Acura Integra - The Seven-Year Itch Resurrected, Born Again, Call It What You Want-The Infamous "Noops" Integra Rises Up From Its DeathbeadFace it, cars come and go. Some are built by industry heads, others are one-off demo rides. Either way, life expectancies are short since, all too often, many are pieced apart and sent out to pasture. Unique projects, like those able to withstand the test of time yet remain relatively unchanged, are but a rarity-projects like Reggie Quemuel's '95 Integra, for example.
Anyone familiar with the Southern California Honda game will likely recognize Reggie's Integra. Its numerous appearances at events over the years and its recognizable "NOOPS" license plate ensure as much. Even slow learners understand the correlation between Ichishima Tatsuru's Honda-themed tuner company Spoon Sports and Noops. It's Spoon spelled backwards you see. "I named the car Noops back then because I envisioned many parts on this DC2 tailored with Spoon parts," Reggie says.
What many may not know is that Noops wasn't always the pristine white Integra some have gotten to know so well. Once upon a time, Noops led a different life, one as "Kane"-a red GSR owned by Reggie's friend and Team Kosoku running mate.
The DC2, which was originally purchased in 1995, saw life as a turbocharged 1.8-liter show/race car that regularly attended the original Battle of the Imports and Import Showoff events. Two years later, devastation occurred when it was stolen. Upon recovery, the former owner was dumbfounded as to what to do with the 'Teg due to his lack of insurance so Reggie let him borrow an EG. "When I picked up Kane from the impound lot with my trailer, I pitched Jamie a wild proposal," Reggie says. "I offered to trade him my Civic hatchback for his stripped Integra shell." It was this outrageous idea that led to the Integra's rebirth.
With the shell stripped, Reggie opted to convert the front end to JDM Type R-specs. The conversion included the metal fenders, OEM hood, core support, front bumper, and HID headlights. Type R conversions in the late '90s cost a pretty penny because such parts weren't readily available in those days. Along with Nathan Pagtama, another Kosoku teammate, Reggie welded the core support and prepared the chassis for paint. "I knew right away that I was going to go with a clean, simple look so I removed all the windows from the shell, the entire interior, every single wire harness, and every little component out of the engine bay," Reggie says.
While the car was awaiting paint over at FLM in North Hollywood, Reggie began work on another turbocharged B-series engine with the turbo kit coming courtesy of Rev Hard's Myles, Allen, and Jonathan. Once FLM resprayed the chassis inside and out with a fresh coat of Honda Championship White, Reggie hit up Sheng at JHP USA to finish off the exterior with a Spoon front lip, Type R side skirts, and JDM Honda Access window visors. The completion of the exterior meant that all signs of Kane's formerly stripped and abandoned self were forever gone.
The next step to Noops' rebirth was to give the rolling chassis an aggressive stance. Options weren't as widespread as they are today so Reggie chose what he thought was the best setup at the time-Tokico shocks and Skunk2 coilovers. This late-'90s setup, like much of the car, stood the perils of time and remains today. As time progressed, Reggie added other suspension pieces, like Skunk2 lower control arms, a Mugen front shock brace, Spoon lower tie-bar, and EM Racing pillar bars. For rollers, Reggie followed through on the Noops namesake by contacting Speed Quest Performance for a set of Spoon SW388 wheels. The Spoon rims sat on Integra Type R five-lug hubs and around an NSX brake conversion. The wheel setup would remain for a couple of years before its present-day configuration of red 16x7 Gab Sport wheels paired with 215/45-16 Falken Azenis tires.
The exterior's simplicity reflects inside of the Type R-converted DC. Type R door panels and console units make their way into the Integra and the driving position is accentuated with Bride seats, Mugen pedals, and a Mugen steering wheel. The stock cluster was removed and a Spoon one sits in its place, along with an Auto Meter boost gauge that conveys pressures to Reggie. Little JDM knickknacks, like an armrest eliminator and clock block-off, let the keen eye know that this is not your normal Integra interior. Reggie utilizes an Eclipse head unit and a combination of Alpine and Boston Acoustics components to blare music into his ears as he cruises the streets of Santa Clarita, Calif.
The configuration won Reggie a number of trophies throughout the years at competitive car shows like Import Showoff and Hot Import Nights. As such, the setup remained relatively unchanged throughout the years, the look never faltering. You could say it's as popular today as it was back then, but a major change came in late 2007 when Reggie began toying with the idea of doing a K-series engine swap. "I did my first K-series swap earlier last year on Raphael Hernandez's (the owner of Showstopper's USA) EK Civic and found it so easy that I decided to do it to my own car," Reggie says.
