my low budget dream car build

[ryans65]

With regards to the NSX, you should buy it.

[Quasimoto]

NSX is on my unicorn list, but the prices have gotten into rarified air. The opportunity to buy one under market would be hard to pass up…

Good luck with the struggle!

[ADDvanced]

Aw jeez, was waiting for this update after seeing IG.

So 1g NSX was like my dream car forever, and I'm unabashedly a fanboi when it comes to 80s/90s hondas. I've owned Civics, Preludes, Accords, and they've all been slow, but after a few tweaks they just drove amazingly well, like precision little gokarts with nice interiors, perfect ergo, and high revving engines that thrive on abuse. For a long time, my dream combo was an aircooled 911 for summer, and the world's ****tiest, salvage title NSX on snows and rally wheels/lights for winter. That ship sailed so long ago tho, that ones filled with mud are now going for 20k.

I think there are two ways of looking at this.

1. Get the NSX. It's just as iconic as the 911 and due to the rarity, probably will go up even more. They made 911s for decades, but not 1g NSXs. It has desirable mods, and I'm sure driving it is sublime, like a friggin scalpel. No rust, ever, can daily drive an exotic car, basically. So awesome. The only con here I see are parts prices, I think, and possibly the community? I'm talking out of my ass here but hondatech leaves a lot to be desired compared to what we have here. So do honda meets and honda people.

2. Keep the 911. You've put too much into it, and although the NSX might have it on metrics, the rough around the edges rawness of LBDC is what you've been chasing for a while now. The NSX might feel too refined/boring by comparison, because that rawness is the goal of LBDC. Also, which is definitely worth mentioning, is the community behind the Porsche brand, this website, and the events. They're better than Acura equivalents, and that is part of the ownership experience.

I think the smartest move would be to move money around to have both, at least for a month, and then make a decision. I'm not sure how you could swing that, but having both at your disposal would tell you which way to go.

[LJ851]

I think the unusual area on the clutch disc is from contamination, not some type of wear. My guess would be grease or oil slung off the input shaft.

[ryans65]

I'll second this, there's evidence of some fluid slinging outwards from the hub of the disc on the side in question also.

Originally Posted by LJ851

I think the unusual area on the clutch disc is from contamination, not some type of wear. My guess would be grease or oil slung off the input shaft.

[Jjm4life]

unpopular opinion.. NSX is one of the most overrated cars, ever. period. i had a '91 that i put maybe 2k miles on it before selling.
gearing is too long to be intersting ( though the 6 speed swap probably helps that)
having had several mid engine and manual steering cars, i can't believe how heavy and dead the steering feel was. so much so that i had a shop make sure my steering rack etc were in good shape, which they were.
at least headers and an exhaust helped it make good noises. and a set of te37s and KWs made it look and handle the part, but i never bonded with the car. so much happier in my SC. so much more character, and feel. NSX is increidbly clinical. great quality for a daily driver, but not exactly exciting. sure nothing will ever really go wrong with it, but isnt that at least part of the fun?
as with everyting.. your results may vary. but when the NSX converastion comes up, i always have to give my input as a former owner. i swear people go on and on about these things just to keep values up.

added pics of mine because we all enjoy pics

[LJ851]

I had a customer in the late 90s at the Ducati, etc. shop I was working at that was constantly buying and selling cars. One time he came to check up on a 916 I was building for him and showed up in a NSX.

He handed me the keys and I took it on my test ride loop and I was thankful to have the experience but underwhelmed. Nothing wrong with the car, just not inspiring.

My good friend Paul who had previously driven NSXs described the car as one “You could give the keys to your grandmother with no instructions and send her to the grocery store”

[ADDvanced]

Originally Posted by Jjm4life

negative stuff about NSX that I will ignore

added pics of mine because we all enjoy pics

You convinced me that NSXs are even better than before you posted.

[Jjm4life]

Originally Posted by ADDvanced

You convinced me that NSXs are even better than before you posted.

hahaha wasnt my intent. great looking car for sure. that said, it shares way too much with a minivan of that generation to feel truly special. unreal view out of it, including behind. really impressive packaging for a mid engine car. but i still stand by my statement of owners and fanbois prop up the value. i drove an ITR and thought that was a much more engaging car. truthfully, maybve i should have bought one of those.
either way. 911>NSX.

[LJ851]

What’s happening, Chris?

[shoooo32]

Yeah, Chris - what's happening?

