I knew this list going in, but for $400 for a clean title turbo Subaru that ran and drove that still has catalytic converters, I figured I couldn’t lose!! So I bought it based upon the following pictures. Sight unseen, sent PayPal and scheduled a week later to go get it.
IMG_0266 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
IMG_0267 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
IMG_0341 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
IMG_0810 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
IMG_0813 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
IMG_0812 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
IMG_0814 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrSo, my brother Dallas and I went to pick it up. I planned to drive it home, but he talked me into taking the trailer. I feel kinda like I wussed out, but with sketchy rust reported, he was the voice of reason. Seller was an AWESOME person, and the car was actually way better than advertised. Hope she enjoys her new chapter in life.
20230916_154934 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrWe cleaned it out, and got it up on the lift to see what the rust situation really was. The brake lines make my southern self squeamish, the exhaust can easily be removed via boot, crossmember isn’t all THAT bad (tongue in cheek), everything is hosed in fluids. Trans mount shot, rear seal leaking profusely, valve covers leaking, hoses all need done, rear sway bar bushings shot, its filthy, ac needs charged, seat heaters inoperable, drivers seat only occasionally moves via switch, stereo needs either speakers or head unit, cats are rattling, has hesitation like vacuum leak, it smells pretty bad inside, and its silver. Not a bad list, all things considered!
20230916_181936 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20230916_181940 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20230916_181947 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20230916_182002 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20230916_182050 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20230921_180424 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20230921_180427 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrSo, we have a list, a car, and a toolbox. Now’s probably the time I admit that I’ve only ever owned one other Subaru to speak of, a 2002 legacy 2.5gt wagon when my daughter was in a rear facing car seat (she’s in drivers ed this week) and never anything with forced induction. I was a nitrous junky in high school and college with my 70 duster, but never had anything cramming more air in. I’m generally a domestic guy, generally a v8 rwd guy. No stranger to weird shit though (rotisserie restore an ACR neon? Yup. 3400 v6 swap a Miata? Done it. Winston cup chassis 71 duster? Different build thread, but its coming along) so I figure I can figure this out with some help. I decided that the end goal of this is the GRM challenge in 2025. I’ve done a few challenge cars that have hit top 10, but I’m going caveman this time. back to the roots of the challenge. $2000 all in. no exemptions, recoup, trades, etc. also, it’ll be my daily (I have a company work truck. I generally only do about 100miles a week in my own stuff, so I could pretty much daily anything. And frequently do!)
I have a method I work to: safe. Reliable. Cool. In that order. Dad taught me that at 14, and its served me well since. Sometimes those lines blend these days, as it doesn’t make sense to redo some things later, or buy parts twice, but it’s a general plan to live by.
First order of business was to sell the tonneau for 100 bucks. That made me happy! Then, I put about 500 miles on it before the first real failure. Enough time to get a feel for the car, its needs, my wants, etc. I really, really like it. And you’ve seen the list of needs already if you’re not just looking at my crappy pictures.
The first failure to address was the trans leak and mount that became significant quickly. Right onto the catalytic converter. I had read the FSM section that stated that you have to drop the exhaust, so I first sourced a new exhaust due to the rotten pipe and flanges. In reading around in the internet, it seems that the baja turbo uses the forester XT engine and downpipe, and an oversize bh legacy catback. No stock parts seem to be available anymore for a price im willing to pay. In further reading, it seems that he whole forester xt exhaust can be used with a little work to the hangers, and some possible extension to the midpipe. Soa search of my favorite parts vendors (facebook marketplace, ebay, amazon, craigslist) turned up a 3 inch exhaust, catless downpipe, catless uppipe, and unequal length header for a forester xt in used condition down in Fayetteville. I messaged the seller, and got to talking as all car guys do. In the end, I bought the whole exhaust, a maxflow intercooler, and he threw in a supposed bolt on intake manifold upgrade for $250.
20230924_165600 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
Screenshot_20230924_165853_Messenger by Michael Crawford, on FlickrI haven’t installed any of it yet. I was fortunately able to install the seal and trans mount without dropping the exhaust. This is doubly fortunate, as the rear seal failed entirely at the outskirts of town, and I wound up doing the job entirely on my quickjack. This is actually where I decided that I’m going full caveman on this build. Sheer roots of the GRM challenge. No fancy fab equipment outside a welder and portaband and 4-inch grinder, no real lift, no CNC, etc. I want to show what is actually possible with a strict 2k budget by a redneck in his garage with a rabbit’s foot and no fear of failure. I hope to encourage others to try the challenge as well, as lately I have heard way too much of folks saying that they can’t compete, it’s not real, etc.
Anyway, here’s my caveman shop. On my quickjack. And a picture of the failed trans mount, but no picture of the failed trans seal. Sea was 3.99, 6 quarts of ATF was 38, mount 35.35, filter 5.79
20231005_071316 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20231006_194448 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrCar drives way better now. Seems to be faster, shifts better, no more nasty noises under acceleration, no more billowing clouds of smoke….
While I had it inside, I decided to tackle the stereo issues. I figured first that it was probably the head unit, and since I had one in my stash, id use it. Its an old kenwood hd headunit with Bluetooth that’s been in a few cars. For 25 I scored the silver cubby from an earlier baja, and 9 I got the adapter bracket.
20231004_190142 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20231004_190139 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20231004_191126 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrUnfortunately, I’ve discovered that the front door speakers are also utter crap. I have a few options in my stash, so well see what happens there.
To round out this initial drivel, well talk about the rust situation other than exhaust. The rear crossmember hasn’t failed, nor does it seem to be at imminent risk of doing so. however, its heavily corroded, and definitely thinner in places than it should be. Additionally, all the fasteners are seized due to rust, and the brake lines make me twitchy. Up front, it looks like a southern car that got parked in the grass every day and driven to the beach way too often. Nothing to worry about. In my research, it seems the baja used legacy parts, and outback spacers to lift the chassis some more. Soin theory, I can use a legacy rear crossmember and suspension, pull the spacers, and be in business with rust free parts and an inch lower ride height. The different parts appear to be the hardware, spacers vs washers, steering column and coupler, subframe braces, front control arm bushings, driveshaft spacer, and apparently exhaust hangers. At least from research. So, I went down to the junkyard and go the parts of a legacy L to lower to normal height (no subframe spacers). It will still be higher than the legacy L due to the outback struts and springs however. Again, this is all in theory, so take with a shaker of salt. I also got a b9tribeca 25mm front sway bar and trans tunnel heat shield while there. It wasn’t a fun pair of junkyard runs, but I got it done. I got the bonus of spare rear calipers and rotors, however, and a TON of free hardware, a seat switch, clips, body plugs, etc. all the piddly stuff they didn’t charge for.
20231001_104214 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20231001_104220 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20231007_095013 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20231007_110813 by Michael Crawford, on FlickrSo lets end with a real world challenge budge summary
Car: 400
Trans mount: 35.35
Trans filter: 5.79
Rear trans seal: 3.99
Trans fluid: 38
Exhaust/intercooler/intake: 250
Stereo harness: 6
Storage cubby: 25
Crossmember/suspension/column/grille:234.61
Swaybar/control arm bushings/ heat shield: 55.30
Total: 1053.93 (minus the cores I turned in for swaybar and steering column)
Next up is a huge rock auto order for timing belt, hoses, bushings, etc, lowering, etc.
Please, yall. Impart knowledge and wisdom here. I’m learning these things as I go, and would love to not grenade this thing by being cheap or dumb or ignorant.