The Find

Capri Tools. We make tools. We refine them. We fill the gaps. We stand behind every product. We listen to our customers. And we love it. But there’s always been an itch. To do something just for us. Something fun. Something that had nothing to do with torque specs or socket sizes—but everything to do with why we started this company in the first place.

We love cars. Always have.

We’d been watching for a while. The builds, the auctions, the whole scene. Wondering if we’d ever do one ourselves.

Then one afternoon, scrolling through Facebook, an ad stopped us. A 1995 Acura NSX. Black on black. Just under 40,000 miles. Original.

We stopped scrolling.

Wait—it’s 2025, and this car only has 40k miles? What on earth?!

We brought it to the marketing team. The room lit up. Everyone had an opinion. Everyone was in. The car was an hour and a half away. Here’s the thing about the NSX—if you know, you know. The car Ayrton Senna helped develop. The supercar that embarrassed Ferraris on the track and drove you home in comfort. Mid-engine V6. All-aluminum chassis. Hand-assembled in Tochigi.

We’ve always wanted to see one up close. Now there was one ninety minutes away. Let’s go.

There she was. 1995 Acura NSX. Black on black. 39,000 original miles.

Untouched.

Original paint, original interior, original smell. The kind of ’90s Honda that still smells like 1995. Two owners. Full service records. Only modification: Bilstein shocks. Otherwise, completely stock.

The kind of car you read about on forums but never actually find.

How do you walk away from this? You don’t.

Day One

After the wait, we gathered the team and headed out to pick up the car. We didn’t do a PPI—what’s the point? We were going to restore it anyway.

Or so we thought.

It was a scorching afternoon driving back from Hollywood. Traffic on the 101 was its usual nightmare. Right when we got off the freeway, we stepped on the brakes.

Nothing.

Pumped them. Something. Pumped again. Nothing. We almost hit the car in front of us.

Who would think a 39,000-mile car would lose its brakes? Master cylinder. Thirty years of rubber seals giving up at the worst possible moment. We were lucky—really lucky—that nobody got hurt.

The Next Morning

When the tow truck rolled up, we noticed something on the concrete underneath the car. Oil. A whole lot of it. The master cylinder was just the beginning.

We took it to HQ Engineering—the NSX experts in Los Angeles. David and his team opened it up and started finding things. Cam seals leaking. Valve cover gaskets failed. Cracked hoses. Original spark plugs. Original timing belt. The crucial 90k major service had clearly never been done.

So we did it. The right way.

The Full Restore

Engine out. Frame up. The right way.

New timing belt. New water pump. New tensioner. Every seal, every gasket, every hose replaced. All-new fluids. Cam covers off, valve adjustments dialed in, distributor caps and rotors swapped, plugs replaced. The entire engine bay degreased and detailed back to factory.

HQ’s drawers were full of Honda OEM parts in the original factory packaging—the right way to do it.

And while we had the engine out—why not? Science of Speed headers. SOS exhaust. Koyo aluminum radiator. Short shifter. New belts, brake fluid, the works. The list went on and on.

We’d also ordered a Brembo Pista Big Brake Kit—but those were on backorder. We’d have to wait.

Engine back in. Started for the first time in months. Idled clean. No leaks. No smoke. No warning lights.

The engine was healthy.

For the first time in thirty years, every seal sealed, every gasket gasketed, every hose held pressure. The mechanical heart of this car was finally where it should have been all along.

Are we done? Not even close.

Phase 2 is the chassis. The brakes are on a boat.