serialNSXer wrote:Sorry for this lengthy post, but I thought to get it all across in one clean shot.
For over a year, I've had a project to convert a 2002 White Targa...to a COUPE...then to a 2002 NA2 Type-R.
Our story is a typical right of passage for any NSX owner...jeez, I would love to have a real NA2 NSX Type-R, in LHD!
And so begins a well traveled path: post all manner of questions on prime]SOS[/url] and Mark at [email=baschacura@aol.com:34f79jns]Basch Acura Service[/email:34f79jns] all checked out the car and I ended up trading my 2003 LBB for the 2,900 mile 2002 GPW, plus some cash my way. My white car arrived in September 2004, and was quickly sent over to
1st Class Auto who were going to convert this 2002 from a targa...to a COUPE...completion by Christmas 2004. Little did I know what a non-trivial project this was going to be.
My car was just completed, November 2005. I've driven it now for 2 weeks. It-is-worth-every-penny, including all the effort by a ton of folks. It is by far the nicest NSX I've owned. The roof turned out beyond fabulous, and you'd never know from inside or out that it wasn't OEM. The roof was undertaken by John Schreppel and his trusted protégé Ed (thumbs-up in the photos). John is a true master in aluminum. He worked on NSXs way before any other cars were built in this material. John spent countless weekends addressing every little detail — and I mean every little detail was checked and double checked before cutting — to make sure that the factory guys would have been pleased. It took SOO long to complete the roof this way. But in the end I have an actual coupe roof welded onto a targa, and the combination of which gives this NSX even more rigidity than an original coupe (think about that). The targa NSX is braced to be stiff without the benefit of a fixed roof. The addition of my fixed roof now creates a roll cage of sorts — in the end it aids in stiffening the chassis all the more. I can attest, there are no creaks, no flex, sharpened initial turn-in (new tires from
Tire Rack), none of those rattles that plagued my other targas. This NSX is just so rock-solid. Thanks John (and thanks Kevin, the owner of 1st Class, who let the car stay a lot longer than originally planned).
We also elected to convert the fenders over to JDM lights, for that clean look. I could have bought OEM fenders, but let me assure you a fender is not just a fender. Aluminum has all sorts of distortion characteristics and one piece can fit differently from the next. It was decided to take off this car's fenders and actually weld plates in place of the lights. This also proved difficult due to heat distortion that occurs on such thin gauge aluminum — so the fenders were welded while attached to the body. Then Ed tackled the lights, and they look fantastic. No broken prongs around the seal of the bezel.
The color white is not just any old white. There are shades of white on the nose that differ from the body. Plus John had to age the white to match the current aging shades on the car. Blending, more matching, more blending...you get the idea. After the fenders were attached, John even painted each bolt head manually and around the factory stickers so that you can't tell that these fenders have been off the car. It looks factory.
The CF parts were imported from [email=detlefwelsch@aol.com:34f79jns]Procar Specials[/email:34f79jns] and
Dali, who were great to work with. John commented that he had rarely seen CF parts this well made. Though we at NSXprime already know this from Procar's reputation, it was nice to hear it from a professional who sees CF parts from the likes of Lamborghini and Ferrari — which don't even compare to the Procar quality by a long shot. The hood fit well, and only needed minor work to make all the body gaps the same with the fenders re-installed (John is a perfectionist). We elected to spray the rear wing with a process that allows it to look black at night, however the CF weave shows through in bright sunlight. It is a great look and shows off the Procar quality of the CF wing.
The car has all the JDM Type-R parts I could get from Dali, who was a huge help in this process. Whenever possible, Dali got me used parts at very conservative pricing, and even shipped some items before asking for payment (I guess I am truly blessed). The complete set of front and rear OEM Type-R aero parts are installed under this NSX. At high speeds the nose is glued to the tarmac. Dali also got me an OSG 4.4 LSD that is awaiting installation. That should give this ride a bit more grip out of the corners. And the roof and all sorts of small bits were bought from Joe and Tony at
ERZcar. They were great to work with. Whenever I needed some small bit I'd forgotten to buy with the roof, they just sent it along later.
What follows is a photo journal of the conversion process:
My blue 2003 NSX was traded for the 2002 White Targa
And this stock white NSX arrived a few weeks later. IMHO, the white really only looks good when decked around Type-R livery. The neighbors thought I was crazy trading the gorgeous Long Beach Blue for this White one.
