This is a post I’ve been waiting to put together for a little while now. Back in the summer (of 2015) Alex picked up a new car – an ’08 Acura TL Type S. These are really nice cars anyway but this purchase was extra special for Alex because the TL is his favourite platform. After previously owning an older – and lower – model, he came across this Type S for sale and headed over to Saskatchewan to pick it up. Not too long after some small changes started being made and by the end of the season it was looking a little bit different.

I gathered some photos of the car here and there as it started to evolve but was waiting on the chance to take a few more before putting together a little post – this post – on its progression. On top of my own projects I like to give updates on friends’ as well since they are often seen on the blog. With its first (partial) season of ownership by Alex over, I felt it was time to take a closer look at the TL and highlight what has been done so far to make it more unique. Alex and I had originally coordinated to meet up yesterday for something else TL-related (more on that later) but at the last minute those plans were canceled leaving us with a free afternoon. Perfect opportunity to take a few photos!

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? This photo – and a few others below – have been seen on the blog before but I’m using them to better show how the TL has changed. This first photo – taken at Canada Day’s GE meet – was the first I took of the car, shortly after he picked it up.

In August Alex came with us to the grand opening of Balance Auto Garage and the TL was sporting its first change.

The stock tail lights were replaced with custom pieces which Alex had saved from his previous TL. The housings had been painted body colour and the lenses replaced with clear pieces. This photo was taken the day after the Balance Auto BBQ, at Sunday School.

In September Alex brought the TL by The MacKenCo Garage and together with Keith and Dominic we wrapped the roof in gloss black vinyl. This and the photo below were taken just before we started work that day.

It was sitting much lower by this point as Balance Auto had just replaced the stock suspension with Tein Street Advance coilovers. Alex had also partially debadged the trunk, and replaced the Acura and Type S badges with new pieces.

After the roof was done I neglected to take proper photos of it so now is when we jump forward to Sunday. With time on our hands we took the TL out for the few quick photos.

Not surprisingly it was rather dirty from winter, so first we stopped at a car wash. While Alex was inside paying for the wash I snapped this – the TL still wears its commemorative decal from Sunday School!

Getting all cleaned up! After this we actually almost got stuck at the exit of the wash thanks to all of the ice that had formed. That was fun.

After getting off of that skating rink Alex parked the TL in an empty parking lot and we hopped out. Fortunately this was not one of the recent -20C days but it still wasn’t exactly warm so we didn’t spend too long there.

You can see a bit of the wrapped roof in the previous shot but here’s a proper photo of it – these cars really do look good with this section wrapped or painted. Also, the windows were tinted as you may have noticed.

About a month after the roof was wrapped Alex received the pair of colour-matched headlights he had ordered to match the tail lights. He brought the TL over again and we set about installing them, which required removing the front bumper. New parts are always a great excuse to hang out.

Along with the housings being colour-matched, the new headlights also feature dual projectors which is a rather subtle update.

Along with the changes seen here Alex has also had the paint polished and sealed, some minor PDR work done, and the car was also undercoated in preparation for a Calgary winter. It was very clean when he picked it up but it was still already 7 years old so had collected a couple of door dings and some light swirls – stuff that most people wouldn’t care about but of course these things matter to us.

With the car sitting lower, wheels are an obvious next step and that’s what Alex is currently shopping for in preparation for this year’s shows and meets. As a matter of fact, looking at and test-fitting a set of wheels is what we were meant to be doing on Sunday! Unfortunately the seller changed his mind but I think Alex may have something else on his radar already. Expect to see more of this car over 2016 as work continues and it comes out to more events!

-Bill