17 replies to this topic

[IntenseNnJa]

Hey guys, been putting this thread off because I am lazy and well yeah, I am just lazy. Figured I would sit down and write up my build. Anyway thanks for reading, hope you enjoy

Info on the car:
Make: Subaru of course
Model: Liberty Heritage
Engine: EJ25 (no turbo because p'plates, maybe one day)
Year: MY97
Colour: 55D (I think)
Odometer: 129,xxx

And as far as I can tell I am the 4th owner since new. 

Realistic plans check list:

• Fix accident damaged panels [x]
• Respray front bumper [x]
• New sound system [x]
• STI front seats [ ]
• New rims (or respray of factory ones) [ ]
• New tires [x]​
• Carbon wrap trimmings [x]
• Replace aerial [ ]
• Custom front grill [ ]

Un-realistic plans checklist:

• Turbo goodies [ ]
• JDM projector driving and fog lights [ ]
• Lowered
• GT bonnet
• Things that make it go faster [ ]
• Full body respray (gun metal grey) [ ]
• STI Enkei rims [ ]
• Brembos [ ]

I know some of these things on my list are realistic for most of the subyclub members but I am juggling work/uni at the moment and have to make ends meet with bills and such.

Anyway here are some pictures of my baby when I got her. As you can see she has been neglected a bit. I believe the previous owners held a 'just fix it so it's drivable for the cheapest cost' mentality (as seen with the green bumper, and the 40 zip-ties holding the bumper and guards on)

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And here are a few pictures of the 'luxury' interior. Mum and Dad where jealous when I showed them the leather haha.
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I might segment the posts into what I have done so I will just leave this one as a introduction to the car
 

 

[Niko]

Awesome man, my first car was a Gen 2, about 8yrs ago.

 

 

Some comments on your plans;

 

• I'd keep leather seats, you can get leather WRX or STi seats, keep a look out for them.
• Wheels will be easy to come by for cheap price, maybe not STi Enkei's, but some nice WRX 17".
• Respray is exxy, investigate getting it wrapped if you're doing it in a similar colour to what it is now.
• Carbon wrap never looks as good as you think it will, consider hydrodipping or painting.
• Brembos are unnecessary, but 4pots can be bought for a cheap price, and CRUISN may spray them for you for a price, I suggest lime green .
• Not much will make it go faster, but check out Rob's build thread for his white GX, he put a lot of suspension mods in his.
• Custom grille? You can buy heaps of JDM awesome grilles on Import Monster.

 

Any way look forward to what happens with it.

[Barbbachello]

Gen 2 ftw. Suspension, brakes and looks for p plates. A set of 4/2 pots will suit just fine unless you want the cool factor of brembos. Big rear swaybar should be your first suspension mod. Best bang for buck.

As for looks some jdm goodies like legacy grill, projectors and a turbo bonnet go a long way. Turbo bonnet on an NA gen 2 is usually acceptable cos they're subtle 😜. I'd be getting some projectors first out of that lot as the stock lights are garbage

Also being a 2.5L you can bolt up gc8 Wrx headers for epic Subaru rumble noises 😁

[IntenseNnJa]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I really appreciate it

I would like to swap my front seats just because the drivers side is pretty cracked from general wear and tear and no maintenance  

I have already wrapped my centre console/window controls/climate surrounds and you are right. It looks good but after a little while it began to stretch and come unstuck after a few hot days. I will peeling it off in the near futer and giving it a coat of satin or gloss black.

Suspension mods to come as well as a set of projector lights because the factory ones are truly horrible.

**Update coming**

[allpaw4]

Satin black. Don't go gloss unless you like seeing marks and smudges all the time.

[IntenseNnJa]

So update now because I got sidetracked earlier.

Be advised a lot of these photos are old and I have lost a lot of them in due to taking my old phone for a swim in the pool. So sorry if this isn't greatly documented.

Next step in this project was to remove the damaged quarter panel and bumper to examine the damage sustained in it's previous life.
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Poor thing really took a knock. At least now I know why my right had fog light was shining up to the sky when I drove it home for the first time.

Got stuck into that guard before fixing the front mounting bar. Had fun, this was my first time panel beating and with help from my Dad and neighbour I think it came out great.
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Bogged and sanded till my arms hurt and this is how it looked with primer.

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Next was the front bar. Smashed it kinda back to the right spot and sprayed it all in satin black to hid blemishes.

