Hi All!
As of today, I'm officially the owner of the car I've longed for longer than any other. The AP1, 9000 RPM, simple aesthetics, slightly dated center console and all. The car I've said would be my next since 2011, and with four or five cars in between, I've finally made it happen.
Backstory on me: I've lightly modified pretty much every car I've ever owned, always seeking to do so in a way that complements the feeling that the car gives off in stock form and highlight the platform's inherent strengths and minimize the weaknesses, both functionally and aesthetically. After a couple cars I found myself in a Honda for the first time and have largely not looked back since, with the exception of my short time where I settled for a Miata before landing a new job that enabled this day to come.
The car: 2000, NFR, very good shape....except for some interior wear AND some rust on the passenger quarter panel. This is the first thing that I will address along with getting the rear arches rolled at the same time in preparation for further modification in the future. The car is numbers matching across the board, original engine/trans/diff/every single panel, etc., not bad for a 16 year old sports car with 135,000 miles.
The car has not had the easiest life either, as indicated by the rust and the various sets of whees that it came with, OEM AP1 wheels with Direzza ZII (PO's autox setup), OEM AP2 wheels with Michelin PSS (summer daily setup) and ugly Enkei with snow tires. That said, my first goal with the car is to do a cosmetic restoration of the vehicle, I'll be fixing the rust and small cosmetic annoyances, only starting with more major modifications once those have been sorted (along with a thorough round of maintenance).
Car as purchased:
In the future once I take the car out of its winter storage (I'm not risking further rust by driving the car on roads with even a bit of salt on them), I'll take better pictures of the interior/exterior. For now, I'll highlight the car's major issues:
1.) Rust:
2.) More rust/corrosion.
***Along with the rather gross looking OEM radiator stays***
3.) Interior wear.
It is missing the driver's side sun visor, the carpets a bit worn, the OE center console finish is peeling and the driver's seat has a rather sizeable tear.
On to the fun stuff, how do I plan to address these things & future plans for the car.
I'll be swapping out those Enkeis for the OEM AP1 wheels/ZII as pictured here (along with selling the AP2 wheels & Enkeis, not a FS post)
The only progress I plan to make on the car this year will be in the interior & in dealing with the rust, as well as some maintenance.
The interior work will include:
My NSX-R shift boot
CR Radio door and Arvou knob (also pictured, ASM license plate bolts, already on the car at this point):
As far as more impactful changes, the only big part I've got at the moment are my beat up old Advan RG.
These will be refinished before they go on the car.
So, what does the title have to do with anything? The J's Racing S2000 (pre-full J's kit, just the lip/canards, GT Wing, etc) has always spoken to me, the vibes have always hit me just right. That car combined with some of the styling that has influenced me from drift cars to Formula One to architecture have shaped my aesthetic sensibilities and have me aiming to achieve a very certain vibe/feel from the car long term. A feel that is reminiscent of that old J's demo car, but is in no way a copy of it & will stand entirely on its own.
I'm sure this is all very rambly, but hopefully things are coherent and from here on out will make more sense, as I'm throwing less words & pictures together that have taken place over the last six (plus) months.
As of today, I'm officially the owner of the car I've longed for longer than any other. The AP1, 9000 RPM, simple aesthetics, slightly dated center console and all. The car I've said would be my next since 2011, and with four or five cars in between, I've finally made it happen.
Backstory on me: I've lightly modified pretty much every car I've ever owned, always seeking to do so in a way that complements the feeling that the car gives off in stock form and highlight the platform's inherent strengths and minimize the weaknesses, both functionally and aesthetically. After a couple cars I found myself in a Honda for the first time and have largely not looked back since, with the exception of my short time where I settled for a Miata before landing a new job that enabled this day to come.
The car: 2000, NFR, very good shape....except for some interior wear AND some rust on the passenger quarter panel. This is the first thing that I will address along with getting the rear arches rolled at the same time in preparation for further modification in the future. The car is numbers matching across the board, original engine/trans/diff/every single panel, etc., not bad for a 16 year old sports car with 135,000 miles.
The car has not had the easiest life either, as indicated by the rust and the various sets of whees that it came with, OEM AP1 wheels with Direzza ZII (PO's autox setup), OEM AP2 wheels with Michelin PSS (summer daily setup) and ugly Enkei with snow tires. That said, my first goal with the car is to do a cosmetic restoration of the vehicle, I'll be fixing the rust and small cosmetic annoyances, only starting with more major modifications once those have been sorted (along with a thorough round of maintenance).
Car as purchased:
In the future once I take the car out of its winter storage (I'm not risking further rust by driving the car on roads with even a bit of salt on them), I'll take better pictures of the interior/exterior. For now, I'll highlight the car's major issues:
1.) Rust:
2.) More rust/corrosion.
***Along with the rather gross looking OEM radiator stays***
3.) Interior wear.
It is missing the driver's side sun visor, the carpets a bit worn, the OE center console finish is peeling and the driver's seat has a rather sizeable tear.
On to the fun stuff, how do I plan to address these things & future plans for the car.
I'll be swapping out those Enkeis for the OEM AP1 wheels/ZII as pictured here (along with selling the AP2 wheels & Enkeis, not a FS post)
The only progress I plan to make on the car this year will be in the interior & in dealing with the rust, as well as some maintenance.
The interior work will include:
My NSX-R shift boot
CR Radio door and Arvou knob (also pictured, ASM license plate bolts, already on the car at this point):
As far as more impactful changes, the only big part I've got at the moment are my beat up old Advan RG.
These will be refinished before they go on the car.
So, what does the title have to do with anything? The J's Racing S2000 (pre-full J's kit, just the lip/canards, GT Wing, etc) has always spoken to me, the vibes have always hit me just right. That car combined with some of the styling that has influenced me from drift cars to Formula One to architecture have shaped my aesthetic sensibilities and have me aiming to achieve a very certain vibe/feel from the car long term. A feel that is reminiscent of that old J's demo car, but is in no way a copy of it & will stand entirely on its own.
I'm sure this is all very rambly, but hopefully things are coherent and from here on out will make more sense, as I'm throwing less words & pictures together that have taken place over the last six (plus) months.