87Creep's 90s projects: AE101, SW20, GF8 WRX

[87creepin]

So I've got the speakers wired to the amp now, sound is much more neutral than being so bass-heavy. I haven't played with gain on the sub and can't be bothered. Installed clips etc because no one likes rattly interior trim pieces, and also in a barry moment I re-installed a guard liner to 'tidy up' area where I did a rust repair. Car is all good to go for its WOF. I'm going to rotate front-rear tyres later, just to even out the wear. My Chinese tyres suck, they sure do wear fast despite having 400~ treadwear ratings.

Next up is the SW, this thing will keep me busy for sure. 

I'll use my new vacuum bleeder on the brakes, as they were a bit spongy when I drove it to storage, and maybe check out the suspension to find out what's causing it to knock/creak. It could be that some things are touching cos it's been lowered, or it could be that the bushings need replacing... 

[87creepin]

My AE101 has been using a bit of oil. I pulled the spark plugs to see if there was any oil on them, nope. Might be from the PCV valve, but that rattles fine..

Looks like when it was running lean they did get burnt. Oh well, runs ok now, will leave them in. And yes, one plug is a -11. After checking through the big NGK book the only difference between the two plugs was that one had an 11mm gap, the other three had 09. Gapped all to 9mm. 

I then jacked the car up, checked right rear brake because last WOF inspection the mechanic complained that it was noisy. Found that wheel nuts weren't ugga dugga'd up enough (torque wrench was in storage that night) and probable cause. Also found the shim(?) which fits into the inner bit of the drum was a bit ruff and bent in, so straightened that up a little. 

Rotated tyres, torqued wheel nuts. 

Amayama order came in for the Subaru

Good thing theres a lot of listings per part for this car. And also good that Subarus are lego. Cos I ordered two wrong parts. I could've checked the part no on the rubber boot. But good thing the hose I needed most was the right one.

This rubber boot connects the air intake to the turbo inlet. Its common for these to go bad on Subaru's, they just aren't built to last.

here's a pic of a bolt I found in the hole below it. It's unfortunately pretty chooched, so cant be reused. Also to the right of said bolt is the cunty hose. It was hard to remove; I first removed the throttle body, and moved the hard shitty PCV gear out of the way. Alot of penetrant was used and I found leveraging a big flathead to be the best strategy, as the only other option is removing the intake manifold and everything above the coolant tree that the hose is connected to.

there's the fitting where the hose goes to. It looks pretty rusty, good thing I've got a mint-ish spare from a ej25 outback that had a blown headgasket. It'll go on later. Also mind the jb weld crap, I've owned this car since when I was veery new to cars. I'm sorry. 

old vs new

Chucked in some coolant, and pressure tested it. Managed to hold the specified 13psi/0.9bar, so we're good. Will bleed later.

Got some 2" hoses/clamps/steel piping from redline performance to make up a new intercooler pipe. The original is no longer available brand new (or like $300 i can't remember) and is made of plastic and the flexi bit in the middle is a common failure point. Back in the day I had struggled on the motorway and was limited to about 60km/h and in limp mode, had to do a quick fix so macgyvered together a pipe made from jb weld, rad hose and whatever else. The temporary fix is finally being replaced.

And it's also too short, and the intercooler doesn't fit because it fouls the engine mount. I'll cut the steel pipe a bit shorter, get a straight hose, it should squeeze down enough, and should be good. 

I really need to source a factory turbo heatshield. A previous owner removed it, and as a result I suspect heat has accelerated the deterioration of a lot of rubber things near the turbo. 

 

 

 

[87creepin]

Picless update!

WRX - drives really nicely. Planned on getting a short video with the gopro, but hit a roadblock - coolant started steaming out of the ac vents, which suggests issue with the heater core.. I'll look at bypassing it, one day I'll replace the heater core.

Also reason for no pic is intercooler pipe looks a bit AIDS being blue, next to a yellow intake manifold, in a red engine bay. 

Corolla - have a brand new engine mount and bushings for front lower control arm and rear trailing arm. It'll be a fun job I'm sure. 

Also need to get a (preferably mechless) new headunit as the one in the car is just cunty with an aux cord, it's a bit loose, and I need 4x rca's not 2x, plus need to raise the amp a good 15-20mm on the rack as the current position just placed too much strain on the rca connectors. 

Being cheap bit me in the bum again. 

