B Brian M.

Feature Car Friday, Issue 4: EH Civic Built Right The FIRST Time!

Sep 27, 2017

Volkswagen guys have a phrase called “OEM+”. Essentially it’s the idea of taking the existing styling & performance attributes and accenting them, upgrading where you can. Sioux Falls South Dakota’s Eric Dabbert’s EH hatch would be OEM+++ because one plus just wouldn’t cut it!

This hatch was Eric’s first car in high school and set him back a measly $1100, when the mods started the 15+ year old suspension started snapping. Eric said “In the process of installing suspension I snapped two wheel studs clean off and a bunch of the stubborn old suspension bolts were rusted into the ripped bushings holding my suspension together.” Eric’s “do it right” mantra led the little hatch into a full tear down to a bare shell before starting a fresh build, not bad for a first car! Eric’s first step was the interior, swapping out the USDM pieces for a full EG6 Gathers rear swap, and those cool lay flat rear seats.

Eric had to get the car on the ground, instead of reusing the stock hubs and suspension Eric got his hands on a EK9 5 lug swap, but in his words it “wasn’t up to his standards” so before replacing every bushing and bolt he had the whole setup sand blasted and powder coated before bolting it up with a fresh set of PIC coilovers. A clean under body and good as new suspension set up doesn’t deserve a clapped out engine bay, so Eric started his full shave and wire tuck with help from his brother. After the bay got freshened up the UPS man brought Eric a full brand new front end courtesy of Honda and a fresh coat of Captiva Blue Pearl paint got the civic looking whole again.

Suspension? Check. Body? Check. Is Eric reusing the tired D series? No way! Eric got in touch with Tim at Hybrid when he wanted to upgrade to a K20a2 and after some work removing the salt from the harsh Dakota winter the fresh K series met it’s new home sporting a new R-crew header pushing exhaust to a Spoon Sports axle back and an RBC intake manifold and a custom made intake. The original wheels wouldn’t do with the new 5 lug set up so Eric opted for the classical Spoon SW388′s wrapped up in Bridgestone Potenza rubber. Eric’s civic took a long 2 year journey to complete and after a ton of hours he premiered it at Wekfest in San Francisco, an 1100 mile trip. Eric said the car ran beautifully the whole trip and is now enjoying it whenever he can. He said “I have been enjoying driving the car as much as the weather permits me to in this lovely Midwest state.” So if you’re out in the are and see a fresh blue hatch remember to trow him a thumbs up!

If you would like to have your car considered for Feature Car Friday and a chance to win free HR SWAG drop an email with a few pics of you car to tim@hybrid-racing.com with FEATURE CAR FRIDAY in the title. If your car is selected we will shower you with Awesome Sauce and other Awesomeness.

Check out other Feature Car Friday Winners!

FEATURE CAR FRIDAY ISSUE 1

FEATURE CAR FRIDAY ISSUE 2

FEATURE CAR FRIDAY ISSUE 3

Engine/Transmission:

K20a2

RSX-S 6 speed transmission

Competition Stage 4 clutch

Competition 8 LBS. flywheel

Hasport engine mounts

RBC intake manifold

Hybrid Racing throttle body adapter

Hybrid Racing shifter cables

Hybrid Racing fuel rail

Spoon Sports big Venturi Throttle body

Custom made intake tube with K&N filter

Custom made 2.5” b-pipe

R-crew exhaust manifold

Spoon Sports street-style axle back

Spoon Sports carbon Kevlar coil cover

Spoon sports oil cap

Spoon Sports radiator cap

Spoon Sports radiator hoses

Spoon Sports strut tower bar

Spoon Sports magnetic drain plugs

Spoon Sports reservoir covers

Spoon Sports thermostat

Spoon Sports fan switch

JVT Radiator

Buddy Club short shifter

Fuel Lab fuel pressure regulator

Custom fuel lines

Earls fittings

Earls fuel filter

ChaseBays CM1 engine harness

Checkered Sports S2k CMC spacer

Checkered Sports EP3 idler pulley bracket

Checkered Sports thermostat heater block off

BoltBoys dress-up kit

Bolt Boys SS clutch line

Vision hood dampers

Brakes/Suspension:

PIC Select coilovers

CTR 5 Lug conversion

CTR brakes

Buddy Club camber kit

Spoon Sports rigid collars

Spoon Sports rear tie Bar

ASC sub frame Brace

Function 7 black LCA’s

Hard Race rear trailing arm bushings

Spoon Sports EK9 slit rotors

Hawk HP+ brake pads

Wheels/Tires:

FR:Spoon Sports SW388, 15×6.5 +35 ,Bridgestone Potenza RE-11, 205/50/15

RR: Spoon Sports SW388, 15×6.5 +35 ,Bridgestone Potenza RE-11, 205/50/15

ARP extended wheel studs

Work lug nuts

Interior/Exterior:

Eg6 bronze glass

Eg6 power folding mirrors

Eg6 side markers

Eg6 headlights

Eg6 taillights

Eg6 corner lights

Eg6 fog lights

Eg6 window visors

Eg6 headliner and sun visors

Eg6 rear seats and speakers

Eg6 long armrest

Eg6 gauge cluster

Eg6 coin pocket

Spoon Sports Convex hyper blue mirror inserts

Spoon Sports carbon front lip

Spoon Sports carbon rear wing

J’s Racing front tow hook

ITR e-brake handle

Recaro Tom Cat seats

Recaro slider rails

Status 4 Point harnesses

Backyard Special Harness anchors

Spoon Sports boss hub

Spoon Sports steering wheel

Spoon Sports shift Knob

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