1994 Honda Civic EX Sedan: An OEM Plus JDM Ferio Build

Jermaine Dimalanta

1994 Honda Civic EX Sedan

Instagram: @JRD_T4R

Photographer: Marvin Recinos 

Instagram: @mr2mivin

An OEM Plus JDM Ferio Build

My name is Jermaine Dimalanta and I'm from Oxnard, CA. Being a lifelong resident of Southern California, I'm also a lifelong enthusiast of all things cars. Growing up on Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Micro Machines, and Lego car sets, I started at a very young age.

Aside from growing up on toy cars as my influence, I feel like my dad and my neighbors were my biggest influences. My dad had a 1984 Fox Body Mercury Capri RS when I was born and eventually sold that car to purchase a 1969 Mustang Fastback from a family member, which I currently own today.

My neighbors also influenced me growing up in the early to mid 90s. One neighbor bought a brand new red second-generation Acura Integra that he lowered on Neuspeed springs and mesh wheels with a catback exhaust, which I think sparked my interest in Hondas. My other neighbor had a blue 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse RS lowered on factory Eclipse GSX wheels and a GReddy Trust catback exhaust, which I think sparked my interest in other import tuning cars aside from Hondas.

Why I Came Back to a 5th Generation Civic

This is my second 5th generation Civic. I previously owned a 1995 Civic EX Coupe, which was my very first car and the car that taught me everything I know when it comes to working on cars, which I owned from 2004 to 2014. I originally had no intentions of getting into another Honda. I even told myself the only Honda I would ever get into again would either be an S2000 or an NSX. But after finding this Honda Civic EX Sedan for sale by the original owner in completely stock form, my love for the 5th generation Civic came back. I've owned this car for four years now, and throughout that time I've tried to aim for a simple, OEM plus type look, which I think tends to work best for 5th generation Civics and all other Golden Era Hondas. I tried to look for another coupe, but it was getting difficult to find a clean and stock example, so I decided to try something a little different and go with a sedan.

I think what makes this car unique is that it's a sedan, and I feel like they don't get as much love and attention as the coupe and hatchback versions. It's been a blast to own and drive, taking it on a cruise during the weekends to meets, cars and coffee events, and down the PCH. Driving it also takes me back to my old Civic and the memories made with that car.

Engine

The D16Z6 SOHC VTEC is still the original engine, and I've built around it rather than swapped it. A DC Sports header and DC Sports short ram intake handle the intake and exhaust side, paired with a Spoon Sports Street Type axleback muffler. For cooling, I run a Mishimoto aluminum radiator and a Circuit Hero radiator cooling plate. Downstar engine bay dress-up hardware and Chasing JS titanium brackets round out the bay.

Engine Specs

• Original D16Z6 SOHC VTEC
• DC Sports header
• DC Sports short ram intake
• Spoon Sports Street Type axleback muffler
• Mishimoto aluminum radiator
• Circuit Hero radiator cooling plate
• Downstar engine bay dress-up hardware
• Chasing JS titanium brackets

Interior

I've got Del Sol seats covered in tan seat covers to match the tan and brown interior, along with an NRG short hub and quick release on a Nardi Deep Corn Revolution brown leather steering wheel. There's a Chasing JS titanium gauge cluster bezel overlay, Mugen pedal set, and Mugen rear view mirror cover, plus a JDM OEM coin pocket, OEM Ferio third brake light, and OEM tan optional audio console. Shifting goes through a Circuit Hero laser grip Type B shift knob, an ASR dog bone shifter extension, and a B&M dual bend short shifter, with a Circuit Hero shift plate and an OEM JDM Integra Type R red-stitched shift boot. I finished it off with a Spoon Sports blue convex rear view mirror.

