Guess I am kind of a new NSX owner!

[warrenw]

I totally agree with all of you. I am now researching the top Edmonton Acura/Honda mechanics (if I decide to drive it back to Vancouver), and the Vancouver mechanics (if I decide to ship).

Thanks for all the advice, everyone!

Ray:

Very cool!

1518kms = 943 miles!

Edmonton has a good NSX community with many skilled people with good NSX wisdom. I would guess at around 18+ cars in the Edmonton area. Many of us do what we can ourselves, but some work is done by Acura dealers and other private shops. If you want a dealer to do the work, most would recommend West End Acura.

Fluid replacement and general stuff can be done DIY. You may need tires just on age alone.

There are a group of guys that would love to see this "time capsuled" car. You may want some local owner to look at the car before you spend any money on it.

As far as recalls go, I think there was one for the seat belts, but the rest was around service bulletins. My car was orginally owned by someone that had the dealer do everything. Fortunatly he kept all the receipts and documented everything. All Hoses were replaced on a Service bulletin. Mostly general maintenance stuff over the years. It is probably a good reference of where to start. PM me your email address and I can send you a detailed maintenance history document of my car.

This is the second Canadian car recently "found" years after originally put away for long term storage. The other is in Ontario.

What are the last 6 digits of the VIN?

Nice Car...

 

[tbromley]

Tim, I'll leave the rest of your post alone...that said if I were going to buy headers, I would look into the Cantrells or the Taitec headers, better gains, similar amount of money:wink:

Love fab is developing some new ones that look promising but they aren't going to be in the same price range, do not get a header with a flex joint, such as the DC as they are prove to crack, the ball-socket joint ones hold up better.

What about the later model NSX OEM headers? For durability I bet they'll be pretty good. Why do you not like the Comptech headers CLR? I'm just curious as I've always heard they were as good as any? Didn't SOS take up the Comptech mantel after they went out of business?

When will the lovefab headers be available - do you know for sure?
Thanks for your comments CLR.

 

[clr1024]

What about the later model NSX OEM headers? For durability I bet they'll be pretty good. Why do you not like the Comptech headers CLR? I'm just curious as I've always heard they were as good as any? Didn't SOS take up the Comptech mantel after they went out of business?

When will the lovefab headers be available - do you know for sure?
Thanks for your comments CLR.

The older manifolds are an option but if I was going to go that route, I would probably buy some of the cheaper headers of ebay first. It's not that I don't like the comptech headers, but rather they Cantrell and Taitec produce more HP for the same or less money.

http://www.scienceofspeed.com/sos_resource/FAQs/NSX/eap/header_comparison/

If I remember correctly the Cantrells produced more HP than the Taitecs and I think the SOS versions were about the same as the Cantrells, but are no longer sold.

No idea on the Lovefab and they aren't going to be cheap from what I can tell...not that too many things are for this car. Case in point lost a tiny plastic tab from headlight...going to cost me $8+ to replace, that is about the same size of the head of a thumb tack...

 

[d1 guy]

You probably shouldnt do anything to it other than maintain it. With that low of miles, I would put the factory wheels back on it and let it sit. Its probably the only one on the planet with less than 1k miles. Might consider selling it to a collector and buying one with more miles to play with. Nothing wrong with driving it and moding an NSX but gees, you gotta ask yourself whether or not you know of another NSX out there that is this reserved. I mean, I dont even know of an 05 with less than 1k miles.

I do understand that it was your fathers, so I would definitely keep it (if it was me), but I wouldnt do anything to it other than the required. Maybe consider buying yourself one to go beside your dads.

This is just my opinion and what I would do if I was in your situation.

 

[clr1024]

You probably shouldnt do anything to it other than maintain it. With that low of miles, I would put the factory wheels back on it and let it sit. Its probably the only one on the planet with less than 1k miles. Might consider selling it to a collector and buying one with more miles to play with. Nothing wrong with driving it and moding an NSX but gees, you gotta ask yourself whether or not you know of another NSX out there that is this reserved. I mean, I dont even know of an 05 with less than 1k miles.

