Lancaster6's 04 USDM Lancaster6 - Stuff and Things

[Lancaster6]

Thank you sir! Can't wait to see yours as well. She may be a bit dirtier though...found out that the area is in the crosshairs of another small snow storm thing this weekend. :smt009: It's better than a meteor hitting it though! I think there's a DIY car wash somewhere close to school so I may stop by that before heading down to the meet.

[98legwag]

Its down to a 40% chance of snow this weekend. It did snow for about 30 mins last night.

[Lancaster6]

We only got a dusting thankfully, so its still relatively shiny! Haha. I went out on some errands today and decided to take some pictures along the way.



I also changed the oil today, and attempted to install a new rear sway bar. Didn't get far with the sway bar since the bolts just kept retightening themselves. There was also no room on the end of the bolt to stick an allen wrench so it wouldn't just spin. Anyone have any tips?

[Shiv]

I like what you've done with your OBK. Its coming along well.

Lancaster badge looks much cleaner IMO. The standard Outback badging makes the tailgate look cluttered. To add to that, here in Aus, we also have "symmetrical AWD" badges in addition to the "Outback H6 3.0" badging. Very messy....

[Lancaster6]

I like what you've done with your OBK. Its coming along well.

Lancaster badge looks much cleaner IMO. The standard Outback badging makes the tailgate look cluttered. To add to that, here in Aus, we also have "symmetrical AWD" badges in addition to the "Outback H6 3.0" badging. Very messy....

Thanks Shiv! I appreciate it.

I agree, that Lancaster badge really tidies up the tailgate. We don't have the AWD badges on the H6 but what we do have are a thousand LL Bean emblems festooned on what feels like every body panel. Those are off now

Today I tried to keep her as clean as possible while running some errands and getting ready for tomorrow's road trip. I can't wait to hit the road tomorrow and stretch the car's legs so to speak.

Sitting pretty with a full tank!

[Lancaster6]

I recently bought a set of JDM HID headlights from fellow member and H6 owner, rkrenicki. We met up at the SLi Maryland meet and had them installed before people even started showing up! A large thank you to you sir, not only for the help but for taking the time to black out the reflector in the headlight housing to make them even safer for use on our LHD roads.

I finally got some pictures to show off the car a little!

[98legwag]

Looks fantastic.

[Yamazaki]

That does look good. I also really like how clean your car is.

[Lancaster6]

Looks fantastic.

Thanks mate!

That does look good. I also really like how clean your car is.

Thanks Yama, I'm really trying to keep it as original as possible. If something JDM is going to be installed, its going to be something that was actually on the Lancaster.

The upcoming plans aren't super exciting, I'll start going at it again come late spring when the semester is over and I go back to working and making some more money.

Upcoming plans between now and spring:
-Install Whiteline 20mm rear sway bar w/ Whiteline endlinks (when its warm out!! )
-Redo my Sirius radio install. I'm quite comfortable with ripping the center console apart now so I'd like to install an FM tuner and reroute the antennae wire since its just flopping about inside now.
-Window tint. I'm on the fence, since I like the fishbowl feel but at the same time I don't. It cuts down on glare too so that's a big reason for it as well. May go 25-35%, whichever my local tint establishment has.

-And finally drive it everywhere and enjoy the splendor that is my Outback/USDM Lancaster6.

[rkrenicki]

My headlights live to see another day! I am glad to get them to someone who appreciates them, and they look better on your car then they did sitting on top of my window airconditioner in my tiny office, heh.

[Lancaster6]

Haha, and it frees up some space for more car parts.

I need to set a reminder for myself to get little grommets to stick in the holes. I'm on spring break next week so ill have all week to get them and seal them up.

[rkrenicki]

Oh right, I will pm you for that.

[chrish8r]

Those headlights look amazing. It really adds to the overall look!

[Lancaster6]

Those headlights look amazing. It really adds to the overall look!

Thank you! I totally agree, its such a cleaner look up front without those big amber reflectors.

I'm finally on spring break! And I had these waiting for me when I got home. The only downside to these Whiteline endlinks are that I'll have to cut them to size. Shouldn't be too big of an issue though. Contingent on warm weather I hope to get the rear sway installed sometime during the week.

[Lancaster6]

Not much of an update, school has been pretty busy.
I just gave her a bath and a detail on the weekend. Don't worry, it rained the next day. Oh well, I did get some wicked big paint chips filled on the bright side.


