Thom's 97 BD 2.2GT - Frankemotor lives - 9/7/15

[Thomistopheles]

Thom's 97 GT 5MT Sedan: Baller Husky Hauler II

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/20150603_181526_zpsbkygxtjz-1.jpg

History:
I bought this car on March 5th, 2014 to replace my 97 Outback (clicky linky) (https://sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=24871). The outback had a rust forming on the bottoms of the doors and the driver's rear quarter panel. I originally intended to head down south in a year or two, grab another outback with a clean shell and blown head gaskets to reshell my car... but this BD GT popped up. The previous owner put 200 miles on it after having a clutch put in, and the timing jumped. Valves got up close and personal. A rust free shell in the midwest... This is where my story begins.

Body:
JDM projector headlights
FX-R projectors, Morimoto ballasts, Osram Nightbreaker bulbs
Motocontrol headlight harness
XB LED switchbacks
JDM projector fogs
JDM amber sidemarkers
JDM L7 grille
20% tint


Interior and audio:
Delrin teardrop shift knob
Kartboy short shifter
Full woodgrain trim
Pioneer Premier F90BT dvd/nav head unit
Alpine type S rear speakers
Kicker front components
10" Orion XTR pro
Memphis PRD500.1 amp
LED bulbs in ALL the things. All of them.
OB Limited leather seats + door cards

Wheels, suspension, brakes:
Gold RS 5 spokes, BBS RX-II, LGT snowflakes
04 STI fitment Tokico D-spec struts
Racecomp Engineering Black springs
3/8" HDPE rear strut top spacers
Drilled & slotted rotors, ceramic pads


Engine:
EJ251 block
Ported EJ22E heads
Cometic 0.040" hybrid head gaskets
Cold air intake
Long tube UEL header
High flow cat
2.5" stainless mandrel bent cat back exhaust, 18" resonator + vibrant 1146
Perrin lightweight crank pulley
ACT Streetlite lightweight flywheel
Exedy KSB04

[98legwag]

Why do I get the feeling this will be stupidly shiny?

[Muse]

Ummm... Because you know of Thom and his predilection for shiny objects?

Seriously, this man would probably figure out a way to make flat paint shine, just because.

[Thomistopheles]

Hmm? Did someone say shiny? Because I got something shiny tonight... :grin:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_1175_zpsa14dae92-1.jpg

Ordering all my parts to freshen up the 2.2 right meow.

[dynonacht]

God I really want those lights, has this hauled any huskys yet?

[Thomistopheles]

Won't haul any huskies until the 2.2 is in. EJ25D in it is D-E-D dead, timing jumped while previous owner was driving.

[dynonacht]

Sorry I was under the impression the ej22 was already installed.

[Thomistopheles]

Ahhhh I wish. I can't wait to drive it... I should have it running around Wednesday if I take my time cleaning up the 2.2 and the engine bay. Amazon says the timing belt kit, water pump, accessory belts, plugs, fuel + air + oil filters, and gaskets will be here on Saturday the 8th.

[dynonacht]

Longest 2 days of your life lol.

[86bratman]

Looking forward to this, hate to see the outback go though.

[Emsea]

Subbed.

The challenge for the HH IIto haul as much or more steel than the HH I has commenced.

Edit: Calling them the HH I and HH II make them sound like battleships.

[Thomistopheles]

Wasn't able to pull it in the shop tonight. Battery was dead, so I gave it a jump and checked out all the electrical interior bits. Car is pre wired for an amp, so that's a plus. Took a closer look behind the timing covers, passenger side exhaust cam shattered and the belt was loose. It'll be interesting to see the carnage once it's pulled. :shock:

Anyway, here's more photos of my filthy car :lol:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_1186_zps884e63b5-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_1187_zps29e4ff24-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_1183_zps5614654d-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_1180_zps0b182c2b-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_1184_zps293edb18-1.jpg

[foohfooh]

psh dude thatll clean up real good

[dynonacht]

Damn Minnesotans.

[Thomistopheles]

Less dirty now. Still needs about 15-20 hours of paint correction, and the front end will need a respray. Crows feet in the hood and top of the fenders. Bumper's pretty beat too, could use some love. Threw the jdm projectors on, started getting the EJ22 ready for it.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_1205_zps067bf3ce-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_1188_zps98beb90b-1.jpg

[dynonacht]

Bout to scour ebay for some jdm headlights.

Makin me jealous.

[Thomistopheles]

Just bought a red badge L7 grille to complete my front end. Got it for $50 less than the asking price, wasn't really expecting the seller to take my lowball offer lol.

[86bratman]

I've been pleasantly surprised by the offers I've had accepted on eBay lol, care to share who the seller was. Maybe they have another they'll do the same with :-)

[Thomistopheles]

new_stars was the seller. Decent amount of legacy/subaru stuff for sale, a few different grilles.

[ctbrighton]

is it just me or are projector headlights scarce on ebay right now, I swear there were always a dozen pairs available at any one time.

Of course it's only NOW that i'm considering retrofitting a pair of those vs mini d2s on the 2 piece headlights....

[Thomistopheles]

I got these from a local guy, he has a long term build going and wanted me to do a retrofit in USDM housings for him instead... so we worked out a trade. I got my last set of JDM projectors local too, from Wiscon_Mark.

Now if only a set of JDM tails would pop up for a reasonable price... and without the center since I can't use it on the USDM trunk anyway.

[Thomistopheles]

Got my jdm projectors wired up, cleaned up the ej22 a bit, and got the old 25D ready to come out. Motor mounts, drop exhaust, and out it goes. Should have the 2.2 in there tomorrow night... after some engine bay cleaning.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/th_DSC_0184_zps2d70cdc1-1.jpg (http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr260/TurboThom/97%20BD%20GT/DSC_0184_zps2d70cdc1.jpg)

Here's how the 25D died.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/th_DSC_0182_zps6590f969-1.jpg (http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr260/TurboThom/97%20BD%20GT/DSC_0182_zps6590f969.jpg)
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/th_DSC_0183_zps3021bd87-1.jpg (http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr260/TurboThom/97%20BD%20GT/DSC_0183_zps3021bd87.jpg)

[Thomistopheles]

Cleaned up the engine bay after pulling the dead 25D and cleaned the 2.2.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/DSC_0175_zpsc58d80bc-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/DSC_0176_zps757895ab-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/DSC_0180_zpsefaf3982-1.jpg

Clutch looks brand new, but they didn't resurface or replace the flywheel when it was done. Tons of cracks in it, so I picked up another flywheel from a subaru mechanic friend for free. Should have it running and driving Friday if my heater hose comes in.

[Emsea]

.... so I picked up another flywheel from a subaru mechanic friend for free....
Bartering skills come naturally for Thomistopheles.

I too expect my BD to be running come Friday, so it is a race! But realistically something will hold me up and it will not be Friday haha

[Thomistopheles]

Did you get yours running? Drove mine home Friday night. :grin: Madison area subaru people are pretty good about sharing spare parts. He does a lot of side work at home, kept a spare flywheel from either a NA saabaru or a 2.5RS. Looks good as new after having it resurfaced.

Still waiting on my L7 grille, but tracking says it's in chicago :D

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/DSC_0179_zps5209ed5b-1.jpg

[Dead91silvia]

Looks good!

[Muse]

Congrats, man... Definitely worthy of carrying on the "Baller Husky Hauler" moniker.

[Hinyo]

So whens it going to start getting the THOM treatment? and CONGRATZ!!!!

[98legwag]

Nice. Now I vote you drive it out to the MD meet in a couple weeks.

[Emsea]

Did you get yours running? Drove mine home Friday night. :grin: ...
I did! I got it on the road Thursday afternoon. Now I have the interior in pieces sorting out the stereo system lol.
How does the 2.2 feel? Notice a difference from the 2.5 in the wagon?

[ctbrighton]

2.2's are great on the highway at 75, and keeping the tires from slipping on ice below 30....

and longevity

[SpeedmanRC]

so is it still a GT?

[Thomistopheles]

I did! I got it on the road Thursday afternoon. Now I have the interior in pieces sorting out the stereo system lol.
How does the 2.2 feel? Notice a difference from the 2.5 in the wagon?Hah, my interior is all torn apart too. Had to remove the messed up hack job factory alarm, swapped over my head unit and ran the aux cable and RCAs. The 2.2 is rev happy and responsive, but I can definitely feel the loss of power coming from a 2.5L.

2.2's are great on the highway at 75, and keeping the tires from slipping on ice below 30.... and longevityYeah, I went with the 2.2 just because of its reliability. I love EJ25Ds, but this 2.2 is an engine that can easily outlive everything else on the car. It's a daily, no aspirations of being fast. Plus I had the motor just lying around in the shop from a 96 L auto we parted out, lol.

