If there was one inspirational Honda crew I could think of from “back in TeamRice days,” it would have to be Team Ultraspeed. The crew was primarily from the east coast, but made its way out to California and across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii. Roy was the reason why Ultraspeed set its foot down in Hawaii. If any of you remember his 12-second B20 VTEC bronze Del Sol, you know he always meant business with his builds. His Del Sol went under numerous transitions including a Metallic-Gold Chrome paint job and one of the first K-series motor swaps in Hawaii back then.

Well, since then Roy’s come up with a fresh new ride with his FA5 Civic SI. It took 1st Place in JDM class at SPOCOM in 2010 as it’s loaded with all kinds of OEM and aftermarket Japan-spec parts including a full exterior conversion which completely transforms the look of this car. Prior to shooting the car, the motor was supercharged, but it’s currently back to an all-motor setup as he works on something new for the car. The interior of this car is just as immaculate with Japan spec Recaros and matching rear seats and tons of other JDM OEM parts. I can’t wait to see what else he has planned for his car, he never ceases to amaze with his builds.

If you don’t know Gil, or you’re too young to the scene to even know who he is, his gold all-motor EG hatch was well known “back in the day.” If it’s one thing I remember about this car, it was killing the competition at Aloha Nationals one year at Hawaii Raceway Park and then on Gil’s last run it sparked down the quarter-mile when the headers smacked the ground from an accidental misshift (sorry to bring it up Gil). I was glad to hear he still has the EG, it’s definitely a piece of history as most of the cars TeamRice and DR featured back then are no longer around. Anyway, enough reminiscing about the past…

The first time I saw Gil’s EK sedan was back in February 2011, a day before I left to Japan, when I was shooting TeamRice Lance’s Accord Wagon. Back then it was his daily beater, patched with primer and ready for paint (you might be able to see it at the end of Lance’s Video Footage in the reflection during the rolling segment). What was supposed to be a beater turned into a top notch build. It just took 1st Place in both Honda and JDM classes at last week’s SPOCOM car show. It is definitely a crowd pleaser with all the rare goodies inside out. Gil’s custom full polished Mugen M7’s definitely set this car apart from any other typical Honda tuner build. His style has remained clean like his EG hatch build, lots of subtle things that any other person wouldn’t notice, such as the JDM steering column assembly (right-side headlight and turn signal controls and left-side windshield wiper controls) and even the heat insulation cover underneath the hood. I also love the fact that he’s running a stock muffler, showing that you don’t need a loud ass annoying fart cannon to go fast and look good. It’s builds like these that keep the Honda scene alive and kicking in Hawaii. Enjoy the shots.