[SIZE=“3”]Introduction[/SIZE]
As some of you already know, I’m no stranger around here and I do my best to give positive feedback on some threads and posts. I keep tabs on those who have builds and make a comment or 2 about how well their project is going and hope to see their build come out like they imagined it to be. Now I am no saint as I have made a negative comment or two. But whats important, we are a tight nit community here on G2IC as some have come and gone and even have returned back after a time of uncertainty.
I for one was in exile in all of 2009 and most of 2010 due to personal issues in my life and employment/financial problems because of the economy had to take a pause on my project. Had to make a return back to Atlanta, GA after residing in Fort Worth, TX for 4 long years and network my employment skills. But during those 4 years in Texas, I became more embraced with the 2nd gen Integra more than I have ever been with meeting a good friend and his wife, Altoun & Brandy Davis and Operator207(who has since moved on to an S2000) when I got my first computer in '06 and found this website.
I have always loved the 2nd gen Integra and everytime I get tired of it and sell it off, I come right back around and purchase another.
Four DA9s and 11 years later at age 37, you would figure that I have moved onto VIP status, took on a domestic car route or worse, fall into that “I’m married and I gotta rock a mini-van”. But with a disturbing thread here in the past that Neil had to edit off, I still keep my dream car going.
[SIZE=“3”]The BLT Special Burger Project
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No, I’m not talking about Bacon, Letuce and tomatoes, hold the pickles and add cheese. This is a long standing project that I have been building on for some time now and have held off from making a build thread on G2IC(but some that are part of Car Domain.com may have seen it). As embarasing as it is, I fell into the ricer scene very late with my last DA9 after trying my best from 1997 through 2002 to keep it clean and simple. Not knowing the scene had went back to the clean look, I had to convert back as I always felt that bodykits were too extreme for the 2nd gen Teg.
I named my project BLT Special for the meaning of the letters
B18a1 bored out 1.9 liters,, LS motor built bottom end, Turbocharged, [B]Special[/B]=hold the VTEC, add a smile on my face. Later on during this thread, I will give pictures and details on why I no longer care for VTEC.
For now, at this PRESENT MOMENT, allow me to give you a look into what has become of this Burger.
[SIZE=“3”]June 11, 2011 photoshoot[/SIZE]
Downtown Atlanta CNN Building/Phillips Arena and Sandy Springs Publix Parking garage.
I had hooked up with a G2IC member and IA meet associate of mine at Import Alliance back in April of this year, John a.k.a PhatCarDesignz. My friend Vinny(silverDA) and I enlisted his services of some professional photography and set out for some shoot locations around town. Here is the results of John’s labor.
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[SIZE=“2”]This is a group picture of Vinny’s DA9. Very Clean look and soo JDM! I must give the honor to PhatCarDesignz to post a thread soon of Vinny’s flawless DA9. His is truly worthy of a Honda Tuning feature! Rodrez, Joey Lee…HELLO!!![/SIZE]
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I failed to request from John to use a different lens for more detail of the engine components under the hood, so I will throw in one of my slop pics later to show the skulls detailed on the hydrographed valve cover and ISport carbon fiber spark plug cover.
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more pics and info to come…
car looks dope, but your photographer uses way too much “HDR”
Perfect Imperfections
Just as the title states, your comment on the HDR…It was necessary(btw thank you for the kind words about my car). I entitled this thread for the simple fact that I had come together with Vinny’s DA for this shoot. If he is the capital statement of Japenese after market parts and hard to find JDM options for the DA, then he is the Perfect. I will play the Villian in this role as the antagonist of all things JDM. Not saying I do not like JDM, but my budget is limited to power and speed. So I approach my build on not spending my money on expensive, rare pieces, but more for a function of sort. My budget compared, is just as equal minus the rarity.
So I now am the Imperfection. The HDR edit of the pictures will come to light as I will post later in the week, my slop pictures to see why I am so imperfect to Vinny. While he has recently got his car out of the paint booth for this shoot, my car is litered with scratches, dints, dings and plenty of no, no errors that required our photoshoot to be edited with HDR to hide my imperfections. PhatCarDesigns will soon post his thread of the shoot and you will witness non HDR flawlessness of Vinny’s car. Perfect in every way…all day…DA!
Perfect is not limited to the grey beast that sits besides my car. As I have finally found (IMO) the right formula for my project. I have the right idea in mind, the blueprint is laid out, and the future looks bright. It is just the fact that when I present the pictures of all the exterior damage to my car, it will surely make you throw up in your mouth a little(LOL). In fact, a week or two before this photoshoot, my car was at work on a gravel parking lot and a former employee parked next to my car had a Caprice. He peeled out and sprayed all sorts of gravel on my car damaging the paint on the drivers side. I had another co-worker who accidentlly backed up on the passenger side of my bumper and scraped the paint off and left my bumper a little off.
There are hail damage dings on my hood, scratches on the front bumper, Walmart parking battles with kids banging their door onto my car. With the day of age of digital photograhy and editing software, if it was’nt for John, I would have never embarrased Vinny with a photo shoot. My car is also perfect…just the imperfection of things needed to be addressed is tampering my vision for perfection. In due time.
This is a journal people. A blog of some sort. I will continue on with the adventure later on. I hope everyone enjoys the pics. But with this journal, feedback will be needed as I look forward to any comments, negative or positive. I feed off the negative so that it makes me more positive. I feed off the positive as it makes me more driven. As the saying goes, “Haters are your Motivators”.
beautifuls cars, man. way to represent georgia, because we all know my car isnt lol
One of the best DA’s I’ve seen represent ATL. I am not discounting Vinny’s DA either, he has a nice build too. One that I have seen a couple of times with both his LS/VTEC and his JDM B16 with a J1 trans. John did a great job shooting. I was curious why he didn’t include his white RS.
Its a shame that I wasn’t working at the fire station the day that you guys did this shoot. I would have loved to have seen your DA in person. I have been into the DA’s since 95 when I was freshman in High School. I got my first DA in 97. A 92 GS in mint condition, it even had the rare armrest. I babied that car and washed it and waxed it religiously. I never had the funds to do what I wanted to it nor the time as I was in college. I eventually sold it in 03 reluctantly thinking that I would one day find something I would be more interested in. I was wrong. I have regretted selling it everyday to this day. Through the years I even tried to track my old DA down to buy it back so I could build/restore it. Unfortunately I never found it. So Now at 30, after going through college and having 2 kids, I am at the point where I can do the things that I couldn’t do back in the day. I am going to be purchasing a 91 LS from my college buddy who also is a DA enthusiast and doing a clean build restore. It will be a long road for all this things that I have planned for it, but I hope that one day it can be a nice and polished as yours.
I see that your DA is a GS, what year is it?
Thank you everyone. dpintos, have we even met yet at 1st thursday Varsity or somewhere around town? I dunno. hey thanks though. Imma try and make it this coming thursday. You will see how really beat up my DA is up close and personal. It is a '90 GS with a 92-93 bumper and the wrong damn bumper support, thats why the bumper looks off in the pics. Dont ask how I managed to be able to have it fit with a 90-91 front bumper support, but its on…half a$$ed.
No we haven’t met. Ive only met Vinny, John, and Laokid (Big Kevin) just from meeting up with them and buying parts. Ive actually never been to a Varsity meet. I work ask the time and have a wife and a 3 week old, so I don’t have loads of free time. Maybe one day I can make it to a meet.
What part of town do you live in?
I really couldnt tell about your front bumper. I have a extra set of box supports that the main support attaches to.
sick build so far def a nice car
both rides