Hey guys,
Here for sale is my Civic EF9 SIR.
Mileage: 85K
Mot:12 Months if desired.
Tax: 1 Month
1 previous owner...
Full uk service history and japaneese history avalable at request.
Car still reads in KPH (Speed and milage)
I know I'm going to get some grief for this but unfortunately due to personal circumstances I'm going to have to put her up for sale, basically what happened is recently my girlfriends VW EOS decided to throw up a diesel particulate light... That were fine until the coil light came on then the engine went into limp mode engine management light and dead..
So I've footed the bill and believe me it weren't cheap, unfortunately with me only recently starting a new job everything has built up an I need to keep my head above water. So far I've sold pretty much everything I don't need Xbox, Playstation, mountain bike etc but I'm still no where near even, so last on the list is the EF9.
This has been my dream car since I were a young lad, the first time I ever saw one of these were a picture at the Birmingham Superprix when the Crx had their own race series. They had a ef8 and a ef9 parked up on show (Might have been to promote the I-VT I'm unsure) But it were so beautiful it stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the smaller Crx like a Crx estate or somthing like that.
I've had a fair few uk VT's but none compare to this. This is a real genuine piece of JDM history. I can only describe the car as simple yet effective with Japanese modesty. The obvious facts are it were built an tuned in Japan it has a crazy reliable B20 inside its light extremely nimble and a complete powerhouse. But if you look past that and peel away at the edges it soon becomes apparent that it were built for purpose everything in/on it were for a reason no un necessary bling or sugar coat. Its a very modest car a lot like the person that built it I'm sure!
Engine & Gearbox
B20B bottom end
Slightly higher compression pistons
B16A Head
B18CR Cams
B18CR Valve springs
B18CR Retainers
B18CR Intake Manifold
B18CR Throttle body
B18CR 4-1 Manifold
Modified oil pump (More Pressure)
Nology HT leads
Twinspark spark plugs
5zigen Exhaust (Not loud)
Y1 LSD Box (4.26 FD)
Aftermarket clutch
Aftermarket drive shaft's (Bit bigger)
Cusco 2 way3 LSD
255 lph fuel pump
Drilled airbox with cold air feed
Chassis & Suspension
Safety 21 rollcage with extra bar welded onto cage behind seats.
Extra bars made and welded to the cage to make removable door bars.
Tabs welded from cage to doorframe
Dash dodger
Nice big spreader plates added where its been bolted to the chassis inside and out.
Cusco front lower brace
Ebay rear strut brace.
Argon EF Specific coilovers.. Ive never heard of these but are very well made and stick up through the shock tower for strength? Never seen anything like it.
Interior
Fully stripped out rear
Fully interior'ed front
Electric windows + mirrors
PAS
Climate control with mint panel
siR doorcards
siR genuine mats front and rear
3 guages oil pressure, water temperature and oil temperature
Recaro evo 4's (Same as speeds) In grey mint condition
Modified bolted seat rails (Very very safe)
Luke harnesses with snap off lock (Black) drivers and passengers (Still has stock seatbelts fitted)
Skunk 2 gearknob
Steering wheel
Exterior
Cold air feed at front
Black fat 5's
Rover 620 TI front brakes 282's drilled and grooved disks
Rear tow hook
Number plate tilt bracket
Bonnet lifters
EF9 Power folding mirror, wind deflectors
EF9 Power folding mirrors
I use this car as my daily believe it or not and although it gets on my nerves it keeps a smile on my face and hasn't put me out too much, to make my life easier I could or should just take out the detachable door bars, but it hasn't got to me that much yet. So far I've done around about 10K on the engine and it drives faultless. It has absolutely NO RUST.
People are often put off by B20's as they hear these horror stories about them but if you look at the ones Daz builds at DNR (Oxford) he's got 99-100% success rate, as long as its built properly and tuned properly they are as good as an OEM engine. This is no exception It were built and tuned by company in Japan and no one has touched the engine over here, its still exactly as it were when it were imported.
First thing I did when I got it were take it to DNR and let Daz go through with a fine tooth comb, just to make sure it were built right and it would stand up to the job. I'm pleased to say it passed with flying colours the map it runs on is perfect with not one thing out of place. Whoever mapped it spent some serious time building the map for the engine, I think Daz were impressed anyway. The only thing the map lacked was a limiter which he put on and I were very grateful for.
Engine does not smoke, use any water and not a drop of oil. I have changed all the oils, filters plugs etc every 3000 miles in my ownership. I dont think it saw much use in sir cues ownership (Big BHP Performance) He will also vouch for the car, its servicing, history and how it drives as he is the original importer/owner of the car.
It has what we believe to be a cusco LSD built into a y1 lsd gearbox. When I first acquired it I hated how much it knocked and banged and felt so unsafe, so I scoured the internet ringing people and companies for advice and guidance. after the gearbox spat a shaft out of the side I decided enough was enough so I built the driveshaft,s up with new cv joints and boots and started reading into gearbox oils. I decided that I would use some redline lsd specific gearbox oil.
Since adding the new oil it feels great it still bangs and knocks at very low speeds but not half as much or as vicious as it did before its a lot less noticeable and the car is more sociable and easier to drive now, its silent also whilst driving along on or off throttle. It feels more like a oem diff but you can feel it locking and unlocking itself which comes straight though your feet and steering through corners giving you that extra bit of confidence to push it harder turn in tighter but most importantly be faster through corners and brake later.
