My S2000 project (I'll take 4 more cylinders and one of them turbo thingies, please)

[CodeRedR51]

At least it's lighter.

*cough*2,000lbs*cough*

 

[Keef]

Yeah, mainly because I haven't actually driven a car past parking them, I don't know the ins and outs of a car.

But the point really was to explain why the engines won't last long even though they're Honda engines. I said it's because they're high strung, and a counter argument was that the engines will likely never see the redline in their lives.

I don't know enough about cars to prove the short life of those engines, and I was trying to explain it in a way I though could be.

Anyone else, with more knowledge, care to explain?

No, you're on the money about the reliability aspect. Engines are engineered to handle what they make for whatever period of time, and the more power they make the shorter that lifespan gets. While you could make the S2000 churn out the power, it won't last very long and while it is alive it'll hardly idle through a parking lot. The LSx engines really are the perfect solution with very little compromise at all. Hugely powerful and tunable, and also annoyingly reliable.

 

[Cano]

I e-mailed the guys at Hinson in 2008 and after some phone calls and discussion, we decided it could and should be done. The fact that they could derive a new LSx swap kit for the S2000 application from my car was all the more incentive to give them a chance to make it happen. I delivered the car in early '09, and now it's nearing completion. I feel like my efforts to get in touch with Hinson for this project, and of course their efforts to make it a reality, have contributed significantly to the aftermarket possibilities available to S2000 owners everywhere. Though there have been a handful of examples of this swap completed before this one is finished, none of those are promising a retail kit to allow others to do the same without starting from scratch. This is as much my dream car as it is opening the door for others to do the same. That's why I can wait as long as I need to wait for it--that's why I'm very excited about it.

wow, I hadn't noticed your car was the development mule for a LS swap kit!!! that's so freaking awesome, I'm liking this car more and more and more and this just adds a whole new level of coolness to it. A lot of proprs to you and the shop that are doing it for having the guts, know-how and good will to help enthusiasts.

 

[Eric.]

Unless you race the thing, it's not going to see that 9k redline every day.

My Civic sees its 8000rpm redline every day, usually.

 

[Glubags]

What's up guys!

Some updates... I delivered the cabin section of the mooncraft top to Hinson's shop yesterday so they can begin work on the cage after they go to the Texas Mile later this month.

Fat new radiator is mounted, turbo is mounted, fuel system is in place and wired up. Downpipe needs to be finished, intercooler core has arrived but the intercooler hasn't yet been fabricated. Lots of various little things to finish. I took a lot of pics, here are a few:

Now, you might be wondering where the turbo is. This view from the passenger side rear should explain:

Engine bay space restrictions dictated a rear-mount setup:

Front portion of the diff mount:

Driveshaft and axles from the driveshaft shop are on the car, so the full drivetrain setup is finished. It's getting soooo close to go time!

 

[Punknoodle]

Wow man its looking good! No puddles for you though, that filter is going to get dirty! You must be getting excited now, I was wondering the other day how your car was getting on

 

[Keef]

Progress is looking nice and that engine is sitting pretty in the bay. That radiator is ridiculous! To bad some small-time shops around here never seem to actually get anything done...

I'm a bit rusty on my S2000 parts - is that Mooncraft top the one I see on all the Spoon cars? Or are the Mooncraft and Spoon tops two different things?

Also, is the shop going to fab up some shroud to put around the air filter? Even if you're only using it in fair weather it's still possible that you could run over something and tear up the filter. Same goes for that aluminum intake housing. Methinks some sort of skidplate that blocks water and debris from the bottom but doesn't trap water on the top is in order here.

 

[Glubags]

If they don't relocate it, I'll eventually route the inlet elsewhere when I've got the car back in my garage. As it stands I won't be driving it in wet conditions until that's done, nor will it see much public road usage (especially with the terrible roads here) until I've got an underplate solution, at which point the inlet will need to be rerouted anyway due to air starvation concerns.

And yeah, it's the two-part Spoon top with Bulletproof Automotive's rear window mod:

 

[Keef]

Very cool.

 

[Glubags]

Thanks man! Nice to hear that from a Honda fan. 👍

 

[CodeRedR51]

Man this is taking forever!

You have great patience my friend.

 

[turboash78]

I just released...

 

[Rotary Junkie]

Man this is taking forever!

Isn't that the case with every project car ever?

At least it's not following the route of most... Which is to say buried under other stuff in the garage waiting for "that day" to come where the owner can afford to actually finish it.

Looking forward to the finished result. Should be completely mad.

 

[Glubags]

Man this is taking forever!

You have great patience my friend.

Haha, yes, but like I've told everyone else... I've been waiting 27 years for my dream car, so a few extra months won't hurt.

 

[Eric.]

