New Guy... need some help from the locals
 

Hey guys, My name is Ben... Picked up a 04 JBP WRX in the fall from a wrecking yard and I'm slowly getting it back in to shape. I'm fairly green to the whole Subaru stuff so I'm always scoping out web forums to see whats good to do. A member of NASIOC hit me up and told me I should post up here and talk to you guys since I'm local to Reno.

Whats up with my car is that it was sideswiped on the drivers side so a salvage title was issued due to having damage to the front pillar at the lower hinge on the driver's door. Therefore my main issue is that the new door that's on hangs a little off and the seems dont meet up as they should.

Other than getting some exterior things taken care of I still have some high hopes for this car and I've been searching around for some coil overs along with some STI control arms and other upgrades for the suspension. The motor is bone stock so I wont really get in to that other than exhaust and some minor computer upgrades until I have the body addressed.

Pretty much what I am in need of is a good spot to get mechanical help for these Subaru's for jobs that are beyond my garage's abilities. I am also looking for a good body shop that is reasonable to take out some dents and possibly bring the rear door back to life as it is just scraped.

Any one else that has any good info for me about the Reno Community and whats up in the Subaru scene here would be a great help to me. Any locals that have some goodies sitting around their garage's that they think would be a good asset to my car, please hit me up, I'm all about workin deals. My e-mail is address17@gmail.com It's usually faster to get me there.

I have no idea why someone would lead you here. Post some pictures!

I have a dead hooker in my garage. $50?

JK, welcome to the boards.

Welcome.. Check out this thread. He has some nice Cusco Coilovers for sale locally.

Yeah I saw that and would have jumped on it in a heartbeat but I have an 04 WRX... Boo, need a setup that will support a 5x100 BP.

Didn't he say a lot of the stuff is sold.

He needs to update dat thread!

Oops, 10-4 on the 2004. Yeah phil said a good deal has been sold, but I think there's still quite a bit left.

Yeah, welcome to the boards, good luck on the project!

Since it has a salvage title why not buy a GC and swap everything out of the WRX into the GC? It would be...

1. Faster
B. Cooler
...and you wouldn't have a salvage title!

That's just me though. Good luck with the project and welcome! Not that I'm really around...

...

Swapping into something like a '94 L would be pretty affordable (and smogable), but probably still cost significantly more than repairing the WRX. Plus, there's a much higher chance of ending up with a basketcase car if the swap ended up with gremlins.

But you would end up with a faster car, that's cheaper to insure. Plus the cool factor of a pre-bugeye turbo Impreza.

It would cost more, but not much. Really, the only thing you would need to pay for, assuming you don't have the skills or stomach to do it, is the wiring; which is about $1K. That's assuming everything on the WRX is mechanically sound and you have the time, space, and mechanical inclination to do the swap.

Oh yeah, and the cost of the swapee.

Putting everything into a 4 door Impreza would be a cinch. You don't even have to modify the WRX wiring harness, except maybe for the door cords and some miscellaneous things like lights. But the complicated stuff- engine, ECU, all the underdash stuff- can just transfer straight over. Heck, even in a coupe you still wouldn't need to do much, because you would just leave off the rear door cords but fronts should work as intended. At most you'd have to do some jumpers on the rear doors where they plug into the main harness. You have to do some minor trimming of the firewall to make the WRX heater/AC cores come through, but it's not major. One can look at my wagon to see exactly how much.

It would definitely be cheaper to buy a high mileage, mediocre condition GC and swap it over than to do major body work on the newer car, but maybe not by a long shot. You'd also have a significantly faster car at the cost of a weekend or three worth of labor and a few trips to the hardware store.

would this be good to tear into?

http://reno.craigslist.org/cto/1062727922.html

Waste of an excellent daily driver, but yeah, it would work.

Don't bother with a swap. IMO just fix what you have.

Bah, don't take advice from anyone who doesn't have a first gear
Swap it into a gc body impreza

I totally agree.:P

Let's put it this way - if I had a complete WRX at my disposal, I would swap everything, dash and all, into a GC. The wiring would remain unmolested, unless for plug swaps at the doors or lights. The only way that any gremlins would appear would be if the mechanic involved did not stow and secure the wiring properly.

I really don't know if that term applies here since he just bought the car. It's not like its been siting around his house and its not like he has the other car sitting around either. He would have to buy a whole other car to do what your suggesting. Don't get me wrong, I agree it would be badass. I just don't think its the best option in this situation.

A GC shell,my93 or so could cost at most $600, and weigh 25xx lbs. I think it's a much better option than trying to repair a car with frame damage

The funny thing is, my boss just gave away a 97 or so Outback wagon that had a fried trans that would have been a perfect donor.

I am fairly content with what I have though, I like the 04/05 front end and this car runs and drives great, I just need some cosmetic stuff done. I am at the 100,000mi mark though so I'm thinking if it already hasn't been done, replacing the timing belt and water pump. I'm unsure because all the belts in the engine compartment are new.

