Sol’s EG Circuit Build… Introduction
No stranger to the site, we kick off yet another project under construction from within Sol’s stable; this time in the form of a EG hatch. Many of you would have seen his current EK9 Civic build but prior to that he owned a Honda Civic EG6 with a Drag Cartel K24 NA motor that was prepared for the Bushy Park Racing Circuit.
Unfortunately Sol was never able to fully enjoy the car due to mechanical failure on its debut race weekend. Following this the car was subsequently banned from the class due to several rules changes. Given the level of performance the car was able to put out in that short lived weekend pushed Sol to continue with the FWD platform. Having a car built within the class specifications coupled with some additional seat time, it would be possible for him to be a front runner.
A plan was devised for him to source a EG shell and begin a build from the ground up. With the plans in motion it wasn’t long before he came into possession of a shell which would be built to Group 3 class specifications. While in the midst of consulting over the selection of parts for the build, it led him to kickstart his Group 2 EK9 Type R build.
Sol came across a Civic Type R that was in the works for the track. Fully consumed by the racing bug, Sol jumped on the opportunity and purchased the car which would most certainly be completed before his EG build. In doing this, it would allow him to get some much needed seat time around the track in preparation for the group 3 car. Having a car within the lower group meant the chassis would require less fabrication and with this, it sped up the time frame for completion.
Already having plans well underway for the Group 3 car, the guys went to work on the preparation of the chassis eliminating anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary. We’ll be taking a look at some of the steps that were taken throughout this process.
Before we can get there I thought we can start at the beginning when Sol acquired his first EG circuit build and work our way forward.
For those who may want to view either of these builds I’ve provided the links below:
Upon purchasing the car, Sol immediately made a few changes, the biggest change was a quick stop over at the paint shop where the car was blown in a gloss black…
Being fresh out the booth the car was then transported back to the garage where the guys would apply the finishing touches just before his debut on at the Williams Industries International Race Meet…
All systems were a go, throughout the testing and practice sessions Sol was shaping up to be right on the pace of the front runners within the group…
Along came qualifying where Sol shocked the masses and was able to secure pole on his debut with a blistering time of 1:04.499 ahead of the favorite out of Trinidad Kristian Boodhoosingh by 0.390 sec. This achievement was somewhat bittersweet, soon after the team would realize the motor had blown and Sol wouldn’t be able to compete on race day.
Moving forward, the plan was to replace the motor and have the car back up and ready for the start of the upcoming season. However, due to a few drastic rule changes which would deem the car illegal to compete in the group with an aluminum firewall and modified floor. It left Sol at the crossroads as to either have them replaced with OEM pieces or build something completely different for the group.
With the success from the race weekend, Sol assessed his options and opted to take the plunge. A hunt for a fresh EG shell was in the works to hit reset on the build and have a car that will undoubtedly be within specifications for Group 3…
After some searching and convincing he was able to acquire an unmolested EG4 that would be perfect for the plans he had ahead…
Donor chassis loaded up and in route to the garage where the guys will begin the teardown for a more accurate assessment of the chassis…
A shot of the donor shell next to his previous Group 3 EG6 build…
The shell was placed on jack stands signaling the beginning of the teardown process…
Factory dash removed so the guys can get view of any rust damage which maybe hiding…
Being a dedicated circuit car, Sol went ahead an purchased a full Custom Cages unit to be fitted to the chassis…
More and more of the Civic was torn apart, pictured after the radiator support was removed along with all the suspension and electrical components. The reason for the small cross bar fixed to the front of the chassis is due to the entire factory radiator panel and lower cross member being removed. This bar will be important during the build process to constantly check and recheck the levels as the build moves forward…
The radiator support was temporarily removed for ease of access while working on reinforcements for the chassis…
A view of the gutted interior still very much in the beginning stages of chassis preparation…
After taking a full assessment of the interior, any additional metal was removed leaving only what was absolutely necessary…
Based on the design of the Civic’s chassis and suspension layout, Fred opted to build a cage that will deliver the maximum chassis stiffness based on the factory suspension pickup points. Careful attention was paid to the details of how the front subframe is mounted to the chassis…
A view of the prior rust damage that the car suffered, which now needed to be dealt with once again…
Fred began to remove some additional metal from the fender to allow for the cage to be tucked and tied as close to the Civic’s frame as possible…
A look at some of the unwanted metal removed from the Civic’s chassis…
The car was then placed on a chassis jig designed specifically to allow the shell to be held perfectly level on its lateral, longitudinal & diagonal axis…
Already having a purpose built race car on hand, a few items will carry over onto the newly acquired EG shell…
The function 7 spherical LCAs will be retained for the new build…
A custom spec ASP header was selected for the motor package associated with the previous car, this too will remain going forward…
Having the shell securely mounted to the jig, Fred began to strip the existing paint from within the engine bay to get a move on with the next stage in development…
The installation of the roll cage…
A few progress shots of the Custom Cages unit fitted in place. The design of the touring car inspired front section of the roll cage adds a degree of discipline to the seating arrangement in that; the roll cage is actually designed to stiffen the entire firewall and subframe attachment points while extending along the side sills and connecting to the main roll cage safety structure…
In so doing, the seat rails are integrated into the sill bars and provide exceptional stiffness across the width of the driver compartment. Thus providing a completely integrated member with zero torsional deviation at high cornering speeds and G loads…
Similar to the Group 2 car, Fred removed a portion of the floor and built a tunnel to route the side exit exhaust…
That’s it for the first post on Sol’s EG4 build; thanks for taking a look and stay tuned for more to come on this build.
TDSAutoMag 