Jadkar’s CRX

Posted on June 8, 2010 by Jesse O'Brien in Featured Cars

Jadkar (John, to some of us) is one of my automotive heroes.  Too few CRX’s receive the love and attention the cars rightfully deserve, and most die deaths of malnutrition and abuse.  He owned a CRX from brand new all the way up to present, and has completely restored and updated it, revitalizing everything from the engine (a supercharged b18c5) to the suspension (powder coating every suspension component) and brakes (with a big brake kit and stainless steel lines) to make the ultimate daily driven CRX.  He also founded tuner-junction, a well-rounded automotive forum that sees light, but high-quality traffic.  Here’s some eye candy of his perfect example of a CRX, but if you’re looking for a bit more check out his CRX gallery.

I always admired Hondas. As a young boy about 6 years of age my Mother’s boyfriend had a early Accord (maybe 83) and I loved the car and til’ this day I don’t know why.  When I was 14 I bought a used 1981 Civic 1300 4spd.  The car was “cute” and that’s about it.  It was slow as hell and I knew from reading that Honda’s CRX was much more what I wanted, still a small hatch but with a hotter engine and much better handling.  When I was alabout 16 I secured a loan with the help of my parents and bought a 1986 red CRX Si.

Driven Daily: How long have you been working on this project?
Jadkar:

I bought my current CRX new when I was a senior in High School and I drove the car until 1996 when I took it off the road and stored it.  I started the rebuild when I took the car out of storage in 2005 and I have been working on it ever since.  You know these things never have an end date, you just get started and keep going.

Driven Daily: If you had to guess, how much of an investment (time and money) have you put into it?
Jadkar:

Well, I bought the car in 1991 for $10,500 and over the years including this past major rebuild I would say I’m a tad over 40K in mods

Driven Daily: If you had to pick, what would you say is your favorite part about your car?
Jadkar:

When the car was stock I liked the styling the best, it was much more ahead of it’s time then anything on the road.  Now that time has elapsed and the rebuild has progressed to what it is I would have to say the drivetrain is my favorite.

Driven Daily: Did you set out with a goal in mind, or just build the car as the pieces came together?

I had a very specific goal.  The whp rose slightly as I was not overly impressed with the na ITR swap but other than that I planned everything out pretty precisely (I had about ten years to do so)

Driven Daily: What would you say the major differences between the US and UK tuning scenes?
Jadkar:

I couldn’t tell you, I don’t follow the tuning scenes very closely.  I have two kids and a hectic schedule, I race in the summer and that’s about as much of the scene that I get and even that isn’t a good judge.  I hang out with hard core track rats not really “tuners” in the sense that you’re refering to.

Driven Daily: You’ve done a few projects in the same chassis.  How many different driveable versions has your CRX seen?
Jadkar:

I would say 4

Driven Daily: If you could change any one thing about the CRX, what would it be?
Jadkar:

I would make it AWD.  The car has way too much power and the front wheels can’t handle it.

Driven Daily: Do you see the upcoming CR-Z as a reinvention of the CRX?
Jadkar:

To an extent yes.  However, Honda needs to get their act together and listen to what the people want.  Many enthusiasts have been screaming for a CRX replacement for a long time and they haven’t been listening.  Just as we have been wanting a RL with a V8 and a real NSX replacement.  Unfortunately, Honda has been making “appliances” for automobiles lately and I’m afraid they will call the new car the CRX replacement but it will be a hybrid or toned down econo-commuter box.

Driven Daily: What are your future plans for this car?
Jadkar:

Keep the fuel system in check and stop it from melting pistons   Actually, nothing.  I need to do some guage work and maybe some rollers but other than that I’m done.  The upkeep from racing every year keeps me busy enough.

Driven Daily: You’ve been tuning other peoples’ cars and powder-coating parts for others for awhile now.  Do you have any plans to go into business doing this?
Jadkar:

Nah, maybe later but not now.  I had my NJ dealer license for a while and I sold it because my full-time job was too time consuming.  I do much much better with my regular job than to try and jeopordize it with the auto stuff.  Later in life when my time gets a little more flexible maybe I will re-visit the auto business.

Driven Daily: What would you consider to be the most important modification a new CRX owner could perform?
Jadkar:

It really depends on what you do with the car.  I think the CRX had two major weaknesses, the engine was not strong enough and the brakes are totally incapable at high speeds.  If you are getting into road racing (legally) I would say learn to drive the car and upgrade the brakes as it will really help.  Plus the temptation to add more whp will get you into trouble if you don’t get some larger binders.  If you’re running 1/4 mile and you’re not too afraid of stopping than go engine.  Use your head though, I’m sure with that big engine you WILL be driving on the road and trust me you WILL NOT stop well.  Good brakes on our car are relativly inexpessive when compared to the engine upgrades so I would say do the brakes first.

Tags: crx, featured, Honda