The Outback left today.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_1227_zpsb2eec507-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_1225_zps15e37407-1.jpg

[dynonacht]

I wanna see this thing when im driving through to get my forged engine for my saturn from Cleveland. Sad to see that outback gone though.

[Thomistopheles]

L7 grille showed up today. Also swapped over my factory sub and investigated the front components. Terrible install, wiring was all wonky and the crossovers were flopping around unsecured. One of the mids is blown anyway, so I need to buy new ones.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/DSC_0006_zps9fa8937b-1.jpg

[Yamazaki]

Okay, don't hate me for saying this, but when I see it next to what it's being replaced with, I'm not super sad to see the Outback go. Sure it was shiny (I believe scientists used it to reflect beams from satellites for calibration of their equipment), but it didn't look good. This 2.2GT looks good. And knowing that it'll be as shiny as the old Outback (scientists and satellite calibrators can rejoice again), makes me think it's a marked improvement on the outgoing model.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_1227_zpsb2eec507-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_1225_zps15e37407-1.jpg

[98legwag]

Is it just me or does the GT look raised in the 2nd picture? I know its probably the angle the picture was taken at and the fact the Outback was lowered a bit.

[Thomistopheles]

Okay, don't hate me for saying this, but when I see it next to what it's being replaced with, I'm not super sad to see the Outback go.I started liking the outback less and less as soon as I did the GT front bumper. I loved the car when it was like this:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2013/08/P8171306_zps867591e9-1.jpg


Is it just me or does the GT look raised in the 2nd picture? I know its probably the angle the picture was taken at and the fact the Outback was lowered a bit.GT is closer to the camera due to the pile o' snow, just a perspective thing. Height on the two cars is pretty close, stock suspension on the GT and WRX bits on the OB.

[Navi271]

I started liking the outback less and less as soon as I did the GT front bumper.
I... completely agree. It's something about those hella fogs with that bumper, I really liked that.
You got a sweet replacement for your wagon though.

[Thomistopheles]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/BenGT_zps3f0e506e-1.jpg

Spotted one of the madison subaru club guys at the car wash by my house.

[Thomistopheles]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_1242_zpsb6bdb48d-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_1235_zps6d16adec-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_1232_zps3597d5b2-1.jpg

[Thomistopheles]

Yesterday I went to the junkyard for interior bits. Grabbed head unit brackets and a factory din pocket, radio trim, sun visor clip, ash tray, tweeter covers, cup holder, all sorts of odds and ends to complete the interior. One car had mint carpet, might go back for it later on since mine is in pretty bad shape.

[Yamazaki]

One car had mint carpet...
Pepper or Spear? Aw who cares, everybody will want to lick your car with that! :3some:

[Dead91silvia]

One car had mint carpet...
Pepper or Spear? Aw who cares, everybody will want to lick your car with that! :3some:

It's not too often that Thom sets himself up... :smt005

And if people do THAT to any of your cars, I'll skip that ride. :shock:

[Emsea]

One car had mint carpet...
Pepper or Spear? Aw who cares, everybody will want to lick your car with that! :3some:

It's not too often that Thom sets himself up... :smt005

And if people do THAT to any of your cars, I'll skip that ride. :shock:
You're not into licking carpet in the middle of a car ride? :smt016

[Thomistopheles]

One car had mint carpet...
Pepper or Spear? Aw who cares, everybody will want to lick your car with that! :3some:

It's not too often that Thom sets himself up... :smt005

And if people do THAT to any of your cars, I'll skip that ride. :shock:
You're not into licking carpet in the middle of a car ride? :smt016Eyes on the road, tiger.

The LGT at the monthly Madison Subaru Club meet. Drove it 400 miles through back roads, gravel, mud, etc the night before so it was a wee bit dirty lol.
http://cargirlwithacamera.com/march-mad ... baru-meet/ (http://cargirlwithacamera.com/march-madison-subaru-meet/)

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/20140323_7027_br_zps05b9d81c-1.jpg

[Emsea]

Eyes on the road, tiger.
It's going to be real tough to maneuver the carpet to do both.

[Thomistopheles]

Hey, remember when I posted a photo of my nice clean car?

Yeaaaah.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_1250_zps34b1c794-1.jpg

[dynonacht]

Hey, remember when I posted a photo of my nice clean car?

Yeaaaah.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/IMG_1250_zps34b1c794-1.jpg

Love it.

[Thomistopheles]

Threw some new front speakers in since the old install was junk and the mids were dead. They hot glued everything. Mids, tweeters, hell they even tried hot gluing the crossovers to the door panels. I'm going to move the tweeters from the door cards up into the stock location like they should have been done in the first place... and replace the massive crossovers with smaller ones that actually fit in there. But hey, at least I have some midbass in the front stage now, that's heading in the right direction hah.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/DSC_0020_zpse4ba10fb-1.jpg

Got radio trim, an ash tray, lighter, cup holder, and some other little odds and ends from the yard. I'm going to trade my hvac and radio trim for a buddy's woodgrain.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/DSC_0008_zps782b8cf2-1.jpg

Washed the car yesterday, only took about 20 minutes to get all the mud off.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/DSC_0015_zps8d747401-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/DSC_0021_zpsc1d8ffb9-1.jpg

[Thomistopheles]

Swapped out my eclipse head unit for a Kenwood double din. The eclipse was a good SQ deck with 5v preouts and all, but it was a bit dated and lacked some functions. The kenwood lets me set front and rear HPFs and other handy options. Might see if I can get my buddy's spare 10" Orion XTRpro and ditch the OEM sublifier soon.

[dynonacht]

Swapped out my eclipse head unit for a Kenwood double din. The eclipse was a good SQ deck with 5v preouts and all, but it was a bit dated and lacked some functions. The kenwood lets me set front and rear HPFs and other handy options. Might see if I can get my buddy's spare 10" Orion XTRpro and ditch the OEM sublifier soon.

Let me know when you get rid of the oem sub.

[Thomistopheles]

I'm for sure buying that 10" orion XTR pro, so PM me an offer if you want the OEM sub. Now I just need to track down a decent monoblock amp that will put out 500w RMS at 4 ohm...

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/IMG_1237_zps1a4a66d1-1.jpg

[Thomistopheles]

Threw that last photo into photoshop so I could see how it'll look after lowering, tinting, and painting the snowflakes gold. Needless to say, I'm quite motivated now. Gonna try and have it looking like this by the big annual Madison Subaru Meet on August 17th. Having a hard time deciding between H&R springs on GR2s or GD BC coilovers though, because I keep looking at Robin's BD on H&Rs and it's pretty much right where I want mine.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/GOALPHOTO2_zpsbfb039ac-1.jpg

Thursday I'm going a local dude's shop to have him put in my shift linkage joint thingy and aftermarket bushings. $40 labor is well worth it if it means I don't have to dick around with removing that pin inside a pin on the joint myself :lol:

[Perdue]

It is crazy what such a subtle change can do for a car. As usual, the ride looks good.

[Thomistopheles]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/DSC_0007_zps84d7cdd1-1.jpg

[Muse]

Go with the H&Rs. Coilovers are often really stiff, and... I don't know, I just get the feeling you'd get tired of them quickly.

[Thomistopheles]

I've run coils on almost every car I've owned, lol. Cressida, all my hondas, all my supras except the one I ran Koni + H&Rs on. Driven a GC and a couple GDs with BC coils. The GC was comfortable... wasn't slammed, damper set pretty soft. Tight but not jarring.

H&Rs would put the car where I want it for less money, and I wouldn't have to worry about seized coils during/after winters. Would keep me from fiddling with things and adjusting my suspension constantly too, lol.

[Muse]

Well, goes to show what I know about you... LOL
They just seem higher maintenance than a guy like you would want to deal with.

[Thomistopheles]

roflcopters... everything is high maintenance with me. Definitely leaning toward H&Rs at this point, but if a cheap set of seized BC coils pops up I will buy them and free them up.

Sooo the paint on this car looked like this:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/IMG_1265_zps07b47652-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/IMG_1253_zpsdef50df9-1.jpg

So I did a test spot to figure out my process this afternoon.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/IMG_1263Edit_zps9ceec182-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/IMG_1252_zps1885037c-1.jpg

[ctbrighton]

I ditched the ash tray for the factory pocket option, more usefull than its predecessor thats fo sho

[Hinyo]

I think Thom should open a school called detailing for dummies. Because I'm a dummy and I need to learn stuff like this lol =)

[BDAlex95]

Time for a new poll?

[Emsea]

I think Thom should open a school called detailing for dummies. Because I'm a dummy and I need to learn stuff like this lol =)

I shall keep you company in this class. I fit your qualifications to a 'T' lol

[Thomistopheles]

Time for a new poll?Your wish has been granted. Choose wisely.

[twoheadedboy]

Time for a new poll?Your wish has been granted. Choose wisely.
Your polls are great, never stop doing them!

