A new lease on life. Saving a trashed NSX JH4NA1150MT002868

So against even some of my own instincts and searching for months for a fixer upper nsx with a clean title I came across one in Georgia with a clean title that a guy had stolen from him and he got it back. The vehicle had a busted ignition, completely burnt out clutch, mismatched wheels with bald tires, and not exactly the prettiest interior or exterior. The good news is it's all there. So I had it shipped up from Georgia going off of conversations and pictures texted to me. I knew it was a gamble but I took the chance.

I've been a Honda guy my whole life I had my dream GPW S2000 by the age of 20, I had the pleasure of owning a true 98' championship white ITR, I had another 04' S2000 down the road, almost finished a k20z1 swap integra project, and had a 06' RSX-S as well. Keep in mind I have none of these cars right now lol, just a beater 95' civic and this NSX. But my dream was to always own a NSX. I work full time as a assistant service manager at a Ford dealership and I go to College part time as well which will make for slow progress. The good thing is my dealership also has a Acura dealership which allows me to get awesome discounts on parts!

My first dream car


my first S2000


my RSX-S


my type-r


my second S2000



I recently got most of it checked out and started it up. It ended up having a misfire which I found to be a rear coil pack, the interior and exterior were a little more rough than I was told (go figure). There is a large crack on the front bumper, somebody had the trunk lid off and when the reattached the hinges they put longer bolts in and dented it from the inside out. The passenger side quarter panel had been removed at some point and lined up poorly (no sign of a accident when looking underneath thankfully). The seats are in pretty crappy shape, stains in the interior, self tapping screws just screwed right into interior panels to hold them on. Stupid little stuff just goes on and on. The brake fluid was also low which I found to be a result of a leaking master cylinder.

But that's all I have for now, here are a few pictures to get things started

good luck...heck at least you will document this refurbish on prime..and for that we thank you!

I think it needs a Tommy Kaira gurney flap and a shift-I light. You can do the rest later.

good luck! awesome previous cars as well!

Congrats! Look forward to seeing the progress.

Nice... I'm basically in the same boat. Just take your time...

I have seen worse. there was a guy that joined prime that needed a whole lot more than you I personally sent him a huge box of some of my spare parts that he could use as a welcome gift to prime. he loved the surprise and come to think of it he hasnt posted in a long time maybe got it back to mint status and forgot about us. LOL

anyway what better way to get to know every bolt and clip on the NSx then start off with one that needs a little love she wants to please you just let her...

congrats need any parts PM me I have just started filling my shelfs again.

Shawn

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also I called the guy on this NSX and you couldnt beat the price for an NSX. its was worth it in my book

It just makes it all the more rewarding once you've got it back to 100% (or better). Besides, the biggest plus of a "fixer-upper" is you don't feel bad driving the crap out of it once you're done.

I also bought a basket-case back in '08. It took me ~2 years of slow progress to get mine back in shape, and another year to get her track-fit, but since then, I've been running track days and Time Trials for a solid 2 years now and it's been a blast. Mileage is just a game, and I've gone through nearly every major system such that I know it's been done right.

Saw this on the local Craigslist. Nice pickup, glad someone on prime picked it up. It just needed some TLC.

R13 said:

I also bought a basket-case back in '08. It took me ~2 years of slow progress to get mine back in shape, and another year to get her track-fit, but since then, I've been running track days and Time Trials for a solid 2 years now and it's been a blast. Mileage is just a game, and I've gone through nearly every major system such that I know it's been done right.

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I suspect I am roughly halfway through the same journey. We are off to SoS sometime later in the year for an engine build. I'm really hoping that's the last truly big-ticket item (there have been several).

Congrats and good luck!

Sorry nobody in the area could check it out for you.

It was mentioned at this past Sunday's C&O meet by somebody that asked us about it. I guess it had generated some interest around the Atlanta area.

