Mr. Fuji's "Just Another Sebring Silver" Thread

[Mr. Fuji]

Hey folks. I've been on Prime for 5 years, and owned my NSX for 3. Now I have finally got around to starting an update/progression thread to share my experience, start discussions and get opinions.

This is my introductory post and I will update regularly, so enjoy!

Executive Summary:
I found and imported a Sebring Silver NSX from the USA to Canada in 2011. Have spent a few years making tasteful minor & preventive modifications, and am imminently undergoing a respray & exterior upgrade, also getting intake & headers installed this coming spring. Will update this thread as the refresh and other interesting things occur.


Long Version
Personal Introduction: Mine is a fairly common NSX story: I've wanted an NSX since my mid-teens, and as my disposable income increased the dream of becoming an owner started to become a possibility. I researched on Prime for a long time and started seriously looking in late 2010.

In spring 2011, I found a car in Portland, Oregon; the story of importing from the USA to Canada, including the ~1200-mile drive back to Calgary can be found here: http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showt...-Early-April?p=1429699&viewfull=1#post1429699


The Car as purchased in 2011:
I bought a 1991 Sebring Silver 5-spd from a great owner (Hi Seth!) with the following modifications:

• 1994 OEM wheels in Solaris Silver
• Eibach Springs on Bilstein struts
• USA Spec iPod interface
• Integrated trickle charger

(I later found out in 2012 that the car also had a Dinan ECU upgrade, likely installed in 1991 or 1992)

MODIFICATIONS
Purpose: I don't want my car to be Just Another Sebring Silver NSX. I want to refresh and enhance the NSX to make it mine, while respecting the spirit of Honda's design. All parts will be OEM or better quality. You won't see any scissor doors or hellaflush here.

I've been inspired by some of the great looking NSXs on Prime, epecially the silver ones- you know who you are.


Upgrades, Maintenance, and Mods from April 2011 to Feb 2014:
Exterior

• OEM Berlina Black side mirrors (from Scorp965)
• WhiteNSXs HID kit
• H&R spacers- 25mm rear, 15mm front
• Guppy Attack antenna
• OEM springs

Mechanical/Engine

• Replace timing belt & crankshaft pulley
• New OEM clutch
• Cedar Ridge pulley shield
• New clutch master & slave cylinders
• New brake master cylinder
• OEM ECU
• New OEM oil pan & gasket
• Pride V2 Exhaust
• Pride resonated test pipes

Interior

• Dali too-tall seat cushion (I'm 6'3")
• NSX-R Shift boot & Civic type-R shift knob (knob is probably a knockoff)
• NSXe-repair.com (briank) Climate Control Unit preventive fix
• GROM iPod & Bluetooth interface

Car as of Late 2013, Early 2014:

More posts to come...



- - - Updated - - -

I'm biting the bullet and getting a respray on the front hood/bumper to repair rock chips, and to rectify a colour mismatch on the rear bumper and valence that I inherited from the previous owner.

I figured that since the car is in the shop this is also the best time to update some things like the rear valence, side skirts, and hood:

Spring 2014 Modifications:

The above palette (from Eric at Teknotik.com) contains:

• Pride Headers
• Downforce Intake scoop
• Downforce 02+ OEM-replica side skirts
• OEM 02+ Rear Valence
• Downforce FRP NSX-R replica rear spoiler
• Downforce NSX-R hood (FRP top, CF under)

A big thanks to Eric and Teknotik for the very good selection of NSX products, great customer service, and excellent prices, right here in Canada!

I also have in my possession a Tommy Kaira FRP flap for the DF NSX-R spoiler: http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showt...plicas/page3?p=1772842&viewfull=1#post1772842

I also ordered the following parts from Tim at oemacuraparts.com to reinforce the OEM valence:

• 64412-SL0-010 x 1: Stay, R side
• 64812-SL0-010 Stay, L side
• 91505-SL0-003 x 2: Clip

All parts arrived at the body shop about 10 days ago, and work has begun:

Hood is prepped, and washer nozzle locations marked

Rear bumper off, rear quarters being prepped

Front end removed

 

[Dynamic-uzed-auto]

Subscribed

 

[cwillgo]

Great looking build Sean! Lookig forward to seeing it out at the end of next month.

 

[Mr. Fuji]

Great news! Yesterday my bodyshop guy (a good friend of mine) and I decided based on paint supplier recommendation that he will be repainting all exterior body panels that are currently silver: front & rear bumpers/valences, headlight covers, all 1/4 panels, doors and trunk), as well as the NSX-R hood, DF side skirts and OEM rear valence. This is to avoid colour mismatching issues. it will be a bit priecy, but will look amazing.

As for PPF, I had previously planned to do bumper/hood/roof/pillars in xPel ultimate, but now I am seriously considering doing the whole car- to protect my investment. Means I'd never have to worry about rocks again!

This is what we in the Project world call scope creep.


Photos:

Spoiler, gurney flap, and engine hatch garnish with a fresh coat of NH-547:

 

[preludeking]

wow! Great thread! I cant wait to see it complete!

