I'm so bummed.
I've been looking forward to my trip to Phoenix this week for a while now, because the government was going to pay for me to drive my NSX down (instead of flying) and I could get Mark Basch himself to do my 45,000 mile service. Being in the military, there are few opportunities like this that present themselves. When they do happen, they are not to be missed. This time around, it was all supposed to go as smooth as glass.......
Saturday morning in Albuquerque I awaken to a dreary Weather Channel outlook for the trip to take place that day. From central New Mexico all the way to Phoenix, there are thunderstorms everywhere. Since I have to go to work in Albuquerque that morning, I can't leave until the afternoon. I'm beginning to accept the fact that I may be forced to drive the car in crappy weather.....I must be at work in Mesa, AZ at 8 a.m. the next morning.
A friend calls me at about 3:30 from I-40 west of Albuquerque and says he is driving on a one-inch thick sheet of hail that had just pounded the heck out of his Subaru. Great, I think......I wonder what would have happened to the NSX if I was caught in that storm!
I watch the radar picture and come up with a plan.......the storms are moving north, so if I initially head south and then go west, then I might be able to make my way around the worst of the weather. So, my plan is to head south on I-25 out of Albuquerque for 70 miles and then take the little-travelled U.S. Hwy 60 west from Socorro all the way into the eastern suburbs of Phoenix. Not bad, I think....rural roads, twisty canyon passes....this could actually be fun if I stay out of the rain! How little I knew...
I wait for a storm to blow through town and leave Albuquerque at around 5 p.m.. At about the 50-mile point, I got stuck in a very slow single construction lane that seemed to last forever. An 18 wheeler in front of me would let loose about ten gallons of water from it's trailer every time it swerved, which was often. I didn't think much of it until I stopped for gas in Socorro twenty minutes later. I found a ton of white streaks all along the car from the "water" the truck was dumping in front of me. It wasn't wiping off very easy, either! So, as the rains hit Socorro, I found myself in a self-service car wash using the rinse to clean my car of whatever was in the water that the truck gleefully spilled all over my car.
I get on U.S. 60 and head west, my troubles apparently behind me. Rain is falling here and there, and the roads ar all wet. At about 8 p.m., I crest a hill about 20 miles from the Arizona border and come face-to-face with the biggest porcupine that I've ever seen. It was the size of a very large tumbleweed, and I only saw it long enough for it to disappear under the left headlight.
BAM! I hear the sounds of Acura parts breaking and scattering across the road. I bring the car to a halt and it takes me a few seconds for me to realize what had just happened. I get out of the car and am greeted immediately with a "sssssssss....." and some type of smoke coming from the left front of the car. Oh, boy, I think to myself. I'm in the middle of nowhere and I'm about to become immobile.
I peel the remanants of the NSX bra up over the left side to reveal several parts barely hanging by screws and pieces of plastic. The spoiler is completely gone, hardware and all. The hissing is coming from the A/C condensor, as is the smoke. Whew....at least my engine's cooling system is intact!
With about a half-hour of minor surgery, I am able to get all of the broken pieces out and jerry-rig the bra to hold the rest of the front end together. I take some video of the giant road kill and the car, and gingerly start on my way down the road.
I find that I can only go about 55 miles per hour before the airflow pushes the remaining parts onto the tire. After hearing the resulting sound of plastic rubbing on tire, I decide that I'm no longer in a hurry to get anywhere. 50-55 mph it is.
Five hours later, at 2 a.m., I roll into the hotel parking lot in Phoenix. I put the car and myself to bed, and hope it was all a bad dream.
The next morning, on a whim, I decide to give Mark a call to see if he's in the shop. Sure enough, he answers the phone and I explain my predicament. He tells me to go ahead and bring the car on by (my original appointment wasn't until tuesday) and I make my way to the Shangri-La of all that is NSX these days.
Mark opens the door for me, and ushers me in. He heads out into the garage to get something, and I eagely follow him out amongst about a dozen NSXs of all years and colors. I'm in heaven! All of you going to NSXPO are really keeping Mr. Basch very busy.
To make a long story not-so-long, I left my car at Basch's today in the hands of the country's most capable NSX Tech. My list of "to do" items for Mark has gotten quite a bit longer, and now I will probably be returning to Albuquerque on Saturday without my baby. Aside from this potentially costing me several thousand dollars I don't have to spend, I guess that I am pretty lucky.
Lessons learned?
(1) 18 Wheelers are the devil incarnate, and they are most happy screwing with you when you're stuck right behind them with nowhere to go.
(2) Porcupines are a hell of a lot bigger than I thought they were. They also smell pretty bad.
(3) Mark Basch, in my initial impressions, is one hell of a nice guy.
(4) If you're going to pick one city in the USA to have NSX troubles in, Phoenix should be at the top of that list.
If you've read this far, I thank you for listening to me vent a little frustration. Maybe soon I'll have a follow-up to this that brings better news!