Also, I have this little side project I've been tinkering with. I'm working on retrofitting my key w/ fob into the Volkswagen switchblade style fob. The mechanical side of things is perfect! But the electrical side is a bit botched at the moment.

This is pretty fun, I was able to get my Subaru key to fit in the fob as seen below


I got excited over the course of the next couple pictures...
Desoldering the buttons from the fob's boards (this worked):


Reattached VW fob's buttons to subaru fob...this worked and when test fitted in the VW fob the buttons on the fob lined up perfectly with the buttons on the board:


Then...disaster stuck. In the process of soldering wire to the subaru board, I got caught up in the wire and it not only detached the wire from the board, but it ripped the connector off of the circuit board as well! Fuck! Fuck! Bollocks! ARGHHH!!!!!! Welp, that's the end of that I guess. I need to find another 2005-06 Impreza/Forester fob to rip apart. Dammit all. Back to square one, but thankfully have some revisions to the process for round two.

Those are:
-An ultra fine tip for the soldering iron. Holy shit this board is tiny. I mean, it is a key fob circuit board, but the tiny-ness of the thing didn't dawn on me until I saw that even 22 gauge wire was way to massive for the project.
-From my tangent above, I'll need some even thinner gauge wire. Like, seriously small diameter, that is flexible enough to not worry about it interfering with other connectors millimeters away.

Now I'm off to cry and enjoy some quality cancer or other reproductive harm due to the use of a product known to the state of California to have those effects.

Maybe some grand theft auto to blow off some frustration.

This project is not over!

[Cooper197]

If it is just the keyless, have you thought about just swapping out your keyless module with that from a VW? Seems like it would be pretty simple...I've only ever worked with aftermarket ones before though.

Awesome idea though! I've always wanted one of those keys!

[rkrenicki]

30 AWG Kynar "Wire Wrap" wire from Radio Shack works well for that sort of stuff.

Unfortunately, a big "fire stick" iron like what you have is just not delicate enough for something like that. The Hakko/Yihua irons are great for the price. http://www.ebay.com/itm/221209452414

[Lancaster6]

If it is just the keyless, have you thought about just swapping out your keyless module with that from a VW? Seems like it would be pretty simple...I've only ever worked with aftermarket ones before though.

Awesome idea though! I've always wanted one of those keys!

I wish it was that easy! The buttons on the subaru fob are quite a bit smaller and really close together; too close for the buttons on the VW fob to make contact with them. I'll post a picture later of the difference in button sizes.

30 AWG Kynar "Wire Wrap" wire from Radio Shack works well for that sort of stuff.

Unfortunately, a big "fire stick" iron like what you have is just not delicate enough for something like that. The Hakko/Yihua irons are great for the price. http://www.ebay.com/itm/221209452414

I'll be on the lookout for that wire, thanks rknenicki.

I figured this iron wasn't good enough for this sort of thing. Trying to maneuver it around things and into gaps was a challenge to say the least. I think my buddy has a soldering iron like that so maybe he'll let me use it for a bit

[Cooper197]

If it is just the keyless, have you thought about just swapping out your keyless module with that from a VW? Seems like it would be pretty simple...I've only ever worked with aftermarket ones before though.

Awesome idea though! I've always wanted one of those keys!

I wish it was that easy! The buttons on the subaru fob are quite a bit smaller and really close together; too close for the buttons on the VW fob to make contact with them. I'll post a picture later of the difference in button sizes.

I'm saying take the box out of a VW, and wire that into the Subaru. Then just use the factory VW fob, no modification. Should basically be lock/ unlock wires, power, ands lights/horn. I could be wrong though, like I said my experience is in the aftermarket stuff.

[Lancaster6]

I'm saying take the box out of a VW, and wire that into the Subaru. Then just use the factory VW fob, no modification. Should basically be lock/ unlock wires, power, ands lights/horn. I could be wrong though, like I said my experience is in the aftermarket stuff.

Ohhhh okay, now I get what you're saying. I've never seen that done before, but I will look into it. I think VW uses a comfort control module to control the alarm system along with a host of other things. I'll compare the CCM with the subie's module, but I think I may stick to the fob modification, since I almost feel out of my league with this project! I can't imagine wiring in a CCM from a VW haha

[Cooper197]

I'm saying take the box out of a VW, and wire that into the Subaru. Then just use the factory VW fob, no modification. Should basically be lock/ unlock wires, power, ands lights/horn. I could be wrong though, like I said my experience is in the aftermarket stuff.

