The use of four and six-cylinder engines from imported vehicles has become more and more prevalent in our sport in recent years, and although such combinations still exist in very small numbers, their accessibility and affordability has proven a great value to those who understand their intricacies. Of course, it’s also been shown that, with the right engine platform, carefully selected aftermarket components, and a power adder, you can make some impressive horsepower, all the while maintaining a pretty admirable degree of reliability.

North Carolina native Robert Tighe and his son, Robert III, have been playing with such engines in a number of venues over the last decade, at one time competing with a Pro FWD car and also foraying into stock car racing, where they’ve campaigned an entry with the ASA-sanctioned ISCARS series, which features four and six-cylinder powered pavement stock cars. Bit in 2014, the Tighe’s are moving back to drag racing, but they aren’t wandering far from their roots.

The Tighe’s purchased a Rick Jones-built Mountain Motor Pro Stock Chevrolet Cobalt chassis once owned and campaigned by John Montecalvo, and in a bit of irony, have dropped an engine down into the framerails that’s not even 1/4 of the 800-plus cubic inches that Montecalvo once used in the same car.

The powerplant, a Honda B-series inline four-cylinder, has been paired with a 76mm Garrett GTX turbocharger to produce what Robert estimates to be 1,100 to 1,200 horsepower. The DOHC B-series engines were factory-produced from 1988 to 2001 and outfitted in Civics, Integras, CR-X’s, and other vehicles, but none of them made more than 200 horsepower in stock form. 

Through a bell housing swap, the Tighe’s have managed to match a G-Force manual racing transmission and a McLeod Racing clutch package up to the Honda motor, creating what Tighe suggests is the only engine/transmission combination of its kind in the world. The father and son team (with Robert III driving) have plans to enter the car at IHRA and PDRA events in the ultra-quick Top Sportsman class, with anticipation of 1/4 mile performances in the 6.90 to 7.20 range.

Says Tighe, “it’s pretty crazy how much power you can make with a four cylinder engine. But then again no one can hear you scream that at 11,500 RPM.”

In addition to running McLeod clutch components on the car, the Tighe’s are supported by the folks at JE Pistons.