Thanks for all of the kind words. So far I have the timing belt, water pump, tensioner, updated cover, brake master cylinder, new (used) front bumper, sos 275 clutch, entire ignition column, fuel filter, rear main seal, rear coil pack, and I just ordered a new set of 17/18 enkei rp03's and tires. I just got around to pulling off the front bumper today. I should have some more pictures up here very soon! But yes I was looking for something I could modify and drive without feeling guilty, also have that feeling of seeing the transformation! Good luck finishing up some of your builds and I'll keep you updated with mine.

Keep up the momentum! Looking forward to pics with the RP03 installed.

Awesome car(s)! Question though, you listed your Integra Type-R as a 2000? Must be Canadian, right?

You know what, now that you say that I just realized it was a 98'. Too many cars to keep track of haha

Looks like a good base to slowly fix up to your standards. Have fun!

DanIsGo said:

You know what, now that you say that I just realized it was a 98'. Too many cars to keep track of haha

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#firstworldproblems

Hah. I had a 98 too, love those cars!

Congrats and goodluck!

Alright guys, so it looks like the build is going to take even longer than I thought. The engine had a misfire and I found a bad coil, put the coil in and it was better but still misfired. I decided to run a compression test and I got numbers ranging from 100psi to 150psi max between all cylinders. On top of that I think there may be an issues with the transmission because I've never seen a clutch burnt so bad that when you put it into gear the car doesn't even attempt to move. There is strong clutch pedal pressure but you put it in gear and let off the clutch and there is no noise, and no burnt clutch smell no matter how long you let it sit there in gears. Also I removed the front bumper so I could put the new one and and two of the spot welds are broken on the bottom of the drivers side frame rail from when something hit the lower tow bracket that hangs down. So I will be having my body shop put it on the frame rack to make sure it's straight and then going to my lawyer get the money back that he signed in a agreement stating that the engine, transmission, and frame have zero issues. Good stuff...

How much did you end up paying for this car?

$18,500

sadly when it comes to used car sales........mankind can be very despicable with one another......thats why you really have to do the full battery of tests on a car like pressure and leak down when shopping at the low price points.....best of luck resolving this.

wow...great price

even if you have to put in $10k to get her to where she needs to be its worth it. Congrats and good luck!

JoseJA1979 said:

wow...great price

even if you have to put in $10k to get her to where she needs to be its worth it. Congrats and good luck!

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...and there lies the rub......

DanIsGo said:

Alright guys, so it looks like the build is going to take even longer than I thought. The engine had a misfire and I found a bad coil, put the coil in and it was better but still misfired. I decided to run a compression test and I got numbers ranging from 100psi to 150psi max between all cylinders. On top of that I think there may be an issues with the transmission because I've never seen a clutch burnt so bad that when you put it into gear the car doesn't even attempt to move. There is strong clutch pedal pressure but you put it in gear and let off the clutch and there is no noise, and no burnt clutch smell no matter how long you let it sit there in gears. Also I removed the front bumper so I could put the new one and and two of the spot welds are broken on the bottom of the drivers side frame rail from when something hit the lower tow bracket that hangs down. So I will be having my body shop put it on the frame rack to make sure it's straight and then going to my lawyer get the money back that he signed in a agreement stating that the engine, transmission, and frame have zero issues. Good stuff...

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Sounds rough, but hopefully you'll persevere and get the car fixed up.

Hopefully this is not the case for your transmission, but I once had the input shaft on my Civic's transmission shear/snap in half after making too many passes on a dyno. When I went to back the car off the dyno, I pressed in the clutch, shifted into reverse, and tried to reverse with no results. I could put it in any gear with the motor running and let out the clutch with no movement, no lurching, no motor dying. Had to push it off the dyno.
Thought I had completely burnt the clutch out (even though there was no burnt-clutch smell).
We put the car on a lift, pulled the transmission (which came off really easily, more so than normal), and the input shaft was left behind in the flywheel/clutch.
Clutch was still in good condition.

Once again, good luck.