of a 'rippled' look. Perhaps buffing will make it better.
Earlier on I had printed out all the Chad Castelo EF sedan pics and showed it to them. When I showed it to them, the shop guys dropped their sanding/prep work and came over to have a look. I told them I wanted my car to be like this, or better.
At least they got an idea of what I was trying to do. A target. I didn't rush them at all so they worked on it only when the steam came on. They told me later, "We enjoyed working on this car". They had even prepped the trunk and clear coated it (How the hell will I put my jack, spare tyre and toolkit in it with a clear conscience now!? Even the inside of the doors was prepped, cleaned and painted.
At that point, I realised that the Recaro's would not match this concept of a 'Shibui' EF Civic Sedan. What is 'Shibui', you ask? It's perhaps the opposite of a 'Boso' as in Bosozoku Civic - a loud, 'look at me', loud exhaust, sponsor stickered car (Not knocking it though. Been there, done that, back in the day). According to Bruce Nomura (www.brucenomura.com), Shibui is defined in the Japanese-English dictionary as, "of good taste," but it does not say what is considered good taste.
‘Shibui’ things are usually plain, subtle, modest, unpretentious, and unobtrusive; yet exhibit highly developed and refined taste. Though none of these words completely convey what ‘Shibui’ actually is, ‘Shibui’ things do not usually stand out, but blend in well with other things around them. If there is beauty in them, it is not superficial; but a deeply spiritual kind of elegance.
I have to go look up the EF3 Sedan 36i/Si parts. There's a hole-type sports headrest to suit the Civic seats. That, re-foaming the notoriously hard seats, and blue tone leather with perforated inserts and door panel inserts as per the 2004 NSX will be the way to go. Nappa would be good but it might be hard to match the blue plastic interior.
Before I left I noticed the guys were working on Michael's own EF Sedan. He bought it for 17k. Mine was 13k and in better shape body wise but his interior was better. Chris found this car for me, as well as my bro's TX3.
That evening, I went over to Awan Besar (Big Cloud), and met Mr. Pattaya Lama. He asked if my concept was JDM. I said, "Yes, Johor Domestic Market". The car has Johor plates and the owner bought it from Yong Ming in Johor. YM has a nice stylised YM logo, so I spoke to Yong Ming boss, Shamsul Hakim (a real gentleman), who said he would send over a dealership sticker. Everyone with JDM leaves on their bling-bling Verno Nagaoka, Toyota Shizuoka, etc. stickers so mine will also have JDM Yo! (But as in Johor Domestic Market). I'm toying with the idea of getting a USDM 'license plate frame' for a bit of bling. ;)
I also decided not to put on the Mugen side stripe as per Chad Castelo's car, which was originally planned. That would be too much like a 'wannabe'. My Civic is a sleeper. A 'Q' car. When I first sent the car in for a paint job, everyone told me to go for B92-P Nighthawk Black Pearl or NH-0 Championship White. In fact, I was SO close to going for Championship White, until a friend with a ‘boring’ stock metallic brown on his EG hatch told me this, “NH-0 represents the pinnacle of Honda’s race engineering”. Therefore, you have to have the power and engineering components to back it up!
This ex-RX7 racer friend is a total fanatic, 100% hardcore and built his own FRESH B18C 'R spec' from ordering it part by part and assembling it himself. And he's got Mugen RNRs, adjustable suspension and sheepskin seat covers! Now, I need to find the power to back it all up. Seriously speaking, I don't need power. But ... why stop halfway? Armed with encouragement, information and long discussions with my bro and friends from various areas, all of whom are involved in race car preparation, sales or parts, who are ‘consultants’ for this project, I decided to install a B16A drivetrain, suspension, braking and related parts from an EF SiR. As far as tech and performance levels go, I'd be happy to achieve SiR spec or better.
Come back for more updates as work progresses on my car!
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