Project Del Sol

Close of Project Del Sol

2010-07-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

I am very sad that my 15-month love affair with this beautiful delsol is officially over. This ride has been sold to another delsol lover and I hope this bro will continue to take good care of her. It has been an amazing ride and I hope one day, you out there will have a chance to own one of this incredible creation by Honda! Ciao!

3rd and hopefully final update

2010-07-04T08:39:00.000-07:00

It has been 6 weeks since I posted my ride for sale. I did a stock take of number of bros who contacted me. A total of 63 bros sms-ed me. I have arranged viewing for 37 bros. Many bros expressed interest but needed loan (which all have difficulties in getting loan or high insurance). 6 bros were williing to pay cash but wanted price to be lower, which I politely declined. I believe the price is the best asking price in the market today, when comparing to similar sport rides. Still waiting for the $35k offer. Hopefully, one of the 6 bros will come back with the firm offer soon. Will be updating sgcarmart to reflect price is firmed.

Just some personal comments. A few bros asked me about the paper value (i.e. COE-$3840) and gave me bids based on that. Not that I am rude but please note that you are buying a sports collectible, which the value will appreciate over time. If you are looking at paper value, please look for an 8/2011 esi instead - maybe only need to pay $3-5k more for body. I don't understand when looking for rarity, why should people think about total loss first? Shouldn't they be thinking how to preserve the beauty (and value) for this ride in many years to come? Haizzz...

2nd Update

2010-06-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

A total of 26 bros have contacted me over the last 1 week. Many wanted to buy the ride but needed loan. The difficult part was to find a finance company willing to provide loan for COE car. After checking with other sellers, I managed to find a coy willing to loan up to $28k of the asking price of $35k. So, if you really want this ride , please make sure that you have at least $7k cash really. Insurance can be arranged with the same finance coy though as like other sports car, can be quite expensive. But what the heck! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to own a autoroof hardtop convertible at only $3900 depreciation a year! Where to find!?

Good luck!

For loan, please contact Katherine @ 64663808.

Update on Del Sol Sale

2010-05-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

I put up delsol advert on sgcarmart on Thursday (27 May 10). Was pleasantly surprised that there were so many interested parties. A total of 10 bros contacted me. One was even in overseas now and would me to wait for him when he is back in mid-June!

The last 2 days had been busy arranging viewing for 5 bros (Rod, Adam, Kit, James and Fami). All have been quite pleased with my delsol's condition. For the rest, I will be arranging viewing subsequently.

Btw, three of the bros have made me an offer, the highest offer is currently $33k. However, I am sticking to my $35k asking price. This delsol is not a lemon but definitely one of the best around. First offer of $35k will secure this rare ride.

Contact me if you want to be the owner of this unique car. Cheers!

DelSol up for Reluctant Sale!

2010-05-23T06:13:00.000-07:00

If you are reading this post, either you are looking to re-spray/re-leather your ride or simply, you are interested in owning one of the rarest car in the market today!

Due to work commitments, I am putting up my beloved Honda Del Sol up for sale...:(

If this is your first time visiting this blog, do take some time to read my restoration journey. This car is fully restored - engine, body, accessories, mechanical etc. Check out the technology introduced in 1993 that I believe created one of the earliest autoroof hardtop convertible. See video below in March blog entry.

This car comes with another 9 fun years to drive (04/2019). I am asking for $35,000 - which means one of the best value, lowest depreciation, fully restored autoroof sports convertible available in the market today!

Currently, there are only around 20 Del Sols available. After 8/2011, this car will even be rarer. Definitely a head-turner and collectible car for the future! The best thing is that parts are readily available and not expensive, since it shared the same platform and VTEC engine with other Honda car models. But for now, no need to worry as everything is in tip top condition!

So wait no longer. If you are interested, do sms me for viewing today. Sure love at first sight!

Servicing

2010-05-16T02:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday went to service my DS at my friend's place. At least will not get "ka""! Change full syntheic oil, oil filter, gear oil, top up air con gas, full service works at $200 damage.

Anyway, I may need to sell my DS really soon. Heart pain....

New Battery

2010-04-06T08:47:00.001-07:00

Last week, the battery died. Was damned lucky that I couldn't start the car at my place, and not in some shopping centre or public carpark.

Called up AA and they came down within 30mins to replace the battery. Damage was $133. Quite reasonable.

My DelSol Photos

2010-03-11T09:17:00.001-08:00

2010-03-07T06:57:00.000-08:00

As promised. Video on the delsol autoroof in action!

