MORE POWER TO DEPUTY; MODIFIED CAR BUILT TO DISCOURAGE RACING.Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Daily News Staff Writer Deputy David Litchko's idea is to build a 500-horsepower Honda Civic The Honda Civic is a compact car manufactured by Honda. It was introduced in July 1972 as a two-door coupe, followed by a three-door hatchback version that September. With the transverse engine placement of its 1169 cc engine and front-wheel drive, like the British Mini, the CX hatchback, take it to high schools and drag strips, and get the attention of the teen-agers most likely to speed. With racing shops, parts manufacturers and other firms already lined up to perform $50,000 to $60,000 worth of modifications to a car donated by America Honda, Litchko wants to make sure young drivers are made aware of the dangers of racing on the street. He thinks racing a souped-up import will help build a rapport. ``We need to get to them to stress the importance of safe driving, as the well as the gang aspect, drugs and alcohol,'' said Litchko, an Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley patrol deputy whose 17-year-old son drives a Honda Civic coupe. ``We need to stay in tune with our youth.'' While the last Antelope Valley fatality linked to street racing occurred in 1990, deputies say such deaths in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, are distressingly common. In 1995 seven people died in three crashes blamed on racing on San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. streets and freeways. So far this year racing has been blamed for the deaths of three young men on a Foothill Freeway interchange, a Valencia man on the Golden State Freeway The Golden State Freeway is a north-south freeway running through Kern County and Los Angeles County, California. Originally built as U.S. Highway 99, it was re-signed as Interstate 5 in 1964. , and five people on Interstate 15 near Barstow. The Sheriff's Department already has a drag-racing program. It uses a 1967 Plymouth Barracuda The Plymouth Barracuda, or 'Cuda (after 1970), is a two-door coupe/convertible muscle car that was manufactured by the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation from 1964 through 1974. and a 1987 Buick, built with private donations. After reading a Sheriff's Department newsletter article last year about the team, Litchko suggested adding an import. He believes the Honda will be a hit with young drivers, among whom souped-up imports are increasingly popular. ``The young people, this is what they can afford,'' Litchko said. ``The muscle cars are great, they sound great, but reality is the youths can't afford them.'' Knight Engineering of Lancaster, which manufactures a high-performance air-intake system for compacts, is coordinating the modifications. Expected to be finished in 2-1/2 to three months, all the work is being done at private expense. No taxpayer money is going into the car, officials said. Andy Vasquez, Knight's chief of business development, says changes will enable the car to travel a quarter-mile in 11 seconds or so, reaching speeds of 135 to 140 mph in the process. J.G. Engine Dynamo in Torrance will rework the 110 horsepower stock engine and add a turbocharger tur·bo·charg·er n. See turbosupercharger. tur  bo·charged adj. . The steel hood will be replaced with a lighter carbon-fiber hood and the window glass with plastic-like Lexan. Racing tires will be mounted on alloy wheels. A roll cage
A roll cage , racing seat and racing safety harness will be installed inside. Super Stripes in Palmdale will give the car a custom black-and-white paint job. The final touch will be a roof-mounted emergency light bar, like those on Sheriff's Department patrol cars. Litchko, who will drive the car on his own time, will attend a course at Los Angeles County Raceway Los Angeles County Raceway (or "LACR") was a motorsport facility in Southern California. LACR's main feature was its 1/4 mile dragstrip, which was first opened in 1964. LACR held its final event on July 29th, 2007. in Palmdale to learn how to drive a dragster drag·ster n. 1. An automobile specially built or modified for drag racing. 2. A person who races such an automobile. . Antelope Valley law enforcement officers say they know street racing goes on locally, mostly involving drivers in their teens and early 20s and usually late at night on little-traveled rural roads. The last fatality connected with street racing in the Antelope Valley was in August 1990. A 26-year-old Palmdale motorist out testing his Chevrolet Camaro on 20th Street East was burned beyond recognition when it rear-ended a pickup truck, then veered into oncoming traffic, hitting a Mercury Sable The Mercury Sable was originally a mid-size car, and is now a full-size car created by the Ford Motor Company and sold under the semi-luxury Mercury brand. It is the mechanical counterpart of the Ford Taurus. head-on and setting both vehicles ablaze, authorities said. The crash injured five children, a man and a woman. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--Color only in AV edition) Deputy David Litchko and Andy Vasquez of Knight Engineering look over the Honda Civic that will be converted into a drag racer. (2--Ran in AV edition only) Deputy David Litchko will take his turbocharged Honda and his message about the dangers of unsafe driving to Antelope Valley high schools. Jeff Goldwater/Daily News |
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