U.S. auto retailers have sold a healthy $6.9 million worth of vehicles this year to date. Although sales dipped in comparison to '04, the American desire to one-up one's neighbor and nestle oneself behind the wheel of the newest, latest and greatest piece of four-wheeled machinery has not. With auto leases that seemingly expire after the first oil change and trade-in programs that make upgrading easy, for many of us the turnaround time between cars is often less than that for a pair of shoes.
All of which makes David Chik's situation even more rare. The West Covina, Calif., resident bought his '91 Integra LS coupe new off the showroom floor, with payment, warranty and all. And while many of Chik's fellow Southern Californians have gone through more cars than some of us have shoes, Chik remains true to his Integra. After seeing it, we understand why.
Chik's DA9 hides its age better than a baby boomer loaded with Botox. Contrary to other decade-plus-old rides, this Integra features a pristine exterior and an equally untainted interior. No age-inherent windshield chips, faded paintjob, or taillight duct tape repair job. Indeed, Chik's Integra is the exception to the rule concerning cars built around the time many HT readers were confined to cribs.
Don't let the OEM paint fool you. This DA boasts more brawn than you might think. Under the hood resides Type-R swagger in the form of a '99 JDM B18C. Chik tells us he went shopping for the ITR engine the day after he lost a street race to a Z3. The fact that the Beemer's passenger caught the whole thing on video made matters especially painful.
Chik credits this fateful experience in late '00 as the official rebirth of his Integra. Nine years after the purchase date, the car went in for one last smog check, and with the help of his brother Johnny, Chik sourced an engine and swapped it into place. Power mods were carefully selected and remain few and far between. They're still enough to muster a Z3-embarassing 187 hp.
With the Integra's lifeblood in place, Chik addressed other concerns, namely aesthetics. The goal was to "keep it clean," says Chik. "The parts don't have to be JDM, just clean." With the help of Chik's MetroSpeed racing crew buddies and valued advice from Johnny, the Integra began to take shape.
It doesn't take long after talking with Chik to realize his Honda roots. A longtime veteran of the scene, Chik's 14-year pet project displays the perfect mixture of old and new. He scored Mugen body components on eBay as well as SSR and other rarified JDM "backup" wheels. Chik explains that only parts serving a purpose were fitted to his Integra. What country the parts came from didn't matter; only their function was important. According to Chik, the goal was the perfect compromise between keeping the car original and enhancing every realm of performance.
Accidents for this DA9 tally up to zero, a number Chik prides himself on. Aside from the occasional coat of wax, the only other thing applied to the roof, quarter panels, or doors is the original paint. MOBworks of Orange, Calif., is credited for touching up the rest of the body to match. An assortment of Mugen side skirts, JDM thin side moldings and a carbon-fiber hood give the Integra some added distinction.
While Chik won't deny he's game for trying to one-up the other guy, (read: Z3), he'll be the first to tell you it won't require shelling out for a new ride every three years.
Bolts&Washers
David Chik'S '91 Integra LS
Propulsion
At the heart of Chik's Integra lies a surprisingly stock '99 JDM Integra Type-R powerplant. The meticulously hand-polished B18C5 runs on stock internals and instead bumps power output by means of carefully selected bolt-ons. An AEM cold-air intake mated to a 70mm Spoon throttle body satisfies intake demands while at the other end, a T1R 4-2-1 stainless-steel header teamed with the company's own 2.5-inch racing collector and straight pipe direct exhaust pulses into an RS-R ExMag exhaust system. But for a pair of Toda Gen 2 adjustable cam gears, all else remains stock.
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