1995 Honda Civic EX - Jersey Lore

[10.32 @ 130.70]

Fast. Jake Gavio’s naturally aspirated ’95 coupe, powered by a fully built F20C motor combined with a K-series PPG Dog Box outfitted tranny, is really fast. Casual YouTube browsers are threatened with visual whiplash, and according to Jake, he’s the only enthusiast in the country rocking an F2K setup in competitive drag racing. With 372 whp and 245 lb-ft squeezed out of this naturally aspirated coupe, as of this writing, his best quarter-mile time is 10.32 at 130.7. Weighing in at 2,160 pounds, this car sports some revolutionary parts and undeniably garners attention from the masses—not only for its impressive time slips, but also for its interesting powerplant.

Residing in Laurel Springs, New Jersey, Jake grew up in a racing family. “Eat, Sleep, Race” wasn’t just a catchy phrase on a T-shirt in the Gavio home, it was a way of life. His dad raced NHRA Super Comp and Comp Eliminator cars. Jake became a Honda aficionado at an unlikely place—a mini-truck show. There happened to be a Honda Civic in attendance, and from the initial sighting, he was hooked. To drive the point home even further, his bro built and then rebuilt a ’92 Civic over a three-year period. Family DNA, the mini-truck show encounter, and his brother’s raced-out hatchback combined to influence Jake more than he could possibly deny.

In 2007, Jake purchased this Civic DX with grand plans of drag racing, and since then, his coupe’s engine bay has served more as a foster parent than stay-at-home mom. Numerous H-series engines paired with B-series trannies have made their way under the bonnet. Jake grew tired of running 11.9 seconds down the 1320 and decided to build a big-displacement H engine. The engine quickly fell victim like so many before it, and Jake took a moment to survey the competitive landscape in an attempt to unravel the puzzle that is the winning formula. Other racers were mainly relying on B- and K-series engines with only a few H-series users here and there. Nevertheless, he wanted something different, and by chance, InlinePRO had just released its F2K kit—riddle solved.

There wasn’t a whole lot of prep work involved. The chassis was already outfitted for drag duty, so the OEM mounts were removed to make room for the new F2K mounts. The most difficult part of the swap proved to be the wiring according to Jake. An F2K swap for street use would have gone much smoother, but for drag racing, it was grueling. The amount of customization required for the ambitious build earned Jake a new nickname from friends—“The Adaptor Plate King.” He adds jokingly, “If it doesn’t require grinding the block or an adaptor plate, then it’s not for me!” A few of the custom parts used in the build include camshafts, a billet crank, a one-off radiator setup, and Kinsler individual throttle bodies.