I Must Confess... I Traded My Legacy

[qikslvr]

Well, after just shy of 5 years; I decided to trade in my 05 LGT 5MT for a Ford F-150 SuperCrew 4x4:redface:. I have no complaints against the car; it was just time. It was far to nice of a car to do what I was planning on doing to it next. Hopefully someone else will appreciate and enjoy the car as much as I did. I bought it new and drove it for right at 68K miles. She never left me anywhere ever.

While she was a little tempermental now and then; my LGT was always good to me even when I was bad to her. It started out innocent enough with that little turbo winding up; but then it happened. I started modding and couldn't stop:lol:.

It all started with a CAI, then the UP,DP and an AP. Stage two was sweet for about two weeks. Then came the SPT Catback and Perrin TMIC along with a TDC e-tune. After that came sways, endlinks, brake pads and a STS. Then came a SPEC Stg2 clutch and LWFW and a GTSPEC header at about 37K miles. Shortly after that I put on a set of Tein H-Techs, cleared the headlights and installed a WB02.

About this time I came across a package deal for a DeadBolt 20G Zilla LGT style turbo, DW740cc Injectors and a Fuel Pump. I bought a copy of StreetTuner-Advanced, studied everything 'tuning' I could find and installed the injectors and started tuning. Once I got the hang of tuning it; I changed to a Prodrive BCS and retuned boost. I drove it this way for months just playing with different settings and nailing stuff down in the tune.

Early last spring Fishbone and JoelEodee helped with the Turbo swap and I started over with the tune. My AirBoy Dyno sheets are posted in the '16-20g family' thread. It averaged 330/330ish on summer days with the TMIC. My best plot was from a cold night where I hit around 380/370 according to the spreadsheet. I ended up taking the 20G off and putting the vf40 back on thinking there was a major issue, but it ended up being just a vacuum hose and I just never got around to putting the 20g back on.

Next came the Tein Flex Coilovers, GroupN tranny mount, AP aluminum Pitch Stop mount and a new spoiler. The coilovers actually rode much better than expected. I messed with them for weeks and got the ride height and stiffness worked out. Was ready for corner balance but never got to it.

I guess that I came to the realization after 68K miles and about $12K-$13K in mods that this car was going to take a lot more money to reliably produce the power that I was looking for and I just couldn't see putting that much more money into it and basically destroying the streetability of the car in the process. I figured that I should stop here and try to find one that has already been wrecked or blow-up and just strip it to the bone and make a full on track car out of it.

 

And here is what went with the car:

 

Motor/Drive Train Modifications:

 

1. GT SPEC Stainless Unequal Length Header- Ceramic Coated In and Out with Wrap

2. Invidia Stainless 3” DownPipe

3. SPT 3” Stainless Catback Exhaust

4. AEM Cold Air Intake

5. Perrin Turbo Inlet

6. Cobb Turbo HeatShield

7. Perrin Top Mount Intercooler/Blow Off Valve

8. DW 740cc Fuel Injectors

9. Prodrive 3 Port Boost Control Solenoid

10. Gates Blue Racing Belts And Hoses

11. SPEC Stage 2 Clutch and LightWeight Flywheel

12. Cobb Double Adjustable Short Throw Shifter and Bushings

13. Agency Power Aluminum Pitch Stop Mount

14. STI GroupN Transmission Mount

15. AVO Transmission Bushings

16. Cobb Exhaust Hangers

17. Greddy Radiator Caps

18. Prodrive Boost And Oil Pressure Gauges In CubbyPod

19. Innovate LC-1 Wideband Oxygen Sensor and Controller

20. Cobb AccessPort V1 with StreetTuner-Advanced

21. Tune By M.E.

 

Suspension And Brakes Upgrades:

 

1. Hawk HPS Brake Pads Front And Rear

2. AVO Rear Stout Sway Bar Mounts

3. Progress Front/Rear Sway Bars

4. Perrin Sway Bar Endlinks

5. Tein Flex Coilovers

 

Other:

 

1. H.I.D. 6000K Headlights

2. H.I.D. 3000K Fog Lights

3. RavSpec? STi Spoiler(like in pic at top of forum page)

4. Hood Scoop Insert

5. HomeLink Auto Dim Rear View Mirror

 

So there you have it. The truth shall set you free:lol:! I will post some pics when I find them. Any leftover items(and there are actually quite a few) will be posted in the For Sale area. I will post up a link here when I start the FS thread.