I do understand that it was your fathers, so I would definitely keep it (if it was me), but I wouldnt do anything to it other than the required. Maybe consider buying yourself one to go beside your dads.

This is just my opinion and what I would do if I was in your situation.

Could always buy another NSX to mod...not like he would be the only person with multiple NSX's....:smile:

 

[RJD1022]

You probably shouldnt do anything to it other than maintain it. With that low of miles, I would put the factory wheels back on it and let it sit. Its probably the only one on the planet with less than 1k miles. Might consider selling it to a collector and buying one with more miles to play with. Nothing wrong with driving it and moding an NSX but gees, you gotta ask yourself whether or not you know of another NSX out there that is this reserved. I mean, I dont even know of an 05 with less than 1k miles.

I do understand that it was your fathers, so I would definitely keep it (if it was me), but I wouldnt do anything to it other than the required. Maybe consider buying yourself one to go beside your dads.

This is just my opinion and what I would do if I was in your situation.

+1

Take some of the sale money from the house and buy a well used car in good shape to drive, and keep this one as it is.

It would be a shame to start driving this car now. About 20 years in and less then 1K miles is a treasure.

 

[ediddynsx]

Naw, I can personally guarantee this car will be left 100% the way it is for awhile, except for the wheels.

That was my dad's style/modus operandi. He would drive it until there were problems/needed upgrade, and THEN he would shell out the cash to mod!:biggrin:

He had to fully appreciate the normal state first I think of the car, then when it breaks down, he could justify upgrading and improving it, as he was with most aspects of his life ^^

Thats what I said too.....

 

[Ray.K]

Ray:

Very cool!

1518kms = 943 miles!

Edmonton has a good NSX community with many skilled people with good NSX wisdom. I would guess at around 18+ cars in the Edmonton area. Many of us do what we can ourselves, but some work is done by Acura dealers and other private shops. If you want a dealer to do the work, most would recommend West End Acura.

Fluid replacement and general stuff can be done DIY. You may need tires just on age alone.

There are a group of guys that would love to see this "time capsuled" car. You may want some local owner to look at the car before you spend any money on it.

As far as recalls go, I think there was one for the seat belts, but the rest was around service bulletins. My car was orginally owned by someone that had the dealer do everything. Fortunatly he kept all the receipts and documented everything. All Hoses were replaced on a Service bulletin. Mostly general maintenance stuff over the years. It is probably a good reference of where to start. PM me your email address and I can send you a detailed maintenance history document of my car.

This is the second Canadian car recently "found" years after originally put away for long term storage. The other is in Ontario.

What are the last 6 digits of the VIN?

Nice Car...

Thanks for your advice, PM sent!:biggrin: Also thanks again to everyone who also offered advice on how to handle my NSX, your opinions are greatly appreciated! I have read each and everyone's replies with care and will try to keep the best care I can for my new baby!:smile:

Oh the last 6 digits of the the VIN are: 800044

Cheers,

Ray

*Edit: Here are some more pics, figured out how to do the photobucket thing!

 

[warrenw]

Stored with the e-brake on. (that is a car storage no-no.) That could be in need of repair. cables, rear brakes...

The 8 in the VIN is a Canadian Car designation. ~400 cars sold in '90-'91. 700 cars total sold in Canada over 15 years.
Trev's '91 is 800045. Trev is in Edmonton as well. (ffffanman) The cars have consecutive serial numbers!

 

[clr1024]

That looks like a nicely restored MG BGT, with a widebody treatment in the background is it?

 

[Ray.K]

That looks like a nicely restored MG BGT, with a widebody treatment in the background is it?

Yes sir, you are correct, and thank you!:smile:

I had the priviledge of driving that car down in here in Vancouver, in Robson Street, many times, and I would get tons of compliments.

