drivetofive

Odometer (Legend):  522,604

Odometer (ILX):  45,120

From the time I was old enough to pick up a sponge, I was helping my dad uphold our family’s reputation for having the cleanest cars on the block.  In fact, he used to pull the cars out onto the front lawn from time to time and take pictures of them.  I remember a neighbor coming over to ask one time, “When’s the car show?”

(That’s me on the right)

When I got a little older, I’d detail cars for neighbors and friends.  My pride and joy was this chrome-tastic 1989 Honda Prelude Si.

This was one car that I loved working on:  A Geneva Green Pearl 1991 Acura Legend LS Coupe.  It had the Ivory interior and an automatic transmission.

This car belonged to a couple named McKay and Joan who used to visit the copy shop where I worked at the time.  From the moment I sat inside this Legend and drove it to my house, I knew I’d someday own one.  These pictures were taken in 1999 when I was 17.

It wasn’t until 4 years later that I ended up buying a Legend of my own.  McKay and Joan sold this Legend to someone else but I’ll never forget the thrill of calling it my own, even if just for an hour.

In fact, that Legend coupe even inspired me at one point to start making a small clay model of a Legend.  I didn’t get very far with it.

Last Saturday, I hosted a car wash party of sorts at my house.  My friends showed up with a hodge-podge of vehicles, including the following:

Joe’s 1995 Acura Legend LS Coupe Automatic

Jack’s 2008 Volkswagen GTI 6-Speed

Matt’s 2013 Nissan 370Z 6-speed

Jacob’s 2013 Jeep Wrangler 4-door 6-speed

Joe’s Legend is pretty special.  It’s production #1234 from the last model year of the Legend, 1995.  He’s had it for just a few months but already done quite a bit of maintenance to it.

At 155,000 miles on the odometer, it’s got a ways left to go.

Joe recently ditched the aftermarket wheels that were on the car previously and replaced them with the correct 16″ Legend “GS” wheels.

Another friend who came to the party was Paul in his 2013 Acura TL SH-AWD.

Paul’s TL is the definition of “fully loaded.”  This car is equipped with the Advance package and Acura’s signature “Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive” (SH-AWD).

It’s a good thing I was wearing sunglasses, because that Bellanova White Pearl is blinding in the Arizona afternoon sunlight.  The darkly tinted glass on Paul’s TL gives a nice contrast.

Here’s the immaculate interior.  It still smells brand new – and, at only 5,000 miles on the odometer, it should!  Those seats are ventilated.  A great feature to have here in the desert!

My favorite upgrade to Paul’s TL is a Grumpy Cat sticker on the right rear window.  Grumpy Cat, also known by her official name of Tardar Sauce, lives not far from me in Morristown, Arizona.

Who would win this race?  Battle of the brands.

2013 Nissan 370Z Sport:

• 332 horsepower, 3.7 liter V6 engine
• 6-speed manual transmission with Synchro-Rev match system

2013 Acura TL SH-All Wheel Drive:

• 305 horsepower, 3.7 liter V6 engine
• 6-speed automatic transmission with sport-shift paddles

It’d be a fun match to watch.

Current events:

My ILX went in for an oil change yesterday at 45,028 miles.  The technician recommended replacement of the cabin & engine air filters, and fresh manual transmission fluid, due to mileage. Otherwise, just a few quarts of fresh 0W20 oil and I was on my way.

Here’s the latest ILX rendering by Hondatalover.

In his own words, here are the makings of this amazing looking custom ILX.

Things you can see:

• Tinted windows
• Tinted Headlights (lightly, just going for a darker housing look)
• Clear strip for Reverse and turn signal’s on the taillights.
• 18″ European Honda Accord Type-S wheels.
• A slight drop. Probably 1/2 an inch,
• ‘A-Spec’ front, side and rear bumpers with wing spoiler. (One piece, not a lip kit) –I have a non-wing spoiler version. Since not everyone likes wings, I’ll send and let you pick.

Things you cannot:

• Dual, quad exit exhaust (can’t see, but it’s implied)
• Dark metal trim w/ fake Carbon fiber accenting.
• Full LED interior lighting and accenting.
• LED puddle lights in the L and R mirrors, behind the door handles, bottom of the door (when open) to shine onto the ground, and license plate.
• Sound deadening material through out.

Mechanics:

• HFP/ A-Spec suspension (1/2″ drop)
• High performance summer tires.
• RV6 Bellmouth down pipe w/ Si mufflers.
• Limited-slip differential.
• Cold Air Intake.
• Beefier stabilizer bars.
• Beefier front and rear tower struts.
• Hondata reflash optional.

Sounds like a dream ILX to me!  Sign me up for those enhancements.

This entry was posted on July 17, 2013 at 5:53 pm and is filed under Detailing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.