S2000 Seats

For the first stage, Outram just took care of the basics, dumping the EG chassis and stiffening it up, securing some rollers, and taking care of the body supplements. He also swapped in a B18C1 long block and bolted on a header, exhaust, and 75-shot of nitrous, which made 188hp off the bottle and 234 on it. A year later, Outram set out to turn the motor into an NA monster, securing 12.5:1 JE pistons, Peak rods, and having the head set up by JG Engine Dynamics. The second stage put down 200 horses. MO: I was really psyched at stage 2, with the 12.5:1 compression, because I had seen a lot of guys out there running some pretty good times with that setup. I gave it a shot, but [in the end] it just wasn't satisfying. It was great on the road course, but for everyday driving, it just wasn't doing it for me.

Thinking turbo another year on, stage 3 is characterized by lower compression 9.5:1 JE pistons, a kit from Drag, and a Type-R ECU. That was good for 370 ponies. The condition the Sol is now, stage 4, found Outram selling the 1.8-liter B and turbo kit for a 1.6 with an S80 gearbox and a new custom turbo built by the shop he's come to rely on, E-Shift Performance.

HT: You mentioned your roots are in turbo-one of your previous cars was turbocharged?MO: Yes, my '95 coupe. That's how it all started for me, turbocharging the single-cam [D16Z6] in my coupe. It was a homemade shop kit; at the time I was working for a place called IMP, and we pieced a kit together. This is going back like 10 years.

HT: How did you find E-Shift for this project? MO: A friend of mine back in the day had them do an LS/VTEC swap and told me about them. We were all starving for a guy that was good in our area, and that's how it started. Mike Miranda and Wayne Henry have been great.

HT: We're digging the S2000 seats. I don't think we see those too often in a del Sol.MO: I'm the first one in this area, and everyone is sweatin' me for it. They look awesome. I didn't want a full-race seat because it's been done. I'd never seen leather seats in a del Sol, and I came across a set of S2000 seats cheap, the guy needed money, and I basically got them for a steal. Those seats are averaging over $1,000 [on eBay] and I got them for $550. A lot of the race seats, you gotta spend an arm and a leg to get something that reclines. I just love the way they look and feel-they're really comfortable.

HT: We're getting the sense that there was more than a few purchases of opportunity, stuff came up and you basically jumped on it when you had the chance.MO: Absolutely, I'm a firm believer in that. Even if I don't need it, I'll keep it in my garage because one day I'm gonna use it.

HT: So what's been the biggest headache in putting together this project? MO: Getting the proper tune for the street with the Hondata, that was probably the hardest thing. I finally had Rafael Estevez from DRT Performance in Woodside, NY, [tune the car] and the only reason I went with him is because Mike and Wayne know the AEM EMS, but I wanted Hondata because I've had success with them. He was the only guy that could tune Hondata in the Tri-state area that I trusted.

HT: Future plans? MO: I told my wife I'm never getting rid of this car. It's going to my son when he's older. I'm thinking about getting another one or a coupe and go racing with that, but at this present stage, I'm pretty happy with my del Sol.