Consider this a lesson in being just a little tad-bit over ambitious. When I decided to start doing this limited-series of works that I’d previously never shown to the world, I knew that I’d have to face some of the mistakes I’d made in the past as a photographer and freelance journalist. For any photographer, I think it’s one of the most cringe-worthy things you can do to yourself looking back at the work you produced in the years prior. Doing this whole “Unfeatured” series is me doing that, but also doing that in present day—in front of the entire world. I’m okay with that (I think), mostly because I’ve never fancied myself as a great ‘photographer’ by any stretch of the imagination. I just think I’ve come to learn how to use a camera as a means to an end and somehow I’ve managed to create something worthwhile on occasion. Being able to get some unreleased content on here at a time when we haven’t been able to do anything car-related is therapeutic however, as it makes me excited about being able to get out there again in the near-future to continue to hone my craft…

Today, we’re going to look at another car which was built in the Pacific Northwest region of the USA. By no coincidence, William Potts’ 1996 Honda Integra Type R is a car that I was introduced to by Tomas Burns. He of course, was the introductory ‘unfeature’ of the series and these two photo sets were shot on the same weekend back in the summer of 2017. Like Tomas and his Civic hatchback, this too was originally shot for a possible Super Street print feature. Of all the cars that I shot during that period, Potts’ Integra was the closest that was being completed. The story was even written. I just couldn’t find it in me to actually turn it in. Allow me to tell you why…

I considered this a failure because it was one of the most regrettable cars that I ever shot. On paper, everything was there; the car was great, the weather was perfect, and the backdrop itself couldn’t have been better. If anything, the setting where I had placed the car was my favorite thing of all—I just couldn’t get it all to come together because I didn’t execute. It’s like baking a cake. I had all the ingredients, everything was seemingly mixed together correctly, but when I put it in the oven and let it cook, it came out fucked-up. The vibrant locale in Tacoma, Washington was so good. It was summer so there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and that was a rare thing for this area, and this abandoned lot filled with derelict emergency vehicles looked like it could have been something set-up for a movie shoot. I don’t know why the vehicles were there but I stumbled upon it earlier that day when I was cruising the area looking for spots. The colors just POPPED. I felt like I could just stick this Milano Red Integra in this setting and everything would just work. The two things I didn’t understand how to work through at that time was the harsh sunlight that was beaming down and how a red car wouldn’t ‘pop’ surrounded by vehicles of a similar color. You see, when you let that type of sunlight beam down on the richness of a red hue, it ends up glowing and everything around it gets washed-out. The reds could even look purple or a nuclear pink. I think I was just too ambitious with this one because I’d always prided myself on being able to shoot red cars well. Even while I was shooting the ITR, I felt good about it, I was confident. When I got home and started going through the photos, ummm….let’s just say that I was wrong to feel so confident. The post-processing that followed was DIFFICULT. I just couldn’t work out the colors and the exposure settings were so off. It took me multiple tries to get it somewhere that I felt comfortable with and then I became frustrated with it and set it aside. I’d told myself that I’d re-visit it later but then 2018 happened. If you’ve been following my life for the last few years, you’ll understand how awful 2018 was. Circumstances beyond my control steered my life in another direction and I didn’t even work for almost half of the year…

As time went on, things also changed for William Potts. I heard through Tomas that he actually parted with the car and sold it to someone else. It spent the bulk of 2018 being redone by the new owner and I saw it re-emerge in 2019 at a Wekfest Seattle event. It’s unfortunate that I wasn’t able to get this feature completed back then and even if I were to submit it now with print out of circulation, I imagine it wouldn’t mean much since the car has changed hands. It’s just weird for people to bring up that it used to be someone else’s build when the car is still out and about looking great with its new owner. That’s the equivalent to talking about someone’s ex when you know they’re happy with their new significant other…

I’d rather just tell you about the car and its owner as it was originally intended when I attempted to turn this into a Super Street feature back in 2017….so uhhhh…just forget what I said about it being with a new owner now and let’s all pretend that it’s 2017…

If you’re wondering, this is indeed a legit Japan-imported 1996 Honda Integra Type R. Potts had a JDM 1998 Civic VTi prior and was looking for a new project when he found out about this bone-stock ’96 ITR for sale locally. After he acquired the car, he drove it around for a bit before tearing it down to a bare shell to rebuild it from the ground-up….

Potts always knew he’d be into cars. His dad was also a diehard car guy and William’s mother went into labor with him at a race track. I remember reading in his spec sheet that he submitted that he even learned how to walk and talk at the track. He eventually even met his first girlfriend at the same track. His dad stopped racing around the time he was 11 years-old and William says he’s had a wrench in his hand ever since…

It took him about two years to put this car together, collecting parts like his Mugen front bumper/sideskirts over that period of time and having the entire car sprayed in Honda’s signature Milano Red…

The exterior is set-up quite simply with just a host of authentic Japanese goods. Paired with the Mugen pieces are Ganador mirrors, a J’s Racing wing, and a Spoon Sports carbon fiber good…

Looking back now it seems almost stupid to shoot a car in the shade with the bright sun hitting directly onto a bright red fire truck, lol. What was I thinking?….

