2001 White /camel JH4NA21311T000062

[whiteNSXs]

Yes, but I'll let him chime in if he likes.

Suffice to say, the seller knew exactly what he had, and had multiple serious buyers coming to see the car, so the current owner pulled the trigger, sight unseen so that he wouldn't lose the car to someone else.

My quest for this 2001 NA2 Coupe dates back to 2003 when Lud looked at it for me near his home. Lud told me that the car was pretty much mine if I just wrote the check. After just selling my 2 white NSXs back to back then, I was not all excited about this car's tan interior. I foolishly told Lud that I would wait for a NA2 White coupe with a black interior. Of course, there is no such car in this country. I don't remember how many times I beat my head for it. Since then I have been trying to locate this car. By middle of this year, I gave up hope and decided I would go back to Porsche or get a F360.
DocL from Florida looked at a Porsche for me and he happened to be traveling to San Francisco. He and I decided to meet at the Friday NSX meet in Sunnyvale. I had not had any NSX gathering for a long time so I thought it would be fun to meet him there if he would drive down too. As I was driving there, DocL called me to tell me that he could not make it. Having been already down there, I of course went to the meet to chat a little. There were 2 white coupes at the meet. After checking them out, the desire of going white again ignited.
As soon as I went home, I got on eBay just to browse a bit. With great delight, I saw the auction of this NA2 coupe and it was listed at $60k without a bid and it would expire the next day.
I set the alarm clock, gathered all numbers, and went to bed.
Next morning, I called the dealer and it went like this:
Me: I am interested in your NSX but the price seems to be quite high for a 2001.
Dealer: Yeah, we can talk about the price if you are serious about the car.
Me. Yes, I have seen 2001 sold for mid $40s to $50s. Granted the car has low mile, it is still quite high.
Dealer: You do know that the car is a coupe and it is the only one with that color in the country?
Me thinking: !@#$%&*!! I am in TROUBLE!!!
Me: Well, I see that you have been listing the car for a while now. Any serious offers?
Dealer: I turned down $53k
Me: Well, how about me taking the car off your hand for $54k.
Dealer: Let me think about it. There is this gentleman who is coming this afternoon from Pennsylvania to see the car.
Me: Hmmm. I will give you $55k? I will send you a check today.
Dealer: Hmmm....
Me: Let's just shake hands at $55k
Dealer: I want to sell the car to you but I need my manager's approval. Give me your # and I will call right back.
An hour later, there was no phone call. Now I was freaking out. I was afraid if there was REALLY a guy coming to see the car and ruin my plan. I got on the phone again.
Me: So what did your manager say?
Dealer: He said if you want the car right off, $56k. If the other guy does not bid higher than $55K, you can have it at $55k.
Me thinking: f#$%ing a## is bluffing. He is bluffing! He is bluffing! But what if he is NOT bluffing? What if Anil sees the car ad and decides to snatch that up? I was not about to let my chance be threatened for just $1k difference and I did not care what the car looked like and I just wanted that damn car!!!
Me: SOLD at $56k!
I know, I know. The guy pretty much had me by the balls but where else can I get a NA2 white coupe??!!! I don't think I did too poorly since the car has only 76XX miles. Oh well......
The car turned out to be in very good shape. It does have some small blemishes though. Well, no F360.
Again I am back to 2 NSXs. The Number 1 is side by side with The Only One. I will be selling Number 1 in a few months.
I am happy. The car is finally MINE!:biggrin:
Steve

 

[tosugrad]

Congrats!

 

[Ben]

I am happy. The car is finally MINE!:biggrin:
Steve

And, please listen to us, and keep it 100% stock. :tongue:

 

[davidf]

Excellent story. Glad to see it's got a great home.

 

[Jetpilot3]

That's a great story Steve! :smile:

Don't worry about paying a premium for that car because you finally landed it. I paid a premium for my 02 Imola as well but it was a brand newish car with all documents and rare...1 of 8 made and the only one made in 2002.

Enjoy the Coupe and as Ben said keep her stock or keep the ability to put her back to stock.

Pics?

 

[supra2nv]

pictures please!

 

[MikeC_587]

I am happy. The car is finally MINE!:biggrin:
Steve

Steve, Congrats on the purchase. When are you going to attend one of our meets to show her off?

And, please listen to us, and keep it 100% stock. :tongue:

No... you must convert the Tan interior to Black. :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

Mike

 

[Osiris_x11]

nice, very nice...

whiteNSXs, sincerest congratz' on this purchase. Absolutely nothing is more gratifying than finding & then taking possession of something that one covets & has diligently attempted to acquire over time. I'm truly very happy for you.

As far as the interior color scheme & potentially swapping it out for Ebony pieces/trim, I personally wouldn't hold it against you, even as an NSX purist & Keepin' it R-E-A-L proponent. I could understand the premise if this particular NSX had less than 1k miles, resided in an air-bubble as a time-capsule entrant, would never ever see daylight other than D'Elegance Concours photo-ops (sadly, rather doubtful w/ a NSX), and would remain 100.000% original. But, I reckon you of all people will enjoy this particular NSX to some degree or another. . .

