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Asphalt Art
10-03-2013, 03:39 PM
I have been a long time lurker throughout the various Subaru sites throughout the years, but for the past decade or so I been fairly cemented into the VW groups (not the late model crowd, think pre-99.5 and aircooled).

After a few years of searching that was constantly interrupted from deployments as a civilian and constantly working all over the East Coast as a Military Contractor, I have time finally. It took a while, but I was able to find a decently maintained 2002 Legacy GT Wagon with the manual transmission about 15 miles away. I honestly just like the overall stature of this particular model, and I like wagons in general. It had 184k on it, the dreaded P0420 code, I thought it was black at first (come to find out after it is washed and half buffed, it's more brownish: BGP apparently), but I still did not regret trading in our 2010 HHR with 86k for it. It is my first Subaru, and so far I have been pleased considering that in the first 3 weeks I rolled another 5k off the odometer.

All in all, I was going to keep it fairly stock at first but eh, plans change. In the end I feel it needs about another 150hp to be "good" in my eyes from an acceleration perspective. It is great fun as it sits bone stock right now, but I have a few ideas up my sleeve. I don't build cars like I see a lot of people doing, just throwing huge power into stock chassis setups with a set of wheels. I spent a great deal of time in Euro cars, Lowriders, Mini-trucks, the vast majority of my time in American Muscle, and I am certainly fond of dipping into every resource to get the end result I like.

One of the things are the biggest BBK I can find (research so far has me leaning on the Wilwood 6P kit) and whatever suspension bits I can get my grubby hands on. Being in combat aviation for over a decade, you might see some CF/composite work in a few threads I may or may not end up creating. I am noticing a lot of parts people desire are basically too expensive to get due to import costs, so some of these parts I also wouldn't mind and I may just end up building them from scratch.

Just to be clear up front: *I have zero intention at this point of doing any production above 1 of any parts* I may make something for me, but I already have a deficit of time every day as it is and cannot devote any time to the requirements of such things. I can see it taking me over a month to get a mold good enough for me already.

All in all, I look forward to continue browsing the site as now I actually have a good reason to. First thing above all is finding a good set of paper factory shop manuals.

Cheers

r3v_v3ng3
10-06-2013, 01:59 AM
Welcome! I can't wait to see your one off parts and hopefully you make a members ride thread

Asphalt Art
10-10-2013, 08:20 AM
Welcome! I can't wait to see your one off parts and hopefully you make a members ride thread

Thanks for the warm welcome. I am noticing that the forums are a little slow, but updates at my speed should fit right in. I intend to make a Member's ride thread after I get time to do something other than basic maintenance such as oil changes and valve adjustments.

As far as the rest, I believe in lighter weights to ensure I am getting the most out of what I already have. I am already looking at a great deal of interior paneling and noticing that for the most part they are easy to create molds from. I expected fenders to be a pain like most cars, but these seem quite simple at a quick glance. With my school semester starting this past Tuesday it may take me some time to dedicate a building here to composites (new ventilation systems, work tables, etc.). It is always best to get everything laid out first before jumping into a large project, or the results will suffer from being hasty. The good news is that I was able to dig out some industrial shelving so I have a place to store the molds after I complete them. I may not actually make anything after the first one, but someone else may need them later down the line.

On a side note, I also found a 2nd gen wagon in a wrecking yard about 200 yards down the road along with an old Loyale in oddly good shape. That may help later in having donor parts when I need a guinea pig part for a mold that someone else may need. The local Post Office has also probably been tired of me asking about the old RHD 2nd gen wagon that one of their carriers uses as a backup, and so far no amount of cash has made them budge even though it is privately owned...