Zyla's 1993 Subaru Legacy - "Mandy" - Mandy's Last Days

[Zyla]

After many days of wallowing in the self-pity that was induced by the thought of having to work so hard just get my car driving right (that is, to buy a transmission and have it installed), I suddenly had an epiphany as I was driving home. "Maybe I should check Pick 'N' Pull (a junkyard where you can pull parts from a car and use them on yours) for a transmission." It was like someone switched on the light in a dark room. Not sure why I didn't think of doing this to begin with. So I headed down yesterday to see if they had any Legacies. They sure did. And the best part, they were all either FF, or automatic. Ugh. However, I didn't check any of the other Subarus there for a 5MT, because I wasn't aware that all 1990-2003 Subarus with EJ engines used the same 5MT transmission. So I went back there today to get a quote on a transmission if I were to pull one. $140. I was pretty shocked. With that settled, I picked up my tools and walked out to the import section of the lot, where I approached the white donor car for miscellaneous parts that I needed, such as: weather stripping for my driver door, a battery restraint, and two new fenders that weren't rusted.

Here is the victim organ donor.

Felt bad seeing all those poor, mangled cars there. Especially this one.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the correct tools with me to remove the fenders I needed, and decided to get up and look for another Legacy to scavenge through. Much to my surprise, I found a '94 Legacy that was non-turbo, but it had an RS hood. That sure got me excited. So the agenda for tomorrow is to: revisit Pick 'N' Pull (assuming I have the money to do all of this), purchase the new (to me) fenders, and the hood. I'll also be searching for a transmission while I'm there. Although, there is a chance that new transmission will be automatic, to give me a drivable car until I can afford a manual.

More news tomorrow!

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Yeah, good luck with the 5MT. Not saying it will be difficult, because it's harder to find the 4EAT than the 5MT, but you're lucky to have scrapped Subys at all in the wreckers; around here, the likelihood is quite low.


Speaking of low, I saw an MY00 Forester SUV which was lower than a Mazdaspeed 3 today... On 255/40R17 tires... With a stealthy (no hood scoop), turbo....
Awesome. No one expects an SUV to be as fast or faster than an STi....

 

[Zyla]

Went to bed unusually early last night and woke up at a reasonable hour this morning. With my plans all set in my mind, I got dressed and headed back down to Pick 'N' Pull. The air was hot and the horizon was hazy. It made for a gross view, but it didn't stop me from pulling into the nearly-full parking lot and traipsing up to the dimmest check-in counter I've ever seen. I paid my $1 admission and walked out to the import section for another time. Having my mind set on finding a transmission and purchasing the RS hood, I approached the green '94 I mentioned in my previous post. After seeing that the hood hadn't been taken yet, I walked around in search of a manual, AWD Subie. Bam! The first, silver second gen Legacy wagon I looked in. 5MT and a rear differential. I pretty much felt like I hit the jackpot. My only issue was pulling the transmission out. Apparently, they make you do it yourself. Since I was alone, I had no proper resources to remove it from the car efficiently or safely. Until I have someone with experience go with me, or the proper tools, I guess it will just stay there.

The good news is, I got the hood.

After several back and forth trips from the shop to the lot (asking for a cart to borrow and getting a price on the hood before buying it), I was exhausted from both the labor and the heat. I finally gave up on waiting for a cart and just lifted the hood above my head and carried it. After stopping a few times to rest (it was rather heavy), I finally reached the check-out counter, and paid a fair $48.

I paid the rather rude cashier the money and set the hood down next to some chairs so I could rest. The sun had absolutely drained me. After about five minutes, I picked up the hood and walked out (while accidentally catching the tip of the door with the hood) to the car. Once the car was in sight, my left arm got turned off and started giving out. I literally couldn't lift the hood anymore. I felt really out of shape.

What bugged me, however, was the man in the passenger seat of the car who rolled up near where I was parked, and his stupid, judgmental face staring my car down. He was just grinning in one of those "are you kidding me" kind of ways. He got out and walked toward the building after breaking his gaze, so I let it go. After I got in the car, I looked back to make sure the hood was stable, just in case. And of course, there was that dang guy looking back at my car. Gesturing to it as he talked to his wife, holding his hand out in my direction and struggling to look away. I was too tired to care at that point, so I just pulled off and ignored him.

