Sam

Guys, have decided to bight the old bullet and vinyl wrap the outback in matte black.

Got 30 metres of this stuff in a big roll, paid on Tuesday night and arrived lunch time today. Did two panels and think for my first go, it looks not too bad at all.

Tomorrow I will have a mate helping me do some of the bigger parts. We will leave the hard parts like front bumper, rear bumper, roof etc till last, so it should be easier once we know what we're doing.

The materials I have used so far is:
30m x 1.52m matte black vinyl
Heat gun
Microfiber cloth
Credit card

It will be easier with 4 hands rather than two. Hopefully we don't get any bubbles or creases. I think I have enough vinyl to allow for a couple of mistakes.
Any leftover and I'll either sell it to my mates/ throw it on eBay and make some coin back.

Here are a couple of pictures from 5 mins ago, in the dark and raining... :/



Will update after we've finished tomorrow.

So lads, after a little bit of thought, I have decided I will be converting the outbacks NA engine into a turbocharged engine in the next month or so if it goes to plan.

I have spoken to Ben from Ichiban about a halfcut he is getting from Japan, it's an 04 wrx cut.
I think I will go with this option rather than an Sti engine and 6 speed gearbox, because of price....as much as id love to.


Could anyone suggest any decent workshops that would be able to do the conversion?
What kind of price would I be looking at for labour?
What else will I need to do, other than replace engine, gearbox, etc etc?
What time frame will I be looking at? Could I get it done in a couple of days?
What sort of power figure will I be looking at when completed?


And if anyone has any other suggestions or advice for me that would be muchly appreciated!!!



Thanks guys.

Hi lads,

I am looking into some new rims..
After something 18" so I can use my new tyres, and something a little wider so i get the wrapped? look.
My tyres are 245/40/18.

Would be looking at something similar to Lukes(bobby jimmy), maybe with a little dish?

Any suggestions or links would be handy.
Also an eoi on my rims for the moment.

Sam

Hey guys,

A little bit of an update (boring wet weather...)

Just knocked $600 off the comprehensive insurance for my car!!!
Stoked!




Have done a few little things to the Outback in the last month or so:

I bought a Pioneer GM6400F Amplifier to run the 4 speakers, works a treat and also have my mono block running through the Pioneer.
Also bought a new head unit, a Kenwood DPX-U6120, very good unit IMO, waaaaaaaay better than the crappy Clarion DVD player.

I have also been searching eBay for a front lip for the Outbacks, but at the moment CBF toying with lips from other models. I decided to try out a small piece of rubber from the states called EZI-Lip, pretty much a garage door seal... Looks awesome!

I put some new tyres on, Goodyear Eagle F1 235/40/r18, which have a rim protctor on them so they sit a little wider than the ones i had on before.. They are alot quieter and smoother then the old ones, more grippy and very impressed with them.
With the wider tyres, I had to get the guards rolled. Got the rears done by a proffessional locally. Now they dont scrub.

I bought some WRX Bucket seats with STI logo off the net last week, they arrived yesterday so i put them in after work in the rain. They sit up alot higher than the stock outback ones though, im not liking it. Does anyone know if theres any way I could get the seats to sit lower??

Also, got an STI white faced dash cluster off dja. All good except the airbag light wont turn off. Would anybody have a solution to this?

Next up, i put a Varex Exhaust on that I got off Luke (Xon). Had a muffler bloke put it on for me as I didnt have access to a welder (and have never done it before).. But, it is a whole lot quieter than the straight through cat-back i had on previously. Just have to wire it up to the battery so i can open and close the butterfly valve in it. What would be the simplest way to do this safely?

Over to the DIY side of things, i decided to clean up the front grille after the RFRB one that i bought didnt fit, so bought some new black mesh, and made it a shiteload neater.

I bought some genuine SUBARU badges from USA so will be putting them on the back when it stops raining...
Also have to put the new high beam headlights in too.

Sprayed the rims Black, i think it looks good but sussing whether i want to powder coat them black or another colour...
Would get matching wheel nuts and caps too.

So considering its too wet and muddy to take pics, I will get some when it clears up.






I will be looking at the Jaycar Response Kevlar speakers in the next few days, as well as a new subwoofer and enclosure. And also some genuine floormats.
After that, enough spending money on piddly little things and considering a new car, or putting some money into a new engine and transmission for this one.




I am also looking at hiring a steam cleaner this weekend to do the carpets/seats etc. Has anyone ever done this or something similar?
Also, the guys who have used claybars on their vehicles, what product did you use and where did you get it from?

Today my EZ Lip arrived from the US, so I put it straight on the OBk,

I think it looks pretty good for the price..

Will have to fix the ends up and maybe secure the rubber with a few screws and washers or something.. But it seems to be sticking pretty good with the 3M adhesive.



Better picks to come. Was getting dark.