Well I've Gone And Done It Again!!! Got Another Subaru!!!

[MeanGreenZ28]

I always say ... WD40 keeps the world moving and Duct tape and Zip ties keep it from falling apart! lol

[MeanGreenZ28]

Dropped the engine in and started her up today!!! Some things to check out but it runs much better than before!

[MeanGreenZ28]

Fixed the a/c compressor line o-rings and charged up the system. Blows nice and cold now.

Also installed a new fuel filter while I was at it and dumped a can of fuel system cleaner in the tank.

Also replaced the bulbs in the seat heater switches. Long story but I thought it was a fuse or something bigger cos I didn't think 4 bulbs could have all gone out at the same time, but it ended up being a simple job in the end. Will post up about it later so it may be helpful to someone else.

Was thinking of selling it, but I'm getting too fond of having it around lol

Edited April 7, 2012 by MeanGreenZ28

[MeanGreenZ28]

Started on getting the paint shining again. Got a friend's polisher so my hands dont fall off. It's gonna be a long journey, there's scratches EVERYWHERE!!! Will post pics as I go along

Edited April 8, 2012 by MeanGreenZ28

[The Stig]

Hey MG didnt see a pic of the project in a long time, would love to see some snaps of the progress

[MeanGreenZ28]

ask and you shall recieve!!! lol

Literally spent like 6-8hrs with the polisher getting it to look like this. Had I not used a polisher, my hands would have fallen off. I guess the previous owners werent that good drivers 'cos the front and back bumpers have a lot of scratches and bumps. Will be painting the front middle section black to match the back, so that'll hide some of it.

still some rust that I need to take care of when I get the time, but in general, the engine bay is clean...

Roof rails restored to a nice black color...

Headlights polished a bit to get some of that haze and yellow out of it, still not perfect but it'll pass inspection. Will wet sand it and buff it out to look good as new when I get the time later...

Paint splattered on the dash; previous owner used to paint houses or something like that. Much better than it was, still working on it.

Edited April 10, 2012 by MeanGreenZ28

[jehan80]

Wow! Looks great!

[Kavvz]

  On 4/11/2012 at 5:58 AM, jehan80 said:

Wow! Looks great!

Yeap. Quite the change in the old bird, its amazing what a bit of polish and elbow grease can do. Nice work MeanGreen.

[MeanGreenZ28]

Replaced the front fog lights with Hella 500FF units this weekend. The stock units were crap and cracked. The Hella's are much brighter. Will post pics soon, couldn't get the car out of the garage to get a good view for a pic 'cos the battery had died. Put a trickle charger on it so it should be done tomorrow.

[Supra_Natural]

Damn... quite the transformation man!

[Ripper]

  On 4/17/2012 at 4:41 AM, MeanGreenZ28 said:

Replaced the front fog lights with Hella 500FF units this weekend. The stock units were crap and cracked. The Hella's are much brighter. Will post pics soon, couldn't get the car out of the garage to get a good view for a pic 'cos the battery had died. Put a trickle charger on it so it should be done tomorrow.

you used a high speed polisher or a random orbital one?

thinking of investing in one but the random ones cost a fair bit...a metabo branded one is over 40k here.

so was thinking of getting a pneumatic random orbital buffer since i have a compressor!

Also...how did you restore the roof rails? fresh paint? need to do the same for my truck...

[MeanGreenZ28]

  On 4/17/2012 at 5:57 AM, Ripper said:

you used a high speed polisher or a random orbital one?

thinking of investing in one but the random ones cost a fair bit...a metabo branded one is over 40k here.

so was thinking of getting a pneumatic random orbital buffer since i have a compressor!

Also...how did you restore the roof rails? fresh paint? need to do the same for my truck...

PorterCable 7424 random orbital I borrowed from a friend. Just when I finished with the borrowed set, another friend who's one damn good detailer sold me his older PorterCable 7336 random orbital and Dewalt DW849 rotary (with a whole bunch of pads/etc.) for $225, lol.

I used Adams VRT for the rails. I basically brings out the shine/black of any Vinyl/Rubber/Tire surface. Although for some trim pieces that the rubber had fallen off and was showing the metal underneath, I used PlastiDip spray rubber. Pretty easy to work with and you can peel it off if your not satisfied with it. People have been painting their whole cars! ... and then stripping it off when they wanna return to stock, lol

Edited April 18, 2012 by MeanGreenZ28

[MeanGreenZ28]

Hella 500FF's installed!!! It was a real tight fit and had to mount them on the bumper instead of the stock location (bumper beam). The stock units mounted on top (where the beam is) but if I turned the Hella's upside down, the light pattern would suffer, so I had to drill into the bumper; it's not the best solution, but it works. Kind of a tight fit so the top of the light hits the bumper beam too.

Edited April 18, 2012 by MeanGreenZ28

[Ripper]

  On 4/18/2012 at 1:34 AM, MeanGreenZ28 said:

PorterCable 7424 random orbital I borrowed from a friend. Just when I finished with the borrowed set, another friend who's one damn good detailer sold me his older PorterCable 7336 random orbital and Dewalt DW849 rotary (with a whole bunch of pads/etc.) for $225, lol.

