2001 Honda S2000
Discussion
I’ve always enjoyed spending countless hours reading through the journeys of fellow PH’s and their readers cars. I’ve also always wanted to contribute with whatever car I’ve had at the time but I can never seem to keep a car for more than 6 months so the post would become stale. Don’t get me wrong I’ve held onto a few cars for maybe a year or so but that’s incredibly rare and has only gotten worse as I’ve aged (35). As an example, In the last two years I’ve changed cars 11 times. I’m not a trader and i wasn’t trying to make a buck, these were all my personal/daily cars but none stayed very long.
So at the beginning of this year I decided to try something different, I was going to buy a nice daily and a decent track car. I’d not long sold my Golf R and picked up a JCW Mini Roadster. It was actually a cool wee car with a fair bit of go but in the end it just wasn’t for me so I sold it.
Golf R 1 by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
JCW Mini by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
I decided the next car had to be an estate and I really fancied some sort of dual clutch transmission. I looked at a load of options and finally decided on a Skoda Octavia VRS 2l TFSI DSG. At the beginning of May I seen a perfect example with everything I was looking for equipment wise, low mileage, FSH etc so I stuck in an offer. I awoke the next day to an email accepting said offer……result!
The next weekend I made the trip down from Scotland (950 miles return) and the car was just as described. It was actually better than I had imagined so I was extremely happy and done the deal there and then. The trip home was without drama and I was really surprised by just home comfortable, fast and smooth the car was. The boot size on the estate is insane!
1 by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Now that the daily was taken care of it was time to sort out the toy/weekend/track car. This was more work than I had planned and tbh after searching for hours at a time most days for 3 weeks I was getting bored of the whole thing. Firstly I couldn’t make my mind up on what I really wanted and secondly my budget changed so often that the pool of potential cars only grew by the day. I knew I wanted something Japanese and I wanted something that wouldn’t need the purchase price spent on it again in mods to make it track ready. I’ve had a few EP3 in the past and with a diff and some suspension work they make cracking track cars but with so many of them at my local track I decided against it. I also fancied another Celica GT4’s in ST205 flavour. I’ve had 3 of them in the past and it was actually my first turbo charged car when I was 20. The cost of parts, weight and the fact they are now appreciating means I’d probably never use it to it’s full potential in fear of devaluing it. I had actually arranged to go and see one that was local to me. On the Friday night I was having second thoughts about going to see it the next day and I just couldn’t shift the fact that I wanted something more than the GT4 so I called the guy and explained I wouldn’t be coming. With that one action I had now decided what I wanted and the search was now on for an S2000.
Why did I want one so badly?
I’ve had 3 of them in the past and tbh I’ve never driven a car like it. Granted they will never set the world alight with their power, optional extras or eye watering insurance premiums but when I sit in one it always feels like an occasion. It’s like getting into a cockpit, with every control completely driver focused. Turning on the ignition brings this crazy digital speedo to life as it sweeps from right to left. I love how sharp the steering feels and how light and nimble the chassis is. They corner so flat and you can be very late on the brakes before turn in. The seating position is perfect, nice and low, feeling like you’re actually in the car and not sitting on it like so many modern cars. The engine and gearbox are and absolute joy. Gearchanges are so short and precise it’s like a bolt action rifle. The engine is a real masterpiece, revving them out to 9,000rpm on the digital tac with the red zone between 8 and 9k flashing away before you do it all over again in the next gear is insanely good fun. The whole car is just so mechanical that when you are absolutely on it and in the zone it is quite an intense experience. On the flip side you also have one of the cars other USP’s and that the ability to drop the roof for some good old fashioned wind in your hair cruising. Even on a bright, crisp winters morning it’s always a pleasure to drop the top and go for a drive. Just don’t get caught in traffic with the music blaring some guilty pleasure song from the radio.
After searching in all the usual places I found a tidy silver, 52 plate on ebay that met most of my criteria. After speaking to the owner I decided to put a bid on in the dying seconds of the auction……….and I won it. Top work, I’m now an S2000 owner……..or so I thought.
S2000 by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
The car was in Devon and I’m from the north east of Scotland. I don’t like flying so a mammoth train journey was on the cards. I left the house at 5am on Saturday morning and took the 11 hour train ride. The lad picked me up from the station and took me to his house to see the car. First impressions weren’t great, the car was in need of a wash for starters. On closer inspection the sills were rusty, a lot of the engine bay was heavily corroded with a few cracks in the strut tower welds, missing bolts from the wings, the front crossbar was orange, steering rack was heavily corroded too. These were very off putting things but I continued looking the car over to find that the rear quarters had been replaced at some point, paint overspray everywhere, the boot floor was literally bright orange from water sitting there over a long period of time and the all so common rear fog light bracket had failed and it was just sort of held in place by hopes and dreams. He asked if I wanted to start it up and at that point I just told him politely that he had falsely advertised the car and I wouldn’t be taking it. To be fair he seemed as shocked as I was when I was pointing out all of these faults so I just asked him to take me back to the train station. Around 2 weeks later he re-advertised the car on ebay again and never mentioned a single thing I pointed out in his adverts. Kinda think he knew about a lot of the problems all along and was just chancing his luck. Bit of a dick move when someone is travelling around 1100 miles all in. So there I was stuck in some little town/village at 5pm looking to get home with no return ticket. If things couldn’t get any worse the ticket attendant at the station informed me that there was no way I could get back to Scotland that day…..great. Now this isn’t the first time this sort of thing has happened to me before when buying a car so I hatched a plan……….train to Heathrow, hire a car at the airport, drive home…….and that’s exactly what I done. I finally got back to my house at 8am on Sunday morning after an 1100 mile and 27 hour trip. I’d spent around £400 in travel and food costs with only the sweet, sweet memories of living life on the railroad and the M6 toll road to keep me company.