[OmniEnder]

I wonder how scared of that car any sane buyer will be lol. Lots of mods equals lots of care, but also lots of abuse, I wouldn't want to be the one selling it, lol!

 

All kidding aside it is sad to see one go and we hope we don't loose a contibuting member with the car.

 

 

On the bright side the f-150s have a little more room under the hood to work with.

 

 

Best of luck

[qikslvr]

It was cared for extremely well. Actually one of the cleanest 05's in and out you would be able to find. Maintained flawlessly and driven on an ultra conservative map most of the time. Was never launched on the street, was never abused, but was driven and driven hard at times. I built it to drive it not just look at it!

 

Everything was still holding together when I traded it in, but I have no idea how long it will last with jackazz lot boys and salesmen flogging the piss out of her. They actually did this within first 48 hours that they had it. I went back to give them the other set of keys and get the second set for the pickup and wanted to see if my CD's were still in the radio...Asked a salesman where my car was and he said it was at the Subaru dealership with enigne overheating and howling. I'm like WTF, who's been driving it.

 

I'm guessing that some d-bag jumped in it when the temp was right around oh ZERO*F with 12" of snow, turned the key, put it in gear and spun a little, then decided to open it up and go for a ride while the block was like ice and the oil was like honey. That or they took it out to the road and started spinning it up and hit a dry patch or something. Who knows. Not my problem.

 

Anyway. I'm not going anywhere just yet. I have some stickeyed threads I have to tend too and I still have a few buddies in my area that need help with their LGT's and other Subies. I'm just looking for the next project. Thought I would keep this one forever, but it just didn't work out that way;).

[coldmm803]

how do you go from a fast sedan to a beast of a truck?

best of luck with it

[Mr. Sinister]

Good luck with the new truck.

[qikslvr]

Well, this truck is vehicle number #45 for me and I've owned a couple other F-150's over the years that were pretty good to me so...

 

I was actually thinking about buying another Jeep Cherokee as a daily driver and parking the LGT, but I couldn't find a decent one for what people were asking. That and they gave me what I asked for on the trade so...

[dmp]

Congrats on the new ride! Very sad to see you trade it in as-is, for selfish reasons, however.

 

[Scruit]

45 vehicles? How old are you?

 

I've been driving for nearly 20 years and this is vehicle 5 for me.

[TPLGT]

Im on 12 and I thought that was a lot...

[qikslvr]

Just turned 39. I owned a lot of beaters in my younger days. Went through a 66 LTD, 79 Ranger/F-150, 72 Buick LaSabre, 79 Vega, 72 Jeep Commander, 79,85,87,90 Mustang Pacecar/5.0s, four 78/79 Toyota Celica GT's, 79 Toyota Pickup, 85 Thunderbird, 3 Escorts, 9? Beretta, 92 Honda Prelude Si AWS, 2 80's civics, 93? Pontiac LeMans, 98 Jeep Wrangler Sahara, 89 92 98 2000 2001 Jeep Cherokee's, 98 Toyota 4Runner Limited, 93 Lincoln Mark 5, 83 Porsche 944, 92 Land Rover Range Rover County Classic LWB, 06? Toyota Yaris, 96 Camry 2 door, 96? JDM Camry Collector Edition, 2000 Ranger 4x4, 2001 F-150 Ext. Cab 4x4, 99 Cadillac Deville De Elegance, 2005 LGT 5MT

 

Current:

2008 F-150 XLT Super Crew 4x4

2007 Pacifica AWD

 

that's 42 of em. Give a minute and I'll remember the other 3.

[Pawlwawl06]

damn

[Toneranger]

damn is right! 2 cars a year since you were 16??? WOW!!!

 

Were some of those parts cars, or all road-driven?

[qikslvr]

They were all individual drivable cars. Some were better than others. Some were bought specifically to beat to death. I painted houses to pay my way through college and thrashed the interior of alot of cars, so I always had a work vehicle and a clean(er) car. Most of the time I would find these fairly clean looking cars with some miles on them real cheap and just clean and tune them up. At that point someone I knew would always want to buy them for more than I had in them so, I'd sell one and get another car to replaced it. This went one for years as you can see.

