JonMonkey's build thread

[jonmonkey20]

Hello everyone.

I am a long time lurker, 1st time poster. I have been a JDM enthusiast for many years. I really dig cars that I do not see all the time and well the NSX is just that. Think I have only ever seen 2 or 3 in the wild. I had set my mind on an NSX many years ago but watched as prices continually exceeded my price range. Now that education is over and I have a big boy job I felt it was time to get serious and with my better half's blessing I went on the hunt for real.

Fortunately I quickly found a very clean 2 owner '91 5-speed in Formula Red in my own backyard. The 2nd owner purchased in 1996 and keep the car unmodified and after he passed away the family gave the car to SCW Performance on consignment. At purchase the car needed a right rear axle replaced and a new transmission seal.

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I had them install a set of BC coilovers with swift springs, aircups up front and a double din for android auto. To the dismay of some I have no plans to keep this amazing car stock. I plan to tastefully modify the hell out of it. The car had 103k miles at delivery and I have put 200 or so on it to date and have no plans for it rarely leave my garage. The car currently back with SCW at the moment getting a new set of BC Forged wheels mounted along with a full Pride exhaust system and the AC compressor replaced.

I am consistently impressed with the depth of knowledge of many of you here and on the FB page. I plan to replace worn OEM parts as I modify and would love to hear recommendations of things to look into as I learn more and more about the finer details of these cars.

I hope you all enjoy the ride as much as I plan to.

JMC

 

[jonmonkey20]

Bought a Seibon spoiler and after nearly a month it arrived...and was cracked. FML



Got ahold of them and they offered a $200 credit on my next purchase or a new one if I cut this one in half.



Fingers crossed the new one does not come damaged.

 

[Honcho]

Welcome to Prime! Always nice to see a new build thread. Although I am an OEM-style guy, I don't see anything wrong with modding. Especially a 91- there are so many of them, if you're gonna do it, that's the one to do!

With a 1991, keep in mind that many of the components of the car are ageing out and the engine is likely due for a engine refresh (unless previously done), which involves more than just the TB/WP service. Things to address relatively quickly are the cooling hoses/tank and radiator, if they are original. These are the #1 killer of older NSXs. The rest of it can wait to be fixed as it fails, or just handled later.

Excited to see the progress!

 

[jonmonkey20]

Welcome to Prime! Always nice to see a new build thread. Although I am an OEM-style guy, I don't see anything wrong with modding. Especially a 91- there are so many of them, if you're gonna do it, that's the one to do!

With a 1991, keep in mind that many of the components of the car are ageing out and the engine is likely due for a engine refresh (unless previously done), which involves more than just the TB/WP service. Things to address relatively quickly are the cooling hoses/tank and radiator, if they are original. These are the #1 killer of older NSXs. The rest of it can wait to be fixed as it fails, or just handled later.

Excited to see the progress!

Things to address relatively quickly are the cooling hoses/tank and radiator, if they are original -- something like the SOS 17 or 19 piece hose kit or just the main 6 hoses?

 

[Honcho]

Things to address relatively quickly are the cooling hoses/tank and radiator, if they are original -- something like the SOS 17 or 19 piece hose kit or just the main 6 hoses?

Do the full kit. MITA has them too. The oil cooler hoses are known to blow (especially after an overheat event) and the small hoses around the throttle body can develop seeping leaks that let air into the system. You should also replace the coolant bottle.

 

[jonmonkey20]

So I took Honchos advice and got the full SOS hose replacement kit. I am also planning on replacing the radiator while I am at it. Does anyone have strong feelings about any particular brands? Was debating Koyorad or Mishimoto. I have seen other brands mentioned but for the intended use these should be more than sufficient.

I am also planning to add a bit of rigidity and bought the NSX-R front up and lower chassis bars as well as the CRF rear tunnel brace. I would also like to replace the sway bars while I am at it. I have seen a few recommended that are no longer available and I have been unable to find the the NSX-R or Type S bars I have seen mentioned as well. What are the recommendations of the hive mind?

Car is currently off getting these beauties mounted.