[Muse]

Thom. I love you. Jus' so's you know.

[Thomistopheles]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/DSC_0004Edit_zpsbee49350-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/DSC_0003Edit_zps9f56db99-1.jpg

Did some drilling on my buddy's 99 L wagon and installed his GT wing, pulled the rest of his audio goodies out, and swapped his Kartboy short shifter into my car. Now I have a new linkage joint, polyurethane bushings, and the kartboy. Shift feel is amazing. We decided to go test out that shifter by going offroading and screaming through tight twisty gravel "roads" at high speeds.

[Muse]

and didn't incriminate yourself on video? *tsk, tsk*

[Thomistopheles]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/IMG_1287_zps8e64400f-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/IMG_1288_zps976b773a-1.jpg

Forgot to put a card in my camera, so all I have for progress photos is a 50/50 on the spoiler.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/DSC_0007a_zps0d2a60df-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/DSC_0006a_zps17f7b96e-1.jpg

[98legwag]

So much shiny.

[Huffer]

Ridiculous.

[oskar_subaru]

oh i love that color, and the car looks great :)

[Thomistopheles]

More photos, taken by Connor Harrison of CH Detailing.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/10003834_10201967191957389_1672581292791-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/10007328_10201967192557404_2225364756819-1.jpg

It's almost time to talk to a paintless dent repair guy, and a body shop about respraying the bumpers. :grin:

[Thomistopheles]

Picked up a Memphis PRD 500.1 amp today, that will be able to power the 10" orion XTR pro without a problem. Paid $120 for the amp + 2 Pioneer Premier TS-W126DVC subs in a ported box. Can easily make my money back selling the subs and box. Awwww yeaaah.

[Muse]

Okay, so, the full shots of your car look great, but it's that in progress shot that really shows what a difference that makes. How long does it take you to do your whole car?

[Thomistopheles]

That was 5-6 hours with two pro detailers working on it. If I were working solo it would have easily taken 13-14 hours. My paint was exceptionally bad though, might be the worst I've ever worked on as far as swirls and RIDS go.

[Thomistopheles]

Put in the Memphis PRD 500.1 amp and 10" Orion XTRpro tonight. It whams. Hard. Doesn't use much trunk space either since it's in a .75 cu ft ported box.

[Thomistopheles]

Finally got around to detailing the interior. Been too busy with customer cars to work on my own, had a few hours free this afternoon.

When I bought the car:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/05/IMG_1135_zpse6093687-1.jpg

Now:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/05/IMG_1315_zps01a1f914-1.jpg

[twoheadedboy]

You sir are an inspiration to make my car as shiny as possible!

[Thomistopheles]

Got a woodgrain radio trim to complete my set again. Did an oil change and installed a power steering pump my buddy rebuilt with new seals and bearing. Installed some fan-type washer nozzles from a BH outback. Put on my passenger folding mirror. Did the red hazard mod. Acquired oem carpet floor mats, which required extensive cleaning and are currently drying on my kitchen floor.

[Thomistopheles]

Thought you guys might like to see the car that gave up its engine for my BD. A friend and I parted out this 96 L, sent it to the yard with very few parts left on it. Looks like someone took the only non-rusty door off once it hit the salvage yard :lol:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/05/DSC_00172_zps59d89f99-1.jpg

Floor mats
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/05/matsBA_zpsbc3ad007-1.jpg

Hazard and radio trim, need to find one of the center vent trim pieces... I'm told they were a 99 limited only thing :-?
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/05/DSC_00202_zps4ec292ca-1.jpg

[Thomistopheles]

I got a woodgrain HVAC trim and a set of matched locks + ignition from Robin, all that stuff went in last night. Ignition, glovebox, and trunk were all easy... door locks were a pain the the arsch. Got a new seatbelt under warranty this morning, and also picked up a free set of minty fresh OEM all weather mats.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/05/DSC_00203_zps08f46c11-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/05/DSC_0022_zps61d162bd-1.jpg

[Dead91silvia]

Looks good!

[Thomistopheles]

Recently threw my black fogs back on, buddy made me a straight pipe axle back, not much else going on at the moment.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/06/IMG_1475Edit_zps3caa3c1e-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/06/IMG_1455Edit_zpsdf2e3724-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/06/IMG_1453Edit_zpsc0c35fab-1.jpg

[dplacencia]

Looks good!!!

[Muse]

is it quieter than the BHHI's open header?

[peugoby]

Loving that deep finish. Paint & car looks phenomenal! What's next up for it?

[Thomistopheles]

Long term plans are EG33 and fresh paint, either black granite pearl again or switch to java black. The paint looks good in photos, but there are a lot of scratches through the clear and the front end has crows feet.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/06/IMG_1473Edit3_zps58644d21-1.jpg

[Thomistopheles]

Took first in the 90-99 non imp/foz class at the 8th Annual Madison Subaru Meet.

Other new stuff... discovered that I have OB struts so I'm some sort of BD SUS 2.2GT frankenstein, 3rd gen all weather mats, painted snowflakes, painted the L7 grille after a rock damaged the chrome, a few other things here and there. Detailed the exterior before the meet, 105/205/85rd topped with Wolfgang DGPS. Still looking for an outback front bumper and a clean RR black granite pearl door for it.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/08/IMG_1543_zps960f641d-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/08/IMG_1545_zpsd319c854-1.jpg

Other photos from the meet:

Joe's Baja, took 1st in his class
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/08/IMG_1541_zps4c0a3e66-1.jpg

Tyler's boosted/swapped BH, also took 1st in his class
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/08/IMG_1533_zps70bd4a8c-1.jpg

The Function:Error guys from Milwaukee. None of these are on bags. :shock:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/08/IMG_1539_zps7bfc6b88-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/08/IMG_1540_zpsaa455f5e-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/08/IMG_1538_zps104bb579-1.jpg

My booth with the lowered '14 OB, did a retrofit and detail on that car and detailed the '11 DGM Impreza to the left.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/08/IMG_1535_zps541cc2aa-1.jpg

My BD and Mr Fox's mighty woody wagon, which took 2nd in my class.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/08/10608425_908166215863648_646033470077924-1.jpg

[86bratman]

I thought the car looked too tall for gt suspension. Way back when you first posted pics with the Outback I knew it looked off.

[98legwag]

I thought the car looked too tall for gt suspension. Way back when you first posted pics with the Outback I knew it looked off.
Same here. I even posted about it.

[Muse]

Are you keeping it tall, or does the OB suspension have a time limit?

Also, I call for a new poll!

[Thomistopheles]

I'll be trading for a local guy's GR2 + H&Rs soon. In other news, working on picking up a 97 OB parts car... I'm taking the interior from it. Leather seats and door cards, awwww yeaaaah.

[Thomistopheles]

Threw on some new drilled and slotted rotors + ceramic pads this morning, found a toasted ball joint while fiddling with things so we replaced both of them later in the evening. Also cleaned and undercoated the filler neck as a preventative measure. Also ate some tacos. Today was a good day.

[Thomistopheles]

Fixed that whole outback suspension thing. :wink:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/10/IMG_1631_zps0e39dede-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/10/IMG_1627_zpsa0953000-1.jpg

I haven't been on the forum lately due to an extra busy detailing season, but I'm back now. As part of my triumphant return to SL-I, I've made a new poll. Enjoy.

[98legwag]

So whats the new suspension set up?

[Thomistopheles]

04-07 WRX struts, blue mystery brand springs... prodrive, mach V, ebay, who knows. Detailer buddy bought a Forester with this stuff on it, needed a bit more height so he bought a set of stock WRX bits and sold me the old stuff. Bought a sheet of HDPE to make rear strut top spacers. Gave a local guy my old OEM pet gate from the Outback, and he's going to do my alignment on the side after work dirt cheap... and sent me home with a 6 pack from Wisconsin Brewing Company. :grin:

Under $100 for the suspension bits, camber bolts, spacer material, and alignment. Doesn't get much cheaper than that.

[86bratman]

I had forgotten how good this car looks, sexy sexy.

[Grimmrican]

if i ever buy a black legacy i would love to make the car BLAAAACK. just black everything

[Muse]

That is one helluva triumphant return.

Also, please answer the beard question as my boss and I both just shaved ours off and are racing beards.

[Thomistopheles]

You must meditate twice per day, think of what life would be like as a lumberjack or viking. Or a bear wrestling viking lumberjack. Try to channel the flannel energy into your follicles. Follow these meditation sessions with a hearty meal cooked over a campfire to provide your beard with the delicious sustenance it needs. Finally, sacrifice a goat to the thunder god so that he may smile upon you and smite your boss's inferior baby beard.

[Muse]

And this is why I missed you.

[Thomistopheles]

I know you missed seeing the way my beard sways in the wind while polishing cars... like a Pantene commercial but with monster trucks and explosions in the background.

