Hi everyone!
Some of you may have seen some of my photos before. If you haven’t seen the photos, please let me introduce myself.
I currently have a 2001 Outback. The 2001 is my second Outback since my first one (a 1999) fell victim to a guy running a red light back in February 2011. The ’01 had 225,000km on it when I bought it and wasn’t very thrilling, now it has 330,000 km on it and I’m liking how it’s turning around. My other half mistakenly called it a ‘project car’ from the repairs I’ve done to it, which (in my mind) gave me the green-light to turn it into the car I want.
Anyway, enjoy the write-up and the photos.
Repairs:
- Clutch
- Driveshaft
- Front brakes
- Front CV axle
- All new shifter bushings (which weren’t in the Energy Suspension package)
- Replaced the engine since the first engine snapped a timing belt – ‘newer’ engine has new headgaskets, water pump, tensioner, timing belt, spark plugs, plug wires, etc.
Upgrades
- Legacy mirrors
- 20% tint
- Black leather interior swap from a 2000 or 2001 LL Bean (still need to swap the dashboard and find a headliner)
- Center console from a 2003 or 2004 legacy
- Modified front grill
- Headlights baked, orange reflectors removed, assemblies polished, and upgraded low beams
- Dash trim painted in a carbon fibre motif
- RTX rims in 205/55R16 tires
- JDM roof spoiler
- JDM tail lights
- Energy Suspension Main stay & shifter bushings
Stereo
- Sound deadener on the inside of the doors, door frames, spare tire, cargo area, tailgate, etc
- Panasonic head unit (taken from the totalled 1999 Outback)
- JL 6.5 inch speakers in the doors with factory tweeters from the LL Bean (for now)
- Kicker XZ 350.4 and ZX500.1 amplifiers
- One of three Kicker subs (either one of the two ten-inch Kickers, or a single eight-inch Kicker)
- Custom amp rack which will have plexiglass and lights
- Custom sub box which will have a plexiglass windo
Future plans:
- Finish the interior swap
- Find a Mono steering wheel
- Finish the stereo installation
- Upgrade the headunit for one that has a USB port (and still retain the 3 pairs of RCA outputs)
- Upgrade the brakes and have rims to clear the upgraded brakes
- Upgrade sway bars
- Add strut tower braces
- Upgrade suspension bushings
- Replace the Outback struts for the Legacy struts
- Fix the rust
- A hood with the hood scope – I really miss having the scope (like my ’99 did – even if it was not functional)
- Colour match the lower trim panels
- Air intake
- Exhaust
- Possibly and engine swap (currently in research stage)
When the car was sitting on the dealership lot:
Attachment 1966
More current / progression photos: