ALTV likes to keep it real. "Keeping it real" also means being transparent, not just acting as if you know everything or run the show. Some people in the community have forgotten that and carry themselves as if they are a god in the industry. The fact is, everybody started somewhere and the coolest people never forget where they came from. One guy that knows how to keep it real is a man named Aaron Bonk.
Having the pleasure of not only working with Aaron Bonk, but also being taken under his wing has been both a blessing and a curse. He's seen and done a lot in the industry, much of which goes completely unknown or underrated. The guy has stories that go back to times when many of today's Honda/Acura enthusiasts were still in diapers. There are times he would be exchanging a story with Dr. Charles Madrid during lunch were ALTV would have to simple shut up and listen. He also has a way with words that made ALTV feel as if a trip back to English 101 was needed on more than one occasion. He epitomizes that old saying, "the pen is mightier than the sword".
Some older folks might remember when he owned and operated Holeshot for about 10 years, doing swaps and all sorts of Honda-related performance mods at a time when swapped Hondas were extremely rare. He wrote his first book on a whim; the professional author who was supposed to co-write it for him backed out at the last minute, leaving Aaron to attempt it himself—something Mr. Bonk had no desire to do at the time. Once he realized he could make money writing about cars, he began working for all sorts of different magazines and websites, like Sport Compact Car, Honda Tuning, Turbo, Super Street, Import Tuner, Modified, and many others. It's safe to say he probably holds the record for writing the most articles about Hondas than anybody else. Over the years he's had a couple of staff positions at some of those titles, a dozen or so Hondas, and the rest is history.
The first book he wrote was "Honda Engine Swaps", it was published in 2004 and remains one of the best-selling sport compact titles ever. In that book he took a lot of the knowledge he gained doing swaps starting in the early 1990s and put it all in one place. Many things have changed since that book was published. The introduction of the K-Series was a success and has proved it's abilities to Honda/Acura builder. Basically, the new book picks up where B-series and H-series swaps left off, covering every popular K-series swap. Yes, we all know finding K-series engine swap information online isn't hard, but knowing what's right and what's wrong can be tricky. "K-Series Engine Swaps" was written to eliminate that guesswork. Aaron also brings in a special guess, Brian Gillespie and Hasport, who provided a lot of the technical details for this book.
ALTV has known about the book for some time now. Unfortunately writing about somebody that you know a lot about and respect beyond words proved to be a bit of a tough task. Basically ALTV didn't want to screw it up… Whatever the case, the book is available for purchase now, so go grab a copy!