[Showdown]

He’s probably slacking and looking at Instagram a lot

[Anjizkit]

thats so nice and low. dod you roll the front fenders?

Originally Posted by chrisbalich

Ayye yo, it's Monday AF!


We were rewarded with a fabulous midwestern sunset.

[Anjizkit]

am sorry I messed up the pic.. was meaning to post the pic of your car under the shade.

[ryanjboutin]

hhuehuehueheu



jizz kit

[chrisbalich]

Originally Posted by LJ851

What’s happening, Chris?

Lots of stuff, both Porsche and regular life stuff.

Originally Posted by shoooo32

Yeah, Chris - what's happening?

Originally Posted by Showdown

He’s probably slacking and looking at Instagram a lot

Just pile it on, lads. I'll see both of you this weekend.

Originally Posted by Anjizkit

thats so nice and low. dod you roll the front fenders?

All fenders are rolled.
Fronts are re-shaped to allow more up-travel.
Lots of suspension adjustment/customization.

Originally Posted by Anjizkit

am sorry I messed up the pic.. was meaning to post the pic of your car under the shade.

No worries. The sunset pic was nice too.

Originally Posted by ryanjboutin

hhuehuehueheu



jizz kit

Weapons grade indeed.


Proper update coming soon. I've been hoarding pics and stories, but been a little short on time to share them.

[chrisbalich]

Part 1 of 4
I've been negligent and for that, I apologize. Late summer gets busy for everyone, even me.

Since my last update, Kelly and I attended a wedding in Michigan on August 12. We got to meet a pending addition to the family and induct him into our unofficial 'outlaws' group. (the married-in in-laws)


Kelly's sister and BIL had a rare weekend away from the kids, so we went out for a couple drinks after the wedding. Alas, Davison, MI doens't have much of a night-life...so we went to Applebee's.


Now this may not look like risky behavior. But Davison is ~10 miles from Flint. So if you know, you know.


Fast forward to August 16. It's my 15th wedding anniversary, and Kevin wants to drive to Michigan (instead of working) to buy another 911. Kelly doesn't feel well and gives us her blessing to go, knowing the odds that we return on-time. So we load up the Cayenne and head east. Ohio was largely uneventful, save the men's room at an otherwise very clean Waffle House. After traversing Ohio (and WH), we finally made it to MI.


A couple hours later, we passed Detroit and made it to our destination. Kevin went on a test-drive and a deal was struck. The seller advised we trailer the car, but we're sooooo smart. We decided to drive the car to UHaul and decide in the ensuing 8 miles if the car was road-worthy enough for the trip or if it was better suited to the trailer.

We made it two miles.


The fuel gauge was tanked, so Kevin went to get some fuel and I waited on the side of I94. He returned post-haste and the car would not start after adding fuel. We elected to go get the trailer...now only 6 miles away.

In the following two hours, we visited two UHaul locations, one of them twice, in the eventually successful pursuit of a trailer. The entire UHaul (in Michigan) experience was one that I would not wish on weary travelers attempting to rescue a bastard 911 on the 15th wedding anniversary of one of the previously mentioned compatriots. Egad.

Once we returned with the trailer, the 911 fired right up and I drove it onto the trailer. We were loaded and secured in short-order and only paused long enough to snap this pic of a triumphant Kevin.


The drive back was uneventful, save this wack-job tailgating us the whole way.


We missed our target return time of 1700 by a mere 3.5 hours. Kelly was less angry than anticipated and has yet to be wrathful. #fingerscrossed

[chrisbalich]

Part 2 of 4

The next day, we were back at work. We made short work of that horrific wing and 997-esque front bumper on Kevin's new (mess) car. I carefully placed them in the appropriate storage container.


Horrific bits removed, we put the car on a lift and into the air. I found why the shifting was like throwing darts in the dark. The bushings for the rear shift coupler (not that unlike our 915 shift couplers) were absent. So on the way to lunch, we swung by my place and grabbed my stock coupler.

To further fuel the 911 frenzy, we took my car to a fancy lunch at Taco Bell.


After tacos, I changed the coupler bushings while Kevin pulled the ugliest wheels he's ever owned off the car. I'm not averse to wheel spacers, but holy poop.


It wasn't all bad tho. At some point, someone loved this car.


We tossed on some Kinesis wheels from Kevin's hoard and the car is looking 100x better than the day before.


Kevin has already ordered a whole host of bits for it and I expect it'll be a sweet little track rat in no time.

