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My "Melange": phmancus' 2001 S

('01-'02) 
121K views 837 replies 75 participants last post by  phmancus 
#1 · (Edited)
“Melange” journal updated 8/8/2016



This is my 2001 Forester S 5MT. I call it "Melange"
Picked it up with 128K on the clock for $5,000 in August 2008





Photos from 5/3/2014: (Back when she was still N/A)


US129photos.com


Taken by Pam_Cakes

220,xxx miles on the clock.

Mod list. Look on page 48 for the beginnings of the swap!

Engine/ Exhaust/ Intake/Cooling:

-2004 STI 2.5L shortblock
-2002 WRX 2.0L heads
-Garrett GT28RS turbo aka "Disco Potato"
-PTP lava turbo blanket
-Grimmspeed turbo heat shield
-K&N Short Ram Intake
-3" custom hard inlet
-Motive composite TGV deletes
-IAG air/oil separator
-Walbro 255LPH fuel pump
-STI Pink 565cc injectors
-3" nameless catless downpipe
-3" Bosal resonated midpipe
-3" Cobb axleback
-Kartboy lightened crank pulley
-Koyo WRX radiator
-Samco radiator hoses
-STI radiator cap
-Grimmspeed top mount intercooler
-Mishimoto intercooler hose kit
-Samco ancillary hose kit
-HKS blowoff valve
-Stainless tapered catless uppipe
-Grimmspeed electronic boost controller
-IAG aluminum half moon seals
-Tomioka Racing timing belt guide
-Custom DIY intercooler splitter
-Custom DIY radiator slim fan shroud


Engine Management:

-Cobb V3 SUB001 Accessport
-Tuned by forum member MikeDrives1
-Wiring merge #499 by iWire, 2002 WRX into 2001 Forester
-AEM UEGO A/F gauge
-AEM Boost gauge
-AEM Oil Pressure gauge

Drivetrain:

-Exedy Stage 1 organic clutch kit
-Mach V stainless steel clutch line
-Group N motor mounts
-Group N Transmission mount
-Kartboy pitch stopper
-Turn in Concepts transmission crossmember bushings
-Kartboy short shifter
-Turn in Concepts lever 5MT pivot bushings
-Kartboy front shifter stay bushings
-Kartboy rear shifter stay bushing
-Turn in Concepts shifter linkage
-Phil's 5MT Cocktail
-Royal Purple rear differential gear oil 75w90


Suspension/Handling:

-MY ’04 KYB WRX Wagon struts
-MY ’04 KYB WRX top hats
-Paranoid Fabrications 3/8” Saggy Butt spacers
-STI Pink wagon specific springs
-Kartboy soft differential outrigger bushings
-Kartboy "Botox" subframe locking bolts
-Whiteline 22mm WRX wagon front sway bar
-Whiteline 24mm adjustable rear sway bar
-Whiteline rear sway bar mounts
-Kartboy front endlinks
-Kartboy rear endlinks
-GC STI aluminum control arms & STI transverse links
-2002 WRX steering rack with custom hybrid U-joint
-Whiteline steering rack bushings

Wheels/Tires:

-2011 WRX wheels 17"x8" et53
-Yokohama S Drive summer tires 235/50-17

-2006 WRX wheels 17"x7" et53
-Continental Extreme Contact DWS all season tires 215/55-17

Braking:

-OEM STI master cylinder
-OEM STI brake booster
-Grimmspeed master cylinder brace
-Mach V stainless steel brake lines
-Brembo Sport Slotted Rotors
-ATE Super Blue brake fluid

Interior/ Exterior/ Miscellaneous:

-2001 2.5rs hood scoop
-Amber Dash Cluster LED's
-Black floor mats
-Rally Armor mud flaps
-Kartboy white derlin shift knob
-Hella Supertones horns
-Kartboy battery tie-down
 
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5
#692 ·
Questions for you all!

Switching to a WRX steering rack, do you reuse the forester tie rods, or switch to WRX tie rods as well? I'm not shooting for the Whiteline roll-center kit just yet.

Also, for the Whiteline steering rack bushings, those of you with an SF era Forester, do you have the 25mm or 30mm set? I'm super confused by this.
 
#697 ·
Minor setback in the scheduled repairs and upgrades.

Turns out the WRX rack has a ripped CV boot, so I'm sourcing a new boot and some whiteline 30mm rack bushings. Also going to change my trans fluid back to the Phil's Cocktail, since I didn't have it readily available when I had to rip into the transmission in the fall.

Heading to Breckenridge for a week of skiing this Friday, and when I get back I only have 3 days to pull everything together before heading south to the Dragon! Fingers crossed.

Upside though: I got my new fender put on and she's looking so much better! Just finishing up refurbishing the fender flares and I'll be all set.
 
#703 ·
Update time!

HUGE UPDATE!

Finally got the '02 WRX steering rack and GC8 STI aluminum control arms installed on the girl. I'm so happy that I got it done in time for Deal's Gap Meet '14, and they both performed amazingly on the Tail of the Dragon.

This install had tons of headaches though: The bolts that hold the balljoints to the hubs were entirely rusted and had to be drilled, and I had problems of epic proportions with the Hybrid U-joint I got from L&E Fabrications to make the WRX rack fit the SF steering column.



Essentially, the part was made for a WRX to Impreza and the subframe spacer distance is not taken into account. Because I was on such a time constraint, we had to cut the already custom part and weld it up to my preexisting u-joint which we also cut, to make everything fit perfectly. Instead of cutting along the original weld on the hybrid part, the tech mistakenly chopped the sides of the joint that hold the piece together with the intentions of just swapping it over to the new sides to keep the same length exact. The problem with this though, is inside the u-joint are PLASTIC bearings. welding right on the joint would completely melt them and cause the joint to bind. soooo.... yeah. I was extremely lucky to find a local welder/fabricator though that was so frickin' talented that he was able to tig weld it in a way that kept the heat as low as possible. The result was a solution!



