Melly-S2K

Hey all, I picked up a 99 BB/red a few weeks ago. A friend of mine mentioned a local breaker (purely Hondas) had picked it up and was looking to move it on. He'd bought it to break but after selling the hardtop and fitting kit he put through an mot and it passed only needing minor things he already had in his workshop from other s2000's so decided to sell it whole. I wasn't in the market for another S2000 but decided to give the lad a call and arranged to go see it that night. He was pretty accurate in his description that it was a bit tired and in need of some TLC so there were no real surprises......... Until the test drive. Firstly the car had been sitting warming up whilst I was looking around it, and chatting to the lad. All seemed good, temp was steady, no smoke on cold start, engine was idling smoothly and quietly.....ace!! I drove the car out of the yard onto the road and the clutch and gearbox were nice and precise, suspension was quite over the bumpy, potholed road and the brakes were operational if not fantastic. Once out on the road I gradually built up some speed peddling through all the gears and was happy that the basics were good. Upon exiting a tight bend there was a long straight so I dropped it to 2nd and went WOT. This is where the smile disappeared somewhat when there was no vtec engagement . I let the revs drop below the threshold and tried again but was faced with the same results. After one last go in 2nd and 3rd I'd had enough and just cruised back to the yard. It felt strange as even tho there was no audible changeover or increased power it did continue to rev and make power somewhat but not in the fashion it should have done and the engine sounded slightly muted also.

As always you think of the basics and even tho I had checked the oil before starting the engine I checked again and the level was sound. I checked for any vacuum leaks, loose plugs etc but couldn't find anything. The EML wasn't on either so I was a bit unsure how to proceed. After around 10-15 minutes of chatting to the lad I started the car up again and this time the EML stayed on. Progress, or so I thought. Quick zap with the code reader told me the air pump had went the way of the dodo with a P1411 and a P1412 but nothing to suggest the lack of vtec. So after much umming and ahhing I made an offer on the car and he accepted. It was already a no brainier to me that I had to buy it but after thinking worst case scenario and factoring that into the cost I feel happy with my purchase.

Some stats:

1999 UK S2000
150k miles
Berlina Black with red leather and black carpets
12 months MOT
Sticker bombed POS intake
S/S manifold
Eibach springs

Problems:
Rust on the rear arches
rust on the sills
Drivers side front wing mullered onto kerb or dropped off of a jack
Very poor patch panel glued/bonded onto driver side sill
Roof leaks in heavy rain
Air pump gubbed
No Vtec
Rear fog light floats about in the rear diffuser
One of the tyres is a winter tyre and directional (and on the wrong side) the other 3 are same brand
Seats are minging, pass side could do with being replaced
Drivers side Capet in footwell has seen better days


If that little lot wasn't enough I've since found a few more gems whilst working on it:

Centre silencer held together with sealant
Headlight brackets rusted to narnia
Could probably do with new discs and pads all round.

So it not all doom and gloom there are also a number of good points too. The interior apart from the seats is in extremely good condition, the dash, steering wheels, centre cubby and transmission tunnel are mint and absolutely everything works like the day it left the factory.

I'm looking forward to bringing it back to it former glory. It's not gonna be a show queen or a big power monster but more of a clean, functional and fun car. Thanks for reading this far. I have some pictures of how she is sitting and some of the rather nippy sweeties bodywork that needs attention. Apologies for the crude Iphone pics.


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A quick trip down memory lane, I bought my first S2000 near 10 years ago from a member on here. It was a black 2000 W reg with 48k miles. I loved it but being so young in a twitchy car with a heavy right foot wasn't a good recipe so I sold it and went back to FWD/4WD until I was lured back by a 2006/56 monza red pearl S2000 in 2010. It was such a lovely car and when polished up I can't think of a better colour. I bought it with 8k miles and sold it in 2013 with just 11k miles.

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Cheers,
Melly

tozerman

Hi from me, well done for taking it on, looks like you've got a real challenge there, good luck.

