Back to the Routine: Car Washes, a Magazine Feature, and Racing NSXs
Odometer (Legend Coupe): 543,280
Odometer (Legend Sedan): 150,380
There’s nothing like an inbox of 1,300 unread emails to come back to after being out of the office for 9 business days! I spent Monday digging out from underneath all that nonsense that accumulated during my Alaska trip.
It’s always such an ordeal around here to get to a coin-op car wash. I don’t have access to a pressure washer at home and I sure as heck wasn’t going to attempt the muddy ILX detail with my measly little garden hose in the driveway. Luckily I had about $20 worth of tokens for the local car wash at Miller Rd & McDowell Rd in Scottsdale, so I cruised over there. Here’s how that ended up going.
- Dang, the car wash is now closed and has construction fence around it. So much for that wasted $20 in tokens.
- I guess I’ll google “car wash” and find others.
- Drove to 2 more locations about a mile away. Neither was self-serve. Scratch that.
- I know there’s one in Tempe at McClintock & Apache; I’ll just go down there.
- Looks like it’s $1.75. I’ll just blow the few quarters I have and see how far I get.
- (Time ran out). Definitely need more. I’ll have to go get more change, but I don’t have cash.
- I’ll google “Wells Fargo ATM.”
- Went a mile away to the Wells Fargo branch, inside a Safeway store, at Rural & Broadway.
- Well, now I have to break this $20. There’s a Pei Wei in the parking lot and I’m kind of hungry.
- (After eating and getting change) Alright, back to the car wash.
- And finally, finished the job. Then drove home.
- And washed the car again in the driveway anyway.
Nothing irks me like wasted time and effort, but I did finally get the job done – an initial swing at it, anyway. The whole back end of the car feels a bit like sandpaper because of the contaminants on the paint, and I may have given my new Hoover vac a workout with all the pebbles in the driver’s footwell. I do not usually condone the use of a foam brush! But in this case, heavy duty was absolutely required for the bugs on the front end!
I even took the high pressure spray to the door jambs with the doors OPEN! Dirt was caked in there.
Finished result, not too shabby!
Today, as a matter of fact, marks the 4-year-anniversary of the day I got the ILX with 16 miles on its odometer. It has a little more than 172,000 miles on it. I don’t have an exact number because my friend Jack has the car in Las Vegas until tomorrow. But that comes out to around 43,000 miles per year.
It was good to get the other cars awakened after a 2.5-week slumber. The Legend coupe was reluctant to start – initially I got only a “click” but no “crank,” so I ended up rolling backwards down the driveway and doing a clutch start in reverse. Now it runs fine after cruising around a little. I’m still trying to figure out if it’s a battery issue or a starter issue. The starter (aftermarket, Denso) was barely installed 3,000 miles ago, back in December by Hon-Man locally in Tempe.
I drove it to work on Friday.
My brother is up to his eyeballs in projects for my NSX which is at his place in southern Utah. The passenger side window regulator went out on him, so he sent me this picture while tearing in to replace it.
Night shot, cruising around in the 1994 Vigor
And a night drive in the 1993 Legend sedan (Christmas tree of dash lights here!)
This one will be up for grabs (cheapo) soon. I’m waiting to hear back from a couple of potentially interested parties.
On Saturday I buzzed over to Glendale and pulled the 1994 Legend GS out of storage for a bath. The dust was bad!
At home with the 93.
I went and viewed a house in Central Phoenix I’ve been eyeballing. It has a 5-car garage 🙂
Back to storage.
Later in the evening, stopped by the Scottsdale Pavilions weekly car show. It seemed to be domestic car overload. Camaros and Mustangs for days. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!
The sunset was stunning last night. Arizona always does them right.
I was pretty thrilled to get a few copies of the May-June issue of Arizona Driver magazine in the mail this week. I’d recently submitted an article about a group drive some friends and I took to Chiricahua National Monument.
Sweet!
And finally: Check out this hot ride:
This NSX will be tearing up the Colorado mountains in a couple of weeks at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. From Acura’s press release that was distributed on Thursday:
Acura will field a pair of 2017 Acura NSX supercars in the 100th Anniversary of the running of the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 26, marking the North American racing debut of Acura’s next-generation NSX: the pinnacle expression of Acura Precision Crafted Performance and the only supercar made in America.
Pikes Peak has been on my must-see list for some time now. I would have driven it a couple of summers ago when I was in the area, but it was closed for a bicycle race and my friends and I drove Mount Evans instead. It’s good to see the NSX making its way into the professional racing circuit and I’m anxious to see how it performs!
Hope everyone has had a great weekend!
drivetofive 
June 12, 2016 at 4:13 pm
Whoa! So many cars… would you consider painting some of them so I can keep track more easily? The ILX looks amazing! Did I ever mention that I’ve been lusting after one of those for approximately as long as they’ve been on the market? I drove the service manager’s automatic for a day while my car was getting serviced and just loved it. I don’t know if it was just that particular model, but it had no gear shifter for coming down the hill. I definitely need that here!
