1993 Honda Civic CX

There was a time when Ricky Harris craved only one thing: a late-model Civic reared of racecar proportions but destined for the daily commute. The idea had been festering in his head ever since his younger brother Rob joined the ranks of the Honda scene a few years back. Harris watched his sibling tweak, tune and race his 2000 GS-R and watched as no less than five engines suffered at the hands of nitrous, turbochargers and lofty compression ratios. You might say Harris knew what he wanted. You might also say that, through Rob's experience, he knew what he didn't want.

Determined, Harris acquired a B18B longblock and an off-the-shelf turbo kit prior to laying claim to a Honda of his own. Saying he was eager to get started would be an understatement.

He later sourced "a crappy piece of junk" '92 Civic and the project began. The engine was fitted and boost applied, and no sooner than when Harris heard the first echoing of the blow-off valve, he concluded that this just wasn't the race-bred street sled he'd dreamt of. After contemplation, he resolved that a do-it-once, do-it-right approach was the only way to get things done.

With haste, Harris took his business and vision to local speed shop Raceline Tuning in Cincinnati. He conveyed to owners Josh Bonati and Rick Williams what he wanted and the duo quickly began to accommodate his needs. The team gave a thumbs-up to Harris' B18B engine block choice but upped the ante with a B16A VTEC head swap. Harris' bolt-on turbo solution was also sent to the classifieds, per the advice of Bonati and Williams. The two had much larger plans for this potential street beast, which would take shape in the form of a Raceline customized turbo kit.

While the longblock was being stuffed with goods from JE, Crower, DPR and Ferrea, Harris put his dad, Rick, to work on the chassis. A certified welder by trade, Rick Sr. fitted the six-point AME roll cage to the unibody and went to town with his TIG welder. Shortly after, Harris dropped the hatchback off at the local body shop for a color change and a few select cosmetic add-ons.

With safety and aesthetics up to snuff, the chassis was toted back to Raceline for the final touches and some dyno time. Bonati and Williams complemented the LS/VTEC with a monster fuel system worthy of supplying more than enough petrol, as well as an AEM EMS designed to keep fuel, air and spark all in check.

At a mere 14psi of boost and drinking from the 91-octane pump, Harris' hatch belted out a stalwart 389 wheel hp on Raceline's in-house dyno. Although a far stretch from his grandiose goals of nearly quadrupling the B-series' output, Harris reminds us that a few clicks of the boost knob and a tank full of race gas are just around the corner.

After nearly three years of work, Harris says he's finally taking some time to enjoy the fruits of his labors and a trip to the drag strip is in the near future. But for now, he says he's perfectly content laying down tracks of rubber on the local freeways at a comfortable 110mph.