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Bast's MY99 RS - Prodrive P1 Replica

374K views 2K replies 143 participants last post by  Bast 
#1 · (Edited)
About Me:
I've been browsing this forum for a bit and finally have a reason to create a journal. My name is Jess and I purchased the RS I wanted in July 2013. I had a couple opportunities to purchase a sedan RS, but I wanted to hold out for a coupe. Being that I lived in Oregon, the prices for RS' were laughable. While waiting for the right car I went through 4 other cars. I started with a 2003 Suzuki Aerio, to a 2003 VW GTI 20th Anniversary, to a 2005 Legacy GT Limited wagon (loved that beast, but it had a busted short block) and then to a 2000 Audi A4 Quattro. This was in a span of a year and half. :lol:

About the Car:
I purchased the RS from a Subaru 'specialist' dealer in Oregon in July 2013. They had completely overhauled the engine (new parts mentioned in post #2) when I picked it up at 124,500 miles with a 5-speed manual transmission and new tires. It had some blemishes (the rust spot I somehow missed until I got home) and a broken driver's side mirror. It came with the OBX axleback and OEM subwoofer, but any other addition has been added by me. All in all, I am completely happy with my purchase.

The main plan is to keep the car N/A and focus on cosmetic and chassis/suspension/brake upgrades. There will be no 'lowlife' or flares or widebody. It'll be something of a Prodrive P1 replica. I definitely want to update and refresh all the bushings and old OE parts; it really needs it... A possible far future plan would be to purchase a wrecked 05-07 STi and do a full USDM swap, but I'm in no considerable rush to do that.




Interior
  • JDM STi MT blue pedal set
  • JDM STi V5/6 front door cards
  • JDM WRX gray HVAC trim
  • JDM WRX gray shift trim
  • JDM Subaru red hazard button
  • OEM black coupe carpet
  • OEM Subaru barometer pack
  • LHD dash cubby
  • Prodrive P1 cluster
  • Prodrive P1 front seats
  • Prodrive P1 rear seat
  • Prodrive black 5MT shift knob
  • Prodrive floor mats
  • STi V9 steering wheel
  • GD all-weather mats
  • WRX wagon intermittent wiper stalk
  • Slate alcantara rear door trim inserts from Zealous Interiors
  • Shiba dog hairs

Audio & Lighting
  • Kenwood 6x9 rear speakers
  • OEM subwoofer
  • OEM trunk light
  • Prodrive P1 Hella spotlights
  • White LED map/dome lighting
  • White LED HVAC lighting
  • Natural White LED corner lights
  • Retrofit headlights (smushed)
= E46-R shrouds
= Morimoto Mini H1 7.0 projectors
= Morimoto XB35 ballasts
= MotoControl Bixenon harness
= 4500k bulbs

Exterior
  • JDM Subaru taillights
  • JDM Subaru clear corners
  • JDM Subaru front aeroguards
  • JDM Subaru rear aeroguards
  • JDM 22B OE hood vents
  • JDM STi V5/6 grille
  • JDM STi V5/6 rear bumper
  • JDM rear spats
  • JDM flat fuel door
  • EDM frosted bumper lights
  • Prodrive P1 OEM trunk badge
  • Prodrive P1 OEM fender badges
  • Prodrive P1 OEM spotlight covers
  • Prodrive P1 OEM spoiler
  • Prodrive P1 replica front splitter
  • Prova blue mirrors
  • Depo clear side markers
  • Depo glass headlights
  • Paint-matched side skirts
  • JDM rear wiper conversion - needs install

Engine & Exhaust
  • 04/05 EJ205
  • GD STi top mount
  • VF43
  • Killer B pickup
  • Paranoid Fabrications grounding kit
  • Grimmspeed catted downpipe
  • Grimmspeed EBCS
  • Grimmspeed TMIC Y-pipe kit
  • Grimmspeed black engine bay caps
  • TurboXS midpipe
  • Prodrive oval tip axleback
  • Kartboy exhaust hangers
  • DeatschWerks DW300 fuel pump

Chassis & Suspension
  • KYB AGX struts
  • Eibach 'Prodrive' P11L springs
  • Group N rear tophats
  • GT Spec fender braces
  • CUSCO lower rear subframe brace
  • CUSCO front strut bar
  • CUSCO front power brace
  • CUSCO pitch stop
  • CUSCO h-brace - need to install
  • Whiteline steering rack bushings
  • PERRIN front endlinks
  • Kartboy rear subframe locking bolts
  • COBB front shifter bushing
  • COBB rear shifter bushing
  • STi rear sway bar
  • STi trailing arms and lateral links
  • 2015 STi 13:1 steering rack
  • GD column and linkage
Brakes & Wheels
  • Winter: 205/55/16 Bridgestone Blizzak tires with OEM gold RS 5 spokes 16x7 +55
  • Summer: 225/45/17 Falken Azenis RT615K with Prodrive GC010e 17x7.5 +47
  • Muteki black lugnuts
  • USDM WRX 4-pots painted Titanium Blue
  • USDM WRX 2-pots painted Titanium Blue
  • Centric premium rotors
  • Stoptech street performance brake pads
  • Stoptech SS brake lines
  • Kartboy rear 2-pot adapters

Notes
  • Cluster swap #1: Mileage of stock RS cluster: 139,758mi / Mileage of V6 cluster: 167,948km
  • Cluster swap #2: Mileage of V6 cluster: 199,259km / Mileage of P1 cluster: 191,398km / Chassis mileage: 159,214mi
  • Actual mileage: 194,425 as of January 3rd, 2019
  • Rebuilt NA motor swapped in at 203,500mi December 2019. Rebuilt motor has anywhere from 30-50k miles.
  • EJ205 motor installed at approximately 219,800mi March 2022 with 30k-ish miles.