On another note, your article presented the feeling of moving back and forth between cars and locations very well. By the end, I was reading much faster than when I started! You have a very easy-to-read writing style Tyson, thanks.
Be well
June 12, 2016 at 6:03 pm
Aw, thanks Pam! I appreciate your feedback and comments! I only hope that our paths cross again in the near future so we can catch up once more. Haha yes it’s a little crazy to keep track of all the cars. I keep a unique Excel maintenance spreadsheet for each one since I start forgetting which one(s) are coming up for oil changes or other maintenance soon. Anyway I hope you’ve had a great weekend! I’d sure trade you weather right now. I bet it’s beautiful in Abbotsford today.
June 12, 2016 at 4:16 pm
Thanks for the shout-out!
June 12, 2016 at 6:04 pm
Hey Joe, you bet, and thank YOU for the special feature! More where that came from, soon!
June 12, 2016 at 5:04 pm
A few thoughts…
* Looks like gobs of fun cleaning the ILX!
* Your NSX… I’ll quote Herbert Morrison: “Oh the humanity”!!!
* The pictures of the “hot ride” – awesome! But I think you are so lucky to actually own an NSX. 🙂
What an awesome journey and thanks for documenting it, Tyson.
June 12, 2016 at 6:05 pm
Yeah it’s a little scary seeing the NSX dismantled to that level, but if there’s anyone who I trust with nuts & bolts, it’s my brother. He could probably reassemble that with his eyes blindfolded. He’s just that handy. Anyway – thanks for following along on the continued journeys! Hope your weekend has gone well!
June 12, 2016 at 9:16 pm
172k and the ILX still looks brand new. Hoping to meet some of your other awesome rides this weekend. See you soon!
June 13, 2016 at 5:55 am
Oh, you will! See ya in a few days!
June 14, 2016 at 6:01 am
Tyson I need to apologize my remodel along with unrealistic contractor deadlines has my house looking about as bad as your ILX after the Alaska run!
I forgot that I recently bought a new power washer from Costco and have the evap cooler running 12 hours/day in the garage. There is so much dust here now but I still should have invited you over to at least give you cool place to clean up your car…
Happy you managed to get all that muck off. Maybe when things settle down a bit around here I’ll invite you over for an automotive baptismal? You won’t believe it but all my cars look like “barn funds” right now covered in thick dust!!!
BTW, I’m bringing the 93SE over to Hon-man early this morning to fix a brake light switch. Should I text to see if your around?
June 14, 2016 at 6:37 am
Ha – automotive baptismal! I like it. And you bet — I’ll be around! I sent you a text. You’d be proud of me. I made my first attempt at a drywall patch last night and it didn’t turn out too horribly!
June 15, 2016 at 10:17 am
The ILX sure shines up pretty good! Sounded though like it was a hassle.
June 15, 2016 at 10:26 am
Next time I’ll leave it to Manny the Amazing.
June 15, 2016 at 9:03 pm
Ohh, you’re getting rid of the Legend sedan?
I’d like to have one…
I’m getting a Honda Accord probably one day… Better fuel economy than the RDX, and I can interchange vehicles at my liberty…
I’m glad to see the whole fleet…
Good luck keeping the NSX pristine…
So, a press event for the new NSX, are you ever going to drive one?
June 16, 2016 at 5:53 am
Yes the Legend sedan is up for grabs. And I’m not sure if I’ll ever get to drive the new NSX! Closest I’ve ever gotten is sitting in one. Hopefully though.
June 16, 2016 at 9:42 pm
Really? Which Legend Sedan?
Not the one that looks almost identical to your coupe…
The new NSX, you should, you drove the ILX at some Acura event, I saw it on YouTube…
Not to mention, you have one…
The NSX, I mean…
June 18, 2016 at 4:49 am
NSX news – GOOD!
Sedan Love – BETTER!
House for sale with a 5-car garage – BEST!
When are you moving in?
June 18, 2016 at 5:59 am
I know! I’m still working that deal as best I can! We are waiting to hear back from the sellers on whether they’ll consider a contingent offer based on me needing to sell my home. Crossing some fingers and toes here. Have a great weekend!
June 21, 2016 at 6:36 am
I bet it felt good to hop in the Legends after a long time away. I had no idea of the headache you went through just for a car wash! Haha. I definitely wouldn’t have had the determination you did. She cleaned up quite nice…now get on with that clay bar! 😉
June 21, 2016 at 6:47 am
I know. Did you clay yours? What did you end up doing about the worn out tire?
June 21, 2016 at 10:24 am
*Hides under desk* Nope, I haven’t touched that clay since last year. I will get some Michelins ordered, and for now, I have the bad tire on the back. Alignment already done. 😀