Project Mistress

[setnev]

I am nicknaming this car Mistress because all of my love and money goes to it and I get nothing in return other than quick satisfaction. This car started out its life in the backwoods of Wisconsin. It lived most of its life there, driven mostly in the summer, until it found its way to Arizona in 2009. The original owner gave the car to his son, which is who I bought it from. There is only 2 verified title transfers, making me the second owner of this beast. I acquired it in early 2015 as a parts car for my Legacy Wagon for a EG33 swap. I love the look of the car, the performance, handling, etc, so I decided to save this gem and plan out my project, unfortunately putting Rally Cheap on hold.

This was the night I brought her home. She barely ran on 3 cylinders to get it onto the trailer.



Upon getting it home. I was eager to get it apart and start my swap. Until I started finding some interesting things. The previous owner spared almost no expense on the car. CF hood, brake upgrade, coilovers, just to name a few. I started focusing on getting the engine to run. I bought a battery from Interstate because the original battery was completely shot.



The injectors were fouled up with years of crap sitting without running, plugs were shot, fuel filter was full of crap and varnished fuel. I cleaned out everything, replaced the plugs, fixed an exposed wire on the coils, replaced fuel filter, had a buddy of mine rebuild the injectors, reassembled, put in 5 gallons of premium unleaded, and crossed my fingers. She fired up on the second crank and ran beautifully, which is when I noticed the custom exhaust system. She sounded like a super car. I was hooked. I took it out for a drive and heard the most god awful annoying drone and vibration. Rear bearings were shot. Bought some Timken bearings and spent the better part of a month rebuilding the rear end. Rust proofing that is 26 years old is NOT your friend and much of it wore off on the wheel hubs making disassembly a god awful chore between snapping bolts and cutting off rusted parts. I began to regret not ripping her apart, but alas, I prevailed. I ended up ordering new lateral links, bolt hardware, and all new bushings for each of the hubs. With this unicorn, it was not cheap, but hey, between the cost of the car and transport, the tuneup, new battery, bearings, and new rear end hardware, I was still in it for less than a grand.

When I pulled the hubs apart, they were terrible.



They were Skittles when they came apart. There was not a single piece of the bearing left larger than an inch (other than the journal and race).

[setnev]

After a little torching, angle grinding, and careful cleanup, the hubs were ready to accept their new bearings.


Everything now reassembled with all new parts. Bearing packed with synthetic packing grease for longevity because heat kills the bearings.


Car was finally back on the ground and ready for it's maiden voyage.



Over the next couple of months, nothing happened with the car. I was moving and wanted to make sure everything was ready to go. I got my new vanity plate in the mail, registered, insured, and ready to make the 35 mile trip to it's new home.

[setnev]

Went to a local Subie meet to show it off and snapped a couple pictures of it at the lake.



At this point I needed some serious paint attention. I began researching color options and found a factory option never offered in the US. Gunmetal Metallic Gray. I began looking for examples in Europe and found this specimen in Germany.



Perfect color and no one else in the US has this color.

[setnev]

A little bit of front end maintenance. The old swap bar bushings were completely shot. Replaced them with brand new poly bushings. End links are next, when I find them.



Next thing is the windshield needed to be replaced due to a wicked crack on the driver's side. OE windshield was over $1300 bucks and the insurance company paid me for it. Had it replaced by an aftermarket source that did a fantastic job on it.



Looks factory and it doesn't leak and didn't cost me $1300 for it.

[setnev]

Now onto paint. I got a small windfall to start off my painting project and I wanted to do it myself. I found a local source for urethane primer, purchased all of the equipment, and started stripping the car down.



More updates to follow soon.

[setnev]

Pictures of progress. Using EuroPrime Urethane Primer at a 4:1:1 ratio. Coverage is amazing and very even with my sprayer. The whole first coat was done with about 20 oz. of primer.