A Real O.G

Being woken up by the most annoying alarm tone in the world at 6:00am is never fun. Having to “drag ass” out of bed for the daily grind and driving to a 9-5, or in my case a 7-3, job is never fun. But why was this morning any different?
I knew once I clocked out it was time to immerse myself into the world I’ve come to know and love. The guys over at Rising Sun Motors have been putting together some well thought out civics, integras, and the like- but none have had this much attention to detail.

Thursday nights on the north side of town was the first time ever seeing the car in person. There had been a few people talking about it already, but me being a huge fan of the 96-00 hatchbacks- I had to see it for myself. First thing that caught my eye was the VSM, Vogue Silver Metallic, paintjob taken off the s2000’s. Being around the scene down here for as long as I have I could already tell who did the body work and paintjob, so I knew there had to be much more to this ride. I will admit though, walking up to the car and noticing the ever so popular Rota GT3’s I wasn’t expecting much more- and I hate saying that now. Once the hood got propped open there it stood in all its glory. Ask most Honda guys out there and they will tell you one of the most sought after power-plants is the JDM Integra Type R Swap.

It’s been lightly modded with a “whale penis” intake, I don’t care what you say that is the most RIDICULOUSLY named car part Ive ever heard of, rocks a RMF header, and other little things throughout the bay- the cleanliness of the bay is something to be captured by. The shaved and tucked treatment really keeps all distractions away and makes sure you pay attention to whats really important, and the House of Kolors Candy Red paintjob really adds to that. Dressed up with beauty washers and the rare Mil/Spec Harness just shows how much attention to detail and thought was carried out throughout this build.

Hopping into the passenger seat of this car and riding around town during the photoshoot was something else. Seeing older drivers pull up and staring, little kids pointing, and of course having the occasional “caga palo” trying to line up is nothing out of the ordinary for Ruben when driving the hatch around town. The interior is of course simply put together by sporting the GSR Integra leather seats front and back, CTR carpet- of course in red, and giving it all direction is a CTR steering wheel. I cringed as I saw him reach for the stereo to turn up the music, I’m not a fan of loud bass with no care for any mids or highs- I’m a music guy what can I say hah. I let out a sigh of relief realizing the car was well equipped with JL Audio components and a great mid/high setup, everything was crystal clear even with the alpine head-unit almost maxing out.

If you’ve driven around town through some unfamiliar roads in any lowered vehicle you’ll know how risky it can be, especially here in town. Hidden potholes, dips and bumps with absolutely no warning- you learn to become very observant of whats coming up miles ahead. Lowering your car properly is something that shouldn’t be taken so lightly and again with attention to detail this car didn’t skip a beat. A set of Tokico blue’s and some drop springs by Tenzo give it a smooth ride at a moderately lowered stance. Stiffening everything up is a 3point Password JDM strut bar up front, along with the rear strut-bar. Name dropping is never a bad thing either, so you’ll take notice to the ASR Sub-frame brace matched with a Beaks lower tie bar adding some “bling” factor to the undercarriage.

One thing about this car that sets it apart from the rest is the guy behind the wheel. Its not owned by some avid street racer, not some guy riding a high horse putting down every other enthusiast in town, and definitely not an over eccentric “tool” just trying to fit in anywhere. He’s remained a fan of the Honda name, He’s had his name on several other Civic titles, He’s stayed in the background not bringing too much attention to himself- til now. His name is Ruben, and his friends call him OG.

“Man, I cant even enjoy myself driving the car around town because everytime I do theres always someone that has to come up next to me and try to race…I havent lost yet though” -O.G

OG’s 1997 Honda Civic

205hp/140tq (est.)

Performance :
96’ITR Swap
Type-R Tranny
Hasport Mounts
RMF Header
Password JDM Intake
AEM Fuel Rail
Spoon ECU
Apexi WS Catback
Mil/Spec Harness
Full Shave & Tuck Sprayed H.O.K Candy Red

Cosmetics :
2000 Civic Front End Conversion
2000 Civic Tail Lights
10k HID’s
JDM Yellow Foglights
VIS Hood
VIS Type R Spoiler
Password JDM Fenders w/side marker
Custom Sunroof

Interior :
GSR Leathers front-rear
Si Cluster
Type R Steering Wheel non srs
CTR Carpet Red
CTR Floormats Black

Rollers :
15″ Rota GT3’s Red
Falken ZIEX 195/50/15

Stiff Stuff :
Tokico Blue Shocks w/ Tenzo R Springs
ASR Subframe Brace
Beaks Tie Bar
Omni LCA’s
Skunk2 Camber Kit front-rear

Sounds :
JL Audio Amp
JL Audio mids-highs
JL Audio W6 Subs
Alpine Head-Unit

Special Thanks :
Jesse @ RSM -Rising Sun Motors- for the ground up work on the hatch
Team DomeiSuru – for all the motivation and help along the way
Friends/Family – for all the support

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Photos courtesy of : Bobby Villarreal -aka- NazVil_Photos