Feature: Project Blues Clues

A couple years ago a customer walked into Robert Reece's garage (RC Autoworks) with a 2000 Honda EK Coupe. “He said we had to hit at least 500 horsepower, and if we didn't, me and him were going to fight,” says Rob. “He was kind of joking around, but you have to consider I had never met this guy in my life.”

“On bigger projects like this, you take it as hit or miss that a customer is ever going to come back,” says Rob. “Some of these projects pull over $12,000, but after I told him how much it was going to cost, he pulled out a good sum of money, and from that point on I knew he was serious about getting it done.” Money talks... bull**** walks!

Before setting to work on their goal, there was one little obstacle in their path. A cheap a** turbo kit bolted to the stock 4-banger that had been purchased from eBay. “It had a cheap eBay kit on it making somewhere around 200 horsepower,” Rob thinks again for a second. “Well, on second thought, it may not have even been 200.”

OC: Did this customer install this turbo kit himself?
Rob: Yeah, I think he just tossed it on for sh**s and giggles to see what it would do. He told me that it made a little bit of power, but he wasn't too impressed by it. If you don't know any better, and you are kind of new to this industry, a lot of people actually think these are good kits and buy them. Unfortunately, they usually end up getting shafted in the long run.

In case you are not familiar with Rob's shop, RC Autoworks, it is located in Midwest Illinois, and is a custom, fabrication shop that has been built up from a small two car garage right out of Rob's home nearly a decade ago. He has since joined forces with a second owner, opening a bigger shop, and today proudly services just about anything on four wheels, but particularly all fast (or soon to be fast) Honda's and Acura's.

The RC Autoworks team set to work on the EK Coupe, boring out the GSR motor, adding JE pistons, Golden Eagle sleeves, upgraded wrist pins, a Super Tech valve train, and CTR camshaft. In all, Rob estimates the Civic engine should be able to withstand somewhere around 1,150 horsepower with its current configuration. “A lot of long nights went into making this thing come together,” says Rob.

Next, a Precision 62/62 turbo was added to the mix. “This is one of the bigger turbo's that is really getting popular,” says Rob. The team then sealed the deal with a downpipe, catch can, dump tube, and Precision intercooler. Once they finished tightening all the bolts and dialing in a tune, they threw the Civic on the dyno, lit up the tires, and it made a smooth and easy 542 horsepower (110 octane, low reading dyno). It would thus appear Rob and his customer weren't going to come to blows after all.

OC: Tell us what the car is like to drive?
Rob: To drive any turbo car, you can pretty much compare it to cocaine. They are that addictive, even at their baseline point. This particular Civic is pretty much balls fast. You just sit down, hold on, and hope for the best.

OC: What kind of suspension is the car currently sitting on?
Rob: It is a K-Sports suspension. There is really not too much to making a good handling Civic. A good set of coil springs is pretty much all you need.

OC: How much was the overall cost of this project?
Rob: This car was more expensive than average. Let's just say the bill was over $10,000.

OC: Are there any future plans for the car?
Rob: “It is actually in the shop as we speak, and we are looking to upgrade the fuel system. We're going to go bigger with the fuel pump and fuel injectors, which means more power.

“More power,” now that sounds like the perfect ending to any import tuner tale, but as all good stories have a happy ending, they also should contain some sort of lesson. What have we learned from this success story, automotive grasshoppers? Well, if you want to build a truly powerful import, threaten to kick the builders a** if they fail to meet your goals. That seems to keep them on their toes.

However, probably the most important lesson we should take away from this tale, is to please stay away from those damn, cheap a** turbo kits sold on eBay. Speed costs money... and if you try to cheat this tried and true philosophy with any kind of shortcut, you will only end up with cheap a** (slow) results. Amen!