 

Progress in this thread will be a bit dull/punishing for the next few months as I knuckle down saving for a house deposit. 

[87creepin]

Bypassed my heater core with a 5/8 or 16mm 180deg hose from gates 

Part number 18777. Supplied from rockauto for $6, repco or sca may have it too. 

Also replaced this "boot", it connects the air intake to the turbo inlet 

Intercooler and strut tower brace went back on, and I proceeded to bleed the coolant. 

I follow (loosely) a bleeding procedure I found on the local Subaru forums: Air con set to heat and max, tip coolant in upper radiator hose first then top up reservoir, and occasionally rev/hold the revs at 3000rpm. Wait for about 2 cycles of the rad fans and keep it topped up. 2 should be enough and then there should be no more air bubbles in the coolant. 

It now drives well, just need to get a puncture fixed. 

Though other issues such as:

Fugly exterior trim needs a repaint 

Rust coming through under quarter glass

Sneaky concealment of windscreen crack

Shifter bushes worn out bad 

Wheels need a repaint 

Loose zorst heat shield rattling 

I need to do a tk test due to the Overheating 

Can all wait til after I've done the water pump+timing belt (due in approx 2,000km).

~

As for the Corolla, I've given it a look over as it's due for a wof and sanded/painted lower rad support rust spots that I missed before. I tried to replace a lower engine mount but with the steering rack in the way I decided it was too much to do on the driveway at night so will leave it. Do it when engine is out, lol. 

 

 

[87creepin]

Corolla clean sheeted wof, wat! 

Xmas rolled round, Mrs asked me what I wanted within our modest budgets.. I decided now was the time to paint my prelude wheels that are fitted to the Corolla

Put the wof reg daily on stands, put some gas in the 'project' and got the tyres removed by a local tyre shop in exchange for a box of beer. 

I had got Dupli-Color alpine white, and Lyndar 2k clear and primer. Only SCA didn't have/want to supply said white, so I ended up having to get it made up. I took a gamble on Honda NH-512, polar white, which I think worked. 

I decided that removing the tyres was the way to go as these wheels had a lot of curb damage. 

First I gave them a good clean with soapy water and a coarse scotch pad, followed with some thinners and a rag. 

I don't have a DA sander, so I used a block and 80 grit to first smooth out the damage, followed by 150, then apply body filler and then sand that with 240. Finally the wheels were lightly sanded with a 400g pad and then cleaned off with prepsol. It is important to note that I only used the rougher grades only on the damage, as these wheel faces are textured from casting/forging or whatever and I didn't want to take too much of that OEM texture off it, and end up with a silly mirror like finish

Before and after:

Finished product:

I'll probably keep them super clean for a few weeks after being fitted then wax/ceramic coat just to stop that fugly brake dust/grime settling in. 

[87creepin]

Also driving round Subaru obnoxiousness brings out the obnoxiousness in others

I've had a Falcon G6E turbo thing nang away from me at an intersection, and been revved at by local representatives of Altezza nation. 

[87creepin]

"oh they're scratched as bro! My bad" the tyre guys joked

At this point it seemed I lost a small weight on the driveway. I will just leave it for now, cbf levels are high. 

Managed to take a decent pic after an annual wash + hand applied wax + ridiculous amount of tyre shine (would've looked shitty to have clean wheels but disgusting car) 

Honduhh, 1987 spec. 

[oldtimer]

Nice projects and progress.

To avoid ordering wrong parts you can put vin number into Partsourq and use numbers obtained to order parts from Amayama,

 

[kws]

32 minutes ago, oldtimer said:

Nice projects and progress.

To avoid ordering wrong parts you can put vin number into Partsourq and use numbers obtained to order parts from Amayama,

 

Or just order parts direct from Partsouq too.

[87creepin]

5 hours ago, oldtimer said:

Nice projects and progress.

To avoid ordering wrong parts you can put vin number into Partsourq and use numbers obtained to order parts from Amayama,

 

Cheers, you're right, just absolute laziness on my part not to double check. 

[87creepin]

Last 3 months I haven't really done much on cars, other priorities etc

Landlord wanted to sell the house, I spent more time setting up tools/shed than doing anything, so we moved out. 

I'll now be working out of a storage unit later this month, til then I have a tiny space in my current unit to do some small jobs.

The week before we got notice from the landlord I had started work on the Subaru. I want to make it mint. The plan is to do bodywork and respray before it gets too cold, and do mechanical work in the winter. 

