Memeticism

Figured I'd just give a quick update. Is it possible to necro your own thread? I still have her. Like I said, she's with me for good, come Hell or high water. Life happened, partner became husband became rapid divorce, the works. Wheels got powder coated bronze because Subie but otherwise she took the backburner for a while as you can imagine. Ex actually sideswiped it pulling into the driveway one night so I've gotta take it back to the shop and have that touched up Hopefully I did the image posting right, I haven't used the new UI and I'm a luddite lol Things have settled down now, Tesla got wrecked again and I just cashed out the insurance because clearly it's not meant to be. I picked up a Forte GT as a commuter in the meantime and everything else has been going to savings to get that sweet, sweet JDM 6 speed swap. Just wanted to establish that she's not abandoned, just awaiting.

thank you, i appreciate it. deciding to do the bodywork it needed was the make or break point for me, prior to that i wasn't too far in over my head to just give up but now it's with me for life financially as well as emotionally lol. fingers crossed anyway.

i'm embarrassed to say that it was very very close to 5 figures. but that's because I didn't just do the paint job, it was also the labor for welding those holes closed and literally replacing the entire roof lol. if i had to guess, it would have been significantly less without that since nobody else wanted to do the work at all.

Replaced the dash with a buddy last night. Old one was scratched to hell because previous owner had dogs or something. It's been nice going through and double checking everything I'll need to replace from here on out, I'm gonna go to Subaru at some point soon and just do a massive closeout on every single clip, trim piece, etc I could possibly need.

Yeah, suspension drop was supposed to happen a while ago but the body got priority. I really want to do the JDM Bilsteins with the pink springs but given that dropping the subframe means changing out the driveshaft and I wanted to install the 6 speed, I'm probably going to wait until I can do both at the same time. Currently I'm just kind of collecting parts that need to be replaced because it seems like Subaru is starting to discontinue parts en masse. I had bought the front two door cards from the Spec.B from the dealership, and when I went in the other day to get the rears they had been discontinued

that's what my partner wants me to do, keeps talking about the utility of the ride height. idk, i don't want it crazy low or anything but i want it at least on the stock Legacy suspension. right now it looks like it's on stilts and I'm never going to use it for anything remotely utilitarian anyway

If I wrap the car white, I was kind of thinking about powder coating them matte black. I'm torn though since they're so rare. I have a huge thing for black on white cars with no silver or chrome in sight.

oh trust me, there's still much more to do. wrap, wheel resurfacing, suspension drop, transmission swap... she'll never be done lol

And here she is. Ignore the lack of a hood scoop and the wires dangling on the inside, haven't wrapped the headliner yet. I messaged Madrig about getting a carbon hood scoop, I feel like that would be a subtle touch to match the Model 3's carbon lip. Gotta get a new forward sunroof panel as well, the weather stripping fell off because it also had some rust around the edge that completely crumbled. Think I'll replace the door sill strips as well at the same time. No more rusty roof! I ended up leaving the holes in because I might as well just get the wagon roof rails instead of the Outback's. Definitely going to make sure it's not rubbing into the paint this time.

Went into the paint booth the other day. I know I said I wanted to do satin white pearl in the OP, but I decided I'd rather keep it the factory color for originality and because I was planning on wrapping it down the line anyway.

Funny you say that because I actually just did exactly that as well about two weeks ago lmao. I got the JDM hatchback garnish with the chrome bar going across along with the exhaust tip finisher, and saw the black headliner kit as well and couldn't say no. Obviously the car isn't here at the moment so it's just chilling directly in the middle of my entry hallway for everyone to see. I got lucky because this one came from a model with the side airbag option, meaning it has the SRS airbag bolt cover thingies as well and should be fully compatible. Only thing I need is the sunroof controls, black sunroof trim and handle, and the headliner itself to be reskinned. As an aside, I'm really glad I'm in good with this body shop now because my Tesla got ran off the road the other day by someone with no insurance. I got somewhat lucky I guess because it didn't damage the rocker or quarter panels so nothing needs welding or dent repair, it's just the fender and bumper. The downside is Tesla isn't even selling replacement parts right now, everything is going directly onto a car at the factories, so I had to get some used parts on eBay. Shop's painting the panels for me, I'm installing them myself because I don't want to deal with long insurance wait times and deductibles. Plus I want to ensure it's done right in case I ever sell the thing later, I don't want to pull shitty repair work on some poor unsuspecting buyer later down the line like what happened to me with the Leggy. I'm super obsessive about replacing broken clips and panel alignment, I want it to look like it never happened.