The whole experience above had somewhat soured the thought of another S2000 and I sort of put it at the back of my mind for a few weeks, plus I couldn’t be arsed travelling that sort of distance again any time soon. I was still loving life in the VRS, with it still having that new (to me) car feeling (had only been a matter of weeks thought). I was looking on one of the many car groups I frequent on facebook when a black 51 plate S2000 popped up for sale. A lot of what I was reading fit my criteria and I was starting to get excited about the prospect of owning it. Fired the owner a message asking for some more details and surprise, surprise it was around 500 miles away. Can you see a pattern/theme here? We sent more messages back and forth and I decided to take another leap of faith so I arranged to travel down on the Saturday to look it over/ buy it. I sent a text on the Friday, early evening to make sure we were still on the next day. I was informed that the car was to be viewed by someone else that evening and that if it was still there I could come down as planned the next day. Now I know I never sent a deposit to secure the car but I was blazing mad about this, I was so looking forward to the prospect of owning the car, my friend had taken the day off work with no pay to come with me and we were less than 24 hrs from our arranged meet time. I wrote out a massive reply deleted some of it wrote it out again went away and left it come back to it later and added some more. This message would have sank the deal without question but tbh if the lad never bought it I doubt I would have either for the same reasons he didn’t have it. I was still unsure what to do so I made a coffee. While the kettle was boiling I decided to just chill, not send the message and see how it panned out. Around 30 mins later the owner messaged to say the guy wasn’t going to make it until the Sunday and that if I didn’t buy it he would come down then, game on!
Now after what happened the last time I was adamant I wouldn’t be left stranded in the middle of nowhere again, so i decided to enlist the help of a good friend and we headed down in the VRS. We left around 5am and due to massive traffic jams and hold ups we didn’t get there until around 2:30pm. Unlike the last one, first impressions of this one were good, it had been cleaned thoroughly and shone in the mid afternoon sun, expectations were rising. My friend and I had a good look around, under and inside the car. I noted a few minor things that weren't mentioned by the seller but they were minor so not deal breakers. During the test drive, 6th gear synchro was a bit nippy at high revs and failing rear bushes caused the back end to become a bit loose during cornering. The seller clearly hoped the bushes wouldn't be picked up during the test drive but smiled sheepishly when it happened and admitted it needed looked at. After the test drive I had another look around the car trying to make my mind up. I added up the cost of the fixes plus a little more for "just in case" and came to a price I was willing to pay. I put the offer to the seller and to my surprise it was accepted. Trying not to rip their arm off as we shook on it I was a very happy man indeed. At last, after all of that searching, emailing and travelling, I was finally an S2000 owner once again. Just the small matter of the 500 mile trip home then.
IMG_3986 by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
IMG_3985 by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
IMG_3989 by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
IMG_3990 by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
IMG_3987 by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Thankfully the trip home was almost completely uneventful. My friend was more than happy to drive the S2000 home and I was happy to just chill with the cruise control in the VRS. When I say almost uneventful it was completely user error. My friend got himself involved in a 3 car top trumps episode somewhere on the M6 with a new focus ST and a jaguar XK8. After battling to the death for around 30 miles the S2000 started to cough and splutter........running out of fuel!!! I caught up with him at a service station while he was refuelling, he apologised for emptying the fuel tank like it had a hole in the arse of it and promised to behave......a little. The rest of the trip was smooth sailing and we returned home before midnight, after a cheeky McDonald's.
Thanks for reading this far, I know this is a very wordy intro into my S2000 ownership journey. I'll add more to the thread including what has happened during the last few months of my ownership. I've got a list of things I'd like to fix, replace or improve and I've already made a few purchases and some changes that I'll add too.
Cheers,
Melly
So at the beginning of this year I decided to try something different, I was going to buy a nice daily and a decent track car. I’d not long sold my Golf R and picked up a JCW Mini Roadster. It was actually a cool wee car with a fair bit of go but in the end it just wasn’t for me so I sold it.
Golf R 1 by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrJCW Mini by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrI decided the next car had to be an estate and I really fancied some sort of dual clutch transmission. I looked at a load of options and finally decided on a Skoda Octavia VRS 2l TFSI DSG. At the beginning of May I seen a perfect example with everything I was looking for equipment wise, low mileage, FSH etc so I stuck in an offer. I awoke the next day to an email accepting said offer……result!
The next weekend I made the trip down from Scotland (950 miles return) and the car was just as described. It was actually better than I had imagined so I was extremely happy and done the deal there and then. The trip home was without drama and I was really surprised by just home comfortable, fast and smooth the car was. The boot size on the estate is insane!
1 by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrNow that the daily was taken care of it was time to sort out the toy/weekend/track car. This was more work than I had planned and tbh after searching for hours at a time most days for 3 weeks I was getting bored of the whole thing. Firstly I couldn’t make my mind up on what I really wanted and secondly my budget changed so often that the pool of potential cars only grew by the day. I knew I wanted something Japanese and I wanted something that wouldn’t need the purchase price spent on it again in mods to make it track ready. I’ve had a few EP3 in the past and with a diff and some suspension work they make cracking track cars but with so many of them at my local track I decided against it. I also fancied another Celica GT4’s in ST205 flavour. I’ve had 3 of them in the past and it was actually my first turbo charged car when I was 20. The cost of parts, weight and the fact they are now appreciating means I’d probably never use it to it’s full potential in fear of devaluing it. I had actually arranged to go and see one that was local to me. On the Friday night I was having second thoughts about going to see it the next day and I just couldn’t shift the fact that I wanted something more than the GT4 so I called the guy and explained I wouldn’t be coming. With that one action I had now decided what I wanted and the search was now on for an S2000.
Why did I want one so badly?
I’ve had 3 of them in the past and tbh I’ve never driven a car like it. Granted they will never set the world alight with their power, optional extras or eye watering insurance premiums but when I sit in one it always feels like an occasion. It’s like getting into a cockpit, with every control completely driver focused. Turning on the ignition brings this crazy digital speedo to life as it sweeps from right to left. I love how sharp the steering feels and how light and nimble the chassis is. They corner so flat and you can be very late on the brakes before turn in. The seating position is perfect, nice and low, feeling like you’re actually in the car and not sitting on it like so many modern cars. The engine and gearbox are and absolute joy. Gearchanges are so short and precise it’s like a bolt action rifle. The engine is a real masterpiece, revving them out to 9,000rpm on the digital tac with the red zone between 8 and 9k flashing away before you do it all over again in the next gear is insanely good fun. The whole car is just so mechanical that when you are absolutely on it and in the zone it is quite an intense experience. On the flip side you also have one of the cars other USP’s and that the ability to drop the roof for some good old fashioned wind in your hair cruising. Even on a bright, crisp winters morning it’s always a pleasure to drop the top and go for a drive. Just don’t get caught in traffic with the music blaring some guilty pleasure song from the radio.
After searching in all the usual places I found a tidy silver, 52 plate on ebay that met most of my criteria. After speaking to the owner I decided to put a bid on in the dying seconds of the auction……….and I won it. Top work, I’m now an S2000 owner……..or so I thought.
