14 SUPERSTREETONLINE.COM
Sifting through some event coverage that had just
been sent over from Thailand, our track pad swiping
fingers lifted the instant we noticed a Civic EG doing
a nasty rear-wheel-drive burnout. A closer look
revealed it wasn’t one of the standard swaps that, for a
few decades now, so many Honda enthusiasts have pieced
together in their garage during a weekend wrench-a-thon.
Furthermore, it wasn’t a slick reimagining of Honda’s S
drivetrain layout picked apart and transferred to a bubbly
hatchback. No, it was something we—and we’re pretty sure
you—haven’t seen before.
Wanchai Padthamang is the owner of this ’
hatchback, and he doesn’t have a long list of Civic and
Integra builds sprawled across his resume. Instead, he’s
gone through a number of rear-wheel-drive projects. The
idea for this wild, V-8–powered build was born out of a little
disbelief mixed with a healthy serving of vengeance. While
Wanchai was taking part in a local Gymkhana event, things
were going great until his 700hp, 2JZ-swapped Nissan S
had its proverbial lunch eaten by a naturally aspirated Civic.
“I felt the Civic EG body was much more agile and lighter
with its NA setup compared to my 180SX, so I chose the EG
body on those merits,” he recalls. “To me, it’s different and
more challenging than using common sports car platforms
like the Supra, Silvia, or Skyline.”
His research into building a Civic of his own began
immediately, and he found the mid-’90s hatchback
wheelbase is actually longer than his previously mentioned
180SX, making it ideal for the sort of drift activities he
enjoys taking part in. The only problem being that smoking
the front tires while the car’s ass dragged behind him wasn’t
his idea of a good time. The plan to convert it to rear-wheel
drive would, of course, include a new powerplant, but
rather than settling for a K-series swap and power-adders,
Wanchai opted for something far more potent right out ofWORDS Rodrez
PHOTOS Chad BurdetteIF YOU CAN’T BEAT ’EM,
JOIN ’EM...THEN COME
BACK TO DESTROY ’EM!
RETURNING
WITH A
VENGEANCE