derrick_
07-11-2010, 04:20 PM
so i've been putting off making this thread for months now haha. i love this site, and i've found immense amounts of helpful info. props to everyone contributing :]
so, for my car:
i bought my 99 2.5gt 5mt in may from a friend who had blown the motor after he replaced his head gasket (shattered cam gears, etc.) and bought a wrecked 30th anniversary 98 outback gt limited 5mt from another friend to swap the engine, etc. from.
there has been a crazy amount of things going on with this car haha. so much drama and difficulty that i'm going to leave out as i don't remember it all.
my friend blew the headgasket, then went through replacing it himself, etc. and the day he got the timing belt put on (by a shop) he put new tires on it, came to my house, and it blew on the way home (shattered the cam gears, etc.)
i proceeded to buy it (for the price of his tires $480) and have a shop check out the engine and they found it was bad
then i searched for another car as a donor for the engine.
eventually found another friend's wrecked 30th anniv outback gt limited (with a stick!) had the same motor. bought it for $900 (talked her down from 1200) this car had been sitting for 17 months without being started. a friend and i went up and bridged some wires in the starter with a screw driver and it started right up and ran. i then had it towed to the shop, and a few hours later they told me it would not work as the 99 gt's were somehow special. i then told them it had to work and he said he would check with someone else and call me back.
i didn't hear anything till the next morning when they told me it was done, and they had swapped the engine and clutch over, fixed some issues with the ac system, moved the starter, replaced the water pump, etc. they plugged everything in and it just worked. amazing. they did a few other things and then i picked it up, $1682 out the door for parts & labor.
that night the battery died and i bought another ($110 or so...), and the next day the alternator went kaput in the middle of a 6 lane. $300 later with a new alternator, and the car was insane. it was loud, had a beautiful rumble, everything worked better, and i discovered there was an exhaust leak. its great, because when all the tuners gather in parking lots, etc. they see my car with its crazy headlights, and a crazy exhaust note, and all their heads turn. strangely gratifying.
well, friday (the 9th) i was leaving work, went about 100 feet, and stopped at a red light. next thing i know a lady strung out on ambien hits me from behind four times with her new pathfinder. few minor injuries but no broken bones, and my trunk is a good bit shorter. waiting to get an estimate, etc. but if i am given the money for a new car, i will likely find the same one with less rust ;] the passenger cabin is completely untouched, and after getting hit i drove 50 ft or so and it had no complaints.
who knows what happens next.
mods and repairs:
Exterior:
removed fogs as they didn't work and i plan to replace them with the jdm ones.
replaced headlights w/ jdm projectors
removed stickers sans C. McRae tribute, DMM climbing
removed grille (plan to replace with this grille (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JDM-Subaru-Legacy-Outback-95-99-GT-Mesh-Grill-Grille-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem20b105afb0QQitemZ140408893360QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_4701wt_939))
Engine:
swapped ej25d and clutch from the outback
swapped cruise control system from outback
fixed a/c leak (just an o-ring haha)
replaced alternator
Interior:
eclipse headunit w/ ipod cable (planned to replace the audiobahn speakers with alpine...but we'll see)
ran ipod cable down through center console to armrest storage area.
planned mods:
exterior:
install jdm fogs
roll fenders, and maybe custom widebody work (girodisc's leggy is nuts) - wider stance to go with it
wire fogs & jdm city lights & parking lights to work at the same time w/ parking light switch
hid retro (ddm kit maybe?)
red angel eyes
debadge the trunk
jdm tail corners
antenna delete (if possible)
remove and bondo rust spots
35% window tint
replace grille with this grille (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JDM-Subaru-Legacy-Outback-95-99-GT-Mesh-Grill-Grille-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem20b105afb0QQitemZ140408893360QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_4701wt_939)
either repaint the car with the oem red (whatever its called), oem black granite pearl, high gloss black, or a satin dark charcoal grey. haven't decided and its a ways off.
