A Honda Day: Phuc Nguyen’s Crème’ 93′ EG Hatchback

I love the feeling when I come across a tuner car that I have never seen.  When we live in the world of massive automotive tuning forums, tons of blogs and even Flickr, it is a rare sight to come across a clean ride that has been in hiding.  I mean, it would be one thing if it was a car that was of rare production, but a Honda? Ya, that is rare.  So, you can imagine the excitement we had when we came across a Honda that had not been splattered across the internet in a million Myspace angles.   Imagine one that had been in silent slumber being pieced together at the pace of the owner, such as this car, Phuc’s 1993 Honda Civic EG Hatchback.   Being a tuner since the late 90’s you can see he has some classic tuner style in this car, and when we laid our eyes on it, we were in love, in a nostalgic kind of way.

The first time I saw Phuc’s hatchback was at local tuner and builder shop Secret Services.  Phuc was getting some final touches on the car and  I remember walking by and taking a look at his hella clean Racing hart Type C 3-piece rims and saying, “damn those are clean”.  Excuse me if I go on a tangent here, but the classic 3-piece Racing Hart type-C has a certain place in my heart. It was the very first rim that I purchased as a tuner and in the late 90’s I had these bad boys sitting pretty on my AE101 corolla, man, so player.  Now if you don’t know anything about the history behind certain rims, in the 90’s Racing Harts were the “in” thing, people would floss the shit out of these, man the days!  Being that these bad boys are no longer in production, for 2010 Phuc sure as hell kept these rims clean for their age.

When I asked Phuc how long he has been building his car for and he had told me it was a 10 yr process so far.   His goal however has always been the driving experience, not too much, and not too little, just whatever it takes to satisfy the tuner’s hunger.   That just goes to show that if you have good taste, your cars design could be timeless.

…Let’s get to know Phuc a bit. “It started all started with my older siblings and peers opening a performance shop back in 95′. So it all began from there. I, being the youngest of five received the “hand me downs.” My first car was a 4dr 1992 Civic handed down from my brother. My love for the hatch all started when Houston had “Battle of the Imports.”   I believe Jojo Callos and Kenny Tran had the fastest hatch, so I knew from that point on I wanted a hatchback (EG body style). Yes, LJ Garcia also inspired me. Before he had his wide body EK, he had an EG with a full wings west RS kit which I currently have on my hatch. I’ve always want to prove the theory of “all go, no show or all show, no go” could both happen. Or I guess in my opinion it can. 

The hatch has been through many makeovers. The original color was Milano red, to pearl white, to red/orange metallic, and then back to pearl white with a twist of pastel. Back in 1999 it had a wings west “Big Mouth” bumper. I know I know, it was “rice”, but it was nice and ‘IN” at the time. I still have it as a spare bumper just for kicks in giggles.  In 2005, just my luck the Integra motor blew a head gasket…(too much boost and running untuned). Since it being out of commission, that’s when the full transformation began.

I then said to myself “everything is going to be done right this time, for the last time.” Which we all know there’s never a last time. That’s why we’re in this life style/hobby, the joy of modifying cars will always haunt us.  Anyways back to the point, the car got resprayed in 2006, and after accumulating parts over the years, I just didn’t have the motivation to finish her, and I kept asking myself “when will the Hatch be done?”

The hatch was neglected for two years, all the way until 2008 when my boys and I started to work on her again.  I was contemplating to swap a K20 motor from and RSX, but I had already shaved and painted the engine bay, so back to B-series it was.

I know this sounds corny, but I said this “B-series is a Beast! Be Serious, Be-lieve, or Be left behind.” The hatch was built from the ground up from replacing suspension, brakes, steering rack, window seals, to even nuts and bolts is all new. After a new heart, it is running like a dream thanks to my boys and to the guys at SSA.  An none of this would have ever happened if it wasn’t for my brother-in-law and my family; my vision is almost complete.  ”

  – “Fcuk Win” aka Phuc Nguyen ———————————————————————– “B-series is a Beast! Be Serious, Be-lieve, or Be left behind.” Now if that is not the words of a rice, I don’t know what is.  Hell yes!

…Oh, and did I mention that Phuc also drives/dailys a super clean Aristo on Leon Hardiritts?  This guy is an all around tuner at every single corner and we cannot wait to see what is next on his list.  Thanks again Phuc!

  All Pictures taken exclusively for MaydayGarage by Danh Phan. ——————————————————————– Modifications: Propulsion: B18B S4 transmission Hasport motor mounts Full Race prostreet manifold JG Eldelbrock intake manifold 64mm old skool JG throttle body Golden Eagle pro-series fuel rail RC 440cc fuel injectors Walbro 255lph fuel pump Aeromotive fuel regulator Custom intercooler charge pipe by SSA 3″ Down pipe & dumptube by SSA 46mm Precision wastegate Precision GT series turbo Spearco intercooler Greddy Type S blow-off valve Greddy Profec B boost controller Mishimoto radiator Cusco catch can CM Stage 3 clutch NGK sparkplug wires Hondata intake manifold gasket Hondata 4 bar map sensor STR camshaft seal Earls steel-braided clutch line Aeroquip steel-braided oil feed/return line Aeroquip fittings Brisk spark plugs Blitz airfilter ECtune engine management Custom TRIbays engine harness Custom 3″ exhaust Optima Yellow top battery Suspension:   Skunk2 coilovers Tokico illuminas Omni rear LCA ASR subframe brace 20mm OEM Si front swaybar 24mm ASR rear swaybar Passwordjdm 3pt strut bar J’s Racing C-pillar bar Full Race traction bars Resistance: Brembo slotted/cross drilled rotors Hawk HPS pads Motul RB600 Dot-4 brake fluid Earl’s stainless steel braided brake lines ITR mastercylinder and booster Rims & Rubber:   Racing Hart C2 3pc 17×7 (+38 offset) 195/40/17 Yokohama S’drive Body:  Custom Pearl White with a hint of pastel WW full RS lip kit JDM thin side moldings Denji headlights Super Shield paint protector (clear bra) Interior: USDM ITR front and rear seats Momo Race steering wheel Momo short hub adp Sparco 3pt harness Razo Carbon fiber shift knob Razo pedal set Greddy Profec B boost controller Autometer Phantom Boost gauge Autometer Phantom Oil pressure gauge Autometer Phantom A/F gauge Autometer Phantom EGT gauge Autometer Shift light Alpine receiver 7″ screen JDM centerconsole Honda optional USDM arm rest ——————————————– — JohnP JohnP@MaydayGarage.com