I picked these seats up for $400 from a want ad I posted on craigslist. Less than 5k miles on them and they're perfect, not to mention uber comfortable given that I commute 2+ hours a day 5 days a week in her. Only had them in for 2 days and my back is already starting to feel better.
Blue Suede Outback
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Submissions are now being taken for MAY OUTBACK OF THE MONTH
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Finished repairing the upper edge of the door panels and repainted the hood. I know the color of the hood looks goofy with the black but I wanted to see what it would be like with the rally blue/yellow on an Outback. As you can see the hood was very sun faded, had millions of cracks and several dings down to the bare metal. At the least I needed to reseal the hood and 10$ of rattle cans goes a long ways.
Damage to the top edge:
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Using a razor I cut a clean line back far enough to remove the damaged vinyl:
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Using a razor, scotch pads and alcohol I removed the remainder of the foam padding and any residual oil/dirt as well as removed the window seal strip (~8 tabs to bend and one rivet pulls out with pliers). Surface prep is everything!
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Foam padding acquired from Jo'Annes. I was told the material is typically used for padding inside quilts and can be "ironed on" to other materials. I forget what the material is called but it is very closely the same thickness as the vinyl. 1/2 yard was about $6. Trimmed to size and bonded with 3M Super 77 spray adhesive.
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Suede with a red stitching hem line (my first time sewing with a sewing machine). Again, bonded with 3M 77. The wrinkles at the forward edge will be covered by the tweeter speaker triangle cover.
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Night came before I could get finished shots in daylight, which I'll post tomorrow.
Damage to the top edge:
Using a razor I cut a clean line back far enough to remove the damaged vinyl:
Using a razor, scotch pads and alcohol I removed the remainder of the foam padding and any residual oil/dirt as well as removed the window seal strip (~8 tabs to bend and one rivet pulls out with pliers). Surface prep is everything!
Foam padding acquired from Jo'Annes. I was told the material is typically used for padding inside quilts and can be "ironed on" to other materials. I forget what the material is called but it is very closely the same thickness as the vinyl. 1/2 yard was about $6. Trimmed to size and bonded with 3M Super 77 spray adhesive.
Suede with a red stitching hem line (my first time sewing with a sewing machine). Again, bonded with 3M 77. The wrinkles at the forward edge will be covered by the tweeter speaker triangle cover.
Night came before I could get finished shots in daylight, which I'll post tomorrow.
The hood you can see before, wip, and after shots here. Wet sanded with 220 grit, Primed 2 coats, 4 coats blue/yellow, single clear coat, wet sanded with 1000 grit, 2 clear coats. As I said before, this is experimental, not the finished product, but you can't go wrong with gaining the experience, I'm happy with the results for rattlecans:
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Every outback is black, I want something different.
Looks good with the yellow accents. The scoop makes the bill and draws your attention to the remainder of the yellow. Whole car in blue with yellow pinstriping???The hood you can see before, wip, and after shots here. Wet sanded with 220 grit, Primed 2 coats, 4 coats blue/yellow, single clear coat, wet sanded with 1000 grit, 2 clear coats. As I said before, this is experimental, not the finished product, but you can't go wrong with gaining the experience, I'm happy with the results for rattlecans:
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What color are you going to do the grill in?
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I can't tell from the pictures, did you allow for an exit for the passenger air bag?Quick update. Seats acquired. Dashboard installed.
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The grill I will leave mostly stock but I will put yellow pinstriping trim tape inside the openings, similar to what you see with newer modded imprezas. The whole car will be a darker blue than the hood is at present, the Rally Blue (Mica Blue) seen on the WRC cars with yellow trim/decals.
The airbag opens from scoring lines on the other side of the vinyl. The flocking doesn't wrap a new material over the vinyl, think of it more as repainting the dashboard. The airbag should have no problems deploying if necessary.
This is nothing short of badass! I wonder if it will be much quieter when you're done?
20ish years ago I worked nights as the oil-change guy in a chain garage to put myself through school. I got to drive a lot of different cars in that job. I remember one car interior standing out from all the others as I drove it into the bay to put it on the lift. It had this beige nu-buck soft textured dashboard and door panel finish.
