Here’s the story of Zach Minch’s DC2 Integra… as told by Zach himself. In April of 2012, I wasn’t looking for a purple Integra. Instead, we were going to go look at a black 2000 Acura Integra GS-R I saw advertised on Craigslist. My dad, German, and I made the trip up to Sheboygan to go check it out. But when we pulled up, something didn’t look right. The car wasn’t black. It was purple: Dark Violet Pearl to be exact.
I’d never seen a purple Integra in person before. I remember looking at it and thinking, What the hell is going on here? Then German huddled us up, looked at me & my dad, and basically made the decision for all of us.
“We’re not leaving without this purple car!”
We took it for a test drive. At some point while my dad was driving, German told him to bring it up to ‘a certain RPM’. I didn’t really know what was about to happen, but then the VTEC kicked in! And the engine changed character instantly! My dad looked over and said, “What the HELL was that?!” That was the day my dad learned about VTEC. It was also the day I bought the car that would end up teaching me more about cars & life than anything else I ever had.
A few weeks after buying the Integra…
It was already engraining itself into my everyday life. One night, Kelsey – my girlfriend (now wife) – got home from her job at Cicis Pizza & needed her books so she could study for an exam. But I had other plans. Instead of getting her books to her, I decided it was the perfect night to replace my valve cover gasket instead. She wasn’t exactly thrilled with me. But at the time, it was just another night working on my car with the boys. Looking back now, those are the moments I remember most.
The Integra wasn’t just a car sitting in the driveway…
It was becoming part of our lives. 2012 was also my senior prom. I hadn’t gone to junior prom… so this one meant something. We were taking my new Integra to the Milwaukee Public Museum where prom was taking place. And getting there was an adventure in itself. We had to rush over to Kelsey’s house after her sister’s wedding, so she could change… only to find the door was locked. Luckily, I knew about a secret key and was able to get inside. Eventually, we got everything figured out and made our way downtown. We had an incredible night! Watched the sun come up in this car! There are plenty of cars I’ve owned since then, but very few can say they were there for moments like that.
Over the years, the Integra became our way of getting away…
Kelsey and I went to Import Alliance in Kentucky many times, and it was probably one of our favorite trips to make. We’d make the drive down, stay at the Belterra Casino, and just enjoy life. The car was always there. We weren’t necessarily thinking about how valuable the car would become someday, or how rare certain parts would be. Nah – we were just enjoying our cars, our friends, and the freedom that came with being able to jump in the Integra and drive halfway across the country. That was the real value! Those Kentucky trips are some of the memories I treasure most.
But life with the Integra wasn’t always perfect…
The summer I got it, someone completely keyed the car. Insurance paid for a full repaint, and that gave me a choice. I could simply have the car repainted and move on. Or I could get a little obsessed. I wanted the car to look like it had never been painted. The door jambs had to look right… as did the engine bay. Everything had to blend together seamlessly. I didn’t want someone to look at the car and notice, “This thing’s been repainted.” The paint needed to look (and age) like it had always been there. And that mentality ended up spilling-over into everything else I did with the car.
This Integra GS-R has been overhauled 3 different times...
Every time I took it apart, I learned more. And every time I put it back together, my standards got higher. If I had to point to one car that’s taught me everything I know about Hondas… this would be the one.
• The first car I really learned to work on.
• Taught me how Honda puts things together & how parts interact.
• And how modifications play together like a symphony.
• This car taught me to pay attention to the details. And eventually, those lessons went far beyond Hondas.
Looking back, so much of what I know today can be traced back to this purple Integra GS-R…
One of the most memorable chapters came years later when I traveled to Orlando with Scott from King Motorsports. Kojima from Mugen Japan was with us for the entire trip, and I had the opportunity to pick his brain about Japan, Mugen, the history behind the company, and the way things were done over there. One story in particular stuck with me…
Mugen’s machine shop had been built on a floor designed to deal with earthquakes.
The idea was – when an earthquake moved the building – the machines would remain zeroed, and wouldn’t constantly need to be recalibrated. That fascinated me! And it was the kind of thing I started to appreciate because of this Integra. It wasn’t just about making a car faster. Rather, it was about precision. And clever engineering. It was about doing things correctly. That trip also introduced me to a ton of people, and gave me experiences I never would’ve had without being hooked into the Honda world.
And then there was the lake…
Someone assured us, “Don’t worry, there’s no alligators in that lake.” (in Orlando, Florida). Well, I was on the dock nonchalantly talking to Kelsey on the phone, when a gator popped its head up! So apparently there are alligators in the lake! I lived to tell the tale though, and as the years went on, I was always chasing the next part. The next detail, the next improvement… the next thing that would make the Integra feel a little more complete.