The 4thGen Civic is in my opinion the best handing Honda on the planet. If you have experience with any of these I'm sure you will agree they are sharp and nimble like a crx but sit completely flat through corners and don't squirm under braking. This is no exception I said earlier about being purposeful, It has power assisted steering but the key word is assisted as its not light as a feather but not harsh like non p/s instead you get this lovely feel of road surface, grip and camber you feel everything like you would with a non p/s car but without that shark kick that occasionally catches us out or makes a nightmare to park and manoeuvre around.
Likewise if you have power steering like an eg for example. Its far too light you don't feel a thing and you will be halfway through a corner feeling everything is fine when the back end jumps out on you and before you know it your facing the wrong way on a road you take your ef down every day at 10 mph faster...
The gearbox and clutch are what really makes the car the b20 provides torque that your average B just doesn't have, the guys I know who run b20s have a god awful time of getting traction out of their non lsd box even in light rain and sensible driving they will struggle to keep themselves from wheel spinning or under steering. I can honestly say I have never struggled for traction in this, rain, shine, grease and oil. not once have I ever not felt safe behind the wheel.
Being safe in a quick old car is a big factor for anyone who values their, their friends or loved ones life and in the past my parents, my friends and my girlfriend have often criticized my cars for being far too quick and far too unsafe. With this its not the case. The cage is very well built the ef chassis Safety 21 cage is not a cheap item you just have to search in Google to find that out, Coupled with the fact it has some fabrication to make it even more functional then it already is that in the way of an additional rear bar and removable door bars that are not in one way intrusive besides the fact its a little harder to get in, but if i can, (an im a 20 stone 6Ft2 man) Then I'm sure almost anyone can. They have been fitted with the correct spreader plates wherever its bolted including the rear arches behind the seats and footwell.
Slide over the cage and you find yourself hugged by the Recaros these provide great comfort without compromising support or the posture needed for a little track or fast road action, it sits you nice and low for that true race car feel. The Luke harnesses will take care of your driving position keeping you planted and safe through those fast corners or heavy braking.
The brakes are strong, infact they are better then strong they have to be the best brakes I've felt in a Honda, makes my old CTR with its 300mm discs feel insignificant compared. The pedal is solid and you can feel the exact point into where the pads come into contact, again really confident inducing allowing you to stomp on them and have your organs try to escape. Or just lightly drag them through a sweeping braking corner. Again this coupled with the power steering and lsd gives great grip and confidence that you just cant find in the 5th 6th and 7th gen Hondas.
Problems
Its not all sunshine and lollypops though she has my heart, but she's also had a firm grip on my wallet. If you look on my build thread (4guk.co.uk, hondacrx.co.uk, civiclife.net) You will see the heartache she has caused me. I've sorted all of the problems its just cosmetic things that me or my dad have no knowledge or contacts in. These consist of the following:
The front coilovers are in need of replacing or a rebuild as they are very bouncy (Might be a way to adjust them but I don't have a clue)
Windscreen cracked down passenger side, its shot and will need a new one.
Tin top roof dented at front from when the bonnet came up an cracked window.
Few little dinks and dents around the body and bonnet (What do you expect from a track prepped car)
small scrape behind passenger door (Cue caught the wall in his garage) its not that bad.
Front coilovers are very bouncy. I think they have blown. Probably easly repaired (I were going to buy some meister R's)
If you wanted it show condition obviously you'll need a full respray an the dents sorting but that's it. I've done pretty much all the hard work to get it up to daily standard, its up to the new owner which way they want to take it. I have a friend that were going to sort the bodywork and make her the full package and if anyone's interested I will pass his info on. He owns a CRX and it looks like its rolled out of a show room seriously! If your not that fused just use it and enjoy it whatever. Just jump in it and drive it use it for what it were built for and if you want to take it further you can cause although its modified and it does fly seriously. Its still only a basic build and is far from its potential I'm sure Daz at DNR would be happy to point anyone in the right direction with this car.
Overall the car is pretty awesome its one of the few cars that has all the makings of a great "Hot Hatch" weather it be a weekend toy, fast road car, daily or full blown track car. The car will keep a smile on your face and a spring in your step. Its a phenomenal feeling when you head on to the road knowing that the newer sporty cars and some big monsters that it shouldn't be quicker then or go around corners faster then are inferior to a 21 year old car, all the people that have struck a conversation with me in petrol stations or out about town just cant believe when I tell them what a b20 is and the engineering of the rollcage and chassis parts, truly the guys who built it had an idea an it just worked, its a credit to them and their tuning company and I'm sure if they knew that maybe 5 years on to the initial build its still running strong and running as well as I believe it is they would be extremely happy.
Pictures
Spares
As you can imagine I have gathered a few spares in the time I've owned 4th gen civics and I'm willing to let them all go with the car:
Couple of pairs of wheels and tires. May be useful for drag or track.
I have spare panels here and their including a newly purchased civic rear end. (bit behind back bumper)
Megan racing rear lower strut brace
Generic front upper strut brace
B series engine bits (Dizzy head etc)
Y2 Gearbox
B16a1 engine
ef9 mud flaps
Set of Lenso Rs5's in good nik no tyres.
Plenty more I'm sure, if I find anything else its yours. If i find anything after you take it and I think it may be handy for you its yours.
If anyone has any questions, queries or needs more pictures feel free to ring or message me id be happy to help any potential buyers.
Im sure ive missed absolutely loads so i will update as i remember!
Spence: 07826517215
Location
Between Halesowen and Stourbridge (West Midlands)
Price
£4000 ono