The interior was still the original though lol, but the exterior was immaculate. I also wish I could remember the tire sizes for the front and rear, as I forgot, but I remember the rear width was insane, and they had the P-Zero's, I am pretty sure. The engine was also modified, but I forgot with what. He also Momo'd the steering wheel and stick-shift, as I remember I wanted to take the stick shift and put it in my Civic at the time but he told me to suck it, lol ^^

 

[Thunder]

splendid new NSX, made attention do not roll with the old tires, old rubber is dangerous, if the car remained years has static state, the tires died, it is necessary to also replace the pipes of cooling of the engine ( water pipe) rubber can tear while the car runs, to also control the rubber of the driveshafts and of the kneecaps of suspension… it is necessary to replace all the fluid, oils brake (water contaminated), engine and gear box, it's more careful, good road with your beautiful NSX

 

[clr1024]

Yes sir, you are correct, and thank you!:smile:

I had the priviledge of driving that car down in here in Vancouver, in Robson Street, many times, and I would get tons of compliments.^^

We had an MGB GT growing up in England, Orange, from when I was a baby to when I was about ten. It wasn't a widebody, never seen one like that. I think it about killed my father when he sold it. We drove all around Europe in that car...sometimes on the back of a tow truck:frown: I never realized how small it was until one day at work I had my old integra next to someones at work...it was when I realized how much bigger my integra was that I realized how small it was. Cool car, nonetheless.

I think he sold it for more than he paid.

When we moved to the States back in 1986, he bought himself an MG convertible and had that for probably another 14 years. He loved that car too...it got wornout over the ages. He always wanted to restore it but never had time. If I could I would love to buy him a fully restored one, one day.

 

[shawn110975]

Wow the milage is amazing, poor car, does it even run? I have never seen one with that low of miles. since its rotted this long should let it rot some more, one day that car will be worth tons of money to the right person.

I can only say poor poor car caged all its life and no hope of rehab. just put'er down.

I'll buy the interior for 4K if your gonna part it out. PM me

 

[tbromley]

Ray, I want to thank you for coming out with this car - we're all in awe! As we should be anytime a real "barn find" comes to light - this time it doesn't come with a story about how some guy found out about one that somebody's dead husband owns and wants to sell it and somebody out of the family walks off with the "jewels" - right. I've read a lot of those stories over the years in Excellence magazine - a great pub by the way.

Point of this background is this. I read a story not that long ago about a guy that had several cars and one of them was a 73 CSI 911 with 700 miles on it, something like that. This guy bought it brand new and just never drove it - drove it a few times and got ill and passed. They kept the car for 30 or so years and when a guy finally got lucky enough to buy it - he installed a plaque on the dash giving the gentlemen the credit for preserving it as the new owner intended on concouring it and showing it all over- nice touch and probably is what got him the car instead of the other guy that desparately wanted it.

Now the interesting thing about this was that the original tires were on the car - yep - like 40 year old tires almost - but interesting thing was that the car was absolutely perfect - all the rubber, all the rubber seals, the tires had not one crack in them- the vinyl seats had not one bit of "rub" shine on them - they were still just like new. The hoses - everything - the only thing they did was flush the lines and the fuel tank. It started right up and ran perfectly - amazing right. The guy still has those original tires on the car!!! He's driven it a bit - not a lot - but some - he didn't change out anything he didn't absolutely have to. It was one of the Porsche finds of all time! So depending on what you intend to do with this car - you definitely do not want to get rid of that original rubber on the original wheels- I would drive it on the newer rims and new rubber if I was going to drive it much.