 

[Honcho]

Koyo all the way. Mishimoto makes quality rads for other cars, but their NSX product has fitment issues. The nice thing about the Koyo is that it fits perfectly, has no glued plastic tanks that can separate like the OEM, and has about 20% more coolant capacity.

 

[natcc99]

Awesome looking rims. Can't wait to see what they look like mounted.
Please share some info/details on the rims.

 

[jvtec95]

Congrats on the car! It's a beauty, love to see these being modified. Yes, please share the wheel specs and share some pictures of the fitment. That really helps people that are wheel shopping.

I messaged you a question on the Seibon spoiler, not sure if you're able to receive PM conversations yet or not.

 

[jonmonkey20]

Awesome looking rims. Can't wait to see what they look like mounted.
Please share some info/details on the rims.

They are BC Forged model HCA381
18x8 +37 up front and 19x10 +40 in the rear.
Hopefully I get it back this weekend will post photos once I do.

 

[jonmonkey20]

Finally got the car back from SCW Performance. They mounted my new wheels and did an alignment. Talk about a vehicle changing addition... these wheels are beautiful on the car. I was skeptical about gold but I think it works well.

They also adding a full Pride exhaust including their headers, resonated test pipes and RFL exhaust. At low RPMs and in 4th/5th I really like the sound. The cold start noises aren't bad either. At the upper RPM range of 1st-2nd gear it sounds a bit like a trumpet and I am not too thrilled about that. Really hoping with some miles on the system the exhaust note changes. If not I might switch it out for their V2.


The bad news thus far is the AC. The compressor seized and went out on drive #3. Talk about a sphincter tightening experience...the car died at a light only to restart with smoke filling to engine bay. SCW got the compressor replaced and fix some leaks they found. They replaced with a 97+ compressor unit as the old ones have been discontinued but the bracket to get the positioning right is on back order. One is supposedly ordered from Japan but who knows when it will get here. Makes driving the car in Texas heat a bit tough without AC. So...if anyone has a spare bracket not being used or could point me in a direction of where to find one I am all ears.

I also got a seibon spoiler installed as well as the Magna Instruments LED turn signals. I am having issues getting the DRLs to work however. Followed the instructions and have discussed with RJ @ Kuya and he is also confused as they should work. Instead I have functioning sequential turn signals. I believe the unit came with paperwork from Joe G so will need to pick his brain at some point. If any of you have had experience with this problem I am open to advice.


Next up is to remove the gauge cluster to add my Chasing Js burnt titanium gauge cover and gauge bezels. Will be adding a new OEM knee bolster as well as a new Momo steering along with a short hub and quick release.

 

[sca037]

Great thread, I have a complete A/C bracket from a '92 so contact me if interested...

 

[jonmonkey20]

Great thread, I have a complete A/C bracket from a '92 so contact me if interested...

That bracket will fit a 97+ AC compressor on a 91 NSX?

 

[sca037]

That bracket will fit a 97+ AC compressor on a 91 NSX?

That I can't say, but I'll bet someone here knows!

 

[jonmonkey20]

So I piled together a few things and finally got around to putting it all together. I figure that you spend most of your time holding your wheel and staring at your gauges so I decided to do a driver's mod.

After a few days of wondering what the hell I did wrong when my steering wheel required way too much effort to turn I figured out that I had gotten the wrong short hub. Rather than the NSX specific short hub I got one for the S2000.


Unfortunately the plastic steering column cover was mared by the binding short hub. Good news I got the hub swapped for the correct one and the markings can't be seen.



I am pretty stoked with how this turned out. Ended up adding a Momo Drive steering wheel with an NRG short hub and quick release. For the gauge cluster I added the Chasing Js burnt titanium gauge face with some Maybin's Concepts bezels from RJ @ Kuya. Also swapped out the incandescent bulbs for LEDs. Not what I was expecting from a light output standpoint but does seems brighter and more crisp.

 

[jonmonkey20]

No photos but I finally got my 97' AC compressor bracket from Japan installed. Too bad it took until the end of the summer but to have ice cold air blowing in my face again is an amazing feeling. The install was easy and managed to do it without having to take the header off.

Now I am going to keep focusing on the exterior to get that where I envisioned the car when I bought it. Plan to add a Downforce CF vented hood, CF side vents and the TCRC side skirts. Problem areas are the front and rear bumpers. The front bumper is cracked at the driver's side connection of the bumper and skirt.



