353 replies to this topic

[Liberty]

A lot of effort just for headlights but a job well done man, good stuff.

 

My guess on the item coming from Japan, a new JDM front bumper?

[applegeek897]

A lot of effort just for headlights but a job well done man, good stuff.

 

My guess on the item coming from Japan, a new JDM front bumper?

 

Well here you go.

 

March 2018: A few months ago I managed to smash my rear garnish. I was reversing and just tapped a ute tray that was in the perfect window between my rear view and backup camera. It was the slightest touch with no damage to his tray but it managed to completely shatter my garnish.

 

 

 

So that meant I know needed to look for a new one, I waited and waited for one in the same colour and finally found one with a wreckers in Brisbane called Subie World, I called the day the car was listed, ordered and payed for the garnish to hope it would get here as soon as possible. After a wait of almost three weeks it finally arrived in Sydney and thanks to Hunter Express, it came in complete pieces.

 

 

 

Yeah not great.

 

 

 

Long story short I'm still fighting to get the money back from the wreckers and the shipping company, both have been completely useless and I wouldn't recommended them. Who I can extremely recommend is Jesse Streeter. Wow what a pleasant experience, I found a garnish on Yahoo Auctions complete with LED light and optional half-bar. I managed to get here all the way from Japan in 7 days.

 

 

 

Now this is how you pack something.

 

 

 

Even the plastic was perfect.

 

 

 

It's a pity its white but oh well that just means I can start with fresh paint.

 

 

 

The JDM reverse lights are a nice little touch.

 

 

 

This was certainly the best one at the time on Yahoo Auctions, mainly because non of the mounting screws were snapped.

 

 

 

The next thing was to seperate everything so there would be less work for the painter. Firstly I popped of to burnings for some fishing line and a caramel wheel.

 

 

 

After ages with some heat it started to come loose. I'm being as careful as possible cause the last thing I want is to have another broken one on my hands.

 

 

 

Eventually it came off though.

 

 

 

After it got a quick wipe-down I grabbed the caramel wheel and got started.

 

 

 

Nice and clean. Little bit of paint came off but that's no problem.

 

 

 

It was then time to attack the half-bar, this had way more of the double-sided tape left on it.

 

 

 

I had a small go with the caramel wheel but began to cut through the plastic so I didn't want to risk it.

 

 

 

Badge could then come off, still debating wether or not to replace with a brand new one but that can be done when ever,

 

 

 

The lights then needed to come out.

 

 

 

Out.

 

 

 

Numberplate lights needed to come out.

 

 

 

Lastly the chrome strip could come off. This also took longer then expected.

 

 

 

Ready for paint.

 

 

 

But before then. Its time to remove the old garnish from the car. The reverse camera has been broken for a couple weeks now so its another good reason to get under there.

 

 

 

Rubber grommet was first to come off.

 

 

 

Unsurprisingly there was a bunch of the plastic push pins missing. Another thing to add to the later list.

 

 

 

Then these sneaky screws.

 

 

 

The rest of the surrounding panels then popped off.

 

 

 

Once that was done the back panel was finally able to come free.

 

 

 

I popped the reverse lights out and as I thought this is where the reverse taps into for power.

 

 

 

The last mounting bolts were then removed.

 

 

 

Off it came and into the bin.

 

 

 

Then lights out.

 

 

 

There was so much filth under everything.

 

 

 

Ah, much better.

 

 

 

Now that everything is out of the way I wanted to see if I could fix the reverse camera. About 2 weeks ago I went over a large bump that I didn't see and suddenly it half stopped working. Basically looked like it was having a signal issue, it kinda still worked, sometimes all the colours would be strange and other times it would just flash black and white. I thought I would check the back of the headunit first just incase.

 

 

 

That didn't do the trick which I thought would be the case anyway. After pulling some of the pervious owners electrical tape back I found one of the culprits.

 

 

 

After fixing that I still had the same issues so the camera had to go. I had a spare camera that is meant to go into the Cuore.

 

 

 

In it went and all working!

 

 

 

I need to extend the power and video cable as I want to run the camera in the correct sport on the left of the tailgate and would also like to avoid the horrible whole cut into the tailgate.

 

 

 

I also gave the LED tail / foglight a test to see if anything will need to be modified. Its plug and play except that the fog comes on for reverse, honestly, it'll do for now.

 

 

 

The painter did a great job and even got some shots for me while he was painting.

 

 

 

Colour.

 

 

 

Clear.

 

 

 

After getting it back from the painters first thing was to get the chrome strip back on.

 

 

 

3M tape went on as there was some there before.

 

 

 

An on.

 

 

 

Next up was to throw the numberplate light bracket back on, but first a small cleanup.

 

 

 

An on.

 

 

 

All the mounting hardware could go back on. I left all of these at the painters but had two broken garnishes to rob from.

 

 

 

The reverse lights use velcro type stuff to secure the lights to the garnish. The originals are well used and have expired.

 

 

 

The old stuff was used as a template for some new 3M goodness.