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Bumper was resprayed along with the quarter panel and refitted. (Was a slight discolouration between factory and what we did. Not exactly happy with that)
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This is how my Liberty looks now minus new side skirts that need respraying. If you look in the background you can see a shell of another MY97 Liberty. Bought for $400 with a "unknown engine problem" and a great clean undamaged body. Many parts where stolen from this car and now sit in the shed for a later day.
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That's all for now folks. I will update with pictures of the other little stuff I have done. (full stereo install and carbon wrap interior trimmings)

[Barbbachello]

Damn that's a solid effort with the guard!!

[cowie165]

Awesome man, my first car was a Gen 2, about 8yrs ago.

 

 

Some comments on your plans;

 

• I'd keep leather seats, you can get leather WRX or STi seats, keep a look out for them.
• Wheels will be easy to come by for cheap price, maybe not STi Enkei's, but some nice WRX 17".
• Respray is exxy, investigate getting it wrapped if you're doing it in a similar colour to what it is now.
• Carbon wrap never looks as good as you think it will, consider hydrodipping or painting.
• Brembos are unnecessary, but 4pots can be bought for a cheap price, and CRUISN may spray them for you for a price, I suggest lime green .
• Not much will make it go faster, but check out Rob's build thread for his white GX, he put a lot of suspension mods in his.
• Custom grille? You can buy heaps of JDM awesome grilles on Import Monster.

 

Any way look forward to what happens with it.

 

My previous car was a Gen2 Bilstein RX. This advice is spot on.

 

Replacing brakes would be last on my list. A caliper refurb is a lot cheaper, a straightforward job, and will give you all the stopping power you should need on an N/A 2.5L street car.

 

That repaired front guard looks mint. The colour match is also very good. You'd only notice if you were looking for it. Thanks for the pics!

[alexGT]

My first car also 11 years ago (98 RX Wagon). 

 

First car and on your L's = 16/17? Just enjoy the drive for a while before you start modding!

 

Brakes are fine stock, just do a fluid flush and maybe change the front pads if you want a little more performance, no need to go overkill.

 

Impressive work on the guard by the way!

 

Also, keep an eye on the cooling system. Most EJ25 DOHC suffered from headgasket issues (mine went at 130k)

[IntenseNnJa]

Thanks all for the feedback

I popped down to the wreckers today and found a bunch of screw hiders since majority of mine were missing. No luck on projectors (was a long shot)

This weekend will trying to fix up the stereo and get her back on the road.

[aekOne]

good job on the repairs mate!

 

have fun modding it

[IntenseNnJa]

Thanks mate Plenty planned. Just waiting for the financial side of things to catch up

[IntenseNnJa]

So yeah, checked out my car today (first time I've seen it in 2 weeks) and the RH guard and front bumper both have fractures in the paint. Needless to say the neighbourhood heard my anger. Gonna go get a quote from a mate of mine who is a painter on a price to redo them and my miss-match side skirts. 

Not happy Jan.

[cowie165]

So yeah, checked out my car today (first time I've seen it in 2 weeks) and the RH guard and front bumper both have fractures in the paint. Needless to say the neighbourhood heard my anger. Gonna go get a quote from a mate of mine who is a painter on a price to redo them and my miss-match side skirts. 

Not happy Jan.

 

Argh!! Sorry to hear dude. How long did you wait between base coat and clear? A lot of places recommend a week between. If the base hasn't gassed out and cured properly when you lay the clear on top they are likely to cure at different rates which leads to the cracking.

 

Again, sorry to hear brother. I painted a spoiler then later dropped it and chipped it. Sucks to see your good work go bad

[CodeBurn3r]

Just keep an eye out for another guard.. $60-80 and it will SOooooo much easier!!!

[IntenseNnJa]

I have my eyes out for one in the same paint code. If not I have a white one from my parts car

[Meadyy8]

 
Argh!! Sorry to hear dude. How long did you wait between base coat and clear? A lot of places recommend a week between. If the base hasn't gassed out and cured properly when you lay the clear on top they are likely to cure at different rates which leads to the cracking.
 
Again, sorry to hear brother. I painted a spoiler then later dropped it and chipped it. Sucks to see your good work go bad

Sorry mate, but in my experience most base require a 10 minute flash period, and you apply the clear wet on wet.

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[cowie165]

Sorry mate, but in my experience most base require a 10 minute flash period, and you apply the clear wet on wet.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

 

10min between base and clear? Goes against every instruction I've read on paint. If you're getting good results then that's a good time saver right there.

 

I'm with you on the wet clear.