There’s an old saying: “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. When it comes to his car, Tauranga-based DJ and dance party promoter Mark Fergus has been living by that philosophy for almost a decade. “I’ve never been a fan of just fixing cars, but I do like modifying them,” he says. “So every time I broke something, I would modify it or replace it with a better part, and that’s how Honda Civic EF sit’s ended up as it is now.” Mark, of course, is talking about his Civic – a JDM-spec 1990 SiR that at last count is toting more than 300hp at the front rollers.

Nine years is a long time with a car, but that’s how long Mark has owned XSC1V. In 1999 Mark was still at school, and even then the EF9 was a rare beast. The Honda was originally purchased to serve as a daily commuter but it didn’t take long for the Civic to go under the knife for the first of many surgeries. The car’s previous owner had used it for sprint events, and although Mark didn’t want to go down the same road, he did have plenty of ideas on ways to engineer the sub-1000kg SiR into a good all-round performance package.

“Being that this model was one of the first to use a Honda DOHC VTEC Honda Civic EF intengine, I knew it would eventually become quite rare, so thought I would try and build one of the best examples in the country,” Mark tells us. Taking guidance from people who knew what they were doing, Mark did most of the work himself. Although his lack of experience had its drawbacks, there was no better way for him to get his head around the build than being totally hands-on.
One of the initial modifications was a custom turbo package — something that was pretty unusual at the time. Apart from Ronnie Lim, who was still in the early throes of developing his legendary front-tyre-fryin’, drag-spec-then-road-legal Integra, Honda turbo street cars were very definitely few and far between. And as Mark discovered, finding a balance between Honda Civic EF int det1performance and reliability doesn’t come easily.

As anyone who’s versed in Honda VTEC motors will know, the 1.6-litre B16A engine is well suited for boost injections. But like any engine, there’s only so much PSI one will take before it won’t take it any more. In the never-ending quest for more power, the mechanical carnage has been high over the years. “I have blown up countless motors and gearboxes during the last nine years,” Mark admits. “But this last time around it has been rebuilt properly.”

In this current incarnation more than 200kW finds its way to the Civic’s front feet. What percentage of that power actually gets to ground and finds traction, as opposed to the percentage that magically gets turned into plumes of thick white smoke, is another matter altogether. The basis of the engine build is another B16A, and this one’s had the full treatment with CP Honda Civic EF eng detforged pistons, JE rings and Crower H-beam rods. A block guard helps strengthen the upper cylinder walls. Completely balanced and blueprinted, the bottom end has been sandwiched to the ported DOHC VTEC 16V head via a Cometic multi-layer steel gasket and toughened ARP studs. The prep work is all in aid of the turbo system, a good selection of gear centred on a hybrid Garrett T03/T04. Breathing through a K&N air filter and 3-inch intake pipe, the Garrett sits atop a tubular exhaust manifold compressing the cool charge from the custom front-mount intercooler arrangement. For definitive boost control a Turbonetics 35mm external wastegate has been employed, with a GReddy Type-S blow-off valve releasing intake pressure between shifts and off-throttle.

One of the most important facets of the engine build is the fuelling, and Mark has the thirst issue taken care of. The setup runs a high-flow Bosch Motorsport pump in the factory tank, an adjustable fuel pressure regulator and a custom twin fuel rail system (one hidden under the intake manifold) suppling a total of eight injectors — four 440cc and four 240cc units. The intake side of the equation also features an insulating Hondata Heatshield gasket and a custom enlarged throttle body, while the exhaust runs a 2.5-inch route into a single RPS stainless muffler out the back. The final piece of the puzzle came with the addition of a Link engine management system. With 15psi dialled in through a GFB boost controller it delivered the Honda Civic EF int detgoods, netting an impressive 230kW at the front wheels. That’s around two-and-a-half times the output of a standard EF9.

Getting it all to the ground is a factory-spec Y1 5-speed gearbox and limited slip diff, which, to be honest, I’m surprised puts up with everything that’s dished to it. Of course, it did need some TLC, so a new set of synchros inside the cogbox helps with the shifting.