Fact-of-the-matter is that the interior-color & trim is as easily swappable as an evening wardrobe change. You possess all the records & documented history on this NSX, so there is no chance of a potential buyer ever generalizing something otherwise.

If you can find another NSX owner w/ an OEM/stock Ebony interior but fancies an OEM/stock Tan/Camel interior more-so, you can perhaps arrive to an arrangement for a swap, along w/ monies being exchanged if there isn't parity amongst the interiors. Or, you can easily & actively solicit others towards acquiring OEM/stock Onyx interior-bits (ERZ, individuals parting-out wrecked/totaled NSX'es, Acura parts-vendors, www.nsxcb.co.uk, Yahoo! Japan, etc') while removing/storing your OEM/stock Camel-interior for posterity's sake.

You only live once. Look at all those individuals saving their ultra-low mileage garage-queen '91-'94/'95'-'96/'97-'01/'02-'05 models for presumed high residuals. The past 6 months alone have lowered their values by $5k-$7.5k more than otherwise anticipated, conservatively speaking. Time-passage related depreciation is one thing & can't be countered, but unfortunately other factors obviously can hasten such.

My point being: don't save such a coveted NSX for the next owner. I can go on & on, as well as others to counter my premise & aforementioned points. The ultimate choice is yours. And last, but not least, remember... it's all about the smiles-per-miles!

 

[Ben]

Changing the interior color is a pain. The entire interior, including the dash, has to come out. Not trivial. I'd venture to say that even with the best techs taking the most care with it, it will never quite be the same as it was laid in Tochigi after such a swap.

Also, when doing such a swap, the entire interior needs to be sourced from a single car. If you buy each piece separately in a piecemeal fashion, there's a good chance the leather (grain, color, direction, etc) won't match perfectly as it does when the entire set is sourced from the same cuts of leather when built at the factory. With each piece, if not sourced from a single car, they are manufactured at different times using different cuts of leather, and there's no way to guarantee that it will match up exactly as a set sourced from the same cut of leather. The end result, is that your interior when inspected closely, looks like a patchwork of different cuts of leather pieced together.

 

[Osiris_x11]

'trimmings...

Ben, what's the total leather-content of a new(er) NSX interior? To the best of my knowledge, it's the steering-wheel & door-handles (perforated in later-models), door armrest & center storage-bin armrest coverings, shift-knob, door-inserts (only in later models), seats, and that's it. If I missed any, please let me know... thanks in-advance!

I wasn't aware that each NSX'es interior was fabricated from pre-specified/same-batch components, in terms of the leather pieces [excluding seats, for now]. I guess I must've missed that on my tours of the Tochigi plant back in the day (never managed to make it to Suzuka, though). What I observed was bins of particular parts at individual stations destined for NSX interiors. Nothing seemed 'bespoke' or pre-requisitioned to me (I've toured many other automotive plants/factories, amongst them a few who actually have batch-specific interiors). I personally believe it to be hyperbole & self-aggrandizement to entertain the thought of such for our much beloved NSX, especially after observing actual assembly on numerous occasions. Seeing, is believing, right? {yes, I'm aware many others have toured the respective NSX-assembly plants as well}

In'fact, an interior door-handle (leather-covered, I might add), was chucked away twice as one didn't fit right & the other had some-other blemish. There was a stack of such parts wrapped in colored shrink-plastic, and the worker simply grabbed the closest part w/o any observable 2nd thought. Ditto for the door-inserts, door armrest & center-storage armrest covers (all seemingly appeared to be ambiguous in the perceptions of the worker-at-hand). Nothing seemed to indicate they were specific to the seats or other leather interior components, other than to be blemish-free & precise in fitment/alignment/orientation/etc'.

To myself & others, it seemed the parts were either a go or no-go when it came to installation on the 'floor, so to speak. Potential rejects or lesser-components seemingly wouldn't make it out of the parts-suppliers stalls. I think it's fair to ascertain such even for extras/spares/etc' (ie. Honda/Acura OEM-parts). Then again, what do I know. . .

Regarding the leather-seat coverings/bits, I can see how some specification & selection of individual leather-inserts can be discriminated over (ie. matching grain/texture/etc'). However, I merely noticed intact/complete seats being carted around, so I can't comment on their fabrication/assembly. I wasn't privy & fortunate to tour the actual workshops elsewhere.

Anywayz... I've seen a handful of interior-swaps (OEM/stock to OEM/stock, even on '02+ interiors), all w/o anything observable to distinguish after-wards in terms of mismatching/shortcomings/misfitting/etc'. I tend to think of myself as a meticulously discerning & reasonably perceptive individual.

I wouldn't promote such an endeavor (swapping interior 'bits) if I didn't feel it could be accomplished w/o compromise & aesthetic/functional sacrifice (even in regards to what can't be seen in regards to tabs-integrity/attachments/etc'). I've scoured over the phone-book'like NSX manual(s) for 100's of hours, even had my dash removed on occasion (everything to the front fire-wall... ), and by no means is it necessary to do all that merely to remove the few lower-dash trim/sash pieces. And if even so, dash removal is only time-intensive to us armchair forum types (admittedly myself included), but nothing beyond a weekend's work for an eager D.I.Y.'er or half-a-day for a proficient/skilled professional.

