Perdue's '98 Outback - Exhaust and Polish 6-10

[Perdue]

I'm going to try and do this up like a build journal...here goes...

Current Mods:
Whiteline Adjustable Rear Swaybar
Yellow Rockblocker
Custom 2.5" HFC Pipe
Modified HKS Hi-Power 3" Catback

Waiting to install:
Cusco Front Strut Tower Bar
Cobb CAI
Stainless Brake Lines
Borla Replicas
Cobra 18WXSTII

Current Pic:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/04/IMG_0211-1.jpg

[Perdue]

I bought this car thursday with a whopping offer of $600. It wasn't running right, had a tick, and really hasn't been taken care of to be honest...but, it's a subie, and I'm determined to revive it. I didn't think it had any rust, but the driver's side door needs replaced...evidently the person who repaired the door after a deer ran into it didn't see fit to leave room for water to drain, so the whole door needs to be replaced. There's a lot of dents and dings, the paint is dull, and the wheels have brake dust CAKED on them. The Driver's side rain guard is missing, as is the front passenger's side bump strip. The exhaust leaks, and so does about every seal on the motor. It also needed a tuneup, but I've taken care of that (still waiting on the oxygen sensor). The keyless entry remote is MIA, so the fuse for the power locks is pulled until I can try to figure that out. The passenger's side window will roll down but not up from the driver's side switch, and the rear driver's side window tries to fall off it's track when you roll it up. I could go on.

My current plans:
Full Exhaust
JDM Projectors
JDM Tails (or all red...dunno yet)
Hella 500 Free Form Fogs
Yakima Crossbars and Kayak thingy
GT Spoiler
Dent Repair and a roller paintjob
H&R Springs on GR2's
Snow Tires on the stock wheels, then some summer wheel/tire combo
Leather Seat Kit
Black Carpet
Mild Stereo
Drive?

Here's some pics from Thursday when I got it home:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/04/IMG_0181-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/04/IMG_0182-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/04/IMG_0190-1.jpg

I've spent the last two days doing a tuneup and overall cleaning. I got the passenger's side rain guard off (in pieces), but I still need to take goo-gone to the double sided tape that remains. I also got my whiteline swaybar on and restored the headlights and fog lights.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/04/IMG_0191-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/04/IMG_0192-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/04/IMG_0193-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/04/IMG_0193-1.jpg

Tomorrow I might go get some paint and try to go all red on the tails if I feel like it, and wednesday it'll get registered so I can start driving it. I'm either going for RAWR or OH NOES on the tags...we'll see.

[chaksq]

Nice Outback dude, even with a possible engine issue $600 is a steal. And you got that cleaned up nicely.

[subie/legacy]

looks like you got a steal. can't wait to see how this turn out.

[Perdue]

It's been an eventful (sorta) week for the car. I replaced the front oxygen sensor and I cut off a heat shield that was rattling but also holding the exhaust together after the resonator...so THERE'S my exhaust leak! I immediately ordered new exhaust parts, seeing as how I wasn't going to deal with a roar under my seat for the next forever, and then took a trip to Cooper's Rock/Morgantown to hang with a couple friends and go fishing on tuesday. I've also developed a P0325 code, so I guess I'll be purchasing a knock sensor on payday.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/05/IMG_0203-1.jpg
I'll be running 2.5" from the header back. Single Cat, Borla Turbo Muffler, and 2.5-4" Summit Stainless Tip. I"m deciding right now if I want to polish the muffler, or paint everything but the tip black. I don't have stainless wire for my mig, so I'm afraid my weld from the muffler to tip might rust. We'll see. I'm looking to buy a Borla Replica from one of the ebay vendors as well, hence the wrap kit.

Oh, and I found a local outback being parted out. I'll be getting my driver's door, passenger's side bump trim, and some other small parts from him payday as well. The car is green so it looks like my $50 paintjob might be coming sooner than I thought.

And here's a couple of pics from Cooper's Rock just for the hell of it.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/05/IMG_0199small-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/05/IMG_0200small-1.jpg

[nftyper]

Nice and clean man. I picked up a 97 last year for $700, had low compression on #3 cyl so i swaped in a JDM engine. Still a work in progress but we'll get there.

http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/1217/img0251y.th.jpg (http://img708.imageshack.us/i/img0251y.jpg/)
http://img532.imageshack.us/img532/6497/img0252b.th.jpg (http://img532.imageshack.us/i/img0252b.jpg/)
http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/3079/img0253m.th.jpg (http://img571.imageshack.us/i/img0253m.jpg/)
http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/8904/img0248r.th.jpg (http://img688.imageshack.us/i/img0248r.jpg/)

[ryu_haneda]

NICE! Welcome back to Subaru, man! Great progress so far.

[Perdue]

So I've had the car for two months now. I'm still loving it. Got the knock sensor replaced and exhaust "done" over the past month. Instead of using the Borla muffler and all that, one of my friends suggested we modify his old HKS catback to fit...we got it to work, but I'm going to have to take it off and rotate it some before I lower the car, as the pipe hangs a little low. No big deal.

Another problem that has been bothering me lies within the car's exterior. The car was a 15 foot car at best. Faded Paint, especially on the roof and hood, as well as scratches and dents out the ass made the car a sight for sore eyes. I took a week off work for another camping trip and some R&R...one of those days I spent trying to restore the 12 year old exterior of this poor car.

The wheels were nasty...caked with brake dust and grime...this is after washing with soap and water. I ended up starting out with some castrol super clean and a scotch pad...it got MOST of it, but there is still some stubborn brake dust that is literally caked on a couple wheels...sorry I didn't get an after picture.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/06/IMG_0207-1.jpg

I then moved to the pain. Wash, claybar, rewash, 3M rubbing compound, then a coat of NXT wax. This took about 8 hours, as the roof and hood had to be polished 3 times...the roof is still in need of some care, as the clear is still slightly cloudy, but I'll take this for now.

Before
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/06/IMG_0208-1.jpg

After
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/06/IMG_0210-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/06/IMG_0209-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/04/IMG_0211-1.jpg

I have a new headunit coming in tomorrow, and an XM unit coming in a couple days after that...I'm so tired of FM radio. I'll be putting a Cobra CB in the lower DIN pocket as well. Hopefully in coming months I'll be able to order my wheels, tires, and spring/strut combo...I need to bust out some more overtime.

[anothernord]

Another old thread, but would you mind posting a picture of the rear of the car from further behind, to show what the exhaust looks like? I'm trying to decide if I want to do a similar exhaust setup.

[badbasser98]

I know he was looking to sell the car, so he may no longer have it.