Bhatman
11-04-2009, 04:19 AM
Now that ive gotten pretty close to what I want with the car, I think its a good time to document the journey I have had with this car and what its taught me with Subarus and also mechanics in general.
Background: I was looking for a car in 2007 and had saved up some cash and needed a vehicle since I was studying in San Luis Obispo and my home is 200mi north in the Bay. I went through craigslist ads for a yr from Land Cruisers to Pathfinders and then one day I stumbled upon the staple of the old grandma driver: Subaru Legacy Outback. From there I researched the dreaded Head Gasket and all the maintenance issues that are involved with these cars. I finally found a Outback, at an awesome dealer in Fremont, CA who specializes in Subarus. Initially I was looking at a GT wagon, but it had a bad steering pump and the hatch wouldn't close. I decided there I would focus on getting a decent Outback and go from there.
(Dont really have a picture of the car stock, forgot camera here....)(Think of your basic stock outback)
It had 98,000 miles on it, had a perfect body, and no damage whatsoever to the frame(plenty of scrapes and bumps on the bumpers though...) From there I ran it stock for a few months and threw in a Kenwood deck as there was no stock radio in the vehicle when bought.
In the winter of 2008 I swapped the old leather seats for 2006 WRX TR seats which were so much better(dont like leather) and also swapped out the outback wheels for a set of mint GT snowflakes on Sumitomo HTR+'s which were so much better than the old wheels.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/06/IMG_0084-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/01/P1240749-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/11/IMG_0083-1.jpg
I ran the car like this for awhile as I had no cash for any other upgrades and was focusing on school. I started looking into lowering the car after meeting fellow SL-I members at the Jan 2009 Davis Meet and seeing the famous Hooptywagon that Sybir had created(amazing car) and has been much inspiration for my car:
some pics from that meet:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/11/163-1.jpg
an 911GT3RS wanted to say hello:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/01/IMG_0096-1.jpg
After the meet I slowly started building up parts for my suspension and started reading as much material as I could about struts, springs, lowering rates, camber and the different ways parts could be put together from different Subarus. I finally purchased 2006 WRX struts and then a few months later got STi springs from a dude who kept getting lowballed(stunned a Outback owner wanted them). Then got spacers from paranoidfabrications.com for the saggy butt and all the extra pieces needed(tophats ,shrouds). In March I finally was able to work on lowering the car and me and two other buddies took a saturday+beer and lowered the car which changed the car enitrely!
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/06/IMG_1569-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/06/IMG_0224-1.jpg
From there I went back home and felt every rut, bump and scrape the wonderful freeway system in the Bay Area had to offer to me and it made me respect the car even more as it handled so well. Recently I added an E-bay rear sway bar and also an STi carbon fiber front strut bar which has stiffened the car even more. I also changed out the bulbs for LED's in the interior and also added front and rear tints to the vehicle.
(Once my camera comes back I will get more pics)
Overall the vehicle has been an amazing experience and I have gotten alot of comments after lowering and tinting the car as it made the car what it is now. Thanks for looking!
Background: I was looking for a car in 2007 and had saved up some cash and needed a vehicle since I was studying in San Luis Obispo and my home is 200mi north in the Bay. I went through craigslist ads for a yr from Land Cruisers to Pathfinders and then one day I stumbled upon the staple of the old grandma driver: Subaru Legacy Outback. From there I researched the dreaded Head Gasket and all the maintenance issues that are involved with these cars. I finally found a Outback, at an awesome dealer in Fremont, CA who specializes in Subarus. Initially I was looking at a GT wagon, but it had a bad steering pump and the hatch wouldn't close. I decided there I would focus on getting a decent Outback and go from there.
(Dont really have a picture of the car stock, forgot camera here....)(Think of your basic stock outback)
It had 98,000 miles on it, had a perfect body, and no damage whatsoever to the frame(plenty of scrapes and bumps on the bumpers though...) From there I ran it stock for a few months and threw in a Kenwood deck as there was no stock radio in the vehicle when bought.
In the winter of 2008 I swapped the old leather seats for 2006 WRX TR seats which were so much better(dont like leather) and also swapped out the outback wheels for a set of mint GT snowflakes on Sumitomo HTR+'s which were so much better than the old wheels.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/06/IMG_0084-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/01/P1240749-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/11/IMG_0083-1.jpg
I ran the car like this for awhile as I had no cash for any other upgrades and was focusing on school. I started looking into lowering the car after meeting fellow SL-I members at the Jan 2009 Davis Meet and seeing the famous Hooptywagon that Sybir had created(amazing car) and has been much inspiration for my car:
some pics from that meet:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/11/163-1.jpg
an 911GT3RS wanted to say hello:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/01/IMG_0096-1.jpg
After the meet I slowly started building up parts for my suspension and started reading as much material as I could about struts, springs, lowering rates, camber and the different ways parts could be put together from different Subarus. I finally purchased 2006 WRX struts and then a few months later got STi springs from a dude who kept getting lowballed(stunned a Outback owner wanted them). Then got spacers from paranoidfabrications.com for the saggy butt and all the extra pieces needed(tophats ,shrouds). In March I finally was able to work on lowering the car and me and two other buddies took a saturday+beer and lowered the car which changed the car enitrely!
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/06/IMG_1569-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/06/IMG_0224-1.jpg
From there I went back home and felt every rut, bump and scrape the wonderful freeway system in the Bay Area had to offer to me and it made me respect the car even more as it handled so well. Recently I added an E-bay rear sway bar and also an STi carbon fiber front strut bar which has stiffened the car even more. I also changed out the bulbs for LED's in the interior and also added front and rear tints to the vehicle.
(Once my camera comes back I will get more pics)
Overall the vehicle has been an amazing experience and I have gotten alot of comments after lowering and tinting the car as it made the car what it is now. Thanks for looking!