In a very small village somewhere in the south-west of the Netherlands you can find Jesse de Smit, the owner of this Civic. The roads around town are not wide enough to fit 2 cars, the cell phone signal is very weak and it is very quiet around there. In Jesse’s backyard there is a small garage where Jesse spends a lot of time improving his toy.
I remember seeing this car a few years ago on Facebook. Back then he was using an Eaton M45 supercharger but it had a few problems. I loved the build from the moment I saw it and I was curious to see the end result. I’m a fan of every car with a supercharger. A couple of months ago Jesse messaged me if I wanted to see the car in the flesh, I didn’t hesitate for a moment.
On an autumn day I went to Zeeland to meet Jesse. It was a nice and sunny day. The trees were losing their leaves already but it was still looking very pretty. The silent village wasn’t silent any more when the Civic blasted around on these nice roads.
The first plan for this car was to use an Eaton M45 supercharger but in the end it didn’t work out. Now this D16Z6 is powered by an Rotrex supercharger and is making around 10 psi. Not the fastest setup around, but enough to have a lot of fun! The plan for 2019 is to build a D16/D17 frankenstein engine, a project that will always continues to improve.
‘Built not bought’ certainly fits this project. The fenders, the skirts and many more parts are custom made by Jesse himself. Sometimes for looks, but most of the time they serve a purpose.
Who doens’t like these cars from the 90’s? Lightweight, square-ish and very nibmle. Jesse took me to a coal terminal for a small tour around. The terminal is based at the shores of Zeeland. We took some quick snaps just because it is a very cool area.
And oh boy, this car is not only looking like a racecar, it also feels like one. It vibrates, it is loud, it squeaks and it’s also quick! All built for purpose! Yes, the towhook sticks out of the hood, but this makes it easy to the recover the car when you get stuck in the gravel. He even made a 3D-printed rubber cover for the towhook so it is street legal.
Yes this thing is street legal in the Netherlands.
As I told you, this car is far from finished. Besides the engine plans, he is also busy with deleting the brake booster and building a custom gearbox. I am excited to see this on track, hopefully soon!
– Stijn van Beek
Speclist after bonus images.
Speclist
Exterior:
Volvo 740 Front lip
EE9 Rear lip
SCED blinker delete
SCED Side skirts
SCED wide fenders
Chargespeed EF3 Rear wing
Custom “Snap Off” hood with carbon WTCC Seat Leon hoodvent
SCED through hood tow hook
Suspension and handling:
1″ Master brake cylinder + booster
4×114,3 ’96 ITR DC2 knuckles and trailing arms
Alcon 4-pots front calipers
DS2500 brake pads
282 mm EBC ultramax front brake discs
Quaife quick steering rack/pinion
Ultra racing strutbar
Ultra racing fender braces
Skunk2 pro camberkit front
Custom hood lock bar
SCED traction bar
MPC Drop forks
242 rear brakes
US racing unibal camberkit rear
Function7 rear control arms
CRX vtec anti roll bar
TODA Fightex N1 EK spec suspension (F18k R14k)
SSR Type-X 15×7 +35 +15mm spacer front
Mugen Heptagon lugs
Interior:
Kevlar Corbeau Pro John Cooper Edition (Driver)
Sparco Pro2000 (Passenger)
Personal suede steering wheel with kevlar claxon blockoff plate
FLP shifter Mfactory gearknob
1x 6-point sabelt harness
1x 4-point sabelt harness
Full Wiegers cage
Deleted rest of the interior
Spare tire well cut out and made flat
Relocated battery to back of the car Odyssey PC680
Tunerview RD1 with Kevlar housing
Sparco pedals
Password:JDM Kevlar fuel pump cover
Engine:
SCED build D16Z6
Skunk2 pro series camgear
Golden eagle intake manifold
Golden eagle fuel rail
B16B Throttle body
Innovative engine mounts 75A
SCED Rotrex kit (+/-10psi)
Custom piping
HKS SSQV blow off valve (replica)
Water-to-air intercooler
Bosch cobra waterpump (for intercooler)
Yamaha Aerox radiator with slimfan (for intercooler)
Megan racing fpr
525cc injectors
AN fuel system
Walbro 255 fuel pump
Custom tucked radiator with slimfan
SCED upper coolant housing
Custom coolant hosing
Customised Subaru coolant filler
SCED exhaust manifold (VHT ceramic painted)
SCED complete 2,5inch exhaust system with v-band connections
Stage 3 6-puck clutch
F1 flywheel
Crx 88 gearbox
Crx driving axles
SCED engine wiring loom
P06 ecu (MP Performance tuning mapped)
JBtuning PCV delete
OMNI power 3 Bar MAP sensor