Threads like this are what has kept me interested in this board for so many years.
Threads like this are what has kept me interested in this board for so many years.
The Brandywine Motorsports Club hosted a road rally/picnic this afternoon. I was quietly using this as a target for having the Subaru ready. Having a target helped with motivation. We had a great time, met good people, enjoyed good food, and finished 4th-ish which earned us a couple of mugs. The parts car didn't skip a beat.
This was the first road rally for my wife and I and we enjoyed it. I can see more in our future. There was no time/speed component - just a set of instructions with mileage and 20 observational questions. It was a super easy way to get a taste for it. We got all of the questions correct but my odometer was about 3 10ths of a mile off at the end. In all fairness, the route was all on roads I've been driving for nearly 40 years. I was able to answer ~1/3 of the questions while reading through the route instructions in the parking lot.
I'm looking forward to more of this.
I removed this abomination and installed a stock muffler. I figure I gave up at least eleventy-seven horsepower but it is much more pleasant to drive now. I will admit that driving it with the loud exhaust encouraged me to drive faster. Turns out that there's at least a little bit of that 16 year old moron I once was left in there.
I used the car as my daily driver all week, putting 480 miles on it from Sunday to today. It didn't skip a beat. I gotta decide what my plans are, but for the immediate future I'm going to keep daily driving it. I'd like to Autocross it if I can squeeze another one(s) into my schedule this year. I'd also like to find another road rally or two.
Update: No update.
The Subaru has been serving as a reliable daily for a little over two months and 4,000 miles. Other than lubing the selector for inside/outside air, I have done nothing to the car but drive it. It has consumed/leaked less than 1/2 quart of oil in that time. It's a pretty enjoyable little daily. It's light and nimble but doesn't feel out of place in traffic. I find that I'm taking more back road routes home from work because I enjoy driving it. I also find myself seeking out any dirt/gravel roads I can find. Fuel mileage is decent at 28-29 mpg on cheap (a relative term) 87 octane. Hopefully it continues to deliver - I'm thinking that I'd like to continue using it as a daily beater at least through the winter.
My Dad and I fixed & flipped at least 15 cars over a 4 year period. The Maple tree "frame machine" is still in the yard. This is the exact kind of project I need for my 15yo son to drive next year, thanks for putting the idea back on my radar.
In reply to Motojunky :
That's a very good looking "beater"!
Loweguy5 said:In reply to Motojunky :
That's a very good looking "beater"!
It's a 20 footer for sure - just don't look too close. The interior is actually really nice, which helps make it a nice driver.
Friend owns a tint shop and had a sample roll that he didn't want to try on a customer car...
An interesting thing happened on Sunday. I have been driving this car for a couple of months now and haven't had anyone comment on it or compliment it. I took the car out to run a few errands yesterday and two different people approached me to compliment it. Apparently the tint steps up the look?
I'll take a better pic next chance I get.
In reply to Motojunky :
great looking wagon.
IMO tint improves the looks of any car, often dramatically
Fun was had.
You can't make this E36 M3 up. I hit a deer on the way to work this morning. At a quick glance, the only damage is to the good fender that I pulled from my RallyCross car to get this one together. This is probably going to be a funny story in the future, but not today.
Huge bummer!
I like this car. Looks like cheap, satisfying fun.
After ignoring it and driving something else since the deer hit I decided to check out the Subaru today. The hit broke the headlight mounting tabs and broke the marker light housing beyond use. I had to steal the marker/corner light from the RallyCross car for now. I pulled the fender and took out some of my frustration with a mallet to get it somewhat close to the right shape. I spent a lot of time finessing metal to get things lined up last time around and much of it moved again. I quickly got it close enough today and will leave it until I source a fender.
I guess it is a proper winter beater now.
One of the reasons that I wanted to sort the Subaru yesterday is that we were expecting a decent snow today and I wanted to go play. We got skunked, but the radar showed snow 30 miles west. We did the responsible thing and went and bombed around in the snow for a few hours. This car is absurdly good in the snow. Tires are cheap Firestone all seasons that have about 10k and one Autocross on them. Good fun.
Oh man I've always loved the style of these and your putting it through the exact treatment I'd be owning one.
johndej said:Oh man I've always loved the style of these and your putting it through the exact treatment I'd be owning one.
In a way, the deer hit was liberating. It reminded me that it's not a car that needs to be preserved and that it should be used for bombing around unplowed roads in the snow and other similar silliness.
As it turns out, I can't see the mashed fender from the driver's seat. :)
I picked up a clean driver side fender over the weekend. I'm wondering if I can pull off masking and painting the white portion black while leaving the silver alone. Any suggestions are appreciated!
I picked up a good hood hinge from the same parts car. I'd mostly decided to live with the tweaked one but it was readily available and cheap.
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