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On my way to get my NSX!

Joined
29 May 2012
Messages
252
Location
Missouri
So after practicing WAY more patience than I felt like I had to begin with, I am on vacation and on the way to pick up my new car, a Grand Prix White 92 NSX 5spd. Needless so say, I'm excited.

I put down a deposit on the car a couple of weeks ago for the owner to hold the car and pull it off the market for me. I spent a couple days off work tying to plan my trip and get the details just right...which brings us to the moment of truth.

My fiance brought me to KC from Springfield, MO this evening and dropped me off with a buddy to spend the night. We all went to dinner at a great BBQ place called Smokehouse BBQ. If you're in KC and looking for some good food, you might want to give it a try if you've never had it. I very much enjoyed it!

My flight leaves from KC at 6:25am, so I'll be up at around 4:30am to get to the airport with enough time to get settled in for my flight. I'm scheduled to land in Phoenix at 9:59 in the morning, where Nathan, the current owner of the car, is picking me up at the airport. From there, we plan to go to a Firestone Complete Auto Care store to get the first of 2 PPI's done on the car. I work for Firestone and have been in the automotive industry for the past 15yrs, so I want to get a real good look at this car myself before we run over to Science of Speed for another PPI with a compression check. I'm hoping to perhaps get a tour of the facility and see all the cool things there are to see there. Keeping my fingers crossed on that. If everything checks out well, as Nathan has told me he expects it to, then we'll go to the bank and get this transaction finished. This is all planned for Monday.

Tuesday, assuming all turns out well, I plan to go back to Firestone again to have some new wheels installed. Nathan admitted to me that the tires seem to be flat spotted from sitting as much as the car has, and it has a pretty fair amount of vibration until you get up to highway speed, at which point I'm sure the suspension is doing a lot of work to absorb some of that vibration. So, last week, I shipped my Work Emotion XD-9's down with some fresh Bridgestone Potenza RE760's on them. I'd prefer to have a smooth trip back, and according to Nathan, it's probably a pretty good idea. Tuesday evening I plan to stay in Albuquerque.

Wednesday, the plan is to drive to Tulsa and, depending on how tired I am by the time I get there, I may stay with one of my S2000 friends. If I do in fact spend the evening there, then obviously I'll make the last 3hrs up in the morning and make it home before noon on Thursday. If I'm still doing good Wednesday evening then I'll just finish off the drive, but I'll just play it by ear when the time comes.

IF for some reason I get down the Phoenix and this car is drastically different than advertised...I'm going to be very disappointed, and probably pretty angry to have just spent so much time, money and effort to get all the way down there and wind up having the trip be a bust. However, I'm hopeful that it doesn't go down that way.

I'll be updating this thread as I go, so stay tuned and WISH ME LUCK!
 
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Good luck with it!
 
I understand you loyalty with Firestone but...

take it to an Acura Dealership that has a certified NSX MECHANIC

there is a reason we tell you this its cuz there is a .0000001% chance that firestone has a mech that knows anything about the NSX.

you can read tons of horror stories here on Prime to constest to that.

read this article I tell every future owner Print it out and do a walk thru with the print outs first.

http://www.hondatuningmagazine.com/includes/htup_0810_acura_nsx_buyers_guide/viewall.html

goodluck your gonna love the car. and please drive it more than the last guy.:biggrin:
 
Congratulations!

Shawn, I believe he's taking the car into Science of Speed that same day for a PPI. IMO, thats as good, if not better than most Acura places.

I came from an S2000 as well....and man do I miss that thing. But then I hop in the NSX and all of those feelings are gone :D
 
Best Wishes and hope it goes well! We'll be standing by for the results and possible pics!
 
Congratulations!

Shawn, I believe he's taking the car into Science of Speed that same day for a PPI. IMO, thats as good, if not better than most Acura places.

I came from an S2000 as well....and man do I miss that thing. But then I hop in the NSX and all of those feelings are gone :D

Yes, I am taking it to SoS about an hour after I look over it myself. I need to look it over personally to familiarize myself with the car and see if there is anything that I run into that may cause major problems before I sink $170 on a PPI at SoS.
 
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Congrats Skyler! Julie U was telling me about how you found one.
 
