The Wagon is for sale. It’s going to be hard to see it go, but i’m moving on.

The new car is everything i expected. It’s very good looking, has a great interior, rides smooth and is slower than the Wagon. I’m working on that last part, trying to make the Borla header and Fujitsubo cat-back work together via a high-flow cat.

There are going to be some changes on the site. As i do some things to the new car, i’ll be changing the Library to reflect that. I also have some scanned in magazine reviews of BD/BG and BE/BH models that i’ll be putting online in the near future.

Don’t worry about the current content going away, or the BBS fading into disrepair. I’m in the process of trying to expand and strengthen the Legacy community as a whole, which involves some powerful alliances. The Legacy will always place second to the Impreza on the scale of enthusiast involvement, but we’re getting closer to domestic parity, and that’s exciting.

Well, it’s getting colder, so i have to drive the car more. I still have having a huge chunk of an investment sitting unused during the winter, but that’s what i get for living in northern Utah.

I’ve mentioned my frustration with the car before, though it may not have been on the front page. Rust is becoming an increasing problem for me, and along with all of the other stuff that seems to be breaking, it has me pretty down on the car. It can be fixed, but for me, this car is a money pit that i, personally, can’t continue to feed. I will be selling the wagon, pretty much as it sits, in the near future.

Not to fear, gentle reader, as i’m replacing it with a superb example of the most recent generation of Subaru Legacy. As tempting as an RS or SVX was, not to mention cars from different brands, i was lucky enough to find one that made my heart skip a beat. More info to follow, along with some pictures. Here’s a little teaser:

My good buddy Justin at Cobb informed me that they’re currently seeking to fill a few positions, including an Office Administrator, Software Engineer and Mechanical Engineer. If you dig Subarus, want to work for one of the elite tuners in the business, and think you have what it takes, check out the details:

http://www.cobbtuning.com/jobs.html

I’ve put words to keyboard and have a writeup of my experiences with the new 2005 Model Legacies.

2005 Models

That page is also using a different version of the site template that i’m considering a move to.

If you’ve been paying attention to the posts i’ve done in the last few months, which are few and far between i admit, you may have noticed that Subaru invited me to Detroit for the unveiling of the new generation of the Legacy.

Well, they contacted me again to go down to Las Vegas and see the new model in action, to go for a drive and get behind the wheel to feel what improvements have been made in the Legacy line.

Well, i must say that the new model is easily the best, in my opinion, since the first generation Turbo and perhaps the 97 GT. The GT is fast, agile, quiet and very stable at speed. It looks extremely well in silver, red and black…and in person.

Since my camera decided to stop working properly when we got to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, i’m going to have to rely on some pictures that Jamie, aka Subie Gal, took at the event over here. There are a few pics of me, mostly towards the bottom.

The Cobb meet is next weekend, we’re expecting a lot of Imprezas and maybe a few Legacies, but the ratio will be pretty awful. Oh well.

I got the urge to go to the salvage yard today and see if i could get some replacement parts, namely a power antenna, driver’s side mirror and rear view mirror. I also found a working passive seatbelt for $100, but it was on a 92 wagon, so who knows how much life it has left.

The big find was a nearly pristine left front fender on that same wagon, white and priced right. Mine had one rust spot on the front and a big hole where the mudflaps used to cover. I did have some trouble, however, when it came to taking my fender off, as i proceeded to break four of the 11 bolts that hold the fender on. I tried to use an easy out, but ended up breaking two of them in the process. 7 of 11 will keep it well attached until i find a good way to attach them otherwise. In the end, the car looks a lot better. Now i have to deal with the rust patch behind the left rear tire.

I’m going to have Charlie help me do some work next friday, like replacing the brake lines, rear springs, fuel pump and connecting the neutral and reverse switches from the transmission. I also need to change the transmission and rear diff fluids, as well as the oil.

The Cobb Meet is in late May, and i should have my intercooler welded back up and reinstalled. I’m hoping to possibly get my spare turbo rebuilt by Deadbolt Enterprises, who have a pretty comprehensive list of upgrades available for the IHI RHB52. I’m considering the porting, larger compressor wheel and ceramic coating along with the rebuild. I could upgrade the turbo entirely, but at the moment i do enjoy the power and responsiveness from the stock unit, and think it could get even better with a little work.

I have an ever-growing pile of parts that are coming together, with weather and the proper facilities holding me back from putting at least some of them on. So far i have some replacement SS brakelines, clutch hydraulics, rear springs, front pads and another stock turbo that i might get rebuilt.

I should be able to do the pads, lines and springs in one day. The hydraulics are a bit more complex, so i might have Charlie do them, as well as finally hook up the neutral and reverse switches. I need to figure out how to get the canister purge solenoid to behave, but it’s so incredibly hard to get to on the turbo models that i may wait till i swap turbos and figure something out then.

I have a lot of things i need to do on the car. I have some parts that i’ve been accumulating that need to be installed, but due to the chilly weather, i haven’t done so. I want to look spiffy and be in good shape for the Cobb Meet in May, so i better get crackin’

I’ve just secured another set of SS brakelines, Goodridge, from jacobhorn over at NASIOC. My SMC lines were fine, but i let them rub against the inside of my tires and it did enough damage that i feel they should be replaced. I’m going to be ordering some Hawk HPS brake pads soon, as my stock WRX/OB ones weren’t that great, and are worn. I’ve got some new 8kg/mm rear springs for my TEIN HA coilovers, since the 6kg/mm units can barely hold the car up. A replacement master/slave cylinder and FCD from vrg3 on the BBS also need attention. Finally, i should hook up my neutral and reverse switches and replace many of the vacuum lines under the hood.

Ok, i just noticed that it’s been five years this month since i started the page up. Wow. Thanks for everyone who’s sent me an email and given feedback.

Finally, i’ve added some new people to the Reader Rides section. They’re marked with the “(NEW)” tag. I also updated the transmission swap article with some electronics and clutch information, and added and article in the Library about adapting a WRX TD04 to fit the Legacy Turbo.