hupshall's 2000 Legacy GT

[hupshall]

I've been a member of this forum for some time. I've lurked mostly, but I feel I've contributed a few small things...

It's time I created a thread for my car.

I have a 2000 Legacy GT manual wagon. I bought this car new from Tacoma Subaru back in May of 2000. I had to special order this car because (heaven forbid) I wanted the 5spd manual and nobody stocked a fully loaded Legacy GT with the manual. Delivery took about 2 months.

When I bought the car, I just about checked every option except the rear spoiler and hand bar for the rear hatch. I had the dealership install leather seats since it wasn't a factory option on the wagon. I used and abused this wagon for years, and then my wife used and abused the car for more years. Then in 2015 it came to replace the car and we picked up a 2015 H6 3.6R Outback.

So, What to do with the gold beastie? I am afraid I get rather attached to cars, so I decided to make it the car that I really want it to be. Since I didn't need to drive it, the car went into my garage and the transformation began.

So, Modifications to the car as of today - Oh, boy, where to start? Ok:

Interior:

Full JDM GT-B interior swap

-Front & Rear seats. LH seat rebuilt with a USDM power seat frame so both front seats are power seats.
-After market heated seat elements but wired to use the Subaru seat switches.
-JDM door panels (front LH panel modified to fit the USDM power window switches - there is a thread on that somewhere)
-JDM stainless sill plates
-All gray trim converted to Black - This is a mixture of EDM, JDM, and SEM ColorCoat USDM panels.
-AC/Heater converted to the LL Bean automatic climate control system
-JDM BFM instrument cluster
-Red hazzard switch from the S401
-Trusty Pioneer AVIC-D2 GPS, Bluetooth, & rear view camera.

Exterior:

-JDM flush roof rails
-JDM rear spoiler
-JDM front and rear GT-B bumpers & lips
-JDM front lights
-JDM rear tail lights and center garnish
-JDM rear bumper sill plate
-JDM 17" GT-B wheels
-Honda Pilot rear wiper arm
-JDM Folding power wing mirrors, rebuilt using USDM bases and glass so the angles are all right.
-USDM Baja turbo hood

Engine:

Complete turbo swap

2004 USDM STI 2.5l EJ 257 short block
EJ205 heads, chambered to 2.5
2003 WRX intake manifold
IHI VF39 turbo - Ported & Polished
2004 STI intercooler

Powertrain:

-JDM close ratio 6 spd non DCCD transmission
-JDM 3.9 STI rear differential
-Custom rear axles to go between STI diff and standard legacy hubs
-2006 WRX brakes (4 pots front, 2 pots rear)

I'm sure I've missed something - I went a little nuts.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2016/06/27473272951_3d71c97bb8_h-1.jpg

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[iampetro]

So clean!
Great work man, you did this one right :)

[98legwag]

Well done. Now give it to me.

[rkrenicki]

My only wish were that you lived closer so I could see it :) Nice car, and a fantastic job!

[LeggyxPower]

the car is beautiful, love the direction you took! also it's such a damn sleeper, you must surprise some people.

[peugoby]

Epic build hupshall. I will be requesting a ride when I see you on Thursday evening! Congrats on a beautiful build.

[Lancaster6]

Yesssssss. I'm so glad you made a ride thread. Excellent job on your beautiful BH!

[radu416]

All those photos are going into my inspiration folder. Much respect for your effort and attention to detail, your car is immaculate. I love it! Thank you for sharing!

[Matty2Hotty]

What type of engine management or ecu you running?

[hupshall]

I am running a 2003 WRX ECU with Cobb Accessport v3

[hupshall]

Finally installed my turn signal side mirrors.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2016/07/27939853734_55b37025a4_k-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2016/07/28479000101_2bd9886497_b-1.jpg

[peugoby]

The mirrors look sharp

[Dead91silvia]

Saw the wagon in person a could weeks ago, looks fantastic! :)

[subieadam]

That car is super clean!

[hupshall]

I recently took the car to the body shop to get the front bumper lip fixed, it had cracked - as well as get all the dents and scratches taken out of the left hand side of the car.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2017/12/38371508964_735fd674d9_b-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2017/12/39081002551_344be3e608_b-1.jpg

I also picked up a Subaru front grille and had it paint matched Titanium Pearl - I've not installed it yet, but it's an option:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2017/12/39050630252_9fa02de682_b-1.jpg

[hupshall]

Time to start cleaning up the engine compartment, I'm not liking how the secondary crank case hoses are currently being routed - Remember, this is a 2.5 short block STI engine running with wrx heads. The STI heads have two crank case breathers - I had bungs welded into the valve covers so I could hook up the hoses, but of course they couldn't go where the stock STI ones went. Because of this, I've got a hodgepodge of hoses. I'm starting with the LH side first, I'm going to trim the injector protector covers and with a generic 90 degree PCV hose, route the hose directly along the engine and into the plumbing.


While I'm in there, I see that the accelerator cable wasn't clipped to its support bracket under the fuel filter, so I did that - and the AC clutch wire has been chaffed a lot so I will slip on some heat shrink and renew that.

The bungs, welded:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2017/12/39050970702_4832dddc90_b-1.jpg

[Sub-Goon]

Nice stuff you got going on!

[*thomas*]

Very nice build. Keep us posted!

[hupshall]

Ok, fixing up the PVC routing on the left hand side of the engine -

Injector cover plate, marked up for notching:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2017/12/38658112894_7367b547ee_b-1.jpg

Notched & painted:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2017/12/39336251282_d69edf911b_b-1.jpg

Installed, with the new hose running directly underneath and parallel to the AC hose. It looks much cleaner:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2017/12/27588920539_69a2ebba85_b-1.jpg

[hupshall]

Installed my Syms strut bar - it's for the BE/BH body style and clears the large STI intercooler.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2017/12/38658151254_2a40cc2b3c_b-1.jpg

[hupshall]

Since I've taken the air filter assembly out to clean up the PCV lines and to cut a hole in the fender, I've added a couple of pictures here to illustrate how I mounted the cable operated cruise control module. I mounted the servo unit on the passenger side strut tower. The unit is mounted upside down with the bracket flange up top instead of being at the bottom. I drilled two holes in the existing strut bracket * installed some nutserts. I then made another bracket and used a metal brake to bend it - I shaped this so that the boost control valve could easily be bolted to the end and it could fit in the space between the cruise control servo and the strut tower - albeit, it's upside down. Everything fits in a nice easy package and even though the cable loops around a bit to make it to the intake manifold, it all works as it should.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2017/12/39384844781_b44b4f45b4_b-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2017/12/39384832341_f1c3f523b2_b-1.jpg

[hupshall]

I went about installing the JDM armrest extension for my wagon today - I have put the later version of the center console in my car so I have the dual cup holders. The drawback of this is to make room for that larger cup holder area, Subaru moved the latch of the console lid from the left side to the right side of the console. The Japanese extension has the latch on the left and it's not movable.

The second issue I had was that in the Japanese consoles, there is a provision in the storage bin for the hinge tabs that stop the lid from opening up too far. There is no such provision in the later model console for this.

So, unfortunately, I had to make a couple of destructive modifications to the arm rest.

1st, I removed the two hinge tabs and cut them flush to the lid. 2nd, I installed a new latch mechanism - funny enough, from the parts bin of one of my old Triumphs.

Here it is installed:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2018/01/39486164621_0e641ba072_b-1.jpg

Hinge stops removed:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2018/01/25616314868_dc1682c5e7_b-1.jpg

New Latches:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2018/01/25616311878_db788f5bc0_b-1.jpg

&

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2018/01/25616317938_58524b68c0_b-1.jpg