Friday, Kelly and I got up early and went for a walk before work. The car was looking resplendent in the morning light, so I took two pictures.
neeeeaaaarrr


faaaaaarrrrrr

[chrisbalich]

Part 3 of 4

Saturday, I got some stuff done around the house and headed south to a small town ~90 miles away. Two weeks prior, one of our customers mentioned that he was prototyping some panels for tubular Bronco doors. He had a sample of the material with him and it got the three of us (at work) all riled up about the possibilites for our own projects...and possible products. We sent the customer away with an RS door panel from Kevin's 964 to start roughing-in the shape & dimensions until I could get to his shop with a car to pull some firmer dimensions from.

Lasers!


And some holes


After five hours and 11 revisions, we had a panel on my car.



I drove home and treated Kelly to her favorite pizza as she was still a trifle under the weather.

The next day (Sunday, for those of you playing along at home) I spent most of the day in the garage. I pulled the door panel off and set about installing the other panel on my door. You see, the Tegris panels have different finishes on the other sides. One side is very smooth whilst on the other, you can feel the weave of the strands. I had originally fitted it smooth-side out, but wanted the texture of the other side. I forked about with panel, and my door for a long time before I got it all dialed in the way I want. Part of that fettling was ditching the screws Porsche had used to fit the upper trim for riv-nuts and machine-screws. That meant drilling holes in my car (old hat by this point) and then treating those fresh wounds with paint to prevent infection by tin worms.



While the paint dried, before the installation of the riv-nuts, I wandered around to the back of the car to mock-up an adjustment I've been keen to do for a while now.


Tony likened my exhaust pipe to that of a school bus and now I can't unsee it. I haven't cut it yet because it's 10000 degrees outside, but I'll have to do it soon or it won't be done before CIO this weekend.

BACK ON TRACK!
I got the riv-nuts installed and the panels installed and I'm going to say I did a pretty sweet job. If anyone wants a close look, I'll be at CIO in Chicago this Saturday and then Rennsport next month.



Oh yeah.
I got a demo panel made from a similar type of material that shows all the holes we have mapped so far. I'm thinking it might be nice to have a high-quality, water-resistant option for door panels for these old jalopies. Whether they be trimmed in leather, or left full-race, they're better than particle board that absorbs moisture from the atmosphere.

[chrisbalich]

Part 4 of 4

Kevin ever-lurks FB Marketplace. Last week, he stumbled across a deal and passed it along to the work group-text. I messaged the seller and waited to see if those ahead of me passed. They did, so Kevin and I loaded up the Cayenne yesterday and headed to Ohio to collect a rusty mess of a car for me to tinker on.
#cambergang


We pushed the poor old sod onto the trailer and I took a picture.


Again, we made it <2 miles before stopping. This time for lunch instead of a break down.


No Waffle Houses on this trip, but we did stop at an apple orchard in seek of cidar. Alas, we were two weeks early and came away empty-handed. An older fella there stopped us to talk about the 914. Nothing like an old car to get strangers to chat.

We got it home by 1530, had the trailer returned by 1600, and actually got the whole thing done in the allotted time-frame. #result

This morning, I snapped a couple pics to really make the LBDC look nice and to attempt to show how poor of shape the 914 is in.



All in, it's a 1972, 59k mile, Midwestern-only car that's sat out the last 30 years of driving. 20 of those were indoors, but ten were in tall grass. The HellHole is rotted to nothing. I'm frankly glad the wheel didn't come off while moving the car or trailering it. The fronts of the longs are open. And I haven't yet attempted to put it on a lift. I may or may not be acquiring another 914 for parts soon and have yet to decide what I'm actually going to do with any of it. I have visions of a tube-chassis car with Sheridan or Group 5 body work powered by a 987.2 PDK driveline. But fixing the rust and selling it on isn't a terrible idea either. 50:50 at this point.
The car is complete. The interior looks very decent for being 51 years old, targa top is intact and appears to even seal pretty well. Most of the rust has been limited to the undercarriage, but there is evidence of it making inroads into the upper body. For what I paid, I can part it out and make back my money. So it seemed worth the gamble.

IDK if I'm going to make a thread for it, make a YouTube series out of it, or not document it at all. Updates on the '14 will be less frequent as the LBDC is still my priority and I have finite funds.
Now, if I stumble across a bunch of sponsors willing to send me parts and supplies, the 914 may pick up some speed and maybe even develop momentum. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves yet. *continues reading threads about tube-chassis buildinig*