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The BattleWagon -- Mud's Outback

154483 Views 761 Replies 62 Participants Last post by  abacall
12
On the road again... lifted, loud, and angrier than ever.

Car: MY'00 Outback (Base) 4EAT w/premium sound + Rear limited-slip differential (oddball option on the car)
Purchase Date: 8/14/2000
Purchase Location: Bremerton, WA
Mileage: 176,000, and counting (updated 1/5/12)

Mods: Updated 1/5/12

**Engine and Trans**
-Full 3" intake setup w/torque box mod, snorkel coming soon
-Borla replica UEL header, ported/polished
-Gutted stock catpipe
-Custom stainless 2.25" catback tucked into trans tunnel, glasspack muffler
-Painted stock intake mani wrinkle black
-Valve covers and injector guards shot in gloss black
-Ported/Gasket matched intake manifold
-Gasket matched and shaved heads (higher C/R)
-Gates Racing Timing Belt
-FelPro PermaTorque MLS head gaskets
-NGK Iridium Plugs
-Injectors cleaned, tested to new condition
-STI GroupN engine mounts
-Fully rebuilt 4EAT w/mods
-Centre diff lock switch
-Radiator fan shutoff switch (coming w/snorkel)
-Prosport Oil Pressure Gauge
-Prosport Oil Temperature Gauge
-Prosport Water Temperature Gauge
-Scangauge II displaying TPS, Water Temp, IAT, and Bat. Voltage
-Air conditioning delete (including condenser, etc)
-Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 engine oil
-Wix 51365 Oil Filter
-Subaru ATF-HP auto trans fluid
-Subaru OEM 4EAT filter

**Suspension and Rolling Stock**
-KYB GR-2 Struts
-Subaru OEM Subaru Baja front springs and Subtle Solutions spacers (+2" lift)
-RalliTEK Heavy Duty Rear Springs (+2" lift)
-Custom Alignment
-Axxis Ultimate Ceramic brake pads
-225-60-16 General Alitmax HP's on stock 10-spoke alloys
-Full size spare, roof mounted

**Interior/Exterior and lighting**
-MY'04 FXT 4EAT leather shift knob
-Pioneer DEH-P6000UB Head Unit
-Custom single DIN toggle switch panel
-RoadBlockR sound deadening in the hatch
-All weather front floor mats
-Subaru A/W rear floor mats
-Custom aluminum front skid plate
-Thule crossbars
-cheap Swagman bike rack
-DRL delete + GE Tungsram Selective Yellow H1 lowbeams
-Trailer hitch + various balls/hooks for towing/offroading
-Front tow hook cover removed, hook painted red


TABLE OF CONTENTS:


-The story, and the first detail job (You are HERE *big red dot*)

-Hawkeye WRX rim's (just a photoshop...)

-'04 FXT 4EAT Leather Shift Knob

-Comparison with '09 Outback, and Foglight rockguards removed

-Mystery box arrives, and what's inside

-HomeDepot hybrid CAI (for MAP Subbies)

-First pic with the new suspension setup, I say good-bye to the car for a few months

-Adding some more parts to the MOD box!

-I'm not a parts-whore... I swear...

-It's BACK!

-Permatex Headlight Restoration

-Custom Lightbar installed

-'07 FSXT 6CD Changer

-Borla Replica header installed

-Link to my Hella wiring mess, and Bbottomley's helpful expertise

-Just some more pics!

-Magnaflow muffler painted, ready for catback install!

-Soundclip of new stainless catback

-Got some SNOW!

-RoadBlockR Sound Deadening

- Protection for the dangly bits...

-Bad news :(

-Axxis Ultimate Ceramic brake pads

-eBay Swagman Bike Rack installed

-Trip to Paris Landing State Park, BattleWagon turns 150k miles young

-Spring Cleaning, and undercoating! :smile:

-Finished up the Pioneer install, painted my shifter surround

-Got tint!

-Subtle Solutions front lift installed

-Couple pics from the alignment shop

-Ordered the new engine

-Scangauge II installed

-Starting the engine replacement!

-Finished pics!

-Murphy's law... I get torque bind and a failed transmission clutch pack, as well as a new throttle position sensor.

-The TuRD... my transportation while the Scooby is in the shop!

