Heathers 2005 Subaru Impreza RS

[CAMAROBOY69]

Washing is CRITICAL in the northern states to prevent rust. Especially here in Michigan with all the crappy roads and salt. I will be washing this Subaru all the time especialy after I paint it next year.

 

[buickgnx88]

Good plan. I of course could care less about regularly washing my Jeep (in the winter). I'll occasionally bring it to the pay-and-spray deal, but otherwise I'll just let it stay dirty until the spring. During the summer however I do wash it every so often.

 

[Duke]

It needs a tranny flush really bad. Been telling him over and over but he doesnt listen.

And a good tranny flush makes a world of difference in those Ford automatics, too.

 

[Omnis]

Washing is CRITICAL in the northern states to prevent rust. Especially here in Michigan with all the crappy roads and salt. I will be washing this Subaru all the time especialy after I paint it next year.

It's not so much just the wash, but the wax too. The whole reason you wax your car is to protect the paint by catching all the crap in the wax before stripping it off at the next wash&wax.

But if you're not gonna get it done right the first time it doesn't really matter. I totally see where you're coming from as far as the undercarriage and road salt and all that is concerned though.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

I just picked bought the radiator at lunch time. I also found a Hood, Door, and front grill for a very good price from a local shop. Should be picking up the Hood, Door, and grill on my lunch break this Friday. Plus the windshield goes in this Saturday the 14th. Things are moving a long very fast now! I still need to buy a WRX spoiler but not the huge STI spoiler. Just the medium WRX rear spoiler.

Current price breakdown. I will update this list in the first post.
Radiator $145.00
Door $125.00
WRX Hood $200.00
Grill $50.00

Here is the hood I bought and the passenger door. He knocked the door down to $125 because it has some dings. Doors are usually around $300.00. The hood was also MUCH cheaper than anywhere else.

 

[harrytuttle]

Someone suggested this spoiler and I like it a lot. Or is this the same one you are talking about? I need something back there and this seems like the perfect addition. Its a nice subtle addition to the car without being too gaudy like the huge WRX STI spoiler.

That's the STi Limited. There's only 800 of those made (400 crystal silver, 400 white), so that spoiler may be a bit hard to find. A good choice, though, as it is said to be the only one that actually produces positive aerodynamic effects (reduced drag). Having owned various be-winged Imprezas over the last 10 years, I can attest to that. My (non-limited) STI's wing vibrates a bit at high speed.

Seems like a nice project, though. Makes me want to trade my work Civic for a '01 2.5RS. Hmm...relatively old school Scooby....

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

That "STI Limited" spoiler is a little too subtle for me. I have actually decided to go with the WRX spoiler that is in the red car pic in post #35. NOT the STI.....The WRX spoiler. Probably wont buy the spoiler for a while. Its the last thing on my list. I need to get this thing drivable and reliable first which also means getting a full 4 tire alignment as soon as this car is on the road.

Today I go to pick up the Hood, door, electric fan, and front grill. I already have the trailer with me at work and will be leaving at lunch. Hopefully start sanding on the parts over the weekend. I took off the dealer "Prestige" emblem a few days ago with a razor blade and a little paint thinner. Last night I put the lower driver fog light cover in but the passenger side will take more work since its banged up pretty bad. So things are moving along very quick now.

Windshield goes in tomorrow saturday 14th. My plan is to get the radiator in over the weekend. Might even start sanding on the hood and door this weekend. I will get some new pics by Monday.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

First major update. 11/16/09

New windshield was installed Saturday morning and that went very fast. I highly recommend Safelight Autoglass. After the windshield was installed I worked on the car for several hours. Removed the junk condenser, junk radiator, and both fans. Installed the new radiator and the new passenger fan. I still need a driver fan but this will work fine for now.

After installing the new radiator and fan, I took the car for a solid 10 minute drive. Took it up to 70 mph and surprisingly it didnt shake, pull, or do anything crazy. It actually drove very nice. Then I let it set in the driveway running for 20 minutes. No leaks, no overheating, no engine lights, nothing. I straightened out the hood just to get an idea of how it would line up. The front end needs to come forward and down about an inch but I probably wont mess with that much until next year. I will put the new hood and door on after I paint them. Which is my very next step.

Oh I forgot to mention about the door that I bought. You know the red one a few posts back with the circles all over it?? Well turns out those circles are not dents. They are just very very light scratches. In fact some of the circles were around dirt. lol! So the door is in excellent condition.

Here are some pics.
11/16/09

New radiator and passenger fan (still need driver fan)

Radiator installed

Radiator removed

Old damaged radiator, condenser, and fans

 

[Kryz11]

Looking great man, nice job, nice car, and nice find!

 

[LSX]

Agreed. ^

That's a great price on a car that just needs a little work. It already looks much better.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Thanks for the replies. Next year I will re-paint the entire car and fix all the bodywork problems. For now I just need to get this thing drivable.

Hopefully I will be daily driving this thing by Thanksgiving next week. With a dent free painted door and dent free painted hood. Oh I also bought the medium size WRX rear spoiler today but have no idea when it will be shipped to me. It will look like the spoiler that is on the red car a few pots back.

 

[LSX]

Sweet, that spoiler will look good. It's not to small, also not obnoxious like the high rise STI spoiler

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Sweet, that spoiler will look good. It's not to small, also not obnoxious like the high rise STI spoiler

Funny you mention the obnoxious STI spoiler. I was on my way to the car wash with my Saturn and as I pulled in there it was. HUGE Sti spoiler on someones car. I talked to the owner and it was a 2004 WRX but he bought the STI spoiler for it. I could not believe how huge it was in person up close. Easily 8-10 inches tall. Huge. He mentioned he actually regretted putting that spoiler on because after he installed it people always want to race him or give him "rice" crap. Which is exactly what I expected and its why I went with the medium spoiler.

