The Archives: Quick Snippet On The Invader Front And Trends Of The Late 90s…


The popular “Invader” front bumper of the late 90s was actually an adaptation of the Veilside RX7 C1 front that was also popular in Japan during their Tokyo Wangan era (hence the name “C1” derived from the highway system). Most of the bumpers of this style had the indentation above the vent, which was for the original FD3S turn signal light. Like the Buddy Club bumper that came soon after, it was also retrofitted to many other cars, but the EG/EJ/EH was the truest to original Veilside form when it was copied. This orange EJ Civic encompasses many of the most popular trends of that time, Acura CL headlight conversion, MR2 side-vent molded into the body, shaved moldings and door handles, two-toned vinyl interior, custom metallic flaked/pearlescent paint, and the often forgotten Mustang Saleen double-deck wing. Many of the cars at these shows were often sort of “raked” in ride height as well with the front being much lower, since many would adjust their suspension or disconnect the drop fork altogether so the cars would be lower. Bags and hydraulic suspension weren’t too popular at the time and people would do whatever possible to be lower including heating or cutting springs, etc. Also on this build was one of the most popular wheels of its time, the Racing Hart C2, or what many people thought to be Racing Harts. You could not go to an event without seeing multiple sets of Racing Hart C2 or C5 wheels. Later, DAZZ (the U.S. distributor) even produced more affordable, cheaper, variations of it introduced as the RH Evo line, which many don’t realize, was never truly a part of the legitimate Racing Hart brand in Japan. The ones are this Civic were of the RH Evo variety. I honestly really liked this build at the time, it was pretty well executed even though it may look incredibly strange by today’s standards. Kinda looks like a bird, lol… And that is your import tuning history moment of the day…

orangetechnacivic1-Edit

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4 comments

  1. was this the one with mr2 taillights? btw please post all those throwbacks your friend gave you!!

  2. A “California Type-r” Conversion on the headlights. I think it was Andy’s Autosport that ran ads for it in Super Street.

  3. Those aren’t Racing Hart C2’s though, Joey. A quick give away is that there are no bolts thus not making them three piece wheels like the authentic one’s were.

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