Cool Combos

Lets face it. A B-series in an EG is old news. That is not to say a tried and true swap is a bad idea, but a little variety never hurt anybody. These six "cool combos" are a few plausible swap ideas that might spark some interest in a few forgotten Honda platforms. It is easy enough to get by in high school and college with a JDM'ed out Civic or Integra; and even if we never grow out of them, the need for a new car will eventually arise. How many people do you know that have over built their "daily driver" and find themselves looking for something a bit tamer? Another EG or DC will just become another racecar, so what is a Honda loyalist to do? How about a VIP'ed second-gen Legend with a 3.5RL swap? Or an Accord V6 with a twin-turbo MDX motor?

No matter what Toys'R'Us ads tell us, we will all grow up someday. Some of us may even get lucky and find a nice girl, get married, and dare I say it... have babies. Try toting around a newborn in a car seat strapped into the back seat of an EF hatchback, good luck. With daddy behind the wheel of a turbo H22-swapped first-gen Odyssey, the kids will never be late for school.

Even for those of us who are not ready to be grown ups, the need for a second car is just as real. Do you want to be out street racing with your show car? Can you imagine getting thousands of dollars worth of Mugen, Spoon, and OEM JDM Honda parts impounded? Or worse yet, crushed? Maybe it is a better idea to build a budget beater third-gen Civic with a turbo D-series swap. An unsuspecting ride like this will catch everybody off guard downtown, and since the whole build costs less than the wheels on your DC2, getting it impounded won't be as big of a deal.

There is a perfect car for everybody, and in our opinion, there is a perfect second car for everybody too. Have a cooler, more unique, yet plausible combo than we could come up with? We are anxious to hear about it. E-mail us at editorial@hondatuningmagazine.com.Dr Barrios

A Spin On Things
The Perfect Car For Our Hypothetical Traveling Club DJ To Tote His Gear Around In Style.Ever tried to stuff two turntables, a mixer, an amp rack, and speaker cabinets into the trunk of a Civic coupe or the joke of a cargo space in a hatchback? It's close to impossible. Unless you want your equipment sitting shotgun with you and messing up your red Recaros, lugging it around in your daily driver isn't an option.

Our DJ needs a gear hauler, but being a Honda loyalist, a pickup is out of the question. Friends would make fun of him for rolling around in an Odyssey and a CR-V is a bit out of the budget. The answer? A first-gen Integra.

The first-gen Teg's rear hatch has more cargo room than any of its successors. Take out the back seat, fit a whole stage setup in the open space, and you can still keep shotgun open for a groupie post-set. The only real problem is lack of power and, more importantly, torque to handle the extra load. But before you head out to the gas station to pick up this week's Truck Trader, remember our trusty solution to almost every problem: swap it.

While we've recently seen Type-R and even K motors in a first-gen engine bay, our DJ needs torque, something that the B20 offers. Its 140 hp and 140 lb-ft of torque will turn the 'Teg into a "Tug." A JDM B20B or USDM B20Z longblock costs around $600 and beyond that, our DJ needs a tranny, intake manifold (the B20 manifold will hit the hood) and axles pulled from a DA Integra. He'll also need an OBD-0 or OBD-1 ECU from an LS Integra.

Also needed are a set of mounts, Hasport makes a set specifically for this swap (AVB1), and probably a set of rear coilovers. Since the first-gen 'Teg comes equipped with torsion bars and a rear-beam axle, there are no springs to replace up front. The rear might be better suited with a set of sleeve-over coilovers with a higher spring rates than stock, matched with a pair of decent struts to handle the additional equipment load.

Mr. DJ's daily-driver EG may be a super-hot JDM street machine right now, but without a pack mule first-gen to supplement it, it won't last for long.