The first half of the drive home was quiet, because I was too exhausted to be in a good mood. I thought it good to treat myself to a cherry slushy from Sonic, and it was amazing. Drinking about a fourth of my slushy made me realize I was pretty hungry, so I stopped by McDonald's to get some tasty chicken nuggets. (The person at the window who takes your money was clearly Australian, and it was awesome; surprised the crap outta me.) Since I had been texting @Ferraridude308 all morning, I decided I'd send him a pic of the hood on the way home, as he was dying to see it.

Finally reached home after my long morning and had dad help me carry the hood out of my car and into the garage.
Got a good look at all that dust on the surface.

Although my car is non-turbo, and the car I pulled it from was N/A as well, I was surprised to see that this was a legitimate hood scoop. I decided to take off the duct and clean underneath, while also removing the actual scoop to see if I could repair the cracked parts.

Unfortunately, the bolts holding on the scoop only moved with the nuts as I tried to turn them. I figured I should just leave it for now and went ahead and started preparing for installation.

After putting the hood on and being pleased with the fitment and look, I drove down to the nearest car wash and cleaned off the hood and the rest of the car, as both were pretty dirty. After completing the wash, I found a nice area to shoot a couple of photos of the car with the new hood, and here is the final product(s):

I personally feel like this is the best-spent $50 on my car so far. I got a lot for my money, I'd say.

I understand it looks a bit tacky right now, and I may get called a "poser" for wearing an RS hood on my non-turbo car, but to be honest, I don't care. I did it for the style of the hood. The subtlety of it makes it so it doesn't scream, "Look at me! I'm (not actually) turbo'd!" Once I have the RS bumper and I good paint job, it will make for a nice-looking front end, I think. I'm not trying to look fast, I just want to look good. Just throwing that out there.

With the hood purchased and installed, a clean car, and a full tank of gas, I'd say it was a pretty productive day. 👍

 

[Doodle]

I love it.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Oh, but you could've got so many things... Gosh, I was expecting to see a 500 part list..

 

[Zyla]

Thing is, I meant to. Just forgot about them.

 

[Slash]

$140 bucks for a good transmission is normal pricing at a scrap yard. You can buy a running V8 engine for the same price if you pull it yourself.

 

[Zyla]

 

[Joey D]

I think you need to hit up reddit.com/r/battlewagons for some more inspiration. Those guys would probably really dig your car.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Wagon lovers will find you, too

 

[WrxScooby]

I've been apart of the the Dirty Impreza family for a good while and they have a great community with a lot of very knowledgeable rally enthusiasts.

Here is the local BattleWagon Thread
http://www.dirtyimpreza.com/forums/showthread.php?28160-Show-me-your-battlewagons!

Ex.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Wagon lovers will find you, too

Told ya.

 

[Katiegan]

Sorry for not being seemingly active in this thread - I was away for two weeks and every time I tried to go in a thread with pictures in on my iPod, it crashed.

Mandy is looking great! I see removing the back seats really helps transporting the larger things, such as the hood . I promise I'll post in here more now that I'm back home.

 

[Zyla]

Before I go into detail, I will just say that I am open to ideas or advice.

Over the course of a few weeks, I've experienced many different opinions and ideas on what to do with my car in terms of modifying. I've wanted to street mod it (that was when I first bought it), I've wanted to make it a rallyable car with some practicality, such as leaving in the climate control, radio, etc., and I've even considered just making it a track car. Well, now, I've acquired the notion that the only way to go at this point is all-out. I've stripped the interior, and I've fallen in love with rallying over the past year. Why not, right? Just know that it's not one of those "for the heck of it" things. I genuinely want to do this, because the car is fun to drive even as it currently is, and it's nowhere near being in good shape.

There are various groups and locations around here to do rally events, and even when I'm not rallying, I can take her down to Miller Motorsports Park, or even have a fun run through any of the awesome canyons in this area. What the daily driver will be whilst I build up the Legacy is still in the works, but I'll settle on something in the future, and knowing me, you'll see a thread of it on here the next day at the latest.

Here's what I've gotten around to so far:

I took out the dead pedal to get rid of the disgusting rust and liven it up a bit.

Notice how dirty my hand got.

That airbag clutter has got to come out.

I also took off the rear door panels.

And the trim as well. I'll get around to filling the holes later. I already have the putty to do so.

That's all for now, folks. I'm currently working on removing the lower part of the dash and removing the radio. The radio will go because it doesn't work anyway, but the climate control will stay until I have a second vehicle. Until next time, please enjoy a couple of Instagram pics.

