1995 Acura Integra

Think back to your high school days, recall all those fun times? Remember those girls you wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole? You know, the girls who have a pasty complexion and littered with enough craters on their face you're intrigued to take an astronomy class? Yeah, you know exactly what I'm talking about-don't fake the funk! We all had those nasty chicks roaming the school yards at one point or another. Fast forward to college as you begin hitting the local frat parties; in walks a woman with a banging body. Padaow! Ass like... well, you get the point. You and your fellow cronies swarm in her direction like flies attracted to shit, hoping to get the digits when you find out from your friends the girl your jocking was one of the ugly creatures from high school. "No way! That can't be... Crater Face?!?" You mutter as you ponder on what could have been if you had only overlooked the pale skin and funk-ass face in high school and hooked up with her at the time. You could have been the lucky guy walking in with her at that very moment.

So what's this story leading to you ask? Don't judge a book by its cover. Ugly ducklings that are transformed into beauty queens are hard to predict. In most cases the ugly, well just stay ugly, that's just a part of life. Once in a blue moon, rare cases such as "crater face" do exist. Take Nhan Le and his 1995 Integra as a prime example of going from "Junky to hunky." Yeah that sounds pretty lame but I'm writing this article so deal with it. Le purchased the Integra from a friend in the Bay Area (San Francisco) originally as a junkyard vehicle. Interestingly enough, during the Integra's pubescent years, the car sported a gold paint scheme and was posterized in a number of A'PEXi ads. When the day came for initial pickup of the vehicle, Le overlooked the faded paint, body damage and blown motor. With a devised plan to revive the shitbox into "Pamela Anderson" sex appeal, Le paid for the car and throttled off into the sunset.

I have to admit when Le sent in his tech sheet for his car I was caught off guard. Under "special equipment used" Le penciled in NOS, hammer, and grinder. I scratched my head, befuddled on wither Le was pulling my leg or performing some amazing hack job on his car we were not aware of. Upon further research 2NR has learned that Jimoto Special performed a chassis prep to the junkyard special. Jimoto Special took on the tedious task of completely stripping the sound deadening material from the cars interior. On a typical Honda, as much as 30 pounds of material can be extracted from the trunk, seating area and firewall in an effort to put cars on a strict diet. Still confused on the properties of using NOS to remove sound deadening material? The concept is rather simple, Nitrous Oxide is used to freeze the thick tar-like substance to a point where it becomes brittle enough to scrape or break off with a chisel and hammer. For the harder to remove areas, a grinder is used to remove the material. Once all the deadening material was removed, it was off to the local paint shop to give the car a complete makeover.

Mob Works located in Orange County was up to the task of reviving the once beautiful car into something of a new and completely different vehicle. With a plethora of body kits and front end conversions available for the Integra, Le wanted to uphold a clean image to his car but differentiate his style and taste from the typical Integras you see today. After much consideration, Le decided on a JDM Type-R front end which was shipped over as a complete front end clip from Japan. Fenders, hood, and reinforcements were the necessary items to give the car a complete JDM spec face transplant. Once the side moldings were removed and frame stripped down to metal, Volvo emerald green metallic pearl was generously sprayed onto the cars exterior and exterior cabin by Miguel Ortiz, owner of MOB Works. With paint complete and JDM front end installed, the next step in the transformation was the heart and soul of the car-the motor.