Function / form, yet form is just as sick!

Owner: David Villanueva
Car: 1997 Honda Civic EX
Club affiliation: none
Words: Jaime
Flicks: ONE

Color matched lip and hood, JDM mirrors and lights, mud guards, and window visors; aka the Honda-Tech kit. This is what critics of the world renowned Honda/Acura message board would say is lacking before the car is set. Well this isn’t Honda-tech.com, Guahan este and we do whatever we want. 😉 David Villanueva’s 1997 Honda Civic EX is good to go. All I know is; it is definitely not your average Civic.

Opting to skip the “H-T kit” made David’s coupe stand out from the rest of Guam’s Civics even more. I mean, when was the last time you saw an EK/EJ with OEM USDM headlights, right? Then on top of that, David had Redline Motorsports cover the whole shell in a custom “Hakuna Matata Yoshi” green with his hood in Nighthawk black sprinkled with some gold dust. And trust me; the paint job is flawless, painter Duane Ungacta and Redline hooked this bad boy up. Whether you are a UOG student, teacher, G4S security guard, or campus chillaxer, you cannot miss this Civic parked at his favorite spot in the shade of a UOG Collections Office tree. Although his classes are quite a walk away, still a smart move since he kept his glass panels clean and clear of tint, and we all know maipe Guam is hot! This car has good stuff, and I’m not just talking about the greens.. Pun intended, haha.

Instead of copping a set of legit kicks and minor accessories and what not, David dropped flow into more useful and functional stuff. He isn’t rolling on og Spoon SW’s, but on just as nice, 15×7 Rota Slipstreams. He knows his roots, therefore supports the Philippine Market. Come on, I do the same. They’re wrapped with Dunlop Direzza’s and as he claims, “as long as they roll straight and stick,” he’s good. Bills saved from that move made room for the more popular Tein Basic damper kit, his current weapon of choice for conquering the island’s many pot holes and road constructions, slaloms at Time Attack events, and on occasional Friday nights, wheel hop at the strip. He also has a Spoon front upper strut bar and a set of Brembo drilled/slotted rotors from our very own celebrity Sipooner, Juan S. Keep in mind, not only is this is daily driver, but he is from Agat and makes the end to end trips for the sake of motorsports excitement.

During the journeys from his house to his girlfriend’s, school, the shop, the track, and his workplace in the Big Navy, he stays comfortable with the company of 101.9 Megamixx playing through a Kenwood head unit, speakers and subs. He avoids Guam’s Dumb Drivers Award Winners and keeps himself, and others around him alive using his Momo Monte Carlo steering wheel (uber rare yellow stitched!). He finds gears to pass them by in with a reliable short shifter.

Of course, my favorite part of the Civic was its heart, as he decided to go with a ’96 spec ITR swap taken care of by Redline shop owner, Jun Sanalila, and crew. Upon the initial pass at the strip, the stock, or whatever clutch that was in there before failed on him, so an order for an ACT stage 2 kit and Exedy flywheel was placed. As for breathing apparatus, David went with an AEM cold air intake, and the aesthetically pleasing and lightweight at the same time, HKS Hi-Power cat-back exhaust and Blox test pipe combo. Other than the basic bolt-ons, the engine remains relatively stock, yet David does have plans for many upgrades down the line, maybe after the car gets settled with quicker times or higher traps. He recently got into auto-x and road racing, so future changes would fall into that category, Tein’s Type Flex coilovers and thicker sway bars for example. I’ve witnessed this car run a couple of times already and it really doesn’t do too badly for what it has. Surely, it does look and sound sweet flying down the GIR 1320.

Now, with that said, it might not be a bad idea after all to think twice or be intimidated by the Hulkish appeal of the Civic when you pull up next to it at a stop light or at the staging lines of the track.