2001 AP1 Build Seeks to Right Former Owner's Sins

Heroes Don't Always Wear Capes

As much as we obviously love our cars and meticulously maintain them, not everyone cares to do the same. Some people just don't properly care for their rides, no matter how special they might be. And that's a shame. But thankfully, there are folks like S2Ki member Guicar out there in the world, heroes who buy neglected cars and work hard to correct their former owner's sins. 

Bad Mods

In this case, it wasn't just neglect that plagued this poor AP1, as Guicar explains. "I bought my Silverstone MY01 back in January of 2017 with 68,000 miles and when I got it, I knew immediately a few things had to be changed. As you can see, the car was pretty slammed and had a cheap eBay front lip, rep spoiler, Civic fogs, and really crappy Chinese tires."

>>Join the conversation about this AP1 S2000 right here in S2Ki.com.

Lift Me Up

He then wasted zero time reversing all of those mods. "My first order of business was obviously raising the car. Luckily, the roads in Broward are relatively smooth the farther north you go, but this was just ridiculous. Also, I bought a very used HKS Hi-Power dual exit exhaust from a buddy of mine." 

>>Join the conversation about this AP1 S2000 right here in S2Ki.com.

Hip to Be Square

From there, progress was swift. "I ended up buying a square set of AP2V2 wheels from an awesome guy down in Miami (shoutout to Kevin, sorry I don't know your S2Ki tag!). Wrapped them in a set of Continental Extreme Contact Sport tires and on the car they went, with some H&R 20mm bolt on, hub-centric spacers. I also took the chance to replace all the fluids. Amsoil 75w-140 in the diff, Amsoil MTF for the transmission, and OEM Dot 3 fluid for the clutch and brake lines." 

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Minor Changes

The previously installed clear headlights soon took on some water, so Guicar took them out, cleaned, and resealed them. It stayed as is for a while before he managed to snag an OEM spoiler. But soon, other little things, like the door-mounted tweeters, were getting on his nerves. The door panels were flawless otherwise, so he's just learning to live with them. 

>>Join the conversation about this AP1 S2000 right here in S2Ki.com.

Running Right

Next, it was time for a teeny bit of maintenance to keep the AP1 running smoothly. "Next on the list was, of course, AP2 retainers and a valve adjustment. Zero problems so far and she sees VTEC regularly. I was amazed at how clean everything was underneath the valve cover. Compression was also 250 psi across all 4 cylinders! What an engine." 

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Elbow Grease

While driving the S2000 to various meets and shows, the OP continued to fix all the little things that, well, needed fixing. First, the faded rear plastic window. Then, it was on to cleaning up and restoring the engine bay. A little scrubbing and a freshly powder coated valve cover worked wonders in there. 

>>Join the conversation about this AP1 S2000 right here in S2Ki.com.

Motivation

But that job, along with a full detail, only made the OP want to dive headfirst into bigger jobs. "After this little project, I was all into the S2000 again. It's just a timeless car that will never be replaced. I decided it was near time to start going balls deep and take care of something that really needed taking care of." 

>>Join the conversation about this AP1 S2000 right here in S2Ki.com.

Facelift

He was referring to, of course, that hacked up front bumper. After two years, it was definitely time for something new. "I decided to go with the Shine Auto Project Amuse R1 style front bumper. I know this bumper may be a bit played out, but I really love how it looks like a more aggressive AP2 front end. While it was at the shop, I had them repaint the rear bumper due to some exhaust burns and because it looked like it had been poorly repaired in the past." 

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Future Plans

For now, that's as far as this project has come. But Guicar certainly has great plans for the future. "This is pretty much how the car sits today, and now that the cosmetics are out of the way, for now, it's time to start focusing on what's underneath. What fascinates me most about this car isn't the aesthetics, but the chassis design and suspension design and engineering behind the entire vehicle. It's such a well thought out platform and it deserves to be in top notch condition. First on my list is to get rid of these crap function and form coilovers, and get some seat time on a track to really learn the car's limits and my own as a driver before I start getting too crazy with modifications." Sounds like a solid plan to us! 

>>Join the conversation about this AP1 S2000 right here in S2Ki.com.