'99 RS coupe for track use, Cusco diff, Carbon body panels, Custom Machining, Pic heavy...

updated 9/27/21 -Cusco rear LSD install

Story:

A little backstory on what got me interested in Subaru's before I even started looking for a 2.5RS coupe.
About 10 years ago, met the guys from Renner Motorsport and started seeing all of the high quality builds they were working on. Most of them were for customers, but Peter and Ivo's (RIP) own cars were the best examples by far.
Widebody coupes, 500hp+ turbo motors, and flawless execution inside and out really got me thinking about adding a Subaru to the garage.
Since I already had a track car and fun daily drivers, I didn't want an old slow 2.5RS yet. Went to the Subaru dealer in early 2012 and ordered a STI hatchback in World Rally Blue. The STI finally arrived from Japan in April of 2012, and it was fun to drive with AWD and almost endless traction. After a few years, I started considering taking on a project of a 2.5RS coupe with a full STI drivetrain.
Why a coupe? It had to be a coupe because #1. 4 doors are stupid looking #2. Ivo had shared his opinion years ago and I agreed that only the 2 door cars are worth building.

So fast forward to 2015 and I've been looking everywhere for a 1999-2001 2.5RS coupe. Literally searching all across the country, on every car site, and even saw a clean example parked in Indianapolis and left a note on the windshield with an offer to buy it (no response from the jerk!). Plenty of ugly 4 doors for sale, some rusty 2 doors for sale, and almost zero stock coupes in good condition.

My fiance (now wife) and I were going up to San Francisco for the weekend to check out Fleet Week in October, so I searched on Craigslist SF and happened to come across a clean white '99 coupe for sale posted earlier that day! Contacted the owner so I could check out the car while I was in the area, and damned luck he was out of town that weekend. I got on the phone with the seller to arrange the sale, and as expected he had already received numerous inquires. I offered to Paypal a significant amount as a deposit, but he gave me his word he would hold it.

At this point it's mid-October 2015, and just a few weeks from getting married. My fiance (now wife) was not thrilled at me buying another car and going to get it. As us car guys do, I explained how great of an idea it was and immediately booked a one-way flight. Flew into SF and within an hour met the seller in a downtown parking lot. Gave the car a quick look inside and out, test drove around the block (and noticed a strange engine knock), and handed over $7k cash to the seller in exchange for a pink slip. That night drove back home to SoCal.

Goal for the car? Turn it into a rally beast and occasional track day fun.