After months of checking every website you can think of several times a day, a dozen carfax reports, over a thousand emails in total (yes, I counted), hundreds of text messages and hundreds of minutes on the phone and/or Skype VoIP, tickets booked and then cancelled resulting in an credit with Southwest Airlines that I have to use by next June (thanks for being patient and understanding @spider2k ), I finally own an NSX.
This is @GT Theory 's former widebody car. I bought it minus the widebody, BBK, wheels, exhaust, & seats, and intend to return it to stock/OEM status, with only a few minor deviations here and there for some tasteful and reversible modifications.
This is how it looked when Brandon and I first started talking:
1991, Clean title, clean history, 53K miles (@ 48K a new RPS Clutch, TB/WP Service with all the seals etc was done)
After we came to an agreement, and the overpriced PPI that turned out to not really be a real PPI and a giant waste of $300 bucks came back positive, (seriously, how can they charge $300 for a PPI at an Acura dealership with NSX certified techs, and NOT tell me the trunk struts were shot, the CCU was dead, etc?!?) the process of stripping it down began for Brandon, and the process of finding parts began for me.
Being in Minnesota, which is obviously not the NSX capital of the world, I wasnt finding any parts locally. However, the car was in SoCal, and a very nice guy (that goes by the name of @MexiRicer here as well as facebook) had a rear quarter for sale also in SoCal. He offered to deliver the quarter to the car so it could be bolted on before the transport company picked it up to save on the headache and cost of shipping something like this across the country. Brandon said he would be more than happy to bolt the panel on, and said the more parts I could find to have slapped on the better. FYI: when searching for parts on FB and messaging people, I found that the limit of simultaneous messages you can display on screen is 5. I also found that this is larger than the number of simultaneous discussions I can keep track of in my brain.
With the help of Mexi, I managed to find another rear quarter from @flexthatdx not too far from his house. I also locked in a pair of seats from @jojodelkokomo24 in the same region. For a little extra gas money, Mexi borrowed a truck from someone, loaded up his quarter, picked up the other quarter, and went out of his way to also pick up the seats and deliver them to Brandon. What a great guy!
Brandon got the car stripped down, installed the parts I found, slapped some wheels on it so it would roll, and saw it off on the transport.
In the mean time I continued to look for parts, including new wheels and tires. Another very nice enthusiast @regular sent me all 4 side markers for free, he wouldnt even accept my offer to at least cover the shipping cost! The new wheels and side markers arrived well before the car. Prompting me to show them to the wife and say "These are NSX parts, the first parts of an NSX i've ever owned! Wanna touch them?" as I stood there petting the markers like they were some priceless artifact. I received the expected roll of the eyes and head-shake from her as she walked away.
Insert NSX in the space provided
We had to meet the transport about a 1/2 mile from my house as I live on a cul-de-sac, and the road leading up to it has some very low handing branches. This particular trailer had the rotary-screw type lifts, which are extra secure, but also extra slow. It took almost 20 minutes for the car to be lowered down and drove off the ramps. This provided the opportunity someone from the neighborhood to stop by with his dog "Frenchie" and ask me which one I was waiting for. When I told him "the Acura NSX up there on the top", he looked at me with a very confused expression on his face for a short time, and I watched the gears turning in his head, right as I was about to explain what an NSX was, assuming he didnt know, a light bulb went off in his head, his expression changed to a smile, and he said "isnt that the one that looks like a camero?" Sure... close enough I suppose.
The car was unloaded, the papers signed, and I was ready to drive it back home.
I am about 5'8". Why am I telling you this? Well, when Brandon slapped all these parts I found on, it was just with the intent to save on shipping. So when he put the seats in he understandably just set them in place and threaded a few bolts in. The wiring for the seats was actually under the carpet (since he had racing seats in there previously) and wasnt connected. This resulted in me not being able to reach the clutch as the seats were stuck in the full back position. I had to grab the steering wheel, pull my arse forward with my chest up against the wheel, and then I could press the clutch. Unfortunately, as soon as I would shift into gear and attempt the slip the clutch out, I would slide back in the seat, the clutch would get dumped, the car would lurch and jump, and then it would smooth out. I must have looked like a teenager trying to drive a manual for the first time, and I swear I could almost hear my wife laughing at me as she followed me home in my truck .