Melly-S2K

Thanks Tony, I will just tackle each job one at a time so it doesn't become overwhelming. I will update the thread when I've been spending time on it.

I spent a few hours on the car on Thursday night. I wanted to try and resolve the air pump and vtec issues before moving forward. To gain good access to the air pump and due to the fact I will be replacing the drivers side wing I removed the front bumper from the car. Now I've removed a few bumpers in my time but the amount of extra bolts holding that on was crazy. The extra 10mm bolts behind the rubber strip had me scratching my head for a few minutes but I got there.

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I checked the 7.5a air pump fuse with a multimeter and it was fine so I also checked the 60a relay up by the battery and the was good too. I cleaned all of the contacts in the plugs and checked all the wires but the pump just wouldn't kick back into life so I have purchased a delete kit from Daan and I'm just waiting on that being delivered.

Next I moved onto the vtec issue. Went for the simple things first by addressing the vtec solenoid. Ran power to it directly from the battery and I could hear it clicking so I knew it was firing properly. I then removed it from the car to check the filter and found it to be dirty and most likely the culprit. After gently removing it with a seal pic I was able to give the filter a blast with metal clean then dry it out with the air line. Back together it went and after starting the car up with no oil leaks it was time for a test drive. Due to the removal of the bumper I cable tied the wheel arch liners up to the front bar and then hit the farm track. Cruising along in 2nd, hit WOT, 6k and............vtec!!!!

I done a few more runs in 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear and it was revving perfectly and the changeover was ace with much smiles and giggling in the process. One thing off the list at least and a rather large one at that.

After getting back to the garage I chucked on a set of wheels my friend had sitting up the back and wasn't using. The tyres are comically large but I think I'm gonna have the wheels refurbished and chuck on some proper fitting tyres. More crappy iPhone pics in the dark of night.

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Thoughts are to go for one solid colour as I'm not a fan of polished lips. I'll see how it turns out.

I've ordered a boot tool kit with the jack and other such bits with the styrofoam holder. Got a fantastic deal from a breaker on ebay so that should be here next week sometime. Just one of the many little thing missing that I want to add back to the car. I will be removing the boot carpets for cleaning and before the tool kit is added tho. Seems the rear lights are letting in water and it's pooling in the boot floor so they will also be removed and re-sealed. I've not removed the carpets yet so I'm still to find out exactly what the condition of the steel plate is like but fingers x'd I've got it in time or the welder will be making an appearance.

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I got a nice little delivery today from Dan on the forum. I bought his Spoon N1 system to replace my somewhat tired original exhaust with many lashings of sealer on it. I should be going up to fit it on Monday or Tuesday so I'll update with pictures and a possible video if anyone is interested. I nipped up to the garage to store the exhaust until next week and while I was there my friend was working on his partners evo 5 track car. She's getting some last minute touches done before next weeks monster unit track night (I will take my proper camera and post some pics of the lovely machinery on show) at knockhill. Her track wheel seemed to roll alongside my car so I took a quick picture.

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They are painted in Honda Vivid Blue Pearl, lovely colour.

Anyways that's all for now, thanks for reading. I'll be back next week with more updates.

Cheers,
Melly

kim-s2k

I'm glad the car is vteccing again and do enjoy Knockhill. I wish I went while I was living up there

V-esi

Seems like a great wee project! I'll keep an eye out on Thursday if you'll be attending the MU track night?

Melly-S2K

Yes I will be in attendance supporting Victoria with her evo 5. I will look out for your black S2000 and come over and say hi.

Cheers,
Melly

unclefester

You have to wonder why the VTEC solenoid filter was so dirty - given the state of that ( assuming that was the filter you cleaned ) .. i'd be thinking about dropping the sump and giving the oil pump a once over and potentially a clean up.

Melly-S2K

It's on the list UF. I think I will just replace the Oil pump whilst I'm doing the chain, guides and water pump.

Cheers,
Melly