Kerry-Dan’s EK3 Build… Part 1
We’re back with another installment of Kerry-Dan’s EK3 build; much has happened since our last update. Kerry received the car back from paint and made a few changes. Mainly a few things to make the car a bit more aesthetically pleasing. In today’s post, we’ll be getting into the parts that he has been collecting for some time that will kick start the next stage of the build. As I would have mentioned in the previous post, Kerry’s goal is to have a well rounded, daily capable K swapped car with all the functioning creature comforts in place.
For those who may want to view this build from the start I’ve provided the link below:
Having the car back in his possession Kerry decided to take some to time to enjoy the car in stock form…
In the midst of the swap parts arrival, Kerry decided he would take out the car and spend some time reacquainting himself with the EK chassis…
There was still something very vital missing from the Civic’s appearance, Kerry desperately needed a set of wheels…
Similar to his DC5, the EK3 will receive a running theme of white, black and yellow. Kerry opted for a set of RPF1 styled wheels in a 17×8 sizing. First thing was to have the Enkei stickers made for the wheels…
With performance at the forefront in relation to tyres, Kerry was able to lay his hands on a set of Advan A048 in 215/45 sizing…
The more driving around Kerry did, he started to notice select components he wasn’t very fond of. The factory gray seats started to become an eye sore for him…
After some searching he was able to pick up a pair of SiR front seats in good condition…
Always wanting to go the extra step to complete the appearance, Kerry sent the rear seats to be redone in black with red stitching to compliment the SiR colour scheme…
A quick view of the seats after they were completed and fitted back into the Civic…
After fitting the seats he couldn’t stop there and went ahead and bolted the wheels in place…
A view of the car sitting on a set of lowering springs, the ride height isn’t ideal; however, Kerry has plans on revamping the the suspension and getting a set of coilovers…
Before Kerry can get to dealing with the suspension, he wanted to address another important part of the build. With the plans of K-Swapping the EK3, there is no way the factory brakes designed for the D15 power plant would be adequate enough in Kerry’s eyes to handle the K20 Type R motor. He went on a search to find a capable upgrade and was fortunate enough to land on a set of CTR EK9 calipers…
Kerry wasted no time and immediately went to work on cleaning up the used CTR calipers…
Kerry made sure to do things correctly and went ahead and laid down a coat of primer to set a decent base for the final colour to stand out as much as possible…
Front and rear all laid out and blown…
A close up of the final results; Kerry went with what would be now his signature colour. This is the exact same yellow hue that was on the DC5, Kerry opted to bring a piece of that with him over to this build…
Kerry was able to get his hand on a 4 Piston Racing valve cover…
Wanting to add his personal touch to it, this was also painted in the yellow…
Taking things a step further, he went ahead and applied a Spoon overlay to his SiR cluster…
With most things in his possession it was time to start executing. First up would be to finally fit the new wheels. The Advan tyres I mentioned earlier were giving massive amounts of fitment issues. They were removed shortly after he fitted them and Kerry opted to swap them out for a set of Maxxis VR-1 in a 215/40/17…
Along with these came the CTR brake conversion, Kerry was able to get the yellow on the brakes to match perfectly with the stickers…
The EK3 back on the ground and receiving a quick detail…
A quick look at the fitment, the car still currently sits on a set of lowering springs. The plan is ultimately to get a set of coilovers to improve the handling as well as be able to set the ride height to exactly where Kerry is comfortable…
Meanwhile on the interior, Kerry was able to fit his SiR cluster in place which looks right at home behind the Sparco steering wheel held in place with a set of neochrome bolts…
Outside of all these additional things happening behind the scenes, Kerry was putting in some serious work. The factory D Series motor and transmission was pulled in anticipation of the new K series power plant…
Swap in progress, EP3 K20A Type R motor and gearbox ready for the transplant into the EK3…
The guys wasted no time and in a matter of hours the swap was bolted in and wired up into the EK3 chassis…
A fuel pressure regulator and gauge is a must have in any K swap, Kerry went with an Aeromotive unit with black AN fittings and lines…
