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Not my car, but....
I did a bunch of research on this car, and finally decided not to purchase. (I decided the little 190 hp 4 cyl swap would just be a disappointment compared to my 2GR 🙂
But I came just-that-close to buying it! The seller seems to be a nice car-guy, but maybe not a die hard spyder guy. I offered to post his car on the forums with all the details. He said he's happy with me posting receipts etc. For additional questions Contact the seller:
David Willey email: nath747 at mac dot com. Tell him Paul sent you!
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Details: (my comments are in parentheses)
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2003 Light Blue
Located in Wesley Chapel, Florida
Price: David says he wants $15,000 minimum. Ebay auction closed at $12,200 below reserve.
Monkey Wrench Racing turnkey K20 swap (paid $10,971) July 2018
Fresh paint job Paradise Blue
New headlights (paid $520)
New black leather seats, professionally installed
New "Silvers NeoMax" coil over set (paid $1018.00)
Hardtop from MikeV (paid $2250) painted to match "Installed using side straps and two bolts" (maybe needs a proper hardtop fitting kit?)
Factory wheels professionally refurbished (paid $820)
Fresh Yokohama tires
New brake rotors, calipers painted red
Stainless braid brake lines
Front and rear strut tower braces
Ragtop is intact under the hardtop (missing the plastic tray)
Carfax shows lots of previous owners, plus totaled in July 2016. Photos of the damage to LH front fender and door are below. (Damage looks pretty superficial to me, fender skin, driver's door, and destroyed the Left Front wheel)
Salvage Title
(Water Temp gauge and battery light don't work - as with all engine swaps. Needs the magic converter board from Frankenstein Motor Works to fix.)
I will attach photos of the MWR receipts, dyno sheet, carfax lines showing the crash in 2016, before-salvage photos, and David's recent "for sale" photos...
This topic was modified 5 years ago 7 times by cyclehead
I make Amateur Armrests - see the Commercial Forum. I also have SMT repair seals available.
Topic starter
Posted : June 26, 2019 4:59 pm
More pictures!
TRD front tower brace
Carbing rear tower brace
Plus, one of the previous owners popped up on Facebook. He said he fixed the door and fender, no internal damage. It's fun to find a previous owner!
I make Amateur Armrests - see the Commercial Forum. I also have SMT repair seals available.
Topic starter
Posted : June 26, 2019 9:26 pm
Very nice eye candy. Thanks Paul.
Maybe you should reconsider this car, next year at the Dragon you could enjoy the joys of using the transmission instead of that wonderful power and torque curve of the 2GR!😎. Larry
Posted : June 27, 2019 10:57 pm
Yeah I had some sleepless nights trying to make a decision on this one. Nothing sounds so good as high rpms and quick shifts! I’m still tempted to make the trip to mid Florida to see it.
I make Amateur Armrests - see the Commercial Forum. I also have SMT repair seals available.
Topic starter
Posted : June 28, 2019 5:45 am
I also forgot, David has a new car cover and a new hardtop hoist. He offered to include those in purchase negotiations.
I make Amateur Armrests - see the Commercial Forum. I also have SMT repair seals available.
Topic starter
Posted : June 28, 2019 1:47 pm
Hm not that far from Elexis place. I would like to get a ride in that and a 2zz just to feel the difference and what to go for!
Posted : June 29, 2019 12:44 am
I think the K20 has a flatter torque curve, which would make it nicer in traffic and normal driving. Also, I was expecting the Acura 6 speed transmission to be more robust than the spyder’s.
I make Amateur Armrests - see the Commercial Forum. I also have SMT repair seals available.
Topic starter
Posted : June 29, 2019 7:52 am
My brother has a K20 (RSX Type S). It revs high and it wants to rev. It's fun. I imagine it's even more fun mid engined.
Edit: the transmission has quirks. Third gear has been known not to always fully engage. Apparently it's a Honda feature lol. I also don't like how 6th and reverse are in the same direction. Makes me hesitate when I shift from 5th to 6th. In my 06 Versa with 6 speed (you heard that right), reverse is same direction as first so no fear there. I should have never sold that car 🙁
This post was modified 5 years ago by hello
Posted : June 29, 2019 12:18 pm
Paul, how much under $15k do you think the seller might go? I don’t see this as a $15k option but $12k might get a call from me.
Posted : July 2, 2019 3:58 pm
I know David passed on a $12,200 bid on ebay (below his reserve price). When I spoke with him three weeks ago, he said he wants $15,000 - and has over $28,000 invested (or something similar - my crappy memory)
I make Amateur Armrests - see the Commercial Forum. I also have SMT repair seals available.
Topic starter
Posted : July 2, 2019 4:43 pm
I couldn’t stand it any longer. I went to Tampa and drove this car this morning. So here’s how it went.