I actually have a shorter beard right now. Happens every couple years.

[Muse]

I actually have a shorter beard right now. Happens every couple years.


*gasp* Nuuuuuuuuuuu...

[Grimmrican]

thanx thom i needed a good laugh.

[Muse]

hey! HEEEEEEY!!!! Where'd the poll go?

[Thomistopheles]

No idea. It poofed and disappeared.

[Thomistopheles]

My midpipe snapped in half, so I went ahead and had a friend build me a fancy new cat back. 2.5" tig welded mandrel bent stainless, 18" resonator and Vibrant 1146 muffler. Muffler's straight, wide angle lens made it look a bit wonky. Everything is tucked up super tight, lots of clearance for that stance life yo :lol:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/12/IMG_1802_zpsc2b401c7-2.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/12/IMG_1781_zps92947158-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/12/IMG_1810_zpsa9b5b945-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/12/IMG_1867_zpsc75383d4-2.jpg

Look at this harsh Wisconsin winter we're having! I don't know if my Legacy can handle all this snow. :smt019

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/12/IMG_1869_zpsea4090f3-2.jpg

[dplacencia]

Exhaust looks good. How does it sound?

[Thomistopheles]

Sounds good, even with the lack of rumble from the stock ej22 manifold. Very deep and quiet.

[Muse]

Holy smokes! Better put that Outback suspension back on, or you might get stranded or something.

[Thomistopheles]

I sold it to a guy with a WRX so he could lift it! I'm doomed!

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED! :smt119

[Muse]

Yes. I'd say you are.

[Thomistopheles]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/15snow_zpsfks4m2h5-1.jpg


Soooo I've been working on a couple things related to JDM projector headlight housings.

First, clear projector lenses. The factory lenses are an odd size, closest match I could find are 3" STI-R clear lenses. The focus height is correct, but the diameter of the STI-R lenses is too small for the factory lens bracket to hold it in place. I drew up some basic spacers/adapters to solve that issue, sits on top of the flange on the lens and allows the bracket to clamp down on it..

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/_01JDMLEGPROJSPACER_zpstvq7jqlw-1.jpg

Next is a relay harness. I had drawn up a diagram for another local guy who is running the same components I plan to use in mine, he said it worked so I decided to go ahead and make one for myself. I already have one in my car, but it isn't all fancy with weatherproof components, thick wiring, ceramic sockets, and braided sleeving... Photo shows a ballast attached to the low beam output on the harness, I have a 9006 -> H1 adapter that plugs right into that so I can run halogen lows instead until I open up my lights for the clear lens upgrade.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/IMG_2252_zps3iwdrmzv-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/JDMPROJECTORHARNESS_zpsu9ysvadd-1.jpg

[Hinyo]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/15snow_zpsfks4m2h5-1.jpg


Soooo I've been working on a couple things related to JDM projector headlight housings.

First, clear projector lenses. The factory lenses are an odd size, closest match I could find are 3" STI-R clear lenses. The focus height is correct, but the diameter of the STI-R lenses is too small for the factory lens bracket to hold it in place. I drew up some basic spacers/adapters to solve that issue, sits on top of the flange on the lens and allows the bracket to clamp down on it..

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/_01JDMLEGPROJSPACER_zpstvq7jqlw-1.jpg

Next is a relay harness. I had drawn up a diagram for another local guy who is running the same components I plan to use in mine, he said it worked so I decided to go ahead and make one for myself. I already have one in my car, but it isn't all fancy with weatherproof components, thick wiring, ceramic sockets, and braided sleeving... Photo shows a ballast attached to the low beam output on the harness, I have a 9006 -> H1 adapter that plugs right into that so I can run halogen lows instead until I open up my lights for the clear lens upgrade.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/IMG_2252_zps3iwdrmzv-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/JDMPROJECTORHARNESS_zpsu9ysvadd-1.jpg

Why only swapping the lens? Are you going to do the RHD to LHD mod while you are there? any plans to polish the bowl?

I'm curious about this but also wanna see you work more magic with these. We all know you can :toothy8::toothy8::toothy8:

[Yamazaki]

"Polish the bowl"? What kind of dirty talk is that?

[Thomistopheles]

The plan is to throw some FX-Rs in them later on, but I want to see how the stock projectors perform with clear lenses in them. The stock lenses diffuse the cutoff way too much for HIDs, the glare is utterly unacceptable. I had a spare JDM projector for a week to make those lens spacer/adapter prototypes, and the cutoff looked very good with a clear lens.

The H7 and H11 projectors used in newer Subarus respond very well to a clear lens upgrade and a couple cutoff shield tweaks to eliminate the "squirrel finders." I'm hoping for similar results with these.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/11026178_10203917935455216_7656593623594-1.jpg

[Thomistopheles]

Sorta related to my car since I use it to work on harnesses and test lights...

My installer/wiring wizard buddy and I built a bench DC power supply with a spare ATX power supply from a computer and $15 in parts. Ground, +3.3v, +5v, and +12v binding post/banana jack outputs, 12v rail can put out about 16 amps with this particular power supply. Plenty to fire and run HIDs, incandescent and halogen bulbs, LEDs, car audio stuff, or whatever.

There's plenty of DIY guides out there... but orange wires are 3.3v, red are 5v, yellow are 12v, black is ground. Some will have -12v wires and weird scheisse like that, wrap those up and tuck them away. Run the power on wire to the switch, it was either gray or green on mine. There should be a standby wire that is powered when the PSU is switched off, power the red standby LED with it. Hook the green LED up to whatever voltage it's made to run on. I used two 10ohm 10w resistors in parallel on the 5v rail to add a dummy load, so the PSU thinks there's a motherboard connected to it. Wire up the power switch and LEDs before soldering the rest of the power and ground wires to their corresponding binding post. Some people mount everything on the case of the PSU itself. Mine didn't have enough room inside and I wanted to make sure there was enough space for the fan to work efficiently, so I mounted an aluminum project box to the PSU to house everything.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/unnamed_zpsks3wjha8-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/1798610_10206072945724678_32654852134725-1.jpg

[WPEC]

^^
Wow that PSU is very smart , mine was so wimpy it does not even run 2 projectors at the same time.


Loving my Tulip tons

[Hinyo]

Sorta related to my car since I use it to work on harnesses and test lights...

My installer/wiring wizard buddy and I built a bench DC power supply with a spare ATX power supply from a computer and $15 in parts. Ground, +3.3v, +5v, and +12v binding post/banana jack outputs, 12v rail can put out about 16 amps with this particular power supply. Plenty to fire and run HIDs, incandescent and halogen bulbs, LEDs, car audio stuff, or whatever.

There's plenty of DIY guides out there... but orange wires are 3.3v, red are 5v, yellow are 12v, black is ground. Some will have -12v wires and weird scheisse like that, wrap those up and tuck them away. Run the power on wire to the switch, it was either gray or green on mine. There should be a standby wire that is powered when the PSU is switched off, power the red standby LED with it. Hook the green LED up to whatever voltage it's made to run on. I used two 10ohm 10w resistors in parallel on the 5v rail to add a dummy load, so the PSU thinks there's a motherboard connected to it. Wire up the power switch and LEDs before soldering the rest of the power and ground wires to their corresponding binding post. Some people mount everything on the case of the PSU itself. Mine didn't have enough room inside and I wanted to make sure there was enough space for the fan to work efficiently, so I mounted an aluminum project box to the PSU to house everything.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/unnamed_zpsks3wjha8-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/1798610_10206072945724678_32654852134725-1.jpg

Mine is NOWEHERE near that clean but it works for the time being. Little time = getrdun sometimes for me lol. But I will definitely consider this going forward helping a friend with a quad retro soon just for fun. what load resistors did you tie in with the led's? voltage? and what are their functions?

[Thomistopheles]

Not sure what the resistors were, they were already soldered to the LEDs when I got them. They run off 5v. Red is standby, green LED is ON.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/IMG_1544Edit_zps3vtmew0v-1.jpg

[98legwag]

Nevermind, I already asked and got the answer. I should learn to read.....

[ItsPrimetime]

Just found this thread while looking into a clear lens swap in my 98 BD. How long until you get them in? I'd like to see the results, so consider yourself my test mule.

[Thomistopheles]

I made an extra set for a local guy to try out, he posted this on the Madison Subaru Club page.
His RHD to LHD conversion is a little wonky lol, ignore the weird peak in the middle.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/JoshClearLens_zpsc7ou13sy-1.jpg

Stock lenses on my old OB for comparison:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2013/07/655465_zps6f2d27a1-1.jpg

[ItsPrimetime]

So that top pic is your clear lens conversion?

[Thomistopheles]

Yes.

A while back my Orion XTRpro sub seized up. I thought it had melted a voice coil or something... nope. Whammed so hard that the magnet adhesive let loose, and it spun out of alignment. I'll get that repaired later on. Until then, I threw an Infinity 1062w in.