Of the few shots that I did like, it was this particular rear quarter angle. I love the colors in this capture with the worn-down yellow firetruck and the gritty metal wall panels in the back. This was the ‘look’ I was going for throughout but it all just got a little lost in the sun I suppose…

If you were wondering, yes, these abandoned emergency vehicles were repurposed by the local homeless community and there was drug paraphernalia everywhere. It definitely looked like someone was living inside one of the ambulance vehicles…

After a while it started to get pretty sketchy in that particular spot so we moved the car down the street to a much larger area where you could see not only the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, but also this derelict red building. Shooting a red car with a red building in the back is just as bad of an idea as shooting it right next to a bunch of firetrucks, but again, I don’t know what I was thinking. I for whatever reason imagined it would look good. Fortunately, time heals and I was about to go over these photos again just recently and was able to apply some new editing techniques that I had learned since then to make these shots somewhat decent enough to showcase…

Even now, looking at these photos now, I really enjoyed the backdrop with modern downtown Tacoma in the distance and some of its more run down industrial buildings close-by…

I appreciated the fact that William Potts kept the factory ’96-spec 4-lug suspension in place, pairing them with bronze Mugen MF8 wheels to match the aero. A 5-lug Mugen MF10 in the same finish is a far better look, in my opinion, but ’96 Type Rs aren’t exactly common these days so I understood why it wasn’t swapped…

(Yes, I know the new owner swapped to 5-lug but we’re still pretending so…)

When my friends from the PNW found out that I was shooting in downtown Tacoma, Washington, they told me to not stay there very long because it can get a bit sketchy down there, but I’m down to sacrifice my safety to get some good backgrounds. Hell, I used to go to Washington all the time and stay at a shitty hotel in SeaTac so it couldn’t get any worse than that. There was a local Pho spot in SeaTac that I ate at once by myself with a hobo that reeked of piss a few tables away. Tacoma’s not so bad..

If I could do this shoot all over again, I totally would, in the same location, same spot, just with the better understanding of photography and a better camera body that I have now…

Mugen Twin-Loop exhaust selected to compliment the Mugen aero and MF8 wheels…

Of the one or two exterior shots that I was happy with, I was thoroughly excited about the interior and engine bay photos. For the interior, I wanted a high-contrast look since the setting sun was hitting the car so harshly and providing me this deep orange glow…

Mugen 6-speed shift knob to pair with the suede Mugen Gen. 2 steering wheel. No shift boot is used because Potts was running a K-Tuned “No Cut” shifter box…

A true Pacific Northwest Honda build would not be complete without the famed STACK 8130 instrument display…

OEM Integra Type R red Recaro seats with the always recognizable green hue of the Takata safety harnesses…

I liked this cool little detail of him choosing to keep an oil change label that was placed on the dashboard back when it was getting its general maintenance service done in Japan…

The shell may be a true ’96 Integra Type R but the B18C is long-gone. Everything was taken out, stripped, and resprayed when the car was repainted. Replacing the ITR engine is a U.S. 2004 K20A2 motor…

Tucked underneath the core support is an All-In Fabrications radiator core…

Underneath the TracTuff aluminum intake pipe is a series of -AN cooling hoses in black…

Attached to the TracTuff intake is a cleaned-up OEM Honda RBC intake manifold and throttle body…

Black wrinkle-finished valve cover, custom wire cover, and a Seeker oil cap…

A Beatrush cooling panel serves as a nice contrast piece in the engine bay…

Though the engine bay has been cleaned-up and resprayed, most if not all of the factory holes are still where Honda intended them to be. I also really liked the beefy look of the discontinued carbon fiber Cusco strut bars…

K-Tuned fuel pressure regulator and gauge in black to match the plumbing in the engine bay. Running around it with bright yellow labels is a CJs mil-spec engine harness…

Mugen radiator cap mounted to a K-Tuned filler neck for the -AN fitted cooling hoses…

The Motul decal, as small as it is, adds a nice detail touch…

One final look at the very well executed engine bay of Potts’ Integra Type R. Though it may be a few years too late, I’m glad to be able to show you guys this ITR build as it sat back in 2017. As mentioned, the car is now in the hands of a very capable new owner now. If you’re a regular in the Honda community, I’m sure you already know who owns the car now. It doesn’t look too different now, to be perfectly honest. It is as if the owner just changed set-ups for a different season. Like Tomas Burns’ Civic, it is one of those cars that was built with the intention to have very timeless qualities, put together with strong inspirations from the mid-2000s Honda builds that we all grew to love while perusing online message boards like NWP4LIFE every night…

Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoyed this latest entry in the “Unfeatured” series.