There are a lot of schools of thought expressed here - one of which would have you turn this into a museum piece - maybe that's the way to go - put a plaque on te dash/console somewhere commemorating your Dad. Show it. I would also let Acura/Honda in Japan know you have it! They may be very interested in seeing it and documenting it as I bet NSXCA would as well - doing a story on it. You see Ray, you really have something here that can't be duplicated - you can never turn the odometer back - in other words it's only truly young once - right. So while you're trying to adjust to owning this car - take it easy with it - put out some feelers to Acura/Honda of America and Japan let some people know about this that may be able to really tell you what it's worth when kept in it's current form - read pristine - really pristine condition. I would love to see the engine bay and front trunk area! Please take additional pics - you know you can also have the trunk and engine bay dampers rebuilt if they don't hold things in the open position - which is exactly what you should do if they don't function properly.

Lots to ponder - but like another fellow Primer said - buy another one and drive it. Sounds like that may not be a problem for you. There are rubber tire holders that take care of you tires and keep them from flat spotting if you put the originals back on - I would just like to see it in it's totally stock livery. That's the way this one should be shown of course and viewed.

The other side of the coin is - forget about all this save it for posterity stuff and DRIVE THE POO OUT OF IT.....but even I am having a hard time recommending that and if anyone would I might be that guy! But this is kind of different - as another said - how many 91s are around with less than 1000 miles on em - I would venture a guess and say NOT ONE anywhere but possibly in Honda's Factory showroom. If they have one and I'm sure they do. Anyway - the NSX is a wonderful car and a wonderful car to own and DRIVE - so get one you can really drive and not worry about destroying the historical value of a remarkable pristine find like this.

No matter what you eventually decide - ship it to it's new home as tempting as driving it would be. Ponder this and get some real good advice and after you've gathered some really good perspective from Honda and NSXCA - You might say - you know I'm not really a museum piece owning kind of guy and Honda might make you an offer you won't want to refuse. I don't know how attached you are to this car or even what something like this is worth. Lots to ponder before you make any final decision. Take it slow and check out your options. Good luck with it and thanks again for sharing it with us! :smile:

 

[clr1024]

Wow the milage is amazing, poor car, does it even run? I have never seen one with that low of miles. since its rotted this long should let it rot some more, one day that car will be worth tons of money to the right person.

I can only say poor poor car caged all its life and no hope of rehab. just put'er down.

I'll buy the interior for 4K if your gonna part it out. PM me

Rotted, is kind of a strong term to use In any case I am sure with little TLC it will be just fine and run fine. Unless you are trying to angle for a brand new interior for cheap...

 

[tbromley]

Rotted, is kind of a strong term to use In any case I am sure with little TLC it will be just fine and run fine. Unless you are trying to angle for a brand new interior for cheap...

LOL.....Shawn - he's got your number here....lol. That's funny CLR - :wink:

 

[warrenw]

There are a lot of schools of thought expressed here - one of which would have you turn this into a museum piece - maybe that's the way to go - put a plaque on te dash/console somewhere commemorating your Dad. Show it. I would also let Acura/Honda in Japan know you have it! They may be very interested in seeing it and documenting it as I bet NSXCA would as well - doing a story on it. You see Ray, you really have something here that can't be duplicated - you can never turn the odometer back - in other words it's only truly young once - right. So while you're trying to adjust to owning this car - take it easy with it - put out some feelers to Acura/Honda of America and Japan let some people know about this that may be able to really tell you what it's worth when kept in it's current form - read pristine

Tim, I think it's possible Honda does not have one this original. There is a closed to public American Honda gallery in California and a Honda Museum in Tokyo. The California Gallery has a car, but not like this one, and the Tokyo museum has a type R and a couple of racers.
http://world.honda.com/collection-hall/map/index.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/automobiles/03honda.html

 

[tbromley]

Tim, I think it's possible Honda does not have one this original. There is a closed to public American Honda gallery in California and a Honda Museum in Tokyo. The California Gallery has a car, but not like this one, and the Tokyo museum has a type R and a couple of racers.
http://world.honda.com/collection-hall/map/index.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/automobiles/03honda.html

Hey Warren,

Have you been to the California Gallery? I saw the one your talking about and it's red. I believe it would be well worth poking around to find out what this car Ray has is worth. Heck it might be really valuable. It may be so valuable he may not want to keep it - who knows - but it's most likely not worth a ton but you gotta think it's the lowest miler 91 in the country. Unless that one in Honda's gallery is lower mileage as in new. Pretty interesting. It'll be cool to see how Ray deals with it. Best story we've had in a while isn't it!