Ohhhh okay, now I get what you're saying. I've never seen that done before, but I will look into it. I think VW uses a comfort control module to control the alarm system along with a host of other things. I'll compare the CCM with the subie's module, but I think I may stick to the fob modification, since I almost feel out of my league with this project! I can't imagine wiring in a CCM from a VW haha

I wonder if you would have to? I know for me it is just lock and unlock that I use, the alarm is just there but more annoying than useful. Seems like you could wire just those features in? Like I said, I really dont knownmuch about it and I probably think these things are simpler than they really are, but if you make this work, I'd be interested to see how, no matter what way you do it!

[Lancaster6]

So the key fob project is on hold for now. I have a new remote so I am ready to try again, I just need some time that I can use a buddy's soldering iron. It's a nice one rkrenicki, with adjustable temp and fine tip. Should've used that one from the start!

On another note, I decided to buy a little end-of-the-semester gift to myself. One of the things I've loved about the interior of the Lancaster is that badass Momo wheel...well I have one coming in the mail now! Should be at the house by the time I move back in.

[Lancaster6]

So after having some money saved up and set aside for the car, I've come up with a list of things I'd like to get done on the "Lancaster" over the course of this summer. Some of this stuff is just installing things I got as Christmas presents others are slightly big projects, and lastly the other batch of plans are just small things to improve the overall appearance.

What I hope to do is:
-Tint: I'll have to look at the %'s the tint place I go to has, but I'm leaning towards 18-25% on the rears. Probably going to leave the fronts alone since I really don't want to be hassled for them.
-Momo swap w/ black leather steering wheel. Damn you tan interior with your chocolate colored steering wheel. At least the black steering wheel will still have the wood accents. And this sucker is in the mail so it'll be completed soon!
-Independent fog light mod. Simple yet good looking.
-Replace all interior lights with LEDs. May leave the radio and climate control alone though.
-Lower it using Legacy KYB struts. I don't want to slam it, and the H6 severely limits the lowering options, so just using the KYBs with stock springs will give it just enough of a drop to close up the monstrous wheel gap, while still being practical to get me to my kayaking spots.
-While I'm in the process of replacing the struts I'd like to get my 22mm Whiteline rear sway bar installed. I figure it's been in my room since Christmas so its about time it gets put on the car...

And that's about it. Pretty manageable list, and afterwards I think I'll be pretty happy with how it'll look. Of course I'll find something else that I want to do it though!

[Lancaster6]

I packed up the wagon and headed home from school today. It's such a relief to be done with finals...


When I got home there were some packages waiting for me...one very car related and one not so car related. I got my momo air bag today, just waiting on the wood grain wheel to come. I also got a brand new Keane Strangeland record. I seriously can't wait to throw that on the turntable later

[Lancaster6]

I got my black steering wheel in the mail today so after I got off work I replaced my boring, stock, brown colored wheel with this cool new black wheel with the airbag from an 03 WRX. I of course smacked my forehead on the top of the steering wheel as I was trying to get the nut loose.


And since the steering wheel came with a cruise control stalk from another Legacy, I didn't have to use my old finicky one. Momo wheel coolness plus functioning cruise control again!

[Muse]

Nice! Soundss like you win on all counts there. Except whacking your head...

[Lancaster6]

Nice! Soundss like you win on all counts there. Except whacking your head...

I couldn't believe I did that, and it wasn't even at the stage where most people cause personal harm!

Today I installed some laminx film on my fog lights.


I was going to have my windows tinted tomorrow but my tint guy is booked for like three weeks. :smt009
If I wasn't such a lazy bastard I would've called weeks ago! lol

[Lancaster6]

I bought a slightly beat up spoiler off of a fellow SLi member and it got shipped out today.


I plan on repainting it myself, since a red wing on my White Frost Pearl BH would look silly. I don't have upscale compressors or HVLP spray guns, so I will be going to... gasp... rattle can it.

[Muse]

See about getting the right color from your local NAPA. They can make you a spray can of OEM color for less than $10, I think.

[Lancaster6]

I was reading about that a little while ago, actually. I luckily have at least 3 NAPAs in the area so hopefully one of them will be able to do it. I'll give them a call tomorrow! Do they need the paint from the dealership, for example, to put it into a spray can? Or do they do it all in the store?

EDIT: The more I research it, it seems as if that you just tell them your paint code and they take care of the rest. Cool!