Industry Icon
He makes no qualms about being the "older guy" in the Honda industry, and he's probably one of the friendliest individuals you could possibly ever meet. The countenance of face conveys genuine interest whenever a motorsport-related topic is brought up. His eyes carry an air of wisdom that seems to be lacking in our ever-changing industry. The name, undeniably household in the import world, is one that carries a ton of weight.
From the early days of modern age Honda building, very few of the coveted pioneers have managed to maintain a respected level of participation in our community. A tough industry in almost every aspect-from peer competition, to economic blasts that seem to strike without mercy-most of the individuals that helped plant the seed for us have moved on. But there are a select few who have not only remained relevant over the past 20 years, but have actually pushed the performance envelope further than anyone could have possibly imagined. One of those trend setters happens to be Oscar Jackson. And more impressive than his reign as one of the heavyweight innovators during the "golden age" of import tuning, is the fact that his history with the Honda brand stretches back to the early '70s. And if you ask the man himself, he'll no doubt tell you that he's just getting warmed up.
While his friends and peers were spending every available hour under the hood of V8-powered muscle cars, he was busy tinkering with what many referred to as "those little imports." Oscar states "I raced motorcycles in the late '60s and saw firsthand how Honda went from a small motorcycle company to the world's best motorcycle company. When they introduced the Civic in '73, I envisioned Honda doing the same thing and dominating the other car makers." While in college studying to become an attorney, Jackson quit school and went to work for a Honda dealership in Costa Mesa, CA. During the evenings and weekends away from the nine-to-five, he began building high performance parts for his own Civic. With so many projects taking up far too much space, he outgrew his garage, and was forced to rent an 800-square-foot industrial building for store and work space.
While Honda enthusiasts are frothing at the mouth these days, excited for any bit of aftermarket performance, this wasn't always the case. In the early '70s, customers weren't exactly beating down Jackson's door in search of more power from the gas miserly Civic chassis. "I truly believed in Honda's mindset, and although they weren't a performance car company at that time, I was confident they'd eventually get there, so I stuck it out," he adds. And it paid off. As the oil crisis of the '70s forced Americans to wait in painfully long lines on select days for the chance to fill up their gas guzzlers, many turned to the gas sipping Honda brand for relief. However, once they became accustomed to excellent gas mileage and poor performance, Jackson's business quickly began to prosper. In 1973 he introduced a performance header and camshaft for the Civic 1200, and eventually developed a dual side draft carburetor kit, big valve cylinder head, and by 1975 he'd already begun turbocharging his Honda.
But how do you sell an unknown product to people before the internet or magazine attention existed? "It might sound funny, but I used to cruise to the local movie theater on Friday and Saturday nights revving my engine, doing burn-outs, and participating in a few "unsanctioned" races. It may seem impossible, but at that time it was my only form of promotion." Eventually, Jackson began competing in Solo II events and earned a reputation for himself.