Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 Legends of the Fall: Part One

I wonder why?

There is a car that I found very impressive and appealing when it was introduced back in the 1990's

The Acura Legend Coupe. Both generations have appealed to me, the first Coupe has a very clean design with a beautiful airy green house. 

Nice, but it looks like the Uber Accord.

The second gen design is much more aggressive looking and beefy. It looks a bit, (only a bit mind you!) like a Nissan Skyline coupe. 

This pictured example is immaculate. These images are a good place to start. This is definitely the best Legend that I've seen, since the cars were brand new.

The flat Kammback is quite distinctive, and it is different from the rear end treatment of the sedan. The sedans are handsome and have a slightly longer wheelbase, but they lack the sizzle of the coupe.

Those flat spoke aero style wheels are the perfect design for this car.

The front end is simple, but stylish.

The interior is not lavish, but I like the simple high quality styling, clear analog gauges, and the very notable build quality.

The leather interior looks very inviting. Acura leather doesn't seem to hold up too well over time. Most examples I've seen over the years have cracked and torn surfaces. In comparison to this, almost all of the lower line cloth interiors have held up much better. 

This particular black example was found online and it had been sold some time ago. But it's always better to use a good car as an example, instead of an old beater.

So, I've established that the Legend is a very appealing car, and that I've wanted one for a very long time. It was a car that combined the luxury, and appeal of a personal luxury car with the sportiness of a true GT car. A winning combination that doesn't really exist anymore in the modern automotive world.

The loss of the Legend has been a kind of a "Boomer Lament" for a couple of decades now

I suppose one could ask, "If you liked them so much, why didn't you buy one back in the old Days?"

That's a valid question. 

Back in the mid 1990's I had the rare opportunity to buy a special car that I'd been thinking and dreaming about. There were many cars that I had dreamed and schemed over, but reality always kept me in check. I didn't make enough money to just go out and buy a car like that, besides, there were always family expenses that prevented me from making that kind of purchase. I'd forgotten that this opportunity came about primarily because my Wife had won a radio contest which provided her, and us (!) with a considerable cash prize. It wasn't like the Irish Sweepstakes, but it allowed for a substantial down payment on a "dream car" for me. My Wife thought that by letting me get my "dream car" that I'd be satisfied and happy over the long term. While the car that I bought was very nice and provided us with good service over the many years that we owned it, she found that it didn't satisfy my need to keep looking at cars, which resulted in me owning a string of hobby cars. 

This experience kind of soured my Wife's attitude towards my car craziness, she realized that nothing would ever satisfy me completely.

I had been looking at used Mercedes S class sedans and SEC coupes, Acura Legend sedans and coupes, as well as Cadillac ElDorados and Sevilles. Even a few BMW 7 series sedans and 6 series coupes.

I ultimately made my decision and chose a three year old Seville STS. But that's another story.

Over the years I've kept my eyes open for Legends, especially second gen coupes.

For some reason these models never developed a strong collector following, and they are thin on the ground. Smaller Acura models like the Integra seem to have a better survival rate, but Legends do pop up occasionally.

It seems that many that show up are thrashed beaters, like this coupe that I found on Facebook.

This car isn't wrecked, though there appears to be some damage to the right rear quarter panel. 

The left side is in good condition.

You can see that the chrome trim piece is missing. The body surface is also dull and a bit wavy.

Back seats get less use, and consequently less wear. The Acura cracks are evident.

R-O-U-G-H.

The right door panel is off, and hopefully it is still with the car. Items like this are often discarded, and will be difficult to locate. Those seat covers are just God awful, and I imagine that the original leather underneath is cracked and torn up.

This poor car was found on Facebook, listed at 1,500.00. The seller claims that it runs well, but it will need a new master cylinder and a battery. Mileage is well over the 200K mark, that's pretty much the norm. Legend buyers bought these cars to drive, and they racked up the mileage.

I'm not trying to run this car down. It is currently running and the title is clear. While the body is intact and in fair shape, the biggest problem would be to fix the interior and all the little broken and missing parts. This is critical when you are dealing with a luxury car, a roached out interior doesn't fit in with the vibe. The price is fair, and this really is a desirable model, at least to me.

Hobbyists have been rebuilding and restoring desirable cars for a very long time. Countless '32 and 1940 Fords have brought back to life, but they are much simpler cars made out of metal. Plastic components don't have such a good survival rate. Modern cars utilize a lot of plastic in their construction. These cars are also fairly rare, so wrecking yard parts availability is limited, but parts might be available online.

While it is possible to resurrect a car in this condition, it isn't easy, and it is frequently not the cheapest route. If I have learned anything from my own experience, I should look for something in (much) better shape.

Here's a better example that I found online.

I found this on CL just a few months ago. It's a '93 L with a five speed manual transmission, with 200K on the clock. The asking price is 6,500.00. Of course it's not perfect, the a/c and the sunroof don''t work, and the paint is oxidized and dull. The interior seems to be in pretty good shape. The seller claims that the car runs good. 

This listing has run at least twice, and it's no longer online, so either it has now been sold, or the seller will relist it at a later date. 

The photos look a bit off, I guess that the phone's camera caused this.

While this example is not as nice as the black car I've pictured. The price is much lower and it's not too far gone. Another point in it's favor is that it's green.

As I mentioned, I keep my eyes open for these Legends, and they do pop up occasionally . The question that I have to answer is whether or not I'd move on the right one. 

I am giving this a lot of thought. The Acura Legend coupe is one of the few cars that I really wished that I'd bought years ago. It is the one that got away.