My OBXT rebuild project. Front end collision

[Setnev]

Last week I did a thing and won a salvage auction for a fairly rare Diamond Grey Metallic 2007 Outback XT with a 5-speed that was in a front end collision for $750. The shipping of the car was almost as expensive as the car itself, but it was well worth the risk for this specific car. The car arrived to my house the weekend after I won the auction. The shipping process was relatively painless and the driver was great. It was first time shipping a car, much less a salvage car. Shameless plug to Montway transportation if you need to ship a car. The car came out of Denver, Colorado and was very well taken care of.

 

 

I started to disassemble the front end so that I could accurately measure the frame rails to see if there was any deformation. The operation was a success and the frame is 100% to spec. The damage to the car was hood, grille, both headlights, bumper (presumably but missing), core support (upper and lower), condenser, radiator, timing cover cracked and belt rubbed into it.

 

 

After I ripped it all apart, I started searching for new front end parts. I scored a deal for a complete JDM nose cut, minus the hood, for $250.

 

 

It'll be delivered next week.

 

Rebuild Ledger:

Car: $1,133
Shipping: $649
Nose Cut: $250 + $170 delivery

Total so far: $2,202

Edited June 27, 2019 by Setnev

[Holla]

Nice project, looks like things are working out well so far.

[JmP6889928]

You lucked out the bags didn't blow. Looks like you'll be on the road shortly with a nice car for very little investment. Good luck with the project.

[Setnev]

This week I worked on the car and got some minor things done. I ran across a couple more things broken. The secondary air pump was damaged, but still works, and the mount for it was snapped in half. I am considering deleting the airpump and creating a plug for the hose and deleting the codes for that system. It literally serves no purpose other than decreasing cold start emissions for the first 30 seconds. Also, the power steering leak turned out to be the plastic elbow that connects the reservoir to the pump. I had a spare, but found that Subaru updated the part with a metal part, so I am ordering that for $15.

 

While there is no front end, I decided to tackle the timing cover and belt tensioner situations. I removed the damaged covers to replace them and noticed something peculiar. While aligning the timing marks to do a precautionary timing check, I noticed the RH Exhaust cam was retarded by one tooth.

 

 

In asking around it is likely it was assembled that was when the belt was done, but I wasn't taking any chances. I reset the timing for the time being and am ordering a new timing belt kit with OEM thermostat and water pump. I installed new covers I had already in my shop and a new belt tensioner.

 

I got the nose cut home by Uhaul because I was on vacation and could not stuff a nose cut in my wife's car. I started to disassemble everything and noticed that the radiator is not what I needed. It's a NA radiator (duh, no OBXT in Japan). Everything else on the nose cut will swap over. I drilled out the spot welds on the upper radiator support and removed it to swap onto the car.

 

 

Took a look at the headlights and realized that they have one extra connector that the US headlights don't have. Turns out they're HID leveling headlights. Well, eBay it up and found a combo switch for the headlight level and power folding mirrors for $75 with free (overnight don't I wish) shipping from Japan. Now I have the full harness from bulkhead to headlights for the JDM lights. All that's left is to take apart the lights and flip the cutoff shield around to adapt it to LHD.

 

 

The bumper and new crash bar is different than the US model, but I have confirmed fitment will work.

 

 

The rebuild is getting up there in price, but it's also not like I am buying all plain Jane dealership parts. I'm slurging a bit on JDM goodies.

 

Rebuild Ledger:

Car: $1,133
Shipping: $649
Nose Cut: $250 + $170 delivery
Power Steering Pump Elbow: $15
Timing Kit, Water Pump, Thermostat: $224
JDM Headlight/Mirror Switch: $75

Total so far: $2,516

Edited June 27, 2019 by Setnev

[Setnev]

In disassembling all of the nose cut, I realized that removing the lower radiator frame support is a lot of work. Not only is it a lot of work, but it needs to be reassembled in two piece so I'd basically need to destroy half of the metal to pull it out. I found new-old Subaru OE stock for these two pieces for $56 and free shipping. $56 is worth it to not destroy a critical structural piece and have to reconstruct it. I didn't buy the upper core support new for three reasons: 1.) JDM yo! 2.) It's not a critical structural piece, it just holds up the radiator and headlights. 3.) The 4 pieces to make up the upper core support would have been almost what I paid for the nose cut.

