The impulse to baby a new purchase is wired into every automotive enthusiast. Whether that acquisition is parts, tools or an entire new vehicle makes little difference; in the hands of a car guy who's just spent his hard-earned dough, it'll probably get copious amounts of TLC. It only makes sense. We'd like these objects of our passion to be viable for a long time, and usually the only way for that to happen is with meticulous care. How long something lasts is really just a question of how much commitment its owner has.
This is the tack that Raymund Manalo has adapted in keeping up his 1992 Integra LS sedan. Hailing from Daly City, Calif., Manalo is the original owner of the four-door, picking it up on July 31, 1992, from Mike Harvey Acura in Burlingame for around $16,000. For fear of voiding the factory warranty, he kept the car pretty much stock for the first 3 years, with the exception of a set of '92 GSR wheels and a rear OE spoiler he added shortly after assuming ownership.
"I wanted the spoiler to make the car look a bit more sportier, since it is a sedan," he explains.
Immediately after the DB1 daily driver had 36,000 miles, thus voiding the warranty, Manalo decided to lower it using Eibach Sport springs wound around Tokico HP dampers. With the suspension he also purchased his second set of wheels, a foursome of 16x7 Sure Design Plus rollers, some rare, old-school Japanese rims.
At this point, Manalo's cousin John, who was already deep into the import scene by 1995 with his CRX, began to heavily influence the project direction. He had a JDM "vision" for the Integra even before Manalo did and suggested he buy the one-piece headlights and HKS sport exhaust.
Engine mods for the 1.8-liter non-VTEC mill were also being weighed. Back then, Manalo was trying to build his car to keep up with the new VTEC Hondas but was very reluctant to do a full VTEC engine swap. His solution was to implement stage 1 Web cams, a JG throttle body, DC Sport headers, a Crane ignition box and external coil, and an XS Engineering ECU.
After the engine modifications, Manalo was relatively content with the Integra and decided to hold off on any other further tweaks until 1998. It was then that he made some slight changes to the exterior and suspension.
"I decided to go with a larger size wheel and purchased a set of 17-inch 5Zigen ARD GT Spokes," he clarifies. "Since the car sat a little higher with the larger rims, I decided to get a set of Ground Control coilovers so I could adjust the ride height properly."
Years passed and Manalo drove the sedan diligently to and from school and work every day, just keeping it as clean as he could. The daily grind along the streets of downtown San Francisco was an arduous one, though likely not as punishing as the accident the car got into in 2004. The front end damage wasn't too severe, but the altercation ushered in a new era for the project.
"I was on the verge of selling the car when I got into the accident," recalls Manalo. "Then one of the guys in our car group convinced me to rebuild it. I had also bought a truck at the time and started driving it more, and after that this car eventually just became a [full time] project."
No longer a daily driver, Manalo decided to do a complete exterior makeover on the car. He had it painted but kept the stock color, making simple adornments with a few JDM goodies. He added a set of power folding mirrors, thin side moldings, taillights, and window visors. He also worked in the VIS hood and JDP lip. With the aesthetic renovation the 17-inch wheels had to go, Manalo instead securing a clean set of 16-inch Watanabe wheels.
Since the exterior was brought up to snuff, Manalo felt as though the heart of the vehicle needed to be restored as well. For this part of the endeavor, he sourced a JDM Type R motor in Sacramento. He also opted to boot the old suspension and sub in a set of Function Form full coilovers. Then came the Power Slot rotors, Earl's brake lines, Full Race traction bar and Benen rear lower tie bar, and that is how the car sits today.
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