Glad to see you taking the plunge, and lots of good advice here. NSX is $$ no way around it. There are ways to save money here and there. Tfent for carpets, leatherseats.com for the seats. You can take your existing interior trims and have them re-covered by an upholsterer for a couple hundred bucks. Just make sure to remove them carefully, as it is easy to break the 20-year old plastic snaps (ask me how I know).
Shawn is right- strip the chassis down to bare and send it to the body shop. NH-603P is the way to go with this car- amazing pearl white color that is a factory NSX option. If you want to save big $$, do the prep work yourself, as has been mentioned above. Factory gunmetal wheels look great on white, or if you want aftermarket, Volk TE-37 in white looks awesome on a white NSX. Heavy, big wheels KILL the performance of this car. Don't be tempted by the bling.
All the rubber in this car will be shot. That means from the big body seals (hood, doors, trunk, hatch) down to all the little bits like the rubber dots behind the headlights. CV joint boots are probably bad too. There is no way to find these aftermarket- you will have to either take good ones from a donor wreck or buy new OEM. Tim Poliniak at Acura of Peoria offers 33% discount plus free shipping- I use him for all my parts. Memorize his number.
If the car has been sitting for 6 years, the brakes MUST be rebuilt for safety. You can find the seal kits from Centric online for about $10 each. Chances are the brake pistons will be rotted/siezed and beyond repair. Centric also sells replacements at far cheaper prices than OEM. Several vendors such as Science of Speed sell quality stainless lines. Also pick up a set of Hawk HPS pads from SOS as well- much less expensive than OEM and great stopping. I would definitely think about replacing the master cylinder at the same time. Again, Tim at Acura will be your friend. Same goes for clutch master and slave- chances are either one or both are leaking at this point. Make sure to replace the clutch slave rubber hose in the engine bay.
With 300k miles, the OEM suspension is shot. Your cheapest option is to keep your OEM springs (maybe get them powdercoated for some inexpensive dress-up) and replace with Bilstein HD shocks. You have the option to drop the car about 1" with the lower spring perch on the Bils. You will also need to buy new rubber top hats from Acura, since the ones in that car are probably rock hard and crumbling.
Before you remove the engine- do a compression and leakdown test. It will tell you a lot about what is going on. Honestly, if the engine is coming out, and it has 300k, now is the time to refresh it. Since you are on a budget, I would not recommend any mods, though now would be the time for it. I have to recommend headers though. SOS can do the entire job for you for around $5,000, but you can DIY except for machine work. Short list: TB, tensioner, WP, crank damper, plugs, belts, valve adjustment, valve seals, head gasket/bolts, R&R throttle body and intake, all 23 coolant hoses + heater pipe cap, all new seals (cover, spool, o-rings, etc). I would have a shop check the block and cylinders and re-hone if there is any wear (new rings if required). While the heads are off, send them to the shop to get cleaned up. Same with the rod and crank journals, given the mileage. If you do the work yourself, this will take weeks of very careful effort, but you will save thousands and end up with a strong runner.
Probably also a good time to check the clutch for wear. If there is enough material left on the discs (there are 2), then perhaps just replace the throwout bearing and re-grease the input shaft. If not, OEM is best. But, I hear the SOS 275 is not a bad unit either. About the same cost.
Your A/C is shot, so you will probably need a new compressor and R134 changeover. A good A/C shop can do that for you fairly cheap- you can get the kits at Autozone lol. It is possible you can salvage your old compressor if it is not seized. Same with your Climate Control Unit- it's probably malfunctioning. Send to BrianK for a rebuild and drive comfortable for years to come. Also, when the dash is out, you might want to think about replacing the heater core and A/C evap. They do leak and it is a nightmare to access them if they do.
Finally, I would address the fuel system. Sitting for a long time can gum up everything. I would have the tank and rails flushed and replace the rubber lines, pump and fuel filter. I would also send the injectors out to RC Engineering to be cleaned. Maybe invest in a new regulator too. Bad fuel can have you chasing all sorts of problems and needlessly spending lots of $$, so best to start fresh and clean.
This is a LOT of work, but if you have the time and patience, you can do it yourself at a steep discount. Some resources:
(1) Mechanical Advice:
Larry Bastanza, who is the president of the NSXCA and maintains dozens of NSXs, including mine when I lived in NY. Larry has pretty much seen it all and will patiently walk you through the process and talk you off the ledge when you are panicking.
Kaz (UK), who is one of the original engineers that designed the NSX (and former Formula 1 mechanic to Mclaren Honda). Kaz has a blog here that you should start reading from the beginning. No one knows more about the NSX than Kaz, and he will generously take the time to talk you about your issue. A great thing about Kaz is he knows why things are the way they are on the NSX, and has the inside information on how to repair/maintain lots of things that are not in the service manual. We are lucky to have him as a resource.