 

[lpjang]

hi Ray!
what an incredible and inspiring story to read!
Maybe i can speak on behalf of all us people who are shopping for a NSX, "how incredibly jealous I am of you".
A car in that state of preservation makes my heart pump faster!
I love the wheels and kind of see how your Dad wanted to get those 'ferrari' wheels look there. Terrific.
Take good care of it because its more than a mint untouched NSX, it's also a family legacy passed on.
The ideas from the member here are so good. I'm all for contacting Honda about this one too.

 

[clr1024]

I think this is a tough decision, since this car is probably one of the best preserved original NSX's in the US. Do you keep it, as it's a legacy car to you and never drive it, due to it's current condition...read garage queen? Sell it to someone like Honda, assuming they are interested, so it gets put in a museum? Then you can still buy one with relative low miles that you might not feel as guilty driving. Or drive it as it's your to do what you wish? Tough decision Wish I would have a similar dilemma on my hands:wink:

Good luck no matter what you do, you certainly have provoked the NSX community on what to do with this rarity.

 

[Jetpilot3]

Hi Ray...Warren showed me this link as he's a fellow Edmontonian.

First I'm sorry to hear about your father passing...54 years old is a young age.

Secondly, If I were you I'd put the stock wheels on and keep the mileage near to where it is. You truly have a time capsule NSX (there aren't alot of NSX's in the low mileage category but they do exist). Why I say that is I know there are some collectors starting to pick up rare and low mileage early cars such as yours. A collector from HK purchased my rare Imola NSX and has recently picked up the only 05 White/Tan in existence. He mentioned to me that he knows of two other wealthy collectors scouring the globe.

For you this NSX could become rather desirable when we are in our 50's, 60's and for me at least I know owning this car and knowing its a museum or concours car would be superb. I hate to bring your father up but I wonder if he thought this too...

Congrats either way! You have a NSX and a very nice very low mileage piece of history.

 

[tbromley]

Hi Ray...Warren showed me this link as he's a fellow Edmontonian.

First I'm sorry to hear about your father passing...54 years old is a young age.

Secondly, If I were you I'd put the stock wheels on and keep the mileage near to where it is. You truly have a time capsule NSX (there aren't alot of NSX's in the low mileage category but they do exist). Why I say that is I know there are some collectors starting to pick up rare and low mileage early cars such as yours. A collector from HK purchased my rare Imola NSX and has recently picked up the only 05 White/Tan in existence. He mentioned to me that he knows of two other wealthy collectors scouring the globe.

For you this NSX could become rather desirable when we are in our 50's, 60's and for me at least I know owning this car and knowing its a museum or concours car would be superb. I hate to bring your father up but I wonder if he thought this too...

Congrats either way! You have a NSX and a very nice very low mileage piece of history.

Jet what do you think this car is worth to a collector like that. What did he have to give for that white/tan? Do you know? That would be my favorite color combo if I was able to buy something like that.

 

[Jetpilot3]

I don't know...

For example my 2002 Imola was sold for full asking at $65k. I'd hazard a guess and think the 2005 white went for close to its $70k asking price.

 

[tbromley]

I don't know...

For example my 2002 Imola was sold for full asking at $65k. I'd hazard a guess and think the 2005 white went for close to its $70k asking price.

Jet, I'm curious after reading "about you" - you love NSXs and prime but you have a 911 - what's wrong with this picture man. I mean when will you get another one? I'm not sure I understand.