[crazyskiier3989]

Updating my first post

IMG_3151 by Tyler Compton, on Flickr

So now that I've had my OBS for awhile I've finally figured more things out and have a better idea of where I want to go with her. She is definitely my DD, but I want her to be as fun as possible. So heres a list of my desired and acquired upgrades.

Italics is desired Regular is acquired

Exterior
Upper and mid Spoiler - Thanks to Canyon Carver
JDM Roof Rails - Thanks to Mad Rabbit
2.5rs Front bumper and fog lights
JDM corners
Rally Armor Flaps
Side Skirts
Rear Spats

Suspension
KYB AGX
20mm WRX RSB
Kart Boy Solid Endlinks
FHI Carbon Front Strut Brace - Thanks to JDM Gary
Ground Control Coilover Sleeves - They're awesome
Rear strut brace

Engine
Perrin Lightweight Crank Pulley
EJ251 for moar powah babeh!
Delta Cam 1000 Grinds
STi Group N mounts
STi Catback exhaust
UEL headers - needz MOAR rummmble

Transmission
Competition Clutch Gravel Series
ACT Streetlite Flywheel
STi Group N bushings

Brakes
06/07 WRX 4/2 Pots
Stop tech Stainless Steel Lines

Interior
Forrester Navigation Pack
Arm Rest extender
GD Wrx Wagon Seats


Original Post
So up until last January, I was the owner of a 97 VW Jetta. It was a fun car, didn't really do any work to it other than keep it running in tip top shape. Then I got rear ended. As soon as I got out of the car to look at the damage I laughed cause I knew it was totaled. My dream car for the longest time had been an original Impreza Outback Sport. Finally it was time to get one. After looking at cars for a couple months, mostly sedans and wagons, more jettas and lots and lots of crap. I finally stumbled on a green, 5 speed(I refuse to drive an auto) 1999 Impreza OBS at a used car lot in north Seattle. Got it for a decent price at the time. It came with a Yakima ski rack too.
Untitled by crazyskiier3989, on Flickr

Untitled by crazyskiier3989, on Flickr

Once I got it home I noticed a few things, front passenger strut was shot along with both front ball joints as well as the driver side CV axle. Get those patched up pretty quick. Only a couple hundred for all of those parts. Now the car drives great. It was missing some interior panels and things as well as a broken taillight. But a quick trip to some junkyards in Kent solved that. When I was there, I saw three other gf OBS's, 1 of them even had the upper and waist wings, I'm killing myself for not grabbing them then.
Untitled by crazyskiier3989, on Flickr

Untitled by crazyskiier3989, on Flickr

Then I sat on the car for quite some time, just driving it and enjoying it. The problem is I'm finally at the point in life where I have a little extra cash and I want to make my car better. So first things first, upgrade the steelie/hub cap combo to some OEM wheels. Eventually I found some Legacy 5 spokes with tread, traded my steelies to get the price down to 175. One of them was even a 30th anniversary rim with the gold painted cutout. Since then, I haven't had the time to do anything other than change the oil and make sure she's treated right.

Untitled by crazyskiier3989, on Flickr

I also took the roof rack off for a bit, I think it looks good.

But I've finally started the upgrade process. I just ordered a 20mm rsb from Subaru, which should be on the car next weekend. Hopefully soon after that I'll have a front strut bar on its was as well as JDM roof rails. (The stock cross bars are totally useless for me and all my Yakima goodies that I've picked up along the way.)

As time progresses, there will be more changes for sure. I'd really like the get an upper STi wing and maybe the waist spoiler as well. My image for my OBS right now is really similar to GF8er's.

 

[BackWoodsBob]

love wagons, sub'd

 

[SIMER]

Good start! It's 1st posts like these that restore a little faith in humanity for me haha

 

[crazyskiier3989]

Thanks, glad you like it. Just have to wait and see how long it takes me to get anything done.

 

[ChincySuby]

what junk yards did you go to? cause i need some parts for my wagon

 

[2 Door]

Super clean wagon, keep up with the good work!

 

[crazyskiier3989]

what junk yards did you go to? cause i need some parts for my wagon

I like to hit up the three near downtown kent, just a little north of auburn. I think their names are Binford, AAA and Budget. But this last weekend I was all over the south end, checking out new yards around Graham and Spanaway. Lately I haven't had much success in finding any parts that I want. Seems like impreza drivers don't smash there cars as much as civic or jetta drivers.

 

[crazyskiier3989]

20mm rsb is finally in the mail. first real upgrade is on its way. woot

 

[BackWoodsBob]

What model did you get that from, or was it ordered new for the wagon?

 

[crazyskiier3989]

I got this one Impreza Rear Sway Bar - 20mm (non STi) 1993-2003, SubaruGenuineParts.com
It was fairly cheap I think, I do want to use as many subaru parts as possible. Some of the other stuff they have pretty good deals on, not so much on other items.

 

[BackWoodsBob]

Nice, going to have 0 body roll with that. I bet you'll be quite happy . Thanks for the link btw!

