1996 Acura Integra GS-R Type-R Conversion - Twisted Type-R

I remember the very first time my car was featured in Turbo. It was in 1996 and the lead photo was my yellow Integra doing a burnout. The honor I felt that an import magazine would do an article on my car left me speechless. Seeing the article three months later in hard print took my breath away yet again. I was so proud of my car. I carried the magazine everywhere to show my friends and family. It was like a fantasy come true. Well for William Law of Southern California, that so-called "fantasy" has come true three times over. William's first feature car was an immaculate and pristine white 1995 Acura GS-R converted to JDM-specifications in our (Next Level Integra) June 2000 issue. The following year in April, William created another masterpiece, moving from his Honda roots by creating a Nissan 240SX powered by a modified SR20DET engine. However, the 240SX was no ordinary Nissan; it had major reconstructive surgery to adapt a S15 front end to the factory sheetmetal.

William did it again only six months after his 240SX hit the presses. As expected, William was not going to stray to far from his Honda roots. His platform of choice was a 1996 Acura GS-R with a twist-four doors. When we asked William, "Why a four-door?" He replied, "Because no one has done one yet." Well the pictures speak for themselves, as the GS-R obviously lives up to William's standards.

From the outside, the Integra's fighting stance was made possible with the JDM-spec four door Type-R sheetmetal front-end. A VIS Racing Sports front bumper adds to the aggressive appeal of the Acura. William wanted something different when it came time to choose a color for the Integra. His color of choice was a custom purple hue mix. The color of the vehicle has gained the nickname of "Barney-mobile" by many of his close friends. Along with importing the front-end for Law's Integra. V-Spec Performance in Baldwin Park, Calif., was also responsible for swapping the four-lug factory suspension pieces with the Type-R's five-lug set-up. The wheel and tire package can make or break a vehicle. Fortunately, Law chose 18-inch Blitz Techno Speed Z2 racing wheels wrapped with 215/35ZR Nitto NT-555 rubber to provide the footprint.

Law's rides have never been known to be slugs and the Integra's beautiful sheetmetal barely scratches the surface of his workmanship. As if the front-mount intercooler nestled behind the bumper is not a dead giveaway. Take a peak under the hood and you'll see that is where the real work begins. Where the GS-R engine once occupied the space, a fully built Type-R/B20 combo now resides in its place. The Japan-spec 2.0-liter CR-V engine was outfitted with stronger internals, which include 9.0:1 compression, Arias pistons and Crower connecting rods. The entire reciprocating assembly was balanced and assembled by Dr. Charles Madrid at Atomic Performance in Fullerton, Calif. As the bottom-end was being fortified, the head was sent to KG Precision Engineering for porting and polishing. Once the porting was complete, the head was given a three-angle valve job and outfitted with oversized stainless-steel valves and high-tension dual valve springs. ARP head studs secure the top and bottom halves together. Factory Integra Type-R bumpsticks control valvetrain events, allowing ample air to reach the combustion chamber while spent gases are expelled to the turbocharger.