S2000 by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrThe car was in Devon and I’m from the north east of Scotland. I don’t like flying so a mammoth train journey was on the cards. I left the house at 5am on Saturday morning and took the 11 hour train ride. The lad picked me up from the station and took me to his house to see the car. First impressions weren’t great, the car was in need of a wash for starters. On closer inspection the sills were rusty, a lot of the engine bay was heavily corroded with a few cracks in the strut tower welds, missing bolts from the wings, the front crossbar was orange, steering rack was heavily corroded too. These were very off putting things but I continued looking the car over to find that the rear quarters had been replaced at some point, paint overspray everywhere, the boot floor was literally bright orange from water sitting there over a long period of time and the all so common rear fog light bracket had failed and it was just sort of held in place by hopes and dreams. He asked if I wanted to start it up and at that point I just told him politely that he had falsely advertised the car and I wouldn’t be taking it. To be fair he seemed as shocked as I was when I was pointing out all of these faults so I just asked him to take me back to the train station. Around 2 weeks later he re-advertised the car on ebay again and never mentioned a single thing I pointed out in his adverts. Kinda think he knew about a lot of the problems all along and was just chancing his luck. Bit of a dick move when someone is travelling around 1100 miles all in. So there I was stuck in some little town/village at 5pm looking to get home with no return ticket. If things couldn’t get any worse the ticket attendant at the station informed me that there was no way I could get back to Scotland that day…..great. Now this isn’t the first time this sort of thing has happened to me before when buying a car so I hatched a plan……….train to Heathrow, hire a car at the airport, drive home…….and that’s exactly what I done. I finally got back to my house at 8am on Sunday morning after an 1100 mile and 27 hour trip. I’d spent around £400 in travel and food costs with only the sweet, sweet memories of living life on the railroad and the M6 toll road to keep me company.
The whole experience above had somewhat soured the thought of another S2000 and I sort of put it at the back of my mind for a few weeks, plus I couldn’t be arsed travelling that sort of distance again any time soon. I was still loving life in the VRS, with it still having that new (to me) car feeling (had only been a matter of weeks thought). I was looking on one of the many car groups I frequent on facebook when a black 51 plate S2000 popped up for sale. A lot of what I was reading fit my criteria and I was starting to get excited about the prospect of owning it. Fired the owner a message asking for some more details and surprise, surprise it was around 500 miles away. Can you see a pattern/theme here? We sent more messages back and forth and I decided to take another leap of faith so I arranged to travel down on the Saturday to look it over/ buy it. I sent a text on the Friday, early evening to make sure we were still on the next day. I was informed that the car was to be viewed by someone else that evening and that if it was still there I could come down as planned the next day. Now I know I never sent a deposit to secure the car but I was blazing mad about this, I was so looking forward to the prospect of owning the car, my friend had taken the day off work with no pay to come with me and we were less than 24 hrs from our arranged meet time. I wrote out a massive reply deleted some of it wrote it out again went away and left it come back to it later and added some more. This message would have sank the deal without question but tbh if the lad never bought it I doubt I would have either for the same reasons he didn’t have it. I was still unsure what to do so I made a coffee. While the kettle was boiling I decided to just chill, not send the message and see how it panned out. Around 30 mins later the owner messaged to say the guy wasn’t going to make it until the Sunday and that if I didn’t buy it he would come down then, game on!
Now after what happened the last time I was adamant I wouldn’t be left stranded in the middle of nowhere again, so i decided to enlist the help of a good friend and we headed down in the VRS. We left around 5am and due to massive traffic jams and hold ups we didn’t get there until around 2:30pm. Unlike the last one, first impressions of this one were good, it had been cleaned thoroughly and shone in the mid afternoon sun, expectations were rising. My friend and I had a good look around, under and inside the car. I noted a few minor things that weren't mentioned by the seller but they were minor so not deal breakers. During the test drive, 6th gear synchro was a bit nippy at high revs and failing rear bushes caused the back end to become a bit loose during cornering. The seller clearly hoped the bushes wouldn't be picked up during the test drive but smiled sheepishly when it happened and admitted it needed looked at. After the test drive I had another look around the car trying to make my mind up. I added up the cost of the fixes plus a little more for "just in case" and came to a price I was willing to pay. I put the offer to the seller and to my surprise it was accepted. Trying not to rip their arm off as we shook on it I was a very happy man indeed. At last, after all of that searching, emailing and travelling, I was finally an S2000 owner once again. Just the small matter of the 500 mile trip home then.
IMG_3986 by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrIMG_3985 by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrIMG_3989 by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrIMG_3990 by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrIMG_3987 by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrThankfully the trip home was almost completely uneventful. My friend was more than happy to drive the S2000 home and I was happy to just chill with the cruise control in the VRS. When I say almost uneventful it was completely user error. My friend got himself involved in a 3 car top trumps episode somewhere on the M6 with a new focus ST and a jaguar XK8. After battling to the death for around 30 miles the S2000 started to cough and splutter........running out of fuel!!! I caught up with him at a service station while he was refuelling, he apologised for emptying the fuel tank like it had a hole in the arse of it and promised to behave......a little. The rest of the trip was smooth sailing and we returned home before midnight, after a cheeky McDonald's.
Thanks for reading this far, I know this is a very wordy intro into my S2000 ownership journey. I'll add more to the thread including what has happened during the last few months of my ownership. I've got a list of things I'd like to fix, replace or improve and I've already made a few purchases and some changes that I'll add too.
Cheers,
Melly
Thanks for the reply Mark. My first S2000 was a black/Red combo too.
my001 by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Cheers,
Melly
my001 by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrCheers,
Melly
Yeah I don't see many of these cars in my area and they certainly stand out a bit over the norm.
They pictures were from the seller unfortunately so it's not my MG. I don't think I would have the patience to own and run a car like that due to the level of care, maintenance and upkeep it would require.
Cheers,
Melly
They pictures were from the seller unfortunately so it's not my MG. I don't think I would have the patience to own and run a car like that due to the level of care, maintenance and upkeep it would require.
Cheers,
Melly
Sadly that's the way a fair few of them end up. The earlier ones were well known for being a bit twitchy even at low speeds. Another reason why insurance premiums can be horrendous. Like I said earlier this is my 4th S2000 and although I have never had the misfortune to crash one, there has been a few occasions where I have lost the back end and barely saved it or the one occasion where I didn't and ended up facing oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the road. Feeling the eyes of other road users burning right through you as you sheepishly 3 point turn in the chaos you've just created is NOT fun.
Cheers,
Melly
Cheers,
Melly
EddyBee said:
Looks great.