-All fixed up, showing off the new shoes!

-A loose wire leads to another trip to a different dealer, and a tow truck along the way.

-GE Tungsram Gold (Selective-Yellow) Low Beam Bulbs

- DIY Intake V2... 3 inch, modded airbox!

- Painted my 'new' spare set of wheels.








[story snipped to save space... shoot me PM for details... lol)



First mod... resonator deletes! Eventually I will get a different tube to replace the piece between the scoop and the airbox, but for now, it adds a little more growl. I neatly sealed off the holes with electrical tape. Ghetto-tastic.

Before:



After:




Next, I removed the silly piece of plastic that Subaru put in front of the intake scoop to deflect air away from it.





Now, for my first appearance mod. This may not seem like a mod, but it certainly made a difference in the way the car looks. The paint's clearcoat was contaminated with all sorts of stuff, from old wax buildup to waterspots to ground in road grime, you name it. It gave the car an odd grey-ish tint. :huh:

Today I was determined to remove the aforementioned 'tint', and make her shine again.

First step was removing the bug deflector, and doing a two-bucket wash. Here's what it looked like after that:


Then, I claybarred the entire car. The clay took out most of the surface stuff that was left behind, but the paint still felt rough to the touch. So I broke out the Griot's/Porter Cable buffer and Meguiar's Swirl X for a test spot. Here's a pic of the spot:


After verifying that the method worked, I started working my way across the hood. Here you can see that the right edge of the hood is whiter than the rest. :icon_razz: I love seeing progress being made.


After that, I added a coat of Meguiars Gold Class wax for protection. I'll follow up with another coat of NXT 2.0 Tech Wax once I get some at the store later. Then I moved on to the interior... sorry, no before pics, just an after:


I <3 big gauges...


After pics of the exterior (total time invested: 12 hours):










More to come, I have some fun stuff in mind. :biggrin:
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Dude, your OB gets newer as time goes instead of older. What's up with that? :biggrin:
Looks great tho
^^ Thanks! It works pretty well for me! Easy to install or remove when I need to. :smile: The white has grown on me a lot since I first got it. It's hard to take pictures of sometimes though, since it tends to wash out in direct sunlight. Overcast days are my friend when it comes to taking pictures.
Yeah. My OBW is white on white, but I prefer to shoot on overcast days anyways since I am no fan of HDR.

Wished the Forester we found was white too instead of Green... but oh well.

Might be headed to Home Depot tomorrow to make the light bars and your skid plate for both cars. :woohoo:

This thread might have just saved me a few hundred bucks! Thanks.
Bobby, where'd your post go? I smelled one around here somewhere.

No supercharger this year... maybe next summer. :biggrin: This summer I'm just focused on getting the rebuilt short block in.

Dude, your OB gets newer as time goes instead of older. What's up with that? :biggrin:
Looks great tho
:lol: Thanks Elmy!

Yeah. My OBW is white on white, but I prefer to shoot on overcast days anyways since I am no fan of HDR.

Wished the Forester we found was white too instead of Green... but oh well.

Might be headed to Home Depot tomorrow to make the light bars and your skid plate for both cars. :woohoo:

This thread might have just saved me a few hundred bucks! Thanks.
Awesome! I loved the white BP generation Outbacks. Really nice looking cars... especially in the snow.

Hope your DIY mods go well! It's 95% trial and error, but once you get done, the end result is incredibly satisfying!
Bobby, where'd your post go? I smelled one around here somewhere.
Do you mean this one? I saw you'd posted a reply to another post with "^^", so I didn't want to mess up the continuity of your thread by posting in between, so I deleted it. I was going to repost it later on, but got side tracked. :huh:

Are we talking the Supercharger MOD? :wink::wink:

Bobby...

My MODding Journal
No supercharger this year... maybe next summer. :biggrin: This summer I'm just focused on getting the rebuilt short block in.
I was just kidding... :wink:

Bobby...

My MODding Journal
Yep, that was the one! :wink:

There is one little project on its way though. Not sure when I'll get it done, but I've got the stuff coming..............


...
...
...

*suspense*

:lol:
^^ That's one way to up the "view count"! :wink:

I'm sure with the engine overhaul, you'll gain some ponies! :cool:

Bobby...