Also got a set of free FX-Rs today, sooo... might just go ahead and put these in.

[ItsPrimetime]

I'm probably gonna make my order for the STI-Rs and see about making those rings. Do you think I could use a 3D printer to make them, or would the material not stand up?

[Thomistopheles]

No idea if 3d printed material would be good enough. They're easy to make, $10 sheet of HDPE off Amazon or whatever and use a couple hole saws to punch them out.

[ItsPrimetime]

Did you get the lenses from TRS, and if so, did you get the paper spacing kit to focus the lenses?

[Thomistopheles]

The spacers from TRS are too small for the projector to hold onto, you'll be better off using the stock spacer as a template to cut your own. Buy your lenses from TRS. My retrofitting business is a morimoto/trs authorized distributor and all, so all my stuff is from them.

[ItsPrimetime]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0XSqyAatlpQdUI0Nmh6cTQ2STQ/view?usp=sharing
Minus the spacers, obviously.

So that's a good place to start for a proper HID kit, right? I've got a cheap ebay kit in there now, I think I paid 30 bucks for it like a year ago. Still works though.

[Thomistopheles]

Yes, they're high quality HIDs. The bulb base and AMP connector part of the XB bulbs is fairly long though, you may have to add an extension onto your low beam caps since the back of the projector sits so close.

[ItsPrimetime]

The previous owner of my car drilled a hole in the back of the caps already, so I should be able to fit the bulbs no problem. What color do you recommend? My current bulbs are 4300k, according to ebay, but they look pretty blue.

I'll probably make the order soon, I just hate the shipping and import fees to canada.

How do the B-stock lenses compare? Saving $15 bucks doesn't sound too bad if it's just superficial imperfections.

[Thomistopheles]

4500k. HID bulbs will start getting dim and color shift toward blue/purple when they're on their way out. A lot of cheap kits will have one color temp bulb that they sell/label as several... so they are advertised as 4300, 5000, 6000k but you wind up receiving a 5000k or 6000k bulb.

I've always used A-stock. If you're going through the trouble of splitting the lights, might as well spend the extra $15 to put in perfect lenses.

[ItsPrimetime]

Do our cars need a capacitor as well? I was thinking for $15 I might as well throw it in, just in case.

[Thomistopheles]

I've never noticed any flickering issues, but it can't hurt.

[ItsPrimetime]

I went to order the kit, but forgot about the CAD/USD conversion. Comes out to almost $300 for the kit and a lens. Then I have a duty fee to pay. I can't pay $300+ for headlights when I need so many other things on the car. It'll have to wait.

[Hinyo]

Yes.

A while back my Orion XTRpro sub seized up. I thought it had melted a voice coil or something... nope. Whammed so hard that the magnet adhesive let loose, and it spun out of alignment. I'll get that repaired later on. Until then, I threw an Infinity 1062w in.

Also got a set of free FX-Rs today, sooo... might just go ahead and put these in.

all the jelousy!!! ALL OF IT!!!!

[Hinyo]

I went to order the kit, but forgot about the CAD/USD conversion. Comes out to almost $300 for the kit and a lens. Then I have a duty fee to pay. I can't pay $300+ for headlights when I need so many other things on the car. It'll have to wait.

Check out HIDplanet alot of people have good quality TRS products or eve better OEM products at a very cheap cost. or even check up your local junkyard as see if you can find anything.. i got a denso ballast for 10 bucks the other day they retial for over 100 new and go for about 60 shipped... and fire up QUICK!!! and last a lifetime

[Hinyo]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0XSqyAatlpQdUI0Nmh6cTQ2STQ/view?usp=sharing
Minus the spacers, obviously.

So that's a good place to start for a proper HID kit, right? I've got a cheap ebay kit in there now, I think I paid 30 bucks for it like a year ago. Still works though.

my honest opinion? dont spen that money on a set of HID's.... just retrofit it... speaking of which.... HERES A LINK TO MY DIY!!! https://sl-i.net/FORUM/showthread.php?18937-DIY-FX-R-3-0-Retrofit-Into-2nd-Gen-Legacy-Liberty-BD-BG-BK-JDM-Headlights

[ItsPrimetime]

Wow, that's way less work than I thought it would be. Those are bi-xenons, right?

[Thomistopheles]

Yes, FX-Rs are a bixenon projector. Hinyo's right, at $300 I'd definitely start looking at doing a retrofit instead. FX-Rs open the wonderful world of OEM D2S HID parts up to you. I'll be running boosted Denso ballasts and Osram CBI bulbs with mine. Got the ballasts for $70, and the bulbs for $40 with less than 20 hours on them.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/IMG_2560_zps4sed9sd9-1.jpg
aawwwww yisss, I'm not even going to bother messing with the lens spacing on these.

[98legwag]

When I saw Hinyo's set up in person, and mostly finished, it got me thinking I should do a retro-fit for my 3.0R. Then both my cars decided to need maintenance.

[Thomistopheles]

05-09 have the Morimoto Retro-quik kits available for them, I install tons of those. Morimoto MH1 with laser cut brackets, direct bolt in replacement for the factory H7 projectors.

Wheels are looking pretty beat after winter... I think it's probably about time to peel the dip off.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/IMG_2697_zpsq7gzufxt-1.jpg

Oh, and I just scored another set of Densos and Osram 66240s today from a junkyard run... for 40 f**king dollars. Followed by a pair of fairly new low hour Morimoto 35w D2S ballasts for $20 from a good friend. I am on a roll today.

[Thomistopheles]

I think I'm going to migrate everything over to a hella relay block after I make sure everything functions well. Might split everything off into four relays as well, right now I have one high and one low... split it into low left, low right, high left, high right. Good idea? Overkill? :smt102

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/IMG_2710_zpspxa5vf8f-1.jpg

[98legwag]

05-09 have the Morimoto Retro-quik kits available for them, I install tons of those. Morimoto MH1 with laser cut brackets, direct bolt in replacement for the factory H7 projectors.
Have you done any of these retrofits? If so, any pictures of finished work and the light output?

[ItsPrimetime]

Thom, if those ballasts are looking for a home I think we could work something out. My GF has decided to fund my retrofit project as a birthday present/present for me rebuilding her '98 BD from the ground up.

[Thomistopheles]

Have you done any of these retrofits? If so, any pictures of finished work and the light output?I've done loads of them, have a set on my bench right now waiting for a shipment from TRS. Very easy install. If you're comfortable with opening your housings, they're very easy to install. There's no aesthetic difference other than the MH1 having a clear lens as opposed to the stock H7 projector's frosted lens. Purely for performance/output.

Stock H7 projector on the left, Morimoto MH1 on the right:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/IMG_1330Edit_zps5gfzn6au-1.jpg

Morimoto MH1 mounted in '10+ Legacy housings (uses the same projector + brackets as 05-09) with the Retro-quik brackets:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/IMG_1335_zpsp1lluq8b-1.jpg

Assembled 05-07 housings:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/TH211499_zpsucvyuony-1.jpg

Can't find any output photos in my lightroom catalog right now, I'll go take some. My neighbors are going to think I'm crazy, running an extension cord outside for my power supply and waving a 3300 lumen "flashlight" at a wall for 5 minutes... :confused2:

[Thomistopheles]

And a single MH1 fired from my front door.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/IMG_2760_zpsp1qw8wph-1.jpg

[98legwag]

Thanks. That is awesome.

[Hinyo]

I think I'm going to migrate everything over to a hella relay block after I make sure everything functions well. Might split everything off into four relays as well, right now I have one high and one low... split it into low left, low right, high left, high right. Good idea? Overkill? :smt102

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/IMG_2710_zpspxa5vf8f-1.jpg

I think its overkill. excuse my noobness but whats the point? if a car already has all these built into the system why the system redundancy? maybe drop some knowledge?

[Thomistopheles]

Stock wiring is itty bitty babby tier and will melt with all the power I'll be pulling through it, so it's used to trigger relays instead with heavier wiring direct from the battery to power the lights. HID relay harnesses usually have one relay for each side for consistent power to each ballast, and if one side goes down the other still works. 100w high beams should each be fed with a relay and 12ga wire direct off the battery to prevent melting the hell out of the wiring from all the heat/draw. Two HID relays, two halogen high relays.

Hella makes a pretty sweet little 4 relay block/box that I could use. Crimp on the pins, lock them into the block, plug in the relays, and enjoy a nice clean OEM looking relay harness for those fancy lights.
223

[ItsPrimetime]

One day, I'll completely rewire my headlight harness. But I already have such a nasty mess of wiring around my battery. I scored a MKIV jetta power distribution block for my battery terminal for all the wires.

As of right now, I'm planning on 4300k bi-xenon retrofits, and a 3000k yellow high beam aimed lower for even more poor weather performance. Has anyone retrofitted the fog lights yet? The stock ones pretty much do nothing without HIDs, but they glare like crazy.