 

In my hunt for a replacement radiator, I decided to go with a performance radiator. After putting feelers out in a local Subaru group on Facebook, I got three recommendations: CSF, Koyo, and Mishimoto. All three were about the same price for an all aluminum radiator. I decided on the CSF as the votes for it were twice the Mishimoto votes and testimonies on everyone running them here in the desert with excellent results. I almost dropped $300 on one when I found a listing on Amazon for one for $140 with Prime shipping with only one left. I figured, what the hell, if it is fake, I'll send it back. I still have about a week before the new lower frame panels arrive. Needless to say, I found a genuine CSF all aluminum performance radiator for less than $150. The delivery notification is hilarious.

 

 

I also have new upper and lower radiator hoses on order and new drive belts. I'm deciding what else I need to do while I have the front end disassembled.

By next weekend, I should have all of the front core support items welded in so by the following week I can start the reassembly. This next week, I will be looking for a paint shop to paint the rear spoiler, hood, and bumper. All told, $2750 so far for the car that is ready to reassemble is not bad for an 07 XT. Hoping to keep it below $3500 for the entire build.

 

Rebuild Ledger:

Car: $1,133
Shipping: $649
Nose Cut: $250 + $170 delivery
Power Steering Pump Elbow: $15
Timing Kit, Water Pump, Thermostat: $224
JDM Headlight/Mirror Switch: $75
Lower Radiator Support Panels: $56
CSF Aluminum Radiator: $140
Hoses and Drive Belts: $40

Total so far: $2,752

[Setnev]

I happened to get in contact with the dealer who did all the maintenance on the car and they confirmed that the timing belt, pulleys, water pump, and thermostat in fact had been done around 110,000 miles. Found this out after the return policy because, so now I have an extra set. I will be using it for another build Also, I had a power steering elbow in my shop that was the new stainless steel version. I am taking both of those parts off of my ledger.

 

I just couldn't go on without buying some more upgrades. I bought a 48x40 roof basket for $65. The price was so good, I bought one for my wife's car too. I plan on coating them in textured bed liner to seal them from getting water inside and rusting.

 

 

Another upgrade was a 3" lift kit. I went with a StreetRays Billet aluminum lift kit. That was $240 for the spacers and hardware as well as the trailing arm spacers.

 

 

Last, I went and spoiled myself with some JDM power folding mirrors to tie off the JDM theme that I am rolling with. $124 shipped from Japan.

 

 

Still under budget, for now.

 

Rebuild Ledger:

Car: $1,133
Shipping: $649
Nose Cut: $250 + $170 delivery
JDM Headlight/Mirror Switch: $75
Lower Radiator Support Panels: $56
CSF Aluminum Radiator: $140
Hoses and Drive Belts: $40
Roof Basket: $65
3" Lift Kit & Trailing Arm Spacers: $240
JDM Power Folding Mirrors: $124

Total so far: $2,942

[Setnev]

The reassembly took place today. I could not believe how fast things went. I bought myself a spot welder and a stick sander. Costs of these aren't included because they'll be used on other projects down the road. The spot welder is awesome. I was able to do the entire radiator support, all 30 spot welds in under an hour.

 

Here is the complete upper support and lower support welded in. I also added some bolts in there to make it a little more rugged, as this was my first ever time welding.

 

 

A quick coat of primer and flat black paint on the bare metal areas and it looks very professional. I won't be paint matching it body color because you're never going to see it under all the mountains of plastics that have to be bolted on here. Next was to put in the AC condenser. I put in brand new o-rings on the condenser lines. Each o-ring cost $0.04 because I buy them in bulk. It's starting to look like a running and driving car.

 

 

New CSF All-Aluminum radiator is going in. A little tidbit of information, for anyone who is wondering. JDM radiator fans are beefier, but need to have their harness plugs adapted to the USDM plug. I had an extra set of USDM fans laying around, so I threw those in.

 

 

Now the fun part. Once I got the engine bay all buttoned up, I started assembling the crash parts. Headlight installed (not wired up yet), new hood installed, grille from the JDM nose (probably going to use my 05 XT grille that looks different than this one), crash bar, Styrofoam reinforcements, new plastics. Reused all the old hardware so it helped keep the cost low. Invest in a good set of trim clip tools. They'll save your hands and your sanity. Started to get the bumper installed. Had 4 more clips and two bolts left to install before I had to stop. A gigantic thunderstorm came rolling through and knocked out my power for about an hour and a half.