I started with the bumpers. Stripped, super easy cos a lot of fasteners had rusted/replaced by cable ties.

When I had initially resprayed them in 2019, I was a student in a poorly funded collision repair course with limited money and told 1 hr sanding per bumper then put in booth without priming. (and that's with sanding discs that had been thrashed) 

Which of course is a bad idea given they were pretty bad before I got them then made worse with me hooning this thing most weekends. 

 

The front is worse than the rear which is usually how it goes. 

I spent a lot of time with body filler, filling deeper scratches and making things a bit nicer. Usually with plastics you can get a way with a bit more than steel panels but I'd rather make it nice. 

The repairs got blocked with 240g, and the rest got sanded with 80g (in the shittiest parts) , 120g, then 240g. 

I've used soft edge masking round the edges - this is so when you prime you don't have a hard line to sand out/risk showing through when you paint. I wanted to get some primer on those horizontal 'stripe' sections as they were pretty rough. 

Fold half over with right hand if you're a lefty like me, and pull. Should come out like this

Then put a few coats of primer on it, I used a cheap hvlp gun from supercheap, it's a bit rough, as I'm still getting used to getting the gun set up right and need more practice, but it'll do. 

I also planned to remove my tyres and repaint the wheels which had yellowed due to using the shittest paint 

Also I need to replace my rad support panel, it's a bit bent in some places from old accident damage before I got the car. 

[87creepin]

I'm still waiting to move into my new space (can I call it a "shop"? Lol) which happens on Easter Monday. 

So while I wait, I thought I'd do what I can til then. Cue trip to Zebras (and Auckland). 

I managed to pick up this guard 

Pretty much dent free! The one it will replace is full of bog and a big crappy repair. I wanted to replace the other one too, but of all GC/GF imprezas at Zebra (about 8 in total) theirs were too crappy for me to spend $50 on. 

Not a bad problem to have, being able to be picky with so many parts available. Fortunately upon getting home and checking over the one I have it isn't that bad. 

The next day the guard was repaired, only 4 small dents, and I covered any bare steel with a spray can primer just for now. 

I also got 3 out of 4 bumper brackets I needed. Younger me was a bit rfb /cable ties will be good but now I understand panel gaps are important. 

Why 3? Well, the early imprezas use different bracketry from the later, which are more common, at least during this visit. And the only early (92-94, version 1/2) had a wrecked front bumper with only one good bracket. 

It's a common myth that Subarus are lego cars. Here's the early front bumper bracket 

And late:

Later bonnets also look cooler, but if you do the swap, better have the headlights to go with it too:

Also a pic of a straight radiator support and front. I'll cut one of these, just need to invest in the tools first. 

Also got a lot of bolts, to replace the cable ties. This pic was taken for reference, so I know which goes where. 

I had a good chat with one of the workers, which led to me paying $15 in misc parts which covered a lot of the stuff I got. 

I stumbled across this... 

I've foamed over these for ages. I wet sanded it with the lightest grade sandpaper I had, which was 800 (ill have to get some 1000, 1500, 2000) and buffed it. 

Unfortunately I decided to leave zebra at 4pm and try pick a part, sadly they had knocked off early. 

Also spotted this beaut

Diesel, if I remember correctly too

This was a cool oem cupholder, too bad it was rooted. 

Found my car's twin 

I think next time I'll have to get an Airbnb, I get lost at the wreckers and just spend more time looking at cars/through them than getting what I need. 

And today I buffed the Corolla... With my DA sander! 

[87creepin]

I've just been doing some ae101 stuff whilst I wait for my storage unit, moving in tomorrow. 

Unfortunately I won't be painting the Subie until after this winter, it's out of my control which sucks 

I decided I'd try and fix the many stone chips in my windscreen. 

It didn't really work, only managed to fill in the big ones.. 

I didn't intend on fixing my rad support panel rust, but... With wof time coming up I'd rather sort it while I have the time. 

I sanded it back, cleaned it with prepsol and applied brunox, my rust kill product of choice. 

Matty B! 

I then chucked on some knock off Hella Super tone horns I got off the tard for about $25. They sound good, they look decent-ish imo and most importantly, they're loud. 

The stock horns have a single positive wire and they find ground through themselves. With these aftermarket ones you have to make a new connection between the terminal and a chassis ground point; I just sanded back matty b and old blue til bare metal was exposed beneath the horn bracket mount, and used that. 

