Version 1.0

Here it is, my car as a fresh canvas. Aside from the Old School 15x6 Work Emotions, clear corners and Suspension Technique Speed Tech springs, my car was stock. This is how it looked about two months after I got it in February 1999.

In July 1999, I went out to Miyagi's and decided to drive, so I can show my high school buddies that I have a hoopty no more! The one time I take it out it gets hit. To top it off, it's a practically homeless guy that was moving from Branson, Missouri who hit me in a gas station parling lot. Ever since I got the car, I've been telling people that I was going to get the car painted sooner or later since red imfamously fades to pink on the bumpers and mirrors. Little did I know that sooner became later, and I would be doing it on my own. My only experience was painting models; I guess that was enough.

After the deductible, insurance cut me a check that was almost enough to buy all the equipment that I needed. I actually went over budget since I bought so much sand paper and other miscellaneous things that come up.

I do owe credit to my older brother; he was the one who took care of the major body work. I have no clue on how to work with body filler.

The car was totally stripped except for the glass and dash right before I actually started painting it. The whole process took me the whole summer little by little. Body work ate up most of my time; when it came to primer. paint, and clear, it only took me about a week. All this time my bro was helping me, he was also planning his wedding! I" finished" it in time for the wedding. It wasn't color sanded or buffed yet though.

About three months later, my bomb-ass girlfriend (practically my wife) bought me a Mugen style spoiler for my birthday/Christmas gift! I painted and installed it right after New Year's (still using the paint supplies that I had left over).

The day after I put on the spoiler, I slapped on 17x7 Adler Racing AR-08's that were on my girlfriend's Accord. I bought her 18x7.5 Tenzo Shu-4's in exchange (which got stolen, but that's a whole other story!).

BTW, that is me painting.

CRUNCH! 04.14.2002

Here's a pic to give you a perspective on what I had to repair. My newly installed JDM 1pc. got crushed; ironically, the day before this happened I had just sold my USDM 3pc. headlights. Luckily, the bulbs didn't shatter saving me a little under $100 for a new set. Actually, the damage probably would have been worse if the 3pcs. were on since they have metal brackets that could have bent the frame pretty badly. Look at the minor damage the RX300 suffered.

Version 2.0: Search for Parts

Someone else's junk became my treasure. I bought all this at YLM in Monrovia for $140. The fender is genuine JDM which has a hole cut out for the side marker; notice the thinner moulding. When I walked into the trailer/lobby the 1pc. was begging for me to buy it. It didn't have a mate so they wanted to get rid of it quick. No bulbs or harnesses were included, but I was able to salvage my old ones. Eventually, the driver's side fender need some hacking, so I traced the JDM fender and flipped over the paper to transfer it to the USDM one.

Since I was doing this on my own, I figured I wanted a new look. A few weeks before all this I was considering the Kaminari FRONT bumper. Around the same time I had a friend selling Mugen-style side skirts, so I picked those up as well for $150.

Test-fitting

Prep and fitting takes a lot of patience, elbow grease and sweat. Most of my time was put into this. I still need to get a 90-91 bumper support for the Kaminari, since it wasn't meant to fit a 92-93 bumper support which is a little bigger in some spots.

Primer/Paint/Clear

This is actually easier than prepping. Proper prepping pays off in the long run since each step builds on the previous one. Cleaning, drying and tacking thouroughly are also mandatory in order to end up with a superior finish.

Surprise! Part 1

In the middle of all this, graduation came up along with a visit from my girlfriend's relatives who were generous enough to give me a set of Mugen MF-8 COPIES (aka Rota Circuit 8's).

Surprise! Part 2

I finally tracked down a 90-91 bumper support from a local Recycler ad and a few weeks later Codagoshi from G2IC sold me the 90-91 brackets. It took a while to actually screw the bumper in place. After seeing NC-B17A's post I had to get moving. As you can see the passenger side lived up to its stereotype by not fitting. I still have to work on it.

JDM Vroom and fragileness!

I visited GOKOOLJAPAN this weekend and picked this bad boy up--->

I wonder what's in that box? Thanks Armaan!

VIS is a remix!

Need I say more?

MISC PIX