Sometimes there’s a definite plan or mod-route in mind when a serious project car is undertaken. Sometimes, there isn’t a plan at all, and it’s the result of years of evolution and tweaking and fiddling. Stephen’s Honda falls into the latter category. Perhaps it’s the definition of this category…

Stephen bought this car new back in 1997 and never gave it up. He never had a finite goal with the car, other than he wanted it to be as different from other cars as he could.

The custom CCW rims he picked up this season really do accomplish that goal. They’re 1-off sizing made just for him and the result of months of back and forth work. Definitely worth it in the end though! Hiding behind those rims is set of AEM rotors and pads. Gotta make sure you can stop before a pothole when you got proper fitment going.

That’s what I call fitment. Stretched tires on CCW with a nicely rolled fender. Stephen enlisted the help of someone who’s had a hand in many of the best cars in the scene – Vince from Shinzomedia. Vince helped a great deal with the fender work and kept everything neat and tidy and up to the highest caliber of work. It’s tight but unlike most extreme setups like this he has no real rubbing issues.

The Acura EL front end conversion Stephen did to his car was one of the first major mods he completed on it back in 2002.  Before that it was primarily suspension stuff. The striking gold paint was done many years later in 2007.

The gold theme carries over from outside the car to inside the engine bay. There’s a wicked ‘Chinese’ theme going on here to me, red & gold – feels very royal. Every time I pop the hood on one of these cars I’m reminded how filthy my car is. Stephens headers are probably cleaner than my apartment. Look nicer too.

Inside a set of brides and the ubiquitous Takata harness holds him and his passenger in place.

The gold paint changed color quite a bit when the sun went behind some clouds. I can see why Stephen calls the car the Pineapple Express now. It definitely goes more yellow than gold in certain light. (Compare it to the below taken earlier in the evening than the one above.)

The car is powered by a B20 block with a B18 type R head. The head was shaved, ported and polished. DC 4-1 headers and an Apexi exhaust are is out back. The car was changed from automatic to a manual setup along with an Exedy Stg2 clutch & lightened flywheel. A type R LSD and a B&M short shifter make this a much more fun car to drive than it was originally!

Stephen’s taken this car a long way from its humble beginnings and he’s getting some attention from serious mags now. Look for the car to pop up in some big places soon!