First swiss EK9 (TypeRx) and modding story


Recently, I obtained some rarer and cool VHS Video cassettes in Japanese NTSC Format from Japan. Those were both original Honda Video cassettes, which I bought in Japan. Since I don't have a VHS player anymore, I had the videos digitized by a professional company, which also removed various distortion and other artifacts, which often appear on old cassettes.


The first one (left in previous photo) is called "TRY! HONDA RACING SPIRIT CIVIC TYPE R" and is basically an advertising video which was given by HONDA to their Primo dealerships which sold the EK9, to show in their showroom or at the EK9 display. It features JGTCC racing driver Okada Hideki that showcases the car's and it's spec and drives it on track. Prepare for plenty of Eurobeat music. Make sure to turn on the subtitles if you want to understand anything :-)

The Second Video was already available on YouTube, but I thought I reupload it in better quality. It's called "Civic Type R Daynamic Safety driving" and was given to customers. I'm not entirely sure if the customers got it during some kind of a "race training" event just when they bought the car. Anyhow, the video again features JGTCC racing driver Okada Hideki which teaches the basics of sporty driving techniques in an EK9.
Again, make sure to turn on the subtitles if you want to understand anything :-)

BTW, the teaser photo you see for the YouTube videos are the original VHS Cassette case covers, which I scanned.
I hope you enjoy the Videos. And if you know anything more about the background of those videos, (especially under what circumstances the "Dynamic safety driving" video was given to customers) please let me know.
Have fun.
 
While the car is in hibernation, I've collected some stuff for the EK9 again.


First, a set of kind-of-rare Civic EK Hatchback mudflaps. They came with all the dirt from the previous owner, but after a bit of brushing it off with warm soap-water, they look quite good (See first photo).


What I didn't think of, though, is the fact that they probably won't fit with the TypeR's rear under spoiler? Time to check my Japanese Honda accessories catalogue:





The Mudflaps were actually available, even specifically in TypeR colors like NH-0, but only the front ones. Which is also mentioned in the previous photo - That only the front ones will fit.

Then, I also got this Swiss 1996 Honda brochure.


Which tells you, you get all the chicks if you own a Civic Hatchback *lol*


Marketing was different back then.


The second book is a Japanese "crash estimation" book by JKC aka Jikencenter.


Their JIC Repair Times books estimate the time (and sometimes cost) to replace a certain part of the car in case of damage. This will be used by the workshops to estimate costs of a repair after damage / crash for insurance companies to see if damage is worth repairing or not, etc.
It's probably not the most useful book but it gives you an idea how much time it takes to replace a certain part and has some nice drawings.


Stay tuned for another update, soon. I'm still working on those Honda Access strut tower bars and have collected some other stuff which should arrive here in a few days.
 
A while ago, I bought that Fitmint Spare tire cover. While the product itself is great, I complained to them, that the Masonite is upside-down, compared to the original one. Luckily, they were nice enough to change that, and now it's correct. I had to get a new one

Now the correct (rough) side is up.


The point of that (in my opinion) is that the fabric that covers it is more stuck to it with the rough surface. Either way, now it's a 100% reproduction of the original one, and I love it:


Also got some stuff from Japan. Some is obviously related to my other projects


But I got another sales brochure, which included all the options prices list. I only had a bad copy before. Now I finally have an original one:


It even came with the complete Civic accessories' flyer:


Then I got a later edition HyperRev Mook (Magazine-book). On the right side. You see a flyer that features the EK9:


It is a flyer of the Toyota Museum exhibition "What's JDM"? And For some reason, Toyota thought the EK9 is so significant in terms of representing "JDM" Car culture, that they needed to exhibit it. Quite cool :-)

Then I spent a few weeks working on my optional Honda Access strut braces. After I had sanded down the original paint and primer, I made


I made sure to keep the original "extruded" structure with the 3M pads:


I used a special Aluminum primer and "silver chrome" spray to get back that original color


In my fancy spray paint booth:


It's slightly less glossy than the original paint and probably a darker primer would give it a bit more depth, but I think it turned out quite well, and since most probably most people anyway won't understand what they look at, that's pretty fine for me. So far I'm quite satisfied with the result.


That brings me to the next problem. The decals / Stickers on the bar. I wanted to buy spare stickers, but only Integra stickers are available. I checked with a famous TypeR specialist shop in Japan. But they said it's not available by Honda anymore:


So the only way to get a replacement sticker is to make them myself. Well, can't be that difficult, can't it? Turns out that it's way more complicated than I thought. After comparing different logos, and discussed it with a specialist shop, i realized the Civic logo on the bar is different from the Civic logo used in all official documentation, and different again from the Integra labels, which I bought as a reference.


Additionally, the New Integra sticker, which is still available from Honda has a glitter-color and a dark-red outline:


Many details are actually quite different from the original TypeR logo to the one on the bar. So the only way to get it right was to take an existing Vector-graphic of the existing logo, and modify the hell out of all the little details, to get it right.

I think the result turned out quite good. Note for instance the spacing and line thickness in the "TYPE" and all the little kinks in the "R" that had to be modified:


Overall I'm very satisfied with the results, and now I only wait for feedback from the print shop. I will make sure the cutting lines and transfer foil, etc. are the same as on the original ones. I will make a few extra, as I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who needs this :-)
Oh, and I got some original Honda nuts to install the strut bar on the suspension struts:


That's it for now. I'll keep you updated.
 
I've tried to get in touch with them before, several times but they never answered on Instagram.
Their sticker appears to be completely wrong, compared to the original one.

The material is the same as the OEM one, so it should hold up against moisture as good as the OEM ones. But honestly, I don't plan to use it in moist environment :-) Anyway. I still have my original one, which has a moisture-damage, so i use this as a replacement and it's just perfect.
A few posts earlier in this thread you can see the comparison between fitmint and the Original one.
 
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