drivetofive

Odometer (Legend):  527,315

Odometer (ILX):  57,133

It sure is getting dark early these days.  On the bright side, I get brilliant sunsets like this for my commute home in the ILX.

One of the 9 Acura Legends in my past was a stunning white 6-speed sedan.  Rewinding the clock to early 2007, I’d just finished up my MBA degree and landed my first “real” job.  It was time to reward myself with something special, and I’d always had a soft spot for the rare 1994-1995 Legend GS sedan 6-speed models.

Posted in a for-sale ad by the original owner’s son Simon, a pearl white 1994 Legend GS was offered up with full records and an amazing history.  It was the classic “little old lady” scenario – almost too good to be true, yet it was 100% real.  I recognized the urgency on sealing the deal before anyone else snagged this rare car.  In short order, I’d arranged for online payment and booked a short flight to Orange County from Phoenix.  I’d never seen a 207,000-mile car with such an immaculate interior.  The seats were so smooth it was like they’d been freshly upholstered.  I grinned all 400 miles home to Phoenix that evening.

Here’s the detailed posting that I shared with the Legend forums soon thereafter, including the following pics.  Key handoff here (no car sale is “official” without one!) with Simon at left:

Amazing interior:

And oh my.  Paperwork galore.

First fuel up in Palm Springs, CA off Interstate 10 eastbound.

For today’s photoset we travel back to February 2007 – six and a half years ago.  I had just installed some 19″ Racing Hart C2 wheels on the Legend GS and took it for a weekend drive through the mining country in the Superstition Mountains about 70 miles east of the Phoenix valley.  These are the pictures I took that day.

Superior, Arizona

That open window in this abandoned brick building was so inviting.  ‘Urban exploration’ is a hobby of mine that I enjoy almost as much as playing with cars.

I met up briefly with my friend Chris who also had a 1994 Legend, but his was a Sherwood Green L model.

Don’t try this shot at home, kids.

Superior felt like a ghost town, and in reality it’s not far from becoming one.

This is the same “Hotel Magma” that was featured in the blog on an ILX this summer.

I felt like I needed to take off my shoes or wear booties every time I got in here.

There’s something serene about those cliffsides at dusk.

That Legend lives on in even better shape today than when I sold it.  My friend Wayne from Houston, Texas bought it from me in October 2007 when I moved on to a Honda Prelude project.  Wayne has since made some mechanical updates including replacement of the ABS pump.  The car today only has 215,000 miles on it.

My coupe at the time had a mere 274,000 miles on it, and looked something like this.

Heber, Arizona

Mogollon Rim, Arizona

We made it to Friday!  What’s everyone up to for the weekend?

This entry was posted on October 24, 2013 at 7:32 pm and is filed under Legend, Throwback. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.