Note: The rear windshield wiper in the first pic in yellow, due to some experimenting that has been reverted.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Next up on the weight savings list: roll/sway bars. Their function is good for pavement, but on gravel, it entirely reduces the amount of grip you have.


Because of my dual purposed build, I have experience with rallying with 22mm sway bars and with the OEM 17mm bar... The car had understeer before I got the 22mm bar... Then it has oversteer. Immense oversteer.


I'd direct you to my YouTube channel if I had the link, but I'll get that afterwards...


In the meantime, the bars can be spared to improve their function for paved roads, (where they're actually a good thing,) or removed to improve the suspension's travel to get more grip on the dirt and snow.


I'll leave the choice (along with my YT channel)

 

[Zyla]

So I finally got tired of not having music playing during any of my commutes, so I broke down and bought the car a cool little wireless speaker pod that I could install even when the car is race modded. It's lightweight, matches the color scheme I have in mind for the car, and it packs a pretty great punch. Certainly nothing to complain about for a (soon-to-be) rally car.

Aww lookit the lil' case it'ssocute.

I'm still deciding where to mount it, but I'll keep you guys posted.

---

Got my car inspected today. While I was there, I got caught up in a conversation about my intentions for the car. Everyone was pretty taken by the idea of a rally car project being in their shop. Had a great chat that left me feeling good about my choice to strip the interior. Even though it looks "half-assed" as I've heard in the past, I know what I plan to do in the long run, and it looks brilliant in my mind. We should be seeing the 5 speed in the near future.

 

[SVX]

The only thing I can suggest- get that rust sorted man. I don't know how strict the rules are over in the US/your state but before you continue to 'race prep' I'd get that sorted out. I'd highly doubt that would get past scrutineering. Well, actually, scratch that. I'd suggest you get the transmission all fixed up/swapped. No point having a car that looks like a 'rally car' if it doesn't have the go?

Just my advice, no need to take it- though I do believe it would be a good idea to take it in to some consideration.

 

[Joey D]

Do you mean stage rally, RallyX, or just rally inspired modifications? I can't stress enough that building a stage rally car is inadvisable and you will end up broke with a non working car. RallyX would be way more suited to your budget, experience level, and car choice. Download the SCCA RallyX rules and pick what class you think you'd do the best in and then build your car to those specs. I think with your car being stripped out, you'd end up in MA which is essentially heavily modified Subaru class. You'll lose every single time, but you'll still be able to have fun and you'll learn the basics of rally driving.

The first thing you're going to want to do is get some good tires, knobby snow tires work the best if you can't afford gravel tires. I run Hankook Winter iPikes and they seem to do pretty well:

If, in the future, you want to get into stage rally, buy an already prepped car. It'll be a little more expensive upfront but immensely cheaper in the long run.

 

[Zyla]

The only thing I can suggest- get that rust sorted man. I don't know how strict the rules are over in the US/your state but before you continue to 'race prep' I'd get that sorted out. I'd highly doubt that would get past scrutineering. Well, actually, scratch that. I'd suggest you get the transmission all fixed up/swapped. No point having a car that looks like a 'rally car' if it doesn't have the go?

Just my advice, no need to take it- though I do believe it would be a good idea to take it in to some consideration.

Hey, I appreciate your advice! The trans is my first main item on the list. Also, yes, the rust is extremely bothersome; I understand that it's hard to ignore. I'll be purchasing some panels from donor cars down at the junkyard in a few weeks. 👍

Do you mean stage rally, RallyX, or just rally inspired modifications?

I'm glad you asked that, because I don't know the difference between RallyX and stage rally.

 

[Joey D]

I'm glad you asked that, because I don't know the difference between RallyX and stage rally.

Stage rally is like the WRC, so you drive point to point down closed roads. American RallyX is essentially AutoX but in a field or around a dirt track instead of a parking lot. European RallyX is a group of 4-8 cars driving around a track that is both tarmac and dirt, I've never seen one around in the US, but I'm sure they exist.

RallyX will be the cheapest and easiest to get involved in since all you need is a car that is safe and roadworthy, a helmet, and a $50 SCCA membership.

 

[Zyla]

I was actually wanting to build a stage rally car then, and if it takes building the hell out of this one to make it eligible, I'm all for it. That's why I mentioned buying a second car as a daily driver down the road. This may be a slow build, but it will be fun nonetheless.

I've seen videos of simple economy cars that have been rally modded and putt around dirt and tarmac rally courses. Is that not something they do in the US? I don't know what kind of rallying that's called, but it's what I was after. If you need an example, I can post a vid.