I am not sure if I want to spring for a new Mode 4 bumper or try to fix this. I think I could fabricate 2 small plates and sandwich the cracked plastic with a bolt. I do like the OEM front bumper so might opt for the later. As for the rear bumper I had envisioned something like the Duraflex GT bumper. I liked to mesh to expose my exhaust a bit and liked how it made the rear bumper appear to have more height compared to OEM. I have unfortunately heard that the fitment is quite poor. Does anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Honcho]

Hard to tell from the photo, but that's not a crack. The lower bumper and upper bumper are separate pieces. Looks like that side hit something and pulled the lower skirt away from the upper bumper. Fairly common on the NSX since it's so low. You need to remove the bumper and fasten those two parts back together- this may require some repair in terms of larger bolts, washers etc if the OEM mounting holes got ripped. Probably about $5 worth of stainless hardware from Home Depot will do it.

 

[jonmonkey20]

Hard to tell from the photo, but that's not a crack. The lower bumper and upper bumper are separate pieces. Looks like that side hit something and pulled the lower skirt away from the upper bumper. Fairly common on the NSX since it's so low. You need to remove the bumper and fasten those two parts back together- this may require some repair in terms of larger bolts, washers etc if the OEM mounting holes got ripped. Probably about $5 worth of stainless hardware from Home Depot will do it.

View attachment 183931

When you get up close the mating surface for the bumper and skirt are pretty mangled. Looks like it will need something more than just a bolt. I need to just take the bumper off and see what things look like when completely separated.

 

[jonmonkey20]

Well, I was debating what I wanted to do with my front bumper. Turns out life...or rather the debris someone left on the Bush turnpike decided for me. I was driving home around 11pm and out of nowhere something fairly large appeared in my lane with no time to get out of the way. What ever it was ripped my lower skirt off.




The tow hook appears to have taken a direct hit and the mount is bent. I assume there is some damage to the end of the frame rail and I hope that is all. I still need to get the car up on a lift to check the under carriage for damage. The car's alignment seemed to be fine on the ride home and I did not notice any vibrations. The AC continued to work fine. Fingers crossed that there is nothing more serious. I was able to snag the last Mode 4 bumper from Kuya to replace it along with a new tow hook and cover and radiator duct.

 

[jonmonkey20]

Finally got around to getting the car up. Aside from the lower skirt looks like the damage was not too bad. The radiator duct needs replacing as does the tow hook and the passenger side skirt. The arms all appear to not have sustained an impact.





Looks like whatever I hit took out the lower skirt and then hit the tow hook. Bending it and also tweaking the attachment point on the frame rail.




I suspect that this impact directed it under the tire or or just behind the tire and out the side damaging the side skirt.



I think I got out of this lightly. Everything that was damaged I planned on replacing anyway. Looks like I will just be doing so sooner than I planned.

 

[Hass]

Wow it could have been a lot worse than that! Did you file a claim or fixing out of pocket?

 

[natcc99]

Ouch, sorry to hear. Hopefully the tow hook took a bunch of the blow.

 

[jonmonkey20]

Wow it could have been a lot worse than that! Did you file a claim or fixing out of pocket?

Plan to fix out of pocket. Don't think Grundy will pay for claims if the incident didn't happen on the way to, at or on the way back from a car event.

Already bought a Mode4 front bumper, radiator duct and tow hook. Plan to replace the side skirts with TCRC skirts from Downforce. Will need to figure out paint vs wrap.

 

[jonmonkey20]

Ouch, sorry to hear. Hopefully the tow hook took a bunch of the blow.

Looks like it did.

 

[jonmonkey20]

After 4 long months I finally got my Mode 4 front bumper. Still waiting on a set of TCRC side skirts and a seibon hood though.



While the bumper was off I added the NSX-R chassis bars from SOS. Also replaced the front air duct as it got a bit mangled from the accident.



Installed a carbon fiber center bar from Johhny Chen as well. Pretty happy with how smooth the install went.



Once the side skirts and hood get here I will be taking her for paint. Can't wait to get her back on the road.