Sorry, forgot to reply to this. Basically I just trolled around on eBay browsing wreckers from European countries until I scraped together the parts, and got in touch with some parts retailers for things I either couldn't find or wanted brand new. New parts are definitely out there, you just have to be willing to pay for them + shipping.

JDM STI S402 only. They pop up on Yahoo Auctions Japan during partouts occasionally, like I mentioned a few posts ago I got the center console from S402 #201 and it came with the LEDs. The other cars have either blue LEDs or an LED delete plate that replaces the clear rings. The blue LEDs were definitely an interesting decision on Subaru's part lol, I love accent lighting in general and they all look sexy but it clashes pretty hard.

Thanks man I think the aging and abuse these cars face combined with the rarity of this specific configuration kind of put me in a position where I, emotionally, couldn't not fix it. I love this body and it deserves to be cared for. I'm sure as shit not likely to find another '09 OBXT 5MT to start this build from without it having a whole other host of issues.

I was going to wait until the job was actually done before I posted about this, but I'm too excited. It's a very pic-heavy post, not that I think that matters in 2022. When I pulled the roof rack off ages ago, I noticed some rust forming under where the front edge makes contact with the roof sheet metal. I assumed it was from the roof rack rubbing into the paint and trapping moisture on the exposed metal, but it was just a small bubble at the time, and I didn't look into it because I was afraid of what I would find in retrospect. Shortly after returning from my trip I pulled off the tape I was using to cover the bolt hole in the meantime to get a better idea of what needed to be done now that it's registered. Some paint came off with the tape and I saw what looked like body filler underneath. Lo and behold... It looks like either I wasn't the first person to notice the rust, or there was some damage to the sheet metal that was very poorly repaired. The body filler was a quarter of an inch thick in some places, and the rust had spread so much more than I could see from above, as rust does. I couldn't even see it from the underside, it was hidden by the structural beam so I didn't notice it when I dropped the headliner. At this point I was coming to terms with how big of a job this just became so I went a bit crazy. It was like that area of the roof was more body filler than metal. You can see where the original layer of paint was, and where it had been body filled over and repainted. I don't have any pictures of the other side but it was actually worse, it had fully perforated in multiple places and had just as much body filler. It also had some spread to underneath the windshield around the edges from rock chips. I was astonished because there's no rust anywhere else on the car, the underside is pristine and I've checked under the rear quarter panels including from inside to make 100% sure. I'm assuming these were originally just small spots from the roof rack that were left completely unchecked and allowed to run rampant, I never could have guessed it would spread that much. So here's the thing: if rust is a disease, then I want to completely remove the affected tissue to prevent any chance of recurrence. To me, this meant cutting out the roof panel and welding in a new one. Not sanding off the rust, not cutting out a section and fabricating a new piece... All of it, gone. But given how backed-up body shops are, I couldn't find anyone willing to touch this rust bucket with a ten foot pole. I can't even blame them, repainting is one thing but this is full surgery. Everyone either said they were "fully committed to their insurance obligations at this time" or just flat-out said no. It was looking grim, so I figured I'd hit up a few classic restoration shops and hope one of them would be willing to work on a modern tin can. Long story short I found a guy through a mutual friend from college that runs a small body shop working on newer cars but collects and restores classic cars on the side as a hobby, he had a '63 Corvette split window on a trailer when I walked in sitting next to a wrecked Hyundai Tucson. The guy heard me out, said the mutual friend spoke highly of me, and that brings us to now. I bought the roof panel from Subaru of Las Vegas, and in the meantime he tack welded the holes on the doors and quarter panels shut. And as she sits now... That's the new roof panel being welded in. Wish I got some pics of it without the roof panel entirely, I'll ask him if he took any because I'm sure he did. He's really enjoying doing this, we've both got huge grins every time we see the car. It's going to be repainted the factory Diamond Grey Metallic 65Z, and we'll be pulling the whole front end and rear bumper off to get all the edges properly. It's going to be in the shop for a hot minute. As an aside, I did price out getting the flat roof panel with the sunroof cutout from Subaru of Japan and having it shipped over. They are still available for purchase, if anyone wants to know. I know I'm not going to put the roof rack back on out of spite, and I liked the idea of the flat roof, but to me it wasn't worth the overall cost compared to getting the USDM roof. Plus I've heard people say it has the bulges to fit the side airbags and I don't feel like pulling airbags if that ends up being the case. In case it isn't clear, this car is my child. With Subaru killing the STI in favor of electrification and the impending scarcity of parts, I fully intend to keep this car as a testament to what I view as the peak Subaru and one of the most timeless automotive designs ever produced.