I also just recieved the shipping info so who knows, maybe it will be here in time before next week. Then I can throw a quick paint job on it and bolt it to the car. 👍

 

[Jim Prower]

Heh, nicely done. Only other thing I could think of would be one of those stick-on lip spoilers...and, meh, that's not that great.

 

[Eric.]

I'd go with one of those flat ones that generation had. Its the one you see on the "Spec C." version in GT4. This is the only picture I found from a quick search, and I've got to leave for work now.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Eric that is the EXACT same rear spoiler I just bought. Its the stock WRX spoiler. Not too small not too large. In fact thats pretty much what my car will look like next year after I paint it Subaru blue. 👍
According to the Fed Ex tracking number, it should be here by Thursday or Friday! Which works out perfect because that is right around the time I will be painting the door and hood. So I will hopefully have everything primered, painted silver to match current paint, wet sanded and buffed by Monday.
I will start sanding the door and hood tonight to prepare them for primer. Hopefully the heater in my garage still works. Been 2 years since I fired it up.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Update 11/18/09

My garage furnace worked but I am not sure how much propane is left. Sanded with 180 then 320. Door was flawless but the hood was a little rough. Even though the door was flawless, I spent more time getting those stupid painted circles off the door than anything else. That crap they used for the circles sucks. Hopefully I will be priming tonight with Mar Hyde primer.
Hopefully the driver side fan will show up today.

Hood after sanding

Hood before

Door after sanding

door before

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Update 11/19/09

Sprayed the Mar Hyde primer last night. My top feed primer gun was acting up so I had to bust out the bottom feed gun. I will be buying a brand new gun next year before I paint the entire car. Tired of messing with these 2 old guns.

Last night the driver side electric fan also showed up. The rear spoiler showed up a couple minutes ago. So I will install those over the weekend too. Tonight Heathers dad is taking us out for dinner so I wont work on the car again until Friday.

Friday I am picking up the silver base coat and the clear coat at lunch. Then I will sand the primer down with 600 grit. After that I plan to spray the base coat / clear coat Friday night.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Whew what a rough weekend. The paint that the paint shop sold me didnt match and I cant get the hood to close. Paint gun also wasnt working very well so I rushed the paint job to get the car together by Sunday. Not that it matters because I plan to re-paint the car blue next year anyway.

I am going to the sec of state at lunch to give them the salvage paperwork for the registration. Then tonight hopefully it will pass inspection. The hood is a major problem with that front end being pushed up. I will get it fixed but it will take some work for sure.

Also got the new fan bolted onto the radiator. I didnt have time to bolt on the spoiler. I also spent several hours repairing other scratches and dents in the car. Most of the light scratches buffed out.

So here are some pics after a very busy and frustrating weekend.

11/23/09

Primered and ready for paint.

Painted

Primered and ready for paint.

Painted

Here are a couple pics of the car with the new hood and door. Still need to get the hood lowered quite a bit.

Pic from a couple weeks ago before I replaced the door.

 

[Bram Turismo]

That looks much, much better! Also, if your Impreza really is going to look like the blue one posted a bit above with the spec C wing, you'll be driving a fantastic looking vehicle! 👍

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Yup that blue Impreza a few posts up (post #45) is what I am aiming for. Same hood same spoiler.

The feedback is greatly appreciated and very motivating. At one point I pretty much gave up on this car yesterday. The hood, headlights, front bumper cover, front bumper, and hood latch, have been a pain to deal with. I have been just trying to do too much with very limited time and burning myself out.

Tonight is the big night!! The Sheriff is coming out to inspect the car after I get out of work. I already have insurance on it so if this passes inspection I will have it registered tomorrow at the sec of state. After that I can bolt the spoiler on and get the hood fixed. Then hopefully be driving it tomorrow night or Wednesday!! Next week I will try to get all the tires and suspension aligned. Then it should be all set for winter.

Again, the feedback is appreciated for sure.

 

[bergauk]

Man!! You do a nice job on body and paintwork! If I didn't live on the opposite side of the country I'd drive my car over to you and pay you to fix it up. Phenomenal job on everything man.

 

[Duke]

Yeah, it is looking good!

I think I'm going to buy a used spoiler for the top of the hatch on my daughter's wagon.

 

[homeforsummer]

I think I'm going to buy a used spoiler for the top of the hatch on my daughter's wagon.

What's this? Duke buying something that doesn't serve any purpose? Next we'll have Eirik admitting that slammed cars don't look very good or Famine saying he's gone off MX-3s...

 

[Duke]

It serves a purpose - it breaks the low pressure area at the back of the window and keeps rain off better. Besides, it doesn't actually interfere with performance or driving, so it's OK.

 

[homeforsummer]

It serves a purpose - it breaks the low pressure area at the back of the window and keeps rain off better. Besides, it doesn't actually interfere with performance or driving, so it's OK.

Fair point. My comment was in jest, really

 

[LSX]

Coming along nicely man! Do you plan on replacing the rear door and front fascia as well? Either way man, at least it's road worthy now, and looking much better than it did!

 

[Duke]

Fair point. My comment was in jest, really

I know

 

[SVX]

Looking nice!

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Thanks again. I will just repair that back passenger door but yes I will be replacing the entire front bumper cover. But not until next year before I paint it blue.

Whoooo hooo!!! Passed the inspection last night and got the plate from the sec of state today at lunch!! Its legally road ready!!