It's frightening how many people have come off the road in one mind!
Mine was a facelift and I almost stacked it at the Evo triangle. I'm sure if it was an early one I'd have been off!
I had mine for 12 months (only sold it because my friend was selling a classic car I'd been begging him to sell me)
It sold in less than 24hrs of me advertising it.
Funnily enough tge guy who bought it previously owned one & the 2 other people that called about it who had owned them before.
Easiest car I've ever sold.
Any plans for it?
I did find my facelift to be more stable when chapping on over the country roads but in town at slow speeds, off of roundabouts etc I found it to be just as playful as the older model. I felt the vtec crossover was slightly smoother on my 56 plate over my 00 model. I don't know if they made any changes to the throttle mapping or cross over graphs but it felt like it. Possibly something to do with changing from throttle cable to drive by wire.It's frightening how many people have come off the road in one mind!
Mine was a facelift and I almost stacked it at the Evo triangle. I'm sure if it was an early one I'd have been off!
I had mine for 12 months (only sold it because my friend was selling a classic car I'd been begging him to sell me)
It sold in less than 24hrs of me advertising it.
Funnily enough tge guy who bought it previously owned one & the 2 other people that called about it who had owned them before.
Easiest car I've ever sold.
Any plans for it?
I always have a million plans and schemes for my cars but most only ever get as far as buying the parts or fitting breathing mods before I decide to sell up. This time round I have just been slowly picking up some parts and deciding what direction I wan to take with the car. I have some things I want o fix, replace and repair before I start modifying but i'll go through that in the next update.
Cheers,
Melly
Mike1990 said:
Great read!
Always had a soft spot for the S2000’s, it just seems it’s a mine field trying to find a ‘good one’
Thanks Mike, I didn't realise just how long the post was going to be until I'd finished typing it.Always had a soft spot for the S2000’s, it just seems it’s a mine field trying to find a ‘good one’
I think a lot of folk forget that the earliest cars are now around 17 years old and with that, tired bodywork, rust, high miles and leaking roofs are a possibility. Find a decent one though and it's all smiles per gallon.
Cheers,
Melly
Petevxl said:
Nice one mate.
I picked up a DC2 from Exeter the other month, 1000 mile round trip from Dunfermline! However I wasn't a pansy and got a plane down
Disappointing about the first one you went to see. Can't say I would have been as polite as you.
Enjoy!
Great choice, I loved my DC2 and kept it for around a year.I picked up a DC2 from Exeter the other month, 1000 mile round trip from Dunfermline! However I wasn't a pansy and got a plane down
Disappointing about the first one you went to see. Can't say I would have been as polite as you.
Enjoy!
1 by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrA wee pic of it prior to leaving Japan. It was imported by Andy and 200BHP Imports (now just BHP Imports). Still one of my favourite cars to this day, it surprised me on so many levels.
Cheers,
Melly
Jonny_gti said:
That sucks about the first s2000 what a wasted trip and money however, the one you ended up with looks a lot nicer hope you enjoy it.
Thanks Jonny, it certainly is a better car overall. It's a completely blank canvas so I will makes some changes over the period of my ownership to make it more to my liking.Cheers,
Melly
RS Grant said:
Great wee car, gone full circle from a black pre-facelift to a black pre-facelift! ...glad to see you doing a thread about it too, might mean you’ll keep this one longer than 2 minutes?! 
Makes me miss mine... which I owned for about 2 minutes?!
It's being received well so I will keep it up and hope it adds to the ownership experience. With prices rising on these cars the way they are I don't think I'd be able to justify having another a few years down the line when most likely they will cost more than I think they are worth.Makes me miss mine... which I owned for about 2 minutes?!
Just to cheer you up, here's a couple of your old one.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrCheers,
Melly
Picking up from where we left off……
It was now the beginning of August and we were still getting a little bit of sun in Scotland. So when the chance presented itself I would go out for a rip around the local backroads with the roof down. I wasn’t using the car all that much as I still had the VRS for daily duties. If I was going to a car event or trackday at knockhill (spectating thus far) I would always prefer the S2000 but for everything else the Skoda was used.
I went out for a blast after work on my birthday. It was the first time I’d had a real chance to drive the car properly and it was fantastic. I’d been building it up in my head all week and the weather was clear for the first day since I’d had it so why not.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
During my drive it gave me a chance to evaluate what I thought the car was needing. As already noted during the test drive, there was certain bushes at the rear that were not happy and 6th gear synchro was a bit nippy at high rpm. On the drive home my friend mentioned it also picked up a problem when selecting 5th gear too. No crunching but incredibly stiff to put it into or pull it out of 5th. I’d resigned myself to the fact I’m probably going to need to replace the gearbox at some point but it’s not an expensive part and I had already factored that into my offer when buying. Other than those items I was relatively happy mechanically with my purchase. The interior is nice and clean with no untoward rattles or dins from the dash or plastics. The drivers side soft top latch can be a nuisance when going over terrible surfaces so I will need to look at that with either tightening up the fasteners or a bit of tube over the latch. The soft top itself has not long been replaced and with the facelift version so it now has the glass rear screen instead of the cloudy old plastic one.
Over the next few months I used the car pretty sparingly and only racked up around 200 miles. I bought a few parts to change the appearance a little.
BuddyClub Type A gear knob
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
OEM front lip
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
OEM boot spoiler (not my car, just for reference)
Boot spoiler. by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Tein springs (no photo, still in the box)
Another standard steering wheel that I will have recovered by royal steering wheels. This is the finish I’m looking for
steering wheel example by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
06 model 17” wheels that came with winter tyres (in desperate need of a clean)
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
I won’t be going mad with the modifications, just subtle changes to the appearance and possibly some sort of induction and exhaust. Being so highly strung from the factory there is little benefit from N/A modifications without emptying your wallet.
Cheers,
Melly
It was now the beginning of August and we were still getting a little bit of sun in Scotland. So when the chance presented itself I would go out for a rip around the local backroads with the roof down. I wasn’t using the car all that much as I still had the VRS for daily duties. If I was going to a car event or trackday at knockhill (spectating thus far) I would always prefer the S2000 but for everything else the Skoda was used.