But little did they know that this was going to be how it all turned out!
But we are ahead of ourselves here. Lets begin at the roof that was shipped over from ERZ.
The roof is like a puzzle, with all sorts of inside, middle and outside layers of thin gauge aluminum that sandwiched together makes the roof so strong. Of course, it all had to be taken apart carefully.
The parts and pieces are now ready for cleaning and welding.
But nothing prepares you for the site of the roof cut off your NSX and just the A and B pillars remaining.
Note that the gauge of the targa pillars is thicker than a coupe's stampings, and this adds to the additional stiffness of my Type-R clone.
So after all that cutting, a lot of targa weight is left off the car — a welcome weight reduction.
Ed begins his jig-saw puzzle. Checks and re-checks all along the way.
I got a lot of these pics from him...though not sure they made me feel better.
Jeez...I did this voluntarily!
The first coupe sections are welded to the targa sections. You can't believe how long John measured and re-measured before cutting or welding anything.
Ed, quit that!
Now the welding can begin. John at work. First Class uses equipment dedicated to aluminum. And they keep separate tools that can only touch aluminum. So they have two sets of everything at their facility. An expensive operation but that's what makes them 1-of-6 factory authorized centers for Ferrari in the US.
Well...it looks like he knows what he's doing?!
Months and months have gone by with the car in this condition.
The car was squared all along the way. I can tell on the road because it tracks straight and true, even under a panic stop...no pull to either side.
Welded, and it finally begins to look like a coupe.
First Class works on high-end cars. There a ton of crashed 360s there all the time...most on paper tags...LOL.
After paint, beginning to look factory?
And voila, we have our COUPE. Dirty, yes, but it really does look correct.
Can't tell you how many little interior bits differ between a targa and a coupe. All sorts of minor items had to be bought, painted, customized, reshaped...
The gaps always had to be re-tweaked each time a body part was re-installed. Fender on, hood off, bumper off, fender off, hood on...
Fenders are removed in prep for the lights to come out.
What we learned: the fenders will distort differently if you weld in plates before cutting off the prongs, compared to if you weld after cutting them off. In the end, John fixed it all.
The correct type of aluminum is cut into plates and test fit before welding.
From behind, the work to fill in for the blinker lights is coming along well. Welded fender looks clean so far.
Ready for spray.
The PROCAR hood and rear wing in place, along with re-worked fenders. Lots of minor fitting to get all the gaps to a minimum. (dig those crazy wheels Armando leant me for this project)
Front lights just before getting the Type-R paint treatment.
John(left) and Ed(right) pose with their creation.
This is what I was after. An authentic 2002 LHD "COUPE."
Real, JDM Type-R wheels. Yes, Type-R are both lighter and shaped different than non-R wheels. Mounted with 255/40YR-17 Bridgestone Potenza RE050A rear, and 215/40YR-17 up front.
Ed did a great job on the lights.
The CF on the this Procar wing only shows through in bright sunlight. And it goes opaque at night.
Dali helped me get a (used) real Type-R engine mesh cover. It is SO much lighter than the clamshell from my targa.
My favorite photo.
Another great shot.
The car is now visually converted to a 2002 Type-R on the outside, though some bits like a hood shroud are still needed (Procar when?). And I have most of the stuff for the inside ready to go, less the seats. I'm perpetually searching for a used set of real Type-R seats, which very occasionally come up for sale (Dali?). The real next step is to decide on the motor build...FI or NA? Personally, I'm a fan of the NA route...punching out the block, lightening the valvetrain, B&B all the moving parts, etc...just to hear that NSX induction growl. Though after driving Armando's monster, the FI route offers significantly more HP for a lot less money. And since he's done the R&D for my project (thanks), I guess the real issue is how long I'll have to be without the car on this motor/suspension project?
But these are all good problems to have :wink:
For unknown reasons, I've been getting increasing inquiries for sale or even trade, if possible. As for sale, when and if someone really needs to have an NSX-R on steroids, they know where to find such a car.
I hadn't originally thought of a trade, but yes, I'm always interested in my next car...though I suspect that we won't find too many folks looking to trade my better-than-new NSX-RR for their needs-some-TLC Dino 246GTS But there you go. That's the trade.
