When it comes to the automotive tuning community, otherwise known as "the scene", there is a clear division in geography. Though in a broader spectrum we are still divided between east and west, there are specific states now that are expected to produce the best builds. On the west you have Cali of course. In the east is most notably Florida. The rest are pretty much slept on. Occasionally you will see a car here and there coming from a smaller state but it's few and far between. One of the most slept on states would have to be Texas. To the common folk, when you mention the state of Texas, built Hondas just aren't the first thing that comes to mind. Stereotypes would lead us to think country music, cows and football. Cece Brown set out to break those stereotypes and direct all eyes on the prize that graces these pages before you. This Hypnotic Blue Mica-hued Civic is his message to the nation that Texas is a force to be reckoned with.
"Building this Civic is my passion," Cece exclaims. "I want people to see this car and know that Texas exists." Carrying the weight of an entire state on his shoulders was no small feat. Being a budding businessman and the owner of his own shop definitely helped his efforts. The shop, Atomic Auto, gave him an opportunity to basically have every part he needed at his disposal. So much so, that he came up with the idea to redo his Civic every year. Keep in mind that Cece has had this Civic since 2003. So his Civic has had more makeovers than Lil' Kim has had plastic surgeries-almost. To be able to go with a new theme every year is definitely every Honda-owners dream. Is it cost-effective? "I don't even want to think about it." Cece says jokingly. "I originally bought this car as a daily but once I started modifying it, I just decided to make it a promotional vehicle for my shop. I went with an all-J's Racing theme in 2004, all-Mugen the year after that, and at one point I even had a complete Spoon-built engine." Cece had pretty much done it all already, but he still wasn't satisfied. "In 2008, I decided to run TWM individual throttle-bodies and after it was tuned, I was pretty disappointed with the numbers. That's when I decided to give my good friend Dr. Charles Madrid a call. I'll never forget what he told me: go K-series Cece, you will be amazed." Cece followed the doctor's orders and soon found himself out in the West Coast. He along with his close friend Gearheinz Rios and Dr. Charles went to work right away on the K20Z1 swap.
Once the K20 was in, Cece knew that he had to change up the exterior once again. "At that point, I had already won many trophies and awards at shows. I knew that if I wanted the nation to recognize this build and where it came from, I had to be immortalized in print," he explains. "Getting into a magazine was the next logical step." On the way back home after the Type-S swap, Cece began to compile a list of what he had to do to next. Before he left, he remembered his buddy had told him about this rumor that black cars were hard to photograph and that would reduce his chances of being featured. This news made him even more determined to pull out all the stops. He looked around everywhere and asked his friends for color suggestions before finally deciding on Hypnotic Teal Mica. With the paint figured out, the build really began to take off.
"I called Ken Peak from Peakboost and ordered their K-series turbo kit. Normally it only comes with a GT30R turbo but I just said F-it and upgraded to a GT37R. If I'm going all-out, I might as well get the best stuff right?"
Cece found out about a big import event in his hometown that would be perfect for the reintroduction of his hatch. The only problem was the three-month time span in which to finish his build. The turbo install, tuning and paint alone might have taken a couple months as is and he still had many loose ends to tie up before the car could even hit the spray booth. "I had to call every contact I could to get this thing together by my deadline," Cece says.
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