I am going to reinforce what Cranswick and floating doc said, learn your car. If you can goto the dealership or get into contact with the previous owner and figure out what exactly has been done, do that FIRST. Get paperwork; the dealership (if serviced there) should be able to give you something. If the car has not been serviced there, contact the previous owner and get as much paperwork as possible. Taking someones word is almost completely useless these days. If he cannot prove it has been done, assume it hasn't and go get it checked. Better to be safe then sorry.

As for modifying, your gonna need to learn to fly before you jump from your branch.
Things such as losing weight can be done a lot cheaper then $500. Removing the spare tire and jack will get rid of roughly 25-30 pounds. Removing the rear seats completely won't be dramatic but it will add up. Removing trims and other appearance items will decrease weight as well. All this can get you started without spending money or needing a whole lot of knowledge.
Also, just because right now you have a decent bit of money to start, it doesn't mean it will always be there. Learning to do things yourself and learning your car is an extraordinary money saver. Take Cranswick for example (my apologies about the spotlight), for some time now he has been in process of building his own turbo kit for his RA. I can guarantee you he didn't know everything from the start but with proper research and good determination, he has completed his goals and saved himself soooo much money. If you find it intimidating to turn a wrench, that is completely fine, everyone at some point was, but the best way to learn is to take it in baby steps. Say the day has come and you want to start looking into suspension, go out, jack up your RA and take off the wheels. Poke around underneath your car and look at how it is all assembled. Suspension is probably one of the easiest things to do, especially coilovers, and with proper documentation such as the service manual, it gets even easier. Don't be so quick to pay someone to do it, you will be surprised how much knowledge you gained from working on those trucks.

I am not trying to burst your bubble and ruin your original plans but I know so many people who jump from their branch, only to land face first. Just be conservative with your purchases and do your research before acting and you will be completely fine. The whole reason we are on these forums is to learn and help others, there are a few who take it for granted but you don't. You came here with an idea and let others morph it into something that makes a little more sense, which is a great way to learn.

Hope this all made sense and sorry if I sound like Dr. Phil but I am trying to support Cranswick and Floating Doc lol.

I actually kinda like the paint job on her now. Looks nice. Maybe some black wheels to set it off but she looks good!

And Crans is very true. And like I was alluding toward earlier. The only work I honestly trust done to my ride is the work I do myself. Last two times someone else has worked on my cars something comes back screwy. First time walmart forgets to tighten the oil drain plug, engine loses oil, seizes up. Caused me to get an entire new engine swapped in. Second time a body shop had to replace the driver side door after someone swiped it. Now whenever I get up to 80 mph you can hear wind rushing through some gap in the door. How in the world that happens when it was suppose to be a brand new door they swapped on I will never know. But it just goes to prove that he only work you can trust is your own. And the only way you can trust your own is if you know what your doing.

Take your time, get some studying in. Learn about the car, and how to do as much of the work yourself as you can. Hell there are vast amounts of information I've personally gathered just from wondering around the forums here!

hahaha no I am trying to learn as much as I can and I honestly dont want power to begin with. I want to make sure shes good then move up to adding HP and what not. I did realize the price on the cf hood lol and maybe its not the way to go but thats good to know about the seats and spare! Like I said before though I do have alot of friends that know what there doing and are completely dedicated to helping me fix her up and show me how to do it. They are all telling me pretty much everything you guys are except the difference is no one has owned a RA they all have different cars. I came on here cause you guys know your car which happens to be an RA

I did not read anything past this post I have to go to work Ill reply later.

EDIT: It does look nice and even better in person I want to change the color though to something darker maybe black on bottom and grey on top. abunch of my friends told me just buy them a case of beer and we will all help sand it so its not going to be that expensive to repaint.

This is the first car Ive owned and for the reason on why I bought this car is because:
1. it wasnt expensive. I just got off deployment and took a loan out on my own money to build credit because I had enough to pay cash.
2. I love the look of the Evo but RA is a good first start to learn how to take care of my future car.