I went out for a blast after work on my birthday. It was the first time I’d had a real chance to drive the car properly and it was fantastic. I’d been building it up in my head all week and the weather was clear for the first day since I’d had it so why not.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrDuring my drive it gave me a chance to evaluate what I thought the car was needing. As already noted during the test drive, there was certain bushes at the rear that were not happy and 6th gear synchro was a bit nippy at high rpm. On the drive home my friend mentioned it also picked up a problem when selecting 5th gear too. No crunching but incredibly stiff to put it into or pull it out of 5th. I’d resigned myself to the fact I’m probably going to need to replace the gearbox at some point but it’s not an expensive part and I had already factored that into my offer when buying. Other than those items I was relatively happy mechanically with my purchase. The interior is nice and clean with no untoward rattles or dins from the dash or plastics. The drivers side soft top latch can be a nuisance when going over terrible surfaces so I will need to look at that with either tightening up the fasteners or a bit of tube over the latch. The soft top itself has not long been replaced and with the facelift version so it now has the glass rear screen instead of the cloudy old plastic one.
Over the next few months I used the car pretty sparingly and only racked up around 200 miles. I bought a few parts to change the appearance a little.
BuddyClub Type A gear knob
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrOEM front lip
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrOEM boot spoiler (not my car, just for reference)
Boot spoiler. by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrTein springs (no photo, still in the box)
Another standard steering wheel that I will have recovered by royal steering wheels. This is the finish I’m looking for
steering wheel example by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr06 model 17” wheels that came with winter tyres (in desperate need of a clean)
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrI won’t be going mad with the modifications, just subtle changes to the appearance and possibly some sort of induction and exhaust. Being so highly strung from the factory there is little benefit from N/A modifications without emptying your wallet.
Cheers,
Melly
Justin S said:
With the gearbox, strip the lever out the box and replace the bushes and grease up. The lever does get pretty hot and can stiffen the change. It might help with the changes. Also a gearbox oil change is really easy and only £25 for 2 ltr of oil.
I have the same engine albeit pushing a lighter car, in my Westfield. Love the nature of the engine , although my changeover is at 4300 , which does mask the cam changes and makes it less noticeable.
I recently watched a video on youtube of a lad doing just that job. Seemed simple enough and the results (according to him anyway) were excellent.I have the same engine albeit pushing a lighter car, in my Westfield. Love the nature of the engine , although my changeover is at 4300 , which does mask the cam changes and makes it less noticeable.
I don't think I will be going to the expense of a standalone ECU so my changeover will remain as standard. I love how pronounced it is over the newer IVTEC engines, more like the B-Series of old.
Cheers,
Melly
Edited by MELLY-WRC on Monday 18th December 11:39
ST270 said:
The soft top latches can be sorted by removing them and opening them up then some shims fitted I used cardboard, it fills the slight gaps around the latch body and no more rattles, guide on you tube for this.
Your car looks nice, had an early one myself in the past, I fit the oem rear spoiler but used heavy duty double sided glue strips rather than drilling, had no issues at all. Also the headlights respond well to the buff kits to remove yellowing, really look brand new afterwards.
Enjoy they are cracking motors!!
Thanks for the info! I will give it a go at some point over the winter.Your car looks nice, had an early one myself in the past, I fit the oem rear spoiler but used heavy duty double sided glue strips rather than drilling, had no issues at all. Also the headlights respond well to the buff kits to remove yellowing, really look brand new afterwards.
Enjoy they are cracking motors!!
My spoiler has come with heavy duty double sided tape on it also. I much prefer that over having to drill into the boot lid.
I have the Meguires head light restore kit that I was going to use but I have also seen a few videos on a new restore kit that only uses wipes in a 2 or 3 stage process. It's only £12 so I was going to order it and give it a go.
Cheers,
Melly
I decided to have another car re-shuffle again so it was time for the Skoda to go. I stuck it up on the bay of E with a buy it now or best offer and luckily I was contacted within a few days. It was all arranged for the lad to travel up on the Saturday with a mechanic friend who would look the car over and give his verdict. On the Thursday when I was going to work I heard what I thought was a knocking noise coming from the rear when turning into a junction. The road surface was poor but I couldn't recreate the noise again even when going through small imperfections or over drain covers. Puzzled I thought I would at least take it into my uncles garage for them to look it over. I would have hated for the lad to drive 300 miles only to be disappointed with the car or feel I mislead him. After around 10 minutes of checking all the bushes, arms and bars everything seemed ok until they checked the dampers. Upon operating the rear pass side damper it would make a knocking noise.......great. The drivers side was ok but I didn't feel comfortable just replacing the one so I had two new rear dampers fitted and the car was back to being ready for test and collection.
Everything went well on the Saturday and the Skoda left with it's new happy owner. A growing family had dictated a larger car and the Skoda was a perfect fit for them.
With the Skoda gone and the wife wanting to change her Qashqai we decided to buy a new family car. She really liked my Golf R but we have a Bull Mastiff now and with the rear diff the boot is just too small to fit him in there.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
So we decided to go down and enquire about a Golf GTD estate at our local VW dealer. After having a look about the wife wasn't too keen on an estate car but liked the look of a GTi in Oryx white with a fair whack of extras on it including the DSG box. It has the performance pack fitted to it which interested me so we went for a test drive and loved it. Decision made we put a deposit down and picked it up 10 days later. It will mostly be driven by the wife which is pretty evident when I come out for work every morning and the golf is gone as she leaves first.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
So that left me with the S2000 as my do it all car. With the poor weather already here and reports of snow in my area I decided to clean up the 17's I got with the winter tyres and chuck them on the car. They actually cleaned up much better than I had hoped but then I did spend hours cleaning, scrubbing and polishing.
Before
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
After
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
I've found that even with the winter tyres, the lack of any weight over the rear tyres still causes some real traction obstacles. With that in mind and the fact it was never bought to daily I decided to buy something to cover those bases. The S has only covered 43k miles and I don't want to load it with boring daily miles and crap short journeys. It will also help me from getting bored of it prematurely too.
A very good friend of mines bought a 2005 EP3 Premier Edition around a year ago and added some track focused parts to take to knockhill.
His PH thread can be found here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Well as some of you may have read he has now bought a comically fast Fiesta ST that will serve as his track car leaving little room for the civic too. I made him an offer for the car pretty much as it was when he bought it (intake, wheels, coilovers, exhaust, wing etc). So I should be picking that up some time this week after we have removed the diff, manifold, K-Pro, buckets and replaced all the interior plastics and recaros. I'm really looking forward to bringing it home.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
I've got some more S2000 updates coming regarding the clutch, transmission and exhaust mods.
Thanks for reading this far, have an ace Xmas and i'll speak to you all again with an update in the new year!!
Cheers,
Melly
Everything went well on the Saturday and the Skoda left with it's new happy owner. A growing family had dictated a larger car and the Skoda was a perfect fit for them.
