Make no mistake, for many of us enthusiasts that have been involved in the sport for an extended period of time, one thing’s for sure – we like switching up project cars as often as possible. Very rarely do we get the opportunity to see an enthusiast continue building their car over the span of years, continuing to pave the way with new modifications staying ahead of the game. As trends continue to develop and people surprisingly find new ways to modify decade old cars, it’s a fresh breathe of air when we run across a true enthusiast that really loves his project.
We first saw this Integra several years ago sporting its JDM front end and Spoon Sports carbon fiber styling rolling on the streets of Florida. Shaded in the infamous Championship White, John Diep’s Integra was one of the cleanest Integra’s ever. So it was a huge surprise to us to have seen it resurface sporting the same classic exterior modifications, but a whole new world underneath the hood.
That’s right, Diep was so ahead of his time several years ago that his aesthetic modifications still hold true to this day. The 5-lug conversion, Spoon Sports calipers could almost be unnoticed when attention is pulled to the 16×7.5 classic Advan RG wheels in gold. Slammed to the height he desires with JIC Magic FLT-A2 coilovers, Diep’s Integra was always a beauty to set our eyes on.
Recently however, Diep continued his love for his car by swapping in the newer age K20 motor. But going just a step beyond, Diep got his hands on an authentic K20-R and outfitted it with a handful of go fast goods. Hybrid-Racing leant a huge hand with their mount kit, harness and axles while IPS’ cams and some valvetrain courtesy of Eibach helps give the K20-R plenty of high rpm horsepower. Letting it all breathe freely is a DTR 4-2-1 header to a KTeller 3-inch exhaust to an HKS carbon ti muffler. A custom fuel setup was needed for the K20-R swap, and just showing how much he loves driving this car after all these many years, Diep’s Integra is fully equipped with air conditioning.
So for those that build a project once and enjoy driving it for just a couple of years before starting something anew, look towards Diep was inspiration to keep that pride and joy for many years to come. When things get old or mundane, there’s always new ways to spice things up and Diep’s Integra is rolling proof.
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