 

 

 

With that done both lights could then go in.

 

 

 

Looking good.

 

 

 

The garnish could then actually go on, everything got plugged in before final assembly.

 

 

 

Numberplate light covers then went on.

 

 

 

Starting to look like a car again.

 

 

 

The camera could then me mounted, this time with some 3M tape rather then screwing in.

 

 

 

That meant to wiring could then be cleaned up and tied back.

 

 

 

Plastics could then go back on.

 

 

 

Followed by the inside.

 

 

 

Rubber grommet could then go back on.

 

 

 

Now that everything is ready its time to prep the half-bar. I popped past Bunnings to get some double sided tape.

 

 

 

On it all went.

 

 

 

Half-bar could then go onto the garnish.

 

 

 

Finally the badge could then go on.

 

 

 

It was then time to get some pics after a long overdue wash.

 

 

 

So happy with how everything came out.

 

 

[Liberty]

Looks awesome man!

 

I've always loved the detail in your updates. What's next on the list of goodies that you want to do?

[El_Freddo]

Epic update!!

Is the half bar meant to be slightly darker or is the way the camera pics up the light off it?

Cheers

Bennie

[applegeek897]

Epic update!!

Is the half bar meant to be slightly darker or is the way the camera pics up the light off it?

Cheers

Bennie

 

Thanks man yeah its certainly the pics, the way shadows bounce off it all. In person its pretty spot on.

[applegeek897]

So Postimage shat it. I'll fix that slowly in the future but we're moving over to flickr for hosting. I've been posting there for ever anyway. Should've made the switch earlier.

 

May 2018: So, since day one of me owning this car, almost 3 years now, 4th gear has always been a bit iffy. If I'd been driving the car for awhile and did a high rpm change from 3rd to 4th it would be very hard to get in. Similarly, going from 5th to 4th without the perfect heal-toe would give me a very small crunch. I've always managed it though so its never been a big problem.

 

Since the MCM track-day, that's where things started to go down hill. It was the first time the car was driven properly hard for a real amount of time. After a few hotish laps it was crunching hard both up and down despite perfect rev matching. Not to mention when I finished the session the centre diff was binding like I have never felt before. The car had about 4 hours of cool down and it seemed like nothing was wrong. After popping it up the next day I saw the bottom was covered in oil. I then took the car to ADS to be looked at and while its fine for normal driving if I want to drive it the way I want to drive it something needs to be done. In fairness its done bloody well for 355,000km of driving.

 

There were so many options I had to choose from, originally it was to have ADS rebuilt the box with new synchros and 4th gear at the absolute minimum, but then at that cost I could go for a DCCD setup, so I looked into that. Then after realising that would cost me around $8-9K I decided it would just be better off to part out and start again with another car. I was feeling terrible about this cause I just love the car so much. So I stopped looking, and as usual a bargain presented itself.

 

So, I managed to acquire a full driveline from a 2007 Subaru Liberty 2.5GT Spec-B, with less then half the km's. The best part about it, I've driven the car hard a bunch of times so I know its all solid. Only reason it came out of his car was he also got a deal he couldn't pass on a really low km box, win win for both of us.

 

Picked everything up from Ichiban, I do love wagons.

 

 

 

It came with other bits like starter, shifter assembly ect.

 

 

 

R180 should be a nice upgrade too. It's FILTHY, a good chance for it and the box to get a proper clean, maybe even some paint.

 

 

To conclude, it'll be a good 4-5 months of saving and parts hoarding cause considering the effort to put this in there is going to be a LOT upgraded in the process.

 

Also I found a nice new place for photos, after a wash of course.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Liberty]

Great pics underneath Woronora River Bridge! Car is looking great. Gotta love the fresh clean feel. I've neglected cleaning mine lately as I'm doing a lot of hours at work and by the time I get home it's dark.

 

I've been living in Kirrawee for a week or so now and will be around for another week so I'll keep an eye out. If I don't beep then it's obviously my missus driving.

[Barbbachello]

If thats a spare starter id be keen on it for my 6 speed swap

[El_Freddo]

Those pics are so epic! I love how the rear wheel almost tucks right up in the rear arch. Looks mean!

Best of luck with the parts gathering. I'm not sure whether you're moving up from a 5 speed or replacing a 6 (which I've not really heard of anyone doing - but I'm not exactly in the loop either).

Keep up the good work.

Cheers

Bennie

[applegeek897]

If thats a spare starter id be keen on it for my 6 speed swap

 

I would happily donate but my current starter is causing problems so I'll need to use the new one.

 

Those pics are so epic! I love how the rear wheel almost tucks right up in the rear arch. Looks mean!

Best of luck with the parts gathering. I'm not sure whether you're moving up from a 5 speed or replacing a 6 (which I've not really heard of anyone doing - but I'm not exactly in the loop either).

Keep up the good work.

Cheers

Bennie

 

Thanks mate. Car has a factory 6MT in it, its just a very worn box so it needs to be replaced.