And, that's that! =)

 

[MikeC_587]

Changing the interior color is a pain. The entire interior, including the dash, has to come out. Not trivial. I'd venture to say that even with the best techs taking the most care with it, it will never quite be the same as it was laid in Tochigi after such a swap.

Also, when doing such a swap, the entire interior needs to be sourced from a single car. If you buy each piece separately in a piecemeal fashion, there's a good chance the leather (grain, color, direction, etc) won't match perfectly as it does when the entire set is sourced from the same cuts of leather when built at the factory. With each piece, if not sourced from a single car, they are manufactured at different times using different cuts of leather, and there's no way to guarantee that it will match up exactly as a set sourced from the same cut of leather. The end result, is that your interior when inspected closely, looks like a patchwork of different cuts of leather pieced together.

Ben, we all know that if you lend Steve a hand on this project it will be as good or better than done at Tochigi. Your attention to detail is second to none.

Mike

 

[White92]

Really? The dash would need to be changed? Isn't it already black?

 

[Ben]

Really? The dash would need to be changed? Isn't it already black?

The lower part of the center console is tan, and it's attached to the dash. To get that out, the center console has to come out.

Then, of course, there's the seats, the pillar covers, the rear firewall covers, the carpet, the door panels.

That's more or less the entire interior. I've had the entire interior out before minus the dash, and it's a pain even w/o touching the dash, to do it right w/o breaking, bending, cracking, or creasing anything.

 

[White92]

The lower part of the center console is tan, and it's attached to the dash. To get that out, the center console has to come out.

Then, of course, there's the seats, the pillar covers, the rear firewall covers, the carpet, the door panels.

That's more or less the entire interior. I've had the entire interior out before minus the dash, and it's a pain even w/o touching the dash, to do it right w/o breaking, bending, cracking, or creasing anything.

But to change it to black would be worth it, right? :wink:

 

[Osiris_x11]

pieces

Really? The dash would need to be changed? Isn't it already black?

The dash stays, as it's already black. There are a few, lower-trim pieces/sashes integrated to the upper-dash that would need swapped near the foot-well/center-console areas (as well as lower-door/speaker-area & rear-firewall, carpets, A/B pillars, door-sill areas, trunk/hatch/hood inserts/panels/etc', sun-visors, cabin roof-liner, etc'). Whether or not Honda/Acura sells these components ala'carte, I'm not sure.

A brand-new OEM dash w/ lower-trim in "light-tan" (P/N: 77101-SL0-A92ZB) is ~$3.5k...

All-in-all, if the new owner fancies an Ebony-interior, their best bet is to acquire the collective 'bits as a whole (same wear-&-tear on them/etc' from someone parting-out a late-model NSX), swap out the Camel-interior & store it, and jus' kick'it pimp-tyte y0! (lolz)...



EDIT: Ben beat me to it... ughz!

 

[EuroBoutique]

Steve, you are one lucky SOB!

I've seen your black nsx so when am I going to see your other baby?

I guess we both share one thing in common: having the rarest of rare white NSX's around! Both happen to be local to norcal too....:wink:

Are you going to move the CTSC to the white one? After getting a ride in your black one with the CTSC, I'm missing the power of it already in mine.


rick

 

[The Kid]

Steve,

Glad to see it made the trek from New Brunswick, NJ to Cali in one piece. I hope your enjoying your new NSX! NA2 coupe's are my favorite NSX's, like driving a totally different car.

 

[Ojas]

Congrats, Steve!!!

 

[Jetpilot3]

Speaking from personal experience I would NOT swap out the interior of the NSX for the very reasons stated by Ben above. I've been there done that and honestly its a hard job. Tabs will be broken and when you've installed the new Black parts you might encounter some squeaking. The dash is a problem because it has to come out in order to change the camel leather.

Steve - keep the original interior in the car as it will grow on you. Its always easier to say you'd prefer black but the hassle and potential problems won't make it worth it.

Still props for getting your coupe! Drive it and enjoy it!

 

[whiteNSXs]

pictures please!

As soon as I finish the Veilside body kit conversion.
Steve

 

[Sim NSX]

As soon as I finish the Veilside body kit conversion.
Steve

Are you serious?

 

[mickeylex]

As soon as I finish the Veilside body kit conversion.
Steve

Good one. :biggrin:

 

[DocL]

As soon as I finish the Veilside body kit conversion.
Steve

Are you also going to put in a sunroof? That would be awesome with the Veilside.

Btw, congrats on the car. Sorry we were never able to meet up while I was out west, and I'm glad you didn't buy that 928 that I looked at for you.

 

[Brylek]

Reading this thread was like reading a book

 

[Yinzer]

What a great bedtime story this was.

Subscribed, for the Veilside conversion and interior color swap.