Congrats. Post up pics when you get a chance.
 
Exciting!!!!!! Good luck and have a safe journey. Our guest room is ready for ya when you get here! Until then...

popcorn_yes.gif


lol
 
Pics ? Congrats , I loved your blue s2k
 
Thanks, Julz!

So...our visit to SoS uncovered a couple of things that I wasn't prepared for.

1.) I told Wade that through the previous potential buyer, the owner found out his car was salvaged at 16,000 miles. Wade discovered what happened, although I was hoping he wouldn't be able to find anything at all. I was actually hoping it was salvaged due to theft...not this time. The front clip has been replaced with one from and automatic. It still has the EPS unit in it, although it doesn't work/isn't connected. Oddly enough, I was thinking about adding said unit to a manual rack car, but they are quite pricey. Wade tells me he's not sure there is a way to make it work, because he doesn't think the EPS computer and the ECU on a manual car play nice together, but if anyone has any ideas on this, please let me know. The most expensive part is already in the car. Adversely, the steering effort when at a stop is quite a bit higher. There are a couple signs of aging from the frame repair. As of right now, you can see where the undercoating that they applied to the repaired area is cracking slightly in 3 places. Wade asked if I would like him to pull back the carpet and see what the repair looks like from up top...I told him I needed to know. After closer inspection he said it seems pretty solid at this time, I just need to keep an eye on it and see if it's going to need further work to keep it strong. If so, I'm going to have to put Kyle's aluminum skills to the test. Wade said to put some new undercoating on it and see if it cracks within a few months, and if so, to get it fixed.

2.) The transmission is in snap ring range, and has never been rebuilt. He did say that at 122,943 miles, it's pretty remarkable that it's held together...but now that I know that, I'm sitting on a time bomb. He also told me it wasn't a recall that that Acura won't fix it for me like I thought I'd heard so many owners saying they would. So that's something I'm going to have to worry about. Because I'm capable of making the repair myself, I asked how much I'd be looking at in parts, and he told me around $1000. So that's not bad. Obviously there will be a fair amount of labor involved, but I think I'm pretty okay with that. I look at it as a learning experience.

That being said, you wouldn't know these things driving the car. It drives nicely and has good power. It feels solid and doesn't have a bunch of creaks or rattles inside.

The whole car has been repainted and looks good. There are a couple things I'll be looking to replace, such as the driver's side rocker panel. It's cracked and missing just a little bit of it's plastic back by the rear wheel...probably from someone racking it incorrectly in the past. The front lip needs to be replaced as well. Luckily those aren't expensive.

There are a few other little things, too...oil pan gasket, valve cover gaskets, the usual stuff, but those aren't as big of a deal. The clutch pedal has a bushing on it that needs replaced, but the clutch seems to be in good condition. "It's not at the beginning of it's life, but certainly not at the end of it, either." according to Wade.

This car isn't perfect, and there are some things that I'm going to need to do pretty much immediately, namely the timing belt, but for the price I'm getting it at, it's a sharp looking car, and I can't really fault it too much considering it's past and it's current condition.

Right now I'm in limbo as we wait for the bank to wire the remainder of the money to the owner.

I'm probably making it sound worse than it really is, but that's pretty much what's there.

Need to talk to Wade again today about the TB, and need to also get the wheels I shipped down here in the car, and get the alignment done. After that, time to hit the road for Albuquerque! :D
 
Pics ? Congrats , I loved your blue s2k

Thank you very much. I'm going to seriously miss that car.

So today brought about a lot of hussle and bussle...

Got up and waited to hear from Nathan, the person I bought the car from, to see when the wire transfer was complete.

He got a hold of me after a while and I went to pick the car up at the bank, did paperwork and away I went. I had the aid of a friend who lives in the area and gave me a place to stay and toted me around, so after the transaction we went to eat. I headed over to Science of Speed to chat Wade up again for a few, and then went to Firestone to have my new wheels installed and had the car aligned. I got delayed from the jump, so when it was all said and done, I didn't get out of Phoenix till around 4:45pm, and headed straight for Albuquerque where I had a hotel room waiting. After a few pit stops and photo ops, I made it to the hotel shortly after 2am.