Enjoying my Ride

2010-02-18T19:31:00.000-08:00

It has been 5 months since I last updated. Been enjoying my ride ;)

To update, in Dec last year, I sent my car to Joker for servicing and change the following:
- Vtec O-ring
- Radiator Silicon Hoses (upper and lower)

Total damage was $1k including servicing. Too expensive. Think got "ka" liao.

Went to my friend's garage to change power steering hose instead.

Car inspection passed in Dec as well.

Resprayed my roof (again) at Lee and Soon as my car cover wax got stuck.

There have been many queries on how Del Sol auto roof works. Will post the video shortly.

Car Accessories

2009-09-19T23:10:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in my earlier post, I wanted to restore the car and ended up buying many replacement parts and new accessories for the car Besides the lights and rims, I installed new alarm system, parking sensors, gear knob and steering wheel. Also, ordered many replacement parts from Kah Motors. These include passenger door handle (interior), roof handle, centre aircon cover, door stopper, tilter fastener, roof slider protector. The parts (prices at below post) took around a month to be shipped to Singapore from Japan. As promised, below are the photos.

Accessories and Replacement Parts

Momo Steering Wheel

New Gear Knob

Replaced damaged centre aircon vent with new part

Replaced cracked passenger handle with new part

New fasteners for centre tilter

Replaced roof slider protector. Top is the damaged piece.

New door stopper

New roof handle (driver's side)

New Rear Mirror

New parking/reverse sensor with indicator

New Rims!!!

2009-09-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

When I took over the car, Mr T had changed the rims (brand: SSP). He told me that the old rims (Rota) and tires previously used by Mr L was going bald and ride was too low for him. He changed the rims and tyre size from 195/55/15 to 195/60/15. This resulted the tyres being too thick and almost touching the fenders. Problem with this was that the larger tires put a lot of stress on the driveshaft and also burn more petrol. Anyway, I told him I wanted both sets of rims/tires.

For the rota rims, I advertised at SHC and sold it off for $2XX. Went shopping for new rims at Silent, Leong Seng, Coco, Stamford etc. Wanted to change to 205/45/16 for better fit. Initially shortlisted this Konig rims, model Incoming. Calvin from LS suggested the rims to complement the car - towards more design styling rather than sporty. Last Saturday, decided to get the rims from LS. On my way there, I drove past this rim shop (Hong Tyre) at Jalan Jurong Kecil (opposite Bt Timah CC). Went down to take a look at saw this deep dish rim. Boss told me brand was RM. It was perfect as the offset was 38. Mr L told me before if offset is 35, the rims/tires will be flushed with the car body. Fell in love with it and decided to get it. Boss was super friendly and patient, even suggesting to INSTALL to see how it will look on my car. No obligation to buy! But I had already decided to buy. Negotiated for the price and trade-in for the existing rims. The process was quick. New rims were onto my car within 20-30mins. The boss also threw in a 3mm wheel spacer to make the rims flushed.

Went home happy but realised that 2 of the wheel caps were not perfectly in place and went back to the shop again. Super duper after sales service! Took out the 2 wheel caps and replace with new ones! No questions asked! Impressed!

Changing to New Rims

Rota rims that I sold away

Konig Incoming which I initially wanted to get

Hong Tyre Shop front

Changing the rims at the back of Hong Tyre

Before and After

New rims from front and back

Importing Rear Lights and Headlights

2009-09-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I didn't like was the red rear lights. Look too dated. Decided to find replacement. Went to ebay motors to search for the lights and found a pair that I like very much. It has the CF look. The e-store in US also sell headlights and I decided to get a pair of crystal headlights, in case I decide to replace the front customised CF headlights. Amazingly, the freight charges were more expensive than the lights!

Once the lights arrived, I went down to this shop in Geylang (Soon Lee Accessories, Tel 67414010) where it is famous for installing alarms, sound system, reverse sensor etc. I installed my new alarm there and parking sensors (4 sensors) there. They also installed the rear lights for me but the brackets were not able to fit the the rear lights properly. The lights were protuding slightly outwards. Told me to go to spray shop to fix the brackets. I decided not to install the headlights for the time being as the CF rear lights match the front CF headlights.

As mentioned earlier, I also needed to fix my front bumper due to the small cracks. Went down to Lee and Soon Paintworks and after 1 week, viola! My front bumper looks perfect again and the rear lights are put in place. Hooray!

