Third time's a charm: My Laguna Blue Pearl 2006 S2000

[Matt S.]

This is my third S2000 and I've now owned it less than two weeks. As some of you may already know, I decided to get rid of my 2008 Z06 for this (still for sale at the time of this post...in case anyone is interested) and I picked it up on August 6, 2014. It's a 2006 Laguna Blue Pearl and I bought it with 59,100 miles on it. It was owned by a 75 year old woman all its life, and she could no longer drive manual due to hip surgery. The car came with the original boot cover, OEM wheel locks, every oil change / service receipt, and hand written instructions by said owner regarding what mph to shift into each gear, etc. The car showed no signs of abuse, and it's hard to find one like it, especially in south Florida. The car was not 100% perfect - it had a slight rub mark on the front bumper which went through the paint, and some spider cracking on the rear bumper. All VIN tags were intact but it appeared that the rear bumper was repainted at one point, so I planned on getting a couple things addressed.

But first, the morning after I purchased the car, I decided to take it on a road trip and enjoy the #### out of it. My girlfriend and I drove north, spent the day in Orlando, spent a night in St. Augustine, spent the next afternoon in Asheville, NC, and spent the next couple nights in Bryson City, NC. I drove the tail of the dragon three times and we both had a blast. I've already put over 2,000 miles on this car and I've loved every minute of it. The car got a steady 27.5-28.3mpg throughout the entire trip (minus the dragon runs), which is the best fuel economy I've gotten in any S2000 I've owned. On to the pics...

After I got the car home, it went straight to a very reputable local shop to have the front and rear bumpers resprayed. I also had an OEM lip waiting to be installed, which they took care of for me.

I was very satisfied with the work they did. Now that the bumpers were up to par, it was time to address the rest of the paintwork. As you can see, the entire car was covered in minor swirl marks.

 

[Matt S.]

I started by washing the car and using CarPro IronX to decontaminate the finish of any embedded iron particles. As the product dissolves iron, it turns purple and looks like a bloodbath, as you can see below.

My neighbor saw what I was doing and got curious. Since he had just washed his white Mustang GT convertible, I figured we could see what IronX did on his finish.

 

[Matt S.]

All wheels were removed for a thorough cleaning using Griot's Garage Wheel Cleaner and CarPro IronX, and sealed with RejeX.

Paint was polished using a Flex XC3401 VRG. Lake Country 6" Hybrid Wool Power Finish with a mixture of Meguiar's D301 and M105 to cut, and a Crimson Hydro-Tech 6.5" with Menzerna PO85RD to finish. Some side-by-sides....

 

[Matt S.]

And the finished product. I also installed an eBay spoiler which matched perfectly and was only $88 shipped. Paint was sealed with Pinnacle Black Label Paint Sealant and topped with Wolfgang Fuzion Carnauba Polymer Estate Wax. Front and rear bumpers were waxed with Optimum Car Wax (safe on fresh paint).

Interior plastics were treated with 1Z Einszett Cockpit Premium, leather was treated with Pinnacle Black Label Leather Cleaner and Leather Conditioner. Top was treated with Raggtopp, tires dressed with CarPro PERL, and the exhaust tips polished with Optimum Metal Polish.

For now the car is completely 100% bone stock. First order of business is to change all fluids (Pennzoil Platinum motor oil, Honda MTF, Amsoil 75w140 gear oil) and perform a valve adjustment (and throw in new plugs while I'm at it), which will be done later today. After that, I will be building a custom 3.5" intake which I will document and add to this thread. I'll also be replacing the all season tires with Continental ExtremeContact DW in factory sizes. Normally I'd jump straight to aftermarket wheels / sticky tires and a good set of coilovers, but I'm so ecstatic to be back in an S2000 that I'm enjoying it so much in factory form. But once I get the intake made, I will be adding FlashPro and a test pipe. Not in a rush though. Hope you enjoyed the pics and write-up.

 

[lazyjet]

:dblthumb2: fellow LBP S2k owner wish my car still had low milage

 

[RevitalizeAutoSpa]

Beautiful car and awesome work - looking forward to seeing your buildup.

 

[Sizzle Chest]

Very nice! It is super clean man. Nice example. Enjoy!!

So, do you like it better than the ZO6?

 

[JHL88]

Very clean! So, I have to ask why did you get rid of a c6z for this?

 

[allenk4]

Nice work


First time I have seen this:

"mixture of Meguiar's D301 and M105 to cut"

 

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Matt, not sure what made you go from a C6Z to this? Regardless, what makes you happy is important AND the S2000 is still a sweet car. I'm very picky when it comes to color matching re-sprays. Looks like they did and excellent job!! Is there a noticeable difference in other lighting? Just curious.

Nice job on the detail, car looks better than new!

 

[jamesboyy]

Excellent work, looks amazing

 

[eaglefan]

I agree, vette to s2000?? but your money your choice. Quality products and a quality job. Really big difference in the before and after pictures. Paint looks incredible. You did a A+ job inside and out

 

[TWEEDERTWEEK]

I miss my Rio Yellow Pearl 05 S. Yours looks amazing, great job.

 

[J504]

Love that blue. Did you ever do a detail write up for the z06?

 

[PreludeVTEC01]

Wow! Great work and wonderful car/color.

 

[Matt S.]

Can't tell a difference, they matched it spot on. As for the S2K vs Z06 discussion...I never enjoyed my Z06 as any of my previous S2000s and I've already put almost as many miles on this car in 12 days than I did my Z06 in the past year. I just never could really afford to enjoy the Z06 because tires, brakes, etc are so expensive and repair bills are insane. It's a lot easier to enjoy a $20,000 car given my current situation. The Z06 was fine but now that I have a mortgage, I just can't afford to enjoy it.

 

[Sizzle Chest]

^^^That's cool. Glad you are having fun with it! That, in the end, is what it is really all about anyway. Drive it and enjoy it!

 

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Can't tell a difference, they matched it spot on. As for the S2K vs Z06 discussion...I never enjoyed my Z06 as any of my previous S2000s and I've already put almost as many miles on this car in 12 days than I did my Z06 in the past year. I just never could really afford to enjoy the Z06 because tires, brakes, etc are so expensive and repair bills are insane. It's a lot easier to enjoy a $20,000 car given my current situation. The Z06 was fine but now that I have a mortgage, I just can't afford to enjoy it.

rops:

 

[roguegeek]

Old post, but I still wanted to comment. Very nice! Probably looking to trade my 2005 S2000 for a bone stock CR when I find a nice, unmolested copy.

Any engine bay detailing? Nothing looks quite as good as an S2K engine bay.

 

[Red89gt]

Car turned out excellent. I have my wife's 2003 s2000 with 25k miles on it to work on this year. Black on black, going to be a laborious detail for sure. If I can get it like yours I will be happy for sure.