My MODding Journal
7
Yesterday I did my annual spring cleaning (basically, putting the car up on jackstands, powerwashing the undercarriage, and re-undercoating whatever needs it).

Snapped some pics... They in the order: Before, Clean, Undercoated.













Also... a hint to that mysterious project? :lol:

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That hint is not so... Subtle... AHAHAHA..

Ok.. pardon the previous statement.

Looks good though =)

I take it you have your own washer?
^ Enjoyed the irony. :wink:

Yeah, we have a crummy old 2000 PSI gas pressure washer. I think it probably only makes 1000psi now... little Tecumseh engine has about had it. It does okay though!
I tried to make a hovercraft... it never got off the stands! :confused:

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Saggy butt fix?? :D
Looking clean, undercoated & ready for the butt lift! :cool:

Curious... is that tiny wire in the back your rear sway bar? :confused:

Bobby...

'07 FSXT MODding Journal
'03 X MODding Journal
I tried to make a hovercraft... it never got off the stands! :confused:

If you want to leave it like this your gonna need that flux capacitor I have been hearing so much about.
^^ I wonder if Jackie @ Annapolis Subie can hook me up.... hrmmm... :biggrin:

Saggy butt fix?? :D
Saggy nose fix. :wink:

Curious... is that tiny wire in the back your rear sway bar? :confused:

Bobby...
You would be correct, sadly. Believe it or not, this bar is actually BIGGER than the ones they put on the standard Legacy wagons. I do think a RalliTEK rear sway is in my future, even though I do offroad some. Most of it is light, and not really articulation oriented anyway. It's quite interesting how different the rear suspension setup is from our Forester. I think the new Foresters and Imprezas have this setup now too. Has to ride smoother, I know my car, even with the super stiff overload springs in the back, rides smoother than our stock '05 SG.
^^ I didn't think your OB was saggy on the front? :confused:

As to the sway bar. I forgot you're into off roading. The stock sway bars would give the articulation you'd need for muddding! :wink:

Bobby...

'07 FSXT MODding Journal
'03 X MODding Journal
^^ I didn't think your OB was saggy on the front? :confused:

As to the sway bar. I forgot you're into off roading. The stock sway bars would give the articulation you'd need for muddding! :wink:

Bobby...

'07 FSXT MODding Journal
'03 X MODding Journal
It's not saggy, per say, but it's not level with the back. The H6 front springs just didn't lift it enough. So there's about an inch difference. Some pics show it more than others.

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x159/737LUVR/BattleWagon/Subbie4.jpg
I kinda like the "raked" look... I thought it was what you wanted. :cool:

Bobby...

'07 FSXT MODding Journal
'03 X MODding Journal
I kinda like the "raked" look... I thought it was what you wanted. :cool:

Bobby...

'07 FSXT MODding Journal
'03 X MODding Journal
I'd like it if it were more subtle. It just looks way off sometimes. Plus, the front lift will give me more room for my meatier rubber.... :biggrin:
Subtle is good. :wink: Does that spacer require longer strut tower bolts? Will it balance you out, will it still have a forward rake? :confused:

Bobby...

'07 FSXT MODding Journal
'03 X MODding Journal
Subtle is good. :wink: Does that spacer require longer strut tower bolts? Will it balance you out, will it still have a forward rake? :confused:

Bobby...
It should be fully balanced... it's almost exactly an inch different. I could add some washers to space the back up some and make it slightly raked if I wanted, but we'll see. :smile: The leveling should also improve my approach angles a bit, since right now the long OB nose sticks down. Wish I could find a deal on a used Mudrat OBW bumper. That would be just evil, painted like my lightbar, and with the openings welded shut (think SubaExtreme style?). :evilatyou: Just an idea I thought of a long time ago. You can put this idea after the S/C one in the file cabinet of 'Zach's really odd things to do with an Outback'.

http://www.oregonoffroadsubaruclub.org/images/Bumperpics/Outback_Baja_Together7.jpeg

I've been watching how the rear springs react to different loads, and really they don't compress much until you get 300lbs or so into the trunk. The most I've carried is about 700lbs, and it was enough to almost make the car ride level, but not quite (as for the rear swaybar with that load... I thought it disappeared). I think the springs were rated for 1200lbs.
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