90's Spirit.

The 90's was an interesting decade, wasn't it? I mean, I don't remember shit because I wasn't born until 1997, but so many things happened in this 10 year span. Westcoast vs. Eastcoast. The World Wide Web. The L.A. Riots. O.J. Simspon. The whole Bill Clinton thing. Just a shitload of significant shit happened in the 90's is what I'm trying to say I guess. I think it's safe to say that the 90's was also the golden era for many auto manufacturers. Specifically Honda. They gave us the first car (other than the NSX) with a VTEC equipped engine. An Acura Integra with a 1.7 litre DOHC VTEC engine; the GS-R. An amazing car in itself, designed for the consumer looking for fuel economy but fun at the same time.The EF, EG, and EK chassis, which are still some of the most iconic today, were also released during this time period. It's strange. I wonder if Honda ever expected their vehicles to have such a cult following as they do now 30 years later. It's just like August Cascade put it, they're just "Japanese Hotrods".

Today, I am featuring a car that is just as iconic as the Integra. It's cousin; a 1990 Civic Hatchback. I say that this is the first car I ever fell in love with because that is the car that even got me into cars as a kid. My brother Eddie has one. It was his first car and he still owns it today. I have very fond memories as a kid being dropped off at elementary school in that car. All the kids used to turn their heads and watch as it pulled in. Great times.

The 1990 Civic Hatchback I am featuring today is owned by my friend Sammy (@sammy.swervez). Sammy and I originally met at a VTEC Club USA event back in 2016. We were having a friendly battle for a few laps before I spun out right in front of him.

This is me in my old black coupe and Sammy right behind me. I was definitely feeling the pressure. Credit to CaliPhoto.

It's funny, we didn't actually meet this day. In reality, I had no fucking clue who the guy behind me was. I don't remember exactly how it happened, but we found each other on Instagram after the event and have been mutual followers since. We met in person just last year when he hit me up about rolling some fenders for a friend of his. Low and behold, we finally met. But we didn't talk or hang out all that much really because, well... I was busy rolling fenders. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I posted about starting this blog, Sammy hit me up about kicking it and doing a feature on his car. I said yes, because I've always had a soft spot for his car. And he was supportive of me starting this blog right away, so thank you Sammy.

Let's get started.

We planned to shoot on Sunday since we both had the weekend off, and what better way to spend a Sunday than kicking back and taking pictures? This shoot almost didn't happen because Sammy was having some idling issues earlier in the morning. He quickly resolved it and made the hour drive out to my area. Shoutout to my wonderful girlfriend for taking this shot while I was driving (@juliannelynn_).

I decided to take Sammy up to our local canyon road, Glendora Mountain Road to be exact. But as we pulled up to the Glendora side, a forest ranger was closing the gate... Fuck. What luck? But I told Sammy just to park in front of the gate and we would make the best of it.

This is actually and all original 1990 Honda Civic Si and Sammy is only the second owner. The story of how he acquired it is pretty great too. He tried to convince the original owner to sell it to him a few years ago and she wouldn't give in, but they chatted for close to an hour and she took his number down just in case she did ever decide to sell it. Well, 2 years later she called up Sammy and asked him if he was still interested in purchasing the car from her. The rest is history...

His intentions were actually to daily the car. But I'm sure you've all heard that story many times, or something similar. One modification turned into two then three, and so on...

The car looks very period correct, sporting a set of all original 14" Mugen MR-5's. The whole car is easy on the eye, which is what I love about it. It's so simple but so intriguing the more you look at it. The rear features an EDM spoiler with no 3rd brake light.

Probably my favorite part of this whole car is the exhaust. It's a pretty rare piece from 5Zigen. Not only does it look unique, but it sounds damn good echoing off the canyon walls.

Under the hood is pretty simple; just enough to have some fun. It features the original D16 engine with a DC Sports carb legal header. The bay features a hint of Downstar hardware throughout, some aftermarket mounts, a 5Zigen oil cap, and a Vision tower bar...

The sun shining into Sammy's interior just looked so good...

The inside was pretty simple, but obviously modded to his liking, and very personal. The original Si seats had the typical tears, but the rest of the interior was almost immaculate. Featuring a MOMO steering wheel with a 5Zigen wheel paired with a blue Mugen shift knob, it all flows and gives that 90's feel. Sammy also has a nice photo of his mom who is no longer with us in his center console, so she can cruise with him wherever life might take him...

Since Glendora Mountain Road was closed, I decided to take Sammy to a small canyon road just down the street; Big Dalton Canyon Road. It's closed off, but the scenery is much more green than GMR and it was really peaceful.

Sammy and his ultimate driving machine...

We didn't shoot to much here, mostly just hung out. I tried to get some rolling shots of him going around the curve in the background, but I haven't had enough practice with my camera to execute them the way I wanted to...

After this, we headed to In'n'Out just down the street in Glendora and went our separate ways.

If there is any car that I've had the pleasure of shooting that really captured the spirit of the 90's, I'd say it's this one.

Enjoy some extra photos of this beauty.

Until next time.

-Eric