An NA1 by any other name... would not be a miata.
 

To keep up with my own long standing tradition, I bought and started another project without 'finishing' any of my other projects.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0b49733bd.jpeg

No, I didn't buy a decommissioned Lexus car transport truck and trailer...
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...565899539.jpeg

I guess you could call this a midlife crisis project car?
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a9614d72c.jpeg

So the details:
1994 Acura NSX (NA1)
229000 miles on the odometer (don't know if that's even accurate)
Clean title, though clearly the front end met with something at one point or another
It was an east coast car so all the steel bits are rather rusty. Fortunately the car is mostly aluminum, so it's not as bad as it could be.
No motor or transmission or axles...

I've got an instagram for the build @red_goes_green, but instagram isn't the place for rambling or pondering, that kind of content is much better suited to a forum. And I like y'all so this is the forum it will be on.

Rough around the edges...
 

220,000 miles will take its toll on any car, and while clearly loved by at least one of its owners at some point, others have been less caring.
We'll start at the front and work our way back.

The front bumper, hood, and drivers headlight don't really line up at all. There is an unknown lip (I'm not yet a crazy NSX person who knows random aftermarket parts). Also just visible is the poorly roller front fender. And it's very hard to see here, but the windshield is cracked.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...13e4ad2b24.jpg

Moving under the hood.
Some kind of radiator shroud was riveted to the core support and then later removed by just cutting it out. New looking Koyo radiator. Poorly installed HID's, one of the boxes is just visible to the right of the ABS reservoir. Valuecraft battery, not bolted down and with poorly installed aftermarket cable ends. BC RACING (woooo, lol) coilover adjuster knobs visible in the cowl shroud. Tow hook cover located on the dash. Not shown: Radiator fan wires are cut(reason unknown), fuse box has the extra accessory fuses populated(who know's what they're connected to), Spare tire(no spare was included).
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5315bff64.jpeg

One more underhood shot.
Carbon Fiber! Someone cared about this car at some point? Unclear if this was pre or post nose bonk.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...35581acc2.jpeg

The interior looks decent for its age/milage. Missing trim on the front corner of the door, worn steering wheel, OE stereo doesn't work (makes weird noises), blower doesn't seem to run (but you can hear the flappy doors moving when changing settings).
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...30563438b1.jpg

Proof of mileage
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ad5236ebe.jpeg


The drivers seat has seen some things... but again isn't horrific given the use.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b1052a2196.jpg

And the engine bay.
The engine cover deck lid thing is missing... as are most of the other bits that should be here. More on that later.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...876d30405.jpeg

And finally the backside.
Another carbon fiber bit (aftermarket spoiler of some kind). Third brake light does not work. Ricer LED taillights (these do work). Rusty rear bumper support and plate mount. Center section of the OE diffuser has been cut out...
Also visible are the strange letters glued to the tires to be sure that you can read that they're FEDERAL 595's from 20' away.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bf396c6cb4.jpg

And many other weird little details, like, 'why does't it have a rear sway bar' and 'why does the trunk smell like gas'?

Stay tuned* for the answer to these questions (actually probably not) and for my future plans for this well loved "super car"


* Don't hold your breath, this is likely all I've got for tonight.

I'm holding my breath! Can't wait to see how this progresses!

OMG YESSSSS

Btw, did this come with an OEM hood prop? Inquiring minds would like to know

Much excite :likecat:

Interesting!

My late brother had a pristine NSX 3.0l auto, beautiful car, went like the clappers, but they need a certain amount of respect and TLC to last well. I am guessing that you will not be recreating a concours example, but will follow your progress keenly.

You're a brave man.

Not a miata but exactly what I like to see.
i got a chance to play around with an nsx on backroads once. It really is a sight to see popping out of a corner.
Absolutely timeless bodystyle and red suits it excellently, I love it.
Are you going to stuff a K series into it?

How did you know?!?! The "H" lets you know is legit JDM.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...fdea6d811.jpeg


Did you take a breath yet? Seems like a long time to wait.

Me too! This has been a dream for some time... and despite it's flaws, so far I'm very happy with the car I ended up with.

LoL, This car will definitely not be showing up at the Quail anytime soon...

I hope its not as bad as it could be...

Good guess on the K and the previous owner actually had a turbo k24 in the car before I bought it. But no, no K swap here... (I actually considered it for a bit as it's even more plug and play than in a Miata)

Weekend of work
 

A couple weekends ago, some friends (you know who you are) came by and we poked at the car.

First we started out by lubricating the important bits.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...51c63739b8.jpg

Then we fueled up
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5b1f8a6fde.jpg

and finally we got to work. @EO2K and I removed the HID's and control boxes and replaced them with 9006 bulbs. The HID's made a terrible noise when on and the control boxes were just zip tied in place and the wiring was getting pinched by the popup mechanism (see wire in lower left of image below). It was only a matter of time before these wires were going to short out. I plan on eventually installing some LED bulb replacements, but the halogens will work for now :)
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f1e188e67.jpeg


Fuel tank removed! I really didn't expect to see moss on top of the tank, lol.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...77d320084.jpeg

While removing the tank, it was noted that one of the wheels is cracked :( I'm not a huge fan of the wheels, so it's not the end of the world, but I had planned on selling them and now they're worth less (worthless?)...
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...98ea2dc30.jpeg

Not only is it cracked, it sure looks like it had been 'repaired' and cracked again. I'm impressed that it was holding air!

