I had dreamed of ITR ownership since the 1996(ish) Sport Compact Car issue that featured it versus the GSR on TSW blades. I was in my late teens at the time and street racing forced me to look at imports as a real candidate for potential. As soon as I laid eyes on the ITR I knew it was "the one". I knew it without even needing to drive one. Pricing would put it out of range for me in 1997 when they were released in North America even though I had connections through the auto industry. Those connections were charging upwards of $5k - $8k over MSRP due to demand. Alas, my plans were thwarted until 2003 when this one popped up at an auction with only 53,000kms. It had a theft claim on it but that didn't matter to me as the chassis was clean from collisions. Shitty Tein coilovers and a Mugen dildo knob were the only mods. After a nice ego filled bidding war with another dealer the hammer fell and I was an owner. Yay! Let the experience begin. After I wrote the cheque and headed to the parking lot where it was located I realized that this would be the first time I would have ever driven one. Would it stack up to my own self-built hype? Answer: Hellz to the ya! Discovering VTEC was incredible as I had no idea about anything at this time. I wanted neon lights underneath as my first mod so that will give you context as to where my head was at at that stage of my life.
After a few months of online searching for more info I stumbled upon Honda Tech through A&J Racing's website. From there I would read as much as I could. Finally ended up joining in March 2004. The ITR community was in full swing with Expo's happening annually and members posting threads daily asking everything from what are the best mods, what race tracks to attend, how to dial in suspension, and everything in between. From there I learned that these cars belong on a closed course so I shifted my vision towards that aspect and began sourcing parts to suit that need. Started tracking in 2005 until about 2009 when I just ran out of time to do so. I had the pleasure of attending Expo 8 and Expo 9 when I could finally put some names and faces to user names. An amazing life changing experience in itself and one I could talk about for hours. I entered a local car show and took home 3rd place for Best Acura only beaten by two NSX's. I'm not much of a show car guy but I can appreciate the tidyness of a show car and it was nice to showcase all of the hard work that my shop had put into the car and get recognition for it. Shortly after this a tarp cover fell on the car causing a bunch of damage. It was heart breaking to see the car in this state but insurance fixed it and it was put back good as it was previously. I had considered selling it at that time but then decided to go ballz out and have the motor built in the best form a B18C5 could be in my opinion. A year or so later, after many many hours/days of research, the ball started rolling. A year later I had a fully built 230whp B18C5 motor ready for battle. Enjoyed it for a few more track days but it mostly sat and only enjoyed sporadically on the street on weekends with friends. Kids and a mortgage came into my life about 4 years ago and that led to more distance between me and the caR. Over the past few months I had considered selling it as it was a shame to just let it sit. I felt that I had done everything I ever wanted to do to a Type R and now it was time to pass it down the line. I reached out to some close people in my life to get the word out amongst friends so it could be an arms length transaction. The sentimental value this car has with me couldn't let me just sell it to anyone and it needed a good home. Last month a deal was struck and the title has now changed hands. I always feared this day but it feels pretty liberating since I had already gone through the mindset of selling and it went to one of the best homes it could. All in all, a perfect conclusion to 15 years of ownership.
A huge thank you goes out to all you crazy Type R fuckers that have helped, encourage, steered and guided me over the years and created life long memories through online chats or in person at Expo 8 and 9. I basically copied this post from H-T but altered it as the ITR Expo site came shortly after H-T and became a mainstay for most of us ITR specific peeps or anyone who disliked the direction H-T went after the 2008 mass exodus. Let's take a quick trip down memory lane.
The day I bought it (October 2003)
Parking lot stuntin' (2005)
That was boring so let's hit the track (2006)
And a car show (2008)
Let's park here for the winter. Safe right?
Effin' lame............
Got her fixed and had the motor built (2012ish)
A few more track days and then it was time to say goodbye (April 2018)
Luckily I have 2000 CW #0768 with 80,000kms in mostly original condition to have as the forever car. A slow resto replacing moduldings, bolts, and anything showing corrosion but for the most part it doesn't really need anything currently.
So I ain't going anywhere
.