Subj: It's Here!
Date: 5/12/02

Hello story people!

Not having my NSX; raising two teenagers that have a different perspective on life; and protecting you all from terrorists; I just didn't have the time or ambition to write stories. Oh, there was plenty to write about, but everyone has problems and the list is usually for fun stuff.

I am happy to say, as of 4 MAY 02, I am no longer NSXless in Palmyra. To tell the story, I will go back in time.

You may recall my February letter containing my woes, (I'll address some of them later), one of which was my anxiety about hearing the words, "Your car is ready; come pick it up!" To understand why I wouldn't want to hear those words, you have to realize the major undertaking it was to repair my car. Other than the left undamaged side, everything (including the engine, suspension, and body panels) was removed from the rear of the cockpit. Half of the right rocker area would need to be cut out and replaced, along with most of the panels on the right side.

Alan, and John, (Neshaminy Auto Painting & Bodyworks) told me that Ray would be working on my NSX. They had strong praise for his meticulous abilities. Not knowing Ray, I was hoping they were correct, for it was going to take a lot of work (and the spirit of Mr. Honda himself) to get this jigsaw puzzle of a car back together. I told Alan that although I wanted a good paint job, my biggest concern was that the car would have great structural integrity and that all the fasteners would be torqued to factory specifications. Alan said that it would be done properly but I could see he was hesitant to commit to torquing all the bolts.

Most NSX owners have particular concerns that rank above others. Some want a particular wax applied, distilled water for the coolant, a factory paint finish, or maybe the concern that there are no head prints on the glass :-) My biggest concern is properly torqued fasteners. Granted, this concern propagated from my helicopter mechanic days. But still, when your foot is to the floor doing triple digit speeds exiting the "Esses" at Watkins Glen, your focus should not be wandering to thoughts of, "Do you suppose they bolted the suspension in properly?" See where I'm going with this? This car's primary role in life is not puttering to church on Sunday. It has other Sunday services to attend!

After Neshaminy finished the car, it went to Davis Acura for wheel alignment, A/C replacement, structural inspection, and detailing. With Davis completing their work, the car was returned to Neshaminy, so that I could view the car on 27 APR. I asked Tony to view the car with me and requested we meet at Davis Acura because I had business to do before proceeding to the shop. I asked Jim (Service Dept.) how Bernie made out with the car and what his impressions were on the quality of work from Neshaminy. Jim stated that he was impressed with how well it had been assembled. He told me that Ray had bought a torque wrench that was certified for aircraft use and that Neshaminy had borrowed their service manual to obtain torque specifications.

Hearing this eased some of my anxiety, but I still wasn't smiling. Tony and I headed for the shop and when we arrived, my car was sitting outside for viewing. Now it was time to play "Show and Tell!" Overall it looked good, but a close inspection was in order. Tony and I proceeded to scour the car while John put tape on the areas of concern. Mostly it was small runs in the clear coat, a few fasteners that needed touching up, over spray, and stuff like that. I saw some areas (near the bottom) where old paint chips had been painted over. When I brought this to John's attention, he told me that the insurance only pays for blending on existing panels. Because I wanted the remaining undamaged body panels painted to insure color matching, he felt it was a good compromise to keep my cost down. I stood back and now looked at the forest of my car instead of the trees. With the Japan style taillights sporting the "H," a new Grand Prix White background insignia with a silver "H" positioned on the front, and my new Taitec exhaust perfectly aligned...it looked BEAUTIFUL! Passing the "Show" portion of the evaluation. It was now time for the all "Telling" test drive. Tony and I hopped in the car and headed for the PA Pike. I was listening for squeaks and rattles and hoped I wouldn't confuse old normal noises with new "shouldn't be there" noises. Nothing was obvious (plus I'm getting old :-) so it was time to accelerate and hear how the new exhaust sounded. A quick double clutch to second, foot to the floor, and before long traffic seemed to be going in reverse. Ah, the sweet feel of triple digit speeds! Yes, life was good.

We returned to the body shop and looking at the car once more from a distance, I became amused that the tape John put on the car was still there. (guess I didn't go fast enough) John told me he had no problems with my concerns and that the car could be picked up the following weekend. I had requested that some of the old parts be returned to me and John said I could take them now. I hadn't really planned on doing that, as I brought my Accord (which now has over 371K) instead of the Civic wagon. I went into the repair area to sort which pieces I wanted to take. Let's see, I want the front fender to practice dent and chip repair; the lower plastic ground effects could be repaired or be used to practice removing scratches; better keep all these aluminum pieces, I can sell them for scrap and buy a light bulb with the proceeds; oh yeah, this could make a nice aluminum bracket for something; gotta have the undamaged taillight assemblies! Well, before I knew it, I had quite a pile!

One thing I've learned in my 25 years of Honda experience is, "There's ALWAYS room in a Honda!" You just have to be a little creative. I opened the trunk and took the milk case full of fluids and set it on the front seat, put the tool box on the floor on the passenger's side, and put other odds and ends in out-of-the-way areas. I only carry my tool box for servicing my Accord in remote US locations (or to assist stranded non-Honda owning motorists; or to let Tony borrow my 17mm socket and torque wrench to do parking lot repairs at Neshaminy because he only tightened his engine drain bolt to less than half of the required torque :-). Tony dropped the back of the rear seat on my Accord, while I worked on spreading a blanket to protect the car. In went the fender, muffler, aluminum pieces, taillight assembly, Styrofoam backing for a body panel, and plastic ground effects. Yup, it all fit. Just like Mr. Honda planned it!! Tony and I went to eat, talked about the day's event, and his wanting to get taillights like mine.