For some serious bite, Mark matched up an Extreme Clutches pressure plate and a custom Kevlar clutch plate. For a similar bite on the road, the Civic rides on Koni platform adjustable shocks with King springs, and it winds down way low. A Mugen strut brace and camber correction kit have been installed up front, and Nolathane rear arm bushes out the back.

The brakes have also been wisely upgraded, with 282mm Brembo rotors, ’98-spec Integra Type R callipers and braided lines on the front end mixing it up with the factory rear disc arrangement.

Just like its massaged mechanicals, XSC1V’s body has seen plenty of hours’ work, too. Most of that time went into custom-building the kit, and Mark has his dad Fergus and Mark at Slipstream Performance to thank for that. After lending a hand to the fitting of the kit, the shaving of the door locks and the paint prep, Mark left the car in the hands of Sulphur Point Car Painters, where Gavin squirted on a few layers of Holden Cosmo inside, outside and under the bonnet. The final exterior touch comes in the form of 17x7-inch Lenso RS5 alloys shod in Toyo Proxes rubber.

Without going too over the top, the interior space has been treated to a few Honda Civic EF fq dynmodifications as well. Recaro seats from a Lancer Evo V replace the Civic’s front row, and there’s a Momo wheel, a bunch of Auto Meter gauges and some Link engine monitoring electronics. For some boom to match the boost, Mark turned to Brendon Gilbert at Mad Soundz. A Pioneer CD/tuner head unit controls a basic yet effective system comprising a Soundstream amplifier, Alpine component and 6x9 speakers, and a Soundstream 12-inch subwoofer.

After all that I think we can safely say Mark has definitely achieved his goal of building one of the best EF-series Civics in the land. XSC1V has proved its worth on the strip as well, running a best ET in full street trim of 12.9 seconds at Fram Autolite Dragway. Mark is confident that stripped for racing and fitted with slicks, 11s wouldn’t be much of a problem. Given its proven performance credentials, we believe him, too. There’s another saying: “good things take time”. In the case of XSC1V, yes — but it was well worth the wait.

1990 HONDA CIVIC SIR (EF9) - Specifications

Engine: Honda B16A 1.6-litre DOHC 16V, CP 9.0:1 forged pistons, JE Honda Civic EF engrings, Crower rods, block guard, balanced /blueprinted bottom end, Cometic head gasket, ported head, ARP head studs, enlarged throttle body, Hondata intake gasket, dual fuel rails, 4x 440cc injectors, 4x 240cc extra injectors, Bosch Motorsport in-tank fuel pump, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, K&N air filter, 3-inch stainless intake pipe, Garrett T03/T04 hybrid turbo, custom exhaust manifold, 35mm Turbonetics external wastegate, custom front-mount intercooler, custom intercooler piping, GReddy Type-S blow-off valve, 2.5-inch mandrel bent exhaust, RPS rear muffler, custom dump pipe, Mocal oil cooler, factory radiator, 2x 12-inch radiator fans, Link engine management system, GFB boost controller, de-loomed, custom stainless breather, solid mounts

Driveline: Factory Y1 5-speed gearbox, Extreme Clutches pressure plate, custom Kevlar clutch plate, factory limited slip differential

Suspension: Koni adjustable coil-over shocks, King springs, Mugen front strut brace, front camber kit, Nolathane rear arm bushes

Brakes: Front – 282mm Brembo discs, ’98-spec DC2R callipers, Hawk pads, braided lines, Rear – factory discs/callipers

Wheels/Tyres: 17x7-inch Lenso RS5 alloys, Toyo Proxes 205/40R17 tyres

Body: Custom body kit, shaved rear wiper, shaved locks, de-badged, Holden Cosmo paint

Interior: Recaro front seats (Evo V), Momo steering wheel, Auto Meter Ultra-lite Pro comp gauges – oil pressure, water temp, boost, Link KnockLink, Link LamdaLink, Link hand controller

ICE: Pioneer CD/tuner head unit, Soundstream PCA 650.1 amplifier, Alpine DD-Drive 6.5-inch component speakers, Alpine 6x9-inch speakers, Soundstream R1 12-inch subwoofer

Performance: Dyno Power – 230kW @ wheels (15psi boost), 0-400m: 12.9-seconds (street trim)