It was a Subaru SVX.
20ish years ago I worked nights as the oil-change guy in a chain garage to put myself through school. I got to drive a lot of different cars in that job. I remember one car interior standing out from all the others as I drove it into the bay to put it on the lift. It had this beige nu-buck soft textured dashboard and door panel finish.
It was a Subaru SVX.
I promised to share final shots of the repaired door panel, also some general pictures of the overall interior.
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Small progress update. She's driving great, about to hit 220,000 miles. I love the blue hood, but she's due for a wash. I recently installed LED interior dome lights from www.v-leds.com and they work GREAT. For only 18$ for all 3 overhead lights this may be the best bang for buck I've spent so far on this project. Some small things to be installed over the next few days:
It's hard to see but there are Rally Armor yellow decals to add and the classic RA keychain. The next big piece fell into my lap a little earlier than I was expecting. As I plan to do a EJ257 swap and repaint the whole car professionally I will need an in-between daily driver while she is in pieces. So I picked this up for $500 last week. 97 Impreza 2.2 that drives great. More pictures of the newest member to our family soon.
I also need some feedback on the design concept I'm working towards. I'm planning on 1 or 2 light bars as rally/fog lights, one on roof rack and one on front bumper (http://www.v-leds.com/Universal-LED/Work-Lights-LED/240W-80-LED-LIGHT-BAR-p9782501-3-1.html). Along with 4x area lights for the perimeter (http://www.v-leds.com/Universal-LED/Work-Lights-LED/36W-36-LED-SPOT-AUX-WORK-p9776647-3-1.html). You can see a concept of the lighting and a custom hood I intend to build down the road (functional, not just show):
Trying to decide which way to go with her so I need a little feedback. Soon she will be torn down to nothing for a complete repainting/restoration and during this process I would like to swap in a new powerplant. She's going to be heavier and I don't believe the ej25, with 230k miles, is up to the task. Problem is I love NA. I have an 04 WRX and don't get me wrong I love the power, but I hate the lag. All in I would appreciate what the expected cost and practicality of a few different ideas is:
Rebuild the ej25 with higher compression heads, racing flywheel/crank/pistons/connecting rods/cam and get the most out of the 2.5 while keeping her NA.
OR
Find a totaled STI and swap in the powerplant/wiring harness/drivetrain/transmission/suspension
OR
EZ30/EZ36/EG33 swap.
The last option is likely the most labor intensive, which I don't mind, so long as it's doable. I've read around and found some have the EG33 swap completed with great results but it is heavier and more difficult to fit into the engine bay. The EZ36 would be a dream swap for me. Power, torque, NA. I have read that some have attempted this swap and have had issues working around the immobilizer and limp home functions as well as no ecu capable of running the AVCS. Have any aftermarket ECUs finally been able to capture this function? Would swapping in the harness from a 3.6r outback be possible to retain the AVCS? I also don't know how I feel about drive by wire throttle as I prefer the direct response and control of a cable. I would love to build a chopped down and simplified EZ36 that retains the AVCS, perhaps with a manual control of its cam position.
Ideas?
Rebuild the ej25 with higher compression heads, racing flywheel/crank/pistons/connecting rods/cam and get the most out of the 2.5 while keeping her NA.
OR
Find a totaled STI and swap in the powerplant/wiring harness/drivetrain/transmission/suspension
OR
EZ30/EZ36/EG33 swap.
The last option is likely the most labor intensive, which I don't mind, so long as it's doable. I've read around and found some have the EG33 swap completed with great results but it is heavier and more difficult to fit into the engine bay. The EZ36 would be a dream swap for me. Power, torque, NA. I have read that some have attempted this swap and have had issues working around the immobilizer and limp home functions as well as no ecu capable of running the AVCS. Have any aftermarket ECUs finally been able to capture this function? Would swapping in the harness from a 3.6r outback be possible to retain the AVCS? I also don't know how I feel about drive by wire throttle as I prefer the direct response and control of a cable. I would love to build a chopped down and simplified EZ36 that retains the AVCS, perhaps with a manual control of its cam position.
Ideas?
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