New owner jumping in - '91 Black/Ivory

N

NessexFurrball

Registered Member
Joined
2 April 2020
Messages
15
Location
Los Angeles
Hey all. Just brought my monster home yesterday, was a whirlwind. First time owner of an NSX. I've been in the market for a good, solid american muscle car for a long time now, even considering a Superformance Shelby Cobra or something of the like, if I couldn't find the right thing. Found a great '69 Mustang GT500 on a lot, and right next to it was the NSX...and I just fell in love all over again. I had forgotten how much I had dreamed of this car as a teen, and had simply written it off as a pipe dream that I would never have. SO many feels.

It's mostly stock, save for the wheels. First order of business is going to take it to a specialist we have around here to give it a full once over (inspector did a great job but it's just not the same).

Look forward to chatting it up with you all.
 

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NessexFurrball Congrats and welcome to the fold! Beautiful car BTW, such a great color combo! It seems fate had a hand in all of this. I too was interested in a muscle car ('69 GTO, preferably a Judge), but the right NSX came along at the right price, right time and right distance from me and it was impossible for me to resist. Looks like you made the right choice! Do you have any plans for mods or are you just going to enjoy it as it is for the time being?
 
Lol thats a homer Simpson move...looking at cobra replicas .....then drooling NSX........:biggrin: The original nsx is a very usable now classic car ....always has interest at local shows..and you can do a track day as well and improve you....best of luck!
 
Thanks for the welcomes! For now, I'm likely going to sit and enjoy it as is for a little while, but the itch is very real. Eyeballing some suspension mods and better cooling with an R hood and such, and if I get into a groove tracking it I'll likely aim to put in an SoS twin turbo or something of the like. If for no other reason than looks I'll likely put on the front lip and side skirts too. Honestly I'm still digging around seeing what can/should/shouldn't be done, and how much I can do myself. Half the point of this car is my daughter is really interested in cars and I'd love to have some projects to work on with her.

I will likely wrap it someday too, but I'm a fan of my cars looking like Hot Wheels, lol.

I drove it about 30 highway miles to the mechanic today and man, even just that this car is so much fun. I can't wait to take it to the canyon roads we have around here.
 
Welcome to ownership. The paint looks very nice, how many miles?

If you haven't driven a mid or rear engine car before, do be careful with enthusiastic driving on twisty canyon roads. Rear engine and to a lesser extent mid engine cars have a reputation for a high level of rear adhesion transitioning quickly to no adhesion. The NSX can sort of drift (depending on tires); but the transition from drift to spin (or reverse spin if you let the gas off while counter steering) can be alarmingly quick. If you want to explore fast exits from corners best to do that on a track or someplace where there are no fixed objects around.

Play safe and stay off the guard rails. I think Road & Track seriously pranged their NSX on the first road test and then later when they were doing a comparison test of cars including the NSX they pranged that one also - I guess just to confirm what they were doing wrong. OK to be a slow learner when its somebody else's car.
 
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Just broke 84K miles today.

Definitely appreciate the warning. I've driven a number of different cars over the years on tracks and twisties, but never a mid engine, so to your point I fully intend to keep it real slow and smooth, not pushing for a good long while. I tend to like taking the cars to a track to deliberately spin them out, trying to learn what their limits feel like and practice controlling them (when possible of course). Given the current state of the world it'll be a while until I get a good track day unfortunately. =(
 
Yea, I suspected as much after driving it around some more, and found the exhaust highly suspect as well (thing sounds like a monster). After some very simple digging it indeed has a set of aftermarket pipes but I don't know which because it's not in the docs, and the selling dealer was apparently unaware. I don't particularly mind, but glad I brought it in for a deeper inspection. Who knows if something got put on either incorrectly, or shouldn't have been at all eh?
 
Post a quick picture of the tail pipes and the back part of the exhaust system. There is probably a member on the forum who has seen it or has it and can advise as to 'what it is'.

After the mention of the reduced ride height, I noticed that it looks like you are missing the rubber strip / spoiler that is supposed to be on the lower portion of the bumper. Perhaps the previous owner removed it because of frequent dragging after the car was lowered or it was ripped off (the mounting bolts allow it to break free rather than rip the bumper off) going up some steep ramp. I have stock ride height and I like that strip because it provides an early warning that you are going some place you shouldn't. The strip gets scraped up; but, the scrapes are relatively easy to sand out and a little shot of satin black bumper paint has it looking new, until the next scrape. Much easier / cheaper to repair the spoiler than repair & repaint the lower bumper cover.
 
Just got initial word from the auto shop I took it to: the exhaust is Taitec gt lightweight, and the suspension is a set of Teins. I love the pipes, not a fan of the suspension. It is just way too stiff and rattles the car on even the smallest debris, let alone bumps. I'll likely do a brake upgrade first, but then the suspension needs to go.