Yes...like mine. Excuse me while I digress. It seems that Tony always wants what I have...plus a little more (that edge for male supremacy). Now Tony will adamantly disagree and say that I told him to get these items, it's not his fault. But follow.
I get Speed Bleeders...Tony gets Speed Bleeders.
I get Dali anti-sway bars...Tony gets Dali anti-sway bars.
I get a Basch SC...Tony orders a Basch SC
I get Japan tail lights...Tony orders Japan tail lights...and so on.
You be the judge :-)

Any who, the Saturday for car pick up has arrived. Tony will be preparing for his trip to India, so I ask Miled if he would be able to pick me up and transport me to the body shop. He is willing, but because neither of his cars should have unnecessary miles put on them, I decide to ask Don Lebentritt (who lives relatively near Neshaminy). Don graciously grants my request and arrives Saturday morning. Don will be attending his first track event and wanted to look/try on some of my race gear in order to know which size to order. With that task completed, we head for Neshaminy. Don told me he put a different amplifier and new/additional speakers in his NSX. He felt the sound more closely duplicated the richness of musical instruments he listens to. I told him that...I TOLD HIM THAT (Don, could you turn the volume down a little? Thank you) Miled would be meeting us at the body shop.

Once again, my car is outside ready for inspection. I try to remember the places that were marked with tape. The ones I could remember were fixed. Miled arrives and joins with the inspection. He likes the car's new look. I continue with my inspection and noticed a slight sag in the clear coat that had been missed. The outdoor light had revealed a couple spots that couldn't be seen while the car was in the shop. John fixed the area without hesitation or signs that I was being too picky. John had been putting in overtime on my NSX. I remember the Thursday before pickup, he worked on the car till around 10PM. Alan came over to greet me. His biggest concerns were: was I satisfied with the car...and what I was going to write in my story. I told him that I thought he underestimated the time to complete the job. I would have preferred that he had given me a safer time estimate, and then be surprised if it was completed early, rather than to hear how the car should be completed in a certain time, only to hear it's not done, and the new projected completion date was as long as the first! We talked of other expectations from both views. Views from me, the customer, and views from him, the businessman. He spoke of problems getting NSX parts in general, and one part in particular that had the right part number, but was the wrong part. Another concern was that most insurance companies only pay about $40 an hour for labor. There is no adjustment in the rate for the greater expertise required to work on NSXs (unless the policy has a specialty rider). Whether they are working on an Escort (Tony's nemeses) or a NSX, the paid labor rate is the same. As we talked, my anxieties started to melt away and my relationship with Neshaminy finished as I had hoped. With a smile and a handshake.

Don was unable to join Miled and I for lunch and departed. Miled and I went to Denny's to eat. We parked the cars together in the shade and walked to the restaurant. Just before rounding the corner of the building, I looked back and saw twinkling sunlight dancing off two damn good looking cars!

My thanks go to the following:

Tony DeJoie: Tony has been making the trip to my house over the past several months with his NSX to help keep me sane. With two kids that seem to be working against me, and no NSX to relieve tensions, hanging out with Tony was always a welcome break. Whether riding or driving his (our) NSX, troubles just seem to get suspended in time. They say parts imitation is the greatest form of flattery, so thanks for copying me! (Actually, I copied from Miled. But I couldn't help it. After all, he told me to do it. :-)

Don Lebentritt: For getting me to Neshaminy on short notice without blinking an eye.

Miled Salheb: What can I say about Miled?..........(?).......... Beats me? Just kidding buddy. Your story time will probably come during your 90K, (But I had to say something.)

Davis Acura: For wheel alignment, A/C repair, and detailing.

John Shuttleworth: For working after-hours on my NSX to ensure the final detailing was accomplished, even though it took time away from his family, and for working with the insurance company to cover all that was needed to do a proper reconstruction.

Alan Cohen: Who didn't let quality suffer because of insufficient funding from the insurance company or early misunderstandings that occurred due to lack of communication. (All has been worked out)

And my special thanks to Ray Russell: Who made my concerns during the repair process his concerns. His craftsmanship in rebuilding half of my NSX equaled the factory. The extra finesse he displayed by torquing parts to factory specifications turned a fearful anxiety into a pleasant experience. Attention to detail involved equal seam spacing, factory-like welding/caulking of parts, and ensuring that all that was removed (including stuff I installed) worked as good or better after installation. It was all done right, THE FIRST TIME.

I have always said and felt, that in the end, people will remember how well you did the job...not how fast you got it done.

MY CAR LOOKS BETTER THAN IT DID WHEN I BOUGHT IT!

(Epilog)

Between Saturday and Sunday, I put over 600 miles on the car during my shakedown cruise. I am happy to say that things are as they once were. IN FACT...the paint job is so close to the original, that deer can't tell the difference. Yes story people, as in the beginning of my NSX history, I had another encounter with a deer on Saturday night. I was three miles from my house with another car approaching, when I saw three deer in the field to my left. They had their butts to the road looking over their shoulder at my car. Instinctively, I aggressively applied the brakes and saw a deer run in front of me no further than 20 feet. I smiled. At last everything was truly back to normal...to include my dodging abilities.

Larry G.