Imported Rear Lights

Before After

Del Sol Parts Number and Price

2009-08-20T09:15:00.000-07:00

Been to Kah Motors Alexandra for 4 times already to order parts. Took the opportunity to check out pricing for some of the del sol parts that I am thinking to be replace. Now the uncle there know me very well ;) Anyway, for the benefits of del sol owners out there, here are the parts I have checked and their part number and price (before GST). Hope it's helpful. Will post pic once I received the goods.

Item : Outlet Assembly Centre (the centre oval air con vent)
Part No : 77610-SR2-E01ZA
Reference in delsol manual: Pg 407 sn 16
Price: $73.90

Item : Outlet Assembly Side (the side round air con vent)
Part No : 77640-SR2-E01ZA
Reference in delsol manual: Pg 407 sn 17
Price: $56.00

Item: Weatherstrip R. roof side (right side roof seal)
Part No: 85141-SR2-033
Reference in delsol manual: Pg 418 sn 16
Price: $132.80

Item: Weatherstrip L. roof side (left side roof seal)
Part No: 85191-SR2-033
Reference in delsol manual: Pg 418 sn 19
Price: $132.80

Item: Weatherstrip FR. pillar (front roof seal)
Part No: 72320-SR2-043
Reference in delsol manual: Pg 475 sn 3
Price: $288.60

Item: Weatherstrip RR. pillar (rear roof seal)
Part No: 72330-SR2-023
Reference in delsol manual: Pg 475 sn 4
Price: $337.10

Item: Clip RR Roof Rail (the 2 screw clips below the centre roof tilter)
Part No: 91504-SR2-000ZB
Reference in delsol manual: Pg 488 sn 23
Price: $1.80 each

Item: Slider L, FR, Main roof (the small peanut-looking piece on the roof interior at both front left and right sides)
Part No: 85255-SR2-013ZA (left side part number)
Reference in delsol manual: Pg417 sn20
Price: $5.50

Item: Handle Assembly L. Inside (passenger handle interior)
Part No: 72160-SR2-003ZA
Reference in delsol manual: Pg 517 sn 28
Price : $39.60

Item: Cover plate (the rubber plate that covers the centre roof tilter)
Part No: 85717-SR2-000
Reference in delsol manual: Pg 428 sn 46
Price: $26.80

Item: Stopper door (the corner rubber piece at the corner of the door inside)
Part No: 75891-SR2-000
Reference in delsol manual: Pg 520
Price: $2.70

Raise Suspension and Servicing

2009-08-05T08:53:00.000-07:00

For the last few weeks, I have been busy sourcing for accessories for the car. Installed new alarm system and reverse sensor. Imported rear lights and headlights from the US. Bought a new gear knob and steering wheel. Shopping for new rims. Ordered door handle (interior), roof handle, centre aircon cover, door stopper etc from Kah motors. But will discuss all these in details later when I do the installation. What I am writing today is sending my car to J Motowerks (JM).

Today is the first time I sent the car in for servicing. Joker smsed me in the morning to inform me that the road outside his workshop has been repaired. No problem driving in. Went down at lunch time and told him that besides servicing, I wanted to raise the front suspension. Hit my front bumper at a hump last week, which resulted in slight crack at the side. Sent the car to Lee & Soon Paintworks but Bernard suggested that raise the front suspension first before repairing. No point repair then hit hump again. Also, I wanted to change my rims/tires from 195/60/15 to 205/45/16.

Told Joker wanted to raise the front to the same height as the back. Leave it to him, he said. When his worker was taking out the tein suspension, he found that the drive shaft has broke. Suggested I change the drive shaft as well. I also brought my original airbox to replace the open pod. After replacing the airbox, they suggested to install a "air funnel" to direct cool air into the airbox. Change synthetic engine oil, oil filter.

Finished all the works by evening. Final bill came out to $590, breakdown as follows:

Synthetic Engine Oil - $120+$10
Raise Front Suspension - $100
Change drive shaft - $190
Install air funnel - $75
Gear oil change - $95

Replacing open pod with original airbox with K&N filter

Open pod removed. For cheap sale @$50, anyone?

Original airbox installed

Air funnel installed to bring cold air to air box

Air funnel from front view

Raising Front Suspension

Taking out the front tein suspension (or coilovers?)

