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here was once a time when leaving no panel untouched
and pouring a generous mortgage into a build that would
seldom see a key turned was the norm. Show cars ruled
the roost, and, instead of stunting on the back roads,
their prowess was flexed on the showroom floors at the
likes of Autosalon and 4&Rotary events. Spit-shined to the nines,
stereos cranking at full blast, and set on displays crafted with effort
levels that reflected those put into the car itself, punters swarmed
these inch-perfect creations like crazy. Cars became celebrities,
number plates were famous from Cape Reinga to Slope Point, and
the vehicles seemingly never stopped being upgraded.
There was a big pool of cars that showed up without fail;
owners were friendly rivals and each took home trailer loads of
awards at every outing. So, when a seemingly unknown Honda
Civic showed up at Autosalon Christchurch 2003 to swindle more
than its fair share of the trophies, the regulars knew there was a new
player on the block — one that needed to be taken seriously!
That Civic, known by its ‘DVI0US’ number plate, was the
creation of Brisbane-based Allan Grant. A ’94-spec SiR-II (EG),
Allan first got a taste of it back in 1998 as a fresh-faced 19-year-oldliving in his hometown of Timaru. His neighbour Bob, a local car-
yard owner, had imported it as an ex–Honda Cup car, meaning that
it was boned on Tein coilovers; was sitting over a set of SSR Type X;
would disturb the peace thanks to a 5Zigen Stainless exhaust; and,
more important, was fitted with a bolt-in half cage.
“I heard this dirty little Honda and went to the window, only to
see Bob going up his driveway in this shiny black car with a white roll
cage; my jaw was just on the ground. Seeing a current-model car
going past slammed out and ready to go at the track was unreal,”
Allan says.
It would take six months of fluffing around before Allan could
convince Bob to hand over the keys, instantly making himself the
raddest teenager in town. It would be about the same amount of
time before he found himself heading north to Christchurch to
have Skunk2 cam gears and a ZSpeed air intake fitted for more
power. Christchurch is also where Allan would meet Paul from
DM International — at the time, the importer of Turbosmart and
the manufacturer of Dytech mufflers — and the bad ideas about
hanging a snail off the side of the B16A begin being fed into his head.
By his own admission, Allan didn’t need much convincing to