I don’t get anything for this summary - except I did get to drive my first k20 swap!
I dropped off my grandkids, and it was only another 1.5 hours driving to go see David’s K20 swap. And I had the purchase money all transferred to where it was accessible. So road test!
Inspection:
The car is absolutely beautiful with flawless fresh paint from front to back. I did’t see a single chip in the front bumper. The wheels are flawless, factory wheels professionally refinished, they look better than new. There are blue “chicken” hub caps installed. A fresh set of S-drive tires all around, red painted calipers with white TRD stickers, slotted and drilled rotors, stainless braid lines. The undercarriage is very very clean with an absolutely tiny amount of rust on a few sheetmetal edges. I looked inside all the fenders from above and carefully at all the visible frame - no cracks or wrinkles anywhere except one very slight wrinkled edge on the LH front fender mounting lip. Probably due to shipping a replacement fender. The interior actually smells new, with the new leather seat covers, which are perfect. There are gas struts on the engine lid, frunk still has the prop rod. Floor mats are aftermarket carpets, with rubber mats layer over them. The ragtop is the original material, I didn’t open but David says there are no tears. The AC works good on a steamy south Florida morning. The engine bay is very tidy, and the aluminum Moroso pan looks like business. And a brand new windshield! When’s the last time you saw a spyder windshield without any sand chips? The hardtop is “permanently” installed with hard brackets on the side, yet the proper fitting kit pieces are installed at the back (the chrome parts), and David has the side pieces and latches if you want to make it removable.
Driving:
The engine mounts are tight (urethane?) so there is the expected vibration and conducted noise in the cabin. The exhaust was very nice, just enough rumble to know something’s going on back there (PPE Header). The clutch linkage needs to be tweaked to lower the catch point a little, and stop from over travelling the disengagement. (about 15 minutes of work to dial in). The pedal pressure is light, I’d say barely any heavier than stock. The shifter is pure joy - silky smooth and light for fingertip shifting...all six forward speeds. I’m not an expert on tuning but I saw the torque curve looked very flat from 2000rpm to redline - and that’s the way it drove. I could hear a tiny burble when it shifted onto the second cam, but no abrupt change in torque, just more revs that go on forever! It was pure joy running through the gears, then downshifting to rev it up again and hear it wind out. My wife and I rolled the windows down to catch the sounds. The shocks were not as harsh as my Tein coilovers. I’m not expert enough to compare the “silvers” to my Tein’s, but they felt smooth and I never gave them another thought as I did the test drive.
Other stuff:
David’s including a brand new car cover, a ceiling hoist that he custom modified for the hardtop, plus a pile of extra bits he accumulated during the build. He also has all the documentation from Monkey Wrench Racing of course.
Buying:
This car has been keeping me awake at night for a few months now. I came down here to Tampa FL with an open mind, cash in-hand (almost) prepared to buy or leave it. What finally settled for me was the horsepower - I’m absolutely spoiled by my 2GR swap. The 190hp K20 just can’t compare to the 270hp 2GR, no matter how nice it looks or sounds. “How fast can you afford to go” still holds. I think the going rate for a turnkey 2GR swap is $25,000 and up. And I haven’t seen any turnkey 2GR swaps for sale anywhere since I bought mine. Neither can I recall the last time I’ve seen a spotless turnkey K20 swap for sale anywhere. You have to make your own decision on value, but if you want a beautiful and spotless K20 swap, I don’t think you’ll find one nicer.
I’ll be happy to answer questions if anyone wants even more detail.
I make Amateur Armrests - see the Commercial Forum. I also have SMT repair seals available.
Topic starter
Posted : July 20, 2019 3:40 pm
WilcoMR-S reacted
Fantastic read Grandpa. I really enjoyed the enthusiasm about the high revs.
Posted : July 20, 2019 5:34 pm
After having met you and spent some time sharing the roads around Robbinsville, plus face-to-face chatting, your thoughts mean a lot. IF I were looking, yet again, I'd probably be checking under the sofa cushions and my cars interiors for some change. Not that I really want a K swap, but a nicely done swap and total car shape...again, if I were looking.
Thanks for your efforts...and being a grandpa is cool, isn't it 😍
"Think as we think", say many Spyder owners, "or you are abominably wicked, you are a toad". After I'd thought about, I said "I will then, be a toad."
Thank you, Stephen Crane
Posted : July 21, 2019 1:33 pm
saw your post on facebook... i guess you couldn't resist.... i agree with MikeV comment though, for $12k he would probably have a line of people waiting...
Posted : July 22, 2019 10:49 am
David says he’s going to put it up on eBay for $13,000. Send me PM if you’re interested, and I’ll pass on his email address.
I make Amateur Armrests - see the Commercial Forum. I also have SMT repair seals available.
Topic starter
Posted : August 5, 2019 7:00 pm
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