TDSAutoMag

Bringing you guys some new content, in the form of a Honda S2000; which is arguably viewed as one of the better cars they produced. Unfortunately it wasn’t until after the production ended that these cars became somewhat legendary and were widely sought after. Thus making them quite special, and on our island there is no exception. With only a hand full of them present, It’s a rare sighting to catch a glimpse of one on the streets. Today, I’m fortunate enough to share with you Justin’s AP1 S2000 along with the plans he has for it.

This build is one of passion derived from a long time love for the S2K. Justin recalls, from the very first time he laid eyes on one it automatically became a halo car for him. Having this passion for the Honda S2K and finally being in a position to acquire one, Justin kept his ears open for any opportunity which may arise. He was fortunate and one of his most admired S2Ks on the island popped up of sale. Already having some insight on the back ground of the build, it was a simple decision for him to make and Justin pulled the trigger on the purchase.

The car initially was turbo charged but given Justin’s plans, this wasn’t an ideal setup. The guys got together and worked out a deal to have to motor replaced with a stock F20c. It was important for Justin to have the motor as it came from the factory to give him some time to learn the this new platform along with the characteristics of the car. Aside from the aura that surrounded the car for Justin, his ultimate end goal for the project is to have a fun filled all purpose car. The car should be capable to daily drive during the week and then on weekends attend some track days as an AWD hunter. In addition to this he also has plans on taking in some auto cross action.

With a build direction in mind for this project, we’ll be taking a look at the car when Justin first purchased it and moving forward as he put his personal touch to his highly anticipated halo car.

Those of you who are familiar with T.D.S would recognize the background as Sol’s garage. He was the previous owner of the AP1 and had it fitted with AP2 exterior…

Another visible addition that was made is the Cusco roll bar…

The front end with the majority of the bumper taken up with an intercooler…

As mentioned, the car was initially turbocharged before the sale. The setup included a built Laskey Racing F20C motor with a Precision 6062 turbo…

A shot after Justin finally had it registered and took it home…

A few shots as Justin started to make a some appearances with the carbon hardtop…

Sol previously fitted the car with a StopTech big brake kit to accommodate for the added power gained from the turbo setup…

A set of SSR GTX01 wheels were chosen with varying specs; 17×8 at the front and 17×9 at the back. These were wrapped in Yokohama Neova AD08 rubber also in a staggered setup; 225/45/17 at front and 255/45/17 in the rear…

A look at the fitment on the SSR wheels. As nice as this setup was for the street, Justin wanted a more aggressive stance and opted to switch it up…

He went with a set of Tracklite Clutch wheels that measured 17×9 +30 at all four corners. Justin then got them fitted with 215/40/17 Westlake Sport RS tyres…

A shot taken in the booth at Chris Auto Paint while the wheels received a fresh coat…

 

In the mist of things to be changed, the motor would need to be pulled in exchange for a stock F20C. At the time of it, Honda Craze announced the date for their annual meet and this gave Justin some motivation to make a few more changes and still have the car completed in time for the show…

Already in the position of having to pull the motor, Justin purchased a new clutch, pressure plate and flywheel from Competition Clutch to have it changed during the reassembly…

Before the motor was fitted, the car was sent to Starboi’s Auto Electrical Services to have a few connectors replaced along with changing the factory routing on some of the harnesses…

With that out of the way the car would now be pulled apart for the necessary changes to be made…

A look at the bay after the motor was pulled…

 

Justin’s plan was to bring some new life to an already well put together build. With the motor out, the car was sent to have the engine bay freshened up…

Wanting to put a drastic spin on things that were current, a metallic green was paint matched and applied to the bay…

With the time getting slim the guys quickly fitted the motor fitted in place and moved on to the next task…

A look as things started coming together, AC lines ran and the Cusco strut brace bolted in place…

With the guys pressing for time, unfortunately not many photos were taken. Here’s a shot of the bay as the guys were putting the final pieces together. Paying close attention in the rear, you’ll notice the roll bar has been painted in the same green as the bay and bolted back in place…

 

A quick stance check after Justin and the guys pulled through…

Justin was fortunate enough to attend the meet and display the hard fought couple of weeks work that was invested in the car…

Justin’s would like to give a huge thanks to Chris Auto Paint for knocking out an excellent job on the brakes, wheels, roll bar, engine bay and valve cover; Dynamic Auto Imports who came onboard as a sponsor and provided wheels nuts, valve stem caps, extended wheel studs, radiator over flow bottle and the fender washer kit; similarly Dre Tuned for all the help in getting the car tuned and driving after the motor swap; Starboi’s Auto Electrical Services for all of his harness work which really made the bay come alive in addition to the paint; Daryl and Leon for the extra hands that were necessary in making everything come together with the deadline rapidly approaching.

 

That brings us to and end with this first look at Justin’s AP1 S2000 build, stay tuned for more to come…