Scratching my rally car itch: Subaru Impreza WRX wagon
Discussion
Long time lurker, only second or third time poster (had a thread asking about alternatives to these a few years ago, but didn't find anything suitable)
So for the last few years I've had to do a 60 mile a day commute up and down the M3, and so have owned sensible, not very exciting cars like Volvo S60's and Honda Accords. But this year after a move and change of job I no longer have the commute, and so had been looking to fulfil a childhood dream and finally own a Subaru. Low and behold after just getting outbid on a few really nice examples, had this beauty come up in my city for under £2000!
It's an '03 blobeye WRX wagon (I do a fair bit of load lugging, so the extra space is ideal), in 02c blue, unmodified with the exception of an upgraded clutch, 119k miles, and a relatively short list of issues to sort. The couple I bought it from were very upfront about what needed doing which was a big plus, and although the history isn't comprehensive it has a nearly full book of service stamps and receipts for a lot of work having been done between 2013 and last year.
The most pressing things are a slight noise in the engine when cold, apparently identified by Nik at Car and Custom Garage as something that wasn't an immediate concern but would need diagnosing in the near future, and corrosion to the rear brake discs and pipes. More minor issues are some foggy headlights, a few scratches that need touching up, some lacquer peel on the bonnet and an intermittent airbag light that suggests a loose bit of wiring somewhere. The previous owners had bought it from a friend essentially as a fun family runabout and so didn't have the money or inclination to fix these issues, hence selling it on.
I'm admittedly not the most spanner-happy of folk, but the plan is to take it back to Car and Custom to get the bigger issues sorted properly, and then learn my way around the car sorting the smaller stuff. No big plans for mods at this stage, short of a panel filter, some body-coloured side skirts and maybe a set of gold alloys (because I can't help myself!)
Here it is tucked up in my garage for the time being:
And a photo of the engine bay from when I came to view it (the air intake duct is also missing for some reason, but luckily they can be sourced on fleabay for £25-30)
So for the last few years I've had to do a 60 mile a day commute up and down the M3, and so have owned sensible, not very exciting cars like Volvo S60's and Honda Accords. But this year after a move and change of job I no longer have the commute, and so had been looking to fulfil a childhood dream and finally own a Subaru. Low and behold after just getting outbid on a few really nice examples, had this beauty come up in my city for under £2000!
It's an '03 blobeye WRX wagon (I do a fair bit of load lugging, so the extra space is ideal), in 02c blue, unmodified with the exception of an upgraded clutch, 119k miles, and a relatively short list of issues to sort. The couple I bought it from were very upfront about what needed doing which was a big plus, and although the history isn't comprehensive it has a nearly full book of service stamps and receipts for a lot of work having been done between 2013 and last year.
The most pressing things are a slight noise in the engine when cold, apparently identified by Nik at Car and Custom Garage as something that wasn't an immediate concern but would need diagnosing in the near future, and corrosion to the rear brake discs and pipes. More minor issues are some foggy headlights, a few scratches that need touching up, some lacquer peel on the bonnet and an intermittent airbag light that suggests a loose bit of wiring somewhere. The previous owners had bought it from a friend essentially as a fun family runabout and so didn't have the money or inclination to fix these issues, hence selling it on.
I'm admittedly not the most spanner-happy of folk, but the plan is to take it back to Car and Custom to get the bigger issues sorted properly, and then learn my way around the car sorting the smaller stuff. No big plans for mods at this stage, short of a panel filter, some body-coloured side skirts and maybe a set of gold alloys (because I can't help myself!)
Here it is tucked up in my garage for the time being:
And a photo of the engine bay from when I came to view it (the air intake duct is also missing for some reason, but luckily they can be sourced on fleabay for £25-30)
Fantastic cars. I really miss mine.
https://www.scoobynet.com/projects-40/1031303-2005...
There were valid reasons for selling it, but it's still the car I miss the most.
Last I heard it'd been killed in a traffic accident.
So, I'm really interested to see how you get on.
https://www.scoobynet.com/projects-40/1031303-2005...
There were valid reasons for selling it, but it's still the car I miss the most.
Last I heard it'd been killed in a traffic accident.
So, I'm really interested to see how you get on.
Wagons rule 
Plenty of knowledgeable people on here to help you out. The biggest concern with Impreza's of this age is rust so check it over regularly and tackle any as soon as you can. Look through the front bumper at the radiator support and see if it's rotten, most are but it's readily available and not too bad to replace.
