Noticeably Unnoticed

Back in the 1950’s people predicted we would have fly cars in the year 2000, instead we got some of the best cars to come out of Japan that became instant classics. Atomic flying cars predicted are replaced with vehicles like the R34 Skyline, Lancer Evolution, RX-7 and Silvia S15. Honda in the mean time was releasing performance versions of their lineup for every budget. This was the first year of the S2000, the last year for the JDM Civic EK9 Type R, the “luxury” Integra Type R and the 2nd year for the USDM Honda Civic Si. While many Honda owners feel like they are flying when VTEC kicks unfortunately the prediction of atomic powered fly cars never came to fruition. For many 35 - 45 year olds these cars were running around high schools and donning the front covers of popular car magazines in the day. For TJ Hannah the 2000 Civic Si was one of these cars and when he had a chance to grab a clean Si he jumped all over the opportunity to own a piece of Honda history.

Beginning with the 1st generation Civic, the Si has been a staple of the highest performance you could get in the US. After a brief hiatus in 96-98, the Civic Si reappeared in 1999, available as a coupe only. Known as the VTi in Europe and SiR/Type R in Japan for the sports variants, the Si became primarily a US-specific badge. This was also the first American version of the Si to get a DOHC engine under the hood. Accelerating from 0-60 mph in 7.1 seconds, the 1999 Civic Si trim package featured a 1.6-litre B16A2 engine that made 160 hp at 8,000 rpm and 111 ft-lbs of torque at 7,000 rpm. The Civic Si include a larger throttle body, improved intake manifold, strengthened connecting rods, low-friction/high-silicon pistons, a fully counterweighted crankshaft, and an exhaust system with larger-diameter piping. Due to its good fuel economy (27/31 city/hwy MPG), and a more popular coupe form, the trim package garnered a dedicated following in spite of its short production cycle.

TJ’s Si has some great history and has been owned by only a few people, one being friend of the show Steve Simpson, the other a mutual friend who TJ purchased the car from in 2013. TJ caught the import bug from Carlisle Import Performance in the early 2000’s when Steve lent him his, at the time, new Civic Si to drive around the show for the weekend. Once he drove around the Civic he knew he had to own one and subsequently purchased a 98 Civic hatch a few months later. Steve eventually sold the Si to a mutual friend and the car was driven around Pittsburgh as a daily driver. After selling his 98 Civic hatch and purchasing a house (responsible guy) TJ caught wind that the mutual friend was selling the Civic Si. Without even thinking about it TJ drove up the next day and bought the car in 2013 for $4800 with 99K miles on the odometer. The car now has 115K miles and can be sold for upwards of $15K, a nice little profit!

TJ’s philosophy when it comes to building and customizing cars is less is more and stated he wanted a car that was “noticeably unnoticed,” starting with the engine bay. While TJ likes to keep things looking somewhat stock he does like a few show stopping pieces to let people know that this is a custom car. Starting with the wild valve cover done by John Kokenda at Kokenda customs, TJ reports that as people walk by at car shows its the first thing that grabs their attention. And you can see why…not only does TJ have the colorful Fruity Pebbles valve cover, but 3 other just as wild covers that he interchanges based on his mood. Why Fruity Pebbles, well you’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out! To accompany that clean valve cover TJ has freshened up the engine bay with new silicone hoses, radiator and cap and coolant bottle. The Mugen strut brace tops off the custom clean look under the hood. To further upgrade the performance TJ has an Apexi World Sport exhaust painted black to match the rest of the theme. This winter TJ will be pulling the engine, timing belt, maybe some cams and cleaning up the block. Mugen intake will give it a more custom feel and will match many of the Mugen parts on the car.

The outside of the car stays with the simple clean look with some hard to find custom parts. All of the outside body panels minus the front fender is OEM and numbers matching. The front headlights are OEM genuine Type R and really make the front end of the Civic come to life. The OEM front bra was installed this year and looks like its never seen the road. The windshield wipers have been removed for cleanliness however are still functional and ride in the trunk in case TJ runs into any weather. The rear centerpiece is the Mugen Ferio wing a very rare, expensive and hard part to find that was actually made for an Accord. To ensure proper fitment the uprights needed to be modified with custom parts and to really piss off the JDM fan boys he took the emblems and painted them black. The tinted taillights are a nod to years past and to finish off the rear TJ has a custom license plate that reads “MR EM1.” While many call him Mr. Em1, it actually stands for Milano Red EM1, a nod to the original color. TJ does have an OEM rear lip that needs to be painted and put on this winter to give it the full Si OEM body kit.