 

[Ronald6]

I think what you're thinking of is stage rally, and it does not mix well with a daily driver. Go to a local rallycross event near you. Friendliest group of people you can meet and very willing to share their knowledge. It will be fairly easy for you turn your car into a rallycross killer.

As @Joey D said: download the rulebook, it says in fairly simple English exactly what you can do to your car and what class your car belongs in. For Oregon it's at OregonRally.com, I imagine it's in a similar location for your state. Take a look at my thread. Give it a good read, especially the advice other people give me. I have the same car, just a few years newer. You have a lot of options. Start small and build up.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

I was actually wanting to build a stage rally car then, and if it takes building the hell out of this one to make it eligible, I'm all for it. That's why I mentioned buying a second car as a daily driver down the road. This may be a slow build, but it will be fun nonetheless.

I've seen videos of simple economy cars that have been rally modded and putt around dirt and tarmac rally courses. Is that not something they do in the US? I don't know what kind of rallying that's called, but it's what I was after. If you need an example, I can post a vid.

In Canada, you will often see 90s FF Kei cars. This is the most inexpensive option.


But, if you are serious about stage rally (good choice!) You will need to budget for truck & trailer.

 

[Zyla]

I think what you're thinking of is stage rally, and it does not mix well with a daily driver. Go to a local rallycross event near you. Friendliest group of people you can meet and very willing to share their knowledge. It will be fairly easy for you turn your car into a rallycross killer.

As @Joey D said: download the rulebook, it says in fairly simple English exactly what you can do to your car and what class your car belongs in. For Oregon it's at OregonRally.com, I imagine it's in a similar location for your state. Take a look at my thread. Give it a good read, especially the advice other people give me. I have the same car, just a few years newer. You have a lot of options. Start small and build up.

Welcome back! I was worried that you'd left. Good to have another experienced rally fan in my thread again. 👍

My goal is to get the major issues fixed on the car so it's (more) drivable. After all of that is settled, I can start looking for a truck or SUV to buy as a daily and as something that can handle our winters. Looking forward to that, albeit it's about a year down the line.

But, if you are serious about stage rally (good choice!) You will need to budget for truck & trailer.

I'm pretty serious about it.

Truck and trailer? You're referring to something to haul the car around, right?

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Welcome back! I was worried that you'd left. Good to have another experienced rally fan in my thread again. 👍

My goal is to get the major issues fixed on the car so it's (more) drivable. After all of that is settled, I can start looking for a truck or SUV to buy as a daily and as something that can handle our winters. Looking forward to that, albeit it's about a year down the line.



I'm pretty serious about it.

Truck and trailer? You're referring to something to haul the car around, right?

Yes, entirely. These competition cars are only allowed to drive on public roads during competitions; they won't pass e-test otherwise and are generally deemed "too loud." Plus, the trailer will give you the opportunity to bring extra tools. As a mechanic, I can't begin to tell you how quickly things can break and how many tools that repair will require.



You'll need:

Impact socket sets in all metric sizes (yay Subaru!)
Impact gun(s)
Air cylinder or compressor to power the impact sockets, inflate tires... Air lines...
Spare rims/tires (tires go flat extremely often during rallying; sharp rocks)
Spare lower control arms
Spare shocks
Extra motor oil/filters/pans/sump plugs (rocks could hit oil pan/filter)
Spare tie rods
Spare coil springs
Hammers (Clarkson approves of rallying)
Spare brake rotors, pads, calipers
Spare hubs
Spare lug nuts
Spare wheel bearings
Spare headlights
Spare battery
Spare fog lights
Spare lights in general
Spare alternator
Spare camshaft (Crazy Leo, Tall Pines 2013)
Spare valves
Spare starter
...
Spare everything, basically



Especially, you'll want to keep extra screws for every single part.



I sincerely hope this doesn't dissuade you... It's actually not as bad as it sounds... Once you invest in spare everything, you only replace the parts as you need to; suddenly rallying isn't as expensive as it initially seems.

 

[Ronald6]

About 1/4, perhaps 1/3 of the cars I rally with arrive on a trailer. There are 3 seperate classes for rallycross: Stock, Modified and Prepared.