 

 

When the storm passed, I looked for some busy work to do. Swapped in some 08 taillights, attempted to swap in my JDM power folding mirrors but found the wiring harness was different. I will explore this at a later date.

 

 

I buttoned up the remaining bumper clips and bolts, filled the radiator and bled it, and took her for her first test drive. Not a single CEL. I even deleted the secondary air pump from and it hasn't thrown a code for that. All I have to say right now, is holy crap is this thing quick. I am wondering if it has a step above the base tune because this thing takes off like a roadrunner and the absence of the air pump code, which I thought for sure would have been an issue. I heard that cars will go into limp mode without it. Nothing limp about this car. Needs valve cover gaskets. They're leaking pretty good, but nothing I can't handle. Also, the outside temperature sensor is likely malfunctioning. It registers 42 degrees all the time. So far, I am still into this car for under $3,000.

[boxkita]

Wow! You scored a nice toy

[Max Capacity]

Amazing story, keep us posted.

 

Good Job.

[Setnev]

Over the weekend, I wired up the headlights, turn signals, and fog lights. I had a set of USDM headlights, so I just made an adapter harness from that for the JDM wiring. I still need to hook up the levelers, but that is coming soon. That wasn't the only thing that happened. I picked up a new toy:

 

Today I took it for the Arizona Level 3 Inspection, which is just a dog and pony show in itself.

 

Level III inspections could occur when a vehicle is restored salvage, a recovered stolen vehicle or has been involved in a collision. This inspection is necessary to verify all major component parts which include front-end assembly, engine, transmission, as well as rear-end assembly for trucks and truck-type vehicles.

 

I laugh because the officer just pops the hood, reads the VIN on the bulkhead, looks at the VIN on the dash, and looks at the VIN on the door. If they all match, he signs off on the inspection report. Takes him about 5 minutes. They don't really do anything else. I have seen people have blown airbags and missing fenders and still pass. He didn't even say anything about my JDM headlights not have the DOT approved amber marker.

 

Anyways, the dude was cool. I get to the counter to give the state of Arizona my $200-ish dollars for their scam racket of title, registration, and plate charges only to be turned away. Apparently, Copart had the transport driver sign and put his name on the buyer section of the title. They actually wanted me to get the transport driver to sign a waiver of interest and then get USAA (the insurance company that owned the vehicle) to issue me a bill of sale with my name and a correction. Basically, I have to now pay Copart about $75 to order a duplicate title and get them to send it to me to register it. Good news is, I got a 90-day temporary tag to boost around town in.

 

This afternoon, I realized I hadn't recharged the AC, so 95 degrees and 30% humidity here in Central AZ was miserable. Charged it tonight and couldn't figure out why the compressor wasn't kicking on. I wiggled the cable on the compressor and viola, kicked right on. As soon as I let it go, it kicked off. So compressor needs to be replaced because the connections to the clutch were damaged by the belt in the crash. In the meantime, zip tie worked for now to hold the connector just so in order for it to work, I hope. Knowing me, it'll stay like that until next summer when I can't figure out why my AC won't work because i forgot to replace the compressor.

 

Oh well, I am happy with the car. It's a pretty quick car, the clutch is brand new, shifter bushings are brand new, the lightweight crank pulley makes it rev super fast; The front brakes suuuuuuck. Holy crap, going from 80 MPH to 45 MPH is violent. Rotors are junk. Might as well upgrade the pads to ceramic while I'm in there. Brake dust is very unappealing on my wheels. Oh and I either have a ball joint going bad or I have a tie rod going bad. When I drive down the roads in my neighborhood that have more potholes and patches than a 13 year old boy going through puberty, the steering wheel rattles like someone forgot to tighten a wheel. Yes, I've checked all the bolts on the front end. I didn't trust the body shop that did the vehicle inspection report to put everything back together correctly.

Edited August 14, 2019 by Setnev

[Max Capacity]

Glad to hear your getting things done. Lot's of small issues just ruin the overall experience. Keep after them, you'll enjoy the car after everything is right.

[jaylew]

wow you lucked out on the damage! Keep it going, save the wagons. Nice to see that you are putting quality parts back into it. Without the core support in the way, must have been the easiest timing belt job in the history of subarus.

[Setnev]

Glad to hear your getting things done. Lot's of small issues just ruin the overall experience. Keep after them, you'll enjoy the car after everything is right.