[Thomistopheles]

I've thought about doing the fogs, but the dimensions of the housing are not in your favor... Matchbox is 53mm tall, 76mm wide, 106mm length. GT housing measures 59mm tall on the outside of the housing. The projector would stick waaaay out the back, would lose adjusters, would be difficult to seal the housings... and that's IF it even clears the inside of the housing in the first place. :smt009

[Thomistopheles]

Some bonus '08 3.0R content. Black housings, Morimoto 100mm XB LED halos, black series clear lenses, squirrel finder delete, Morimoto XB35 HID kit, Nokya yellow highs, Morimoto XB LED 3157CK white/amber switchbacks. Photo courtesy of the customer.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/NickLegacy_zps4mu8qrj0-1.jpg

[ItsPrimetime]

I love the 4th gen. I also love that TRS has a bolt on upgrade kit for them. I really want to buy a 3.0R outback in the next year or so.

[Dead91silvia]

LOL that, that poll is still up! :P

[Thomistopheles]

Well if you'd just move the volvo, I could put up a new poll...

[Dead91silvia]

haha.... that might be a while.

[Thomistopheles]

Spent some time playing with the spacing tonight, think I found a good balance between sharpness and color band.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/IMG_2876_zpsyp1krbyk-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/IMG_2861_zpsnof57yok-1.jpg

[Thomistopheles]

Tint happened. 20%. I also got pulled over by a state trooper for my lack of a front plate, so that's a thing now.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3077_zpslervy4hc-1.jpg

FRONT PLATES LOOK SO ****ING STUPID GAAAAAAAHARGRRRRBAWARBLARBL

[Thomistopheles]

Oh, and uhhh.... that leather interior?

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/mBFJme8XwXrUYgif-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/lUUelakXjN5Qcgif-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/VypD1FdewCoQUgif-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/aWKYhhH5OEOA0gif-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/y8Mz1yj13s3kIgif-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/MhHXeM4SpKrpCgif-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/RVqLSBbkI8sKIgif-1.jpg

Picking it up next weekend. Front heated seats, rear, all door cards.

[iampetro]

If you got JDM tails it would be just like my old BD...

Just get them already! lol
I love your car and want to love it more

[Thomistopheles]

They're on the list... just not a high priority since their only purpose is looking cool, lol.

Interior LEDs, leather swap, retrofit, single port UEL, strip the dip off my wheels, reseal rear diff and change gear oil all around, clean/bleed lifters, replace cam and oil pump seals... quite a bit on the to-do list right now. Waiting for Specv118 to hook me up with an outback bumper too. :happy2:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3155Edit_zpsxlcigq2j-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3141Edit_zpsivrxjcch-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3212_zpsvxxiq7as-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3229Edit_zpsgwjmhsar-1.jpg

[CaleDeRoo]

Spent some time playing with the spacing tonight, think I found a good balance between sharpness and color band.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/IMG_2876_zpsyp1krbyk-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/03/IMG_2861_zpsnof57yok-1.jpg

Want so bad

[98legwag]

I am really digging the blacked out JDM grill. I wish I didn't sell the one I had.

[Hinyo]

Tint happened. 20%. I also got pulled over by a state trooper for my lack of a front plate, so that's a thing now.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3077_zpslervy4hc-1.jpg

FRONT PLATES LOOK SO ****ING STUPID GAAAAAAAHARGRRRRBAWARBLARBL

Im getting a motorized/non motorized hideaway front plate. haven't decided yet... but yes it is very true

[98legwag]

I had the front plate on my wagon on a hinge. Above about 10 mph it folded up into the opening in the bumper. I got pulled over twice in the same place by the same officer a few weeks apart.

[Thomistopheles]

Installed all my interior LEDs today. Switches, instrument cluster, HVAC, map and dome.

The indicator bulbs in the switches work fine, but the ones to illuminate the switch don't. Laaaame.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3286_zpsswe8pcsm-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3295_zpsat4zjord-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3294_zpsnxwn16cn-1.jpg

Also cleaned up the intake manifold and all the bare aluminum on top of the motor. It was super nasty... oxidized, stained, dirty, covered in old ATF from the old leaky PS pump. Still needs more work, and the rubber and plastic bits haven't been cleaned and dressed yet. Couple more hours of work and it should be a bit closer to my standards. Hate wrenching on filthy cars.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_20150408_190348_zpsbar0zyzs-1.jpg

[ItsPrimetime]

323
324

That's how I did my dash lights. Much more even lighting than the stock 194 bulbs. If I were to do it again (read: on my GF's car) I'd use RGB led strips so I could tune the color the way I want.

[Thomistopheles]

So, remember when I said

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/mBFJme8XwXrUYgif-1.jpg






Yeah, it happened. Front seats and all door cards are in, rear seat is tomorrow's project.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3329_zps87fdkmhf-1.jpg

[foohfooh]

Ohhhh man. I pity the fool who asks thom "ask an auto detailer" thred\ about the best way to do a leather restore

[LeggyxPower]

Looks amazing! MOAR UPGRADES, what are the steps you used to clean the bay, i hate looking at my intake manifold :(

[Thomistopheles]

Looks amazing! MOAR UPGRADES, what are the steps you used to clean the bay, i hate looking at my intake manifold :(Spray the hell out of it with degreaser, agitate with brushes, rinse, dry.

I used wheel brightener (aka acid) to clean up the intake manifold. Similar process... wet the manifold, spray on the acid, agitate carefully, rinse thoroughly, dry. Be aware that this is some nasty shit and you NEED to rock gloves, respirator, safety glasses/facemask. Some of the acids used in these can and will burn you, damage your respiratory system, turn you into a pumpkin, or kill you. Doesn't take long to work so don't get distracted by a friend, walk off to get a beer, or go watch the entire Hobbit and Lord of the Rings series in one sitting. Keep it off your skin/eyes/face/soul and anything that is not the intake mani. Bare aluminum is a soft delicate spring flower, and wheel acid doesn't give a shit. Wheel acid just wants to fuck shit up.

It won't look like a freshly bead blasted manifold, but it cleans it up pretty well.

[Reason]

Wow thats stupid clean, where are all the stains on the carpet??

[Thomistopheles]

Under the floor mat, lol. There's a hole by the dead pedal too.

[Thomistopheles]

Took a couple daytime photos of the interior. The rear seat is from a wagon, so it's narrow compared to the sedan. Need to get a bracket for the passenger side, and I'm going to see if I can modify some of the wagon plastic bits to fill in the gap. I'll post more photos once I figure out a good way to fill the gap, maybe write up a DIY.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3348_zpscuirlffm-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3340_zpszyyls1dv-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3343_zps9xrlhjqh-1.jpg


Now that it's not -10°F, Kyle tweaked a couple angles in my cat back exhaust to give a little bit more clearance with the car itself. It's tucked up extremely tight to the car and it was barely contacting a bracket on the rear subframe under certain conditions. It's perfect now. While he was cutting and welding, I did a quick wipedown of the rubber, plastic, and firewall. Good enough for me.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3376_zpsf5fkx0nb-1.jpg

[Thomistopheles]

Wish me luck dudes. I'm fighting to pick up a parts car this weekend that has JDM headlights, a running ej22, a 5spd, and a certain set of wheels on it. A set of wheels that I might have photoshopped onto my car for your viewing pleasure.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/RS5spokePS_zpsksivrudnpng-1.jpg

yes
Yes.
YES.
YES!
YEEEES!
YEEEEEEEES!
YUUUUUUUUUS!!!!!

subaru gods pls gimme wheels

[KNaph]

Oh hell yes. You need those. They're gonna look so unbelievably good on your BD, especially with how clean you keep it.

[98legwag]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJbmB9k2Y88

[Thomistopheles]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3389_zpsufjx0eva-1.jpg

Have a buyer lined up for my snowflakes once I get new wheels, so I started peeling off the black dip.

[Thomistopheles]

Oh hey, lookie what I bought. Got some gold RS 5 spokes with some big green thing attached to them. That big green thing also had a good ej22e, 5spd, MSD coil, intake pipe, strut tower bar, JDM headlights, kartboy bits, Perrin lightweight crank pulley, and a bunch of other fancy things.

Some of those fancy things will be for sale soon, and some have mysteriously made their way onto my car already. :smt064

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_20150417_112846sml_zpseizntmig-1.jpg

[Thomistopheles]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3397_zpsd0wjfzrw-1.jpg

Perrin LCP, front strut bar, and RS goldies are on. I'm going to start working on restoring/upgrading those JDM projectors next week, then they'll be up for sale. Neon MSD coil with wiring pigtail and plug wires will be available as well if anyone's interested.

