There’s lots of things in life worth settling for: the trophy wife, picture perfect home, getting overpaid and underworked.you get the idea. When building a car however, sometimes people have a difficult time settling for something. Our wants always go head to head with our needs and we always have a difficult time settling on our actual desires for our project. Alex Soto is one of those people, having been able to figure out other aspects in his life but not quite how to manage the build of his Civic. After migrating from Colorado to sunny Southern California, Alex was exposed to some of the greatest Honda tuners in the area including Jason Whitfield. By teaming up with Whitfield and his crew, Alex went through several changes with his EG Civic including basic B18C1 swaps to 2.0L B16 swaps but could never decide on what was best. At the end of the day, Alex realized that he was endlessly putting money into countless engines (sound familiar to some of us?) and had nothing to show for his efforts other than some impressive time slips. It was time to overhaul his vision of his project, and with the help of his brother-in-law, Aberham Ramirez, Alex was able to turn his project around to something that was not only impressively fast on the streets, but beautiful to stare at as well.
It was times to be no holds barred and nothing would be restricted in the build. Knowing that the car could no longer look like a daily driven beater, Alex and Aberham addressed many issues starting with the exterior. The entire car was stripped down to a bare chassis and it was time to repaint it from the inside out. Every nut and bolt that could be removed was removed for the fresh respray. The EG was taken over to Evans Auto Body where it was resprayed a Jade Sea metallic, a finish seen off the Toyota Yaris. The car was overhauled through every panel on the exterior, restoring the car back to stock form. The interior received the same treatment, receiving an entire repaint making sure the drapes match the curtains.
Once the car was back from the body shop, it was stored in the garage as Alex continued brewing up plans for the build process. Over the next month, all the components and parts that Alex desired was ordered up so that his project could be built to his standards. Once everything was gathered and ready to go, the project started going together like a 100 piece puzzle. The final product was already envisioned, it was just a matter of getting to it. The front bumper was fitted with an authentic Mugen front spoiler that was match painted. Subtle accessories include a set of Vision corner lights, JDM headlights, taillights and rear wing. A set of Honda window visors and an antenna block off plate are the minor details that only hardcore enthusiasts would catch. Spoon Sports mirrors could be seen adding to the sporty appeal of the EG. It should also be noted that every single plastic and molding piece was replaced brand new from Honda, making this EG as minty fresh as could be.
Tackling the suspension modifications, Alex didn’t skip a beat there either. Having tracked his car before, he was well aware of how crucial suspension components were to any vehicle’s setup. Omni Power’s catalog of goods can be seen bolted into this car, replacing all the mundane and rusted stock pieces. Full dampening coilovers along with their rear lower control arms, front lower control arms and front and rear camber kits gives Alex the adjustability he needs to fine tune and dial in his suspension for any task at hand. He also chosen to swap out all the brake lines for Earls pieces. Alex mentioned that this car is often seen with various sets of wheels, depending on his mood for that month. We were fortunate enough to capture it on a set of BBR Competition wheels wrapped with Dunlop rubber.
The interior received a fair amount of upgrades with a Mugen S1 seat on the driver side and a USDM Type-R seat on the passenger side. The rear seats were also swapped out for JDM Type-R pieces. Alex gets to enjoy his drive each day with a Nardi 350mm steering wheel and Spoon Sports shift knob. A JDM SiR gauge cluster, center console and climate control make up the rest of the interior modifications.
Now for the real goodies: the engine bay. As we mentioned before, Alex had gone through several different setups in the lifetime of his vehicle, so it’s no surprise that this one might possibly be his best one. The bottom end starts with a B20B CR-V block that received a full treatment from RS Machine. Their sleeves have made their way into the cylinders along with 85mm 12.1:1 compression pistons and Crower ultra light “I” beam rods on a 92mm crankshaft. The stock oil and water pump were replaced with Type-R pieces during the process of the rebuild. The head starts with a B16, making this motor the infamous B20 VTEC transformation. Tom at Portflow Cylinder Heads overhauled the head with their trademark port, polish and three-angle valve job. New valve springs, retainers and stainless steel valves were part of the rebuild along with ARP head studs and a custom set of Web camshafts.
Whitfield then had their hands involved with the motor build with the installation of TWM 50mm individual throttle bodies and their big tube “Y” tri header with 2.5-inch stainless steel piping. The exhaust has been kept discreet with an ES oval muffler. Additional fuel has been added to the entire setup through 440cc RC injectors, an Aeromotive fuel filter and a Walbro 255lph fuel pump. The entire setup is retuned thanks to a Hondata S300 in a P28 ECU. Getting all the power to the ground is a 2000 GS-R transmission equipped with an ATS 4.9 final drive, Quaife limited slip differential and Omni Power titanium axles.
Stepping back and admiring the car’s exterior can only do so much. Starting deeply into the eyes of the engine bay however is where we really admired Alex’s work and attention to detail. This engine bay is immaculate, and each and every component serves a purpose and function. This car started off as strictly business and ended up strictly business. It’s always hard settling on a final goal and picture for a project car, but we applaud Alex Soto for doing so with his EG. But like we mentioned before, Alex still loves customizing his car, changing up the wheels depending on his mood. It has come a long way from its daily driver beater form, and Alex is proud of every bit of it.
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