Derek And Doug's Fantastic Crapwagons: Acura Integra Type-R

Derek writes:

Where do you find a clean, unmolested Integra Type-R in Toronto? In somebody else’s driveway.

The peculiarities of Canada’s auto market meant that modifying Hondas became one of the only avenues of affordable speed for young people. With a market size 1/10th of America’s, our choices are limited from the get-go. The most popular car, for years and years, has been the Honda Civic. So what do you get when a large percentage of car enthusiasts are able to buy cheap but well-maintained stick shift Civics? Well, for one thing, extraordinarily high rates of theft for both Civics and the better, VTEC equipped Hondas. One of the reasons I got my Miata in the first place is because any Civic, Integra, Prelude or Accord cost an outrageous amount to insure. An Integra GS-R would have been $330 a month versus $150 a month for my Miata (and that’s with no accidents or tickets).

It’s really easy to find a cheap Civic with a well-done VTEC swap, but that’s led to the virtual extinction of the Civic Si, the Integra GS-R and of course, the Integra Type-R. Anybody that still has a Type-R keeps theirs in a garage. Otherwise it will be stolen, crashed, or both. I was amazed that none of the cars I came across online had salvage or theft titles. Then again, I only found two.

Both are yellow, which is not my choice of color. Both have relatively low miles, but they go for between $12,500– $14,500. Fair money for these cars, but more than I’d ever want to pay. I know that the Type-R chassis has extra welding and less sound deadening, and there’s the specialness of it being an original Type-R and all that, but knowing that I could have a better performing Integra sedan (which I prefer to the hatch) built for me, with my choice of engine (a B18C from a GS-R, mated to an LSD gearbox from a Japanese Integra), for half the cost, is too appealing to ignore. And it wouldn’t be yellow.

Doug writes:

There really aren’t any Integra Type Rs around here. Craigslist, for example, has precisely zero.

AutoTrader.com has just one. It’s black and it features a K20Z1 swap, which I hope is an engine. It also boasts – and I’m quoting from the ad here – “15×8 Rays Gramlight 57dr” as well as “dc2R red Recaros.” And ladies and gentlemen, you’re unlikely to find those ever again in one place, at least if you believe the seller. I personally have no idea what they are.

Anyway, this car is a 2000 with 75,000 miles and the seller is asking $16,000. If you’re questioning whether it’s worth it, don’t bother, as he lists right in the ad that it’s “worth every bit of what I’m asking.” Tough, but fair.

A stock example doesn’t show up until I expand my search radius to 500 miles. It’s a 2001 model in Virginia, yellow and beautiful. Mileage is at 115,000 and pricing is very reasonable at $12,000. This one is stunningly stock, right down to the shift knob, which looks like the top end of a screwdriver stuck in the shift boot.

The only problem with an ITR purchase, on my end, is that it comes with a huge bill: I’d have to spring for a garage. That’s because the ITR does three things: it looks good, it drives well, and it gets stolen. And I wouldn’t want to buy a new K20Z1 or dc2R red Recaros. I wouldn’t even know where to look.