Once I got it home, the unpacking process began. Brandon had managed to fill every nook and cranny with parts. It was like getting a giant christmas present, and getting to unwrap a couple dozen more presents hidden inside. My cheeks hurt, because I had this permanent grin that wouldnt go away. Of course the kids had to come out and see the car that daddy has been obsessing about for as long as they've been alive. A buddy of mine stopped by as well.
After the kids were tucked into bed, my buddy left, and the wife went to sleep it was time to wrench! First thing I did was to get those mismatched wheels off of there and see how those TSW Bathursts look. They look great, but they dont fit the 96 or older rear brakes! krud... time to order some spacers. I also took off the Downforce carbon wing, and put the original in place. Then, I spent the next several hours sipping on a beer or three, walking around staring at the car from different angles. I ended up climbing into the drivers seat with my laptop, searching for more parts. I fell asleep just like that, sitting upright with a laptop in front of me. Waking up at I-dont-even-know-what-time a little disoriented, I forced myself to leave the garage and go to bed.
Since then I've got it up on jackstands and started the process of removing parts to be replaced and/or repaired. Everywhere I look in my garage there are NSX parts scattered around!
The CCU is shot, which is headed out to @Briank as soon as I get some more ink for my printer and print off the shipping label. The passenger side window regular is shot as well, which has been pulled out and a brand new replacement part on the way, the red carpet is going to be cleaned up and sold in order to replace it with the stock black carpet, and the CF spoiler is most likely going to be sold as well to help fund the project. A new @PrideExhaust V2 with dual burnt tips is on the way, as well as a whole slew of brand new OEM parts from AcuraPartsForLess. A set of headlights from @JoseJA1979 , a passenger side fender from @NSX1145 / scw performance, a rear bumper from Powerline, and the coolant hose kit & updated LMAs from @ScienceofSpeed are also enroute.
The only major part I still have yet to find is a drivers side front fender. I'm not accepting or looking for damaged parts, and for whatever reason an undamaged drivers side fender is proving to be difficult to find. I literally found six passenger side fenders, just cant find the drivers side.
The hunt continues....
This is @GT Theory 's former widebody car. I bought it minus the widebody, BBK, wheels, exhaust, & seats, and intend to return it to stock/OEM status, with only a few minor deviations here and there for some tasteful and reversible modifications.
This is how it looked when Brandon and I first started talking:
1991, Clean title, clean history, 53K miles (@ 48K a new RPS Clutch, TB/WP Service with all the seals etc was done)
After we came to an agreement, and the overpriced PPI that turned out to not really be a real PPI and a giant waste of $300 bucks came back positive, (seriously, how can they charge $300 for a PPI at an Acura dealership with NSX certified techs, and NOT tell me the trunk struts were shot, the CCU was dead, etc?!?) the process of stripping it down began for Brandon, and the process of finding parts began for me.
Being in Minnesota, which is obviously not the NSX capital of the world, I wasnt finding any parts locally. However, the car was in SoCal, and a very nice guy (that goes by the name of @MexiRicer here as well as facebook) had a rear quarter for sale also in SoCal. He offered to deliver the quarter to the car so it could be bolted on before the transport company picked it up to save on the headache and cost of shipping something like this across the country. Brandon said he would be more than happy to bolt the panel on, and said the more parts I could find to have slapped on the better. FYI: when searching for parts on FB and messaging people, I found that the limit of simultaneous messages you can display on screen is 5. I also found that this is larger than the number of simultaneous discussions I can keep track of in my brain.
With the help of Mexi, I managed to find another rear quarter from @flexthatdx not too far from his house. I also locked in a pair of seats from @jojodelkokomo24 in the same region. For a little extra gas money, Mexi borrowed a truck from someone, loaded up his quarter, picked up the other quarter, and went out of his way to also pick up the seats and deliver them to Brandon. What a great guy!
Brandon got the car stripped down, installed the parts I found, slapped some wheels on it so it would roll, and saw it off on the transport.
