Shaun Quinn’s Honda Civic EK
Shaun Quinn is a man constantly on the move. When he’s not flying through the air on his roller blades, he’s darting through the streets in his home built Civic. Being an aeronautical engineer means he helps others take to the sky too, which is nice of him.
But, surprisingly, Shaun’s obsession is not with flying, it’s with the development of this little Honda that’s gone through endless transformations since it was bought way back in 2006!
“I always wanted a Civic, so when my Dad took me to buy one as an 18th birthday present, I jumped at it!” he tells us. “Even though it was a stock 1.4-litre model in dark blue with peeling paint and countless car park dents, I just loved it!” he adds.
Shaun immediately began tinkering with the car, replacing the obvious bits like wheels, suspension and sounds. This progressed to much more in-depth mods as he couldn’t leave it alone for any length of time. “Every year I change the look,” Shaun laughs, “I like to keep it fresh.” It seems by starting off at a young age, the car has evolved and matured with him, always reflecting his personality.
Take a look at the Civic’s latest guise; Shaun loves paint and graffiti so you’ll find his art on the roof and boot floor as well as spray cans sitting in the console, tiny ones used as dust caps and even three disguised as dash gauges – there are paint tins everywhere! Of course, these are finishing touches, but a lot went on underneath before this stage….
The engine and gearbox conversion set the tone as out went the 1.4 to be replaced by a 2.2-litre VTEC Prelude lump. Shaun bought the full low-mileage donor car for just £300 from a friend – an unusual choice, but that was the appeal. It was far from easy, though as it required custom wiring, custom drive shafts and expensive engine mounts.
Initially, Shaun had the conversion done for him but it wasn’t quite right so he had to rebuild the head himself, as well as fixing the loom and giving it some more goodies like an ATR manifold, induction kit and P28 ECU. All done in his own backyard with the help of his mates!
With power now up from the original 90bhp to 215bhp, Shaun sensibly realised he had to give the new lump a proper platform to match. BC coilovers slam the Civic nicely, but all the suspension arms have been replaced and struts added to really tighten the handling. A VTi disc conversion on the rear helps the brake balance, especially as Shaun custom fitted a full Civic FN2 Type R set-up on the front. Nice work!
Shaun really excelled with the styling too. He’s given the popular white and carbon combo look a whole new flavour with the pink touches, mainly on the roll cage and lips of the 16-inch Rota Slipstreams. The Bride seats and Team Tech harnesses give it a real hard edge, while the body smoothing is subtle.
It’s clear to see how much time and effort Shaun has put into his beloved Civic, but it’s paid off big style. His unique creation just goes to show what you can achieve by giving things a go, and trying out fresh ideas with your mates on your own doorstep.
TECHSPEC 1996 HONDA CIVIC
STYLING
Base white paint; de-badged; bump strips removed and smoothed; Mugen front lip blended into bumper; EK9 Type R rear lip blended into bumper; EK9 shadow headlights; EK9 front grille; Carbon Mods 62mm cold air feed; Carbon Culture carbon fibre bonnet; NRG Spoon-style carbon mirrors; custom carbon door pillar covers; wind deflectors; Mitsubishi Evo IX carbon vortex generator; EK9 tailgate; Carbon Culture spoiler; EK9 tail lights; custom graffiti roof.
TUNING
2.2-litre VTEC engine from a Honda Prelude; Hasport Performance engine mounts; AEM hybrid induction kit; ATR manifold, Tenzo R backbox; EK9 cat; full 2.5-inch stainless steel exhaust system; high-fl ow aluminium radiator; Tegiwa Imports cooling plate; Tenzo R engine dress-up kit; custom windscreen water bottle; P28 ECU; standard H22 5-speed manual gearbox with DC Sports short shifter; custom driveshafts; ATR shift linkages; custom braided clutch line.
CHASSIS
7×16-inch ET 42 (front) and 8×16-inch ET 32 (rear) Rota Slipstreams in fuchsia pink and gloss black; Hubcentric 20mm spacers; Nangkang NS2 tyres in 185/45×16 and 195/45×16; BC Racing fully adjustable coilovers; fully polybushed; D2 front camber arms, rear camber arms and lower control arms; top mount strut braces front and rear; rear lower tie bar; C-pillar tie bar; custom B-pillar tie bar; custom harness bar; Civic FN2 Type R front calipers with custom drilled 300mm FN2 Civic Type R front discs; rear VTi disc conversion; custom pink braided brake lines.
INTERIOR
Bride Zeta 2 fixed-back Kevlar seats; Team Tech four-point harnesses; Mugen shift knob; custom mounted oil temp, oil pressure and vacuum gauges; Momo pedals; NRG quick release boss kit; racing 240mm steering wheel; full roll-cage painted in fuchsia pink; black plastic interior; carbon false fl oor; Rota Slipstream spare wheel.
AUDIO
Kenwood audio speakers.
