Hope, digging into his car show past and desperately trying to score any points possible, wanted to include pimp factor as a part of evaluation (rather ironic, considering the cars in question). So we invited show guru RJ de Vera to judge. My strategy was simple: let the two-year-thick layer of dust and parking structure grime hide the bad paint and precarious parts. The knock-off Mugen oil and radiator caps might give the NSX an advantage over the Civic's Hawaii-themed Wal-Mart seat covers, as long as no one notices the missing wipers or non-functional air conditioning and stereo. At least the NSX comes with a tachometer.
The last part of our face-off is to determine target lap times at Buttonwillow Raceway. Considering only serious time attack cars break the two-minute barrier, we decided that the two-minute ballpark would be a good start. But we couldn't agree on an exact figure (since I have no idea what kind of times an NSX will run on that track), so we ultimately settled on rolling a die for it.
We pulled out the Dungeon Master hats and found a die with 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 at a local gaming store. Whatever we rolled, we'd add on to two minutes for our target lap times. Luck wasn't on Hope's side. Even though he rolled a six, which is a reasonable time for a fast Civic, I prayed for a 10. And I got what I wanted. So two minutes, 10 seconds it is. Honestly, I think the NSX with a set of tires would already be close. Regardless of the outcome, I'll be driving home in an NSX, while Hope will be in a fast Civic at best.
Project Backmarker Civic
For each of us, there's one car that got us hooked. For me, it was the fourth-gen Civic hatchback. They've been referred to as old-school in recent years. The cool kids might call them EF9s. The cooler kids would call this one an ED6. But I got hooked before I knew the chassis code, before I knew what a double wishbone suspension was, and long before I ever thought I'd build one to beat an NSX. I just thought the little Civics looked sharp.
From a tuning perspective, any Civic from model year 1988 to 2000 has the most potential. They all come with a double wishbone suspension up front, are reasonably lightweight, and have a good amount of parts interchangeability, aftermarket support, blah, blah, blah... you guys already know this stuff. The pre-88s had an awkward suspension design and the post-2000 models had an awkward suspension design and extra weight to boot. When picking a Civic for a project car, it comes down to personal preference within those golden years and what can be found that's still in decent shape.
My original plan was get a black '90 or '91 Si, as that specific version is my all-time favorite Honda. But this '88 DX was too good to pass up. A close friend was the original owner and needed to make room for his Zanardi NSX. He was meticulous with maintenance and not as concerned with the selling price as he was with making sure it went to a good home.
With that, I proudly introduce Project Backmarker Civic. It was the top-of-the-line model in '88, as the Si was skipped that year. Its five-speed transmission, big 91hp cam and rear wiper differentiate it from the base model Civic STD (yeah, it was a good move when that name was changed to CX a few years later). This DX came with the optional passenger-side door mirror and air conditioning. Unfortunately, it didn't come with the optional rear mud flaps and interior clock. A tachometer was not an option. Other than some unsightly holes in the door panels from an old stereo install, the car is bone stock and in amazingly great shape for a 20-year-old vehicle that retailed for $8300 new.
I've done a few minor upgrades to the areas that needed attention. The clutch was starting to slip. While the tranny was off, I had the flywheel machined down and replaced the final drive with one from a '91 Si. The revs sound a little high on the freeway now, but she still gets 35mpg in LA traffic.