The interior on these cars has aged so well and while there was quite a bit of plastic that came from the OEM, TJ has upgraded may items to make this a mismatch of Honda parts from various cars in their lineup. To start, the seats are USDM Integra Type R seats with the red stitching, a popular swap within the Honda community and one of my all time personal favorite seats. The rear is an 8th generation Civic sedan seat that match the fronts perfectly and a great upgrade for anyone looking to match the Type R parts. The center console and arm rest on the doors are covered in black suede, covered by his girlfriend, and had a custom shop make a shift boot to match. The center console is awesome and subtly changes the interior and storage space which is from and Canadian Acura EL. Since TJ is 43 he opted for a Fastline custom shifter topped with a Mugen shift knob that doesn’t force him to reach all the way to the floor board to shift his car! The Mugen steering wheel mated to a Checkered Motorsports hub keeps the JDM theme of the car going. TJ never liked the 2 toned grey interiors that came factory so he dropped the headliner out and dyed it black along with the sun shade, pillars, moldings and a host of other parts to finish off the black interior swap. The brand new carpet was put in by his girlfriend who he praises as a patient woman who did a phenomenal job on a part he didn’t want to install. Other JDM goodies include a DC2 Mugen rear view mirror and Type R e-brake handle, Mugen sport peddles and custom dipped carbon fiber simulated dash bezel.

The lure of the cars has never been big horsepower but rather the handling and quickness in the corner. As TJ said, “you don’t always need 500hp to have fun,” and has upgraded the handling to pro status. Starting with the altitude adjustment, the coilovers to Function Form Type 1 all around allow TJ to dial in his perfect stance. Skunk 2 front upper control arms, Skunk 2 camber and toe adjuster in the back for a good mix of stance and function. ASR subframe brace, 24mm rear sway bar, Mugen 2nd gen strut bars front and rear, makes the Civic, “handle like a go cart.” The Nitto Neogen tires are quiet and ride phenomenally, wrapped around CCW LM20 wheels 16x8.5 with a +38 offset. The original polished 3 piece wheel has been completely taken apart and custom painted with a mixture of gloss and flat black that really make the red paint pop.

As a testament to Honda engineering TJ in his 8 years of ownership has only replaced brake lines, fuel lines and starter. This is crazy considering the car for most of its life has been daily driven in the PA winters and kept outside. If there is one thing you take from this podcast its that as long as these cars are serviced and run they will last a lifetime with minimal repair work…great news for collectors in the JDM and import segment. OEM parts are starting to become rather scarce and the period correct aftermarket parts are even harder to find.

By day TJ is a Service Advisor at Infinity and has been in the business for years and has seen some horrible cars that need to be trashed and well taken care of older vehicles. He reported now more than ever people are coming in and servicing their cars in the $2K-$4K instead of buying new ones. As a testament to an earlier podcast the new car shortage has been profitable for the service industry where people are now willing to invest in an old vehicle. In TJ’s case he has been throwing around the idea of potentially selling the vehicle and could make a healthy profit off it as the 99-00 Civic Si prices have gone crazy making these a classic among guys our age.

Even at 43, TJ still loves to drive around this Civic as much as possible and is not worried about the stigma that come with owning a Honda. These are the new classics, guys like myself, TJ and Steve are becoming the old guys in the group reliving our high school days. This podcast has always been about cool cars and the Civic Si, whether you think they are rice burners or not, are now the hot classics on the streets! TJ’s is one of the cleanest running around Pittsburgh and is a great example of what future collectors and car shows will be featuring. If you want to find TJ he’s on instagram at @Mr_EM1_PGH or on Facebook @TJ Hannah. His car has also been featured on many car pages such as @burg_built and various other Honda specific sites. Big thank you to him Steve Simpson for hosting us and Ross Shapiro for cracking jokes during the podcast. If you have any questions you can always email the podcast or reach out to TJ directly!