ABP CLS6: Round Two
 

Disclaimer: Some of this content at the beginning is from my other ABP thread to keep the storyline intact. You can skip down a bit if you’re already caught up on the acquisition of the rough ABP CLS6.

My love for the CL goes back nearly 20 years. I was fortunate to have a 2001 Aegean Blue Pearl CL Type-S back in high school. It was honestly too much car for a 16 year old at that time, but there was no doubt that I loved it. Here's an actual picture of the car after being cleaned for prom:

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In 2008 I made a very dumb decision and traded it in for a 2004 TL. While the TL eventually turned into a great looking car, I never truly fell in love with it. I kept modifying it, hoping I would make it cool enough to not regret the purchase, which sadly never happened.

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The TL treated me well for 7 years, but I decided to part it out and scratch the itch of owning a S2000. I had been wanting a S2000 since I was 14, but told myself I wanted to accomplish some things in life before buying one. I bought one in 2015 and still have it to this day. Here's a progress thread if you're interested: https://acurazine.com/forums/car-tal...thes2k-933421/

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About 5 years ago I started thinking about finding another ABP CLS, but I knew I wanted a factory 6-speed. After experiencing the thrill of rowing through the gears in the S2000, and the fragileness of the automatic transmissions from the early 2000s, I was fully set on only buying a manual. Poking around here on Acurazine told me that less than 300 ABP manuals were produced, so it was a slim chance I'd find one.

I found one in April 2020, but the timing wasn't right, as my daughter had been born the same month and I wasn't sure if the whole 'Rona pandemic would affect my employment. After I passed on that car, it took me until earlier this month, a full 3 years later, to find a factory ABP CLS6. Equipped with Navigation, this is one of 68 in this configuration. I messaged the owner instantly, told him my history and love of the platform, and agreed to drive nearly 12 hours one way to Mississippi to pick it up. Luckily the owner was awesome and drove the car 3 hours closer to cut down on my round-trip time.

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Here's the thread I started when I brought the car home: https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-cl-p...-cls6-1002192/

Less than two weeks after starting that thread about my recent CLS6 purchase, another ABP CLS6 popped up for sale. This is just my luck :rofl: It was MUCH cleaner, less than half of the miles, extremely well cared for with lots of recent maintenance, and even though it was going to cost much more and didn’t have factory navigation, it made more sense to dedicate my efforts towards a better cared for vehicle.

So before even listing the other ABP CLS6 for sale, I bought this one. I flew out to Kansas City on a Sunday night and drove it straight back the next day. First stop for gas in southern Illinois:

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Though Tennessee after stopping to visit an Acurazine member south of Nashville:

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One of two tunnels in western North Carolina:

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And home:

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The next day I cleaned it up and took some photos. Luckily I was accompanied by a fantastic background.

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And so it began. I removed the original(!) cabin air filters and replaced them with new OEM parts:

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Had to get the best sunshade in the business. This is the 7th Covercraft I’ve purchased for myself or a family member. I swear by them.

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Nerded out and bought some original brochures on eBay:

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The previous owner provided some additional parts, including a short shifter kit, but I likely won’t install it.

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As shown above on my 3G TL, I had a set of powdercoated 18x8.5 A-Specs. I always loved them and wanted a set for the CL. Luckily a great friend knew of an Acurazine member who had a fresh set available. I reached out to inquire and just a few days later they arrived.

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I still had a set of OEM 3G TL-S centercaps with the recessed black emblem instead of the raised chrome, but I decided to be an OEM snob and stick with the original centercaps.

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Mounted!

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But as good as they looked, the wheel gap was absolutely killing me. So I ordered a set of TEIN Flex Z coilovers.

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Installed!

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While the car has been well-kept, it’s still a 20-year old vehicle with some flaws. The rear bumper needs to be repainted and the quote I recently received was ridiculous, so I performed a paint correction to bring back some life. It’s not perfect, but it only cost me a bit of time.

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And this past Saturday I showed it off at a Acura meet at the local dealership. It was the only CL in attendance :toocool:

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I had some great company as well.

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And while it was sad to see the project CLS6 go, it went to a great home. A part of me was heartbroken that I was giving up on the car :sad:

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Roommates :love:

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While I’m sure I’ll think of something, I honestly don’t have any other major plans for the car. An ABP CLS6 on gunmetal A-Specs was the dream and I’m fortunate enough to be able to make it happen. There are some minor items I'd like to complete, like swapping the steering wheel for the mint one I picked up a few months ago, replacing the driver door lock and it's pushed into the door a bit, repainting the aforementioned faded rear bumper, and fixing the wear on the driver seat bolster. But I'm perfectly content with the way it sits.

Thanks for following the wild ride :)

Nice! Congratulations!

Makes me miss mine. Congrats man, super happy for you :hug:

Congrats man! Car looks great. Can't wait to check it out in person sometime.

You have a great friend? :hug:
Love this thread, love that you're so happy. You deserve it.

Nice score. Did you use spacers? What size tires? Looks more flush than 45 offset.

:cheers: Of course it had to be right after buying the first one that this pops up :rofl: Glad you pulled the trigger, this one does look much nicer.

Looks so much better than the last one!

It would have been nice to see the other CL restored, but I can't blame you for picking up the second one. It really looks great, especially after the drop and the A-Spec wheels.