That being said it is a beginner car for me and I will eventually upgrade to either evo or a newer RA model but at the same time I dont want to treat it like its my first. I want to do things right and make this a beautiful car inside and out on my way to learning how to do things myself. Im very lucky to have people in the army willing to help me out. one of my good friends said he was a mechanic for 8 years but he dosnt do mods an stuff like that.

I don't know what's all available to you yanks, but up here in the canadian forces, every base has an "auto hobby club" where you pay for a membership, or pay by the hour, and they have full sized hydraulic lifts, a tool crib with everything you'll ever need, and tool boards for common tools, and the rates are low...last time i went i paid $20 for 3 months, and you make a $20 deposit before you start, and if you break a tool or whatever you lose your $20.

Thats decent!

Rob, i'm not sure, but i think civilians may be able to use it as well, there's one in CFB Borden, right next to the south gate/MP shack...you could give them a call and ask...call the base, hit 0 for the operator and ask for the auto hobby club (705-424-1200 i think)

alright well thank you all for helping me out! I spoke to my friend and tomarrow were getting her a tune up! Ill let you know whats done to her and Ill take before and after pictures and keep everyone updated on what she turns into. the first step!

IMO, keep it this way. Don't put 6k towards a RA with an automatic transmission. Just keep up with the maint. and use the RA for your DD.

howdy stranger, my shifter feels really nice...thanks again, and good to see you on here

Parrish is on here more than me just not this forum.......

And Ohfour post up some more pics.

Yep I put an exhaust on which sounds beautiful and Im going to put a new fuel filter, new wires and spark plugs, new pvc valve, a CAI system, pully and front motor mount sometime this week. Might put a new alternator. Im going to put up a video so you can hear the sound and see what it looks like as soon as I finish.

After this is all done Im going to fix up the appearance put a body kit on with some tires, put some halo headlights in and make the brakes look pretty haha after all that is done Im going to save for the LSD and turbo.

if any of that sounds alittle off just point it out please lol thats just the plan I have in my head on what to do first.

I know its an automatic but seriously I still want it to look and feel amazing theres nothing wrong with that. I live in a very very congested city so theres alot of traffic which sucks but thats the plus on the A/T haha not to mention this is a learning car for me more then anything. when I feel like I want and can afford to move up I will untill then Im going to keep and make THIS RA look and feel amazing.

Just in the case that your talking about spark plug wires. The RA has none, we got coil packs. Didnt want you to waste any $$ if your ordering stuff or something.

Anyway sounds like a decent plan. Im sorta in the same boat as you with the A/T. I know Im not going to get insane performance out of it. But I'd at least like to make is nice, and fun to drive. Then some day I'll move up to something a bit more performance/upgrade minded.

Ok let's see here , while not trying to discourage you. The fuel filter is built into the fuel pump and if you don't have a problem with the pump don't replace it. As said above there are no spark plug wires and the oem spark plugs are good for 90k miles so unless your having issues with the plugs leave that alone to. Same thing with the PCV and alternator, if it's not broken don't fix it. You should change all of your fluids ,check/update your suspension, inspect your belts and hoses. 1st.

The CAI, underdrive pulley, and solid front and rear motor mounts. Checkout the newbie thread to see about the basic and advanced mods available. There are alot of "how to's " be sure to see that as well and the Evo how to's are helpful too as we have alot in common.

As far as the body , I own the front bumper ,hood , and halo headlights your looking into getting and I love them all

And guys with the auto tranny.....I hear the samething from Dacib " I wish it was a stick. " There are plenty of pros to the auto tranny vs the stick, like never missing a gear, less driver fatigue especially in the city, just about everyone can drive an auto incase someone else needs to use your car, and alot less people want to joyride in your car. The fastest cars I've ever seen were auto

i like AT

just waiting for money to replace my busted coilovers and then saving for the turbokit and LSD and thats where my car will stop lol

That's what you say now... Lol Its never gonna stop