With the Skoda gone and the wife wanting to change her Qashqai we decided to buy a new family car. She really liked my Golf R but we have a Bull Mastiff now and with the rear diff the boot is just too small to fit him in there.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrSo we decided to go down and enquire about a Golf GTD estate at our local VW dealer. After having a look about the wife wasn't too keen on an estate car but liked the look of a GTi in Oryx white with a fair whack of extras on it including the DSG box. It has the performance pack fitted to it which interested me so we went for a test drive and loved it. Decision made we put a deposit down and picked it up 10 days later. It will mostly be driven by the wife which is pretty evident when I come out for work every morning and the golf is gone as she leaves first.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrUntitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrUntitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrSo that left me with the S2000 as my do it all car. With the poor weather already here and reports of snow in my area I decided to clean up the 17's I got with the winter tyres and chuck them on the car. They actually cleaned up much better than I had hoped but then I did spend hours cleaning, scrubbing and polishing.
Before
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrAfter
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrI've found that even with the winter tyres, the lack of any weight over the rear tyres still causes some real traction obstacles. With that in mind and the fact it was never bought to daily I decided to buy something to cover those bases. The S has only covered 43k miles and I don't want to load it with boring daily miles and crap short journeys. It will also help me from getting bored of it prematurely too.
A very good friend of mines bought a 2005 EP3 Premier Edition around a year ago and added some track focused parts to take to knockhill.
His PH thread can be found here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Well as some of you may have read he has now bought a comically fast Fiesta ST that will serve as his track car leaving little room for the civic too. I made him an offer for the car pretty much as it was when he bought it (intake, wheels, coilovers, exhaust, wing etc). So I should be picking that up some time this week after we have removed the diff, manifold, K-Pro, buckets and replaced all the interior plastics and recaros. I'm really looking forward to bringing it home.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrI've got some more S2000 updates coming regarding the clutch, transmission and exhaust mods.
Thanks for reading this far, have an ace Xmas and i'll speak to you all again with an update in the new year!!
Cheers,
Melly
Edited by MELLY-WRC on Monday 18th December 13:51
Time for a much needed update.
After parking the S2000 up in the car port for the winter months I was happy enough ripping about in the Civic. It was perfectly fine and capable during the insane snow storms we had too. I can't tell you how happy I was that I had made the change from the S2000 when I did.
While the S was off the road I decided to performs a major service on it including the box and diff oils. It wasn't due until the summer but the fact the clutch pedal was basically now on the floor when it engaged and selecting gears was very difficult it had me worried the master, slave or even the clutch assembly itself was on the way out. There was no real fluid leak that had dripped on the carpet on the inside where the master cylinder comes through the bulkhead but there was evidence of slight wetness at the cylinder rod port.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Because of this I decided to order a new master just in case.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
I had a good look at the slave and everything seemed dry and in decent condition apart from a little corrosion on the bolts.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
I started by removing the clutch fluid from the reservoir and it was a real nasty looking black colour.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
After I removed the master cylinder I decided to strip it down and have a look at the internals. It was full of nasty sludge and grit. Even after a quick spray and clean with some penetrant oil it wasn't the best.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
I gave the piston and seals a quick clean and noticed everything was still very healthy looking underneath the grime. The seals were still sitting proud so I decided to clean it thoroughly and rebuild it.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Due to the complete state of the fluid and the internal of the master I stripped and rebuilt the slave cylinder too. It was just as well seeing as it was completely minging too and the missing fluid was trapped in the rubber boot between the slave and the clutch selector fork. I also filed down the small nipple that had worn on the ball of the clutch selector fork pin. While that was all off I greased up the selector fork and pin as they were dry. We also pushed new fluid through the lines until it was clean and clear again before putting it all back together. After filling it up with new fluid and bleeding the system the clutch felt absolutely brand new again (this was February and the clutch travel, bite and pedal resistance are still perfect). Pretty impressed as it only cost me (and my friends) some time and a some new fluid. It's most likely been a case of the grit stopping the seals from holding the fluid back and that's why I've lost the pedal the way I did gradually over time.
After the clutch was sorted we moved onto the engine oil and filter, gearbox and rear diff oil. That all went pretty smoothly as expected. The biggest problem was the rear diff oil and just how thick that stuff is. Because we were doing this with a funnel and a hose it took almost 30 minutes to refill the diff.
Lastly I stuck in a new air filter, pollen filter and some plugs. Job Done!
I had planned on changing out the gear selector assembly items that I purchased
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
But I ran out of time and we were all a bit hungry after a long day.
Hope you enjoyed my latest ramblings!!
I'll update with what I have been up to recently in my next post but i'll mention that I've sold a car, bought another car and the S is still with me
Cheers,
Melly
After parking the S2000 up in the car port for the winter months I was happy enough ripping about in the Civic. It was perfectly fine and capable during the insane snow storms we had too. I can't tell you how happy I was that I had made the change from the S2000 when I did.
While the S was off the road I decided to performs a major service on it including the box and diff oils. It wasn't due until the summer but the fact the clutch pedal was basically now on the floor when it engaged and selecting gears was very difficult it had me worried the master, slave or even the clutch assembly itself was on the way out. There was no real fluid leak that had dripped on the carpet on the inside where the master cylinder comes through the bulkhead but there was evidence of slight wetness at the cylinder rod port.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrBecause of this I decided to order a new master just in case.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrI had a good look at the slave and everything seemed dry and in decent condition apart from a little corrosion on the bolts.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrI started by removing the clutch fluid from the reservoir and it was a real nasty looking black colour.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrUntitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrAfter I removed the master cylinder I decided to strip it down and have a look at the internals. It was full of nasty sludge and grit. Even after a quick spray and clean with some penetrant oil it wasn't the best.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrI gave the piston and seals a quick clean and noticed everything was still very healthy looking underneath the grime. The seals were still sitting proud so I decided to clean it thoroughly and rebuild it.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrDue to the complete state of the fluid and the internal of the master I stripped and rebuilt the slave cylinder too. It was just as well seeing as it was completely minging too and the missing fluid was trapped in the rubber boot between the slave and the clutch selector fork. I also filed down the small nipple that had worn on the ball of the clutch selector fork pin. While that was all off I greased up the selector fork and pin as they were dry. We also pushed new fluid through the lines until it was clean and clear again before putting it all back together. After filling it up with new fluid and bleeding the system the clutch felt absolutely brand new again (this was February and the clutch travel, bite and pedal resistance are still perfect). Pretty impressed as it only cost me (and my friends) some time and a some new fluid. It's most likely been a case of the grit stopping the seals from holding the fluid back and that's why I've lost the pedal the way I did gradually over time.