Long story short: if you're putting a WRX or STI rack into your FORESTER, DO NOT BUY A HYBRID U-JOINT FOR AN IMPREZA. Get one done the right way. I lucked out, because I could have been left without a car for a while, while waiting for a completely new u-joint to be made.




So glad that is all over with now.

SO. That was the day before driving 17.5 hours to Tennessee from Boston for Deal's Gap meet. I literally started driving the second my car got off the alignment rack.

Deal's Gap was a blast, as always. Amazing people, great cars, good food, and so much fun. I got to really push my Continental DWS tires this year, and I have to say while I was very impressed with them, they're nowhere near as good as the Toyo Proxes I had on the car last year. Oh well. They'll at least get good use where I'm headed... more on that in a bit.





The folks at the cabin all decided to stickerbomb me as a prank. I just might keep it for a while...



Go karting for the Domo Cup!



Somehow I was yet again able to come away with a great prize from the raffle. Thanks to Subtle Solutions for a great radiator shroud! It's definitely been keeping the temps noticeably down, and looks great!





Leave it to Wessneroo and Problemcat13 to get into shenanigans on the trip...



 
#704 ·
Now it's time for the big news...

Drumroll...

In this past year of wandering, skiing, starting to work for one of my favorite companies ever, and basically just having one hell of an adventure, I am uprooting from a life as someone on the east coast and moving west.

Patagonia officially offered me a full-time, benefitted role out at the shop in Denver, Colorado. Mountains here I come!

After Deal's gap, I spent some time in NC to say goodbye to so many amazing friends, packed up my entire storage unit with everything I own, and drove it all up to Boston to disperse between various family member's houses. Whatever I can fit in Melange is what's coming with me when I start my drive west in 10 days.

This is the beginning of the next big chapter of life for me, and I cannot wait to finally hang out with all you west coasters!!!!

The Phmancus' EPIC road trip officially continues! (over a long period of time of course...)



Side note:

If you have any need for some of these stock parts in the next 10 days, please let me know!!!! All are from my 2001 5mt.

 
#709 ·
I made it to Denver! Work wanted to start me early, so I hauled butt out west and made the ~2000 mile drive in only two days. Here's Melange all loaded down for the adventure, her rear flaps dragged the whole way, haha.



Found some crazy storms in Kansas and caught some lightning. Check out my gauge job! I'm not fully satisfied, so I'm going to keep experimenting. Anyone have a line on a white gc8 cluster?





And finally crossing the border after a long time of my butt falling asleep on the road...



Come visit me at Patagonia in LoDo if you're around town! I'd love to hang out!

 
#715 ·
I'm alive!!! I'll have a long post up tonight, gotta run to work now.



Not currently, but probably soon I'll have it up for sale...

Read on...

we miss phil
I miss all of you, too, man! It's definitely been a time thing. Living in Colorado just has way too much going on outside to be sitting in front of my computer screen. But, I'll be on here A LOT for a while... more on that tonight...

Melange is sitting outside ;)
Details. :N_poke:
Erich and I are roommates here in Denver!
 
#718 ·
Alrighty, here goes.

Since moving out to Colorado, Melange has become a weekend warrior, driving from 5,000 feet of elevation to anywhere between 9000-12000 feet every time. Unbeknownst to me, my radiator has been limping on it's last legs for a while with a ton of holes in it, making my engine a ticking time bomb...

Two days ago she finally bit the dust and I was left stranded on my way up Vail Pass heading home. My heads are completely warped and the radiator is toast. Seeing as how my headgaskets were just done 20k ago, I'm a little ticked. But I'm gonna make lemonade.

It's swap time!

The next few months will be spent parts sourcing and prepping for turbo. If you all have any suggestions for cost effective, reliable yet strong builds, please let me know! I have a ton of research to do. I'm hoping to aim for between 250-300 whp and I don't need to drive a freight train.

I'd like this build to feel like a communal effort, so let's get the ball rolling! Wish me luck!
 
#724 ·
I'm starting to pull all my N/A parts off of Melange. Check it out, and buy them from me!

http://www.subaruforester.org/vbull...-sale-she-s-getting-turbo-461313/#post4769649

I found an awesome engine and most of the needed parts for the gal from a local seller that was parting out his car for a screaming deal!

-2004 STI block with '02 WRX 2.0L heads
-Garrett GT28RS dual ball bearing turbo
-'02 WRX ecu and full wiring harness
-Samco ancillary and Mishimoto intercooler hoses
-Grimmspeed manual boost controller
-stainless tapered catless uppipe
-HKS blowoff valve
-3" catless downpipe
-Aluminum radiator

All I need now is to merge the wiring, grab a turbo crossmember, finish the exhaust out, and put a hole in my hood! Brakes are on deck asap as well.
 
#725 · (Edited)
PROGRESS!

After yanking all the N/A parts I won't be needing anymore, I dug into getting the dash harness out. What a pain in the butt! I've got cuts all over my hands and arms, but success! And happy Red Sox opening day yesterday!

Sending the dash harness and the new wiring harness over to iWire to be merged. There's no way I'm doing that myself...

I also nabbed a 3" Bosal catback on the cheap. I just need to pick up my turbo crossmember and front sway bar from a local seller, and I'll be in business!

Check out my for sale page! I'm adding more stuff as it gets yanked!

http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f65/phmancus-n-sfgen-parts-sale-she-s-getting-turbo-461313/







 
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