In the mean time I continued to look for parts, including new wheels and tires. Another very nice enthusiast @regular sent me all 4 side markers for free, he wouldnt even accept my offer to at least cover the shipping cost! The new wheels and side markers arrived well before the car. Prompting me to show them to the wife and say "These are NSX parts, the first parts of an NSX i've ever owned! Wanna touch them?" as I stood there petting the markers like they were some priceless artifact. I received the expected roll of the eyes and head-shake from her as she walked away.
Insert NSX in the space provided
We had to meet the transport about a 1/2 mile from my house as I live on a cul-de-sac, and the road leading up to it has some very low handing branches. This particular trailer had the rotary-screw type lifts, which are extra secure, but also extra slow. It took almost 20 minutes for the car to be lowered down and drove off the ramps. This provided the opportunity someone from the neighborhood to stop by with his dog "Frenchie" and ask me which one I was waiting for. When I told him "the Acura NSX up there on the top", he looked at me with a very confused expression on his face for a short time, and I watched the gears turning in his head, right as I was about to explain what an NSX was, assuming he didnt know, a light bulb went off in his head, his expression changed to a smile, and he said "isnt that the one that looks like a camero?" Sure... close enough I suppose.
The car was unloaded, the papers signed, and I was ready to drive it back home.
I am about 5'8". Why am I telling you this? Well, when Brandon slapped all these parts I found on, it was just with the intent to save on shipping. So when he put the seats in he understandably just set them in place and threaded a few bolts in. The wiring for the seats was actually under the carpet (since he had racing seats in there previously) and wasnt connected. This resulted in me not being able to reach the clutch as the seats were stuck in the full back position. I had to grab the steering wheel, pull my arse forward with my chest up against the wheel, and then I could press the clutch. Unfortunately, as soon as I would shift into gear and attempt the slip the clutch out, I would slide back in the seat, the clutch would get dumped, the car would lurch and jump, and then it would smooth out. I must have looked like a teenager trying to drive a manual for the first time, and I swear I could almost hear my wife laughing at me as she followed me home in my truck .
Once I got it home, the unpacking process began. Brandon had managed to fill every nook and cranny with parts. It was like getting a giant christmas present, and getting to unwrap a couple dozen more presents hidden inside. My cheeks hurt, because I had this permanent grin that wouldnt go away. Of course the kids had to come out and see the car that daddy has been obsessing about for as long as they've been alive. A buddy of mine stopped by as well.
After the kids were tucked into bed, my buddy left, and the wife went to sleep it was time to wrench! First thing I did was to get those mismatched wheels off of there and see how those TSW Bathursts look. They look great, but they dont fit the 96 or older rear brakes! krud... time to order some spacers. I also took off the Downforce carbon wing, and put the original in place. Then, I spent the next several hours sipping on a beer or three, walking around staring at the car from different angles. I ended up climbing into the drivers seat with my laptop, searching for more parts. I fell asleep just like that, sitting upright with a laptop in front of me. Waking up at I-dont-even-know-what-time a little disoriented, I forced myself to leave the garage and go to bed.
Since then I've got it up on jackstands and started the process of removing parts to be replaced and/or repaired. Everywhere I look in my garage there are NSX parts scattered around!
The CCU is shot, which is headed out to @Briank as soon as I get some more ink for my printer and print off the shipping label. The passenger side window regular is shot as well, which has been pulled out and a brand new replacement part on the way, the red carpet is going to be cleaned up and sold in order to replace it with the stock black carpet, and the CF spoiler is most likely going to be sold as well to help fund the project. A new @PrideExhaust V2 with dual burnt tips is on the way, as well as a whole slew of brand new OEM parts from AcuraPartsForLess. A set of headlights from @JoseJA1979 , a passenger side fender from @NSX1145 / scw performance, a rear bumper from Powerline, and the coolant hose kit & updated LMAs from @ScienceofSpeed are also enroute.
The only major part I still have yet to find is a drivers side front fender. I'm not accepting or looking for damaged parts, and for whatever reason an undamaged drivers side fender is proving to be difficult to find. I literally found six passenger side fenders, just cant find the drivers side.
The hunt continues....
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