One of the first things I did was so something about those horrible looking wheels.  I polished the aluminum highlights, and painted the insets black.  It made a world of difference.  I was also fortunate enough to find a parts car that had a few things I needed, like a hatch lock and fog lamps.  Separately I bought a bowtie grill, Grid taillights, hood and hatch struts, and a few other small things I needed.  I also picked up a set of 4th gen seats, a three spoke steering wheel, and a better (but not perfect) dash pad. After doing all of that I couldn't leave the paint alone, so I bought the closest match I could in rattlecan paint, and gave it a pretty nice, but temporary paint job.  All of this was done in the first month I owned the car