Parts Wanted
  • V5/6/Prodrive P1 rear doorcards
  • STi 6 speed
 

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#1,719 ·
I should really update more.. Coming to this site is really frustrating though. Plus, I don't have any happy updates currently haha

Whoops!


I'll go into details at a later time. I'm still fighting my insurance over value and waiting on repairs.
 
#1,722 ·
That really fucking sucks....I'm really sorry to see this post. I'm so damn apprehensive to drive my car for fear of other drivers, especially after all the body work and paint. I know full well that insurance will never even come close to properly reimbursing me for a 20 year old Subaru with 136k on her. On a different note, I'm a relatively new member - 4-5 years so I have some experience with the previous format compared to the new. Yes it's ugly, more difficult to navigate (I still have no idea how to simply delete old PMs and my inbox is just about full), and the ads are absolutely infuriating but the members seem cool and this community is still dedicated and helpful. As shitty as new ownership may be in managing the site, the soul is still embodied in the members and their contributions. Much of the time, the world is what you make of it. I empathize your loss and genuinely hope for a positive resolution.
 
#1,724 ·
I actually have aftermarket/custom parts coverage which really saved my ass on getting a bit more value. That said, I had to make a big stink about it in order to get it paid out.

It's been a really annoying experience with insurance right from the start. The rep that was assigned to my claim was a complete asshat from the moment he called me. He never called me to update me on things, never gave me any options, didn't answer my questions and was completely uninterested in helping me. I sent them thousands of dollars worth of receipts for everything I had recently done (motor rebuild, transmission refresh, Prodrve parts, etc) and when the valuation finally came.. they added $53 for a $3200 motor rebuild and neglected all the other items I sent over. They also compared my car to two RS sedans and an L. I had.. a lot to say about that to my rep. He actually said, "It's a 30 year old Subaru.. it isn't worth anything." I got a real kick out of that.

Anyway, after 3.5 weeks of torture with him, it turns out that he was let go so I was reassigned someone else. The new lady was completely on it and is a self proclaimed 'hot-rodder' so she says she understands unloading a lot of money in old cars. As it stands, my car was valued at $3,211 and some change. This is after my $500 deductible, salvage and blah blah blah. The new rep also cut me a check for $1,500 for my aftermarket coverage and is working on getting me a higher value with my receipts and better comps in the area. I sent her a good list of RS coupes for sale off Craigslist and RS25. We'll see what happens.. There's a lot of details in the story that I don't feel like going over again haha. It's been a bloody nightmare but so far, my insurance is doing what they can to turn around my horrible experience.

It sucks the car is a total loss but it's not the end of the world. What was damaged is easily replaced: hood, lights, grille, radiator, upper rad support and some other small items. The motor appears to be fine and there's no frame damage, so that's a win. No Prodrive parts were damaged; another win! No injuries sustained, no airbags deployed and my dog didn't even smack into the glove box, even better! So yeah.. I no longer have a clean title RS but I still have an RS.
 
#1,731 ·
The shop called me a little bit ago.. The place they ordered my hood from 1.5-2 weeks ago emailed them and canceled the order for whatever reason. So my guy quickly found a new hood and passenger fender for cheaper than what the other one cost anyway. So despite the slow turnaround, at least I'm saving some money haha. Otherwise we're still waiting on the other parts to arrive. These Subaru warehouse/discount pricing places take foreeeeever to fulfill orders. This is when I really miss subarugenuineparts. Like, REALLY miss it. The shop also offered for me to come in and help with the repairs to further reduce cost. I've no experience, but I can at least learn some things so that's pretty rad.
 
#1,733 ·
I could believe that haha. The best part was that I wasn't far from her, so my shipping was quicker (or so it felt like). All the other places I've used since have been midwest - east coast.


Sad news from insurance.. they couldn't offer me more. They were saying despite the value I see online, when they entered a 98 or 00/01 vs my 99, they "couldn't compare them because the motors were different". But they had no issue comparing a 2.2l L. So, yeah.. I don't know. After a month of back and forth with them, I'm done with it. I basically received $4,700 and that's all I will get. Shitty.. but it is what it is.

I've been looking into maybe getting an 03-08 Forester; leaning more towards the 03-05. There are a few locally that are under $4,000 and may be worth getting just to putz around in. But, I'm afraid if I get one, I'll just go mod crazy on that too and really dig myself into a financial hole ?
 
#1,737 ·
Just some random photos of carnage.

It's taking a lot longer than I anticipated (though, that seems to be this car's MO) but thankfully I have a coworker providing me rides to and from work. The shop said they'll shave down the GT Spec braces a bit at the top so they don't dent the inside of my new fender and they'll try and reduce the dent on the remaining one. It should be ready for paint next week then I'll have my tech check the timing and whatever else engine-wise. They said they'd also repaint my bumper since it was super rock chipped and a few scrapes from the other vehicle. Guess I should look into paint protection for the front, huh?










I was also thinking of getting a double-din system but unsure of which one to get. I want touchscreen and Apple CarPlay but that's really it. Well, and USB connection I guess. I was looking at the Pioneer AVH-1300NEX on Amazon and it's got decent reviews. Plus, it'd be nice to throw in a backup camera just because.
 
#1,742 ·
That's the smart decision - paying down debts first.

With the Oakland port the bay area sees a decent amount of JDM V1-5 imports, front ends can be found if USDMs are completely gone at local pick-n-pulls. Take lots of measurements, weld it up, transfer over parts, and you're good. Take it to a frame shop for peace of mind. Discounting labor, you can find front ends for ~$100-500 - sedan, wagon, and coupe should be interchangeable.

Just make friends with someone who owns a cutoff wheel and a welder!

-TC
 
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