 

Add a Chevy Citation to the list. That makes 43.

[C1Pendragon]

sad day to trade in an LGT. I did once. . . I'm regretting it. . .You have a lot of repeats though, so I'm sure another one will be in your future. . .

[fishbone]

And thusly the Nebraska Subaru community flocked to qikslvr's garage sale like a hungry pack of hyenas

His was one badass ride. I only got a chance to ride in it once unfortunately, on the 20G I believe. Scary run, I felt the adrenaline surging as the revs were climbing

This man knows his shit as far as tuning goes, he is a local too so that helps a ton. I keep encouraging that he should start tuning people for $$$

[underpowerd]

you'd better pop in on us -- too cool/knowledgable a member to lose.

[qikslvr]

I'm not goin anywhere just yet. Now, I can just work on and tune (and ride along for the thrashings of) others people's cars and maybe make a few buck instead of dumping 10's of thousands of $'s into mine and beating it back out:lol:. I'm just in between projects at the moment.

Whatever the locals don't claim by the end of the week will be posted here in the FS section. I still had over $1K in parts that never got installed. Oh and there's this 20G Zilla just sitting there waiting for a car to mate up with;).

 

 

Add one 2002 Mazda MPV dare I say it MiniVan to the list

 

That is #44 and I'll remember the other one here before to long...

[joeleodee]

Hey bro, you know I'll let you drive and thrash my car a little when we start getting into that. I know it'll get you back into a project sooner. Besides, the car's not 'my baby', it's just a car. No launching, though. I will let you launch my old beast, though, even though you'll just sit there spinning tires.

 

Anyway, we'll see you around. I'll get a hold of you after Christmas.

 

P.s. You drove a minivan? Maybe I won't ring you.

[qikslvr]

Ya, notice how I had it blocked from my memory and was one of the last ones to come up:lol:. And the last one for the list just popped into my head. #45 A little powder blue two door mid 80s Dodge Colt turd. This thing was one of those that was loud even with exhaust and you had to hold it to the floor on the freeway just to hold 55. It was so bad that I just left the keys in it in hopes that someone would steal it, so I could go get a different one. That thing sat in a college and apartment parking lot with the keys in it for almost a year and no one even took it for a joyride:lol:. Amazingly enough, that was the car that I got my last speeding ticket in 16 years ago:eek:.

 

I think that was the problem Joel. I bought it new and had so much time and money into it; I just couldn't convince myself to totally bastardize the drivetrain and strip the interior. Now if I get a car used and it's already been blow up or wrecked by someone else first; well then that's different. It then becomes a game to see how much abuse the P.O.S. will take:p.

 

I can't wait for some fair weather so we can get out and do some tuning. Now that I won't be spending hours and hours and hours messing with my car; it will be cool to work on other peoples cars. I think I might have a line on some of that there JDM goodness.

[John M]

Let me get this straight -- you decided to get another vehicle because making more reliable power would cost too much. Then you traded the car in, eating the $10k+ in mods in the process? We know dealers won't pay one dollar for mods.

 

That's hardly a sound financial decision. To "save" on future expenses you abandoned $10k+ today? That's like the people who bought brand new Priuses to save on gas prices. It'll take them only 15 years to break even.

 

FWIW, I know owning a truck is nice. My daily driver is a Dodge Ram (quad cab, 4x4, Hemi) and in two weeks I'll be using it to tow my LGT to a shop 450 miles away to get its engine built.

 

I did consider asking $10k for my car as-is -- 18k miles, perfect cosmetics, cracked ring land. Then I thought better of writing off the mods and payments I've put into the car (bought new in Sept 04).

[spec.B Dream]

It might not make sense to an outsider, but qikslvr knows what he's doing. He now has something to pull the project that he's dreaming up. I was considering that same thing before I got the LGT as an all-in-one car.