For a long time, I lusted after a F360/CS (TDF Blue/Red seats). And their prices are now within ~$175K. So I thought that selling/trading an NSX-RR and adding a few dollars would get me into a CS.
Then I drove one.
OK, that soundtrack is like nothing else we've ever heard. BUT. Even stripped, it weighs about 3,000lbs -- more than my NSX-RR. And, it has about 425HP, the same as this NSX-RR. Plus, a CS is a real handful to drive more 30 minutes. Whereas this NSX-RR could be driven across country, without issue. Hey, did I just talk myself out of a trade for a CS? Probably. This NSX-RR is the CS version Honda should have built. But that's a broken record on this forum.
Currently upgrading the NSX-R carpets and mats to the new product stuff offered from Tom, at MovIt. He saw my NSX-RR and didn't like the old product I had bought and installed years ago. True to his nature, Tom is replacing the old stuff for the new product, at his expense. Wow. He says it will fit a lot better...and make the car go a little bit quicker. JK.
Jon and I agree that its done, for now. Mitch (Master AEM tuner) put the final touches on the new tune after we added DC headers plus made-to-order free flowing cats. Jon says this new tune plus new go-fast parts really helped her breath, adding a whopping 30HP to the motor. I say its actually 31HP. See, Jon's and my motors are unique -- the only 2 of their kind -- and his and mine are identical...except I need +1HP more than him so that I can claim superiority. Sorry Jon. Maybe I'll resort to dyno testing my motor, in Canada, in the middle of their winter.
Finally...arranging transport back to South Florida.
Will post videos and new photos then.
Interior:
serialNSXer wrote:I just thought I would share with you some comments from Tom Frederico (Mov-It brakes, Type-R carpet) after he drove my car in California. As you may know, he offered to replace the current [color="Red"]R[/color] carpet with newer material from a new manufacture, resulting in a
much better product. Tom picked up the car from Jon Martin in Cerritos, California and drove it to San Diego. Tom has an excellent installer in San Diego who completed the project in under 3 hours. Tom and Jon are extremely satisfied with the results, and say it looks like a real NSX-R interior.
Tom and I spoke for an hour about putting a set of F1-style ceramic brakes on the car, at a future date. The current setup is great for street, but could fade away quickly if the car was to be driven at any track days like Sebring.
Most interesting, he shared that he's been racing cars for a while, and that according to him...this NSX-R[color="red"]R[/color] is
"sick fast." [color="red"]
Sick fast.[/color]
Music to my ears...thank you, Jon Martin.
Tom also commented that Jon had built an exceptional power plant and that I should be ready to lose my NSX and gain a
"street version of a race car." I asked him to compare it to any other cars he's driven and this was his observation:
"...it's faster than a Ferrari 360 and about as fast as the Ferrari 430...but probably not as fast as their CS version." Jeez-louize, I'll take it.
And, he repeated what I, and others on Prime have been saying on this forum for a while. That the
JRZ suspension is an amazing upgrade to the car. Tom said that he drove over some pretty nasty roads in California and the JRZs allowed the NSX to ride smoother than even OE. But at the same time, when he pushed it, the car stiffened right up under any dynamic conditions. No lean, no nose dive. Exactly what I experienced in Florida.
Here's the best; Tom's about 5'11" and 180 pounds and he said the [color="red"]R[/color] seats were to die for. For his frame, they were perfect. It's just amazing how Honda took great Recaro seats, and made them even better.
Of course, he recommended that with all this new horsepower the car needs a new set of brakes. Doh! To which I responded that I had just upgraded the brakes to the current configuration! So in a non-pushy sort of way, he shot back that a set of ceramics all-around would nicely match the brilliant speed that Jon got out of this all NA engine. Tom and I will be having discussions in the future :wink:
I mentioned to Tom that I want the car back in South Florida for a while before making any more upgrade decisions. And as Mitch has commented previously, yes, people will think that I bought another white NSX. Its been away so long. I think the car needs to be around here for a while before we do anything more.
That said...Jon Martin will be in Orlando in December for the PRI show, where he and I will walk the show floor for any "future improvements" on the induction side of the motor. As Jon says, this is a weak point, and there could be 50+ more horsepower left in the motor...but that's for a future build.
