Words: Deven Solanki Photos: Nikki Armada
K-swaps are everywhere these days. Civics, Integras, hell, we even featured a Prelude and a BMW E30 not long ago. But a boosted K-swapped CRX? Now that’s something you don’t see every day. It’s almost guaranteed that if you mention those three letters around any Honda fan, you’ll see their eyes light up. The CRX is arguably one of Honda’s cult-status heroes of the ’80s, the boxy little wedge that punched well above its weight with the flagship EF8 SiR. B16A, VTEC, lightweight chassis and the unmistakable DOHC VTEC factory decals running down the sides — it’s still the kind of car that makes Honda heads weak at the knees.
For 40-year-old Aucklander Van Nguyen, the CRX has always held a special place. He’s been deep in the Honda game since the early 2000s, when the scene was all about underglow, LED crystal tail lights, chromies, full-leather interiors, and colour-shifting paint.
Influenced by older brothers Khang and Justin, Van’s first leap was with an EF8 CRX, running the factory-fitted B16A that quickly gave way to a B18C swap, back when that was the go-to swap before the K-series phenomenon. A full Cyber kit and set of polished chromies later, and he was in line with everyone else, living through one of the most memorable eras for Honda enthusiasts.
But shit happens, and Van stepped away for a bit to focus on adult life, putting the cars on the back burner for nearly a decade. Until a mate shared some clips of K-swapped Hondas pushing crazy power through stock blocks, which might have just revived his Honda obsession. If Van wanted to jump back in the game, he had to kick off where he started. “I’ve always loved the lightweight EF CRX ever since I was 12,” Van says. “They’re super rare now, and doing a K-swap in one just takes it to another level.”
With the itch fully back, Van started collecting parts before he even had his hands on a shell. “It felt like Christmas every couple of days,” he laughs. “Stuff just kept showing up, and I had to sneak most of it past my wife to avoid being interrogated.” Like most of us, Van’s got a bit of a Marketplace addiction. Endless scrolling eventually paid off when he stumbled across a reasonably tidy CRX — the perfect base for what he had in mind. “The price was a bit up there at first, so I just kept an eye on it, he says. “But about a month later, I felt the urge to throw the guy an offer, and to my surprise, he took it!”. And just like that, the build was officially on. At first, the plan was to stay NA with ITBs and a few bolt-ons. But after one too many limiter-bashing turbo K-series compilations, he eventually caved, and the boost bug had bitten hard.
Within days of rolling the new project into the garage, Van got stuck in, stripping out the crusty old running gear and prepping the bay for the solid Hasport mounts and the K24 test fit. But he wasn’t happy with how cluttered everything was, so the decision was made to semi-shave it. Holes were welded shut, brackets deleted, and everything was smoothed and primed.
Paint-wise, Van originally planned to keep things classic with a traditional Honda white or red. At one point, he even considered Nardo Grey to match his EJ1 Civic. But in the end, he went with something a little different, KH2 Gun Grey Metallic, borrowed from the R32 GT-R colour chart.
With the engine out, the K24A received a full refresh using all genuine Honda parts. Tensioner, chain, seals, guides, plus a Type R oil pump upgrade and a 50-degree VTC cam gear to safely chase those high RPMs. The head and block remained factory, but an RZCrew Racing billet intake manifold and Skunk2 70mm throttle body were installed, held together by a titanium stud kit.
Once the bay was painted and the engine slotted in permanently, Van hit his first major hurdle: the bonnet wouldn’t shut. Out came the grinder, and he cut clearance holes, fitting hand-made custom bonnet vents to both cover the openings and help with heat extraction. He also relocated the fuse box inside the cabin and completely stripped and re-routed the loom, sleeving it in expanding braid to keep everything clean and stealthy.
Being a part-time fabricator, Van took on the challenge of sculpting his own sidewinder manifold. SCH40 piping, custom flanges from Vulcan Steel, and a whole lot of measuring later, he squeezed in a Pulsar GTX3582R turbo, downpipe, wastegate, and screamer into the tight Honda bay, all without chopping any front metal, to keep things cert-friendly.
Van fabricated a full three-inch stainless exhaust, finishing it off with an NZKW muffler to keep the rear looking close to stock. For cooling, he went with an NZKW intercooler core fitted with custom-welded end tanks, both inlet and outlet sit on the same side. The piping is all three-inch alloy, shaped with a few doughnuts to navigate the tight bends. The radiator is a reworked unit from an EG Civic. Since it sat too high, Van flipped the core and fabricated new end tanks to make it fit perfectly in the bay.
“The fabrication process was undoubtedly the most demanding part of this project! It required immense patience, precision, and a lot of creativity to ensure everything fit perfectly,” he recalls. Even the catch can and water overflow were made from scratch after getting the shapes dialled with cardboard templates.
With most of the mechanical side sorted, it was time for bodywork. Countless hours went into sanding, priming, and painting. “I ordered the first batch of paint, but when it was sprayed on, it turned out to be plain KH2, no pearl! I was gutted, haha. So I went back to the paint shop, got the proper colour, sanded it all back, and started again. Second time around, it came out perfect!”
The CRX’s handling is dialled in with Wilwood Dynapro four-pot brakes, Hardrace arms and bushes, and a set of D2 adjustable coilovers. Inside the cabin, AEM gauges for boost, oil pressure, and AFR, along with a water/meth kit, are installed, and as the factory cluster didn’t play nice with the DC5 gearbox, Van swapped in a DC2 Type R cluster and re-pinned the loom to make everything work seamlessly.
