My 1991 Berlina Black NSX Restoration

[MOD5 Eng.]

Picked up this 91 Berlina Black NSX from a good friend of mine, who daily drove it for the last 4 yrs. He owned it for a total of 7 yrs., and per his words "enjoyed every minute of it". He was very religious with the maintenance which was all performed by Shane at Autowave. Since I knew the history of this particular NSX, I decided to keep the car in the family and purchase it.

At first, I was going to leave it be, but the 20 yr. old paint started to irritate me quickly. So I decided to tear it down, and replace any aged parts. Overall, the car is in great condition for being 20 yrs. old!

Also, after seeing all these great build threads. I figured I would share my restoration and document the entire process.

Here are some pictures of how it looked, when I took ownership.

 

[MOD5 Eng.]

Started the teardown for the bodyshop, and prepped it for the new face lift.

A lot of cleaning and replacing to do...

Window trim removed.

Cowl removed.

Hood and Bumper removed.

Headlights removed.

5 MPH Removed for new front end brackets.

 

[Spaz]

will be watching what you do with this

 

[MOD5 Eng.]

will be watching what you do with this

Thanks! I'll try to keep you entertained

 

[MOD5 Eng.]

Got my first set of packages from another fellow Prime member, who recently purchased an 05 NSX. He went straight to town with modifying it, so I purchased some of his stock goodies for this project.

I love the UPS man.

05 Forged OEM Nsx Wheels

I love the OEM Bose Stereo System, however all of the amps were bad on this car. So one of the first things I did, was send the amps out to Brian K. and have them rebuild them, and got the stereo system to function perfectly. Since this prime member was selling a lot of stock goodies, I decided to purchase his low mile MINT Bose stereo setup, and installed it.

05 Bose HeadUnit Vs. Original

05 Bose Speakers and Sub.

Also purchased his Mint 05 Stock Steering wheel.

Pulled out of most of the interior, and cleaned everything up..

 

[MOD5 Eng.]

Continued with the teardown process.

I am going to get rid of the Stant gas cap.

A-pillars all carefully removed.

 

[liftnot]

>At first, I was going to leave it be, but the 20 yr. old paint started to irritate >me quickly. So I decided to tear it down, and replace any aged parts. Overall, >the car is in great condition for being 20 yrs. old!

Nice ride. Car does look pretty good as it. I can understand having the modding bug to make this car the way you want. Keeping my eye on this build...should be interesting to see what you gonna do with it. Pimp it out!!

 

[MOD5 Eng.]

Thanks, and tell me about it. When I told my wife my original plans of leaving it as is, she laughed and said " i give you a few weeks, before that changes " lol

Here is some more tear down pics. This is after about 15 hrs worth of labor, carefully prepping the car for paint and bodywork. Using all the proper tools, and patience to not break any clips. As easy as it may look, it isn't and takes a lot time and patience. You really see the craftsmanship in these cars, when it takes you 30 min. to take a simple nut or screw out of something. Everything is hidden, and has 3 times the amount of hardware then your average car.

 

[kookoo4nsx]

Are you going to repaint the car? Why not paint correction?

 

[MOD5 Eng.]

Are you going to repaint the car? Why not paint correction?

Yes, having the outside re-sprayed. The 20 yr. old paint shows its age, and I am not up for doing a patch up job.

 

[MOD5 Eng.]

My first batch of all new OEM Honda parts, came in.

New OEM Headlights, Taillights, Fender liners (All 6 of them), New Weather Seals, Clips etc.

New OEM Front Lip.

 

[socold57]

bosssy.... you have 2 nsxs ?
:biggrin:

 

[Nero Tenebre]

I just can't help thinking, with all the money poured into this build, why not just by an 02-05 and have a better car? There are so many advantages to going that route vs. refurbishing an old car- which will always just be an old car with new parts on it no matter how many you replace. Unless, you have to have a coupe.

 

[GrounDDesignS]

I love these threads.
Keep em coming!

 

[MOD5 Eng.]

bosssy.... you have 2 nsxs ?
:biggrin:

Yes, an 03 as well.

I just can't help thinking, with all the money poured into this build, why not just by an 02-05 and have a better car? There are so many advantages to going that route vs. refurbishing an old car- which will always just be an old car with new parts on it no matter how many you replace. Unless, you have to have a coupe.

Hard to answer a question like that. Why do we modify cars, when they work perfectly fine? Why do modify our cars, when it is cheaper to buy one that is done, for cheaper? My answer is because its a hobby, and my investment is the enjoyment of working on cars and driving what I created. I am sure there is a much more economical way of doing things, but what fun would that be? Go tell that to the purist that invests 10k into R/C car, that he'll never be able to drive, or the guy who drops close a half million into a non-driven show street rod, just to place a trophy... :wink:

 

[chussey]

Great thread!
Keep the updates and pictures coming!

