1997 Honda Civic LX
Jeremiah Rose
Killeen, Texas
Jeremiah Rose's mantra is that four doors are better than two, especially on his Civic. In the time he's had his Honda, Rose set about making the car look good and roll hard. Of course, a little extra in the entertainment department never hurt anyone either.
For starters, the Civic rolls on 17-inch "The Edge" rims wrapped in Nitto rubber and gets its stance with a set of coil-overs. Next up, Rose put in a Ractive intake and spark plug wires, along with an engine dress-up kit. A chrome exhaust puts the finishing touch on this Honda's power department.
Outside, Altezza-style taillights and Project-3 headlights address lighting issues. A billet grille, Si front lip and Acura emblems replace the boring stock pieces. The windows are tinted blue to complement the white with blue pearl paint job. Also note the Volkswagen-style antenna.
Inside, a set of white and gray custom seats spruce things up, while Indiglo gauges and carbon fiber e-brake handle and shift knob add a touch of style to driver inputs. Rose's pride and joy is the PSone he has hooked up to a 6.8-inch LCD screen to entertain passengers on long trips and to kill time at car shows.
In the future, Rose plans to shave the door handles, add a Buddy Club body kit, airbag suspension, M3-style mirrors and give the Civic a new paint job. Z3-style fenders and two 12-inch subs aren't out of the question either.
1998 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24
Jeremy Harrington
Livonia, Mich.
Being from Michigan, Jeremy Harrington has little choice but to go American. Following the J-Body trend, he opted for a Cavalier. For inspiration, Harrington looked to www.j-body.org and found a wealth of information-some of which he used to build his car.
In the power arena, Harrington's first goal was to make power and lots of it. For this, he installed a ZEX nitrous system. Shortly thereafter, on went an Unorthodox Racing underdrive pulley, an RSM ported intake manifold and an RSM 62mm throttle body. Still this wasn't enough.
An RKSport dual cat-back exhaust, ceramic-coated header and upper and lower engine mounts were installed. Further engine mods include a high-flow cat and an AEM intake. A set of Knig 18-inch Rush wheels were put on, followed by a set of Ground Control coil-overs, KYB struts and RSM front and rear strut braces.
For appearance, a cadre of APC lights were installed along with a set of third-gen Altezza-style taillights. The brake drums and front calipers were painted silver for effect, while a set of cross-drilled and slotted rotors were installed up front.
Future plans call for a Bomex body kit and a ram air hood. Harrington's biggest dream for his Cavalier involves a turbo kit. He says he's beaten every Honda he's ever raced and the turbo is what he needs to seal the deal.
2000 Honda Civic EX
Ricky Simmons
Virginia Beach, Va.
Perhaps it's the weather or maybe it's something in the water, but more and more souped up Civics from the East Coast have been pouring into our mail room lately. Either way, Ricky Simmons' Civic is a mere two years old and already it's been put through the ringer.
Under the hood, Simmons added an Arospeed cold air intake, APC filter and Magnaflow 2.25-inch cat-back exhaust. This is the perfect breeding ground for future mods, which will include a DC Sports header, GS-R engine swap and a turbo kit.
In the handling department, Arospeed coil-overs and APC strut bars stiffen up the chassis and give the Civic its stance. The Honda wears 17-inch ICW Tuner alloys shod in BF Goodrich rubber.
Outside, APC is the standard for lighting, while an Aerogear hood and Z3-style fenders enhance the Honda's bodylines. A Ground Designs 2000 Street Fyghter 2 four-piece body kit and Wings West Combat wing round out the body mods.
Inside, Simmons installed HP Motorsport Indiglo gauges, Matrix carbon fiber gauge trim, shift knob and sport pedals. Tunes are provided by a Kenwood 8003 flip face CD head unit connected to an MTX 302 600-watt amp, which powers a pair of 12-inch MTX Thunder subs and Infinity speakers all around.
Future plans for this Civic include a PS2 with infrared controllers, 6-inch Clarion screen, Sparco racing seats, a roll cage and Chameleon six-color paint job.