paint stock wheels in a similar fashion to the easystreet edition for winter use (keeping silver front), and buy an aftermarket set that is similar but more aggressive multispoke design and do the same but with a black front for summer (or vice versa on season)
paint match the sideskirts, lip, etc.
change to a different spoiler
replace gt scoop on gt hood with sti scoop
yakima rack (needed since i bike, kayak, and especially rock climb)
interior:
change color and behavior of gauges (red + leds following needles mod, not sure what its called)
paint center console, gauge cluster and other accents to a gunmetal color
led light replacement
wired ac and usb plugs in rear ashtray
replace audiobahn speakers with alpines. add speakers to rear doors, make rear window 6x9's into subs
viper security and keyless entry system
engine/suspension:
either a paranoid fabrication's grounding kit, or diy grounding kit
clean up the bay
replace plug wires
hella supertones
supercharger? (hehe)
coilovers
bigger sway bars
strut bars just because
should i ever blow this motor, full sti swap (engine drivetrain et all)
borla headers (apparently one of borla's two shops is right down the road from me) and custom 2.25 pipe, capped off with possibly a magnaflow muffler (will have to look at different brands, etc. to see what i like)
upgraded brakes
custom cai (either through fender, or if possible -with more research to do- an actual through-scoop intake)
as he was when i bought him (friend had named him Matthias, but since i've changed so much i've renamed him to "der spaziergang" which means "the walk" in german--iirc)
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/07/n618065084_357098_3140-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/07/n618065084_357097_2767-1.jpg
as the front looks now:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/07/30106_580904416306_57507369_3376579-1.jpg
after the wreck:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/07/37300_584704111686_57507369_3391629-1.jpg
donor car before teardown:
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs049.ash2/35788_582674528986_57507369_33842033_5610522_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs089.snc4/35788_582674519006_57507369_33842031_7712898_n.jpg
donor car now:
http://media4.miqlive.com/media/dtz-PqYJqr3QN_QGb52cib/bngmyeJsar36gMadbiNLti.jpg
so, for my car:
i bought my 99 2.5gt 5mt in may from a friend who had blown the motor after he replaced his head gasket (shattered cam gears, etc.) and bought a wrecked 30th anniversary 98 outback gt limited 5mt from another friend to swap the engine, etc. from.
there has been a crazy amount of things going on with this car haha. so much drama and difficulty that i'm going to leave out as i don't remember it all.
my friend blew the headgasket, then went through replacing it himself, etc. and the day he got the timing belt put on (by a shop) he put new tires on it, came to my house, and it blew on the way home (shattered the cam gears, etc.)
i proceeded to buy it (for the price of his tires $480) and have a shop check out the engine and they found it was bad
then i searched for another car as a donor for the engine.
eventually found another friend's wrecked 30th anniv outback gt limited (with a stick!) had the same motor. bought it for $900 (talked her down from 1200) this car had been sitting for 17 months without being started. a friend and i went up and bridged some wires in the starter with a screw driver and it started right up and ran. i then had it towed to the shop, and a few hours later they told me it would not work as the 99 gt's were somehow special. i then told them it had to work and he said he would check with someone else and call me back.
i didn't hear anything till the next morning when they told me it was done, and they had swapped the engine and clutch over, fixed some issues with the ac system, moved the starter, replaced the water pump, etc. they plugged everything in and it just worked. amazing. they did a few other things and then i picked it up, $1682 out the door for parts & labor.
that night the battery died and i bought another ($110 or so...), and the next day the alternator went kaput in the middle of a 6 lane. $300 later with a new alternator, and the car was insane. it was loud, had a beautiful rumble, everything worked better, and i discovered there was an exhaust leak. its great, because when all the tuners gather in parking lots, etc. they see my car with its crazy headlights, and a crazy exhaust note, and all their heads turn. strangely gratifying.
