Chuck Johnson posted on Monday, November 9, 2015 7:04 PM
by Chuck Johnson
Back in 2011, we introduced Project Honda Civic EJ to the readers of MotoIQ. Originally, the goal of the project was to take Annie’s beat down 1997 Honda Civic with over 260,000 miles on it and restore it back to the formidable yet reliable street and track machine it once was. All this, while keeping to a reasonable budget. However, what could only be described as massive scope creep ensued. Now four years later, Project Honda Civic EJ has finally come to an end... or to a new beginning?
Annie Sam posted on Tuesday, January 28, 2014 7:17 PM
by Joe Popovits
In this installment of Project Honda Civic EJ, we tell our factory ECU to take a hike and get engine management fit for this build through AEM's Series 2 Plug and Play EMS. In addition, we also bring our B18C1 into the new millennium by tossing out the outdated factory ignition system in favor of AEM’s B-Series coil on plug conversion kit.
Chuck Johnson posted on Wednesday, May 8, 2013 5:39 PM
Project Honda Civic EJ: Building the B18C1 Part V
By Chuck Johnson
In our last installment of Project Honda Civic EJ, we thoroughly explored the Harlem Shake phenomenon and also partially completed the assembly of our B18C1’s valvetrain. Now equipped with Skunk2 valve springs and titanium retainers; the cylinder head of our B18C1 engine is ready for completion. Next on this list? A set of Pro1+ camshafts, Skunk2 adjustable cam gears, and an ARP stud kit.
Annie Sam posted on Monday, April 8, 2013 8:01 PM
Project Honda Civic EJ Gets a Full Body Makeover
By Annie Sam
What was supposed to have only been a simple six month project to boost Project EJ Civic's performance with basic bolt-on applications has turned into a two year journey down the long, long rabbit hole. Fast forward two years, and the light we were wondering if we would ever see finally manifested itself at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Project Honda Civic EJ was finally turning the corner to focus more on finishing the build. But then again… as any gearhead would question, are you really ever finished?
Chuck Johnson posted on Monday, March 18, 2013 8:38 PM
Project Honda Civic EJ: Building the B18C1 Part IV
By Chuck Johnson
In our last installment of Project Honda Civic EJ, we had just begun the assembly of the bottom end of our B18C1 engine. With the bottom end complete, we could now shift our attention towards the assembly of our B18C1’s cylinder head and the completion of Project Honda Civic EJ’s engine build.
Annie Sam posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2012 8:38 PM
Project Honda Civic EJ: Staying Cool with Koyo and HPS
By Annie Sam
Now that the motor was back in the car ready to be buttoned up, we decided to give it a little bit of a cooling upgrade to avoid another Buttonwillow incident. Although the stock radiator was reliable for over a decade for daily driving, our beefed up Civic would also need a beefed up cooling system. The radiator we opted for was the Koyo All Aluminum Racing Radiator tied together with some hoses from HPS Performance Silicone Hoses.
Chuck Johnson posted on Sunday, October 7, 2012 7:10 PM
Project Honda Civic EJ: Building the B18C1 Part III
By Chuck Johnson - Photos by Joe Lu
Last we left off, we had just figured out how to improve the rod ratio of Project Civic's B18C1 through the use of a Nissan QR25DE spec rod from K1 Technologies. With the details of this rather strange relationship of Nissan and Honda componenets figured out, it's now time to forever join them in holy matrimony.
Chuck Johnson posted on Sunday, March 18, 2012 6:39 PM
Project Honda Civic: ASR Rear Sway Bar Kit
By Bob Hernandez
The long, winding road of upgrading suspension bits on our Project EJ Civic is getting pretty close to conclusion, or at least weekend track readiness. Variability (and therefore tunability) has been added to the car's setup with the installation of Skunk2's coil-overs and camber kits, and the super-worn stock bushings were punched or burned out in favor of newer, stiffer polyurethane replacements by Energy Suspension. Today we finally get to the rear bar, sourced from A Spec Racing (ASR).
Mike Kojima posted on Sunday, March 4, 2012 9:52 PM
By Mike Kojima
Annie’s Civic had seen tons of street and track miles, over 200,000 miles since she had completed her B series swap years ago. Her clutch had begun to slip probably 3 years ago and she had been nursing it along for this long as she was too busy with other car projects to take care of it. With this many miles we felt that it was probably prudent to open up the transmission just to inspect the insides and take care of any issues before bolting it up to her renewed engine pushing much more power.
Annie Sam posted on Monday, January 23, 2012 8:02 PM
By Annie Sam
Now that we have completely beefed up the suspension and brakes of Project Honda Civic with the Skunk2 Pro-C Coil overs and camber kit, and the Fastbrakes big brake kit, it's time to button things up with the last several suspension upgrades we had lined up for our little weekend warrior.