Noooo no don't feel bad, that guy's profile is so similar to mine I can definitely understand the mix-up. Besides, you reminded me to post an update finally after so many months of radio silence. I feel bad because I know I said updates would be slow but it's been way slower than I'm comfortable with on account of DMV purgatory. I've done a few minor things since then, I've swapped out the OEM transmission and crossmember bushings with Group N units and I whacked the oil pan pretty good on the highway so it's been replaced with a Killer B aluminum pan with goodies I'll never need like the high-flow pickup and baffle. I don't even have any pictures of those on hand, I was going to lump them all into a post at some point. I did find a few recents of her after all though! Here she is during a camping trip to Convict Lake, California: Came across an abandoned BRAT in Beatty on the return trip. Had the optional air conditioning! I'd love to haul this thing back into town as a restoration job but I know my eyes are way bigger than my wallet on that front. It'd be lovely for someone to do it, though.

Nope! She's definitely still sitting in my garage. I've actually been really, really frustrated with the process of registering it. Without going into too much detail, the title was damaged when I moved last year so I've spent the bulk of this entire year arguing back and forth with the Colorado DMV via snail mail trying to get a duplicate. I eventually gave up and shelled out for a bonded title through Nevada which took another few months. No lie, I've had this car for well over a year and it just got registered at the end of November. Of all the headaches I foresaw with this car, proving that I own it was the very last one I'd have imagined. Now that's done I can finally stomach the idea of working on it more, there was a period where I just gave up on doing anything to it completely because what's the point if I can never drive it? Anyway yeah she's parked up, license plate and all. I'd show some pictures of her now and the small amount of work I've done since but I'm in England visiting family for Christmas so you'll have to make do with seeing my uncle's Impreza 2.0GT!

Really hope this doesn't push the site that much closer to death. If this site kicks the bucket, I'm left with Facebook groups - where finding anything older than a week is a wild hunt and answers are either 50% confidently incorrect or 50% vaguely insulting run-on sentences. If I wanted to see someone post pictures of their clapped out Leggy, I'd look at my own build thread. I was 3 years old when the gen4 GT made it stateside and while I always think about how cool it would have been to get one when they were new, I also look at this site as a little lens through which I can see this car's history. I lurked long before I bought mine, and seeing the love people have for these cars helped me make up my mind. To have that, and all the insanely useful information therein, disappear into the ether is actually really depressing. Guess I was born much too late for this party.

Just an FYI if you're wanting to go for an OEM look - in my hunt for the EDM center console I discovered that the EDM left hand drive Legacy/Outback turbodiesel had an optional passive-entry driver door handle and push button starter. I'd imagine you could reuse some of that hardware for the aftermarket kit rather than installing a push button into the trim directly if you can source the parts and get it along with the rest of the console swap (which might be necessary regardless since my swap doesn't line up perfectly with the USDM driver's lower dash panel). Get that red STI push button, oh my.