[Barbbachello]

Whats wrong with the old one? Happy to take that off your hands if its usable in someway

[applegeek897]

Whats wrong with the old one? Happy to take that off your hands if its usable in someway

 

Synchros are worn which has hurt 4th gear. Plus its leaking from ever end. I've already organised a trade-in with Ichiban when the new one goes in.

[Barbbachello]

The starter i meant

[applegeek897]

The starter i meant

 

Ah, well it continues to spin after the engine starts. Like it slowly spins down. Apparently its not meant to do that. So I'll change it out while I'm there.

[applegeek897]

I've been having problems with my account here for months but I've finally got it sorted. So here's a few updates.

 

September 2018: So something popped up that seemed like a no brainer.

 

 

 

Yeah I bought another one, basically a carbon copy in stock form of the current car. It may look familiar, it was purchased from fellow member Dave (vaccine) who previously had turbo setup on the car. Most of the goodies were removed before the sale but there were a few bits and pieces left over.

 

 

 

So what's the plan then? Well a partout is the most likely scenario. It's a good way to get more 'seat time' working on the car without having to actually have my car out of action. There are a bunch of bits that will be taken and used on my wagon with most being sold, likely for a healthy profit.

 

What we did work into the deal was a bunch of rear suspension components. The only assnoying thing, is they're covered in PlastiDip. Now I totally understand why Dave did this, but I like the idea of adding some hidden bling under the car. 

 

 

So in the box of magic I got. AVO HD rear swaybar mount

 

 

AVO Rear Underbody Brace kit

 

 

Hardrace rear camber arms 8891 (Hardened Rubber)

 

 

Hardrace rear front lateral rams 6834 (Hardened Rubber)

 

 

Hardrace rear rear lateral arms 6834-H (Pillow Ball) with Whiteline lockout kit KCA307

 

 

Goof Off and a few microfibre towels and the PlastiDip eventually came off.

 

 

 

Much better.

 

 

 

Before the sun went down I popped the two next to each other. It's fascinating seeing what is basically a before and after at least from the outside of what it's become in three years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day I found a nice little surprise under the hood from the organ donor. Something that was on my list of things to grab. A fancy Optima D35 Yellow Top battery.

 

 

I also noticed an Atrax battery tie-down, but I've already got one.

 

 

Terminals came off with some effort.

 

 

The things you find...

 

 

The shitty old Century battery could finally come out. Glad to be rid of this.

 

 

 

It was a little dirty.

 

 

 

Just about good as new after a quick wipe down.

 

 

 

Quick side-by-side. Much more compact and a little lighter.

 

 

 

Before it went back in the car I gave the tray a good scrubbin.

 

 

 

Due to the fact the battery is a little smaller I needed to tap longer thread the have it securely mounted. Finally able to put this to use.

 

 

 

Perfect.

 

 

 

Finally found a clip that could fix this. It's the small things. Plus a top up of washer fluid.

 

 

 

I also got a chance to clean all the rear goodies. Colourful.

 

 

[Barbbachello]

Looks like a good parts bin. Should reinstall the turbo goodies lel. Is the parts car a 6 speed as well?

[applegeek897]

Looks like a good parts bin. Should reinstall the turbo goodies lel. Is the parts car a 6 speed as well?

 

It is. Same car in every way as mine. It might be going to a friend at this stage otherwise a part out. Not bad for 2K

[Barbbachello]

Bloody good deal. Free car for the price of a 6 speed

[El_Freddo]

Geez, it looks sooo clean!!

Quite a score looking at all those race bits!

Cheers

Bennie

[applegeek897]

September 2018: So I wasn't really planning on doing this but considering it looks like the 'organ donor' is going to a friend of mine I wanted to grab a couple more bits off it before it goes. One of which was the swaybar.

 

The bar is a Whiteline BSR39Z 20mm 2 point adjustable unit.

 

 

 

One of the boots on a endlink isn't fantastic but they are the Whiteline KLC144 adjustable units. They came off a treat though.

 

 

 

Then the brackets could come off. Interestingly new wholes were drilled to make the bar sit higher over STI catback.

 

 

 

Not bad after a clean.

 

 

 

 

 

So now to get the old one out. I no joke spent more then 2 hours looking for the freaking lock nut.

 

 

 

Anyway, wheels off.

 

 

 

Time for the bar to come off now, 14mm for the endlink.

 

 

 

12mm for the brackets.

 

 

 

While I managed to take the Whiteline one out without taking the exhaust off, it took two people and a lot of effort.

 

 

 

Out it came with ease.

 

 

 

Time to put the new bar in. After many failed attempts it finally went in. Lots of manoeuvring.

 

 

 

19mm to attack the subframe bolt for the AVO Swaybar Brace.

 

 

 

Mount on.

 

 

 

Endlinks up next.

 

 

 

Lastly, the exhaust could go back together and done.

 

 

 

Didn't get a chance to drop and the car and go for a drive but from what I hear people say this is a pretty worth while mod. While I will be switching out to Cusco gear front and rear in the next couple months when the car gets its overhaul this will do for now, can't complain with free.