The '88-'91 Civic carries some serious weight upon its somewhat boxy yet curiously streamlined shoulders. Originally intended by many as a grocery getter or perhaps an economical family car that could be passed down, this generation of Civics carried on the tradition of being cheap, reliable, and easily obtainable. As the tidal wave of import street racing crashed upon the clone-like business parks of Southern California, a Honda presence seemed to be increasing more than any other make. Being the cheapest of Honda's fleet, the Civic dominated the number of H-badged street warriors and a reputation for being quick and nimble was soon earned. Almost 20 years and a number of changes later, the EF chassis is still known as the foundation that the modern age of Honda tuning was based upon. Though just about every possible persona has been slapped onto the Civic chassis, including 9-second drag monsters and lowriders, it continues to carry a bit of tradition and old-school honor. Admittedly though, these days it's tough to find a well-rounded build like Ruben Rivera's.
In 2003, knowing that an early model Civic would not only be affordable, but would take nicely to most any modification, Ruben and his father set out to find a project car. A chance encounter at a local hamburger spot and $2,000 later and Ruben was driving home in a stock '91 Si. It sounds like a steal but there were a few problems-like the bent inner and outer tie rods that gave the car a nasty pull to the right under acceleration. Ruben took a hands-on approach though and began learning more about his new car by wrenching on it himself. "After I finished the suspension repairs, I decided to try and squeeze more power out of the little SOHC motor with the regular bolt-on stuff," Ruben says. As the minor upgrades went on, research on engine swaps became priority, and a new heart was eminent. A DOHC ZC engine proved to be cheap and easy to install, but only temporarily satisfied his need for more power. Ruben later sourced a B16A, replaced the belts and water pump, and then completed the install, though it didn't turn over immediately. "I later found out the plugs and wires were soaked, so I changed them out and it fired right up," Ruben says. "It was the happiest moment for me to know I did it myself with just some basic tools, a wiring schematic, and some common sense." The B16A block is topped with a B16B CTR head, and gets a breath of fresh air from a BDL throttle body and Blox intake manifold. Toda adjustable cam gears allow for fine-tuning of the CTR camshafts while a BDL fuel regulator controls the flow. Password:JDM's carbon-fiber intake snakes through the right side of the bay, while a Rage tri-Y exhaust manifold is front and center and mates to a GReddy SP2 cat-back exhaust system. A JDM Y1 tranny stuffed with an Exedy Stage 1 clutch and Spoon flywheel help put the power to the pavement.
To update the Civic's aging suspension, Ruben chose Energy Suspension bushings and an Ingall's alignment kit to straighten out the ride. Function & Form V2 coilovers with Ground Control top hats set the ride height and improve the handling. A Cusco front shock tower bar complements the Skunk2 rear bar, and an EM Racing upper triangular bar kit is planted in the rear hatch to improve rigidity. DA Integra brakes reside at all four corners and feed off of an ITR master cylinder teamed with Goodridge lines and Motul fluid. Ruben's wheel choices change rapidly. Today he has a set of 15-inch Volk TE37s wrapped in Falken Azenis tires. Tomorrow, who knows?
The interior resembles something of a purpose-built race car with everything from the front seats to the rear hatch stripped out and an Autopower rollbar with a custom harness bar anchored down. A single Recaro Speed bucket seat with a Sparco harness holds Ruben in place while he grips his Personal Neo Grinta steering wheel and stomps on Mugen sport pedals. Bringing the Spoon shift knob conveniently closer to the wheel is an FLP race shifter.