 

I have a week off of work coming up in about 2 weeks that I will have all to myself in the day, no kids, no wife, just me and my cars. I'm planning on getting stuff done during that week. I need to paint my wife's car (full color change on her 07 OBXT) and work on this car. Today I left the house to take my kid to the babysitter and noticed the car was smoking a little more than it had been. The smoke turned out to be coolant leaking from the upper coolant pipe into the turbo. Luckily the babysitter lives right around the corner, so the most it go was 2 ticks above normal and I promptly shut it down before any damage could occur, which I lucked out I was already in my driveway and I let it cool down all day and took the Fusion to work.

 

wow you lucked out on the damage! Keep it going, save the wagons. Nice to see that you are putting quality parts back into it. Without the core support in the way, must have been the easiest timing belt job in the history of subarus.

 

Honestly, when the auction came up, I was interested in it for the motor, transmission and interior for my 05. I actually wasn't even going to bid on it because I thought for sure it would have been a ridiculous price, but my lowball bid stuck and the rest is history. I have some prior experience with body work on my very first Legacy I owned 5 years ago and then again with my SVX. I had the tools to rebuild it, so when I found out the frame was straight, it was a no-brainer to rebuild this car. It's such a badass car. I ended up not needing to do the timing belt, water pump, and thermostat because I found out it was done 35k miles prior by Subaru, but yes, checking the timing was a breeze. That's how I found out it was a tooth advanced on the left side exhaust cam.

 

My next project is going to be a H6 5MT Baja, provided I can find a cheap enough wrecked Baja and 3rd Gen Outback with an H6. I found 2 Bajas and both sold for well over $1,500 before fees and shipping. No thanks, I'm not spending almost 3k on a wrecked Baja. Until that day comes, the SVX is finally going to get some love.

[Setnev]

Since my last post, absolutely nothing has been done.

 

I have been waiting since August for my title. I paid Copart $76 for the replacement title and priority shipping. 6 weeks later, I call them and they say "Yeah, we have your title. When do you want to come pick it up?" I told them I paid for next day Fedex shipping. A week later, I finally got my title. Excited, I opened the envelope and they f#*king signed the buyer line it again! Called them the next day to get a "Release of Interest" from the person who signed it, they don't work there anymore. I'm pissed. They tell me they're going to comp the title and shipping and are going to try to expedite it.

 

6 more weeks pass, no title in the mail. I called them two weeks ago. The person I talked to had it shipped to the wrong yard in Wyoming and the Wyoming yard destroyed it because they had no record of the lot. Now I am absolutely fuming with rage. They assured me they'd process now a 4th replacement title, have the back blank in the buyer line.

 

Lesson learned, I will not be buying another auction lot from Colorado. I just want to drive my car. Arizona won't even give me temporary registration on the vehicle for me to drive it. I am at a loss.

[Setnev]

So, it's been a little over a year since I got this car and finally in June I was able to successfully register it. Because of COVID, my local MVD was waiving late penalties on registrations and title transfers, so I lucked out big time. AZ charges $8 per month late fee after the first 15 days of a vehicle purchase. 2 months on the road and it is a monster, but I want MOAR POWER BABY!

 

I am already looking into performance modifications for it. I'm at 220 WHP and 230 ft. lbs of torque on the stock 5-speed manual. Not bad for a stock car. I want to get to 300 WHP/TQ and I have a few ideas on how I want to get there. I just bought a Tactrix cable so I can start exploring the ECM and see what the stock programming looks like.

[Max Capacity]

You'll need a catted down pipe, catless up pipe, at least a VF52, with fueling MOD's. Currently a AEM320 is the pump of choice. Most likely 750 or larger injectors.

 

On stock fueling, you see my #'s in my sig.

 

The car has been reliable from the engine side of things.

[Setnev]

You'll need a catted down pipe, catless up pipe, at least a VF52, with fueling MOD's. Currently a AEM320 is the pump of choice. Most likely 750 or larger injectors.

 

On stock fueling, you see my #'s in my sig.

 

The car has been reliable from the engine side of things.

 

Your sig is what inspired me. I don't want to go crazy on it as it's a daily and it needs to be reliable, but a nice 50-80HP bump is what I'd like to do.

[Infosecdad]

I have a similar setup with JMP VF-52, DW 740, AEM fuel pump, catted Invidia downpipe, and such.