 

[myw]

+1 !!

wow! Great thread! I cant wait to see it complete!

 

[T_22*]

A fresh respray will be nice. I hope to see it out in June if we can get an NSX gathering to happen

 

[KKND]

Good start

 

[Mr. Fuji]

Update: Things are looking good, mostly!

The Downforce hood has been cleared underneath and primed up top.

Hood test fit looks great:

The on tough part so far is the side skirts, it appears that the front sections don't have the curvature they should.
I am not the first person to do this upgrade, so I have faith this will get sorted out pretty easily, this body guy has lots of great experience and satisfied customers. That said, if anyone has done this and wants to give advice, please do so.

Front sections:

The rear bumper that has the incorrect colour applied is not taking the new paint very well. I'm told it is from poor prep when the previous colour was applied.

 

[Mr. Fuji]

Update: the bodywork is taking longer than expected, luckily I have some spare time built into my schedule.

I am looking at an extra week now.

 

[Caroline-NSX]

Hows the fitment on the hood???

 

[Mr. Fuji]

All indications are that fitment is great, but I have yet to see it mounted in person.

THe hood itself is a thing of beauty.

Hows the fitment on the hood???

 

[davidf]

I was about to post this myself. Did you get this hood recently from DF or from some one else?

Hows the fitment on the hood???

 

[Mr. Fuji]

The hood was ordered from DF via Eric at Teknotik. There was a 3 week wait because these are made to order only, DF does not stock them in inventory.

 

[Mr. Fuji]

In my research for this project I read that there has been issues with aftermarket hoods in general, including previous versions of the DF NSX-R replica. I've seen the way some other hood brands fit, and they weren't up to NSX standards if you ask me.

Eric at Teknotik has a recent DF hood on his car, and is very pleased with the fit.

Next time I get to the shop, I can take some detailed photos and elaborate on the fitment with comments if anyone is interested.

 

[Mr. Fuji]

The latest development is new wheels and tires from Angus: http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/180719-Advan-RZ-17-18-Custom-Silver-finish
I was hesitant to switch from HOnda wheels with the same old ugly brakes, but these ones were calling my name.

I will be in the shop this Friday to check on progress and will take some photos of the hood.

 

[JDMcb7]

Seeing this makes me want to repaint my car back to Sebring silver!

 

[Mr. Fuji]

Progress Update- includes hood fitment

There is 1 week to go until the body & paintwork are complete, and everything is progressing well!
The dust on the car and fluorescent lighting are making for poor photo quality, my apologies.

Rough sanding & prep is essentially complete and awaiting final sanding. The side skirts are good, except for a small item on the passenger side (more on that below):

I think the next few pictures make a compelling case for anyone interested in a full PPF of their NSX:

The small part at the front of the passenger-side side skirt (these are Downforce OEM 02+ replicas) still won't fit 100%, but my guy will fix it up shortly. I am still happy I didn't go with the Honda skirts, the price and having to drill into my doors was not appealing.

The Hood
The inclusion of an aftermarket hood was my biggest concern on this project. I have read about & seen photos of what passes for "9/10" fitment for aftermarket hoods from several manufacturers, and was almost scared into sticking with the boring 1991 OEM hood. After some discussion with Eric at Teknotik I decided to take the plunge, and am very glad I did.

The hood fitment is amazing. I have seen only 3 other aftermarket NSX hoods in person, but this has them beat hands down. The hood as it sits currently is bolted on with no fine-tuning or adjustments made; I suspect once paint is applied and everything put back together it will be indistinguishable from an OEM fitment.

Below you can see that the panel gap is consistent all around, and the hood arch matches the fender arch, spot on. My only negative comment on fitment is that the hood sits high nearest the window on the passenger side, by about 1/8 of an inch. Again, this is before adjustments and corrections so I expect this minor niggle to disappear.

I am VERY happy with the Downforce hood.

(The dust and harsh lighting in the shop may make things look a little wonky here or there, but I assure you with the human eye they are very good.)

Other items: The front bumper is fully prepped and awaiting painting.

The DF NSX-R spoiler and Tommy Kaira Gurney Flap are complete, and will be mounted on the car at the completion of paint/body work. I am also getting my OEM Sebring Silver spoiler repainted to match the rest of the body, I will take a photo of that later.

Next steps: My detailer is booked for later this month, and the Xpel installer in early May. Mechanical is scheduled for shortly thereafter...and the NSX should be all refreshed and ready to roll by the 2nd weekend in May.

 

[Mug]

Thanks for posting pictures! I can't wait to see the final product.

 

[Mr. Fuji]

Paint and bodywork were all completed a couple of days ago:

Just had a full exterior detail and fresh Opticoat applied. This car is SHINY!
I will upload some before/after photos soon.
This guy is arguably the best in town, very meticulous.

Next steps are protective film and mechanical upgrades!

 

[JDMcb7]

Looking awesome Mr. Fuji!

after looking at your car makes me want to paint my car back to Sebring Silver!