New project!
After keeping an eye on the market for about a year, I came across this S2000 on craigslist that had already been gutted and LS swapped. couldnt pass it up. stock they were going for $22-25k.
i paid $8600 for this one running and driving.





needs plenty of work, but there bones are all there. has a iron 5.3L, fbody T-56, Import Muscle swap kit, GTO ecu, and a Tahoe Harness. Honda Harness completely removed.





car was rear ended. but no damage. it just wrinkled bumper below drivers tail light. didnt even break taillight. didnt touch frame. previous owner trimmed bumper (damage)



Deconstruction has begun, then things escalated quickly!

 

Part 2

Picked up an Aluminum L33 5.3L. After waiting a month for my local junkyard to find one, my race buddy Matt put me onto Car-Part.com This was the only one available with 138k. Came out of a 06 Silverado 1500 with mild passenger headlight impact.


Truck to Fbody conversion begining. oil pan, pick up tube, windage tray, water pump, intake manifold, Harmonic balancer, alternator bracket, etc etc.
Adding a Improved Racing Pan baffle. i used this exact one on my 00 SS.


i was REALLY blown away that even the windage tray was different from the truck to the car versions. so much so the Fbody pick up tube wouldnt even bolt up to the truck windage tray. so i swapped it out for an Fbody one.


Firewall Fiberglassed to cover the 20 holes and random seperated seams.


Fresh coat of gloss black in the engine bay, did the cowl area too. came out really great for walmart rattle cans.


Fidanza aluminum flywheel 571


The clutch. this ended up being a two week nightmare. i could not find a clutch that would fit this flat 2 dowel flywheel. i had 2 clutches at my house an LS1 clutch and a Ram LS7 clutch. neither fit the 2 dowel pins. so i ordered a new Ram that showed it had the two dowel holes. when it showed up it was nothing like the picture and also didnt fit. so i decided to make a emergency trip to summit racing in dallas to not loose another weekend. Place is HUGE! i brought the flywheel and had them pull 4 clutches that were supposed to fit. the first 3 did not. either had no dowel holes or 3. FINALLY the last clutch they pulled, and ACT was the winner. had the 2 dowel holes and fit perfect. 6 clutches later i finally had a winner. ive never used this brand, as ive only ever seen it used on import builds. but it fit, and sorta appropriate i guess for a "honda"




Motors In!


Build Vid
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Holley Terminator X Max wiring and setup. and other odds and ends to start the new motor and ECU for the first time.

Bent up a center dash switch panel


Oil Cooler Adapter


Took the time to label EVERY single wire in the whole car. no guessing down the road.


Learned a new skill, pinning a new connector. the old one was shot and had raw exposed wires coming out of it


a $50 ebay silverado intake worked perfect as a cold air, goes right into a factory hole in the fender


First time applying power to the holley system. no smoke!


Holley install and first start up!

 

New Karcepts MCS Coilovers
after a ton of research settle on these. and after a bunch of sources, i settle on 750/650 spring rates.









with the LS swap, the front sway bar, even with being relocated has to be bent to clear the shocks. couldnt find a good way to do this. Went with the Karcepts front sway bar instead. miraculously it misses the coilovers!



on the diff went with an OS Giken LSD, Powerneed billet diff caps, and Tim Kelly stud kit. and Gikens own oil.







CSF Radiator and G Plus oil cooler, i did cut the lower neck off and had it rewelded at an angle on the radiator to better clear the relocated steering rack mounts.
Gates hose #23371 is a perfect fit for lower rad hose. From a 06-08 Hyundai Sonata.



new Enkei and RT660 tires


Wilwood 6 piston race kit


so much goodness in one pic!


and with a few odds and ends wrapped up the car After 6 months the LS2000 pulled out of the garage under its own power and drove around the neighborhood! New motor, new diff, new firewall, new brakes, new coilovers, new blade sway bar, new wheels/tires, new radiator, new oil cooler, new digital dash, new steering wheel and seat, new clutch and flywheel, new stand alone ecu, new motor harness, complete body/chassis harness removed. I think the only thing we havent replaced is the rear sway bar in this shell!

 

Good stuff. Forum is pretty dead, but this is good content. Keep it coming.

I went with the MCS 2WNR and am super happy with them. Brian offers good support and feedback for tuning and adjustments.

Glad you upgraded brakes to match the extra power and the added grip you'll be getting from the MCS.

 

thanks! yeah no kidding! feel like im talking to myself in here!
great to hear. didnt want to take the penalty for the canisters. yeah Brian was REALLY awesome prepurchase.
trying to not leave any weak spots in the build.
if you know of any more active forums let me know. i know forums are old school now. but social media just cant touch them for looking up content/info years later.

 

Looks great! Any info on total weight and F/R distribution?

 

just bought a set of digi race scales. i will find out soon. i want to get the car a little more complete before i do.
the good news is the s2k is mid engine, even with the LS. its completely behind the front axle line. so hopefully not too nose heavy. but boy the rear on this car is pretty tiny. not much weight back there.
thanks for posting!

 

Youtube is firewalled at my work, so I can't see the links, but I am personally not a YouTube build fan anyways, I like write ups, documented on forums etc.

 

Any updates on this?