Sol’s EK9 Circuit Build… Introduction
Today we kick off another quality build, however not with a name typically associated with Hondas. Having driven a host of vehicles over the years Sol decided it was time to join the likes of many enthusiasts and build a FWD platform. Sol was very successful within the Radical SR3 Cup Series since his entry in 2016, competing with some of the best drivers throughout the Caribbean. His natural talent combined with his determination led him to win back to back championships within the series up until his departure in 2018. Sol has developed a huge love for circuit racing and to further emphasize this point, he has decided to build a dedicated track car from the ground up.
Even though the title of this post gave it away, it was still very much of a shocker to see Sol going against the grain of his norms to build a Honda Civic EK9. Unknowing to many Sol previously owned a Honda Integra DC5 in his younger years and from what he recalls it was absolutely amazing to him at the time. I guess you can say it’s kind of a back to his roots type of build but with significantly more punch. Given the advances in technology throughout the years combined with a light weight chassis, Sol is excited to see what the end result would be in comparison. The plan is to build a car based on Group 2 specifications for the Bushy Park Racing Circuit. The car will be powered by a K20 motor and will have some upgrades to the brakes and suspension.
In this post we’ll take a look at the car when Sol first received it and follow through the teardown process and beginning stages of the bodywork.
Prior to Sol taking over this build, it previously belonged to Jerry Leach, some of you may remember the name from the ‘ Track Bred EG6 Build ‘ series posted a while back on the site. The initial plan was to keep it as a fun street car but that went left after he started to tear the car apart.
As the car was in the teardown process it revealed that the shell would require some serious attention…
The bare front end after removing all the necessary components…
A view of the bay after the motor was removed, confirming this would be no easy task moving forward with the project…
The partially disassembled EK9…
B Series motor and gearbox that once filled the EK9’s bay…
Front and rear bumpers…
Tail lights, steering column, AC blower and some other misc pieces that were removed from both the interior and engine bay…
Interior panels removed and in a pile next to the hood…
A view of the partially gutted interior with mostly harness remaining…
Taking a look in the rear there really wasn’t much left. The car was then fully stripped and sent undergo the beginning stages of body work…
Upon further inspection of the interior revealed serious rusting in the four corners of the floor. Steps were taken to ensure the bulk of the rusted metal was removed…
The decision was made to no longer street drive the car and the rear quarter panels were cut, removing any unwanted material…
Along with that went the factory seating locations, updated seating points will be fabricated at a later date…
A view of some of the metal brackets that were removed…
A common area for hatches to experience rusting is under the tailgate where it meets the roof, and this EK9 was no different from any of the others…
The rear quarter where you can see the suspension, fuel tank filler and quarter glasses all have been removed…
The front end with suspension and subframe removed to fully asses the damage…
A close up of the rusted area where the windshield and hood hinges meet…
Some detailed photos of where the rust was removed from the floor…
The shell as it sat awaiting the completion of this process…
On the path to being track driven, a roll cage was purchased for the EK9 and the fabrication had began…
Rear view with some of the pipes in place…
The quarter panel required some attention during the body work phase…
Side shot of EK9 sitting on jack stands…
The necessary repairs were made to the fender arches after which they received a coat of black paint…
Door bars tacked in place awaiting the final welds…
Some shots of the engine bay after the shell returned from the first stages of bodywork…
The left and right side of the interior where the cage meets the floor. The boxes were in the process of being completed…
View of the main hoop fitted in place…
Added reinforcement welded to the tunnel…
Another angle of the progress made thus far…
The right side also had some body repairs done to the quarter panel…
Tailgate with the rear glass removed along with some other misc parts for the car can be seen in the back ground…
A look at the doors and fenders after they came back from bodywork…
That’s it for the first look into Sol’s EK9 Circuit Build, thanks for taking a look and stay tuned for much more in the upcoming weeks on this build.
TDSAutoMag 
Hi there, I am looking for some small interior parts to finallise my EK9 restoration project. Just wondering do still have them? such as rear seat pivot collar (both seat side and chassis side), driver’s side footwell panel bracket? thanks alot
Unfortunately no. The guys don’t have anything lying around.