[nepbug]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3397_zpsd0wjfzrw-1.jpg

Perrin LCP, front strut bar, and RS goldies are on. I'm going to start working on restoring/upgrading those JDM projectors next week, then they'll be up for sale. Neon MSD coil with wiring pigtail and plug wires will be available as well if anyone's interested.

I've got to read up on the neon coil again, can't remember what you have to do to use it on a BH.

I might be interested in it, does it come with the connector pigtail?

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[Thomistopheles]

I might be interested in it, does it come with the connector pigtail? Yes, it would come with the Neon/MSD connector with enough wire to splice it into your stock harness.

FS thread is located here: FS: MSD 8239 Neon coil upgrade package (https://sl-i.net/FORUM/showthread.php?19125)

[Alphius]

Gold wheels look so good on that black car.

[Thomistopheles]

Man, I hate seeing a Legacy in this condition. Stripping more parts this weekend, then it's off to get squished into a cube or shredded into bits. It could have been fixed, was a driveable car... but it didn't make financial sense to do so. Instead it'll live on in about 10 other cars.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3409_zpsx9uykh5h-1.jpg

[98legwag]

Yes, it would come with the Neon/MSD connector with enough wire to splice it into your stock harness.

FS thread is located here: FS: MSD 8239 Neon coil upgrade package (https://sl-i.net/FORUM/showthread.php?19125)

Rubie_25GT and I both had MSD Neon coils fail. Of course mine did so when it was 11 degrees outside.

[Thomistopheles]

I'm working on the JDM headlights from the parts car in between sets of customer lights. They need a lot of work... restoration, tab repair, LHD conversion, clear lens upgrade, etc. I'll get them back into fighting shape though. They'll be available for purchase after I finish them.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3453_zpsgiatfszt-1.jpg

[CaleDeRoo]

Any estimate on price? They look incredible

[Thomistopheles]

Somewhere around $300 shipped. Cheapest set I saw on ebay was $240 shipped, and these ones will be restored, painted, converted to LHD, and upgraded with clear projector lenses for a sharper cutoff.

[ItsPrimetime]

I really hope I have the money together by the time you're done. My GF would die if I got her a set. And after she just bought me an FX-R retrofit kit, I think I owe it to her.

[CaleDeRoo]

I really hope I have the money together by the time you're done. My GF would die if I got her a set. And after she just bought me an FX-R retrofit kit, I think I owe it to her.

No

[Thomistopheles]

Bye bye Brighton. Dropped it off at the scrap yard after pulling off the WRX suspension for Specv118

This is what it rolled into the scrap yard on, with the front crossmember strapped to a dolly:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/18241_10204296599841589_2209841797789053-1.jpg

Painted my new intake pipe, just need to purchase some couplers and clamps for it.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/IMG_3506_zps9dim3cgo-1.jpg

Probably going to have the spare JDM lights done this weekend. I also grabbed the early USDM projector fogs off the parts car if anybody's interested.

[peugoby]

I am loving those gold RS wheels. They look great on your car - I also have a set on my wagon. You don't see them come up for sale very often anymore.

[Thomistopheles]

Had Kyle reseal my oil pump tonight. Front main was no longer seated and was rubbing the crank sprocket. O ring was disintegrating. All but one of the pump screws were loose, three were backed waaaay out. Glad that ticking time bomb got taken care of.

[Thomistopheles]

Picked up some 16" BBS RS 771 from a friend of a friend for $100 tonight. The barrels have no clear left and are oxidized all to hell, but that's nothing media blasting and fresh powder coat can't fix. Pretty damn good deal I think.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/11193312_10204342426347223_5621755982191-1.jpg

I'm thinking I'll have the barrels done silver/chrome-ish and the faces a BBS/vintage gold. Something a bit like this:
463



In other news... a dead alternator at 1:30am on the interstate in the middle of nowhere is always fun. Fuckin' thing shat out on my way back from Steven's Point. My hondabro Danny and subaru club buddy Ian saved my ass. Ian had a spare alternator at his shop in Madison, was watching his kids that night and piled everyone in his car at 1:45am to go get the alternator from the shop and give it to Danny :laughing5: Danny drove like an hour and a half north to bring the alt and tools out to fix my car and get back home.

[98legwag]

I say you owe them some beers......

[rougeben83]

those are def some bros for sure. Gold with silver lipped BBS' on a black car would look great IMO.

[Thomistopheles]

Dropping the BBS wheels off for powder coating in about a month. Until then... I need to acquire some replacement bolts. They're a soft titanium alloy and I've had 5 out of 16 bolt heads strip out on the first wheel. Also need to grab the center caps, forgot them at the seller's garage.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/11205161_10204345058213018_2028865347072-1.jpg

[CaleDeRoo]

Those are gonna look real nice man.

[Thomistopheles]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/201505090014_zps35a73sto-1.jpg

They were a bitch to split. 11 of the bolt heads were stripped out, and the other 53 were so seized up with corrosion that they required air and a 1/2" impact to get them out. Drilled the heads off the stripped bolts, then smacked the hell out of the back of the faces with a 2x4 and small sledge hammer to get them to break loose. Still need to remove the bolt shafts from the barrels, going to try and get that done tomorrow.

[LeggyxPower]

Should have tried some atf and acetone so I hear

[ItsPrimetime]

Should have tried some atf and acetone so I hear

I pretty much use that stuff exclusively. It's so much better and cheaper than any penetration oil I've ever used. Especially when I grab cheap ATF from the flush machines at work.

[Thomistopheles]

ATF+acetone usually works pretty well, better than a lot of commercially available penetrating oils do. Nothing but brute force was going to break those things loose though, lol.

I got a new head unit... again. An older Pioneer Premier, runs a bit slow but it has nice features. DVD, navigation, aux/SD/USB, backup camera, three sets of 4v preouts...and better overall SQ than my old one.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/20150515_200256_zpsveugbwoc-1.jpg

Pretty sure the car had a system stolen out of it before I got it... the hvac and radio trim were shattered, dash was broken off where the cup holder screws are, radio screw mounts were stripped out, GPS antenna and parking brake wire were flopping about. Oh, and it had cut RCAs in the trunk, because unplugging them is apparently too slow when you're on the lookout for the popo. I finally got around to repairing the dash so everything goes together securely. The woodgrain hvac trim was all cracked, so I swapped the boring gray one back in.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/20150515_183058_zpswxbo6nvc-1.jpg

[Thomistopheles]

Made a new splash screen for it.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/1HUSPLASH_zpszwzjvcaz-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/20150516_025058_zpshnx7f4yi-1.jpg

[Thomistopheles]

Retrofit's done.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/IMG_3621_zpsh9xw5ltr-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/IMG_3630_zpsjgg5xn9l-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/IMG_3646_zpspdzyxfpr-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/IMG_3650_zpsqvf8o1y3-1.jpg

[Thomistopheles]

Oh, and...

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/IMG_3674Edit_zpsdceizvkl-1.jpg

[LeggyxPower]

Oh, and...


You forgot to warn us about extreme hot sex....car looks beautiful man

[Thomistopheles]

You forgot to warn us about extreme hot sex....car looks beautiful manOh sorry about that, I'll be sure to warn you next ti-BAM!

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/IMG_3672Edit_zps6fukyv2w-1.jpg

[fwa2500]

Awesome work on the retrofit, those turned out awesome! That cutoff looks amazing...I think I'll have to go to a clear lenses on my BL, they really help the look.

[Thomistopheles]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/bdfxrdistance_zpsgtvnfttj-1.jpg

50w AMP ballasts and straight D2S connectors should be here any minute now (actually they showed up as I was typing that). The right angle connector on my densos, morimoto d2s ballasts, etc. hits the housing and messes with my bulb alignment and impedes low beam adjustment... these will fix that. Higher output, proper hot spot location, better horizontal adjustment... awwww yeaaaah. I'm going to go put them in after I finish up some other lights later this afternoon.

[CaleDeRoo]

Those blow away my high beams ten fold easily. Awesome job man.

[aekOne]

great looking BD mate! wish we got the black ones down here is Australia too.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Wouldn't they just melt, because the black absorbs the Australian sun? That must be why you didn't get black. :p

I can't wait to see it in person, Thom.

[Thomistopheles]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/20150603_181526_zpsbkygxtjz-1.jpg

Saturday it's getting a new clutch and lightweight flywheel. Exedy KSB04 and 11.8lb ACT Streetlite flywheel, new knock sensor, cleaning/bleeding HLAs, cleaning EGR, cleaning IACV, cleaning cleaning cleaning cleaning and cleaning. Current clutch only has 37k on it, but the TO bearing is noisy and dying. It's all mystery brand parts from the previous owner, so I'm replacing everything.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/06/11393055_10204529752750266_3614144882441-1.jpg

[KNaph]

Wow, the RS Goldies look AMAZING on your car. They really pop against the black. I think my favorite thing is having wheels that pop and stand out against the color of the car.
I need a new clutch/flywheel too, mine chatters like hell and the TO bearing squeaks.