With everything bolted down and fluids topped up, Van flashed a Hondata base map, crossed his fingers … and it fired on the first crank. From there, it was then trailered to JTune, where Jacky Tse spun it on the dyno, pushing out 307kW at 15psi, more than enough for now. “There’s definitely more in it, but I’m just enjoying it as-is before turning things up,” Van says proudly.
Now road-legal and certified, Van’s CRX is back and tearing up the streets with a modern-day throwback to the car that first got him hooked all those years ago. So what’s it like to drive? Van just laughed: “Honestly, it’s not the comfiest thing. My family’s not that keen on being in it. It’s solid-mounted, it’s loud, and yeah, it’s a 35-year-old car. But it drives mint. Super light, pulls hard, and when the boost kicks in at 3500rpm and hits full by 5000 RPM, let’s just say traction can be a challenge.”
Looking ahead, Van’s already eyeing up a forged motor and more power, maybe even an AWD swap, if he can get it across the cert line. But for now, he’s just enjoying the build as it stands, finally reaping the rewards of his long-awaited return behind the wheel of a CRX.
SPEC LIST
1989 Honda CRX (EF6)
Heart
ENGINE: K24, 2400cc four-cylinder
BLOCK: Factory
HEAD: Factory, 50-degree intake cam gear
INTAKE: RZCrew Racing Airstream billet intake manifold, Skunk2 Racing 70mm throttle body, Speed Factory thermal intake gasket, titanium intake stud kit
EXHAUST: Custom stainless steel Sidewinder turbo manifold, custom stainless steel three-inch down pipe with V-band clamps, NZKW rear muffler
TURBO: Pulsar GTX3582R
WASTEGATE: Turbosmart Gen4 HyperGate45
BOV: TiAL 50mm
FUEL: Xspurt 1170cc injectors, Walbro 450LPH in-tank fuel pump, Hybrid Racing inline fuel filter, Hybrid Racing fuel rail, Hybrid Racing fuel pressure regulator, AN braided fuel lines with AN fittings, AEM water-methanol kit, custom fuel pump relay kit
IGNITION: Factory
ECU: Hondata K-Pro v4
COOLING: Custom radiator, 10-inch SPAL fan, custom radiator shrouds, billet upper coolant fitting, billet thermostat housing, custom front mount intercooler, custom three-inch intercooler piping with V-band fittings
EXTRA: Upgraded Type R oil pump, Drag Cartel lower chain guide, Nardo Grey rocker, K-Tuned oil dipstick, K-Tuned radiator cap, Hybrid Racing oil cap, custom aluminium oil catch can with AN-10 hose and fittings, custom water overflow tank, Drag Cartel billet VTC strainer, DC5 Creations billet coil cover, Hasport 62A EFK2 engine mounts, Elusive Racing DC5 engine harness, Hybrid Racing conversion harness, SpeedFactory 4-bar MAP sensor, MAC 4 port boost solenoid, K-Tuned TPS sensor, billet alternator relocation bracket, custom aluminium window washer reservoir, Innovative traction bar, semi-shaved engine bay, re-sleeved tucked OEM wire harness, custom firewall heat shield
Drive
GEARBOX: DC5 Type S five-speed
CLUTCH: Competition Stage 4 six-puck clutch, custom cable-to-hydro clutch conversion.
FLYWHEEL: Factory DC5
DIFF: MFactory LSD
Support
STRUTS: D2 Gen2 adjustable coilovers
BRAKES: (F) Wilwood Dynapro four-pot callipers, Znoelli 262mm dimple rotors, Wilwood pads (R) EF8 CRX callipers, EF8 CRX rotors, TRW pads
ARMS/KNUCKLES: Hardrace front and rear lower control arms, Hardrace rear camber arms, Hardrace bushings throughout
Shoes
WHEELS: (F) 15×7-inch (+35) Wedssport RS-5 (R) 15×7-inch (+35) Wedssport RS-5
TYRES: (F) 205/50R15 Toyo Proxes R888R (R) 205/50R15 Westlake Sport RS
Exterior
PAINT: R32 GT-R KH2 ‘Gun Grey’
ENHANCEMENTS: HC Racing front lip spoiler, Mugen Pro2 rear spoiler, SiR CRX rear tailights, custom bonnet vents, amber corner and indicator lights.
Interior
SEATS: Factory
STEERING WHEEL: MOMO Montecarlo 350mm
INSTRUMENTATION: DC2 Type R cluster, AEM X series boost, oil pressure and air-fuel ratio gauges, Pioneer double din headunit, custom rear fibreglass speaker pods with SoundStream 6.5-inch and Rockford Fosgate 5.25-inch speakers, custom carbon-fibre ECU mount, stripped and paint-matched rear interior
EXTRA: K-Tuned billet shifter, Mugen pedals
Performance
POWER: 307kW
TORQUE: 408Nm
BOOST: 15psi
FUEL TYPE: 98 Octane
TUNER: Jacky Tse at JTune
Driver Profile:
DRIVER/OWNER: Van Nguyen
AGE: 40
LOCATION: Auckland
OCCUPATION: System engineer and part-time fabricator
BUILD TIME: One year-ish
LENGTH OF OWNERSHIP: Three years
THANKS: Huge shoutout to my wife, Yong, and kids Kara and Aaliyah for putting up with my countless hours in the garage. To my nieces and nephew who encouraged me to complete the car — there were plenty of days when I had no motivation to work on the car. Lastly, Jacky Tse at JTune for the tune, and everyone else who has helped out
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This article originally appeared in New Zealand Performance Car issue 316
