I Did Another Thing….Subaru WRX
 

2002 Impreza WRX, 5sp

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1751563364.jpg

Been looking for quite awhile. Then while in Tennessee I found this in Tucson on CL. So I flew out and staying with my son. Doing some house chores while here with him. Good times.

One owner, 101,000 miles, zero mods at all. It’s completely stock. That’s exactly what I’ve wanted. I figure the design engineers knew a few things about the WRX and it’s stock form is great for me. I’ll drive it back to Tenn but first it has the original struts, brakes.

I’ll replace those first, get an alignment and new tires. I had an Alpine head unit with CarPlay and a backup camera installed yesterday.

It’s so cool. I paid $10.5k.

Interior BEFORE Alpine install.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1751564126.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1751564184.jpg

stock good condition usdm bugeye is a unicorn these days!

That was literally in the ad title! “UNICORN!!” �� Wish I has made a screen shot of it.

Awesome! Enjoy!

I had an 03 when new as well as daily drove an 06 wagon for a decade. Not sure what strut options you have these days.

Cutting apart stock struts and putting in Koni yellow was what I did on my 03 with STI take off springs, if you use wagon strut donors on the front you get another - degree or two of negative camber. A really great suspension setup that I got to after a few iterations.

MY Wagon had kyb struts with JDM STI Pink springs, was a pretty good and cheap setup.

Maybe a lot more options these days though.

My ‘96 has KYB with King Springs.

I bought “A-Premium” complete assemblies for all 4 corners off Amazon.

Just trying to keep it simple for now.

Nice, on my 3rd VA- I wouldn't mind a bugeye myself.

rjp

Beautiful and the best parts are manual transmission, physical knobs for HVAC and no touchscreens!

Fantastic cars. Had a blobeye STi that I put 150k miles on. Fun driving & reliable.

The example you found is so rare!

needs a set of studs.

Great buy and an appreciating asset :cool: An original, unmolested early WRX? The definition of Unicorn!

I missed the bugeye when I got my amoeba in '04. It was like getting the 996 headlights after a 993. Super fun cars- congrats!

I had an 08 WRX.. not sure of the "in the know" nomenclature, but I put 300K basically trouble free miles on it.. I did change the turbo one... Awesome cars.. I would definitely buy another Subie

Congratulations on the STI. They are very capable as a hot compact on street or track. Plenty of sites with owners who can offer solid advice.

I have a 2012 XT wagon. Great daily for my wife and I. I put Bilsteins on it and find the springs to be too soft. I only want about 15-20% increased rate. Anybody have suggestions?

Well, now there is.:D But I’m keeping the factory head unit.

I don’t plan on messing with it or modding it at all. Just address normal wear items and such.

Studs? Maybe, but Blizzaks for sure. ;)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1751571857.jpg

It has Lamin-X lens tint on the head and tail lights. Not a fan, removing it shortly.

I have a 2013 hatch back. Suspension upgrades included Swift springs (dropped the car about an inch or so and stiffened it up just right for street use). Adjustable Feal struts and shocks. Yokohama ADO9 tires. Really fun car to drivehttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1751573359.jpg

Nice bugeye! I came really close to buying one several times, they are really good honest cars. Later WRX models became progressively fatter and less focused, the new one is a freaking abortion. I’d rather have yours honestly!

Congrats Don, you are on a roll man! Good for you enjoying retirement line one should! Have a great 4th!

Love it!

So cool, thank you Shaun!

I’m having some fun. It’s great!

I’m not a “public road hoonig…” you get the idea.;)

But dang, this rig is fun.
Roundabouts seem like slow motion. It’s totally fine yielding and such, more the merrier.

Just smooth rolling.

Yeah, they're fun. Mine drives like an econocan Japanese car until I hit the boost. Is yours turbocharged? Regardless, the unmolested bug eye was a good find. The AWD makes it feel so planted even on wet roads. I'm using a Cobb tuner which is great but that's it. When guys start changing the exhaust and intake is when catastrophic failure of the boxer can occur

My 04 had 316,000 miles on it. Besides clutches and timing belts it’s been trouble free. Great car in the snow.