As you guys would remember, the Civic was initially automatic which meant that Kerry needed to source a clutch master cylinder for the swap. He went ahead and picked up a S2000 cylinder with a spacer. Fortunate for Kerry, it also came with a braided line to the slave cylinder. The S2000 setup allows for the fluid reservoir to be placed on top of the cylinder verses remotely mounted to the shock tower with a hose; giving it a much cleaner overall appearance…
On the inside, Kerry went with a Hybrid Racing swap shifter which wouldn’t require the cutting of any plastics. Kerry also picked up a shifter extender and CTR shift boot that fit perfectly with the Hybrid Racing shifter giving the interior a factory spec appearance…
With these swaps it’s generally easier to shift the mounting points over to the right side and retain the half core factory radiator. As for the overflow bottle, a bracket was made to have it sit neatly behind the radiator…
At this point the swap was complete but Kerry still had a few things which needed to be executed. He required a full exhaust system as the car still maintained the factory unit…
In the spirit of performance, Kerry went ahead and picked up a Skunk2 intake mainfold. This unit will deliver a significant amount of power gains over the stock PRB unit…
Not stopping there, on the interior Kerry picked up a Hybrid Racing 130R knob in white…
Kerry decided to take the car out for a maiden drive jus to ensure things were working as they should. The car worked well aside from a few key components which were already on the to do list…
Back at the workshop Kerry was working on getting the valve cover finally fitted in place along with making some adjustments to the upper radiator hose…
While the guys were busy executing the swap, a suitable enough upper hose wasn’t available at the time. The one which was used blocked the path to the throttle body, this prevented Kerry from being able to run any kind of intake pipe. A temporary fix was to cut a few pieces of hose to fit at the desired angle…
A view of the finished product…
Earlier I mentioned that although the swap was complete the car was still running the factory exhaust…
Since then Kerry was fortunate enough to find a full 3″ stainless exhaust system for a EK. With the exhaust in his possession he quickly sent the car to have it installed…
Kerry also wanted to add a personal touch to the unit and opted to have the rear section before the muffler modified and cocked to the right…
Black and yellow everything! A few shots captured before the car made it on the ground…
Following the paint stage, the car drove around for quite some time before Kerry was able to execute the K swap. Upon completing the swap, fitting the wheels would be the finishing touch to the exterior for most. However, Kerry thought it was necessary to change the appearance and placed and order for a Mugen styled front lip…
For a brief moment he entertained the idea of leaving the lip in black…
After giving it some serious thought he decided to have it paint matched. The lip was removed and dropped off by the painter along with the front grille…
Although the new wheels were fitted, the car still required an alignment. The main hold up thus far was the coilovers, with them in hand Kerry made sure they were fitted onto the EK3. He then sent the car to Camps Auto Service to have the ride height and alignment work done…
A few shots of the work in progress, as the alignment is executed…
The front lip was finally back from paint and Kerry test fitted it immediately…
Colour matching the lip completely transformed the front end…
Side profile shot of the car at its new ride height after installing the coilovers…
Paying close attention to detail, Kerry had the RS badge refinished in yellow to flow with the colour theme of the car…
Heading into the weekend, a few shots of Kerry as he gave the Civic a quick wash off to keep it looking sharp for when he hits the streets…
Following up on the rear, the RS badge at the front also received the same yellow treatment…
Kerry spent some time driving the Civic around following the install of the exhaust and the one major issue he was having is the shifter feel…
To remedy this, he placed an order for a DC5 styled billet unit with a black anodized finish. Kerry was not excited about losing the factory shift boot setup but he believed with the addition of the shifter it would be worth the trade off…
He also went ahead and purchased some Hybrid Racing radiator hoses, which came at the correct angles to allow the intake setup to be fitted hassle free…
Thanks for taking a look at Kerry’s EK3 build; I’ll close out today with a shot of the Civic under some night lights. Stay tuned for more to come on this build.
TDSAutoMag 