You should bring it out to the Classic Honda's at the Dragon meetup in October. If it's anything like the last couple of years, you'll be the only 2nd gen there!

When in October? @Blazin Si

+2 CLs, maybe.

This year it will be on the 7th and 8th of October. Saturday is when the main car show/meetup takes place.

https://www.classichondasonthedragon.com/

Nice, hope to see you there! :cheers:

Thank you :blush:

Thank you, Morg Morg :love:

Thank you, Jason! A meet is long overdue.

Thank you, J :cry:

Thank you! No spacers. Tires are 235/40/18.

This is why I rarely buy shit for myself...as soon as I do, something better pops up :tomato:

Night and day difference!

I really hated to see the other one go, but this thing is so much cleaner.

I'll certainly consider attending that meet! I don't think I have anything going on that day.

Let's go.

:butthead:

Man - that is one HOT ride. I have also been looking for one just like it.

Thank you for the kind words! Here's one for sale :) https://acurazine.com/forums/market/1003746

I saw that one. It's a bit far to go for now. It looks clean.

When I bought the car in March, I noticed the battery was from 2017. Overtime, the car was slow to start, and once it was completely dead. I started to regularly leave it on a battery tender, but I knew a new battery was inevitable.

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Welp, two weeks ago, the car wouldn't start. Went out and bought a brand new OEM battery.

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Threw in the new battery and the car still wouldn't start. The car was acting like the clutch wasn't engaged. I tried to crank the car over 10 times and it wouldn't do a thing...so off to the shop it went.

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Turns out the main relay was an aftermarket piece, that was incredibly old, and even somehow developed a crack on one side. Once a new OEM main relay was installed, the car fired right up. Huge thanks to @civicdrivr for correctly diagnosing the issue.

While the car was at the shop, I had an alignment completed, as I still hadn't had one done since installing the coilovers :hide:

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And we're all good! Currently sitting at 124k miles.

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I hope everyone is doing well! :cheers:

I seriously can't get over how clean that paint is. It looks so damn good. That second to last pic, the angle showing the corner, looks amazing. Definitely jealous, but I don't think I'd be good at taking care of good paint if I had it.

Agreed. Cleaner than most cars 20 years old.

Thank you for the kind words! The car is certainly a 10-footer :rofl: Not the cleanest out there, but to your point, not bad for 20 years old. I've seen much newer vehicles in worse condition.

I plan on having both bumpers repainted next year, and then I'll have a proper paint correction performed :rockon:

Have you sent Andy pics of his wheels on there? He would be proud.

I have not. Probably should.

A random 70-degree December day allotted me a chance to get the car clean. Should hit 125k miles within the next month or so.

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Wire wheel and some black caliper paint...
wish you were local!

Looks great!

Yes, much needed.

If only I could have gotten some RL calipers :bored:

Thank you! Much appreciated.

your car needs the stopping power more than my cuzzo!
I kinda wish I had convinced him to let you take em...
but alas...he's building his dream wagon and YOU are BOTH too considerate of each other.

on the plus side, I have now done a BBK upgrade (BBC upgrade was on backorder)...
so I'm grateful for the experience :love:

Acura NSX ones are also direct bolt-ons and they work with the existing rotors. I had them on my CL-s. They made a huge difference. Just have to replace brake pads more often. :biggrin:

I'm super happy for him. I'm just glad they went to a good home!

Come install mine whenever I get them :D

Good to know! Do you have any old CL parts laying around? :ninja:

I'm always pulling camshafts & calipers from RLs if you ever need a set. Currently sitting on a set of calipers that were supposed to be for my girl, but I don't even know if we're throwing them on.
Also got some RL cams that I've been sitting on for months that are boxed up and ready to go. Plenty of spare CL parts as well that I'd like to get rid of to make space lol.

No sir. I cleaned that car out when I traded it in. I sold everything I was able to sell.

I do remember thinking that the NSX calipers / Rotora Slotted / SS Brake Line upgrade was a really good change. Braking was really improved. And I loved that it was all bolt on. No modifications were needed. I also lucked out. The calipers I found were practically brand new. If you go this route you will need to maybe grind away the "NSX" Logo.


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I vote keep the NSX letters for the scene points with the Honda bois.

Have any Comptech parts? :rofl:

I might reach out when I'm ready for RL calipers. I'd still need new rotors and the caliper brackets.

Good to know. Thank you!

Ew. I would never :ugh:

Nope, I wish, kinda sorta.

Those brackets to fit them on are the main reason why we haven't yet. They keep going up and up in price. Honestly tempted to buy the tools to make brackets myself.

https://fatfourcustoms.com/shop/brak...er-bracket-v1/

$170 for the 2G TL/CL. They used to be $40 less but material prices have gone up. :shrug:

I think I spent $80 on my brackets? It's been awhile, so I don't remember. I also have steel braided brake lines, which have also gone in price.
All in all, seems pretty ridiculous. But the world is pretty ridiculous currently, so it's whatever I suppose.

I would not do NSX ones...they don't look BBC.
Performance is great, but the look is what makes it worthwhile IMO.

^
:chuckle:
The heyday of low priced remanufactured NSX front disc brake calipers has long passed because RA was the best reliable source:
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Hopefully everyone had a great Christmas and holiday season. No changes to the car of course, but here's a festive photo.

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