2000 Honda Prelude Type SH - Mind Over Matter

Sean Simon's '00 Prelude Type SH
There are times in life when no matter how hard you try, things just don’t go the way you want them to. You think ahead and then you set out on the path that you laid out for yourself, all the while sincerely believing that everything is going to pan out smoothly and according to plan. But in the real world, we all know that’s rarely the case. The road of life has plenty of bumps, potholes, and construction to deal with, and sometimes these things prove far too much for the average guy. Some just can’t handle life’s hiccups, and more often than not, dreams crumble.

Sean Simon of Crystal Lake, Illinois, is not your average guy. He didn’t allow problems and setbacks, and oh yeah, there would be more than a couple, to slow him down. Sean’s journey started when he was working as a porter at a local car dealer and a Pearl White ’99 Prelude came in on trade. I wanted to turbo it right from the beginning, Sean states. Enthusiasm got the best of him and he quickly made the purchase. The problem was the car carried high mileage and was plagued by an automatic; two factors that aren’t exactly ideal when it comes to a dream turbo build. Just eight short months later, Sean was back on the hunt for a new car. I didn’t care what color it was, all I wanted was the manual and lower mileage. A friend of his located the ’00 Prelude SH pictured here, and Sean’s journey was underway.

Enthusiastic as ever, Sean bought the car even though the timing belt constantly made a slapping noise. Sure enough, after taking it to a shop, he discovered that the head was bad. But he pushed forward and had some mild headwork done, the usual bolt-ons, along with cams and an upgraded valvetrain. More money spent, yet more problems. The shop told Sean that the car would tune properly with just a V-AFC, but in actuality, the car never ran right and Sean was reaching his limit. That was the last time I took advice from a shop, and started doing a ton of research on my own, talking to guys at the local meets. Once again, money was spent and the motor was rebuilt, but all of the setbacks had really put a dent in Sean’s wallet. He wound up cutting some corners with the new fuel setup, ultimately paying a severe price (no pun intended). The motor leaned out and the bottom end committed suicide. But all was not lost. Sean had learned a thing or two from the problems of the past, and prepared himself by purchasing a spare bottom end in advance. You know, just in case. It was this bit of forethought that may have proved to be Sean’s saving grace, because the best was yet to come.

After getting the newly built bottom end together, Sean initially planned to run the same setup, but this time with a proper and sufficient fuel system and quality engine management system. They say in life that when something is too good to be true, it probably is--not for Sean. His run of bad luck, it seemed, had finally come to an end, and he started to run in to deal after deal that he realized he couldn’t pass up--including his Borg Warner turbo. With the new s366xl, he realized he needed a manifold that could keep pace, but had no idea where to look. This time around he didn’t have to, it came to him. While attending a local meet, a guy rolled up in an Integra with a top mount turbo manifold made by a shop called RCautoworks. Just one glance at the quality and craftsmanship of the manifold convinced Sean right then and there that he had to find out more about the shop that fabricated it. So Sean drove over an hour to check out the shop for himself, only to find them closed. Not to be discouraged this close to his dream being realized, Sean brushed it off and went right back another weekend. His determination paid off and he met with Bob and Brandon of RCautoworks, received a tour of the facility, and was shown some of the past and present projects that the shop had taken part in. That was all it took. Just a few weeks later Sean called and asked if they would be willing to take on his entire build, including all of the custom fabrication. They agreed, and the results are impressive to say the least. Different ideas and parts just started coming together, Sean states. Given the size of the turbo, there were some demanding space constraints that had to be dealt with. The 4-inch downpipe wouldn’t fit under the car, and Sean didn’t want to cut the frame to have it poke through the bumper, so they decided to have it exit right out of the hood. The result is the menacing, one-of-a-kind setup you see here, discouraging more than a few challengers.

I never imagined the car would be at the point it is today. I couldn’t be happier! RC has been amazing to work with and none of this would have been close to possible without them. Words of enthusiasm from a guy who’s proven once again, that patience and perseverance trump all.