Plenty of knowledgeable people on here to help you out. The biggest concern with Impreza's of this age is rust so check it over regularly and tackle any as soon as you can. Look through the front bumper at the radiator support and see if it's rotten, most are but it's readily available and not too bad to replace.
Great stuff! Looks a good one. As said, polish those headlights and it'll be lovely.
You mentioned you're not the best at working on cars yourself... now's the time to learn! With a car like that and access to a garage, that's absolutely perfect. Cars aren't as scary as people think, and there's so much content online to learn from. Forums and YouTube are the two best sources. I did all of the work on my previous Boxster and must have (literally) saved thousands of pounds. A service was £100, to replace the radiator only cost me £60 (think of how much a garage would charge for that on a Boxster), water pump for £40, window regulator for £50, etc. Not to mention the satisfaction you get after doing it.
Back when I was a kid/teen, I watched my Dad's friend change the brake discs and pads on my Dad's car. He took a hammer at the brake caliper to get it off the car. I didn't even know what a caliper was, but it shocked me to see how he was going at this with a hammer with so much confidence. I was thinking "Surely it doesn't say to use a hammer in the manual, and that's his brakes, y'know, the things that stop him dying"! So I asked him if he had training in mechanics, and he didn't. He just said he learnt from just doing it himself. He didn't have the internet to learn either. From that point on I tried to do things myself. Things went wrong, but a lot of things went well, and being mechanically handy is one of the most useful skills you can have if you like your cars.
You've got the right idea though, start small and work your way up. Enjoy it!
You mentioned you're not the best at working on cars yourself... now's the time to learn! With a car like that and access to a garage, that's absolutely perfect. Cars aren't as scary as people think, and there's so much content online to learn from. Forums and YouTube are the two best sources. I did all of the work on my previous Boxster and must have (literally) saved thousands of pounds. A service was £100, to replace the radiator only cost me £60 (think of how much a garage would charge for that on a Boxster), water pump for £40, window regulator for £50, etc. Not to mention the satisfaction you get after doing it.
Back when I was a kid/teen, I watched my Dad's friend change the brake discs and pads on my Dad's car. He took a hammer at the brake caliper to get it off the car. I didn't even know what a caliper was, but it shocked me to see how he was going at this with a hammer with so much confidence. I was thinking "Surely it doesn't say to use a hammer in the manual, and that's his brakes, y'know, the things that stop him dying"! So I asked him if he had training in mechanics, and he didn't. He just said he learnt from just doing it himself. He didn't have the internet to learn either. From that point on I tried to do things myself. Things went wrong, but a lot of things went well, and being mechanically handy is one of the most useful skills you can have if you like your cars.
You've got the right idea though, start small and work your way up. Enjoy it!
This is the thread that gave me a lot of inspiration for my wagon
https://www.scoobynet.com/www.scoobynet.com/showth...
https://www.scoobynet.com/www.scoobynet.com/showth...
Cambs_Stuart said:
Spark plugs are a pain and I'd recommend the cambelt is done by someone with experience.
I agree with spark plugs being a pain due to the chassis rails, but the cambelt is a piece of cake. I have barely any experience with cars and I managed to do mine, it was very easy to doI was dreading doing the plugs but in the end it wasn't too bad as I removed the airbox on the left side and water bottle on the right. Used a spark plug socket on a universal joint with a short extension and used electrical tape to hold everything together so that nothing was left down the hole on the plug. Worked like a charm. Start to finish was probably 45 minutes at the most. My plugs had 60k on them and were shot. So much smoother with the new plugs in but no noticeable increase in performance.
R12many said:
I was dreading doing the plugs but in the end it wasn't too bad as I removed the airbox on the left side and water bottle on the right. Used a spark plug socket on a universal joint with a short extension and used electrical tape to hold everything together so that nothing was left down the hole on the plug. Worked like a charm. Start to finish was probably 45 minutes at the most. My plugs had 60k on them and were shot. So much smoother with the new plugs in but no noticeable increase in performance.
