"The car was pretty fast at the time," Walsh tells me, "[but] I was tired of the car looking like a piece of junk." Not only had his preference in cars changed over the course of a few months, but his preference in modifications was also altered. The molded-on body kit that was once thought to be cool, and no doubt the main reason behind the initial purchase, now revealed its true value... "junk." Working with a friend, Chris Kirchner, the duo would painstakingly complete the task of removing the molded kit and all the material used to adhere the stock body to the fiberglass "enhancements."
"Unmolding duraglass is not a fun, clean, easy or quick process," he confirms, "But a lot of hard work later the car was back to a stock body." The next thing to do once the body was again recognizable was a new paint job. Championship White is a color synonymous with Type R vehicles and Honda in general. For Walsh, it would be the only color that was fitting for the look he had in mind. Once again his friend Chris stepped in to help and laid the paint down.
Inspired by his new Type R paint scheme Jonathan went to town converting every other stock piece in his way to CTR spec. The highlights of the list would include: headlights, carpet, all interior panels, gauge cluster, front and rear seats and to ensure a fitting silhouette, the infamous rear wing. As the project was headed towards what most would consider completion, Walsh got power hungry. With the cost coming down for K series engines he was now contemplating a second transplant.
"[At first] I was going to rebuild [the B18C], but I saw a few videos online of K-swapped cars running down Camaros and Evos," Jonathan says. So after some pondering, he figured if he'd completed the B swap with such little experience the K swap should be a cake walk. "With a few more Honda swaps under my belt, and a facility to work with power tools, I decided to try and attempt a K swap," Walsh tells us. After making the big decision, he purchased a K swap and started preparing the car for its new heart.
While the engine was out he decided to clean up things here and there. A wire tuck was completed and the brakes were upgraded with a massive Project M big brake kit with 11.75" rotors. Although the car will undoubtedly continue changing, Jonathan feels fairly content with its current form. "I love driving it, it's reliable, gets great gas mileage, handles amazing and is really fast on the straights." In the end, the car wasn't the only thing that changed as Walsh went from serious Honda-hater, to a fully-blown addict/technician. "I guess you could say that Hondas have changed my life."
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