[Thomistopheles]

It was a Luk clutch in there. Tons of chatter and both the TO and pilot bearings were trashed. Drives much better with the new bits.

Oh, and I scored some new suspension bits for the car. Tokico D spec struts with Racecomp Engineering Regular Guy lowering springs (RCE blacks), snagged them for $260. Will probably raise the car up a little compared to the current stuff. Planning to install them tonight.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/06/11390372_10207047373848148_8394788274820-1.jpg

[DaveM]

It was a Luk clutch in there. Tons of chatter and both the TO and pilot bearings were trashed. Drives much better with the new bits.

Oh, and I scored some new suspension bits for the car. Tokico D spec struts with Racecomp Engineering Regular Guy lowering springs (RCE blacks), snagged them for $260. Will probably raise the car up a little compared to the current stuff. Planning to install them tonight.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/06/11390372_10207047373848148_8394788274820-1.jpg

What suspension was in there previously?

[98legwag]

Awwww, the picture isn't loading for me.

[Thomistopheles]

What suspension was in there previously?Blown stock WRX struts with unknown brand lowering springs. Leaky, clunky, bouncy, trashed.

Alignment and such tonight. Gonna shoot for -2.0° front, -1.0° rear, zero toe... we'll see what I can get out of it.

[Thomistopheles]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/06/11407022_10204605486923573_6874226845812-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/06/11407022_10204605486923573_6874226845812-2.jpg

Best street strut + spring combo I've ever had on a car.

[86bratman]

Wow, that's about the perfect ride height.

[Wiscon_Mark]

oooh, oooh, I want a ride in it! (Madison, maybe?)

[98legwag]

I approve of your upgrade.

[Thomistopheles]

oooh, oooh, I want a ride in it! (Madison, maybe?)Sure, you can drive it if you want.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/06/20150615_1556201_zpsqbtgyzrc-1.jpg

[Wiscon_Mark]

I'm getting unreasonably excited for that meet. It's been quite a while since I went to one.

[Thomistopheles]

Should be pretty awesome this year. 400+ people on the facebook event page and it's still a while away, I wouldn't be surprised if we wind up having 350+ cars at the event.

[Hinyo]

It was a Luk clutch in there. Tons of chatter and both the TO and pilot bearings were trashed. Drives much better with the new bits.

Oh, and I scored some new suspension bits for the car. Tokico D spec struts with Racecomp Engineering Regular Guy lowering springs (RCE blacks), snagged them for $260. Will probably raise the car up a little compared to the current stuff. Planning to install them tonight.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/06/11390372_10207047373848148_8394788274820-1.jpg

HAHA I remember seeing these and wishing I was on that side of the country such a good steal!!!

[Thomistopheles]

Wooo, been a while.

Took apart my lights to repair a bad adjuster, wound up removing the 2.5" FX-Rs entirely. Now running 3" FX-Rs, Osram CBI bulbs, Morimoto XB55 ballasts, Motocontrol harness, XBled switchback bulbs, and 100w halogen highs off a separate 10ga relay harness. Tinted the high beam bowls while I was at it, because why not...

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/08/IMG_4137_zpsxbabqjqz-1.jpg

And various subaru meet thing photos:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/07/20150705_175629_zpsw7ztgjqg-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/08/IMG_4201_zpsgbeyq69g-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/08/IMG_4401_zpsliqto6hk-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/08/IMG_4414_zpstkhwaacu-1.jpg

[WPEC]

Your car is awesome! Very clean looking
I 'm definitely jella for the RS wheels .

[Hinyo]

Cant wait to see the new wheels on her =) will look sweeet. how much longer are we going to have to wait!!!!

[meepers]

Good choice on the suspension. I have always been a big fan of H&R springs. Nearly all my cars had them. THe RCE Blacks I have came on a set of Feal Valved STI struts I bought. Wouldnt have been my first choice but I love them. They are firm.. But damn they inspire confidence. Car is looking great! Have you noticed any difference between the 2.0 and 3.0 lights?

[Thomistopheles]

Cant wait to see the new wheels on her =) will look sweeet. how much longer are we going to have to wait!!!!FOREVER MUAHAHAHAHA

Nah, but really... still working on removing broken bolts, then they'll head off to be refinished.

Have you noticed any difference between the 2.0 and 3.0 lights?2.5" FX-Rs have a slightly wider output than the 3" lens version, but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. Old ones had burned bowls from boosted ballasts, so the output is brighter now... and I spent more time fine tuning the new projectors than I did with the old ones.

[Thomistopheles]

Speaking of subaru meet stuff... FL4TFEST was August 1st. I traded cars with a customer for the day so I could have his Legacy 3.0R at my Nordic Retrofit booth. Sorry if I was a bit out of it Wiscon_Mark I was running on two hours of sleep, staffing the event, judging multiple classes, and running my booth :help:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dapkAYr_xc

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/08/IMG_4051_zpsljwqxcfo-1.jpg
^Had Charlie's STI and Nick's Legacy 3.0R for the day.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/08/IMG_4100_zps673buemg-1.jpg
^Brought in another customer's '16 WRX after taking down my canopy, got too windy.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/08/IMG_4113_zpspbuguvro-1.jpg
^Ian, Charlie, Matt, and myself masquerading as Nick all took home trophies, along with many other customers at the show. :grin:

[98legwag]

Any info on the wheels on the 3.0R? Also, is it on stock suspension or is it lowered at all?

[Thomistopheles]

Has factory Bilsteins with Tein H Tech springs. I'll ask Nick about the wheel specs tomorrow morning, going on a junkyard run with him.

[98legwag]

Thank you sir.

[Thomistopheles]

Niche Essen 18×8 et40 with 225/45R18 tires, fenders rolled and pulled.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/08/IMG_4466_zps9mfef2sm-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/08/IMG_4710_zpsgyrzpdvo-1.jpg

[Huffer]

refinish those goldies! and tap on weights? nooooooooooo.....

[98legwag]

Thank you again good sir.

[Thomistopheles]

I'm not fucking around with the goldies until I have my BBS wheels on. And yes, stupid tap on weights. Had to get new tires thanks to a leaking plug in one, forgot to specify stick on.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Sorry if I was a bit out of it Wiscon_Mark I was running on two hours of sleep, staffing the event, judging multiple classes, and running my booth :help:

No worries, Thom! I definitely knew you were busy and I'm glad we got to talk a bit. Wish I could have seen your car and showed you mine. Oh, and I forgot to give you those Legacy parts :lol:

[foohfooh]

Haha nice eye huffer! That subaru club video was hawt. Bunch of great lookin cars. Plus was that a mk1 mr2 in the autocross?

[Thomistopheles]

Tap on weights had me like
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/08/screaminternal_zpsc5zohg6s-1.jpg
Oh well, they're just there for a little while until I have my usual tire dudebro swap the tires over to my BBS wheels, then I can restore the goldies to the condition they deserve.

In other news, I'm going to be building a frankenmotor for the car. Motor's made bottom end noise on startup the whole time it's been in the car, thought it was noisy lifters before but after going through all the HLAs it is definitely a knock. Loose rod bearing tolerances is my guess, quiets down as soon as oil gets in there. Hoping to start the build with a EJ251 short block, if that trade falls through I'll probably be rebuilding a 25D block. Either way it'll be topped with ported single port 22e heads and delta cams, along with one of Kyle's fancy stainless single port headers.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/08/IMG_4899Edit_zpsbzuzm6tb-1.jpg

[Thomistopheles]

Kyle has been helping me with a little project this past few days... finishing the light bar that has been in my closet for ages. Bolts up to the tow hooks and bumper beam. I'll be putting a 20" LED bar and 4x 4.5" spots on it, because... y'know... 50w HIDs in FX-Rs and 100w halogen highs totally wasn't overkill already. OH, and I should have a match for my JDM fog soon, so those will go on.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/08/IMG_4988_zpsebeuxlsm-1.jpg

Super professional skilled artist's rendering:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/08/ZZZZZ_zpspg3jf1x7-1.jpg

[Thomistopheles]

Man... I love bartering. Trading headlight work for an EJ251 block, and headlight work for a spare set of EJ22E heads with a whole 97 impreza attached to them. That'll be a good start for the frankenmotor. :grin:

[98legwag]

Wow, an entire Impreza. You sir are winning.

[Thomistopheles]

Putting together a parts list. Hopefully all this shit is right, lol. Missing anything major?

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/08/FrankenParts_zpsklqe6roj-1.jpg

Oh, and the bar's a little further along than this now, but it's at Kyle's so I don't have a current photo. Next we need to weld tabs on for the top row of lights and front plate, drill bumper beam for the bar mounts, and paint it.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/08/11938005_10205014358905117_1032851339_n_-1.jpg