When Aries Dionisio bought his '94 Prelude brand-new, he didn't expect to still be driving and modifying it 11 years later.
"Originally I was looking for a Civic coupe, but everybody had a Civic back then," Dionisio says. "Everybody and their mom had an Integra by then too, so I got a Prelude." We're betting the 2.2 liters of torque-spewing DOHC VTEC power also had something to do with his decision.
That summer, Dionisio treated the Prelude to some bolt-ons but, dissatisfied with the minimal gains made by a no-name intake, header and exhaust, he stepped up to a NOS 60-shot wet single-nitrous fogger kit. Minimal as they sound, the mods kept him happy for about the next seven years.
Early in 2002, with about 190,000 miles on the odometer, the original H22A1 gave way. Dionisio sourced a JDM H22A long-block with the intention of doing a straight swap. After looking over the motor, he discovered four bent valves and decided to just "get the head done up all nice and purty."
He sent the head off to Kurt Gordon at KG Precision Engineering for the works: Civic Si .5mm oversized flat-faced high-compression valves over a new multi-angle valve job, a port and polish, and a welding and reshaping of the combustion chambers to a de-shrouded cloverleaf design. Crower titanium retainers and Web springs keep the new valves in place, while a set of JDM Prelude Type-S cam get the rockers popping. STR gears keep the cams turning.
Trimming out the engine is an OEM Prelude Type-S intake with K&N filter, GReddy header and SP cat-back exhaust. So. Cal. tuners XS Engineering reprogrammed the stock P13 ECU for the new motor, raising the rev limiter to 8500 rpm and altering the timing map to fit the new setup. Fuel was tuned using an A'PEXi V-AFC and Vortech fuel pressure regulator. After a few dyno runs, the final tune yielded 230-wheel hp and 180 lb-ft of torque.
With the motor assembled and installed, Dionisio got cracking on the Prelude's exterior. From Inline4 in Garden Grove, Calif., he sourced a rare Mugen front bumper with matching headlight covers and Mugen side skirts. He tapped Ronald from AeroDuo, known for his ability to hunt down rare JDM obscurities, who found the Mugen rear spoiler.
Dionisio acknowledges his Mugen obsession, noting that he ordered just about everything available, including a set of bronze 16-inch Mugen MF-8s from Options Auto Salon. For a different flavor, he sourced a set of used 16-inch Mugen M7s in pristine condition from a fellow member of honda-tech.com. Both sets of wheels immediately received 215/45R-16 Falken Azenis Sports wrappings.
With the outside handled, Dionisio looked inward. The subtle, luxurious-racecar theme from the rest of the car flows right into the cockpit with two-tone Recaro Sport seats adorned with bright-green Takata harnesses and harness pads. An FET quick disconnect holds on an OMP steering wheel and Dff,ff,,fi oil pressure and water temp gauges keep the engine's stats in check. Dionisio made himself a custom shift knob by drilling and tapping a Snap-On screwdriver handle, an idea he admits came from an episode of American Chopper.
Since his last dyno session, Dionisio has added a custom Hytech Exhaust header and replaced the Type-S intake with an AEM short ram. He expects that after a retune, the 'Lude should be good for 10 to 15 more hp and a 13-second quarter-mile run.