2000 Honda S2000

HT: What automotive influences have you had? You list only 2 previous Hondas on your tech sheet, a '99 Si and an '07 Fit.

RK: I've been in the car scene for a little while now. I have a '73 Volkswagen Thing, and before [I picked it up] my dad and I had built Baja bugs and stuff like that. I've only owned 2 Hondas, but I've been working on cars for a while.

HT: Do you see yourself as a disciple of the JDM aesthetic?

RK: I'm a little bit more JDM now than I used to be, but in general, I'm just a car guy. I'm a big Volkswagen guy; I've always wanted to own a Transporter, or a 21-window van.

HT: Did you chart out a plan for the build? From the info we have, it seems like you were just adding mods as you could afford them.

RK: When I got the S [in late 2005], I didn't really have a direction because cars like that weren't cool [to mod at the time]. It was all about JDM this, and JDM that. I kind of wanted to build a catalog car at first-I really wanted to build a replica of the Amuse car, the Touge monster.

The first step was to get [the S2000] painted, and then when I was getting ready to buy a front bumper I came across the Top Secret front end. I started to think it would be better to go [a different direction] and do something that I like, because I've always been a fan of Top Secret and Kazuhiko "Smoky" Nagata, [the man behind TS]. I figured the next natural step after [deciding to change directions] would be to go turbo. I was a big turbo guy; with my Civic, I put 3 or 4 different kits on it over the period I owned it.

HT: Did you do any of the work yourself?

RK: I actually did all of it myself, with the help of a few people. I spent entire school days and countless hours mapping out different turbo kits and stuff. When it came time to build it, I needed someone who could weld. I just laid out everything and the guy I found welded everything up. (Kress admits the relationship with his welder has eroded since the project build, hence his remaining nameless.)

HT: Is your welder someone you met just for this project? Or have you worked with him in the past?

RK: He helped me get into the scene. He helped me with a few turbo kits for my Civic, like the first kit we pieced together from GReddy parts. My second kit was entirely custom, and he helped me with that too, the manifold mostly. He did the manifold for the S2000.