It all started out in Spring 2004 when I responded to an ad in the classifieds section in our local paper. The ad read, "1992 Honda Civic. Needs engine. Has front end damage. $500". Me wanting a hatchback (I hate coupes to death) I called the seller and asked what body style the Civic was. The seller replied, "I dont know what type of body this is, all I know is that it has a tailgate like a mini truck and looks like a station wagon." I thought to myself..."SCORE! GOTTA BE A HATCHBACK!!!" I drive out to see the car in person and it was in fact, a hatchback.
After a bit of negotiating with the seller, I got it down to $300 (I was a poor college student at the time.. what?!). I got the Civic shell safely to the house with the help of my brother and quickly got to work. I ended up replacing the front radiator support, front end sheet metal, and swapping in a SOHC VTEC D16Z6 from another project car I had.
Once the car got a decent paint job and some suspension goodies, I went straight to racing it at our local Autocross events. It did OK with the SOHC motor but really couldnt catch the lighter EF Civic's in the class at the time. I knew I had to have more power.
2 years go by without any hiccups. The Civic ran flawlessly to and from home, work, and school. Then, out of no where, I ended up spinning a rod while on my way to dinner one night. It was weird, of all the times I bounced off the rev limiter mid turn or launched at 5,000 RPM, the motor quits on a back road while i'm cruising. Go Figure.
I quickly source a neglected Integra GS-R from a friend for $1,000. I swapped the B18C1 engine over w/ a close ratio S4C transmission from a 99 Civic SI. Once I had everything swapped over and I revised the suspension set-up, I continued autocrossing it. This time around it was different though. The car turned into a totally differnt animal over a weekend. The power was plentiful, the gears were nice and tight, and the car overall was a blast to drive.
Every autox event I attended, the little hatch would finish in the top 3 positions every time. It was fun beating out the WRXs, SR20 240s, and Lancers that would frequent the events. It definitely surprised people when they saw the car blast through the cones.
I enjoyed the car for the next couple of years with this motor setup and went through a couple of cosmetic phases with the car but the running gear stayed largely the same.
Sadly, I ended up selling a "stripped down" version of the car in April 2009. I figured I had to move on to bigger and better things.
It was a great 5 years with the hatch... I learned a lot from it and will never forget the great times we spent together. I've heard the car still exists some where down in South Florida, having been passed around several more times after I sold it. But even if the car physically exists, I feel that it's spirit has stayed with me and still lives on in my current projects.
So ... I guess I don't miss my hatch that much after all? It never really left ... it just changed form.
Jo
