They say that this mother of invention is necessity, and in this case, it’s a father and son team from Springfield, Missouri. Both fell go heels for your S2000, even though duo of David and Adam Dorland are car fans who have owned and built several cars between the two. We never intended with a build.” It was all going based on plan until David got a call from his son, even though david recalls, “We wanted a great day cruiser, something cool. He adds, “I hadn’t even gotten the plates for the car. Adam called and said he blew the car.” Ouch.
Adam had done a number on the high-strung four-cylinder, putting their plans for a cruiser on hold. Weren’t pleased with what they found, even though david states, “The engine was shot as a result of my son, so we had to do something.” The pair began scouring local salvage yards and engine companies to source another one F20 mill. “Engines were hard to find for any decent price, and the ones that people could afford weren’t in the best of shape.” To keep the S2K from turning into a bird feeder, Adam pitched the idea of a K swap, and his dad was sold.
To get their car together, the pair turned to accomplished tuner Tony Laughlin at 2nrs Of Springfield for the install itself. David states, “Tony had done several K swaps in FWD cars, and when we told him what we wanted, he jumped at the chance.” Tony and Dave agreed they wanted to use as many OEM parts as is possible, so they started with a totaled TSX towards the tune of $1,500. A custom set of engine mounts and a transmission adapter were built, as well as an adapter plate to reuse the F-series intake manifold. Dave adds, “Reusing as much as we could cut down on the price and helped keep reliability up.” The head from the K24 was swapped out for a K20 version to enhance clearance in the firewall, and a Frankenstein RSX/S2000 wiring harness was infused so that K-Pro could be utilized. With the bugs worked out and the car running right, the guys turned their focus on making some real power. Skunk2 provided a full valvetrain along with a group of cams and a 74mm throttle body. By having an aggressive tune, a respectable 248 whp screamed out of the swap. Now with a 2.4L and VTEC coming on at 3,500 rpm, the car was much more pleasant to drive,” David relates, even though “The stock F20 was gutless below VTEC.just a keen eye would catch the MT drag radials perched out back.
Obviously, that’s the not the conclusion of the story by a long shot. The Dorlands weren’t, though you might have been satisfied with that impressive power output. They were hungry for more. The center of the turbo system is a Precision 6265 turbocharger straddling a custom-built manifold by using a TiAL 44mm wastegate and BOV. A Full Blown fuel pump paired with Injector Dynamics ID2000 fuel injectors keep the K series well fueled under stress. A custom intercooler and matching piping were needed to complete the setup. Tony had previously used a similar setup on FWD cars, and they’d put down a little over 400 hp on pump gas. This particular setup, using E85, made a whopping 510 whp at just 13 pounds of boost! When asked about potential, Tony explains, “ We could are making more, but we could only rev it to 8,400 rpm because we have been pushing beyond the limits of your stock oil pump. This is still a 100 percent stock block with stock rods, stock pistons, and rod bolts.” Power like that needs to be controlled, and the stock suspension had too much travel, so the OEM bits were replaced with a set of Skunk2 Pro C coilovers, and the standard all-season tires were ditched for a collection of super-sticky 255 Mickey Thompson drag radials on powdercoated stock wheels. The stock look continues throughout the exterior to avoid unwanted attention and so the father and son team could surprise anyone thinking the “little Honda” didn’t get the power to backup their grins.
Feeling which they finally had the cruiser that they wanted, but using more than double the power, and any thoughts of being “gutless below VTEC” a thing in the David, past and Adam could actually daily the auto if they wanted; it’s that reliable. As far as any future plans, the duo wants to just enjoy the ride as is-something we don’t hear much of with regards to feature cars. Dave closes with, “We’re not doing a thing. It’s done.”
2002 honda s2000 rolling shot
2002 honda s2000 cloth top down
2002 honda s2000 short antenna
Bolts & Washers
Propulsion
K20A2 cylinder head
K24A2 engine block
2nrs Of Springfield transmission adapter
2nrs Of Springfield intake manifold adapter
2nrs Of Springfield intercooler
2nrs Of Springfield intercooler piping
2nrs Of Springfield turbo manifold
2nrs Of Springfield 3-inch downpipe
2nrs Of Springfield exhaust
2nrs Of Springfield Innovative engine mounts
Skunk2 74mm throttle body
Skunk2 Stage 2 cams
Skunk2 valves
Skunk2 valvesprings
Skunk2 retainers
Full Blown Motorsports FB340 fuel pump
Full Blown Motorsports radiator
TiAL 44mm wastegate
TiAL blow-off valve
Precision PTE 6265 turbocharger
Competition Clutch Stage 5
Suspension
Skunk2 Pro C coilovers
Resistance
Stock
Wheels & Tires
OEM AP1 S2000 wheels
Mickey Thompson 255/50-16 drag radials
Exterior
Stock
Interior
Stock
Electronics
Hondata K-Pro
Props
Wife and motherFirst, one!
Dream Car
Gemballa Mirage GT
Inspiration For This Build
Necessity
Future Builds
Not sure maybe a jeep, maybe a bike
One-Off
The truth is, it was anything but, although the Dorland boys might make a project like this appear like a walk in the park. A ton of Internet research and sourcing the donor car took weeks alone, in addition to the one-off parts. Once we couldn’t, we had to have custom pieces made.” Luckily, Missouri’s biggest tuning shops will be in their area, and some had a previous history with the Dorlands, namely GenuineSaab, even though david adds, “We tried to use OEM parts. A Saab tuning group, they took the wheel for the CNC portion of the trans adapter and intake adapter with the guidance of the 2nrs Of Springfield. When it arrived at boosting the K24/K20, they were in uncharted territory, which meant plenty of error and trial engineering. In Dave’s own words, that engine compartment was “too tight.” If you’re looking to conduct a turbo K swap within your S2000, just be prepared!