Canadian vs US spec

[vh_supra26]

Hi everyone, its been about a year of owning my 92 black auto and I'm thinking of selling to get another NSX. As many of you know, I really wanted a red 5-speed. However, at the time none were available in my price range so I settled for my current car. Long story short I found a potential buyer for my car @$45k and I also found a red 91 5-speed Canadian spec which I can probably get it for not much more. My question is what would you do? I recall on other random forums that people tend to stay away from Canadian cars for various reason. What are your thoughts? Thanks Prime!

 

[MaxGeek]

Nothing wrong with a Canadian NSX. It will just be in kilometers.

 

[jrho]

To get a manual for not much more is pretty amazing. Having a kmph speedometer will be quite nice as the USDM cluster kmph markings aren't the great to read. I just have gotten to the point of having relatively mph conversions in my head when I drive mine

 

[docjohn]

some would say the importation process is the biggest pita..

 

[Old Guy]

Canadian market car = daytime running lights and a speedometer with the primary markings in kilometers along with odometers that read in kilometers. The stickers on the car are multi lingual; but, I think the stickers on my USDM car are also multilingual so perhaps no difference there.

There may be a higher chance that Canadian cars get winter driven if the owner gets the itch on a warm day which may or may not be an issue. Mine gets parked in late October and does not emerge until late April.

I suspect it is what docjohn alludes to. They don't want to go through the import process which is new and strange for most people. That and the costs of doing so may have more uncertainty depending on what Donald Trump has for breakfast. If you are thinking that this car is the one you might want to move sooner rather than later in case thins change. You might also want to consider making the deal conditional in case a new tariff pops up adding 25% to the cost of the car.

 

[vh_supra26]

Thanks for the input everyone. The red one is already in the US. I’ll have to ask the seller if it’s already titled.

 

[Wild Turkey]

Looks like they've already removed the obnoxious DRL's that partially block the AC condensers. (Monstrous DRL's obnoxious, not Canadians.)

NSX's seem a rare breed; I was looking for one for quite a while but they're hard to find & I eventually gave up. 90% of the ones I see up here in Canada, including @Old Guy & both of mine, are imported ones & a few . (No NFR/Onyx sold in in 2001, and of the 10 sold in , 3 have been imported to .) The good news is the speedometer reads higher #'s so you're even faster! Maybe you can find a owner to switch gauge clusters if you want MPH. I'm looking for a metric gauge cluster myself.

Seriously though, same car. wrt road salt, lots in northern states as well. Just ask @Lamini . Really boils down to knowing about previous owners, which is getting harder and harder these days.

 

[docjohn]

that and all the bacon strips under the seats....

 

[MaxGeek]

that and all the bacon strips under the seats....

That's just ham!

 

[Wild Turkey]

Canadian NOT ham.

 

[Old Guy]

Strips = bacon. Round slices = back bacon. Canadian bacon = ??? Can also provide instructions on the 'correct' pronunciation of roof and other vowels if you ever need to sneak north across the border for a hit of lower cost maple syrup.

In some future world a pristine true Canadian market car might have some collector value because of much lower production numbers. Not because its better; but, because its a thing, like the guy who 5 or so years ago was trying to hawk basic JDM NSXs into the North American market at elevated prices just because they were JDM and right hand steer. He figured you should be prepared to pay a lot more money for the experience of driving from the right hand seat.

 

[vh_supra26]

So it may be happening in a week or two...

Unless you guys can find me a clean title red 5 speed for under $50k.

Edited: I also updated the OP with more vids and photos from the seller.

 

[Old Guy]

What is going on, or not going on with the air intake? Obviously the OEM air filter box is no longer in place. That looks like a piece of pipe with a bell inlet of some kind, maybe a screen filter in place on the inlet? No filtration would be bad and screen filters are pretty much just bug and rock filters. How big of an issue this is will depend on how long / how many kilometers that non filter has been in place. Has the inspection of the car included a compression test to insure that you don't have some ring wear issues from driving around with minimal / no filtration.

The OEM DRLs are gone which may or may not be an issue for you and the front tow hook cover is missing which is nothing that a little money can't fix. The OEM head unit is gone. That is not abnormal for a 1991; but, the mounting of the screen suggests a rather amateur installation unless the screen can be re positioned. Even if it can be re positioned that style of installation blocks access to the climate controls which is why a flush mounted display for the center console is the more common approach. On the topic of climate controls make sure that the AC works. Bad CCU is moderate amount of money to fix. Dead HVAC circuit / compressor is more money to fix. The car has a big ass wing. That is a turn off for me; but, that is a personal thing which you may be OK with. Since it is a 1991 5 speed, is the transmission in the snap ring range and if it is has the issue been dealt with?

Depending on how nice your black auto is I might be less inclined to rush out and purchase this car just to get a red five speed. If your black / auto is very nice you might be trading for something that comes with some issues. If you didn't have an NSX those issues might be the entry cost of ownership. However, going from a no issues car, a red five speed that spends a lot of time in the garage might not be a happy trade. At the very least, I think the car warrants a very close inspection to determine what other things might be lurking. Gotta hate it when you find what appears to be a nice easter egg and crack it open to find out it has a dodgy interior.

 

[docjohn]

yep could end up being.






turkey bacon...