I used Adams VRT for the rails. I basically brings out the shine/black of any Vinyl/Rubber/Tire surface. Although for some trim pieces that the rubber had fallen off and was showing the metal underneath, I used PlastiDip spray rubber. Pretty easy to work with and you can peel it off if your not satisfied with it. People have been painting their whole cars! ... and then stripping it off when they wanna return to stock, lol

ah the little joys of living in a first world country and really knowing the shit!

[CARBON B4]

  On 4/18/2012 at 1:34 AM, MeanGreenZ28 said:

I used PlastiDip spray rubber. Pretty easy to work with and you can peel it off if your not satisfied with it. People have been painting their whole cars! ... and then stripping it off when they wanna return to stock, lol

Super stuff MeanGreenZ28, and the car looks fab.... could you please tell me bit more about this plastidip stuff , is it heat resistant and when you spray the thing does it spread evenly ? or do you need a really steady hand like when using normal spray paint which tends to drip sometimes..

Thinking of getting down few from E bay and use it on the alloys ( plus point is can always go back to the original look if needed). But don't want to make a mess of it if the stuff is difficult to handle..

btw.. since you have retained the hood scoop is there water getting inside the engine bay from this ? or have you covered it up..

[MeanGreenZ28]

there's plenty of videos on YouTube showing how to use Plastidip. It's very forgiving when painting and even if you have a slight run, it flattens out with a matte finish when it dries. Just make thesurface is really clean cos it's made to peel off easy and any oil/dirt underneath will make it come off really quick.

[CARBON B4]

  On 4/18/2012 at 3:57 PM, MeanGreenZ28 said:

there's plenty of videos on YouTube showing how to use Plastidip. It's very forgiving when painting and even if you have a slight run, it flattens out with a matte finish when it dries. Just make thesurface is really clean cos it's made to peel off easy and any oil/dirt underneath will make it come off really quick.

Thanks... !

[MeanGreenZ28]

Probably my last post in this thread 'cos the project is officially complete; which is to get it ready for inspection and tags. Got the inspection complete and tags today. Total cost for the whole project including the car came in a tick under $2000, which it higher than I innitially thought but only about half the market price of the car ... so I can easliy turn a profit if I decide to sell.

Carbon, sorry didn't answer your question about the scoop ... since it didn't come with a turbo/intercooler, the hole is covered underneath by a black metal plate that directs any water away from falling on the engine.

Edited April 27, 2012 by MeanGreenZ28

[Kavvz]

  On 4/27/2012 at 12:33 AM, MeanGreenZ28 said:

Probably my last post in this thread 'cos the project is officially complete; which is to get it ready for inspection and tags. Got the inspection complete and tags today. Total cost for the whole project including the car came in a tick under $2000, which it higher than I innitially thought but only about half the market price of the car ... so I can easliy turn a profit if I decide to sell.

Nice! Way to go MeanGreenZ28!

[Supra_Natural]

Congrats meangreen! This has been a great thread machan.... Glad you've finally got her running and legal.

[MeanGreenZ28]

Well, I can't leave well enough alone so I bought a set of wheels for it ... lol

I was actually looking for a stock set of used 205/70-15 on Craigslist and stumbled upon these. They were on his '09 Ouback XT he traded in and the guy was asking $450 for them but he settled on $400. They are 19" x 8.5 (+50mm offset) SSR D5R rims with 245/40ZR19 Hankook Ventus V12 EVO tires. Tires have plenty of tread left but the rims have seen better days 'cos there's a lot of curbings and scratches. Should all be fixable with a good polish and paint/powder coat job. I priced them out new and total is close to about $2000 for the whole set ... wow! as always, PICS!!!

Had an issue with the rear wheels rubbing on the strut, so I put in some crappy 1/4" spacers (brings it to about +45 offset). however, the lugs aren't long enough for this (got only 4 turns on the nut) so I ordered a set of hubcentric spacers and extended studs today. Till then it can sit pretty and move about the driveway...

when I picked them up

Mounted...

Well? what do you guys think? They look awfully big but they're actually not that much taller...

Edited June 11, 2012 by MeanGreenZ28

[Pericles]

Don't take this the wrong way, but personally, I don't like it. Looks somewhat unbalanced. Of course, thats just me, and its just an aesthetic opinion thing.

[Blitz]

in my opinion, those are sexy wheels..

[MeanGreenZ28]

pulled them off and put them on the '11 Legacy and threw the 16" stock Legacy wheels on the Outback ... I think it'll stay this way 'cos the 19's on the Outback looked a bit silly, lol

[Mean Green z28]

As an update to never come back to this thread ... this car was traded in and we just bought a 2008 Subaru Outback Limited and I'm thinking of trading the Legacy 2.5i for a GT ... I think I have a condition of automotive ocd

Looks like this...

Edited February 25, 2013 by Mean Green z28