Power Struggle - 1993 Honda Del Sol S Turbo

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Honda guys from New Jersey are among some of our favorites. Ever since we did Hondafest in '03 at the famed Englishtown drag strip, which attracted scores of local talent, we've had nothing but love and respect for our compatriots in the Garden State. It warmed our hearts to see so much devotion and enthusiasm for the big H. It was almost like we never left the Civic- and Integra-friendly environs of SoCal. Mullet heads in IROCs these are not.

Our latest Jersey gem is this '93 del Sol S owned by Marc Outram of Bayville. Outram bleeds Honda red, having owned an '82 Accord, a '95 Civic EX coupe, an '01 CL Type-S, and an '04 TL over the years. He picked up his Sol in '01 for a G and has since turned it into what he describes as "a fun weekend ride," dumping nearly 30 thousand dollars into the build. Given the car's mods and expense, though, something tells us he's out for more than just "fun."

We caught up with Outram not too long ago to find out more about his Targa-top terror.

Where did you find the del Sol?

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A friend of mine had owned it for a long time and wanted to get rid of it because he wanted an S2000. I got the car really cheap because he owed me money.

For $1,000, what condition was vehicle in?

It had a few dings here and there, but no real major body damage. The car was basically his winter vehicle, and he left it stock. I bought it because I wanted a new project. I had gotten rid of my old Civic and wanted something that was convertible. [I got the del Sol with] a Targa top.

Why this Sol, the S?

The lightest del Sol that Honda made was the S because it came with nothing. It was basically the stripped down version. The only thing power on the car is the windows.

Have you had a chance to weigh the car in its current state?

Yeah, it weighs 2,180lbs. It's not super light, but it's light compared to a [Civic] coupe. A del Sol with a B16 averages almost 2,600lbs.

What plans did you have for this car initially, if any?

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The original plan was to have an everyday street vehicle and have some fun, go drag racing on the weekends, do some road racing with it. In the beginning I did everything nice, put a GSR [motor] in it, and once everything was done I became bored with the motor. The header and exhaust were satisfying for a little while, and then I added the NOS to it and that kept me going for another year. I got bored with that as well. At that point I thought to try NA, because I had never built a strictly all-motor car. I enjoyed that for a little while. I went with a wet [nitrous] system and I couldn't get it to work the way I wanted it, so I went back to my roots, which is turbo. I wanted more and more power--it's a never-ending cycle. I always say I'm satisfied, but I seem to be upgrading every two years.

For the first stage, Outram just took care of the basics, dumping the EG chassis and stiffening it up, securing some rollers, and taking care of the body supplements. He also swapped in a B18C1 long block and bolted on a header, exhaust, and 75-shot of nitrous, which made 188hp off the bottle and 234 on it. A year later, Outram set out to turn the motor into an NA monster, securing 12.5:1 JE pistons, Peak rods, and having the head set up by JG Engine Dynamics. The second stage put down 200 horses.

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I was really psyched at stage 2, with the 12.5:1 compression, because I had seen a lot of guys out there running some pretty good times with that setup. I gave it a shot, but [in the end] it just wasn't satisfying. It was great on the road course, but for everyday driving, it just wasn't doing it for me.

Thinking turbo another year on, stage 3 is characterized by lower compression 9.5:1 JE pistons, a kit from Drag, and a Type-R ECU. That was good for 370 ponies. The condition the Sol is now, stage 4, found Outram selling the 1.8-liter B and turbo kit for a 1.6 with an S80 gearbox and a new custom turbo built by the shop he's come to rely on, E-Shift Performance.

You mentioned your roots are in turbo--one of your previous cars was turbocharged?

Yes, my '95 coupe. That's how it all started for me, turbocharging the single-cam [D16Z6] in my coupe. It was a homemade shop kit; at the time I was working for a place called IMP, and we pieced a kit together. This is going back like 10 years.

How did you find E-Shift for this project?

A friend of mine back in the day had them do an LS/VTEC swap and told me about them. We were all starving for a guy that was good in our area, and that's how it started. Mike Miranda and Wayne Henry have been great.

