AP1 Goes Through Four, Six, and Eight Cylinder Engines
When you can't decide what engine you want under the hood of your S2000, you try them all.
Two Swaps
It's no secret that the S2000 was sold with two of the greatest engines ever produced, but that hasn't stopped a small handful of people from experimenting with other powerplants. Most of the time, these involve LS swaps, of course. But Alex Graf's AP1, recently featured at Super Street, has undergone not one, but two engine swaps in its lifetime, which means that it has been motivated by four, six, and eight cylinders at various points in time.
Photos: Super Street
First Steps
Graf originally purchased the car from its second owner back in 2014. At the time, the car's F20 had a burnt valve. Regardless, Graf proceeded to mix up the look of the car, changing out its exterior pieces to AP2 spec and painting it a Honda Fit color - Blue Raspberry Pearl Metallic. He then moved on to replacing the F20's block
Photos: Super Street
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Ups and Downs
That fresh piece was sleeved for strength, fed E85, and topped off with a Borg Warner s362. With a custom tune, the four-cylinder pumped out a very healthy 700 horsepower. After some hard times on the drag strip and an 8.8 inch rear end swap, Graf burned up four transmissions, which eventually led him down the LS swap road.
Photos: Super Street
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Still Not Happy
Graf came across a brand new LQ4 block for a deal, so he treated it to a slew of modifications. That included a pair of BorgWarner s366 turbos, which helped the V8 produce over 1,000 horsepower. Regardless, Graf wasn't happy with the setup. "It was fun to drive but was built into more of a drag car and took the fun out of driving it around town," he told Super Street. "I ran this setup for a couple of years but couldn't get over how cluttered the bay looked. The alternator placement always bothered me, and I had no other options for a relocation due to space."
Photos: Super Street
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Major Changes
Thus, Graf decided to once again shake things up in a major way by going the 2JZ route. But this time around, he also wanted to redo the look of the car as well. That included smoothing out the engine bay completely before respraying the AP1 in a brand new hue - Valencia Orange Metallic.
Photos: Super Street
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2JZ Everything
Powering this overhauled ride is a USDM 2JZ-GTE, which is mated to a Nissan CD009 transmission. The inline-six is topped off with a single Borg Warner S369sxe turbo, an E Fab intake manifold, and 90mm RMR throttle body. It's a super clean looking setup that likely puts out more than enough power for the street, but Graf has yet to get it on the dyno just yet.
Photos: Super Street
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Going Electric?
Despite completing not one, but two controversial engine swaps in his S2000, it doesn't look like Graf is done angering purists just yet. "I plan on driving this car for a few years," he said. "My next future swap that I'd like to try is a Tesla powerplant. The electric motors really catch my attention."
Photos: Super Street
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