After "cutting"

Putting it back

Replacing Driveshaft

Driveshaft removed

Broken driveshaft

Torn rubber

New driveshaft installed

Interior Work - Leather Upholstery

2009-06-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

One of the most neglected sections of the car is definitely the interior. Mr L (previous previous owner) did not really do much for the interior. His emphasis then was the engine and bodykit. I believe when it was about time to build the interior, he decided to sell it to Mr T as he bought his new s2k. As for Mr T, he told me he did not want to spend too much of his parents' moola on the car. Anyway, he only had the car for 2 months. Too short to do anything except crashing the front bumper ;) So the only option is for me to give the car a new makeover internally.

What I inherited was a car with the leather seats peeling and cracked. Door panels grey leather looked old. Gear knob and handbrake covers were tattered and torn. The carpet on the car floor was outside the seams and looked more than its age. There was a huge subwoofer at the back of the car that looked so vintage and I don't seem to get it to work! I definitely need a good re-upholstery workshop!

From the Internet and forums' recommendations, I shortlisted 2 workshop - Classic Auto Leather and 8 Cushion. I called both but were immediately impressed by Classic's boss outstanding service. she was super patient in explaining to me over the phone the estimated costs based on my description of the work required. For 8 Cushion, the lady was polite but was not able to give an estimation until I sent the car down. Decided to pay Classic a visit at Ubi on 30 Apr.

Once I reached there, the boss, Irene was at the loading bay waiting for me. She was worried that I may not be able to find her shop. Impressive service :) Went to her office and she started to explain to me the different grades of leather and their costs. Went to my car with the "shifu" to see whether what I wanted to change can be done. After agreeing to the work and price ($1XXX), decided to use their service and make a downpayment. Took one seat down for them to start preparing the mould. Irene even advised me to send in the car after fixing my roof and spray paint.

On 3 Jun, after collecting my car from Lee and Soon Paint Works, I drove the car down to Classic Auto Leather at Ubi. They started the major operation and by evening, the car looks brand new! What I have done was as follows:

- Rewrap seats with full leather (orangy brown). Btw, Classic added new foam to the seats ;)
- Rewrap the door panels and back panels with full leather. Took out the subwoofer.
- Rewrap the gearbox and handbrake cover with full leather.
- Rewrap sunvisor with PVC
- Change the whole flooring carpet

After all the assembly, they applied leather cleaner throughout the interior and Irene even gave me a tub. She told me to apply once every 2 months to ensure the leather stays moisturised. Btw, the leather and stitching came with 1 year warranty.

Again, if you are thinking of doing a re-upholstery, do consider Classic Auto Leather. You can contact Irene at 68415288. They are located at 53 Ubi Ave 1 #01-02, Paya Ubi Industrial Park Singapore 408934.

Coming soon...accessories for the ride..

PHOTOS

Seats - Rewrap with full leather

Door Panel - Rewrap with full leather

Back Panel - Rewrap with full leather. Subwoofer was removed.

Gear Console and Handbrake - Rewrap with full leather

Sun Visor - Rewrap with grey PVC leather

New Carpet Flooring

Classic Auto Leather - Irene's husband boss

Exterior Bodywork and Respray

2009-06-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

When Mr L (previous previous owner) was rebuilding the car in mid 2008, besides overhauling the engine, gearbox, raidiater etc, one major operation was to custom made a bodykit for the car. He even custom-made carbon fibre headlights at a cost of $1200! He then painted the car in 2 tones - black for the "head" and white for the "body". However, by the time the car was handed over to me, the car body condition was already quite "chui". The paint work was in total disaster! No more shine with a lot of scratches and dents. The CF headlights were not shining as the lacquer had came off. In addition, as Mr T (previous owner) had accidentally crashed the car, the front bumper was replaced from a workshop in JB. Problem was that the new bumper was still very raw (no paint) and did not fit nicely with the fenders and and the bonnet. There were also cracks on the side skirts and rear bumper. The gap between the windscreen and the car frame can be seen (bit rusty) as the seals were gone. I knew I had to send the car for a major body work and paint respray.

With so many car respray workshops in Singapore, where do you go to? I turn to the Internet for help. Going through the different car forums in Singapore, I realised that price variations can be huge with different workshops, and even for expensive workshops, quality can be not so good. Finally, after reading many car owners' experiences, I shortlisted this workshop "Lee and Soon Paint Works" in Kranji, which is near the place I stay.

I first visited the workshop on 30 Apr. The boss, in his 50s came across a very nice man. There was another young man, which I thought was his employee. I told them what I wanted to be done for the car. The price quoted to me was $1XXX for colour change and bodywork. There was another customer that day and he told me that the quality is quite good and price is very good. I told them I will send in the car once the roof was fixed by Sam.