 

[crazyskiier3989]

Got to do some work this weekend. Two small projects. The first one was to get my 20mm rear sway bar in. Super easy just like the DIY's said. Definitely a 15 minute project. Now that I have the 20mm rsb in I can tell that I really should get a beefier sway bar mounts and end links. As I was torquing the bar to the mounts I saw the mounts flexing which was interesting. But it has made a huge difference, keeps the car a lot flatter around corners and there is a ton less understeer.
Getting the OBS ready for better turning.

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The new and the old side by side, 13mm stock vs 20mm upgrade

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Shiny new rear sway bar

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The other things I got done was hacking up the sub woofer box that I had. It was a giant thing of a box and too up too much trunk space for me. So my dad and I chopped it down a little. We angled the back of it so it sits flush with the rear seat instead of being pushed out. It did change the acoustics a little though, just need to play with the amplifier settings a little more.

Untitled by crazyskiier3989, on Flickr

Untitled by crazyskiier3989, on Flickr

All I need to do now is find a better way/place to put my tool box and the rest of the stuff that lives in my car...

 

[crazyskiier3989]

Another fun update is that I have a JDM carbon strut bar on its way thanks the JDMGary and I should have some JDM roof rails on their way soon too.
Looking forward to next weekend already.

 

[crazyskiier3989]

Got the Carbon fiber strut bar today and have JDM roof rails in the mail. I'm stoked

 

[crazyskiier3989]

Things are feeling a lot snappier with the strut bar on, which is more of a result than I expected. I like it though. Hopefully I'll get some picture of the engine bay up sometime soon.

 

[crazyskiier3989]

Ok I've got a question for everyone. Trying to figure out what is the best next upgrade as well as the best route for the upgrade. Just looking for some suggestions. I've been thinking about OEM fog lights, definitely the most practical, Also solid end links all the way around, but which ones are best in your eyes? Or should I get some sort of ram air or cold air intake?

 

[Beeguy27]

I vote suspension upgrade first! So end links

 

[crazyskiier3989]

Yah thats what I was leaning toward as well, solid endlinks and stiffer mounts. Had a slight set back though. Cañon Carver decided now would be a good time to let me know he had an upper and lower wing for sale cheap, so i bought them. They are on there way now. Oopss.. :naughty: Thing is though they are white. So i'm gunna try painting them. I don't have access to a paint booth so I gunna try this,1999 Subaru Impreza Touch Up Paint Colors I'm definitely gunna take my time for a nice even coat, well see what the end result is. Hopefully it'll work out in spray paint form because I don't really have the funds to do it for real.

 

[crazyskiier3989]

Great weekend of new parts

All of my parts, JDM rails and Upper and lower wing, arrived on friday so i got to play with them this weekend. First things first, get the JDM roof rails on. The job is actually really easy, its just that it requires removing nearly all the interior body panels, especially the headliner. So be prepared for that. One of the neat things I discovered is that I can get an OhShitHandle for the drivers side. My headliner has the holes for it, but no mounting points. The other three OhShitHandles all have mounting brackets, so i'll have to pick one up the next time i'm at a junk yard.
Got the Stock garbage rack off.

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Panels everywhere, even had to undo the seatbelt bolts

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Cutting the gutter filler

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DONE

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The next thing for the weekend was the upper and waist spoiler I got from Cañon Carver. They were white and I wanted to get them on for now until I painted them for real. So I hit the upper one with really cheap black rattle can and a clear coat. Then I ran out of paint.
So the waist spoiler is still white for now. So i'm driving around for a couple weeks with an upper wing painted black and a mid painted white. Let me know if you see me, I'll be between Seattle and Fort Bragg, CA over the next two weeks.
Anyways, I got the factory brackets as well, so I used the 3M window weld silicone (expensive shit) to stick them on. And that let me get the upper wing mounted. Well the mid wing doesn't have any brackets so that involved drilling holes in my car. I will be the first to say it is kind of ominous drilling holes in your car. Even drilled two that were 3/4" so I could access the bolt. But I got the lower on with the help of my dad and some templates and it looks pretty good in terms of placement.

Ready for paint, cleaned with Windex and rubbing alcohol

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Mediocre paint job... bleu... i hate rattle can sometimes, even worse picture...

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On the wagon, tape is holding the middle bracket down

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Lining things up for the waist spoiler, had to remove the rear wiper and motor too

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Mounted and ready to rock

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This hole wasn't there before and there is another one on the other side too. There was a small dimple that looked like is was the potential drill mark at the factory though

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Then I got 'er all washed, waxed a prettied up. and the sun went down...

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Anyways, the real questions remains, any one want to buy a stock OBS roof rack??

 

[crazyskiier3989]

Got some new shoes for my wagon today. They are Bridgestone Potenza G019 Grids. pretty good deal, $360 out the door for all 4 and I got it aligned for a bit more. Once I get some miles on them I'll have a better idea how they do, might go up to the snow in a couple days to go play. who knows