My Rally Car

Shot of my new plates, since stolen

Interior view, roll cage and Sparco on the way!

Side view of the ZC

More install pics

Waiting for the engine

These are the wheels after their refinish, too bad they dont fit!

Here is a shot of the old Miata wheels

For the engine I chose the JDM SOHC ZC, it is very similar to the stock D16A6 except for these differences- The cam is a hotter grind, the valve springs are a little stiffer, and I am told the compression is a little higher. The latter is a common cause of arguments on Civic boards so take that with a grain of salt. The engine puts out about 123 horsepower; I will see what I have at the wheels soon. Along with the engine swap I opted to put in solid motor mount inserts from Pro-Thane. I will be installing their shifter bushing set soon as well.

I pulled the interior carpet because it was in terrible shape, and made the car smell like McDonalds, not quite what I’m going for. I have a Sparco Evo2 that didn’t fit my Miata; it was too pretty to part with so now it will go in the Civic for Rally Cross only. The last thing I need is someone breaking into my car at school, so I’ll inhibit any would be thief’s intentions.

I also cleaned up some paint on the front of the car where it was missing, painted the mirrors, and replaced the left taillight. The hood was pinned because the popping mechanism was broken. The beautiful paint is literally falling off of the car. In the spring I’ll shoot the top half, the bottom half (below the trim) will be coated with truck bedliner from LineX.

I bent a 2.5inch exhaust and installed a "Turbo" economy performance muffler from Autozone. Nineteen dollars and a lifetime warranty, plus good flow and a decent sound. Total on the exhaust was about , including pipe, hangers, and muffler-damn I love my new welder!

Phase two will be the suspension, urethane bushings, new shocks, and ground Control threaded bodies with Eibach 250lb 7" springs front and 350lb 7" springs rear. My stock Miata wheels will go on the car as soon as I make a tire choice.

Update Miata wheels need to be machined to fit a Civic Si. In the meantime I will be using a set of Si alloy wheels.

 Here we go.....

 That looks like green paint??

 A little body work to do too

 A little beating, grinding, and paint.....