well, friday (the 9th) i was leaving work, went about 100 feet, and stopped at a red light. next thing i know a lady strung out on ambien hits me from behind four times with her new pathfinder. few minor injuries but no broken bones, and my trunk is a good bit shorter. waiting to get an estimate, etc. but if i am given the money for a new car, i will likely find the same one with less rust ;] the passenger cabin is completely untouched, and after getting hit i drove 50 ft or so and it had no complaints.
who knows what happens next.
mods and repairs:
Exterior:
removed fogs as they didn't work and i plan to replace them with the jdm ones.
replaced headlights w/ jdm projectors
removed stickers sans C. McRae tribute, DMM climbing
removed grille (plan to replace with this grille (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JDM-Subaru-Legacy-Outback-95-99-GT-Mesh-Grill-Grille-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem20b105afb0QQitemZ140408893360QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_4701wt_939))
Engine:
swapped ej25d and clutch from the outback
swapped cruise control system from outback
fixed a/c leak (just an o-ring haha)
replaced alternator
Interior:
eclipse headunit w/ ipod cable (planned to replace the audiobahn speakers with alpine...but we'll see)
ran ipod cable down through center console to armrest storage area.
planned mods:
exterior:
install jdm fogs
roll fenders, and maybe custom widebody work (girodisc's leggy is nuts) - wider stance to go with it
wire fogs & jdm city lights & parking lights to work at the same time w/ parking light switch
hid retro (ddm kit maybe?)
red angel eyes
debadge the trunk
jdm tail corners
antenna delete (if possible)
remove and bondo rust spots
35% window tint
replace grille with this grille (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JDM-Subaru-Legacy-Outback-95-99-GT-Mesh-Grill-Grille-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem20b105afb0QQitemZ140408893360QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_4701wt_939)
either repaint the car with the oem red (whatever its called), oem black granite pearl, high gloss black, or a satin dark charcoal grey. haven't decided and its a ways off.
paint stock wheels in a similar fashion to the easystreet edition for winter use (keeping silver front), and buy an aftermarket set that is similar but more aggressive multispoke design and do the same but with a black front for summer (or vice versa on season)
paint match the sideskirts, lip, etc.
change to a different spoiler
replace gt scoop on gt hood with sti scoop
yakima rack (needed since i bike, kayak, and especially rock climb)
interior:
change color and behavior of gauges (red + leds following needles mod, not sure what its called)
paint center console, gauge cluster and other accents to a gunmetal color
led light replacement
wired ac and usb plugs in rear ashtray
replace audiobahn speakers with alpines. add speakers to rear doors, make rear window 6x9's into subs
viper security and keyless entry system
engine/suspension:
either a paranoid fabrication's grounding kit, or diy grounding kit
clean up the bay
replace plug wires
hella supertones
supercharger? (hehe)
coilovers
bigger sway bars
strut bars just because
should i ever blow this motor, full sti swap (engine drivetrain et all)
borla headers (apparently one of borla's two shops is right down the road from me) and custom 2.25 pipe, capped off with possibly a magnaflow muffler (will have to look at different brands, etc. to see what i like)
upgraded brakes
custom cai (either through fender, or if possible -with more research to do- an actual through-scoop intake)
as he was when i bought him (friend had named him Matthias, but since i've changed so much i've renamed him to "der spaziergang" which means "the walk" in german--iirc)
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/07/n618065084_357098_3140-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/07/n618065084_357097_2767-1.jpg
as the front looks now:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/07/30106_580904416306_57507369_3376579-1.jpg
after the wreck:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/07/37300_584704111686_57507369_3391629-1.jpg
donor car before teardown:
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs049.ash2/35788_582674528986_57507369_33842033_5610522_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs089.snc4/35788_582674519006_57507369_33842031_7712898_n.jpg
donor car now:
http://media4.miqlive.com/media/dtz-PqYJqr3QN_QGb52cib/bngmyeJsar36gMadbiNLti.jpg