Back then money was pretty tight, so I couldnd't do much, but I took care of her the best I could. In the spring of 2004 I released my first book (I'm a cartoonist) and since then money has never been a problem. It was always my philosophy to work "from the inside, out". I never wanted a car that looked fast but couldn't back it up. So in the late summer/early fall of 2004, I bought a KL-ZE engine and had the swap done.
In the fall of 2004 I started collecting body parts for the car, with the intention of finally bringing her in for bodywork and paint this spring. I know that shipping of parts like these usually takes quite a while, so I started early.
As of a few weeks ago, the last of the parts had arrived. MS Front Bumper, KMAX side skirts, B-2 Rear Bumper, inverted carbon fiber hood, NSX vents and Z3 inserts, and a Sparco chrome locking fuel door.
Because there was some damage on my car (most seriously the driver's side door had rusted through beyond repair) I picked up a parts car for $500, a 93 special edition salvage title.
I spent my whole day yesterday pulling the front fenders and doors off the parts car so they can be used as donors.
Doors and fenders stripped off the parts car
![Image](http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/images/journal/prep01.jpg)
![Image](http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/images/journal/prep02.jpg)
All of the pieces ready to bring to the shop. They'll do the actual swap onto my car, since it's easier to do a color change (paint job) when parts are off the car.
![Image](http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/images/journal/prep03.jpg)
I also gutted all of the interior panels from the parts car. They were in fantastic shape (a full set of perfect black interior panels!), and some of them will be replacing the ones my car came with. This way I also have an extra set to try and get professionally reupholstered (I want the panel inserts to be the same shade of light gray as my headliner). If it doesnt work out, I've got a nice all-black set to use.
![Image](http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/images/journal/prep04.jpg)
You can see I was also using the parts car as trash and tool/parts storage.
![Image](http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/images/journal/prep05.jpg)
Finally I took some pictures of my baby to serve as "before" shots. Now that she's been dropped off for the work, she'll never look like this again.
![Image](http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/images/journal/prep06.jpg)
![Image](http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/images/journal/prep07.jpg)
![Image](http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/images/journal/prep08.jpg)
In about 3-4 weeks I'll have my car back, and she'll be "Sunlight Silver Metallic", the newest Mazda factory silver, and it will finally be the car I always knew it could be!
-Tim