Rusty S2000 Slowly Transformed into Show Worthy Driver
Rust is typically found on old cars and trucks, but this AP1 S2000 needed a little bit of rot repair, too.
Rusty Beginnings
We've seen pretty much every kind of S2000 build you can imagine here in the S2KI Forums, from wrecked cars to pristine originals. But what we haven't seen, until now, is one that's rusty. Rust isn't typically something you see on an S2000 (at least not yet), but that didn't scare off forum member TsukubaCody from taking on his AP1 project.
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Weight Reduction, Bro
TsukubaCody originally picked up his ride back in 2016, when it was in pretty solid shape save for that "weight reduction." Which would be enough to scare off most folks, but he wasn't too concerned about it. Instead, he got to work fixing what was wrong and building the car the way he always envisioned.
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Distinct Vision
"My goal for the car is to improve any weaknesses that I come across," TsukubaCody said. "All while sticking to an aesthetic vision inspired by the car that originally opened my eyes to the S2000 - the J's Racing original Touge AP1 w/ J's half bumper, SSR Type C, etc. That era of Japanese automotive modification has always felt right to me, whether in the way Civics were modified for Osaka's Loop, drift style and even period JGTC cars."
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First Things First
The car didn't come with much (read:any) maintenance records, so the first order of business was to simply replace all the fluids. And before TsukubaCody even racked up 100 miles on the car, he had already had all the rust repaired.
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Now to the Fun
With all of the basic maintenance out of the way, TsukubaCody turned his attention to the fun stuff - mods. The first parts he ordered was a J's Racing half bumper and carbon canards, followed by a set of HKS Hipermax IV GT coilovers.
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Baby Steps
He installed the coilovers right away but decided to wait on the other stuff until he had all the rest of the parts he wanted. Namely, a set of Advan RGIII wheels and new tires, which went on the car first.
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Unleash the Sounds
After painting the bumper, it and the canards were soon installed as well. After that, TsukubaCody decided to address the car's sound with a used exhaust setup consisting of a Mugen AP1 header and cat back, along with an EVS 63mm high flow cat.
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Little Parts Add Up
Little by little, small changes added up on this S2000 project build. TsukubaCody picked up a number of goodies including a set of Craftsquare GT mirrors, CWest eyeline kit, OEM Honda Access premium mats, an NSX-R shift boot, Arvou shift knob, and polished shifter surround.
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High Honor
At this point, the car was looking nice enough to participate at Wekfest in Chicago - a high honor indeed. From there, the only mods TsukubaCody moved forward with were basically things to make the car drive better, like upper control arms, along with a few dress-up items for the engine bay.
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Can't Give You Up
But as we all well know, TsukubaCody just can't leave his S2000 alone. He's already on the hunt for a set of Racing Hart wheels after selling his Advans. So be sure and head over here to stay tuned as this once-rusty build continues to evolve!
Photos: S2KI Forums
>>Join the conversation about this rallycross build right here in the S2ki Forum!