Jerry’s DC2 | Built, Not Bought

My dad’s a car enthusiast, he enjoys driving nice machinery and tinkering with the car, like all Asian dads do. So when I developed a passion for modification, I expected him to support the journey in its fullest. Instead, I got “why would you spend money modifying? Just buy a better car from the beginning”.

Unfortunately we shot this middle of the day!

This perception was built on last year when I attended Aus Time Attack, and saw the Supercar class run faster times than the majority of the Clubsprint entrants. Granted, the budgets are still disproportionate, however the headaches, effort and level of commitment are worlds apart. For a moment in time, it seemed a bit silly to invest all those resources into a car that ultimately competes with a faster, stock variant.

JDM-front, asking for silly prices in 2020, lucky Jerry copped this a few years ago already installed!

Of course, I’ve since made significant progress in the way I thought about what cars meant to us as a pursuit and passion, and speaking to Jerry has made this even more abundantly clear.

“I want to run a 1.10 at Wakefield in a Honda, with a car built my way,” he told me when discussing the overarching goal for his DC2. “With the money invested into the VTi-R, I could’ve purchased a stock DC2R that would run a similar time, but it’s not mine”.

Frans, good friend of both Jerry and I, says that the DC2 has the “perfect driving position”.

Built, not bought is a concept that I feel is often misconstrued. Unfortunately in today’s community the interpretation most frequently taken is that of a person lacking substance, skill or taste to build a car to perform at a specific level. When somebody purchases a car that can outperform a modified vehicle, this is the insult modified owners resort to maintain a sense of false pride.

These TEs were originally white, but Jerry has refurbed them and this contrasting two-tone is a simple, refreshing sight.

Ultimately, there is no better or worse approach, however we can all agree that building a vehicle to achieve a goal rather than purchasing the finished article creates a lot more memories, moments and lessons that transcend the vehicle as just an appliance.

Jerry has been building cars since he was a young adult back home in Malaysia, transplanting a Lancer GSR motor into a Proton Satria GTI (remember those? Lotus suspension…), using it as a sleeper against traditional JDM vehicles, and the performance market.

Was never the biggest fan of how the DC2 looked from the back, I reckon a Mugen wing is necessary…

Moving here to study and subsequently build a career, Jerry’s first major build was his B18C2 EG sedan, “it was supposed to be a full restoration, but at 300 000KM on the chassis I’m glad I didn’t”. While Jerry will yearn for more power in the future, his money was well-invested into suspension bits, he told me “the shocks were $2000, the brake and front knuckle set up was around $1000, swaybars $750 and engine mounts $500”.

As the diminishing (potentially negative returns) returns dawned on him and his restoration goal, Jerry turned his attentions to sourcing a DC2 to transplant his valuable handling goodies. It was as if the stars aligned:

“It certainly felt like fate. It was about a week after talking with the boys when it (the silver DC2) showed up. I even declared the exact spec it should be in if I ever decided to re-shell….white or silver, JDM front only, and reasonable mileage.“

Crazy to think during the 90s Honda built the Integra, Civic, Prelude, Del Sol all as FWD sports platforms…

Out went the key bits from the EG (it was sold with the B18C2, wonder what that would fetch in today’s silly market), and it was as if his current DC2 was built in a minute. Luckily for him, everything cosmetic that was undesirable about the EG, was already refreshed in the DC2, include a full respray and body repair, along with the JDM front-end conversion.

Unfortunately the stresses and resources needed to run a business has meant that Jerry spends more time these days looking after the operations of Go Garage, than scheming to drop down his lap times. The 1.10 goal on a stock B18C2 is within grasp, he just needs to string together his best individual sectors and knock this off his list!

Redlining this on the track, the aesthetic suits the purpose.

While Jerry’s DC2 build is not an incredibly unique creation (although boost is in the future), how he went about his journey to 1.10 is personal to him because of the context and story. That’s what makes it bespoke. The EG could’ve been a restoration project, so close that he held that vehicle to his heart, the DC2 is just the continuation of building the underdog to tackle Wakefield. Here, building over buying holds merit, the execution of personal touches and individual flavour to accomplish a goal.

It doesn’t have to be solely performance-related, and the best way to relate this is through outfits in fashion. An individual part can be purchased by everybody, however you piece together all items and dress in cohesion, and ultimately it represents your personality and taste.

Everybody goes for a different colour, this is actually the first DC2 in silver I’ve seen in forever, definitely a fan.

You can’t do that with a factory car no matter how hard you try, there are only so many options and over time to standout it is inevitable that you turn to the aftermarket to get the results you want, as Jerry put it, “on your own terms”. Combine this with resource constraints and specific goal setting, and builds like Jerry’s make much more sense.

Improving something that already exists, or building from scratch is a valuable learning experience that everybody should try at least once in their life. Sure, there are many templates, ready-to-builds and finished products on the market now that doesn’t warrant doing it, but as Jerry, myself and so many others will attest, the satisfaction is that much greater.

SPEC SHEET

POWERTRAIN

B18C2
Skunk2 IM with 70mm inlet
ITR Throttlebody
Injen CAI
Supertech Brass Guides and Valve Springs
Ferrea Valves Ferrea Valve Seals
4PISTON Enlarged and High PSI Oil Pump with Toda Forged Oil Pump Gear
Spoon Baffled Sump
CP 11:1 Forged Pistons and Carillo Rods
Knife Edged and Balanced Crank
Petersen Catch Can Setup
Setrab 13row Oil Cooler
Koyorad Full Size Radiator
Spoon Engine and Torque Mounts
Zerofighter 555 Exhaust Manifold, Custom Midpipe by Haks, 200CEL Cat, and DC5R Mugen Twinloop Axleback
S300v3 Tuned by Adrian at Insight Motorsports
JDMyard Rebuilt S80 VTiR Gearbox with OEM Synchros, GSi 5th gear and Wavetrac Helical Diff
Exedy 3 Puck Clutch, Clutchmasters Lightened Flywheel