The car drove well and runs great! Tomorrow I head for Tulsa. I'll get an earlier start, although not too early. I need some friggin' rest!

Here are a few pictures from today, as well as the car as it sat before...I feel that I've brought it back from the early 90's with some new shoes. I was also pretty proud to have figured out Uehara-san's gas cap trick so quickly! LOL
 

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White looks awesome bro.

That's what you do with the gas cap on this car? I've been holding it everytime I get gas LOL. All my other cars just have the string attached to the cap.
 
snap ring if it hasnt broke yet it was one of the lucky ones
that was cut correct.

so ticking time bomb Not likely if it hasnt broke by now then it not going to

but nice looking car. I want white so bad.

the first thing I would do is get the TB/WP done asap. if it breaks your done.

now there have been cases of owners driving for a godly ammount of time with the original TB/WP and it never broke.
like pushing 14 years/150K miles on the original TB but that may be a fluke/case

dont push her to her max till you have it done

Congrats
 
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Your NSX looks great.

It is a 21+ year old car so some things are expected. It sounds like you purchased it for a good price and it is a desirabe NSX color.

With 122k on it and being in snap ring range, I'm not so sure you are sitting on a time bomb. It is my understanding that not all cars within the range will have the issue. But if SOS said it was a time bomb, maybe they could tell your case was out of tollerance?

http://www.nsxprime.com/wiki/Transmission#.22Snap_Ring.22_Failure
"'It is important to note, however, that the problem does not exist on all transmissions in this range.*The range simply identifies transmissions which may have the problem."

It sounds like you are a good mechanic, which will save you $$$.

Keep me posted on your snap ring issue. I was told mine was repaired by the previous owner, but the case # still shows within the range. He didn't have any receipts, only his word. I was told there isn't a way to know for sure without documentation of the repair.

I felt like my NSX was a great car (condition) and price so I purchased it, no regrets. Even if my snap ring were to fail, I would still feel the same way. I've had no issues, but my NSX hasn't been tracked & still has less than 47k on it. But it is always something in the back of my mind.

I figured I would have it checked or possibly make sure it is fixed the next time there is a reason to be there, like a new clutch. But my clutch was replaced at 37,750 miles, so that might be a while. I will be having my WP/TB and other maintenance done in the next year or so. I will see if my mechanic can look it over at that time.

Back to the thread topic. Your NSX looks very nice. I'm sure you will enjoy it!

Looking forward to more pictures and posts.
 
Congratulations on the new ride!

Would have been fun to meet up while you were in PHX! Sorry to see an NSX leave the area but glad that it's in really good hands now. Sounds like SOS took pretty good care of you; they're great. Hope the rest of your trip goes well, and keep the pictures coming! I'm jealous - would certainly rather be going cross-country in an NSX than sitting at an office today.
 
all of the issues from the ppi would bother me...but I would want them reflected in the price...that said I'm not a handy diyer like you.....bets of luck with the car and congratulations.:smile:
 
Wade didn't use the term, "ticking time bomb" but he did make it sound important that I swap out the case to avoid any potential problems from the snap ring should it decide to act up.

As for the issues that the car has, I have to say I was expecting some things, as the car is 20yrs old, but I was hoping for less than what I was expecting.

I did, however, make it from Albuquerque to Tulsa today. I took a little detour to Las Vegas....New Mexico. I want my two and a half hours back...seriously. I felt pretty misled. After all, when you see a sign for Las Vegas, what's the first thing to go through your head? So that was an adventure.

Aside from that, there wasn't a lot to report. Desert is desert is desert. It's all dry, brown, and a place I don't particularly care to be. The car ran flawlessly, though. I didn't ask much of the A/C, but when I did turn it on, I found myself turning it back off after a bit. It'll freeze you out. I did get a few pictures along the way, however, so I had to share, of course. From earlier in the day till when I got to Julie's house where she was gracious enough to let me borrow her garage spot for the evening. Thanks, Julz!!!

Will post some more tomorrow!
 

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Nice! Whats the interior color?

Lol, well it is two colors, actually. It's black and white. The story is that the original dealership that sold the car had the interior done to be a "showroom custom" interior. Whoever did the work did it right, but out just isn't my style, so I'll be changing it back to black.
 
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