BURNING $75,000 ON MY CHILDHOOD DREAM CAR *JDM INTEGRA TYPE R*
It doesn’t have to make sense, to make sense – does that make sense?
I’m talking about buying a 1996 Honda Integra Type R off craiglist for $17,000 then immediately dumping $58,000 into it to revisit your childhood dream car. That is exactly what we just did (worth it).
When I was 18, I bought a 1991 Acura Integra RS. It was black, low kms and had a manual transmission – setting me back $6500. This was April 2001, adjusting for inflation – that’s $9,730 in today’s money. I had no money left for modifications but then on June 18, 2001 The Fast & The Furious came out – after that fateful night, I had no choice but to make this car insanely fast. That’s right, I bought a cold air intake.
While I was loving my 2nd gen integra, there was always one car that I was obsessed with – the JDM Integra Type R! Those one piece headlights, the massive wing, the creamy Championship White Paint. I was obsessed. I knew I’d have to wait until 2011 to import one as Canada has a 15 year import rule (beats the US 25 year rule). I was able to buy a 2001 USDM ITR in 2006 after working my way up the ladder at Pizza Hut to Restaurant General Manager. Sadly, my 30k a year a salary didn’t align with the $600 car payments – so after 6 months I had to say goodbye.
Flash forward 15 years in the future and I’m FINALLY in a position to make my teenage dream car come true!
I found this 1996 Honda Integra Type R on craiglist in Vancouver, BC listed for $20,000. After a test drive, we got the seller down to $17,000 as the car needed a lot of work.
Once we had the car in our possession, the first step was to tear it down and send the car to Fastrack Autobody for a full paint job. At first we were just going to paint a few panels and polish the rest – but then decided we needed to go all the way. A full paint job took place over 4 weeks.
In the meantime, Ray at SR Auto ordered us every single SPOON part available. Even some parts that were impossible to find, Ray found. The Spoon bill alone was $36,000 and worth every single penny!
Once the car was back from paint, the final assembly took place. Watch below for the final reveal!