My old Honda - NA1 NSX

[hkz286]

cheers bud

[I_Haz.:R32]

oh my. wow. Both those cars look absolutely phenomenal.

[hkz286]

Haven't really updated this in a while due to me messing about with other things.

However, there was a recent update on the paint that I thought was worth sharing.
If you have ever seen a black car in the sun, you know that this is where the very definition of paint swirls was born. As a matter of fact, just the sheer act of you looking at the car probably made another paint swirl appear.

As both mine and my brothers cars are black, and were made in japan in the early 90’s, the paint was in need of a good going over. A lot of problems with the paint occurs from people going over them with a polisher without realising they don’t really know what they are doing. Holograms, swirls, marring etc all were present on both cars and without a substantial coating of wax, looked somewhat neglected.

Just to give you an idea, these photos were taken at the docks, just before the car was about to leave Japan.



As you can see, not exactly ready for pebble beach. We both decided to get them done one after the other by the same chap. I found a person semi-locally that seemed to fit the bill. Plenty of work on much more high end cars than ours, was established for quite a few years and most importantly, seemed to delight in challenging cars (specifically challenging paint work).

http://griffithsdetailing.com/

I originally saw his work when he was doing a complete paint correction on a Bugatti Veyron (also black) which came out looking like it was dripping wet.

Anyways, he made a few short videos and took some pictures whilst he was undertaking the mammoth task. Originally it was supposed to be 3 days, but it took just over a week.

The paint on both cars is super soft, that even with the DA polisher and the correct compound, marring was still a problem. Still, it came out amazing in the end.

CLICK PICTURE FOR VIDEO AND GRAPHIC SWIRL CONTENT:



and finished shots.










VIDEO WALKROUND:


And the supra





Overall the process made both cars look better than new, and although expensive (relatively) I shouldn’t have to get it done again as long as I look after it properly.

[hkz286]

Great build, liking what you got going on.

cheers

[Dano]

Great build, liking what you got going on.

[hkz286]

Very cool table. How does it not tip over? It looks as though the coilover is not welded to the strut. Or am I missing something?

ah cool, wasn't sure it was coming across.

Yeah its welded, but on the inside edges just to be a bit more hidden and give the impression of it "floating"

[Nixxon]

Very cool table. How does it not tip over? It looks as though the coilover is not welded to the strut. Or am I missing something?

[hkz286]

looks great!

if you dont mind, what kind of paint/color did you use for the volk wheel face?

not at all chap, its a Nissan Blue code 715 (marine blue)

i like this one more than the first one... by the forth and final wheel im confident you will have made (some) money back....lol

yeah me too. This is a lot more detailed than the last one.

Ha, I should be so lucky. Might do something different with the final two I have left. Well see.

OMG that table is sweet! I'm guessing height adjustable too with the coilover bottom mount! Very cool.

yup lol, height adjustable from the body. Also you can adjust your spring preload if you have something heavy on it :P

Damn! That table is sick!

cheers bud, means a lot

[becausephilchow]

Damn! That table is sick!

[cblock406]

OMG that table is sweet! I'm guessing height adjustable too with the coilover bottom mount! Very cool.

[C2_mad]

i like this one more than the first one... by the forth and final wheel im confident you will have made (some) money back....lol

[chris432]

looks great!

if you dont mind, what kind of paint/color did you use for the volk wheel face?

[hkz286]

Last year sometime, someone decided to park their car in the side of my brothers supra.

This turned out to be very bad for most of the supra suspension including the BC Racing coilover. Surprisingly, it was only the shaft that was bent, and the body and internals were perfectly serviceable. Anyways, another coilover was purchased, which left some parts left over for me to stick together for him.

I think I explained about the wheels in the previous post of this build, but essentially I was drunk on eBay (is there any other kind of eBay purchase?) and ended up buying some Volk Racing wheels. My intention was to refurbish and sell on. Numerous problems got in the way of that plan, including one of them being bent (the wheel, not the plan). Other reasons were the fasteners were too corroded for me to want to use again (the bolts) and there are 36 per wheel so replacements end up being pretty costly. They were also were not the stud pattern that was advertised, which meant that the potential to sell them on was greatly reduced. So I did what any self-respecting car person does and locked them in a cupboard and pretended I didn’t blow a huge chunk of money on four paperweights, all because I can’t take my drink.

Fast forward a few years and they are starting to get under foot. I still wasn’t sure how I was going to get my money back on these things, until I saw a table made from an alloy wheel on TV. The thing was pretty garbage ( a piece of glass on a wheel) but the thought was planted and I figured if I was careful, I could put one together and sell it on, thus recouping my costs and MAYBE break even.

So far I’ve probably invested about $500 each into the two tables I’ve made and earned a grand total of $0. So…yeah, that plan went well. They are pretty though aren’t they?
Questionable business practices aside, I had fun, and they turned out not-hideous. And, after all, can you put a price on fun? (yes, yes you can, $500 each and about 25 hours hard work).

Anyways, onto the wheel that I made for my brother. This is what I started with:







And this is what I ended up with:









So the glass was, yet again, custom cut to my drawings (on a frankie and bennies napkin, if that’s of any interest).

The coilover is a BC Racing unit, with all the oil drained and internals removed.

The wheel is a Volk Racing GRN (sort of like a CV-pro but not) in 15 x 6.5, 4x114.3, et25.

The Strut brace is from the Supra, but didn’t fit anymore due to other modifications on the car.

The brake disc is from a Kawasaki ZX10R

The Bolts holding the strut brake in place are MIL spec, 12 point, cadmium plated with rolled threads.

The rest of the bolts are A2-80 stainless cap head screws.

The base is powder coated and the wheel lip was stripped and polished by moi.

The spiked nuts holding the glass in place are Downstar Spikes on A2-80 stainless threaded bar.

I thought it came out rather smashing, even if it was the very definition of "throwing good money after bad" :P

[hkz286]

One of the many reasons I love Hondas: that VTEC solenoid & gasket are literally the same ones that are on all B-series VTEC engines throughout the 90's. I recognize the PR3 in the part number as the code for the head casting that is on my b16a2.

Yup same one. I bought these as b series gaskets lol

This is my first honda but I'm finding out the parts sharing is pretty rife on things like this

[I_Haz.:R32]

One of the many reasons I love Hondas: that VTEC solenoid & gasket are literally the same ones that are on all B-series VTEC engines throughout the 90's. I recognize the PR3 in the part number as the code for the head casting that is on my b16a2.