Updated July 2017
It's been a couple of months now with this car and I'd thought I'd document the progress, mostly for my own sake and to get some feedback from all the folks on here. As I introduced previously, I picked this up in Athabasca for a decent price, with around 190k on it. Plans are fairly simple - keep it a fun DD, learn a bit about these cars, learn to be a better driver. Slow and steady because that's how ribs should be cooked and that's going to be the pace on this build.
Because history and context are fun, a little background on me. My introduction to the Subaru world was through WRC. I lived overseas and we had no hockey coverage, but did have the Speed channel. My dad and I dove into F1 and WRC (as these are the
real races, where drivers do more than go in circles) and I quickly noticed that gorgeous blue car driven by Solberg and friends. I wanted one. When I moved back to Canada, an older friend of mine took me for a spin in his 90s (fuzzy memory) Impreza, which he later upgraded to an STi. Jealous, again I wanted one. But I ended up with a '92 Jeep Cherokee as my first vehicle, because it was 'more practical'. I largely forgot about Subaru's and the possibility of owning one until I got my hands on this Saab and the childhood dreams flooded back seeing all your builds.
Back to the car. Here's start of the list of what I plan to do, mostly just near future things. Feedback is always welcome, most of you seem to be reasonable and understanding. The wifey and I have discussed a very limited budget (
"I thought the car was working...?"), so a lot of this will be built off of parts the rest of you rip off your cars and put up for cheap. Let me know if you have a piece I should be interested in. Most of the ideas come from forum lurking between here and the saab92x.com site.
Always the student, feel free to tell me I'm going about things the wrong way. I try and do most things myself, though engine work I've stayed away from (blew two of the 4.0L AMC I6's on the Cherokee - but not
really my fault), but I could encouraged to try. However, I've done my research to know the EJ253 isn't worth putting effort into while it's still breathing. If it dies...well let's not go there.
To-Do (in order of priority)- General aesthetics, starting with getting rid of some rust spots, dings, and adding some tint in the back
- Bushings, bushings, bushings
-
A giant spoiler and undercar neon - go away, NeedForSpeed Underground...
In Progress- Upgrade struts/
springsCompleted- Brakes
- Rear sway bar (up to stock WRX level, hurrah!)
- Hella Micro DE Fog Lights
- Front lip and chrome delete on some of dem grilles
- RA UR flaps
- Group N transmission mount & bushings
- Sub and amp install
- Audi A4 rear linky-dinks
EndlinksWent with el cheapo approach for my rear endlinks, using the Audi fronts (thanks SSS).
If anything, all this did was make me want a bigger bar in the back. I find the ramp Calgary Trail southbound onto Whitemud east a fun roll test. From the 5 minute blast the steering doesn't feel terribly different, perhaps a bit livelier, which should be expected but I could just be full of it. I want to feel the handling on a meaty RSB...
Group N mount, bushings, mudflaps - Oct 2016Mostly successful. Unfortunately, I committed a cardinal sin on the re-install - definitely busted the weld on the crossmember 17mm weld nut. Stupid me read a couple of re-install notes and definitely only saw "103 ft-lbs" not "DON'T torque to 103 ft-lbs; the translation is wrong". The good news is, it was on the reinstall so it's tight and I'm not going to worry about it right now. Unless someone tells me otherwise.
Fog Light Install - May 2016This one took a little bit of adjustment. Thanks to Dan's advice I knew going in these wouldn't fit stock, and after some research found that ~ 1.5" shift forward from the stock holes works well. A little bit of cutting and drilling to fit the Hella brackets, and voila.
I don't have a picture with the fog light bezel in place, but there is a small gap I'd like to get rid of. Some previous installs used foam tape, others made a custom fit ring to make it look OEM...we'll see.
