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A little background on me, i was the build director for the Clarion Builds 91 NSX with the CTSC 3.2/6 speed swap. The day we acquired that 91 with 230K miles for the Clarion Builds project, i took one drive in it and knew that i too had to eventually get one. About three months into the build, i found a decent deal on a fairly low mile 93 advertised to be in 9.5 out of 10 condition (i would have called it a 7), and long story short, I bought the car sight unseen and shipped it to California. On the plus side, the car was mechanically sound, interior was clean, body was never in a crash, but it had its fair share of dings and scratches and a small crack by the tow hook area of the front bumper.
3 years into owning the car, I finally got the itch to go a little nuts with it. For the most part, i've pumped money into it, catching it up on much needed maintenance (TB/WP, valve adjustment, cam seals, VTEC seals, fluids, etc.), sorting out minor gripes with the PO's lack of care for the vehicle, replacing things that have been removed, worn out or lost since it was new, etc. As for custom work, all i've done up until now is change the audio system out for a Clarion system, put on later model wheels, paint the calipers and tint the windows. Now, that you're caught up with my slow progress, let's talk about where i am today.
About two months ago, i decided that it was time to repaint the 93. It looked okay from 10 feet away in indirect light, but its Berlina Black was swirly, pitted, chipped, and just not in the condition that i think an NSX deserves to be in. Thanks to my history with the Clarion Builds cars, as well as my group of friends, who all have their own restorations/project cars going on, I have made some friends in the Auto Body industry. So, after a discussion about painting the NSX along with my 92 Subaru SVX, a deal was worked out and i shipped both cars to be repainted in their factory original colors.
For three weeks, while the guys at the shop in Pasadena tore down, stripped and prepped the NSX for paint, I contemplated changing its color. Honestly though, I gave it very little thought since I originally told the shop that i wanted to keep it Berlina... I was mostly sure that was they direction i was going to go, but from the moment my cars were loaded into the transporter the voice in my head was provoking me to do something different. When the time came to finally shit or get off the pot so to speak about paint color, I attended a cars and coffee and saw a 2018 NSX in Nord Gray for the first time in person. In that second, I figuratively shat and was free to get off the pot. Lol. My mind was made, that color looks insane! From some angles it's the most perfect shade of dark gun metal gray, from other angles you see a hint of Brooklands green, and the metallic flake just makes the lines of the new NSX look great! Truth be told, I am not actually a fan of the new NSX, my preference will always be the first gen...
The next morning, I called the shop and told them that plans have changed, we're painting the NSX Nord Gray Metallic, keeping the roof black (as all NSXs should be in my mind).
IF YOU DON'T WANNA READ MY RAMBLING ABOUT WHAT LED TO THE DECISION TO PAINT THE CAR NORD GRAY, SKIP TO HERE!
Before shots of the car:
Looks alright in photos, but trust me, it was far from perfect.
Shot of all the imperfections:
Shots of the Body Work Getting Done:
Shots of the Paint Getting Laid Down:
More photos to come as they paint the rest of the car tomorrow, and put it all back together toward the end of the week.
A little background on me, i was the build director for the Clarion Builds 91 NSX with the CTSC 3.2/6 speed swap. The day we acquired that 91 with 230K miles for the Clarion Builds project, i took one drive in it and knew that i too had to eventually get one. About three months into the build, i found a decent deal on a fairly low mile 93 advertised to be in 9.5 out of 10 condition (i would have called it a 7), and long story short, I bought the car sight unseen and shipped it to California. On the plus side, the car was mechanically sound, interior was clean, body was never in a crash, but it had its fair share of dings and scratches and a small crack by the tow hook area of the front bumper.
3 years into owning the car, I finally got the itch to go a little nuts with it. For the most part, i've pumped money into it, catching it up on much needed maintenance (TB/WP, valve adjustment, cam seals, VTEC seals, fluids, etc.), sorting out minor gripes with the PO's lack of care for the vehicle, replacing things that have been removed, worn out or lost since it was new, etc. As for custom work, all i've done up until now is change the audio system out for a Clarion system, put on later model wheels, paint the calipers and tint the windows. Now, that you're caught up with my slow progress, let's talk about where i am today.
About two months ago, i decided that it was time to repaint the 93. It looked okay from 10 feet away in indirect light, but its Berlina Black was swirly, pitted, chipped, and just not in the condition that i think an NSX deserves to be in. Thanks to my history with the Clarion Builds cars, as well as my group of friends, who all have their own restorations/project cars going on, I have made some friends in the Auto Body industry. So, after a discussion about painting the NSX along with my 92 Subaru SVX, a deal was worked out and i shipped both cars to be repainted in their factory original colors.
For three weeks, while the guys at the shop in Pasadena tore down, stripped and prepped the NSX for paint, I contemplated changing its color. Honestly though, I gave it very little thought since I originally told the shop that i wanted to keep it Berlina... I was mostly sure that was they direction i was going to go, but from the moment my cars were loaded into the transporter the voice in my head was provoking me to do something different. When the time came to finally shit or get off the pot so to speak about paint color, I attended a cars and coffee and saw a 2018 NSX in Nord Gray for the first time in person. In that second, I figuratively shat and was free to get off the pot. Lol. My mind was made, that color looks insane! From some angles it's the most perfect shade of dark gun metal gray, from other angles you see a hint of Brooklands green, and the metallic flake just makes the lines of the new NSX look great! Truth be told, I am not actually a fan of the new NSX, my preference will always be the first gen...
The next morning, I called the shop and told them that plans have changed, we're painting the NSX Nord Gray Metallic, keeping the roof black (as all NSXs should be in my mind).
IF YOU DON'T WANNA READ MY RAMBLING ABOUT WHAT LED TO THE DECISION TO PAINT THE CAR NORD GRAY, SKIP TO HERE!
Before shots of the car:
Looks alright in photos, but trust me, it was far from perfect.
Shot of all the imperfections:
Shots of the Body Work Getting Done:
Shots of the Paint Getting Laid Down:
More photos to come as they paint the rest of the car tomorrow, and put it all back together toward the end of the week.
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