He decided to opt for the more aggressive K20 Type S engine and swapped it into his DC with Hasport mounts. Reggie knew that he had to have boost like his previous setup so he made a call once again to his buddies at Rev Hard and picked up the essentials needed to assemble his own kit. The custom kit features a T04E turbo, Rev Hard manifold, Spearco intercooler, TiAL wastegate, and Vortech blow-off valve. Exhaust gases pass through a Rev Hard test pipe and Dynomax muffler with custom 3-inch piping. Heavy-duty fuel delivery is supplied by a Walbro 255lph fuel pump, filtered with an AEM fuel filter, and regulated by an SX fuel pressure regulator. The cooling system is improved with the help of a Koyo aluminum radiator. Engine dressup for the car show points include a JDM K-series valve cover, GReddy radiator cap, and a polished and blinged-out intake manifold.
The great thing about having a build like Noops is that, despite the years, it hasn't left Reggie's side. It holds as many memories and sentimental moments to its owner as it does a high regard throughout the Honda community. In contrast to other fly-by-night builds, Noops developed a sense of companionship with its owner and Reggie has never forgotten about the car or lost his passion to fiddle with it. The entire build took over seven years and yet hasn't concluded. "2007 was a remarkable year for me-I graduated from Cal State Northridge with a bachelor's degree in sociology, I turned 30 years old, and Noops is coming around the block again," Reggie says. "I plan to test Noops at the quarer-mile track all season long so stay tuned."
Bolts & Washers
Propulsion:
K20A2 Type S
Hasport mounts
Rev Hard cast exhaust manifold
Turbonetics T04E turbo
Rev Hard intercooler piping
Spearco intercooler
Vortech blow-off valve
TiAL wastegate
Rev Hard test pipe
Dynomax muffler with custom 3-inch piping
Walbro 255lph fuel pump
RC Engineering 750cc injectors (not shown)
AEM fuel rail
AEM fuel filter
SX fuel pressure regulator
Orme Brothers fittings and braided lines
Buddy Club battery
Koyo radiator
GReddy radiator cap
Spoon radiator brackets
JDM valve cover
Vision/Rev Hard catch can with K&N breather filter
ACT clutch
Hasport shifter and axles
Hondata K-Pro engine management system
Stance:
Skunkworks coilovers
Tokico shocks
Skunk2 lower control arms
Type R antiroll bars
Mugen shock tower bar
Spoon lower tie-bar
EM Racing pillar bars
Resistance:
Powerslot rotors
OEM NSX pads
NSX calipers
Goodridge steel braided lines
Type R five-lug conversion
Rims &Rubber:
16x7 Gab Sport (+45 offset)
215/45-16 Falken Azenis
Mugen lug nuts
Outside:
PPG Championship White paint
JDM HID Integra Type R front end conversion
Spoon front lip
Type R side skirts
JDM window visors Spoon mirrors
Inside:
Bride Ergo II seats
ITR door panels
Mugen pedals
Skunk2 shift knob
Spoon gauge cluster
Auto Meter Pro Shift Light
Mugen steering wheel
CDM airbag pocket
JDM clock cover
JDM armrest eliminator
Auto Meter boost/vacuum gauge
GReddy turbo timer
Props:
Mom and Dad
Sheriff Deputy Q
Danyelle Downs
Dana and Robert Rossling
Parnell Pete Navarro
Fernando and Raphael Hernandez at Showstopper's USA
Ken Miyoshi
RJ De Vera
Dr. Jay Yuson
Myles, Allan and Jonathan at Rev Hard
Tim
Austin
Anton
Tony Grinstein
Jerome Tsuneishi
Kevin Miyagishima
Thang Tran
Ejay
Roberto
Christine
Guillermo
Mike Alerta
Chris Cortes
Sam Cambodia
Marlo
Gilmore Racing
Sean Collyer
Arvin Rodpotong at Bodywerks
JHP USA
Options Auto Salon
Clint at Bestway
Camp 1320
Lee at FLM
Val Surf
Kosoku All Stars
J's Racing
Blue Motors
Super Tuning
Owner Specs
Hometown:
Santa Clarita, Calif.
Most Played in the iPod:
Linkin Park
Favorite kicks:
Air Jordans
Recent dvd:
Michael Jackson Collaboration featuring Kanye West, Fergie, Akon, and will.i.am
Bogus traffic ticket:
Non-operating horn
Mac or PC:
Mac
Favorite non-Honda:
Chevy
Porn star pick:
Jenna Haze
Hottest model:
Kim Kardashian
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Resurrected, Born Again, Call It What You Want-The Infamous "Noops" Integra Rises Up From Its DeathbeadFace it, cars come and go. Some are built by industry heads, others are one-off demo rides. Either way, life expectancies are short since, all too often, many are pieced apart and sent out to pasture. Unique projects, like those able to withstand the test of time yet remain relatively unchanged, are but a rarity-projects like Reggie Quemuel's '95 Integra, for example.
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