So much fun as a daily.

If you can go to top feed, I would recommend it; I'll go eventually just have other priorities at the moment.

[dgoodhue]

Because of COVID, my local MVD was waiving late penalties on registrations and title transfers, so I lucked out big time. AZ charges $8 per month late fee after the first 15 days of a vehicle purchase.

 

You're lucky. MA did not waive the fees (at least for purchases before the shutdowns) I got hit with a penalty of 1% of the vehicle value for not paying my sales tax within 10 days and 0.5% interest on the penalty/sales tax per month. My insurance agent told me that their is a way to pay the sales tax online if that ever happens to me again, which I didn't realize.

[Setnev]

You're lucky. MA did not waive the fees (at least for purchases before the shutdowns) I got hit with a penalty of 1% of the vehicle value for not paying my sales tax within 10 days and 0.5% interest on the penalty/sales tax per month. My insurance agent told me that their is a way to pay the sales tax online if that ever happens to me again, which I didn't realize.

 

Unfortunately I did get hit with AZ sales tax for my home zip code of 10.8% on the purchase when I went to register it. Yeah, Arizona holds no bar on sales tax with vehicle purchases and they told me that if I hadn't provided them the bill of sale, they would have charged me sales tax on the NADA value on the car (about $5,000) because I bought it out of state . They never used to do that. AZ is becoming bullshit now with vehicle registrations. It still cost me over $350 to register it for a year due to the taxes. Next year it drops to $160

[blackobxt]

Unfortunately I did get hit with AZ sales tax for my home zip code of 10.8% on the purchase when I went to register it. Yeah, Arizona holds no bar on sales tax with vehicle purchases and they told me that if I hadn't provided them the bill of sale, they would have charged me sales tax on the NADA value on the car (about $5,000) because I bought it out of state . They never used to do that. AZ is becoming bullshit now with vehicle registrations. It still cost me over $350 to register it for a year due to the taxes. Next year it drops to $160

 

That’s crazy! I just registered my wife’s 09 Malibu for the first time and they didn’t even ask what I bought it for. Transferred the title and registered it for 2yrs for like $140. I couldnt believe it was that cheap and that was in Phoenix. I wonder if they made a mistake with me.

[Setnev]

That’s crazy! I just registered my wife’s 09 Malibu for the first time and they didn’t even ask what I bought it for. Transferred the title and registered it for 2yrs for like $140. I couldnt believe it was that cheap and that was in Phoenix. I wonder if they made a mistake with me.

 

Was it already an Arizona title? If so, they don't tax on that. Private sales in state are non-taxed. Public (dealer/broker/etc) are taxed at point of sale. Out of state private and public sales are taxed at time of registration, unless you prove ownership of the vehicle prior (ie previous state registration). Half the time, the MVD agent doesn't care, but with the rash of new agents coming in and the state moving to the new system, they're more scrutinous about sales tax now. Depends on if it's a Monday or Friday when you register it.

[blackobxt]

Ahhhh! That explains it! I’m so used to Wyoming where you pay sales tax on everything and registration is expensive that when she told me the price I handed her the card before she could even finish speaking. To renew the Subaru in wyo was going to be $167 for one year, to transfer the title to az, do emissions And register it for 2yrs was something like $147. That makes buying the car I’m looking at even more tempting!

[dgoodhue]

I had to 6.25% MA sales tax on the full book value (plus a 1% penalty) on car with a misfire. I obviously paid less and had bill of sale, documentation and part receipts but the MA RMV does not care. Maybe if I bought from a dealer, I would have gotten a break on the taxed value.

[Setnev]

Ahhhh! That explains it! I’m so used to Wyoming where you pay sales tax on everything and registration is expensive that when she told me the price I handed her the card before she could even finish speaking. To renew the Subaru in wyo was going to be $167 for one year, to transfer the title to az, do emissions And register it for 2yrs was something like $147. That makes buying the car I’m looking at even more tempting!

 

Careful though. Arizona will screw you on new vehicle, primarily ones less than 3 years old. Our VLT is based on value of the car. If the car cost $50,000 new, first year registration is every bit of $1,000 for a year. My wife's 2019 Grand Caravan cost $591 for first year registration. Older = Cheaper which is why you see a lot of older cars still on the road here. My 92 SVX was $16 per year before the BS public safety tax they just put out there.