For those who’ve been following along, I’ve had my fair share of problems in the past month or so with the engine. I’ve put together a writeup, with more details and some images.

Part One

I know you’re probably wondering why I’m calling it Part One. Well, the story is not over. As well as that engine runs, I do not trust it, and I still feel the car should have another 50+ horsepower. Another engine will reside in the car before I am satisfied…

In other news, there’s a new Legacy-oriented forum over at 4AG Toys. It’s growing pretty fast, and if you can’t get your fix at any of the other boards, I’d definitely recommend checking it out. Subaru Legacy Forums

Finally, I picked up the issue of SubieSport Magazine with my car in the Reader Rides section. I’d considered submitting my wagon to Sport Compact Car several years ago, but never got around to it. I’m even more pleased that my sedan was able to be included. Also check out Phil’s 94 Sport Sedan on the same page. It’s one of the better modified examples of a first-generation Turbo Legacy out there. I’m still waiting on permission for reproduction of the page for the site, but I’d also recommend heading to your local bookstore or Barnes & Noble to pick up the issue on the stands, it’s definitely a great magazine. Many thanks to Ryan at SubieSport for letting me scan and post the article.

It turns out that the dealership was having a bad week or something. Charlie ended up taking both heads off, and after noticing that the timing was off, he had the heads checked for warpage. It turns out that both sides were warped 8 thousands of an inch. That doesn’t sound like much, and it isn’t, but the tolerance is 2-3 thousands. The head gasket it also in that same 2-3 thousands range, making any greater warpage a serious sealing problem.

He’s replacing the rear main seal and should be installing the clutch and flywheel with one of the expensive, but effective TranQuil throw-out bearings and sleeve. Cams are in, and everything just needs to be bolted back on and plugged in.

I’m hoping to get it back tommorow afternoon at some time. I can’t wait to drive it.

This February marks the sixth year of the site. It’s been and up and down experience, but interesting the whole time. Thanks for coming.

The engine swap out is running into problems. I’ll go into detail when i know more, but it’s not going to be as simple as it should be because of problems with the replacement motor. I’m looking into the possibility of another candidate, or simply having one or the other rebuilt. It’s frustrating, sure, but worth it.

In the last few weeks, i’ve added to the BE’s arsenal of parts. I’ve replaced my Kartboy with a Cobb double-adjustable short shifter. It needs some final adjustments, but it’s really nice. It does sit farther back than the Kartboy, but since the height is adjustable, that’s pretty easily remedied.

At the same time, i put on a rear Cusco 18mm swaybar. It was a pretty nice improvement, as the stock one is maybe 13-15mm. It helped reduce body roll and the car feels a little better planted. It had great handling before, so this should hopefully improve on that.

It was a busy day, so i installed an earthing kit i purchased on eBay. It’s a pretty simple kit, with 8-9 wires and a hub. I ran one wire to the passenger-side fender, one to the passenger side intake manifold, the alternator, transmission and the engine, then to the battery. The car runs good as it is, so i wasn’t surprised that there’s no noticeable change. It was pretty inexpensive and looks kinda cool, so no harm done.

I had purchased a Zerosports Type 3 front grille from through eBay purchase, but it turned out that it only fits the revision D Legacy chassis, that was only built in Japan. Thankfully it was a lot less expensive than it could have been, but i was still disappointed that i have something that can’t be used in the US. Less than a day after, i was able to get a very nice B4 grille from a fellow member on NASIOC. It’s an easy install and looks pretty cool:

Finally, yesterday i got around to upgrading my brakes. For some reason, in 2000, the Legacy GT had large, 11.3″ rear brakes, but had the same, 10.7″ front brakes as the 2.5RS. The 2001 model fixed this by using the familiar 11.4″ front brakes that the WRX got. I was able to get a whole set of calipers, rotors, brackets and pads from a guy in Wisconsin. They had a mere 33k miles on them and were in very good shape, so i passed on getting new pads or getting the rotors turned until at least next spring. Thankfully the calipers on the 2000 and the WRX are identical, and so i only had to replace the brackets, pads and rotors. This meant that no bleeding of the fluid had to be done, which is very nice.

The old rotors, which were drilled Brembos, had been completely dished by the Axxis Ultimate pads. I don’t know how much real material was left, but it wasn’t a lot. The new, bigger brakes don’t have the same initial bite as what i had on before, but with a little more effort, they work easily as well. In all, a pretty straightforward swap.

Back in January, while in Detroit for the unveiling of the new Legacy, i got to meet fellow Subaru guy and Legacy driver Alex, owner of i-club. He proposed a change in the Legacy community by offering multiple forums for modern Legacy owners. The idea was a good one, but the details still needed to be worked out. We had the conversation again in Las Vegas at the Ride n’ Drive, and decided again that it was a good idea.

Well, the new models have been a reasonable success, and a lot more new Legacy owners have entered the community. Coupled with an increasing number of second and third generation models entering the used market, online representation of ownership is climing pretty steadily.

To that end, Alex has split up the lone Legacy forum and with my help, distributed it and the Turbo Legacy Countdown forum into a broader spectrum of subjects including Powerplant, Transmission, Suspension and interior/exterior/lighting.

It’s our belief that the Legacycentral BBS should remain in its current form and cater to the needs of the first generation owners. Uprooting and disrupting this brilliant community is the last thing i want to do, so we decided to compromise. The LCBBS will continue, while i’d like to urge owners of newer generation drivers to explore the i-club forums.

So, go have a look, and say hello!