Chuck Johnson posted on Tuesday, December 6, 2011 5:25 PM
Project Civic EJ: Fast Brakes Rear Disc Brake Conversion Kit
by Chuck Johnson
After completing the install of the front Fast Brakes big brake kit, we knew that we had to do something about the drum brake lameness that was taking place on the rear of Project Civic. Project Civic had been retired to commuter car only status almost a decade ago and since then had only the basic maintenance performed. We were pretty suspicious that the rear drums weren't contributing any work in the whole braking equation since there seemed to be an abnormal amount of front brake bias. Never mind that the rear drums and shoes had not been replaced ever even after 260,000 miles of use.
Chuck Johnson posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 7:13 PM
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Project Honda Civic EJ: Fast Brakes Big Brake Kit
By Chuck Johnson
In the past few months, we've completely revamped Project Civic's suspension with a plethora of Skunk2 components; and then most recently, equipped it with a new pair of running shoes in the form of Enkei PF-01 rims and Nitto NT01 tires. Combine the results of these modifications with our goals of producing 200 plus horsepower and we should see some serious reduction in lap times. To truly realize Project Civic's full potential though, it's obvious that we need to balance our modifications and address its brake system.
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Mike Kojima posted on Saturday, November 19, 2011 11:21 PM
By Mike Kojima
Our project Civic has been getting a lot of attention in the suspension department and we had to make sure we upgraded our wheels and tires to something more aggressive to take advantage of our chassis work.
Chuck Johnson posted on Sunday, October 30, 2011 4:28 PM
Building the B18C1 Engine Part 2: Improving Rod Ratio
By Chuck Johnson
Our main goal for Project Honda Civic EJ is to build a formidable, yet reasonably economical weekend warrior. However, we didn't want our "budget" project scope to limit us to merely rebuilding a stock configuration B18C1. Admittedly, we also wanted the challenge of trying something new rather than simply building another stroker B-series.
Annie Sam posted on Monday, October 24, 2011 6:42 PM
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Project Honda Civic EJ: Skunk2 Suspension Upgrades Part 2
By Annie Sam
While Chuck Johnson goes to town on the internals of Project EJ Honda Civic, let's bring our attention back to the suspension modifications that we had lined up from Skunk2. You can find the first part of this insallment here where we talked about the Skunk2 Pro-C coilovers. For the weekend warrior, the following easy to install bolt on parts are a must-have. After all, bang for the buck, these upgrades not only improve suspension handling, they can potentially save you money by reducing abnormal tire wear depending on how you set the car up.
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Chuck Johnson posted on Monday, September 19, 2011 5:05 PM
by Chuck Johnson
Here at MotoIQ headquarters, we lack any kind of self-control and discipline. When we first conceptualized Project Civic, we planned to keep it simple with only a few basic modifications. However, if you're foolish enough to involve me in a car build of any kind, you're simply asking for trouble. Poor Annie Sam, I'm always taking things too far. Blown head gasket? Sure, we'll just replace that sucker and while we’re in there, we'll take care of a few other things too. [Insert dastardly, evil laugh here.] And so the engine build begins…
Annie Sam posted on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 5:19 PM
Project EJ Honda Civic: Skunk2 Pro-C Coilovers
by Annie Sam
My Koni Yellows coupled with the Ground Control coilover kit served me well for street use, and I think I got more than my money's worth out of these shocks over the last eight years. Now that I am no longer a starving college student, my grown up self decided that I should upgrade to a grown up set of coilovers. After a little bit of research, we decided to go for a set of Skunk2 Pro-C coilovers for Project EJ Civic.
Mike Kojima posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 10:36 AM
By Mike Kojima
We were planning to methodically add parts to our project Civic’s B18C engine one bit at a time to see how they affected power and powerband. Unfortunately, our car had other ideas. Although Annie had driven the Civic for over 200,000 miles on a daily basis with not a single hitch, a trip to the track exposed the car's age.
Annie Sam posted on Sunday, May 8, 2011 5:25 PM
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Project Honda EJ Civic: Initial Driving Impression
By Annie Sam
Standing in the hot pits of Buttonwillow Raceway Park, I could still recall the first time that I had taken my little Honda Civic to the racetrack back in the winter of 2002. We were at the Streets of Willow, in Lancaster, California. Nine years and 200,000 miles later, my baby was battle scarred and war torn with years of daily abuse, adding to the list of things that plagued the back of my mind as I prepared for my hotlap at Buttonwillow. Slipping clutch? Yes. Faded front brakes? Yes. Nonexistent rear drums? Yes. Blown shocks? Probably. Be sure to check out the video at the end of the article!
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Chuck Johnson posted on Thursday, April 7, 2011 5:09 PM
Project EJ Honda Civic
By Chuck Johnson
You're probably wondering what this busted ass Honda Civic is doing on the virtual pages of MotoIQ. I mean, it's far from the flawless presentation of MotoIQ's usual project cars and lacks the engineering luster to be excusable like Coleman's innovative crap cans. Instead, this Civic's clear coat is peeling off and almost every panel has some kind of battle wound on it… but every gear head has a story about the car that was their first love.