Last month during my visit to Osaka I was able to get an up close look at the area’s underground car culture thanks to my new friends from Tactical Art. Just as things were wrapping up at the M&L Party somewhere around 3am, one of Shimomukai-san’s friends rolled up in the EG6 Civic you see above. “Do you want to check out this Kanjo Civic?”, Shimomukai asked me.
Absolutley.
With its cage, mismatched wheels, and unpolished appearance the EG6 looked more like a dedicated race car than a street machine. Such is the case with many of the hot rodded Hondas that ply Osaka’s highway system in the wee hours of the morning.
Ryuichi-san, the driver of the Civic told me that he has “retired” from Kanjo racing and only runs on the circuit now – but I’m not quite sure if I beleive him…
There’s Ryuichi-san modeling the offical uniform of the Osaka Kanjo racer.
From the outside Ryuichi’s EG6 looks a lot like the the Civics you’ll see at circuit events across Japan…
…but then he popped the hood and the car’s EP3 Civic-sourced K20A motor swap was revealed.
The K-swap into older Civics is pretty common in the USA, but it’s not something you see often in Japan. From what I saw, the K20 moved the car very well.
Elsewhere, you can spot wide 16″ five lug Volk CE28NS with Spoon brakes up front…
…meanwhile the rear still has a standard four-lug setup with 15″ CE28Ns.
The interior is stripped down to the essentials. Probably not the most comfortable place to be, but Ryuichi seemed to have no problem driving the car around on the street.
Ryuichi’s office. Love the shifter location.
Not long after I shot these photos I was watching this Civic head off into the Osaka night, bound for the good old Kanjo loop.
Surely Ryuichi-san was just heading home right? After all he’s retired. Isn’t he?
-Mike Garrett
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
Nice Civic! Love the K swap that thing would move!
Love it!
Gutted with a K20?? Yea, it can scoot when it needs to. Very nice.
whats the duct hose in the back for?
anyone have a clue what that hose in the back is for?
Low budget style hehe. Kool. Retained the ep3 shifter setup.
I absolutely love these Kanjo Racers, but can someone more engineering-minded give a quick explanation of the geometry of the cage in this car? Looks kinda funky to me.
the harnesses don't seem to safe, but that a pretty sweet civic!
Looks like a POS. USA kills it with the Honda scene.
LOL, IDK if he's retired, most likely taking a break in the shade of legal racing.
I love the Kanjo hondas. These guys are nuts, and this is one tough civic.
Do they wear helmets? The halo without a helmet is just asking for it!
heh heh kind of a 'mini-Legend'.. i like the purposeful nature of the strip-out & power plant choice. i bet it has surprised a lot of people in the past.. 'yes definately the past, right!!' - Thanks
Hasport mounts.
front tyres size and wheel offset pls?
good feature nonetheless
@ Joe: dude, wheres the respect for where the US's Honda scene originated from?
I personally love this Kanjo EG6, and if I was to have a civic it would be very similar to this. Not a huge fan of FWD but its when I see cars like this one that makes me want to start up with a Honda Integra conversion
Loving this car!
I love Kanjo racer Civics. The raw style and sporty looks is always pleasing to see, especially in a cool place like that. Pictures came out good, too.
This thing is all business. I dig the 4/5 lug set up and the K swap with the EP3 shifter. Not the prettiest but it must boogie.
Gearstick in the dash is standard on the EP3, and since this is running the K20 from an EP3 i assume the gearstick is in the dash, bit of info for you there mike
"Looks like a POS. USA kills it with the Honda scene." NO. THEY. DON'T. Probably 5% of the tuned Civics in the U.S. actually get driven. Most spend all of their time jerking each other off in giant circle jerks at car shows and in parking lots. It is really disgusting. If you want to find Civics like this in the U.S. you will have to visit the mountains.
Enough of that though. This is a direct message to Mike Garrett. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR FEATURING THIS CAR. So sick of looking at show cars pretending to be purpose built touge/circuit cars. This is the type of stuff I want to see. Also. Make sure to check out Mt. Rokko if you end up anywhere near Kobe. Lots of good stuff going on in that area
sick car. love the kanjo style. anyone else notice the underhood fuse box, gauge cluster and shifter box are all EP3 as well.
Love these type of car spotlights.
Desktop image of the 2nd image...plz
Proper Civic. Need desktop. Please!
hehe the beanie looks a lot like a spartan helmet
Beautiful. CK<3
I respect anybody with a passion to pursue their hobbies, but I must agree that this car looks like quite a POS.
There are thousands of properly prepped Honda's circling the tracks at SCCA events every weekend which put this car to shame in terms of build quality on a budget. The internet populous needs to hit the paddocks so they can appreciate a proper build and stop interpreting 'hacked' as 'raw and authentic' and in need of praise.
i want to be a kanji racer
love this post!
couldn't agree more with andrew.
Such an awesome and genuine car. Really like the aura of old kanjo machines!
I normally don't much care for civics as they are everywhere but this one stands out. This car is built for 1 thing only... speed. And you can tell. Thats what sets it apart from the rest