I would have posted this in the 1st Gen RL Photo Gallery, but there isn't one... so we should create one. A few years ago, I bought a wrecked Black 1996 3.5RL and it i went ahead and repaired the whole car and decided to lower it and swap some wheels on it and have some fun...After the rebuild and a drop on TL wheelsThen it was backed into again and destroyed the hood, fender, and headlight, so i decided to upgrade and added a set or Racing Hart Evo's...Well, the black '96 3.5RL got some hail damage and I got the insurance check to fix it or do whatever i want with the check... I'm sitting there looking at it with the damage and the black car with the dark green bumper, the door dings, and a few other things that bug me about the ago of the car... and the 270,xxx miles on the whole package and wonder "Is it worth fixing?!"So I decided to go shopping and to see what i could find... And I came across this...2004 Carbon Gray Pearl 3.5RL. 114,xxx miles, Navigation, and pretty much near mint condition except a small dent on the hood. So, now I have 2 beautiful Acuras to look at.And within 4 days i had this one lowered too...test fitted some rare Mustang wheels as well that are close to matching...and i swapped the JDM headlights over onto the new chassis and wired everything up...

 

Very nice!

 

I feel the desire for the 1G RL too. I see these for sale from time to time here in Oregon. But I often worry that someone's grandkid will have fucked the tranny before I got it.

 

Nice Mustang wheels. lol

Looks nice!

 

You might be thinking about the newer gen TL's and such with the auto tranny problems. The transmission on the 1st gen RLs are built pretty well. My original RL with 270,xxx miles on it never had any tranny problems. Next steps are to buy a nice set of wheels and get the car tinted finally. but with wheels will also come some rolling and pulling. and no... i don't stretch my tires. Yuck.

 

i was always a fan of the 1G RL... solid built cars... the 3.5 were the replacements of the Legends

 

Since i'm getting a few PM's about the suspension setup i'm using... here is the link to my original coilover build. Enjoy. I tried to be a complete as possible. https://acurazine.com/forums/1g-rl-1996-2004-77/build-thread-2nd-gen-legend-k-sport-coilovers-1st-gen-rl-767629/

 

Legends and tranny issues aren't used in the same sentence very often. Nice cars, man!

 

Man I love big-body sedans

 

Great looking RL!

TL wheels are a nice touch.

 

1st gen RL's are extremely reliable. I think the worst thing anyone really has to worry about is a window regulator or switch acting goofy. The engine and transmission are the gold standard of reliability.

 

1G RLs FTW. I never owned one, but love their stately conservative look.

 

Looks great! We loved our 02 RL, very solid and reliable the whole time we had it.

 

Love the 1Gs. Its rare to see a nicely modded one.

 

to what everyone said.

 

A few updates... She's had a little more work done of her lately and finally now that winter is coming to a close. The tinted amber fogs with 3K HIDs amber bulbs... A little bit lower... Random pic... And added the front lip finally...

 

What happened to the Mustang wheels?

 

I have the option to pick them up still... and if i do, I'll use them for DD for the summer. I've been spending more money on rehabbing and updating my house that working on the car... so she got a little attention finally.

 

It looks really good!

 

Feeling the yellow lights. Not feeling the the yellow tint. Looks so much cleaner clear.

 

I agree with the yellow tint on the fogs and it's hard for it to be wrapped and it's peeling a bit in the corners and that won't work for me. So i plan to remove it honestly. it was a fun experiment, but just not me. The amber bulbs do enough for the amber look. i'll take a better picture of the lip later today when i can since the one i posted earlier doesn't do it justice.

 

Nice RL! The TL wheels suit it so well.

 

I will be removing the yellow fog light tint today, but here is a better picture of the front lip installed...

 

Nice looking ride! Always liked the 1G RL - One of my favorite big solid looking cars.

 

Thanks for the support guys and ladies.

Now, i need to get this thing tinted finally and lowered a little more as well. and wheels of course.

The wheels I'm looking at though... might not be something everyone will like, but that's life. can't please everyone. LOL

 

I think the 3G 5 spokes look perfect on it

 

I think it might start to look cheesy if you keep lowering it. Gotta find a nice balance

And those 3G TL wheels looked pretty much perfect to me.

 

&

No moar low. Wheels look great. One more on the tints.

 

I agree with you guys too honestly. After looking at it more and more the past few days... and with the lip on there scrapping from time to time... height isn't the problem.

I just need to get a little bit bigger wheel and i might go with an 18" wheel to see what that does. I've done the 19" wheel route before and it was fun, but with camber and things, the tires went away quickly... so, I'll just keep going with "trial and error" and find what works best.

 

+1 on the stock 3G wheels, perhaps getting them refinished in a little darker color would look even better

 

they do look better a little darker... until i wash the brake dust off. Lol.

 

As you have all mentioned, you all the the TL wheels... and since i have been rocking them for almost 4 years now, and want something bigger... this is one of the wheels I'm having Photoshopped on the car to see how much i like them.

It'll give me the same look pretty much and with an 18" wheels like i've been wanting as well...

TSW Rivage...

 

Lip looks really good on there dark twin .

 

You know how it is... Good and Evil sometimes resemble each other. Lol

 

love the way it is coming out!, especially the fogs and THAT LIP!!! ;-)

 

I really appreciate the lip idea... It was pretty simple to do, but a point...

Make sure when you buy the plastic, make sure that the pieces you pick up aren't botched on the ends that you plan to use and bolt to the bottom of the bumper.

I need to completely rebuild my Passenger side... sucks, but it could be worse!

I still love the look though

 

Love it...I think a thinner, MORE spoked wheel could look clean on that body style too. Great job keeping up with it.

 

Any suggestions on the type of wheel you are talking about? Multiple spoke wheels really aren't my thing, but I'm curious what you have in mind.

 

Gotta love snow in Spring time... looking for a replacement fog light for the passenger side.

I'm doing research to see if there is any real difference in the JDM fog lights compared to the USDM ones... I might just get a replacement set from the other side of the world and call it a day.

 

my idea was like of the old GSR wheels? Something like that...or the nice 19" bronze HFP wheels from Honda.

About the fog, go on ebay...there's a guy out of canada selling replacement lenses made of lexan. Just did mine this week.

J.