Here I got the fitment nice. There's a fan blocking the other side so can't mount them symmetrically Subaru spec but here they look OK. 

Too bad the grille mounts take up too much room and pushes one back on an ugly angle. May have to chop the headlight housing and grille and cable tie to fix that problem. 

Also scuffed and cleaned some other parts, unfortunately had to clear over them so no matte finish.

Also scuffed my DRLs as they had faded to an ugly yellow and sprayed clear on them. They didn't turn out as new, so that's disappointing. 

How it looks from a distance 

That silly lip will come off eventually

[87creepin]

I've decided to sell my cars and do something different. Left job, moved to a new town 5 hours away. 

My Mrs plan was to get a caravan and tow it with her Outlander. Finance issues and it being CVT put a quick end to that. 

Still did some work with it, thinking it would be our daily. 

Got a roof box from Wanganui that was worse in real life than the pics, plus smelt like dog and was unclean 

Halfords UK spec 470l approx. GHFWII. 

No way I'm putting that on a relatively clean car 

Not pictured but I also filled a crack with baking soda and super glue and then body filled it, plus rubber blocked+sanded it down. 

Also did the wheels:

Also wiper Cowl, wipers, badges etc 

The end result

Trademe "warewell" roof accessories, not keen on rhino rack/thule/etc prices

[87creepin]

AE101: first priority to be sold. I just need to get a wof, do the timing belt and water pump (297km) and I want to repaint the roof/bumpers because rust coming through and bumpers bit tatty. 

Then a recent acquisition I'll sell, more on this later. 

GF8: will sell after, a bit of a bigger job, but no doubt doable! 

SW20: an even bigger job, with some work needing to be outsourced to a panel shop. 

After I've sold the first two, I'll buy a tow wagon and trailer the projects and contents of my storage to a new storage unit local to me. 

 

[87creepin]

This is my first do-er upper 

2000 Subaru Legacy Lancaster. Bought it from Wellington for $800, 160kms, automagic with the 2.5l ej25. Wof reg too, for a few months. Owner took it in for a warrant and decided it was time to move it on. He was unsure of when the timing belt was done. As for the wof issues - brake pedal shudder, brake rotors corroded, a rear brake pad with uneven wear, underbody surface rust, a few bulbs out. and an undisclosed CEL, but should be idle or ABS related.

When I got it it was quite grotty, so gave it a quick clean and buff.

Lots of crap in the paint 

 

Before and after:

Think it turned out alright, considering how scarred up the bumpers are and how there are many small dents/scratches all over it.

Borrowed Mrs' DSLR and took it to some relatively nice places on a nice day

then got stuck in. This is my first timing belt job, lol.

 

Got it all off, wasn't too much drama. I did have to macgyver up a crankshaft pulley holding tool though, after finding a Subaru one on the tard for $55. I grinded off the old 'dowels' and welded on some bolts in the correct bolt pattern. 

Plus found some rust, which i've since grinded back and treated. Will get bog later. Its weird, it looks like someone spot welded a high spot near it which i thought was some extreme rust bubbling. It;s the door stopper that sits right above the tail light. This car has sat under trees and tree shit has built up and allowed moisture to get in.

I almost went down the rabbit hole of ordering quality AI$IN parts but fortunately just got an aisin waterpump and thermostat. Rest is Gates. Gates kit was $395 compared to the same product at Ripco for $800. By comparison I spent under $100 on my AE water pump, timing belt, tensioner and thermostat (GMB though, with $11 Gates belt). 

As for timing belt, I did check it out at a local supermarket carpark after leaving the sellers' house by removing a cover with three bolts on it. Based on the fact that there are GMB pulleys in there with a Dayco belt, NTN tensioner and GMB waterpump I would say that this timing belt has been done probably by the dealer who sold it to past owner at 80,000kms in 2008. 

 

[87creepin]

I attempted to prime one side of my outback which was dented and dinged  badly, repaint, and blend. A good plan, but my then-workspace was 300km~ away and I had to sleep in the car. So I ended up vinyl wrapping the whole thing in Nardo grey. 

I probably won’t do it again. It’s really cunty, requires a whole lot of prep and then May curl up. I had to do a few sections two or three times over and got 3M tape sealer and primer to help.

For the wof Got new brake rotors all round for cheap, new rear pads and a second hand rear caliper, An outer brake pad was missing and in its place the caliper body was functioning as a pad. 