What brand of oil is good for this engine? I think it takes 10W40.

I’ve only owned one other turbo and it a Volvo 850.

Neighbor has a WRX. I think it's great. Test drove an EVO 8 when they were new. It was remarkably good too and skewed my preference. To each their own!

My 2.5 uses 5/30 full synthetic. Subaru specifies full syn. Yours is a 2.0 liter, google it

5W-30 appears to be what Subaru recommends (preferably synthetic), which is generally the wise way to go. You should also look up the ratings Subaru is looking for. Maybe check with 2-3 dealers to see what their service department likes to use.

Might not be a bad idea to have your oil tested at your next change to make sure nothing bad is happening.

I think that vintage Subie is known for weeping head gaskets and maybe pan gaskets, too. You might want to have the whole thing looked over by the best place you can find. I had an '04 WRX that the clutch got wonky on (I think it was from the person I lent it to) and an '07 Legacy 2.5L 4-cylinder that developed weeping head gaskets and pan gasket. The '07 had 70K miles on it. I called Subaru customer relations on both cars and they effectively offered to participate about 50% both times. Pretty good goodwill from Subaru.

5w40 Castrol in mine. It's only got 36K miles on it tho. Yours I'd try a high milage variant.

Daughter was just talking about how much she liked the WRX we test drove last year. They really do encourage total jackassery on the road. Love it!

I really was put off by the fast and furious set that adores those things but the truth I learned on finally driving one is they are incredibly fun rides and one of the few remaining affordable vehicles that feeds the primal need to blast around in a great handling car.

A buddy has an 05 STI he is quietly looking to sell. I'm so tempted, but need another car like a hole in the head. His is completely stock with a lot of maintenance done. That WRX is a fantastic find! Enjoy.

Struts and brakes done. The calipers are serviceable, but certainly long in the tooth. Undercarriage looks good. Some hardware has some corrosion, but nothing gnarly. I’ll plan on some deeper brake work later and will replace bushings and such at the same time.

For now, she’s good!

Looking for tires, then getting an alignment this week.

When I took my '04 in for service in Reno, I took an STI out of a test drive on a road similar to Angeles Crest Hwy and was super impressed.

you are a madman! Enjoy!

Was hitting Hom Casa for random hardware.

My son saw it first, “park there!”

I did. It was fun. Met the owner.

05 and 06 STi, are peak WRX. I had an 04 which had weak hubs. Updated for 05. In 07 They got a few downgrades including a worse engine tune. Jump on it, stock is a unicorn^2

I'm kind of in the market for a cheap 2005 STI. Figure at this point you might as well factor in a new longblock with cost of acquisition any of 'em. Dream one would be straight, intact interior <$12K. Mileage be damned.

Too much of a crapshoot to spend $teens$ or more on one of these with the fragility of the EJ.

rjp

these old soft surbarus are so much better than the new ones. yeah they are soft, and vague, thats what a rally car feels like. you have to feel the rotation in the car, and not have the thing jacked down onto the bump stops to feel every bump.

the new ones have gotten so stiff, for poor drivers it feels better, because they need to feel the bump stops. but the good handling and grip is all the fact that these older cars were soft.

and man they are great on ice with studs. i dont compliment subaru handling much, cuase mostly its ****, but these older cars, were actually set up extremely well for slick surfaces.

https://youtu.be/74mR_CnDc-s?si=i05S6nl3uV5JACLW&t=2234

the old 2.5RS is even better than the WRX though, NA being both more reliable, and better driving than any turbo motor subaru has ever made. there is a reason why they are very popular ice and stage rally cars.

That’s great info CP and while I haven’t driven the newer cars, your point makes sense. Roundabouts are a hoot.


Btw, I’m just noticing the grill logo is upside down.

Is that just someone’s mistake or does it mean something.

I’ll just sit back and let the jokes fly. Hoping there’s at least one real answer. ;):D

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1752172445.jpg

I think it’s the same as an upside down pineapple in your grocery shopping cart Don. Good luck!