We're digging the S2000 seats. I don't think we see those too often in a del Sol.

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I'm the first one in this area, and everyone is sweatin' me for it. They look awesome. I didn't want a full-race seat because it's been done. I'd never seen leather seats in a del Sol, and I came across a set of S2000 seats cheap, the guy needed money, and I basically got them for a steal. Those seats are averaging over $1,000 [on eBay] and I got them for $550. A lot of the race seats, you gotta spend an arm and a leg to get something that reclines. I just love the way they look and feel--they're really comfortable.

We're getting the sense that there was more than a few purchases of opportunity, stuff came up and you basically jumped on it when you had the chance.

Absolutely, I'm a firm believer in that. Even if I don't need it, I'll keep it in my garage because one day I'm gonna use it.

So what's been the biggest headache in putting together this project?

Getting the proper tune for the street with the Hondata, that was probably the hardest thing. I finally had Rafael Estevez from DRT Performance in Woodside, NY, [tune the car] and the only reason I went with him is because Mike and Wayne know the AEM EMS, but I wanted Hondata because I've had success with them. He was the only guy that could tune Hondata in the Tri-state area that I trusted.

Future plans?

I told my wife I'm never getting rid of this car. It's going to my son when he's older. I'm thinking about getting another one or a coupe and go racing with that, but at this present stage, I'm pretty happy with my del Sol.

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For each stage of his ride's development, Outram took the Sol to the wrenches at E-Shift Performance in Cliffwood Beach, NJ. They booted the underperforming 1.5-liter D-series that was stock and most recently supplanted it with a JDM B16A mill built to boost with CP 9.5:1 slugs, Eagle H-beam rods, and for some bottom end lubrication insurance, a greater flowing Type R oil pump. JG Engine Dynamics prepped the head to its Pro Series spec, which included new valves, springs, titanium retainers, and a multi-angle valve job. While they were at it they also installed the ITR cams, AEM gears and port matched the Skunk2 intake manifold.

The custom E-Shift turbo setup is built around a considerable T3/T67 turbo, its compressor section sending the charge to a Precision intercooler and ultimately a 70mm BBK throttle body through 3-inch piping outfitted with a Blitz blow-off valve. On the hot side, a Tial wastegate keeps pressure in check as gases make their way out a 3-inch downpipe to 2.5-inch exhaust plumbing finished with an N1 can.

To complement the increase in air, fuel delivery has been optimized with a Walbro pump, AEM rail and pressure regulator, and RC Engineering 750cc injectors. A Hondata S300 ECU tweak manages fuel and the sparks come from the NGK plugs, while boost pressure is dialed in via a GReddy Type-S controller. Finally, to get power to the ground, the drivetrain was bulletproofed with an RPS clutch and lightened flywheel, an S80 Type R gearbox swap with LSD and 500hp Driveshaft Shop axles.

On pump gas and at 15 to 16psi (what Outram typically runs on the street) this del Sol makes 401wheel hp; on 112 octane and at 25psi of boost, it jumps to 553 wheel hp. It also did the quarter mile in 11.2 seconds on slicks.

This EG chassis gets closer to the ground with Eibach Sportline springs wound around Tokico Illumina 5-way adjustable shocks. The forward strut tower bar, rear tower bar, and rear lower tie bar were sourced from eBay.

Wilwood is the go-to choice for braking needs in the front wells, with its pads and 4-pot calipers grabbing onto 12.1-inch Integra spec rotors. Wilwood stainless lines deliver its DOT 4 fluid.

Rolling on 16-inch, 11-pound, anthracite SSR Competitions draped in 205/40 Yokohama Parada Spec-2 rubber, you know this Sol means business.

The stock Granada black pearl body is dressed minimally with a JDM rear mid-wing and carbon fiber Type R front lip spoiler. JDM one-piece headlights and Altezza-style tails punctuate the low-key motif.

Simple exterior, simple interior--the convertible's small cabin boasts only a handful of tasteful mods: Defi gauges, custom stainless trim around an OE DOHC del Sol gauge cluster, and S2000 buckets.

A remote controlled Premier head unit transmits sound out of a set of Polk Audio front and rear speakers.