All of the subframe spacers, control arms, etc. should be the same. The only difference I can imagine would be in the struts themselves but even then I don't think there were any. Take that with a grain of salt because all of my research so far has been into the Leggy suspension, not the Outback, but my XT and my 2.5i when I had it both felt the same. I know the driveshaft, which you'd need, is obviously transmission specific as well so just make sure the donor is a 5MT. I'd say look at the Outback to Legacy suspension conversion thread, find the equivalent part numbers for the Outback, then check if the part numbers are different between trims.

Thanks! Yeah they're totally pointless. Plus now I don't have rear cupholders until I get the JDM rear seats and armrest. I don't just need the ducting too, I need the EDM HVAC itself because it's got an entirely different cutout for the rear vents with a motorized door. I mean I could just hack up the USDM HVAC and use the dial on the vents themselves to close it off if I ever wanted to but it would permanently bother me knowing it's been done like that. If I went with the EDM HVAC the climate controls would show in celsius as well, if I'm not mistaken. I don't know of anyone else that's done that to a USDM model so I could dig myself into a hole with that one if I'm not careful.

Alright so I know I said I would tackle the subframe drop next, but I'm easily distracted by rare, "finishing touch" type parts that I think would look good in the long run. In this case I fell victim to an S402 center console, numbered 201/402, with the red illuminated cupholder rings. This made me double down on my efforts to source the EDM LHD center console. A month later I've got new lower dash/shift surround parts from Germany, a center console/shift boot from a wrecker in Spain, and that little cubby with an outlet in it under the radio from Lithuania. The center console smells like smoke and the cubby smells like old lady. Don't quote me on this but I think this is from an Obsidian Black Pearl sedan because there were some other parts being auctioned as well with the shell sitting in the background. Regardless I'm not really aiming for a reproduction, I just wanted the LEDs, but these are too rare to throw away. Got the bracket to mount it properly. Previous owner had a porcupine or some shit because that quill was hiding under the carpet behind the handbrake cable and stabbed the hell out of me. The entire tunnel was nasty from years of spilled drinks. I'm gonna figure out how to wipe it all down if I take the carpet out for cleaning some day. The right lower panel doesn't fit into the glovebox properly, there's a few notches that are supposed to clip in, so I think I'll need the EDM glovebox. There's also a bracket under the rubber shifter accordion that the side panels are supposed to screw into from up top but the EDM ones are too high up so I need that as well. I also need the gunmetal gray shift surround. Other than that, perfect fit! Now my cupholders glow (red!) in the dark, I have non-functional rear air vents, and my trim accents don't match. Subframe drop next, I swear.

there is actually a left hand drive push-button in europe. i've come across a few in sweden trying to get the parts for my console swap. the attachment here shows the cutout but this specific one, aside from being cream colored, just has a blanking plate since it didn't have it equipped. i know i have a picture of it installed somewhere. i really want to get that whole setup.

One stick goes back slightly farther with a more aggressive upwards curve since the center stack is angled towards the driver. For RHD, the right stick (left in that photo) is the longer one.

Hacked up the EDM rear crash bar and got the JDM skin installed. For the longest time, I couldn't figure out what wheels I wanted to spring for. I knew I wanted an OEM set out of principle, so I figured I'd hunt for a set of JDM Tuned by STI wheels since that lines up with my vision. But then these S402 wheels presented themselves to me and I knew what I had to do. They're not pristine by any means. The one pictured is in the worst condition, it's the only one that has some curb rash. The others have surface scuffs and some peeling on the finish. They've all been well used and could do with some love, but the price was right. These aren't RE875s with the STI cap inserted, they're genuine STI stamped and all. I installed them for a bit to see how they look and feel, and the answer is absolutely awful with the Outback's ride height. They look tiny and the whole thing is on stilts. In general, the entire car looks like ass right now with the three colors and duct tape covering up bullet holes. It's sound but it's not pretty at all. I've been putting everything I get on the car so I can save space by getting rid of the old stuff, and I keep telling myself it has to look worse before it can look better because of it. The next step will be to get cracking on the subframe drop, I wanna do all that work before I repaint it.