Hmmm...You finish that and we will meet halfway at Nashville Super Speedway for an autocross sometime.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Isn't that the case with every project car ever?

Depends on what's being done to it, and if it's the first one to be completed or how many custom parts need to be made. I would assume this is the first LSx powered S2k they have completed, or at least with the turbo setup.

I know it took a while for FM to get the LSx swap thing down, but they can complete a car now in less than a month. Of course most of the parts are pre-made so the only real time consumer is the trans tunnel widening and the wiring. Everything else just bolts right in.

 

[Glubags]

Hmmm...You finish that and we will meet halfway at Nashville Super Speedway for an autocross sometime.

One of my best friends lives in Nashville now, so that would actually be 100% possible. Send me a PM if you're serious and I'll give you some contact info. It might be several months from now but we could definitely make that happen. 👍

 

[Ls2BluGoat]

Excited to see the finished product..! Looks awesome so far 👍

 

[Glubags]

Depends on what's being done to it, and if it's the first one to be completed or how many custom parts need to be made. I would assume this is the first LSx powered S2k they have completed, or at least with the turbo setup.

I know it took a while for FM to get the LSx swap thing down, but they can complete a car now in less than a month. Of course most of the parts are pre-made so the only real time consumer is the trans tunnel widening and the wiring. Everything else just bolts right in.

You definitely get it. And yeah, this is the only S2000 Hinson's shop has touched. They had to design and fabricate a TON of pieces for this swap all from scratch. The research and design process is just as time-consuming as the actual fabrication, and unless you're absolutely perfect, complications always arise and demand redesigns or improvements, which usually lead to further changes as the consequences of the previous revisions trickle down to related/nearby parts.

A perfect example is the aftermarket steering rack that was being utilized in some of the earlier pictures. That rack had to be abandoned in favor of the stock rack again due to unavoidable clearance issues with supporting parts (i.e. the necessarily huge radiator). Reintroducing the stock rack called for more revisions, and eventually the decision for a rear-mount turbo setup was made to alleviate any further design issues all that exhaust/intake plumbing could have caused had the turbo been squeezed into some corner of the bay.

On top of that, Hinson is making a kit from the work done to this car, so they had to start designing for the common denominator: a naturally aspirated setup. Only after that was done could they begin working on a turbo solution per my initial plans for the car.

I think a lot of people underestimate the work involved with engine swaps, especially if it's a scenario like this where no previous examples of the swap had been completed before the design process began.



@BluGoat: Thanks man! You might be happy to know the LS2 in my car came from an '06 GTO. 👍

 

[Eric.]

One of my best friends lives in Nashville now, so that would actually be 100% possible. Send me a PM if you're serious and I'll give you some contact info. It might be several months from now but we could definitely make that happen. 👍

Absolutely. I normally autocross in Paducah, KY, but a few of the guys in that group make it to the Nashville races too. Doing it on the road course looks like a blast.

 

[Glubags]

Somewhat related update!

I picked up an amazingly clean, all-original '85 RX-7 yesterday to be my daily driver/minor restoration project since I'll seldom drive the S2000 on public roads and will be selling my motorcycle soon. I've always loved bikes, but I needed two more wheels back under me again. Couldn't pass this up... I NEVER see these unmolested anymore... got super lucky with this one:

 

[mustangGT90210]

Um... correct me if I'm wrong, but that is 25 years old right? Because I bet you could have taken the same pictures back in '85 and it'd be in as good of shape! That's a steal dude 👍 How many miles?

 

[Cale]

Any plans?

 

[Cano]

original air filter stickers!!!! no freaking way!!! amazing grab!!!

 

[Glubags]

Only plan for the RX-7 is to get it as close to showroom condition as possible and keep it that way. There are a ton of minor things to fix, most of which are cosmetic.

It's got 172k on the ticker, but I was told the engine was rebuilt at 120k. No documentation on that, but I have no reason to believe otherwise since it runs so well.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

I hate you all that much more. That's one insanely clean FB.

 

[Glubags]

Haha, that means a lot from you. Thanks man.

Hopefully over the course of the next 6 months or so, I'll have it looking absolutely OEM, showroom fresh. 👍

What's funny is that I also own a '79 280ZX that belonged to an ex-girlfriend who moved to Texas and left the car here, and it could use a LOT of work in terms of restoration to showroom condition, but look what I found today: http://www.blackdragonauto.com/

They specialize in only those two models... perfect! lol

 

[Eric.]

That is beautiful. Shame about the interior. I can at least tolerate the dark blue in my MR2. Porno red.

 

[Lucas]

I know crap about cars, but at least I know that's one very rare car to get in such a good condition. Congrats! 👍

 

[CodeRedR51]

That is beautiful. Shame about the interior. I can at least tolerate the dark blue in my MR2. Porno red.

Red interior =

Nice purchase, I've had two of them.