Interior Specs

• Del Sol seats with tan seat covers
• NRG short hub and quick release
• Nardi Deep Corn Revolution brown leather steering wheel
• Chasing JS titanium gauge cluster bezel overlay
• Mugen pedal set
• Mugen rear view mirror cover
• JDM OEM coin pocket
• OEM Ferio third brake light
• OEM tan optional audio console
• Circuit Hero laser grip Type B shift knob
• ASR dog bone shifter extension
• B&M dual bend short shifter
• Circuit Hero shift plate
• OEM JDM Integra Type R red-stitched shift boot
• Spoon Sports blue convex rear view mirror

Exterior

The car's still wearing its original Frost White paint. I put on a replica Mugen EG Ferio-specific polyurethane front lip, EDM glass headlights, EDM clear corner lights, and OEM EDM headlight covers, along with OEM JDM amber sidemarkers, an OEM sunroof visor, and OEM JDM window visors. The side mirrors are BangkokSoulStreetShop EC work-style units. Out back I've got OEM JDM Ferio rear door caps, OEM Ferio RTSi rear mudflaps, an OEM Ferio rear spoiler, and the OEM Ferio trunk badge, which ties the whole JDM Ferio theme together.

Exterior Specs

• Original Frost White paint
• Replica Mugen EG Ferio-specific polyurethane front lip
• EDM glass headlights
• EDM clear corner lights
• OEM EDM headlight covers
• OEM JDM amber sidemarkers
• OEM sunroof visor
• OEM JDM window visors
• BangkokSoulStreetShop EC work-style side mirrors
• OEM JDM Ferio rear door caps
• OEM Ferio RTSi rear mudflaps
• OEM Ferio rear spoiler
• OEM Ferio trunk badge

Wheels, Suspension, and Brakes

I'm running 15x6.5 +35 Racing Hart CPF Tune R wheels wrapped in 205/50R15 Nitto Neo Gen tires. Suspension is Function Form Type 2 coilovers, along with Skunk2 front upper control arms and a Skunk2 rear camber kit. I've got Ultra Racing bars all over, a three point front strut bar, rear strut bar, and interior rear floor bar, plus an ASR rear subframe brace, ASR rear lower control arms, and an ASR 24mm rear sway bar. Brakes are R1 Concepts front and rear drilled and slotted rotors with R1 Concepts pads, and Goodridge G-Stop stainless steel braided brake lines.

Wheels Specs

• 15x6.5 +35 Racing Hart CPF Tune R wheels
• 205/50R15 Nitto Neo Gen tires

Suspension Specs

• Function Form Type 2 coilovers
• Skunk2 front upper control arms
• Skunk2 rear camber kit
• Ultra Racing three point front strut bar
• Ultra Racing rear strut bar
• Ultra Racing interior rear floor bar
• ASR rear subframe brace
• ASR rear lower control arms
• ASR 24mm rear sway bar

Brakes Specs

• R1 Concepts front and rear drilled and slotted rotors
• R1 Concepts brake pads
• Goodridge G-Stop stainless steel braided brake lines

Who Did the Work

I did all the work myself in my garage.

Future Plans

Future plans include repainting the car because the original 32-year-old paint is showing its age. I have numerous OEM and OEM reproduction parts that I plan on installing after paint, such as OEM-style thin door side moldings, EDM bumper moldings, and all new window moldings and trim pieces. Also, a B-series swap to keep the rest of the period correct theme may be in the works.

If you're into sedans getting the attention they deserve, Gilberto Villanueva's 1997 Honda Civic Sedan build is worth a read. And if you want to see how far a Golden Era Honda can go the other direction, this supercharged B18c1 EJ1 Civic is a good one too.

Shout Outs

Shout out to some of the old Honda heads I've known since my first Civic for influencing me to get into another Golden Era Honda. Shout out to @camellia_ej1 for being the biggest influence in me getting into another Honda, because watching his EJ1 Coupe progress and the attention to detail the last few years has been very inspiring. And a huge shout out to @mr2mivin for this feature and for taking the time to take photos of my sedan.

"Definitely was not expecting it and I appreciate it. Thanks again!"

Dream Car

My dream car would have to be either an R33 GTR or an NSX. If you feel the same way, check out this 600whp R33 GTR build and this 500hp supercharged Acura NSX from our featured section.

For more builds like this one, grab a copy of Stance Auto Magazine from our Amazon store.