More power is added to the Civic in the form of a charging system and batteries. A Phoenix Gold AN124 140-amp alternator with a 1/2-farad capacitor for noise filtration replaces the stock unit. Three additional batteries were added to ensure that enough juice is running throughout the system. The first battery is a Stinger SDB 800 in the factory location. The remaining two are Stinger SDB 1000's, sunk into the trunk floor. Steel pans were fabricated to hold the batteries in place on either side of the trunk. Each battery has its own, dedicated 150-amp circuit breakers that sit in molded fiberglass on either side of the rear bumper. Even the trunk lid was not forgotten. Head uses this area to promote all the manufacturers used in his vehicle as well as to show off his system diagram.
More Stinger accessories reside in the rear seat area. Fuse blocks for all sources and accessories are easily accessed here.
Solid Dampening
Head took the time to make sure that there was no resonance in the vehicle. Starting with the undercarriage, Head treated it with Ziebart undercoating. With the vehicle torn apart, all interior metal surfaces received Dynamat Super. This included the floor, firewall, trunk lid, and trunk floor. Even the trunk was sealed off from the interior using materials such as expanding foam, modeling clay, and concrete.
As far as the wiring goes, Head made sure to follow the strict guidelines set down in the IASCA rulebook. Since sound quality was of the highest priority, all signal cables were kept under six feet. A Crystal Line "Silencer" noise gate system keeps unwanted hiss out of the musical programs. The Crystal Line piece and a Sony CDX-T65 CD Changer are nestled in the rear side panel and are surrounded by color-matched fiberglass.
Show Queen
The Civic doesn't see much time on the road. Head has another Civic (1995) that does all the daily driving. The Civic you see here is a true show vehicle and spends most of its time either in the judging lanes or in Head's garage. Every now and then, he will feel the urge to drive it around town or display the vehicle for his shop. The vehicle competes in the IASCA Pro Ultimate 301-600 and USACi Expert 1-600 SQ. In recent years, Head has had much success in finding his way up to the podium. Recently he won "The Most Famous Soundoff," the Spring Break Nationals in Daytona Beach, Fla., this past March.
With the system somewhat complete (because they never seem to be finished), it was time to work on some performance and aesthetics. New performance goodies included an AEM cold air intake and cam gears, headers, exhaust, ACT clutch/flywheel combo, B&M Fuel Pressure regulator, and Magnacore wires with Bosch plugs. Aesthetically, a Wings West and Honda Sport rear wing give the Civic a more aggressive appearance. The lights have all been replaced with products from APC. Rounding out the exterior are Ground Control Coilovers: 18" Konig Tantrums wrapped in Yokohama Paradas.
The installation took approximately 18 months to complete at a cost of about $ 15,000. The labor was completely free as Head did most of the work himself - most being the key word as Head would like to acknowledge those who provided a helping hand. They are: Robert Hillgaertner, Jason Syner, his father Jim Head, Mike Ramirez, and Joe Moriera. It's amazing to think that the installation was done after work hours in Head's garage. Talk about catching the bug.