JDMC Shop Feature
Photos: Ginash George/Synth19 Photo
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I stopped by TF Works today for a much needed alignment. As you guys may know, TF Works is a division of Touge Factory. With everything from full out race car prep, alignments, to just getting your oil changed- TF works is your one stop shop. The staff is friendly, knowledgable, and really go out of their way to tell you whats up. Thanks again Touge/TF Works for supporting JDMC. Some pics from today’s visit:
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After moving with his family to the US and building other cars such as a 3000GT, Miata, and some Civics, and even a WRX wagon for his former drag racer wife who refused to drive a minivan or SUV after having children. With a little prodding from his brother David, JJ decided to go back to a car from his childhood with the KP61 Starlet; the only Starlet Toyota sold in the US. Currently he is on his third Starlet after receiving offers too good to pass up to sell the first two. After he sold his second KP61 to be shipped to Japan, the opportunity presented it self to purchase this car from his friend which had been spending its days delivering pizza. Since JJ had been helping his friend modify the car and the car was even cleaner then the one he had just sold off, the deal was a no brainer to him. While the KP61 normally came with the 4K motor, a 1.3L I-4 producing 65 hp and 72 ft*lb of torque, the motor that was in the car was a built 3K 1.2L I-4 with a Weber 45 carburetor. This setup was not enough for JJ’s needs and the heart was swapped out for 4AGE (AE86) motor with individual throttle bodies. Soon, this motor was removed from the car in favor of a 4AGZE supercharged motor out of a ’87 MR2. Sadly this motor suffered from rod knock and the car underwent a fourth and final (for now) transplant in the form of another 4AGZE. This time however the supercharger was dumped for a turbo setup. A set of Arias pistons is used for squishing the air/fuel mixture. The turbo is a Garret GT28 ball bearing turbo receiving the exhaust gases from a HKS turbo manifold to compress the incoming air and sent through a custom exhaust set up terminating with a 5Zigen muffler. On top of the motor is a set of HKS 264/272 bump sticks being rotated by a set of Tomei adjustable cam gears. Providing the go juice for the motor is a custom setup consisting of a Bosch external fuel pump, RC 550 injectors and an AEM stand alone ECU keeping everything running smoothly. To free up room in the already tight engine bay, the standard distributor was removed and cleverly replaced with a direct ignition setup from an SR20DET motor. The limited engine bay room also provided a challenge fitting all the components for keeping the motor, oil, and the incoming air cool. A Koyo radiator that normally is for a Volvo was used and a small, custom setup for the front mount and oil cooler radiator were made to fit into the front bumper.
AE86 parts have been incorporated into the Starlet’s braking and suspension systems. Up front, parts from an AE86 big brake kit are applied with a Tokico Illumina 5 way adjustable coil over kit and a Cisco camber kit keeping the wheels aligned correctly. IN the back, an AE86 rear end was customized to fit with its adjustable four link suspension
Clive was drawn not only to the Civic, but also the beating heart in the Civic’s current form: The Honda K-series engine. Worthy successors to the B-series engines from Honda, these high-revving four bangers built on their predecessors’ legacy, producing power and torque never before seen in a naturally aspirated inline four. From this potent base, Clive built a K24/20 Frankenstein hybrid a little bit different from what most are accustomed to. The core of the engine is a K20A2 block from an RSX Type-S. All the internals were replaced with forced induction in mind. Mahle forged pistons and Blueprint Racing forged connecting rods found their way into the block. The K24A2 head is from the Acura TSX and was modified with valve springs and titanium retainers from Blueprint Racing. The valves themselves remain the same. Brian Crower Stage 2 forced induction cams complete the package.
What Clive has created perfectly embodies what the Civic and the import tuning community represents. Clive took a perfectly good Civic Si and transformed it into his Civic Si. The EP3 Civic Si was never as popular as the earlier EM1 Civic Si, but Clive saw this as a bonus as it’s unlikely any other car similar to his exists. The peaky, high-revving motor gave way to a fully built supercharged Frakenmotor that pumps out significant power in the lower rev ranges. The suspension was overhauled to be track-capable while retaining streetability. Creature comforts have been kept so that Clive can drive his car all year long. Despite a major transformation from a run of the mill Civic to a car that demonstrates strong capability on and off the track, in our culture, the cars we build are never complete. Even now Clive is plotting what he’s going to bring to the table in order to take his Civic to another level.