All that has to wait however as apparently the previous owner ignored some pretty severe oil leaks in the engine, and a few other worn out parts that need replacing or updating since the engine is going to be out of the car anyway. So still feel I got a good deal, but not quite as good as first thought, heh.
 
NessexFurrball said:
Just got initial word from the auto shop I took it to: the exhaust is Taitec gt lightweight, and the suspension is a set of Teins. I love the pipes, not a fan of the suspension. It is just way too stiff and rattles the car on even the smallest debris, let alone bumps. I'll likely do a brake upgrade first, but then the suspension needs to go.

All that has to wait however as apparently the previous owner ignored some pretty severe oil leaks in the engine, and a few other worn out parts that need replacing or updating since the engine is going to be out of the car anyway. So still feel I got a good deal, but not quite as good as first thought, heh.
Click to expand...

Highly recommend you post your location and go to a forum approved shop for maintenance and repair. You'll likely save money and get better service to boot.
 
I had your exhaust for many years and it is a moderately aggressive tone with the cats...without them is race Car LOUD..Most off the shelf tein suspension use pretty high bump/rebound on the dampers and seem to have higher spring rates in the rear which is not ideal for the nsx..makes it more prone to overseer or loose near limits...
 
I'm in Los Angeles (didn't realize my Profile updates didn't save). Went to Auto Wave down in Huntington Beach, which is both on the forums map list as well as highly recommended by a co-worker that also has an NSX.
 
Furball,

Altho hazy by a few years I knew an NSX looking like this. In Michigan. Sold out of MI 2 years ago.
Sparkin's nsx.
Any MI history to this? If so, let us know.
 
Welcome! Great color from another berlina black owner...

You will find this is a great community here. Don't hesitate to reach out with questions, prime is a great resource!
 
Welcome to the forum! Your car looks mint- I've always loved Berlina Black on a NSX. When you're ready to talk suspension, let us know. The Teins are terrible for the NSX and many here have learned that lesson over the years. The factory shocks and springs are very well sorted and if you want a little more sport without the harshness, it's really hard to beat the Type-S suspension setup. Also, before you drop $$$$ on a brake upgrade, you may want to just rebuild the stock brakes. You'll be surprised how good it feels when you press the pedal after changing the piston seals and fluid. The stock NSX brakes are mysteriously good for their technology level. The GTLW is a great exhaust and can be tamed somewhat by using cats (you also get a lot less soot on the rear bumper). You're smart to address those oil leaks- they make a mess of everything under there- also check your driveshafts while it's out- those tend to go bad and sling grease everywhere.
 
​
Old Guy said:
Play safe and stay off the guard rails. I think Road & Track seriously pranged their NSX on the first road test and then later when they were doing a comparison test of cars including the NSX they pranged that one also - I guess just to confirm what they were doing wrong. OK to be a slow learner when its somebody else's car.
Click to expand...

Congratulations on your new purchase. Enjoy!

Here is the video that @Old Guy was referencing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIiOW8LzACg
 
NessexFurrball said:
I'll likely do a brake upgrade first, but then the suspension needs to go.
Click to expand...

For an early car, providing that you don't need the bling be aware that there is a budget brake upgrade for the NSX which consists of fitting the larger rotors from the later model NSX on to the earlier car. Requires an appropriate bracket; but, much cheaper than a full on Stop Tech / Brembo install and easier because you don't have the whole parking brake hassle. Has the advantage of future OEM parts availability. Some details here:

[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif]www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/162101-91-Brake-upgrade-to-NA2
[/FONT]
 
Thanks for the video, very interesting! Great info about the breaks too; I hadn't considered just updating them. I kind of assumed I'd have to save up for a Big Ol' Upgrade, heh. When I get around to those and the rest of the suspension, trust me ya'll will be first to know since I'll have a million questions, lol.
 
This may be a dumb question, but what the heck.

With the previous owner neglecting things like oil leaks, when was the timing belt last changed? Miles and or time ago?
 
Thanks Haas. With regards to the timing belt Spottwd, not sure. It's one of the things that was missing from the documentation, so I just went ahead and had it taken care of as part of the full clean up and reseal/repair.
 
NessexFurrball said:
Thanks Haas. With regards to the timing belt Spottwd, not sure. It's one of the things that was missing from the documentation, so I just went ahead and had it taken care of as part of the full clean up and reseal/repair.
Click to expand...

Ill do some digging and see if I can find any screenshots, but this car was listed for sale in Huntsville AL and was then purchased as a flip from the location your bought it from. IIRC the listing did have a few things that needed addressing. Look forward to seeing you bring it back to 100.
 

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