On 26 May, I drove down to the respray workshop. The boss recognised my car (of course when it is so rare!). He asked me to choose my paint colour. I initially shortlisted 2 colours - Mercedes Crystal Antimony Gray (701) or GTR Sparkling Silver (WV2). The young man gave me a stack of colour samples for me to choose. While flipping through the catalogue, a colour caught my eye. it was from Aston Martin car codes called Tungsten Silver. Even with the small sample, you can see a lot of pearl effect in the paint. I decided on the paint and the young man told me it will be very nice, better than the 2 colours I shortlisted. The boss came over and told me he will help me fix the gap between the windscreen and the car frame. Also, I told him to help me mould the front bumper so that it is flushed with the bonnet and fenders. He will also help me
lacquer the CF headlights.

After settling the car, I started chatting with them. I found out that the young man was actually the boss's youngest son! His name was Bernard Toh. Senior Toh told me that his brothers are all in the respray business and his two sons (Bernard and Charlie) are now helping him in the business. He first started his business in Brunei some 30 years ago and move back to Singapore when Bernard was 7 so that the children can attend school in Singapore. I now realised why his price can be so competitive even though they used Dupont paint. It is family business and they can keep costs low! No paying of wages to employees. Mr Toh also told me that Lee (in the Lee & Soon) was her wife's surname. After chatting for half an hour, I bidded them goodnight.

The next day, I drove the car down and told Bernard that I will collect the car in a week's time.

One week past quickly and I went to collect my Del Sol, not knowing how the car will turn out. Upon reaching the workshop, I caught a glimpse of the car and I was so pleased how it turn out! It looked totally new and the paint was sparkling under the sunlight due to the pearl effect. The work done on the fromt bumper was impressive! Mr Toh told me that he added almost 2 cm of fibre so that the bumper is flushed with the bonnet. The gap between the windscreen and car frame had disappeared! In its place lies a strip of new seal. Mr Toh even told me that when Chinese New Year comes next year, he will help me polish and wax the car, for free!

I thanked them profusely for the excellent work done. If you are reading this and thinking of respraying your car, I will strongly recommend this workshop for its excellent price and work quality. You can contact Bernard at 9790 9611 or 6269 5020. They are located at Blk 2, Kranji Loop #01-04 Singapore 739538. Tell them Matthew of CRX recommend you and they will give you a very good quote (btw, I don't earn any commission for recommendation.:) Just to share an outstanding paint workshop). You can always compare their quotes with other workshops. Remember to check the type of paint used for each workshop though.

PHOTOS

Del Sol - Changing white to tungsten silver

Side View - Changing colour from white to tungsten silver.

Back View

Front Bumper - Realised how the bumper becomes flushed with the bonnet after adding fibreglass.

Headlights - Gaps were filled and carbon fibre re-lacquered.

Lee and Soon Painting Works - Mr Toh and his son, Bernard

Tungsten Silver - See the massive use of pearls in the paint under light

Start of Restoration - Fixing Autoroof

2009-06-03T08:59:00.000-07:00

The first thing on my mind after taking over the car was to restore the auto-roof. The biggest problem was WHO can fix this rare car? Again, I turn to my trusted powerful tool - Internet. Reading through the SHC forum, I managed to find out that there was someone who can fix the roof but there was no mention who and where the person was. Sent an sms to Mr L and Mr T to see whether they knew this mechanic. Also, send IM to these SHC forumers - Mr Penguin, Mr D-SOL and Mr IcecoolT. As expected, these kind souls started refering fellow forumers like Mr Bugiskid and all leads went to this one guy - Sam from AMK Autopoint. Mr Bugiskid was able to give me his contact and on 30 Apr, I drove down to look for him.

Sam came across a quiet guy. When he saw my car, he did not know what car it was! I told him that it was a CRX del sol and he looked surprised! Went over to the car and nodded. He pressed the autoroof button and as expected, nothing happen. Told me got to leave the car there for 3 to 4 days for him to fix. As the next day was Labour Day holiday , he suggested me to come on the following Monday. On Monday (4 May), I sent the car to the workshop, hoping that the roof can be fixed and not knowing what the costs would be.

Three days passed and I was getting anxious on the progress. Something about Sam. He is a very dedicated mechanic who takes a lot of pride in the cars he work on. Only problem is that he don't really like to update you on the progress, even if delay is expected. I sms-ed him after the third day and he called to tell me he needed more time. After 2 more days, still no news from him. On Friday night, as I was playing mahjong near AMK, decided to pop by the workshop to see see look look. The workshop was closed and I went to the carpark where I left my car. Took a peep into the car and wah sei, i knew a lot of work was being done. Basically, the whole interior was dismantled! Sam must to sorting out all the complicated wiring! Knowing that he is doing his best to fix the roof, I can only hope for the best.

