There were other challenges, too, like the radiator. Basseri opted for an aluminum EG Civic exchanger placed on its side, and the end tanks re-welded in the correct positions. Keeping the hood stock was also a goal, and was achieved by trimming the webbing from the SiR bonnet and running a larger AEM pulley coupled with a 39-inch belt that is routed only around the alternator, crank, and water pump. Finally, to maintain the stock center console, Basseri had Karcepts develop its first EF shifter relocation kit on his project.
Necessity is the mother of invention. Admittedly a dorky, dated adage, but also a truism; indeed, you see examples of it all the time in our world. Whether it's an aftermarket company trying to crack the secrets of a new powerplant, or some kid at a track day trying to rig the motor together just to get one more lap-as long as a car guy's around, you can bet there'll be no shortage of resourcefulness.
That is essentially how RyWire got off the ground. Ryan Basseri was simply trying to make engine swaps easier for himself and his friends by engineering functioning hybrid wiring harnesses. His R&D was essentially done on his personal vehicle and those of his buddies. Before long, he began to contract his services to locals. Little did he realize how much growth potential his side project would have.
Now 2 1/2 years strong, RyWire is a thriving business specializing in wiring harness conversions, sub-harnesses, adapters, and other parts that facilitate Honda engine swaps. Basseri has other types of customers, too, like the guy that wants to leave his engine in but make it more tunable by using an older version OBD ECU. Add to this, owners of vintage, pre-OBD cars who want to update to OBD-I, and you start to get a sense of what kind of work RyWire is known for.
In order to come up with a workable wiring kit, Basseri normally needs to know which engine and ECU will be used, in addition to the year and make of the vehicle receiving the swap. In situations where only the ECU is being changed out, both the new and old harnesses need to be sent to RyWire. Once he has the info and parts, Basseri says he can turn around a harness conversion in 1 to 3 days (pretty remarkable, if you ask us).
These days, RyWire is doing so well, Basseri has zero time to focus on little else but work. He reports that he's sending out lots of packages every day, has tons of orders, and the phones are still ringing off the hook. Part of that success may be related to the fact that he's 1 of only 2 companies specializing in these kinds of parts for Honda swaps, the other being Hasport (and we understand their rivalry is friendly). It's gotten hectic enough that Basseri's had to bring in help, subcontracting his jumpers to an assembly house.
"But even then, I really don't have time to work on my car because I'm wiring like crazy," he explains. That would be the down side to necessity being the mother of invention, always being in demand. Somehow, though, with RyWire's profile growing as it is, we don't think Basseri minds too much.
A year before Basseri started his project, Scarangella had picked up his Rex for $6,000 Canadian less than 12 hours after it went into the Car Trader magazine to be sold. Because of road salting, rust-free CRXs that have all of their original metal and no Bondo are very rare in Canada; this Rex was apparently never driven in the winter. Scarangella took it home and immediately removed all the stickers and Mugen wing, which was sold on eBay.