Helix Auto Works

Moving forward with the project, we finally got the lower radiator support bars for the NSX. They took a little while to arrive, but they’re here at last. Honestly, we wish the parts had shown up back when we were working on the chassis in Georgia, but part availability with these cars can be tricky.

Thankfully, our friends at squeezed us in, welded the parts, and rechecked the measurements to make sure everything up front is straight. We also grabbed new front bumper brackets and other small bits to finish the front end.

On the interior side, Jay and I focused on the door windows—replacing the regulators, upgrading the guides to Teflon guides from , swapping the front and rear door sashes, cleaning and re-greasing the rails, and replacing most of the window clips.

The new A/C line is now installed, along with a fresh ignition key system. The car was missing parts, so we sourced a complete set to make it whole again.

Next up: cleaning carpets, refreshing the rear interior, and deciding whether to reupholster the OEM NSX seats or go carbon fiber.

What do you guys think OEM seats or Recaros? Stay tuned—this build is only getting better.

After the little mishap with the carbon fiber mold, we shifted focus to the lighting system—and wow, it was a mess.

The taillights flickered, turn signals went crazy, and after digging in, we found a blown relay under the steering wheel that showed signs of moisture. Once replaced, everything worked again.

Up front, things got even weirder. Someone had installed aftermarket HID ballasts on a car that already came with factory HIDs 🤦. One ballast was from a BMW/Audi platform, and there was another random one sitting in a bag in the trunk. Options, I guess 🤣.

We cleaned it all up and replaced everything with a new set of aftermarket ballasts we sourced online. With a quick polarity swap on the connectors, they worked perfectly with the OEM harness.

Now that the trunk is cleaned up and the lights are sorted, next up: installing new A/C lines, seals, and dryer so we can finally get the front bumper panels back on. Slowly but surely, this NSX is coming together.

Link for the ballast.

https://amzn.to/46PV7Ca

Since the engine’s fate is still in the hands of the machine shop, we turned our attention to the NSX’s front-end damage.

When I first saw the car in California, the passenger-side rail was pushed in and bent, making the bumper sit awkwardly. Once the front end came off, measurements confirmed it—10 mm down and 10 mm inward from spec base on the NSX repair manual. The main damage was to the front passenger rail and the radiator support bar, which we hoped could be brought back to spec.

To tackle this, we took the car to our friends at Black Jack Frame Machines , who put it on the frame machine. After almost a full day of measuring, remeasuring, pulling, and pushing, we finally had the chassis back to factory spec. Some welding was needed on the radiator support bar and the passenger-side A/C condenser. I had wanted to replace the entire radiator support bar, but some parts weren’t available at the time we took the car to Georgia.

For the rest of the front end, the fenders had some damage, so we dropped them off at . Most of the remaining parts will need to be ordered new, since several were badly bent or poorly repaired in the past—like the upper section of the front bumper.

At this point, it’s just another waiting game. While we wait for the rest of the pieces of this huge puzzle to arrive, we’ll be working on some interior updates. Stay tuned for more.