CrimsonRockett

Starting a build thread for my younger brother to help keep track of the progress on this particular Kouki.

Long story short, I did a shitty thing and had originally promised him my blue Kouki well before we even started that build. After crunching the numbers and seeing how much I had actually put into the car, I decided it wasn't the wisest of decisions considering his intentions were to use it on a very regular/day to day basis. The car was simply going to be too clean and far too detailed for it to be beat on daily.

That's where this red Kouki comes into play. I stumbled upon this deal from a seller in Northern California. Worked out the deal, secured the car with a deposit, then drove up to pick it up within the next few days.











Factory SE (with sunroof unfortunately), low mileage chassis, and fairly stock aside from the blown S14 SR in the engine bay.

The car had resprayed panels and I've never been one to like seeing cars with only exterior resprays. You see the door jambs with the old color. Just drives me nuts. Paint also had some significantly weathered spots due to it sitting outdoors for several years after the motor went.

After a nice 13 hour round trip drive, we brought it home.







Decided to get to work on the car and pulled off all of the suspension and ripped out the old S14 SR.



I was originally going to stick with a KA-T in my blue Kouki running an AEM EMS V2 and a slightly upgraded Greddy turbo kit (larger injectors, full standalone, etc), but I managed to get a fully built S14 SR for that car. As per tradition with younger brothers, he got the hand-me-down. I gave him my entire KA-T swap.

Here it was mocked up in the blue Kouki before paint.



Ripping it apart after verifying compression and leakdown was solid.



Gave him the task of replacing seals and installing several new parts including a new front cover with oil pump.





Now he's tackling deleting all of the emissions related components from the intake manifold for a really clean engine bay.

I had also worked out a deal with a painter for a full exterior and engine bay respray. Commence the tear down.



For anyone doing something similar (removing glass for a respray), I strongly recommend an oscillating tool with a 3" sealant cutter blade. It made removing all of the glass a breeze.



Here's the car after removing wiring from the engine bay, all hardware, clips, trim, etc.





Loaded up and on our way to the body shop. Stopped at Bun Street in West Covina on our way. Didn't expect such good burgers from this spot. Didn't take pictures like a dumbass, but oh well.



Unloaded and now at its new home for the next month or so.



I'll keep the color a secret for now similar to the blue Kouki build.

Mods wise, it's a very similar list to the other Kouki. The usual full adjustable suspension links, big brakes all around, cage, upgraded seats, full OEM aero, upgraded drivetrain, nice wheels, etc. I managed to hoard quite a bit of parts over the years and was literally able to give him everything he needed to build up this car.

Our goals really aren't to build something different (over the top aero, obnoxious hide your daughters decals, you know the BS). What I personally focus on is restoring these cars to their former glory while upgrading aspects of it along the way.

Hopefully, we can get this one wrapped up alongside the blue Kouki and have them back on the road by fall.

Thanks for reading.

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-Jspec-
Instagram/CrimsonRockett