For years, I had my eye on a UKDM front bumper…
The USDM Integra has the Raybrig-style fog lights mounted in the grille area. But the UKDM bumper has the fog lights integrated down into the lip. The bumper almost looked molded around them. To me, it was the finishing touch!
Back around 2012 or 2013, I remember seeing these bumpers for around $1,000. But by the time I was actually ready to buy one, they were selling for $3,000 to $3,500. Eventually, Raul posted one on the NWP Facebook page. He wanted $1,800. Enrique, a good friend of mine, looked at me like, “We’re gonna get this right?” You already know! So we drove to Massachusetts. 55 hours – Friday to Sunday – no sleep… all for a bumper!
Raul met us Saturday morning, we got the bumper, and somehow managed to shove it into the Mazda 3 my parents lent us. And then went to get authentic Puerto Rican food that Raul loved. It was the kind of food that reminded him of home. The whole trip was completely ridiculous, and I wouldn’t change any of it. Because at that point, the bumper wasn’t just a bumper anymore, it was another story.
The deeper I got into restoring the Integra, the more particular I became…
The engine has never been out of this car. But almost everything around it has been touched. Every nut & bolt on the suspension was hand-sandblasted, and then re-hexavalent chromated. I wanted everything to look perfect. Not good enough… but perfect.
The Integra had only been driven through 1 or 2 Wisconsin winters by the previous owner while he was in college. And even then, it hadn’t seen much use during those winters. That gave me something to work with! I was able to source OEM fuel & brake lines all the way to the back of the car. The gas tank came out. Everything was cleaned. And the underside was properly prepped & resprayed. Piece by piece, I worked my way through the Integra. Eventually, it reached a point where the underneath looked almost as clean as the top. Even today, it truly feels like a new car.
The wheels are another piece of this Integra’s history…
The GS-R sits on 16-inch Volk CE-26 wheels from around 2001, still wearing their original bronze anodized finish. They’re wrapped in 215/45-16 Falken Azenis 660s. I love that the wheels aren’t some modern reproduction of an old-school look. They’re the real deal… actually from the era. The kind of wheels that would’ve been sitting in a Japanese tuning shop when this car was still relatively new.
And then there’s the B18C1 engine…
The B18C1 has never been opened-up internally. It’s still completely stock inside. Instead, the engine has been built around carefully chosen components: A Skunk2 Pro Series intake manifold, 68mm throttle body, Mugen 4-1 header, and a full custom exhaust by King Motorsports. With the Hondata S300, the car makes 171 WHP.
Honda advertised the Integra GS-R at 170 horsepower from the factory.
But of course, that’s crank horsepower. A stock B18C1 typically puts down somewhere around 145hp at the wheels on a chassis dyno. So after all these years, this completely unopened engine is making 171 WHP. One horsepower more than Honda advertised at the crank. That’s something I’m proud of. Not because the number is huge – it isn’t. But that’s not what this car’s about. Rather – it’s about making the right car. The funny thing is: I’ve never really been able to call the car finished.
Still not finished…
There’s always another part, another detail, another thing I want to do to it. And another piece of the puzzle that makes me think, “Yeah, THAT would be perfect.”
Yet somewhere along the way, I realized that the car really isn’t about the parts anymore.
It’s about everything that’s happened in my life because of it. Every friend, every trip, every late night, every busted knuckle, every part, every decision, and every little detail that slowly transformed the car. What started back in April of 2012 as a Craigslist ad for a car I thought was black… became something completely different… and so much more. And after all the parts, all the miles, all the rebuilds, and all the years… it’s still the same car. Only now, it carries 14-years of stories with it. And I’m still not done.
Photos by Cody Martin
BODY
Mugen gen-1 spoiler
UKDM front bumper with fogs
Dark Violet Pearl (special order color only)
OEM side visors
ENGINE
Spoon valve cover
Mugen 4-1 header
Full custom exhaust
Skunk2 pro-series intake manifold with 68mm throttle body
Tuned on Hondata s300 making 171 whp
INTERIOR
SP-J Franker Recaro seats
Checkered floor mats
Mugen Racing steering wheel & Mugen formula shift knob
WHEELS / SUSPENSION
Mugen strut tower bars front & rear
Volk CE28 2001 production 16×7.5 in bronze OG finish
215/45/16 Falken 660 tires
5 -lug conversion
Ktuned 32-way coilovers
Function 7 rear control arms
Hardrace bushings & camber kits