This. The spark plugs are quite easy to do once you remove few things (airbox, battery etc). I found on my LHD WRX it was just the drivers side rear plug was the tightest against the chassis rail, just takes a bit of fiddling. Rest of them it was easy.Thanks for all the responses and kind words everyone
I've done some basic servicing bits like air filters and spark plugs before, as well as usual consumables like bulbs, wipers etc., but the plan is to make the most of not needing the car regularly and having access to a garage to learn my way around as I do service parts and the like. I may have a go at polishing up the headlights this weekend after giving the car a wash, though from other threads I've read and tutorials I've watched, I may have to buy a few bits first to make sure I don't half-arse the job.
supacool1 said:
When is the exhaust going on?
I'm in two minds about that. :P I was pleasantly surprised by how unobtrusive the standard exhaust is, and it looks to be a fairly new one, but on the other hand I do love the look of the Prodrive exhaust that came on the PPP versions. So I may have a few of those saved on the 'bay geraintthomas said:
You mentioned you're not the best at working on cars yourself... now's the time to learn! With a car like that and access to a garage, that's absolutely perfect...
...You've got the right idea though, start small and work your way up. Enjoy it!
Definitely ...You've got the right idea though, start small and work your way up. Enjoy it!
I've done some basic servicing bits like air filters and spark plugs before, as well as usual consumables like bulbs, wipers etc., but the plan is to make the most of not needing the car regularly and having access to a garage to learn my way around as I do service parts and the like. I may have a go at polishing up the headlights this weekend after giving the car a wash, though from other threads I've read and tutorials I've watched, I may have to buy a few bits first to make sure I don't half-arse the job.Cambs_Stuart said:
This is the thread that gave me a lot of inspiration for my wagon
I have read through that thread in the past while dreaming of owning one of my own, it is a perfect example of meticulous maintenance and subtle mods. I particularly like how he sourced all the bits to retro-fit the PPP onto his, I think if I were to go down any sort of modding route in the future I'd want to try and keep to options offered from the factory where possible (Prodrive Pack, a handling/suspension pack I seem to remember reading about with Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks, STi bits etc.). But all of that is a long way off yet, got to get it back to 100% working condition first! No big update yet as I'm currently focusing on getting my old Volvo S60 MOT'd so I can sell it and free up some cash/drive space. So far all I've done is ordered an air intake duct to replace the one that was missing, give the car a wash and start to remove an old and very stubborn sticker that had been left on one of the rear windows.
However, I did find while having a poke around and tidy up under the bonnet that my car has a random silicone hose that goes nowhere...
It starts here, somewhere around the intake manifold or throttle body (I think)
And then is blanked off with a bolt here just behind the airbox. I wondered if it may have something to do with the missing intake duct, but I'm really not sure. Anybody know what it might be? If it's any help at all, the hose is branded as 'Eclipse Performance'.
However, I did find while having a poke around and tidy up under the bonnet that my car has a random silicone hose that goes nowhere...
It starts here, somewhere around the intake manifold or throttle body (I think)
And then is blanked off with a bolt here just behind the airbox. I wondered if it may have something to do with the missing intake duct, but I'm really not sure. Anybody know what it might be? If it's any help at all, the hose is branded as 'Eclipse Performance'.
Cambs_Stuart said:
Fantastic cars. I really miss mine.
https://www.scoobynet.com/projects-40/1031303-2005...
There were valid reasons for selling it, but it's still the car I miss the most.
Last I heard it'd been killed in a traffic accident.
So, I'm really interested to see how you get on.
It's not dead, it's just awaiting facial reconstruction.https://www.scoobynet.com/projects-40/1031303-2005...
There were valid reasons for selling it, but it's still the car I miss the most.
Last I heard it'd been killed in a traffic accident.
So, I'm really interested to see how you get on.
They are a bit stodgy as stock, as 220bhp isn't enough to overcome the weight and power loss of the 4WD transmission. They really come alive with a remap. PPP is ~260bhp and you could see anything upto 280bhp with a custom remap, without any undue stress.
I currently have a WRX wagon that I'm breaking which has PPP, which I could probably remove the parts before scrapping it if you were interested?
I currently have a WRX wagon that I'm breaking which has PPP, which I could probably remove the parts before scrapping it if you were interested?
TEKNOPUG said:
I currently have a WRX wagon that I'm breaking which has PPP, which I could probably remove the parts before scrapping it if you were interested?
That is an extremely tempting offer, though I won't find out until next week how badly my Volvo fails it's MOT and how much money it'll owe me :P How much would you be wanting for the parts? Also, any idea what the situation is with swapping the mapped ECU, as the post mentioned earlier talks about also having to swap over the immobiliser and I think reprogram keys?Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff