A lot of car enthusiasts tend to gravitate towards one brand. You find something you like, become heavily invested into the community, and continue working up the hierarchy of that particular brand. For Drew, it has been Honda. Going through his car history, it seems as though he has always been a Honda guy at heart, owning Civics and Preludes throughout the years. For him, this S2000 is the culmination of years of time, effort and a passion for the brand.

The story of this S2000, doesn’t actually begin with this exact chassis. Drew owned another S2000, a blue on blue AP1 that he scooped up when his Prelude was due for retirement. He needed a new car, and the only clean S2000 available was far from the spec that he wanted. Although it was the wrong color, the wrong generation and most certainly a compromise from his dream car, it scratched the itch that he had. By his own admission, he “beat the shit” out of that car. Anytime was a good time for a donut, and canyons were his second home.

But no matter how much he enjoyed the car, sometimes you just can’t get over small details. He considered trying something new, and test drove a number of cars. He kept finding that nothing else felt quite right though, nothing put a smile on his face quite like an S2000. So when Drew stumbled across this red AP2, he jumped on the opportunity to swap cars. It was a low mile, one owner car, that was listed far below what it should have been. In short, it was a steal, and he had the car he had been looking for all along. It was the perfect base to build on.

After initially bolting on what he could from his old, blue AP1, Drew started putting together a long list of parts. He carefully picked out what he needed, keeping in mind exactly what he wanted out of the car. The Tein coilovers he started with, were eventually swapped for KW V3s. He spent a great deal of time sourcing perfectly flush Regamaster wheels. He found a hardtop, which improved his daily driving comfort, and added a loud splash of personality with, what he fondly refers to as, his “24k Gold” Valve cover. Everything was carefully picked, and is a reflection of Drew as the owner.

However he spent the most time sourcing parts to add some much needed power to the car. From the beginning, even before he found this AP2, he knew he wanted a turbocharged S2000. The combination of the high-revving engine, and the surge of power the turbo gives was exactly what he wanted out of a car. Although he could have gone the supercharging route, it wouldn’t create the same sensation, or make the right noises for him. It took quite a long time to source the right parts, he wanted to ensure that he was ready to do things right. After nearly a year of preparation, the actual process of boosting the car happened almost by accident.

What started as a clutch swap rapidly lead to installing the turbo. While tearing the car down, the thought of putting it back together, only to have to undo it all later down the line, seemed like a shame. So the build started right there and then. It was a slower process than anticipated. He could only wrench on it after work for a few hours at a time. The car was also sitting at T&L Garage Works, a fair distance from his home, making the round trip pretty extensive. However, each night he worked on it with his friend, Chris Griffiths. They each poured hours of their nights into the car, Chris lending his expertise along the way. Bit by bit Drew was closer to his dream car.

After a number of late nights in the garage, the S2000 rolled out under it’s own power. He drove home and began the tuning process. Unfortunately it wasn’t smooth sailing, and the car almost immediately blew a head gasket. Years of preparation, and months of work resulted in barely more than a week of seat time. But that’s part of the project car life. You build it, you drive it, you break it, and then roll up your sleeves and tear back into it. After being without the car for so long, he worked as quickly as possible to have it running again. In very short order, the S2000 was back in one piece, and on the streets again.

It says quite a bit about an owner’s passion for their car, when they continue to pour their time into the chassis. Many would have taken a setback like that, and left the project to sit for a while. Too often do we read about old racecars sitting around after a similar failure. Many would have moved on to other platforms, or would have lacked the patience to source the right parts and build the vision they had in mind. However, Drew’s S2000 is the embodiment of a successful project car. No matter the setback, he continues to put time and effort into making the car better. Even if it’s never finished, and ever changing, he has accomplished a great deal during his time with this chassis.

We’re looking forward to seeing what comes next. We’ll be documenting it every step of the way.

Gallery