Back in 2020, I bought a 2016 Honda Civic sedan from a used dealer. The cheapest, most basic Civic you could probably find. Biggest mistake ever, even if it was arguably affordable. Turns out, it was missing coolant valves and had a radiator leak. It wasn’t much of a problem during the cooler spring months in Virginia, but fast-forward to after my second deployment, and the heat was absolutely brutal. My lady came to visit, and between the heat and everything else, it was honestly embarrassing. One particularly hot day, stuck in traffic on the freeway heading toward the iconic underwater tunnel in Virginia, I finally snapped and broke the infotainment system. 😂
That was the last straw. I traded it in for a 2021 Honda Civic Hatchback EX. It felt like a breath of fresh air: a turbocharged engine, reasonable mileage, and still affordable. I actually miss that hatch sometimes.
About a year later, I was exhausted from being overworked and dealing with military life. Sitting idle at a red light, I briefly dozed off, slowly released the brake, and rolled into a 2004 Ford Mustang Cobra. Thankfully, I didn’t damage his car, and we parted ways without any drama, but dealing with insurance was still a pain.
That experience got me thinking: I wanted to learn how to drive a manual. An old Navy buddy tried teaching me in his 2013 Mazdaspeed3. Unfortunately, I only made it through first and second gear before I think he decided he’d had enough of me grinding his clutch. 🤣
A month or two later, I decided I wanted a Civic Type R. I was only a few thousand dollars short of a reasonable down payment, so it was definitely within reach. But then the dealer told me he had three FE1 Civic Si models on the way and that I’d probably get more bang for my buck building an Si than buying a stock Type R. Fair enough.
What really caught my attention, though, was when he mentioned one of those three was Blazing Orange Pearl. Apparently, only two of that colour were being sent to the East Coast that year. Orange wasn’t even my first choice at the time; I just wanted something rare that would stand out. And stand out it did. Still does to this day. I went to a car meet once and was parked in the same exact lot of another Si of the same color and I never felt so excited, probably one of the rarest occurrences. I’ve seen others here and there but I’ve only seen four since I’ve had the car and for all I know they could’ve been the same one or two people.
About a month later, I finally picked him up. I drove off the lot absolutely terrified because I could barely get past third gear. I stalled a handful of times, but somehow, I made it home. 🤣 I took a week off to get comfortable with the car, and I’ve come a long way since then.
After a few years of enjoying her mostly stock, I figured it was time to start modifying the car and adding a few more smiles per gallon. I started with an intercooler and drop-in filter to wake things up a bit. That was fun, but naturally, it wasn’t long before I wanted more. Eventually, I added a PRL High Volume Intake and BC Racing coilovers, and now he’s genuinely fun to play with.
I named the car Zen, short for Zenitsu from Demon Slayer. The “-23” originally represented the year I got him. Being a Destiny fan, though, I eventually incorporated some Destiny 2 inspiration as a tribute to the end of the Light and Darkness saga. A few Destiny decals here and there, and suddenly, the car became something more personal.
Next on the wishlist are new wheels and a Hondata tune. Eventually, I want to turn Zen into a proper track build, taking inspiration from MartiniWorks’ build guide while adding my own touches and borrowing a few ideas from the Civic Si TCR.
The vision is a unique, track-inspired build with plenty of Destiny imagery woven throughout. And if everything goes according to plan, I’d love to eventually return him to stock and pass him down to my kid one day.
What started as a budget-friendly alternative to a Type R has turned into something much more meaningful. Zen isn’t just a car I modify for fun; he’s a piece of my story, a reminder of how far I’ve come, and hopefully something I can pass on to the next generation.
