As you can see, I’m on a roll with the involved, elaborate, in-your-face installs on the S15 so far this year. In actuality, I’ve just been tinkering in the garage during some of our nicer days and tossing on a few of the quick, easy-to-fit parts that have been laying around as I get a few minutes here and there. The more involved installs (not that there are too many set for this year) are due to begin soon given the approaching Driven deadline.

So, hardware. If you recall, in prior years I had replaced a lot of hardware throughout the car with new OEM pieces already, but there were a few places for which I had been thinking something fancier might be better suited. Downstar is a name that of course needs no introduction, so when Reggie happened to be selling a small batch of extra bolts and washers from his collection late last year I picked them up as a way to “test” the pieces for not much money or time spent waiting for shipping. As you can probably guess I quite liked them, so during a sale I placed an order with Downstar for another batch, with various hardware for a few points in the car and washers in a few colours so I could play around a bit.

I focused on blue and black washers but did add a couple of pink ones as well just to see what the colour was like in person, to judge for any future orders if I go further with the dress-up hardware on this car (“when”, is more like it).

I decided to first address the trunk lid as its hardware had not yet been replaced and not only did the main bolts still wear their factory white finish, they were also quite noticeably worn from removal and installation. Incidentally, as you can see I’ve used the inside of my trunk lid as a sort of sticker book, sporting decals from friends, events the car has gone to, and brands I’ve ordered from. As the car progresses further and goes on more adventures I hope to continue filling this up, just as I did with Mustard’s.

A better look at the well-worn original hardware, before it headed to the spares bin.

After holding both the blue and black washers in place I opted for the latter for a more subtle, OEM-ish look against the trunk lid. It’s not like the trunk is ever open for display at shows anyway, so all of this is just for me when I’m getting cleaning supplies out of it. Haha

The four main bolts were quickly switched out, but there were also the nuts holding the wing in place which I wanted to address…

…so they too were replaced with new hardware and black washers.

And that’s really all there is to it! The four bolts and six nuts were replaced, so that was job done. There’s still some other hardware in and around the trunk area that I might change out, but at least the lid has been appropriately dressed up.

By the way, I’m still (3 years later) on the hunt for some clean OEM trunk carpeting to complete the set as it was missing from the car when I bought it. Any leads would be appreciated! (Or do I fully embrace the period-correct look and just toss an I.C.E. enclosure in there? Haha)

Before I close this one out though, I don’t want the entire post to just be about a handful of hardware so I might as well show what landed a couple of days ago: some new Cusco bracing, and there’s also an extra decal/gel badge for my Yashio Factory shift knob which you may have noticed if you were looking closely. That’ll serve not only as a backup, but as something I can send out for colour-matching should I need to…

As for the Cusco pieces, along with both front and rear strut bars I picked up a separate brake cylinder stopper; Cusco does offer certain front strut bars with an option to have this integrated into the driver’s side mount, but the bar I specifically wanted was not one of them. The signature blue finish of this stopper will also suit the S15’s colour scheme (the rear bar’s mounting plates are the same) but ultimately I expect to refinish this either in black or the same colour as the engine bay when it comes time for the makeover under the hood, so there’s not a random bit of blue on one shock tower. The rear bar on the other hand, I expect to keep as it is.

Those pieces are probably the next to be installed then, as that rear bar specifically will play into the interior plans I have for this year and I need it in place before I can continue. It’ll all make sense when you see what I have in mind, I promise.

-Bill