Stock is what I run in. With modified it is very possible to still run it as a daily driver. With prepared, very similar to a rally stage car, you move from daily driver to trailer car. Because you'll need a roll cage, and that means a couple of hundred pounds of metal tubing that needs welding, for prepared class I don't think the car will be street legal. You'll also need a racing harness (seat belts) and only one company is registered with the DOT to make street legal racing harnesses (at least in my state). So many things need to be done to your car to make it a prepared class / stage rally car that it will probably cost you at least 3k $. And I think that's a very low number. Much more to "do it right."

I've said it before and I'll say it again: go to a local rallycross event. It's 35$ to throw your car around a prepared course and see how you and your car stack up against other cars, both similar and different, in the same competitive range. And you can watch experienced drivers throw around their prepared (or stock!) cars. Talk to anyone and everyone. They're all willing to talk about what they've done to their cars and what the changes have done to the driving experience. And they'll know what, how, why, and how much regarding changes to your car. Even with my Aspergers and the social problems I have these rallycross events are the most enjoyable thing I've done since I left the Corps about 12 years ago. Don't just think about what your car can be, enjoy it for what it is right now.

If you want a P/RS car and a daily driver I suggest buying another similar Legacy. Because of how most people end up getting parts for their rally cars (and you will need parts like bumpers many times) its always nice to have a potential parts car at hand.

Sorry if I rambled on too long.

P.s. I never left. I was waiting to see what you were going to do with Mandy.

Edit: rambled so long I got Tree'd.

 

[Joey D]

I was actually wanting to build a stage rally car then, and if it takes building the hell out of this one to make it eligible, I'm all for it. That's why I mentioned buying a second car as a daily driver down the road. This may be a slow build, but it will be fun nonetheless.

With stage rally you'll need to invest a ton of money into the car and you'll also need a ton of money to enter and drive to the event. I can't stress enough how important it is to get the Rally America rule book and essentially memorize it from cover to cover so that you build your car correctly the first time and can get it log booked. You're also going to need to get a competition license from Rally America, which I have no idea the cost on.

There's a movie out called "Easier Said Than Done" that was made by a guy locally here in Grand Rapids and features several of the people I rally with. I recommend checking it as it gives you a pretty good idea what it takes to get into stage rally. It also sums up the sport pretty well too.

I'd also recommend saving up for a rally school, Dirt Fish is in Washington which is probably the closest to you but there's also Team O'Neil in New Hampshire. It's expensive but it's going to teach you want you need to know. I'm currently saving up to go to Dirt Fish, but it's nearly $4,000 without airfare and lodging.

I've seen videos of simple economy cars that have been rally modded and putt around dirt and tarmac rally courses. Is that not something they do in the US? I don't know what kind of rallying that's called, but it's what I was after. If you need an example, I can post a vid.

That sounds like European style RallyX, which they do in the US as well but it's way less common.

 

[Zyla]

@Joey D, @ITCC_Andrew, @Ronald6

Thank you all for the insight. It will certainly pay off having this knowledge to stand on in the future.

Joey, that vid isn't quite what I'm after. This is the type of rallying I was thinking of. Skip to about 2:20.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Easier Said than Done is great. Great great movie/film thing. @Joey D, thanks for reminding me that I still need to watch the full version

@Zyla, watch it. it's worth it.

 

[Zyla]

Welp. I did some hard thinking over the past couple of days, and I even asked around to see if it'd be a good idea.

I'm leaning toward going the track car route with Mandy. I know I sounded passionate about the rally idea, and I was. But to be honest, I feel like I will have more opportunity if she becomes a track car. She will still wear the same look I had in mind for it, and she'll have the same mods as the rally car would have had, basically. I'm gonna try to keep it street legal, which hopefully will happen despite the roll cage and racing seat harnesses.

As mentioned in a previous post, I will be purchasing a second vehicle (most likely a truck) to get through the winter, conserve the life of Mandy's engine and transmission, haul Mandy around when needed, and have as a practical daily.

The fund has already been opened for said truck, so I plan on announcing the purchase of it in a couple of months. Mandy is too great to get rid of, so I had my brother hook me up with some garage space to store the car in whilst the truck gets me around, while I raise money to build my tracker, and while I find a small house or apartment. Mandy is becoming more and more of a project, and I can't afford her.

If anyone has experience with track cars, or certain tuning advice, I'd seriously appreciate it. If you were looking forward to seeing Mandy as a rally car, I'm truly sorry, because I was too. But the thought of building a car with track mods sounds a lot less stressful.

A big thanks to @Ferraridude308 for once again letting me ride in his awesome Lotus today.