Anyway I like this car and I'm hoping I wont be too deep into it after I find a reasonable body guy... Having the salvage title dosent bother me because I'm probably going to drive this car in to the ground.

It was nice out yesterday so I got some shots of her all cleaned up for you guys.

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...attEric031.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...attEric032.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...attEric001.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...attEric006.jpg
This is where I started...
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...cturess014.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...cturess013.jpg

Yeah, that's not really all that bad. If you really like the look of the car you have, you should go ahead and fix it.

That car needs some love. Check the "Complete Part-out" section of NASIOC. There are usually a bunch of body parts for sale and I think there is always something in CA so you would not have to drive far to get it.

I spend day and night on there.... Trying to find a JBP front bumper is a bitch. I almost had one last week from some WRX guy in TX but he snaked me and sold it to someone else.

I know the feeling. I lurk that section always looking for random parts for my car. It can be difficult trying to find the body part of the same color. As far as a bumper goes, I would look for something close that can be picked up and maybe just paint it.

Depending on the frame damage, it may or may not be the best option. Other than that I do not comprehend what you were trying to say.

That looks like something a good body shop could straighten out on a frame jig and then reinforce.

I know Concours has that kind of stuff and sure others do as well.

Is there any damage down in the skirt area?

Minor dents and scrapes but it is not bent. The only spot that is tweaked at all is the lower mount for the door. You can see in the pic that it is bulged out and the door hangs a little lower and closer to the car.(best I can explain) I'm assuming that someone who knows their shit can heat up the location and knock it back stright from the inside with a sort of air chisel or something. I dont have acess to frame strtighteners but im sure bolting up an old hinge and just pulling it back in to place will do the trick too.

* Upadate *
Got the STI control arms on and am waiting for my bumper from WRX-TX. I also was able to get a port-a-power from harbor freight and pop my door back in to place for 80 bucks(way easier than I thought).
Need to dial in my alignment still... I've had alignments done at Welge and a spot around the corner from Rock and Glenndale (yellow building, forgot the name) but they both seemed sub-par as far as being curteous and really caring about my vehicles. So I am in need of sugestions from you guys.

I'm still in need of a set of coilovers and a set of summer wheels/tires too if anything has come up?

I wouldnt mind comming to one of the meets some time soon so you guys can make fun of my current heap... whats the scene like, never hung out with a "tuner crowd"... im a redneck 4x4'er by heart.:D

Have Rusty at C&C do your alignment. It's like $100 but he will stand behind his work and do any specs you ask for that are possible.

What's a port-a-power. Sounds awesome. I want one. :lol:

Edit: You should totally come to a meet. We're all a bit older than the typical tuner crowd. I'm sure you'd fit right in. :)

I have them on my car right now, but I'd still sell my 6 rims and tires. If you want wider, Mattr has a set for sale in the classifieds too.

:lol: You'd be surprised how many of us have a 4X4 background or drive 4X4 daily... I don't know that I'd lump our group of regulars into the "tuner crowd" . You should come out.

Hi! Welcome to the forums, fellow n00b

And which wheels may I ask cody were you going to let me "borrow" Brat. I still gotta find that stupid grommet for the hood prop. And fix the bumper clips. Zip ties sounds good I'm sure I will probably crash that shit too.oh and crap I need an alignement too.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44899

Pretty much just a hydraulic ram with different strightening attachments... Should have just talk to my pops in the first place:rolleyes:
They're onsale for 79.99 right now... took me a couple hours adjusting the pressure points. I used a 2x4 on the tranny hump and a plate adaper that comes with it and just pushed from the inside out, adjusting pressure every 15 mins or so. The pillar popped right back in to place, seams line up and no gap in my window yay!

I'll have to check C&C out my thing right now is im not sure if my knuckes are bent... I have new ones but I dont want to put them on if I dont have to. Does this guy know whats up or is he going to charge me for 2 alignments if I find out that they really are bent when hes finnished with the alighment?

Try to find some hood struts. They're way cooler than the stock stick thing. I offered to let you borrow my gunmetalic Rota Torques in 17X7.5. When are you going to autox though? You work weekends!

Give him a call. I can tell you he's definitely given me free re-alignments, but obviously that's something you should talk to him about. (Beer isn't considered payment when we all drink it right?) :P His skills, customer service, and machine are top notch.

That's killer that you're having such good luck restoring the car. :)

LOL I know.. Very sad. Maybe I can find a regular job that makes the BANK that I make. Don't worry, we can wait FOREVER lol. I could have taken this sat off but I chose to take the next one because my best friend I haven't seen in a year is more important. Only this time tho. Next time I'll be taking saturdays off for track. But I wanted my debut to be good. Guess I'll be shredding up random parking lots in second gear trying to figure out how to make my car go vroom. I have some some pretty badass off pavement trails lurking around tho. YumO