Body and paintwork just so happen to be two of Paul's favorite hobbies, so he decided to revamp the entire bay before the engine would make its way to its new home. "By the time I was done grinding and welding in holes in the bay, I had welded every single one I didn't need, which ended up being over 50," Paul says. Paul also grinded down the seams, relocated the battery, and hid the brake lines. Over 90 man-hours were put into the bay before it was ready for paint. He then turned his attention toward the exterior, which needed much TLC. Paul repaired each dent and ding and replaced the stock, rusted, and beat-down quarter-panels with new pieces. "The worst thing that happened was when we were welding up the front floor plate for the rollbars and the car caught fire from underneath somewhere, but we couldn't get to it," Paul says. "We could see the fire through a 1-inch hole in the framerail but could hardly get any water in there to put it out. I thought for sure it was going to get bigger and take the car down inside the garage but after awhile it finally went out. It was one of the worst feelings ever." Paul made sure this '93 hatch was looking better than the day it came from the factory before he applied a custom-mixed coat of orange metallic throughout the chassis. After paint, a VIS carbon-fiber hood and front lip were installed.
Completing the shell meant that the K20A was ready for its new home, so Paul enlisted the help of his dad to give him a hand. The only thing better than having a hobby you love is having one that your friends and family support. It's enough to make an otherwise meaningless build meaningful. The engine went in and it was off to SlowMotion Motorsports for dyno tuning. The first time out to the track, Paul was able to run consistent 12.50 e.t.'s with the stock K-series. "Initially, when I was in the planning stages for this car, I knew I wanted to build a really fast car because my buddies and I were always out drag racing," Paul says. "Most of the guys around our town were raised to be big V-8 domestic guys and laughed at us Honda guys because they thought our cars were slow. Reading magazines like Honda Tuning is what inspired me to keep building Hondas." One fateful night and a ride inside a turbo Integra owned by SlowMotion Motorsports sealed the deal for Paul. It was time for boost. The only issue that lingered was that Paul didn't want to clutter up the very bay that he painstakingly put together. The guys at SlowMotion assured him that all would be well and just five days later the hatchback was producing a healthy 498 whp at 13 psi. Such numbers are made possible thanks to a Precision GT3582R turbo mated to a SlowMotion side-mount manifold. The setup is complemented with a 2-inch dump tube, intercooler piping, and a 3-inch turbo back exhaust, all done by Corey and the guys at SlowMotion. Fuel delivery is made possible thanks to Corey, who installed custom lines and fittings, a custom rail, and a Walbro pump.
"I'm not a JDM junky or a guy who will buy the rarest of rare parts just to say I have them," Paul says. "I like clean, functional parts that don't break the bank." Instead of opting for the usual Recaro/Takata theme, Paul opted for SR fiberglass seats that he claims weigh 30 pounds less per seat. Paul also went for g-Force five-point harnesses, which are race legal but don't rape the wallet. He then took the money he saved and got two sets of wheels: A set of 15x7 HPD Hairpins mounted to 205/50 Falken RT615s for the street and 13-inch Lensos on M&H slicks for tearing down the 1320.
"I love this car, it's a blast to drive with nearly 500 hp on tap in a 2,100-pound car. It's a beast," Paul says. "The car has been hitting 10.50s all day long and we're looking to go faster by the end of the year." You want to trade a CRX for a 400-plus horsepower K-swapped Civic hatchback? Sounds like a great deal to us.