[fishbone]

He did not get trade-in price on the LGT, he got retail price on it and a good one at that. The 10K+ in mods is a cumulative figure, not how much the car had on it at trade-in time. As a matter of fact he would have been hard-pressed to get a better price even selling it on here. On top of that, selling the car saved him from having to dump an additional ~4K in drivetrain mods.

So yes, all in all it was a good trade. A good deal financial-wise and what he got out of it was another good vehicle that is perfectly suited for a daily driver with no quirks, noises, temperamental behavior.

For most of us married guys we have to maintain a balance between having a somewhat decent daily driver for the wifey and going balls to the wall with mods and turning the car into an aggressive, harsh, loud and quirky fastmobile. In my case I've already almost overstepped that bound with the tranny mount that makes the car have more NVH. And I carpool with wifey.

[qikslvr]

No, I got $14,000 for the car on trade-in(67K miles) with a coolant smell on startup, a fading clutch and a transmission that could grenade any time. That was well over $6000 more than what I owed on it. If you do the math on what used parts go for; which is about 60% of retail price new(if you're lucky), you would come up with about $6K-$7K for what I had on it at the time. I also didn't have to spend the 12 hours in zero degree weather restoring it to stock. In addition I didn't have to deal with selling to parts to lowballing beggers and shipping them all over the country.

As for a sound financial decision; putting any extra money into a car ever is a bad financial decision as 99.9% of all cars ever made, are or will be worthlless in the end. I built the car, drove it hard and got out while it was still worth something. It would have been nice to just park it and fix it later when I had an extra $4K-6K sitting around that I didn't know what to do with, but it just didn't work out that way.

 

So you would take $10K for a mint 18K mile car with a bad ringland and that would be O.K., but I'm silly for taking $14,000 for a failry clean car with 67K miles and needing about $4K in work to make it reliable at Stg2 power levels? Who's really the silly one? I drove the sh!t out of my car for almost 5 years and beat every penny I put in it back out(I've got the logs as proof). You can't expect to drive a modified car for free; you've got to pay to play. The way I see it; I came out way ahead. It basically cost me about $3K a year to drive one of the baddest LGT's in the country. I'm alright with that.

 

As for making it more reliable. I don't think you quite understand. It would take nearly $6K to get a transmission built or swapped that would handle 500-700WHP. Then to get to 500-700WHP; I would need to put another $8K to $18K into the motor. I don't built cars with used or the cheapest parts; I use all new, high end parts if i can find them. A Cosworth Short Block is about $8,000 and then there's heads and junk and stuff to go with it... it ends up being close $18K for PARTS to build the motor properly. How's that for economicly bad decisions. And in the end when I was done with it; I would probably be able to sell it for oh about the same $14,000.

 

Cars depreciate and that's the bottom line; it costs money to drive nice cars. You've got to pay to play and you will never get every penny out of it unless you are restoring classic cars and even that's a crap shoot. Besides, what f'n business is it of yours what I do with my money. Just kidding. Thank for your concern.

 

 

Let me get this straight -- you decided to get another vehicle because making more reliable power would cost too much. Then you traded the car in, eating the $10k+ in mods in the process? We know dealers won't pay one dollar for mods.

 

I did consider asking $10k for my car as-is -- 18k miles, perfect cosmetics, cracked ring land. Then I thought better of writing off the mods and payments I've put into the car (bought new in Sept 04).

[joeleodee]

You're also not the one who had to listen to him bitch about how much work the car needed. When he told me about the trade-in to see if he was crazy, I could not believe the price they were offering. Full retail while needing what it needed? He'd have to be a fool to turn it down. I couldn't get close to that for my ride and mine is completely mechanically sound other than an aging stock clutch.

 

We know dealers won't pay one dollar for mods.

 

 

I used to think this was the rule as well. Maybe what you should say is "Don't expect anything extra for the mods." Never hurts to put your price out there, though. Could he have stripped the parts and sold them? Yes, however part of the trade-in offer was "as-is." Not "as it will be after I strip the several thousand dollars worth of aftermarket parts off of it." He already explained the headache involved in a partout all for what, maybe (and that's a big maybe) an extra grand after it's all said and done? In my opinion and based on my own experiences, he made the right decision. Now it's a quest for the next money pit.

[fishbone]

qikslvr blurted a break-even price he wanted for the LGT and the dealer said yes