Chuck
Stuck in Phoenix without my baby
------------------
'91 Black/Ivory NSX
'89 Gray/Gray F-16C
I've been looking forward to my trip to Phoenix this week for a while now, because the government was going to pay for me to drive my NSX down (instead of flying) and I could get Mark Basch himself to do my 45,000 mile service. Being in the military, there are few opportunities like this that present themselves. When they do happen, they are not to be missed. This time around, it was all supposed to go as smooth as glass.......
Saturday morning in Albuquerque I awaken to a dreary Weather Channel outlook for the trip to take place that day. From central New Mexico all the way to Phoenix, there are thunderstorms everywhere. Since I have to go to work in Albuquerque that morning, I can't leave until the afternoon. I'm beginning to accept the fact that I may be forced to drive the car in crappy weather.....I must be at work in Mesa, AZ at 8 a.m. the next morning.
A friend calls me at about 3:30 from I-40 west of Albuquerque and says he is driving on a one-inch thick sheet of hail that had just pounded the heck out of his Subaru. Great, I think......I wonder what would have happened to the NSX if I was caught in that storm!
I watch the radar picture and come up with a plan.......the storms are moving north, so if I initially head south and then go west, then I might be able to make my way around the worst of the weather. So, my plan is to head south on I-25 out of Albuquerque for 70 miles and then take the little-travelled U.S. Hwy 60 west from Socorro all the way into the eastern suburbs of Phoenix. Not bad, I think....rural roads, twisty canyon passes....this could actually be fun if I stay out of the rain! How little I knew...
I wait for a storm to blow through town and leave Albuquerque at around 5 p.m.. At about the 50-mile point, I got stuck in a very slow single construction lane that seemed to last forever. An 18 wheeler in front of me would let loose about ten gallons of water from it's trailer every time it swerved, which was often. I didn't think much of it until I stopped for gas in Socorro twenty minutes later. I found a ton of white streaks all along the car from the "water" the truck was dumping in front of me. It wasn't wiping off very easy, either! So, as the rains hit Socorro, I found myself in a self-service car wash using the rinse to clean my car of whatever was in the water that the truck gleefully spilled all over my car.
I get on U.S. 60 and head west, my troubles apparently behind me. Rain is falling here and there, and the roads ar all wet. At about 8 p.m., I crest a hill about 20 miles from the Arizona border and come face-to-face with the biggest porcupine that I've ever seen. It was the size of a very large tumbleweed, and I only saw it long enough for it to disappear under the left headlight.
BAM! I hear the sounds of Acura parts breaking and scattering across the road. I bring the car to a halt and it takes me a few seconds for me to realize what had just happened. I get out of the car and am greeted immediately with a "sssssssss....." and some type of smoke coming from the left front of the car. Oh, boy, I think to myself. I'm in the middle of nowhere and I'm about to become immobile.
I peel the remanants of the NSX bra up over the left side to reveal several parts barely hanging by screws and pieces of plastic. The spoiler is completely gone, hardware and all. The hissing is coming from the A/C condensor, as is the smoke. Whew....at least my engine's cooling system is intact!
With about a half-hour of minor surgery, I am able to get all of the broken pieces out and jerry-rig the bra to hold the rest of the front end together. I take some video of the giant road kill and the car, and gingerly start on my way down the road.
I find that I can only go about 55 miles per hour before the airflow pushes the remaining parts onto the tire. After hearing the resulting sound of plastic rubbing on tire, I decide that I'm no longer in a hurry to get anywhere. 50-55 mph it is.
Five hours later, at 2 a.m., I roll into the hotel parking lot in Phoenix. I put the car and myself to bed, and hope it was all a bad dream.
The next morning, on a whim, I decide to give Mark a call to see if he's in the shop. Sure enough, he answers the phone and I explain my predicament. He tells me to go ahead and bring the car on by (my original appointment wasn't until tuesday) and I make my way to the Shangri-La of all that is NSX these days.
Mark opens the door for me, and ushers me in. He heads out into the garage to get something, and I eagely follow him out amongst about a dozen NSXs of all years and colors. I'm in heaven! All of you going to NSXPO are really keeping Mr. Basch very busy.
To make a long story not-so-long, I left my car at Basch's today in the hands of the country's most capable NSX Tech. My list of "to do" items for Mark has gotten quite a bit longer, and now I will probably be returning to Albuquerque on Saturday without my baby. Aside from this potentially costing me several thousand dollars I don't have to spend, I guess that I am pretty lucky.
Lessons learned?
(1) 18 Wheelers are the devil incarnate, and they are most happy screwing with you when you're stuck right behind them with nowhere to go.
(2) Porcupines are a hell of a lot bigger than I thought they were. They also smell pretty bad.
(3) Mark Basch, in my initial impressions, is one hell of a nice guy.
(4) If you're going to pick one city in the USA to have NSX troubles in, Phoenix should be at the top of that list.
If you've read this far, I thank you for listening to me vent a little frustration. Maybe soon I'll have a follow-up to this that brings better news!
Chuck
Stuck in Phoenix without my baby
------------------
'91 Black/Ivory NSX
'89 Gray/Gray F-16C