Also, Shawn is a great resource for the NSX assembly. He has taken many NSXs down to bare chassis and is full of good tips on how not to ruin those expensive parts. The more you can save from your existing car, the less expensive it will be. I would definitely get to know him.
Shawn is right- strip the chassis down to bare and send it to the body shop. NH-603P is the way to go with this car- amazing pearl white color that is a factory NSX option. If you want to save big $$, do the prep work yourself, as has been mentioned above. Factory gunmetal wheels look great on white, or if you want aftermarket, Volk TE-37 in white looks awesome on a white NSX. Heavy, big wheels KILL the performance of this car. Don't be tempted by the bling.
All the rubber in this car will be shot. That means from the big body seals (hood, doors, trunk, hatch) down to all the little bits like the rubber dots behind the headlights. CV joint boots are probably bad too. There is no way to find these aftermarket- you will have to either take good ones from a donor wreck or buy new OEM. Tim Poliniak at Acura of Peoria offers 33% discount plus free shipping- I use him for all my parts. Memorize his number.
If the car has been sitting for 6 years, the brakes MUST be rebuilt for safety. You can find the seal kits from Centric online for about $10 each. Chances are the brake pistons will be rotted/siezed and beyond repair. Centric also sells replacements at far cheaper prices than OEM. Several vendors such as Science of Speed sell quality stainless lines. Also pick up a set of Hawk HPS pads from SOS as well- much less expensive than OEM and great stopping. I would definitely think about replacing the master cylinder at the same time. Again, Tim at Acura will be your friend. Same goes for clutch master and slave- chances are either one or both are leaking at this point. Make sure to replace the clutch slave rubber hose in the engine bay.
With 300k miles, the OEM suspension is shot. Your cheapest option is to keep your OEM springs (maybe get them powdercoated for some inexpensive dress-up) and replace with Bilstein HD shocks. You have the option to drop the car about 1" with the lower spring perch on the Bils. You will also need to buy new rubber top hats from Acura, since the ones in that car are probably rock hard and crumbling.
Before you remove the engine- do a compression and leakdown test. It will tell you a lot about what is going on. Honestly, if the engine is coming out, and it has 300k, now is the time to refresh it. Since you are on a budget, I would not recommend any mods, though now would be the time for it. I have to recommend headers though. SOS can do the entire job for you for around $5,000, but you can DIY except for machine work. Short list: TB, tensioner, WP, crank damper, plugs, belts, valve adjustment, valve seals, head gasket/bolts, R&R throttle body and intake, all 23 coolant hoses + heater pipe cap, all new seals (cover, spool, o-rings, etc). I would have a shop check the block and cylinders and re-hone if there is any wear (new rings if required). While the heads are off, send them to the shop to get cleaned up. Same with the rod and crank journals, given the mileage. If you do the work yourself, this will take weeks of very careful effort, but you will save thousands and end up with a strong runner.
Probably also a good time to check the clutch for wear. If there is enough material left on the discs (there are 2), then perhaps just replace the throwout bearing and re-grease the input shaft. If not, OEM is best. But, I hear the SOS 275 is not a bad unit either. About the same cost.
Your A/C is shot, so you will probably need a new compressor and R134 changeover. A good A/C shop can do that for you fairly cheap- you can get the kits at Autozone lol. It is possible you can salvage your old compressor if it is not seized. Same with your Climate Control Unit- it's probably malfunctioning. Send to BrianK for a rebuild and drive comfortable for years to come. Also, when the dash is out, you might want to think about replacing the heater core and A/C evap. They do leak and it is a nightmare to access them if they do.
Finally, I would address the fuel system. Sitting for a long time can gum up everything. I would have the tank and rails flushed and replace the rubber lines, pump and fuel filter. I would also send the injectors out to RC Engineering to be cleaned. Maybe invest in a new regulator too. Bad fuel can have you chasing all sorts of problems and needlessly spending lots of $$, so best to start fresh and clean.
This is a LOT of work, but if you have the time and patience, you can do it yourself at a steep discount. Some resources:
(1) Mechanical Advice:
Larry Bastanza, who is the president of the NSXCA and maintains dozens of NSXs, including mine when I lived in NY. Larry has pretty much seen it all and will patiently walk you through the process and talk you off the ledge when you are panicking.
Kaz (UK), who is one of the original engineers that designed the NSX (and former Formula 1 mechanic to Mclaren Honda). Kaz has a blog here that you should start reading from the beginning. No one knows more about the NSX than Kaz, and he will generously take the time to talk you about your issue. A great thing about Kaz is he knows why things are the way they are on the NSX, and has the inside information on how to repair/maintain lots of things that are not in the service manual. We are lucky to have him as a resource.
Also, Shawn is a great resource for the NSX assembly. He has taken many NSXs down to bare chassis and is full of good tips on how not to ruin those expensive parts. The more you can save from your existing car, the less expensive it will be. I would definitely get to know him.