The wheels, like the trims etc were really tatty so hit them with 2k Matt b in a can, trims wipers cowl grille and door handles etc also got done 

 
 

headlights sanded back and cleared 

Rear lights and garnish also got compounded 

Later on in 2023 I got a new storage unit, moved all my other cars and stuff etc with this car lolol 

also pictured are the new plates, old ones couldn’t be saved with some paint and straightening out 

done a few mechanical things, 

Spark plugs, big job with the bigger 2.5 flat 4 than the ej20, it requires disconnecting engine mounts and gently jacking up the engine to get clearance. Slimline tools help too 

Did rocker cover gaskets and spark plug seals too cos it’s a leaky boi 

 

probably is also leaking from rear main seal and a cam seal, oh well

attacked a whole lot of wof-listed surface rust on the rear swaybar, fuel filler pipe, and the worst on the front subframe 

 

All Coated in brunox and then black, subframe got underseal. Mind my shitty spray can technique. 

an undertray covers all this

Headlights aligned to the best of my ability, hopefully they pass wof, even with an adjustment. The adjustment mechanism in them sucked 

Also replaced this shitty wiper rack that had too much play in it - the drivers side wiper went right off the windscreen on to the pillar 

To do.. 

fix this exhaust leak 

Finish off wiring in my new keyless entry/push start ignition. 
 

this car was stolen and found on the other side of town. I actually found it cheaper and easier to fit push start than to get a new ignition keys and barrels. 
 

as a result of the thief breaking my steering shroud my tail lights stopped working. I hunted high and low for the fault. Turns out it was because the steering column switch wasn’t working. Because it’s a common fail point, there are a few YouTube videos on how to bypass it which is easily done and fixed my problem. 
 

the thieves have costed me hours in extra work 

[87creepin]

I’m not selling any car yet but the Ooutback don’t know why I let my mrs pressure me. 

while I had my old storage unit I changed the timing belt and water pump on the Corolla 

easy as compared to the quad cam Subaru. Only had a problem with an idler mounting pin, it would not stay in place and came loose. Good thing it’s a non interference engine. So I put a roll pin in its place and it worked. 
 

also in a bit of exuberance I did some repairs and prime 

 

I got sent two different shades of the same primer, used both thinking it would be okay, big mistake I ran out of paint trying to get enough coverage. 
 

and My paint shop and I couldn’t ascertain the correct colour, he said he’d make it up off photos. I will always now send a fuel flap up for them to match. I got KA4, it’s pretty dark compared to what I think I have - electric blue. 
 

but oh well will run with it, 

I’ve got a better paint supplier now. I have the rear 3/4 of the car scuffed up for primer surfacer and will get good coverage this time 

Got rear bumper done, note it’s a darker primer than the front.

 

 

 

 

[87creepin]

I got a knock off hks ground kit from Ali for $22, 

It comes with 5 cables bracket and hardware. I wanted to see if I could fix my wrx’s starting ability, which has dodgy battery negatives but no change, must be the super worn out key. 
 

Three for Corolla two for wrx. 

I don’t have the correct tools or cable to make nice looking terminals, so it’ll do for now 

cable tied out of the way, it connects to the bracket just behind the pod filter. 
 

I then cleaned my genuine pod filter 

 

[87creepin]

I got an aliex fake momo wheel for $84, it’s a style I’ve always liked and it isn’t too bad 

before 

I actually have the decent oem tri spoke wheel, lower spec is the four spoke thing 

Though I haven’t got a boss kit yet, I borrowed the one my MR2 has. I will definitely be getting a quality boss kit as the majority of OS has suggested. Cheers! 
 

this wheel is old as, foamy and soft, probably installed by a Japanese man in dandism (a Jap-English phrase printed on MR2 carpets trim) 

genuine? That’s pretty cool

 

i had to figure out the horn button though. See the MR2 has a cool plug fitted to the twisty bit 

Whereas the AE101 in all its leave-it-aloneness has this, which completes the circuit through a metal tab, and springs 

 

I then made it work by putting a new roll of electrical tape beneath the metal ring, as a washer/spacer, 

bent one of the tabs, connected it to the spade connector of the horn button and pushed the other one in a gap in the boss body. It works! 
 

I also got that gear knob and gaiter boot from aliex, younger me always liked the flowery bubbly ones but I think I’ll get a smaller sensible one now.