The story behind Salt Lake City resident's Honda Integra

SALT LAKE CITY—Omar Vargas first purchased his imported 1997 right-hand drive Honda Integra in 2010 with the idea of lightly modifying the car, but he had no idea that modifying and fixing the car would be something he would spend the next six years accomplishing.

Vargas first purchased the car in stock form with no modifications done to it, other than an aftermarket steering wheel, but that soon changed.

Within the first year and a half of ownership he had repainted the entire car its factory Granada Black finish, and added many factory and aftermarket options, ranging from wheels to factory side moldings. But this was just the beginning of the long journey the car would take.

“I was happy with the way the car looked,” Vargas said. “But I knew I wanted more out of the engine. I just didn’t know what route I wanted to take.”

After more than two years of the car being painted and modified on the outside, with the stock 1.8 liter engine, he decided a K series 2.4 liter engine swap with some bolt on mods as well as a two liter head was the route he wanted to go. He also decided to swap the wheels and suspension on the car as an added upgrade with the new engine swap.

“I felt like I had accomplished something real,” Vargas said. “I took a stock 1997 Honda Integra and made it my own.”

After many hours of toiling in the garage, he finally had the car up and running, but the joy of having this massive undertaking finished, would wear off very quickly.

A month after the swap and other modifications were finished, the car was involved in an accident damaging the body of the car. Less than two weeks after the accident, the newly swapped engine had a mechanical failure that resulted in a total loss.

Crushed with disappointment, Vargas let his car sit for nearly two years in this condition, because of the loss of interest and the monetary means to fix it. But with the help of friends and family the car was about to change again.

On top of having the body fixed, and the entire car repainted with the same black finish as before, he wanted to stick with the K series power-plant under the hood but with some unique changes.

Vargas ditched the Skunk2 intake manifold that was on the car and went with a set of TWM 52mm individual throttle bodies, not because it was easy, but because almost no one in Utah runs individual throttle bodies.

The new engine has forged Wiseco pistons with higher compression as well as new internals to replace the failed parts with everything from ARP hardware to ACL bearings. The cylinder head was swapped for a unit from a 2006 Integra Type R as well as a 6 speed manual transmission from the same model.

An ACT stage 1 clutch and Drive Shaft Shop axles help put the power to the wheels and a set of 750cc injectors, a Golden Eagle fuel rail, and Hondata Kpro help supply the fuel management for the upgraded power plant, with a custom tune from Anthony Quintana at Mexituned in Idaho Falls.

Along with the engine modifications, Vargas did a five-lug wheel conversion on the car as well as a set of Raceland coilovers and Hardrace camber kits to help the car handle around corners. A set of Wilwood six-piston brake calipers behind staggered 16x7 rear and 16x8 front SSR wheels help the car stop on a dime.

Vargas said, “if I had to go back and do it all over again, knowing how much of a painful and expensive road it has been, I would do it in a heartbeat.”