 

[MOD5 Eng.]

Great thread!
Keep the updates and pictures coming!

Thank you! I'll have some more cool updates, and pictures, tomorrow.

I picked up a gallon of Berlina Black in Dupont Chroma-Premier Base and Clear-Coat "solvent" base. Could have saved some money on the Chroma-Base, but decided to Spoil this NSX with the best! Not going with water based paint...

 

[blue_myriddn]

Great thread - I really appreciate the detailed photos, really brings me in to the project.

Totally get what you are saying about tearing down & modding and cost effectiveness. The enjoyment time in doing it is an added bonus that is hard to put a price tag on.

 

[Brooklynzson]

Thanks, and tell me about it. When I told my wife my original plans of leaving it as is, she laughed and said " i give you a few weeks, before that changes " lol

Here is some more tear down pics. This is after about 15 hrs worth of labor, carefully prepping the car for paint and bodywork. Using all the proper tools, and patience to not break any clips. As easy as it may look, it isn't and takes a lot time and patience. You really see the craftsmanship in these cars, when it takes you 30 min. to take a simple nut or screw out of something. Everything is hidden, and has 3 times the amount of hardward, then your regular car.

I agree, you do see the craftsmanship when you tear down the car. My car looks like yours right now, thank god for the manuals because some bolts and clips are hidden.

 

[liftnot]

I just can't help thinking, with all the money poured into this build, why not just by an 02-05 and have a better car? There are so many advantages to going that route vs. refurbishing an old car- which will always just be an old car with new parts on it no matter how many you replace. Unless, you have to have a coupe.

Sometimes men do things men don't understand. I don't understand bling guys and JDM-ricers or garage queens....but hey, knock yourself out. a 91 nsx is essentially the same as a 05 in many ways. In case he wants to sell it in the future, someone will appreciate what he has done and pay good price for it when its done properly and tastefully. And this thread will serve a history of progression for the future buyer, if there is one.
This is another reason now you NSX sells for cheap because its not modded tastefully nor kept in decent condition and we have kids buy these cars who are still living with their parents(not that is anything wrong with it)

By the look of all the parts he is buying and reading the way he is approaching this car, I bet the car will turn out spot on. I can tell he is organized compare to other builds. Heck, its already blessed by Autowave in the past and Shane/Mike's work is 2nd to none.

 

[FD3SNSX]

Nice !! I can't wait to do 02 conversion on mine..

 

[chussey]

Thank you! I'll have some more cool updates, and pictures, tomorrow.

I picked up a gallon of Berlina Black in Dupont Chroma-Premier Base and Clear-Coat "solvent" base. Could have saved some money on the Chroma-Base, but decided to Spoil this NSX with the best! Not going with water based paint...

Very interested to hear what you think of this paint... I have a few panels to do soon, but have not yet decided which brand of paint to use

 

[MOD5 Eng.]

Very interested to hear what you think of this paint... I have a few panels to do soon, but have not yet decided which brand of paint to use

I swear by Dupont products, even there Chroma-Base series. I have had nothing but pure success, and you can totally tell the different in both clarity and shine, when it is sprayed by Dupont. Years ago, I had to have my Lexus IS bumper re-sprayed, and out of convienence, I took it to my insurance preferred shop. They used PPG products. I had to bring the car back 4 times, as the paint kept shrinking, and losing its depth and shine. I ended up taking to Prestige Autobody & Restoration, and had them re-spray it with there Dupont, and never had a problem since.

I will have some cool bodyshop progress pics, of this NSX - today. I know of 2 handfuls of Prime members NSX's that were done by Prestige Autobody & Restoration, and hopefully they can chime in and post up there experience and a shot of there NSX. Prestige is an NSX body specialist, Lifetime Warranty, and seriously half the cost of your typical exotic restoration bodyshop or bodyshop in general. The best part for me, is there turn-around times are always spot on.

 

[MOD5 Eng.]

I was too busy to get down to the shop, and get some pics of the car after the Dupont Black sealer was layed down. Here are some shots of the NSX, in there crossdraft paint booth. Next process, is Duponts etching no. 6 primer, and Dupont Guide coats. That is where the majic will start to happen, and they will get rid of any factory wave or imperfection. The car also had a few dings, which will be gone as well.

He welded alluminum patches for the U.S Side Reflectors. The stock side reflectors are officially - GONE.

 

[MOD5 Eng.]

I wanted to get some shots of the car, covered in black dupont black sealer. Looked cool, but my battery on my camera was dead as a nail.

As always, the paintwork came out phenomenal. I love love there process of color sanding, and there 3 stages of buffing. It's like watching an artist, paint. Total time in the bodyshop, was just under 3 weeks. They actually work on your car, when you drop it off.

If I can compare the paint to something, it would have to be glass. It amazingly smooth and glassy looking. Now the fun part begins, with re-assembly.