B6 swap is the obvious answer. because of the revs and low end grunt

Why not a Geo 1.0 LP2/G10? That's a whole 3 cylinders of fury.

Simplify, and add lightness.

Buick 3500.
Reliability is key.

A fellow Bay Area resident! Will be following this build with great interest :likecat:

Gotta go for a 13B BP with a weber. Add reliability and environmental friendliness to the package.

I gave you the first kitten on this thread.

Oh, that is so cool.

It's high enough mileage and molested enough that any mods you do will only help it.
I wouldn't mod a pristine one of those at all; with yours the sky is the limit.

My choice would stay Honda.
J37A4, Darton sleeves, 8.5 cr forged pistons.
Assimilated by the Borg, a pair of them.

Biggest problem with this is transmission.
I am not aware of any production transverse transaxle that can withstand the torque the above engine could produce.
Maybe a race-oriented box could but they are not friendly for street use.
Still, it would be fun to try...

I've wanted one of those since they came out.
Back when they could be had for 25-35K I really should have purchased one...

You have my respect and admiration, Sir

Technology
 

I was able to borrow an EinScan Pro and have started playing around with it.
I was a little concerned that it's intended to work on smaller objects, but initial tests have been promising.

Miata content (first object I tried, I'm pretty sure I could get a much better scan now that I've used it more):
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ef7ca1f47.jpeg

Given a little success I decided to see how it would work with a larger object. This is the front engine mount/cross member from the NSX.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6a7f3be1a.jpeg

EDIT: test of youtube short embedding works!

And finally gratuitous Honda on Honda action
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d45a425d63.jpg

I like how there are 2 Honda motors and 2 Honda vehicles in that garage, and the only place the Venn Diagram overlaps is the Grom :cool:

This will be an exciting one to follow

Cats outta the bag...
 

What makes 400+ hp, 400+ ft/lbs of torque, and has an available quiafe diff?






https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...32d14d6365.jpg

That's right, Tesla Model S large drive unit!
Y u rune klassik!?!? :)

#ruined

EV NSX? ok now I'm excited

I thought about electrics as well...

Where, oh where are you going to put the battery?
Not a bunch of room in a NSX.

This motor is what I'd want
Koenigsegg's Tiny Electric Motor Makes 335 HP and 443 LB-FT of Torque (roadandtrack.com)

The "terrier" version makes 800+ lb/ft and it's lighter than the Telsa unit.
Telsa stuff is currently available at reasonable prices however.

One of my acquaintances is putting one in a MR2.

Anthony has perfected a killer way to make large composite parts without making hugely expensive tooling. I met him out at MSR at the national MR2 meet.
His street car (normal 3gtse) was exquisite. His carbon fiber work is world class.
He might be a good source for Telsa info and he's a great guy to talk with.

His website is
XVRacing – By Afragola Design

Neat! Maybe I will get to see that thing in the new EV class one of these days. There was a VW vanogan with a Tesla swap a while back. I can't remember the time but it was definitely quick.

lol, you and all the Honda fanbois...
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6140cb5821.gif


Fuel tank is removed and I plan on scanning it to see how much battery I can get in there...
The Tesla motor is much smaller than the c30, but I'm hoping to keep the motor visible from the rear window. We'll see if that's possible.

You and me both, but I'm not even sure the Koenigsegg motor is available at all. Also the $$$ is likely to be absurd and while I am muking about with an NSX, there is still a budget...

Very cool. Following him now, thanks for sharing.

I plan on brining it up for funsies once it's running :) Likely have to trailer it up for range/etc.

Open heart surgery
 

I popped the motor up on the bench and pulled off the inverter cover.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9701af6b45.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6e1336167.jpeg
East coast life is hard on everything it seems. The motor came from NY.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0e3a0263d0.jpg
Fortunately it looks really good inside. I was afraid that it might be a ruined motor as I've seen water pour out of the cases when opened in some people videos (flood recovery cars).

In order to fit this motor in the NSX it needs to run with the inverter in front of the diff, which means it needs to spin backwards. The motor is perfect capable of doing this (aside from the fluid pump, more on that in a future post), but the controls need to be convinced that this is okay. A lot of the aftermarket controllers for swapping these motors in are just spoofing the signals from the Tesla to the inverter, but none of these vendors would confirm for me that their solutions will work at full power in reverse (apparently there is some SW limit in the Tesla FW for reverse speed).

This means I need to go with one of the solutions that replaces the inverter control board. At this point that means an AEM VCU2000(and LDU control board) or an OpenInverter control board. AEM didn't seem interested in giving me the time of day, let alone answering questions about running in reverse, so I ordered the OpenInverter board. This board is open source and community supported, which has major up and downsides... hoping it doesn't bite me.

This is the Tesla Inverter control board:
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4498c2459d.jpg

and here it is removed and next to the OpenInverter board. It came populated with everything but the connectors. Those fine pitch pins were not the most fun to solder on...
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8dd0bd613d.jpg

And here is the control board installed on the inverter:
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ff1ca00db.jpeg

I need to build a test harness to make sure everything works on the bench, but I did power it up (see the red LEDs in the pic above) and confirmed that the interface comes up and it is reading out reasonable temp values. The interface is a web page and @aidandj has already suggested I should make it work with tunerstudio, lol

I did chat with some of the Tesla guys. There used to be a couple of solar charging trailers there but they are gone. However there is some sort of RV charging port that can be accessed if you talk to some of the staff. I have no idea how long it takes with a charging port like this but it might be an option for you without trailering.