The following week, still no news from Sam. On Thursday (14 May), i went down during my lunchbreak. Sam told me that he has changed many of the autoroof parts but could not figure out the wiring. The autoroof ECU is blinking fault 4 and he has been checking the Internet but could not find the required information. I vaguely remembered there was this guy who got the service manual but after contacting him, he was out of town. Sam told me he will try to check with Kah motors. That very night, I started surfing the Internet but as a trusted friend who never fails me, I found the service manual! The next day, I printed the manual (which has the troubleshooting guide) and delivered it to Sam, who was very surprised that I found it when he tried for a few days! I told him the trick was that ang moh refers to the del sol autoroof as "Transtop". So searching for Transtop will get more resources ;)

The following week on Wednesday, Sam called me and told me the good news. The roof has been fixed! I held my breath for the next piece of news, the cost. Sam told me the costs was $XXXX but gave me a discount for giving him the manual (hopefully will never need to help other del sol bros out there). Still pricey but my joy was priceless!

Collected the car on 21 May Thursday, almost three weeks later. Sam taught me on the sequence of the autoroof and after paying him, I drove off a very happy man!

Start of Project Del Sol - Finding the ONE

2009-05-24T02:22:00.000-07:00

I had been tracking sgcarmart.com for almost a year to get the right car at a right price. It was between a 8/11 MX5 or CRX Del Sol (or even a Porsche). Finally, a chance to buy either car, which both were advertised at the same time in early Apr 2009!

The Internet is a very powerful tool. I managed to find BOTH the previous owners of BOTH cars - a 1993 MX5 and a 1993 CRX Del Sol! Called them to check on the condition and reasons for selling the cars to the current owners. No point asking the current owners as they may not tell you the truth. Interesting, both mentioned that their engines are very good and they had done quite a bit of work previously (more about this later). They sold the cars because they wanted to change ride. The previous owner of the MX5 had sold it only 6 months ago and the CRX Del Sol, 2 months ago!

Once I got hold of all the critical information, I called the current owners to view the cars. First off, the Del Sol owner. The viewing was done at Woodlands Industrial Park on 22 Apr 09. I was quite disappointed when I first saw the car as the body was not in very good condition. The interior was also quite bad as the leather seats were torn and tattered. I told the owner - Mr T, that I will think about it.

Next, I called the MX-5 owner but he was very sticky about his price. Decided not to pursue this car as the price was not right.

That very night, I called up the previous CRX Del Sol owner, Mr L, to check whether I should take over the car. Mentioned that the car body was not in good shape and he agreed. But he told me to get it based on the engine setup he has done. He mentioned he spent $11k to overhaul the engine just a year ago.

Mr L also told me that the car has mfactory oil cooler ($750), hondata ECU, tein suspension, new aircon compressor, new timing belt, new spark distributor, ngk spark plugs etc. In all, he spent around $40k on the ride! The bodykit was custom-made but Mr T "chui" the front bumper and fender after not clearing a hump properly. I told him that Mr T had replaced the front bumper but he suggested that I may want to consider custom-making the front bumper to the previous design.

After speaking to Mr L, I was very assured that the car engine is in superb condition (since Mr T had it only for 2 months). Another key consideration was something that Mr T told me when I was viewing the car. He said, "Between MX5 and CRX, I think you should get the CRX due to its uniqueness". After much thought, I kinda think better to get the CRX as it is no longer in production whereas MX5 is till today. I believe the value of CRX Del Sol will be priceless in time to come. Did I mention that this CRX Del Sol has an even rarer feature? It has an autoroof i.e. TRANSTOP! Before all the peugeot, renault, vw hardtop CC in this millenium (post 2000), the world already seen a hardtop convertible (abliet a targa one!). I will talk about the roof restoration later in my blog - not working now :( haha! anti-climax right?

Ok. Now to negotiate the right price and close the deal. After ding-donging through numerous sms-es, we finally closed the deal on 23 Apr. Another thing which was tremendouly funny! I realised that Mr T's family own a scrapyard and my wife told me better to check the car before taking over! Called Mr L to get his mechanic's friend workshop address. On 27 Apr, the deal was sealed at LTA after a car inspection in the morning. Renewed the COE for additional 10 years as well!

More to come on the restoration works required on the car...stay tuned....