After the clutch was sorted we moved onto the engine oil and filter, gearbox and rear diff oil. That all went pretty smoothly as expected. The biggest problem was the rear diff oil and just how thick that stuff is. Because we were doing this with a funnel and a hose it took almost 30 minutes to refill the diff.
Lastly I stuck in a new air filter, pollen filter and some plugs. Job Done!
I had planned on changing out the gear selector assembly items that I purchased
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrBut I ran out of time and we were all a bit hungry after a long day.
Hope you enjoyed my latest ramblings!!
I'll update with what I have been up to recently in my next post but i'll mention that I've sold a car, bought another car and the S is still with me
Cheers,
Melly
Another Update,
Due to having had a few of these cars over the years I was able to tell that the gear shift just wasn’t as sweet as it should be. I was hoping that it was down to the clutch hydraulic system but after sorting that out it still wasn’t perfect. I had read on a few forums and watched a few videos online about how to change the shifter pivot bushings and spring. I ordered the parts along with some high temperature grease and had a go at it.
The first thing to do is pull the plastic centre console/tunnel up. It’s just a simple case of starting from the leather pad at the back and gently teasing the piece up and out. Remember to remove the plugs for the roof, handbrake and hazards before pulling it completely away.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
After removing the rubber boot by releasing the tangs on the white plastic ring you are left with 3 hex head bolts holding the shifter in place. The rubber cap is a bit of a pain and you have to sort of roll it back up the shaft enough to get access to the bolts. It’s also a lot easier to move the shifter into gear and out of the way of each bolt as you go.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Top tip, remember to have the shifter in the neutral position before you remove it as it’s an absolute ball ache to get it back out of reverse once you have removed it.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
The old grease left behind was cleaned up thoroughly and ready for a coat of new high temp grease.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
The parts removed had signs of wear and were a bit loose on the shifter so it was probably a good time to change them.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Removing the ball socket was a pain in the rear as it had an almighty grip. I tried to tease it open with a flat blade screwdriver but no luck. I boiled the kettle and stuck the shaft in a cup of hot water to soften the plastic. After a few minutes the socket came off by hand. There were a few witness marks from my earlier attempts so I rubbed it down with some wet and dry until smooth again.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
New parts
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
With everything cleaned and greased it was time to put it all back together again.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
The install was just a reverse of the removal……………………………………………………
This is of course if you fit the ball socket on the correct way……FML
I hadn’t noticed that the socket had a lip on one side making it only fit one way. I had a 50/50 chance and managed to balls it up. I didn’t notice my error until I had it all back together and the shifter was sitting further to the left than it should be when in neutral.
Cue a full dismantle, removal of new parts and then installing them the correct way. Because of my error, the dying light and the fact my hands were covered in grease I didn’t take any more photos.
Once it was all back together I let the car warm up and took it for a drive to see if there were any improvements. Thankfully the shifts are now completely notch free and back to the crisp bolt action rifle feeling I loved and missed. I think the parts and grease came in at around £30 which is excellent value for the change it has made to the car.
As previously mentioned I have sold one of my cars. As much as I wasn’t planning on selling it any time soon, I had an offer on it and that was that.
37899049591_2375947145_b by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
And picked up another.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Unfortunately it had a problem with the bonnet coming up and taking itself and the windscreen out. Since then its sat in my friends garage for around 3 years. He planned to fix it fast and have it out again but he nicked a few parts from it for his P1 and so it has sat. I made him an offer on it and now it is mine. It needs a bit of work but I’m happy to do it. I’ve already got a V5/6 complete front end for it as I much prefer the facelift look and it doesn't have the standard bumper anyway. The front wings have been rolled for track so I will be replacing them too. It’s only been in the uk since 2013 and off the road for most of it’s time here meaning the shell is super fresh and not full of rot like most classics. I’ve always wanted Type R Subaru and hopefully I will have this thing up and running before the summer.
Until next time!
Cheers,
Melly
Due to having had a few of these cars over the years I was able to tell that the gear shift just wasn’t as sweet as it should be. I was hoping that it was down to the clutch hydraulic system but after sorting that out it still wasn’t perfect. I had read on a few forums and watched a few videos online about how to change the shifter pivot bushings and spring. I ordered the parts along with some high temperature grease and had a go at it.
The first thing to do is pull the plastic centre console/tunnel up. It’s just a simple case of starting from the leather pad at the back and gently teasing the piece up and out. Remember to remove the plugs for the roof, handbrake and hazards before pulling it completely away.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrAfter removing the rubber boot by releasing the tangs on the white plastic ring you are left with 3 hex head bolts holding the shifter in place. The rubber cap is a bit of a pain and you have to sort of roll it back up the shaft enough to get access to the bolts. It’s also a lot easier to move the shifter into gear and out of the way of each bolt as you go.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrTop tip, remember to have the shifter in the neutral position before you remove it as it’s an absolute ball ache to get it back out of reverse once you have removed it.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrThe old grease left behind was cleaned up thoroughly and ready for a coat of new high temp grease.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrUntitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrThe parts removed had signs of wear and were a bit loose on the shifter so it was probably a good time to change them.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrRemoving the ball socket was a pain in the rear as it had an almighty grip. I tried to tease it open with a flat blade screwdriver but no luck. I boiled the kettle and stuck the shaft in a cup of hot water to soften the plastic. After a few minutes the socket came off by hand. There were a few witness marks from my earlier attempts so I rubbed it down with some wet and dry until smooth again.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrNew parts
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrWith everything cleaned and greased it was time to put it all back together again.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrThe install was just a reverse of the removal……………………………………………………
This is of course if you fit the ball socket on the correct way……FML
I hadn’t noticed that the socket had a lip on one side making it only fit one way. I had a 50/50 chance and managed to balls it up. I didn’t notice my error until I had it all back together and the shifter was sitting further to the left than it should be when in neutral.
Cue a full dismantle, removal of new parts and then installing them the correct way. Because of my error, the dying light and the fact my hands were covered in grease I didn’t take any more photos.
Once it was all back together I let the car warm up and took it for a drive to see if there were any improvements. Thankfully the shifts are now completely notch free and back to the crisp bolt action rifle feeling I loved and missed. I think the parts and grease came in at around £30 which is excellent value for the change it has made to the car.
As previously mentioned I have sold one of my cars. As much as I wasn’t planning on selling it any time soon, I had an offer on it and that was that.
