Hey everyone!

I've been debating making one of these build threads for a while now, and I suppose now that the car has seen the track and will be modified as a true "dual-purpose" car I can justify wasting more time on this forum than I already do.

This is the day I bought the car (not me, thats my dad people...) in August of 2011, and how the car looked in May of 2014.

11222136_10152887107012352_9131426901062418223_n by Rick Flores, on Flickr

I've had my '02 Sebring for three years now. The first year was spent overseas in Japan, so the car sat at my dad's house collecting dust while I was deployed. The second year was spent in Charleston, SC, where I first became involved in this community by attending tech days at Toyo's, going on group drives, and organizing meets. I went on vacation in the mountains a few times, visiting Deal's Gap twice.

When my time in the Navy was up, I moved back down to Miami for school. At this point I had finished paying the car off, so I could start modifying (well, de-ricing) the car. In the time I've been down here, I've driven the car on track, done a few road trips, and been to a million and one meets/tech days/cruises.

Aftermarket modifications include:
BBS RX 17x8 +35 wheels at all corners
Hawk HP+ brake pads
H&R Street Performance coilovers
HKS 3" single exhaust
Berk 3" test pipe
NRG ETD
Robbins black canvas top
TWM Phantom shift knob
Alpine head unit and component speakers

..... and thats about it. The bulk of whats been done to the car has been done in an effort to bring it back to a clean, OEM state. I bought it site-unseen from Japan, so although I was expecting a decently nice car, what I got was a huge headache.

I've replaced the front bumper (OEM AP1 w/ license plate hole delete), under-tray plastics, fender liners, tie rods (inners and ends), tie rod boots, rotors, pads (OEM for the street), floor mats, steering wheel, center console (AP2 V1), shift knob (TWM Phantom), speakers and head unit (Alpine something or other component audio), and a bunch of other stuff. The front end of the car was repainted in March of '14 due to storm damage. Also, I replaced the AP1 retainers and keepers with AP2 pieces last year, as a precautionary measure.

Now that the car has been brought back to an acceptable state, I will be able to focus on modifying it in the image of my ideal dual-purpose street/track car. No dime will be spent on any bling pieces, as I'm on a very strict budget, and I can't see that shit from behind the wheel anyway. I tend to shy away from buying replica parts, or anything fiberglass for the most part. I don't plan on hanging expensive, rare body panels on this car as the roads I drive on are absolutely atrocious, and third-world in some places. That's Miami for you. The car will be modified to be simple, clean, and highly effective as a road and track car, without compromising day-to-day livability. I take inspiration from many other members on this board (andrewhake, learnerspermit, Simba, //steve\\, SHG_Mike, Feezy, adrs2k, SebringAP1 to name a few) in the direction I'm going with this car.

Things I have planned for the car in the near (within the next 6 months) future include:

Spoon bushings
Spoon engine and transmission mounts
Hard Dog roll bar
J's RCAs, front and rear
Spoon Rigid Collars
Haltech ECU
Aftermarket sway bar
ASM strut tower and cross brace

Eventually, I'd like to waste my financial aid money on:
Lighter, wider wheels w/ tires
Ohlins DFV
HKS GT Supercharger
Black Recaro Pole Position bucket seats
An irresponsible tire of some kind


How the car has looked throughout my ownership period, from start to finish:


S2K by Rick Flores, on Flickr


Creature. by Rick Flores, on Flickr


.... by Rick Flores, on Flickr


My S2000. by Rick Flores, on Flickr

And where it all started to get a bit weird:


Credit: Photos by Juha by Rick Flores, on Flickr


Light Painting x Bokeh by Rick Flores, on Flickr


poop_car.jpg by Rick Flores, on Flickr


_WOL6193 by Rick Flores, on Flickr

A return to a simpler setup:


Shop Things with James David by Rick Flores, on Flickr


...... by Rick Flores, on Flickr

What it looks like today:


ACI_5377 by Rick Flores, on Flickr

 

SOLID CAR. QUALITY DUDE. AWESOME TIME BUILD! ICHIBAN!

 

Die in a fire.

P.S. I'm still on my first one.....

 

Oh

 

Well this has been a swell beginning to this thread

 

Am I late to the party?

I bought my car, sight unseen when I was stationed out near Russia. Those feels, I know them.

 

I love the car with the BBS's on them, it's very clean, functional, and elegant. It reminds me of the early years of the S2000.

Oh, also Ricky. I don't like you, not one bit.

 

This is the greatest build thread of all time

 

*Yawn* Boring! I see your neighbors downgraded their mini van LOL!

I kid, I kid lol. Clean car man.