D Car — November 2003
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About this issue
250 available scans from D Car — November 2003, in right-to-left reading order. Japanese OCR and English translation drafts are available throughout. Drafts have not received exhaustive image proofreading; unreadable source remains recorded in the archival data.
Page 33 — English draft translation
Captions and page details
Swap Techniques: Advanced Edition
Part 01: Classic Sport Compact
Trend guide
Impex
Honda
Trend 01: Gullwing Doors and Swaps
[DC2]
Integra
A face swap using aero parts from another model
As an advanced technique, we’ll show a face swap using aero parts from another model. Naturally, they won’t bolt straight on, so one-off fabrication is needed—but that makes the result especially rare. Let’s examine this detail-packed DC2 as our example!
Impex
TEL: 0568-35-3601
Inquiries
D-CAR
A storm of swaps—and even the engine…? This sharp-looking Integra uses ViS Racing aero originally made for the Acura CL.
Ultra-sharp, clean finish
New color
The striking color is Sonic Blue Pearl, a rare factory color sourced from the United States. This build is driven by a determination to master the JDM look.
Face 3
The Z3-style fender ducts look completely at home. The mix of unusual parts still comes together remarkably well.
The wing is also unusual: ViS’s Pro GT2 uses aluminum rather than carbon, reflecting the owner’s distinctive taste.
D-CAR
The build uses many JDM parts. The suspension is adapted from an Impreza GC2, while the arms and related running-gear components are upgraded to Type R specifications. It is a showcase of parts borrowed from other models.
The 18-inch Racing Hart CP035R wheels are visibly five-lug. Their chrome finish gives the car a lowrider-Euro flavor.
Only the upper part of the engine was swapped to Type R specification, but even that makes a big difference. It also has a Mugen exhaust manifold and Spoon muffler.
The cockpit is coordinated in blue without becoming too flashy. The Sparco seat, like the steering wheel, is a model that apparently has not yet been imported to Japan.
As expected, it has NOS. An Apex’i V-AFC also controls VTEC, adding a race-car feel.
Six rapid-fire swap mini-catalog entries!
Highlights of bodywork and style!
Honda models are the main base cars, thanks to their popularity and ease of modification.
RX-8-face Civic Coupe
Y’s Factory — TEL 0479-24-1058
S2000-face Civic
Y’s Factory — TEL 0479-24-1058
Celica-face Civic Coupe / Celica-face Prelude
Y’s Factory — TEL 0479-24-1058
Instead of an easy-to-modify fiberglass hood, they deliberately used difficult-to-work steel for the RX-8-face conversion. It is the kind of challenge only Y’s Factory, bodywork specialists, would take on.
This is another car built by Y’s Factory. The S2000 front end fits the Civic perfectly; even enlarged photos show no awkward transition.
From the front, it looks exactly like a Celica, but its overall silhouette reads as a Civic Coupe. At a glance, it’s hard to identify the car—a face swap that really works.
Z3-face Integra
Garage Tiara — TEL 0823-82…
BMW-face Integra
Success S&G — TEL 042-852-9…
Y’s Factory — TEL 0479-24-1058
DUB
Prelude 2002
The Fairlady Z33 is now an increasingly popular base for face swaps in the sport-compact scene. Its slanted headlights demand considerable skill to fit properly.
This build starts with a DC2 Integra fitted with a ViS ‘BattleZ’ bumper, then applies BMW M-series styling. It showcases an extraordinary level of fitment skill.
From the headlight area, this could pass for a Celica, but the base car is a Prelude. Changing the impression takes skill—and the sense to combine the new face with the aero package matters just as much.
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