37899049591_2375947145_b by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrAnd picked up another.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrUnfortunately it had a problem with the bonnet coming up and taking itself and the windscreen out. Since then its sat in my friends garage for around 3 years. He planned to fix it fast and have it out again but he nicked a few parts from it for his P1 and so it has sat. I made him an offer on it and now it is mine. It needs a bit of work but I’m happy to do it. I’ve already got a V5/6 complete front end for it as I much prefer the facelift look and it doesn't have the standard bumper anyway. The front wings have been rolled for track so I will be replacing them too. It’s only been in the uk since 2013 and off the road for most of it’s time here meaning the shell is super fresh and not full of rot like most classics. I’ve always wanted Type R Subaru and hopefully I will have this thing up and running before the summer.
Until next time!
Cheers,
Melly
Update time.
One of the more common and more serious problems the S2000 is blighted by is rust. While my car is not actually effected by rust too much at the moment I will have to have the rear arches rubbed back and painted this year to prevent it becoming a real problem in the future.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
One of the most common places for rust to start is the boot floor. Due to water ingress through the rear lights or an air vent behind the rear bumper, you could potentially have a small swimming pool in the boot thanks to the bucket like shape of the centre of the boot floor. I decided to have a look at mines to get an idea on the condition and carry out any repairs as necessary. Due to the insane amount of factory clips holing in the boot carpets I took my time removing it to all to save and breakages. Once removed this is what I was left with.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
With my car being an earlier model (2001) I was pleasantly surprised to find more than some surface rust. I gave it a quick blast with the Dremel then a coating of Hammerite Kurust to the affected areas.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
After that had done its thing I masked it up and stuck on a couple of coats of primer.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Then a couple of coats of some nighthawk black I had kicking about from my old EP3.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Happy that the boot floor was now cleaned, treated and painted I decided to move onto the headlights. Ever since I bought the car I have been meaning to get around to this. They have gone that sort of dull, yellow colour and were in need of restoration. I bought a restoration kit a few years back to use on a Civic Type R that I had and the difference was amazing. Sadly my wife seems to have misplaced the mop attachment for the drill that came in said kit so I decided to try it by hand. To be honest I wasn’t really expecting much without the mop but I gave it a good go and there was a clear difference between the before and after so I’m happy enough to leave it as is until I find the attachment or buy a new one.
Before:
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
After:
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
After that little lot I gave the car a good wash and took it to a local spot for a few pictures.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
As usual, thanks for reading. In the next update I will be trying to squeeze these bad boys into the cockpit…..wish me luck!
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on Flickr
Cheers,
Melly
One of the more common and more serious problems the S2000 is blighted by is rust. While my car is not actually effected by rust too much at the moment I will have to have the rear arches rubbed back and painted this year to prevent it becoming a real problem in the future.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrOne of the most common places for rust to start is the boot floor. Due to water ingress through the rear lights or an air vent behind the rear bumper, you could potentially have a small swimming pool in the boot thanks to the bucket like shape of the centre of the boot floor. I decided to have a look at mines to get an idea on the condition and carry out any repairs as necessary. Due to the insane amount of factory clips holing in the boot carpets I took my time removing it to all to save and breakages. Once removed this is what I was left with.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrWith my car being an earlier model (2001) I was pleasantly surprised to find more than some surface rust. I gave it a quick blast with the Dremel then a coating of Hammerite Kurust to the affected areas.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrUntitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrAfter that had done its thing I masked it up and stuck on a couple of coats of primer.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrThen a couple of coats of some nighthawk black I had kicking about from my old EP3.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrHappy that the boot floor was now cleaned, treated and painted I decided to move onto the headlights. Ever since I bought the car I have been meaning to get around to this. They have gone that sort of dull, yellow colour and were in need of restoration. I bought a restoration kit a few years back to use on a Civic Type R that I had and the difference was amazing. Sadly my wife seems to have misplaced the mop attachment for the drill that came in said kit so I decided to try it by hand. To be honest I wasn’t really expecting much without the mop but I gave it a good go and there was a clear difference between the before and after so I’m happy enough to leave it as is until I find the attachment or buy a new one.
Before:
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrAfter:
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrAfter that little lot I gave the car a good wash and took it to a local spot for a few pictures.
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrUntitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrUntitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrUntitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrUntitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrUntitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrAs usual, thanks for reading. In the next update I will be trying to squeeze these bad boys into the cockpit…..wish me luck!
Untitled by Paul Meldrum, on FlickrCheers,
Melly
Edited by MELLY-WRC on Monday 4th June 15:55
MFR_TT said:
Some story that, I would be bloody furious. Cracking car though, what is there not to love about an S2000.
Yeah I wasn't best pleased that's for sure. Thankfully it didn't put me off having another as I'm really enjoying this one. The changes I have made and am planning to make keep my interested also.Cheers,
Melly
Kewy said:
Really enjoying the thread mate, keep it up. Funnily enough the next post on mine is going to be looking at the headlight restoration I had done a few months back. Makes such a difference to the overall look of the car.
Check out my thread if you're interested, its following the progress of my Accord – https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Thanks Kewy, I appreciate the positive feedback.Check out my thread if you're interested, its following the progress of my Accord – https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I have been following your thread with interest. I really like the Euro R in pearl white, it sets it apart from all others I feel. Looks like we will be enjoying the same recaro seats too. I think mine came from the earlier CL1 model though.
Cheers,
Melly
Kewy said:
Ah good to hear! Seats are fantastic mate, will be interesting to see what they look like in the S. I do really like the oem S2K seats also though, what made you want to change?
Glad you're enjoying the thread, think I ramble on a bit but its more for me to look back on and log my progress than anything else. Yeh the Pearl seems to be a popular choice for the Euro R, for good reason I guess! They made the UK model in all the other colours as far as I know, so the Pearl is a much more unusual sight over here. That being said, I do like the look of the Milano Red ones
I find the standard leather seats a bit unsupportive and you tend to slide about in them a bit when pressing on. I also like to make small, subtle changes to a car that makes it my own without going crazy on the spends.Glad you're enjoying the thread, think I ramble on a bit but its more for me to look back on and log my progress than anything else. Yeh the Pearl seems to be a popular choice for the Euro R, for good reason I guess! They made the UK model in all the other colours as far as I know, so the Pearl is a much more unusual sight over here. That being said, I do like the look of the Milano Red ones
Nothing wrong with a bit of rambling. I seem to do a bit myself.
Cheers,
Melly
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