From neglected to perfected~ my new bugeye

[dburgoon]

Hello guys and gals,

I recently sold my bugeye, this bugeye:


And bought this:

It's an awesome car, but I miss my bugeye greatly!

So yesterday I was browsing my local craigslist and found another bugeye for cheap! It was only listed for 3 hours before I called and set up an appointment. The problem is the car is 2.5 hours away from me, but only 15 minutes from my father. So I called him and had him go look at it for me. Long story short I bought this car without seeing it in person. Final price: $3470

Specs on the car:
03 WRB WRX
146k miles
COMPLETELY STOCK!

The problem with it is the exterior is completely trashed. The car has been neglected the later parts of its life.
My goal is to bring this beauty back to life like it should be!

The only pictures I have of the car:



I will have more whenever I go home this weekend.

So my plans for the car:
First off it maintenance! All the fluids will be changed
Then a good deep creap clean for the internals
Paint and body work.

Mod plans:
The basic vf39 setup (turbo, intercooler, injectors, tune)
Meth injection
Phatbotti tune

BC BR coilovers
White line sway bars
Some wider wheels (not sure which wheels yet)

Some basic exterior mods:
Prodrive lip rep
Yellow fogs
Morettes or retrofit? Not sure yet
Winless trunk
05 tails
Rear diffuser ( not sure which one yet)

These are my basic plans for now. I am open to suggestions though!

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[mechatricity]

That's awesome!!!! Best of luck, and gorgeous FD.

I'm just throwing this out there...are you sure it's always been completely stock? That front badge has me a little worried

[lp87]

lol "neglection"

[dburgoon]

Originally Posted by lp87

lol "neglection"

I couldn't come up with a better term lol

[dburgoon]

Originally Posted by mechatricity

That's awesome!!!! Best of luck, and gorgeous FD.

I'm just throwing this out there...are you sure it's always been completely stock? That front badge has me a little worried

Thanks!
And I thought the same, but it's had the same owner for 7 years

[AutoPrue]

Good stuff man that bug def needs some love.

[dburgoon]

Originally Posted by AutoPrue

Good stuff man that bug def needs some love.

I hope one day it looks half as good as yours!

[AutoPrue]

Originally Posted by dburgoon

I hope one day it looks half as good as yours!

Not a hard feat to do man. Plan, read, research, plan some more then spend the money. Do things right the first time spend your money right and never subtle for run of the mill will make this a great build.

[dburgoon]

Originally Posted by AutoPrue

Not a hard feat to do man. Plan, read, research, plan some more then spend the money. Do things right the first time spend your money right and never subtle for run of the mill will make this a great build.

I think that everyone that follows your build would agree. One of the best looking bugs!

[South Florida STI]

I can't wait to see your Subi in person!!! Subbed and going to follow your whole build. Before you know it you'll have a head turning ricer roaster lol. Congrats on the new bug

[SG02WRX]

Nice glad to see another Bugeye saved! Looking forward to seeing the progress

[dburgoon]

Originally Posted by SG02WRX

Nice glad to see another Bugeye saved! Looking forward to seeing the progress

What I didn't know when until a couple minutes ago, the car had not been run for a year before today. My father said she fired right up though. So yeah, I think I saved this beauty from definite destruction.

[dburgoon]

I'm thinking the style of this build is going to be "nasioc second hand". Meaning, every part I buy for the car will be from someone on this forum...donations accepted

[blue sedan]

Don't have anything to donate but, I wish you luck in your restoration.

[keegancdr]

Could have been "neglected to perfected"

[dburgoon]

Originally Posted by keegancdr

Could have been "neglected to perfected"

Already changed it to that

[sk8eroyaker]

That sir is a good deal

[dburgoon]

Today's the day! I finally get to meet her. Only 2 hours left of this drive

[mechatricity]

Originally Posted by dburgoon

Today's the day! I finally get to meet her. Only 2 hours left of this drive

Hooray! Good luck. It's a little late now, but i would have advised an oil change, coolant flush, and cranking it for 30 seconds with a fuse pulled to get oil in all the right places before starting a turbo subaru that's been sitting for a year. Anecdotally someone mentioned the other day they spun a bearing in an EJ205 by starting it after it had been sitting for 3 weeks

[dburgoon]

Well she's not all stock, it has a full 3in no name exhaust and a turboxs BOV oh well

[dburgoon]

Let the work day begin

[dburgoon]

Two concerning things I've already noticed and could use some help on.

1. The car will not run with the MAF plugged in
2. The crank pulley is wobbly, not just the pulley itself but the bolt as well.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[South Florida STI]

Thats awesome! You must feel great finally seeing her for the first time and being able to work on it. Glad to see you're breaking out the rotella as well! Good luck with all of the maintenance and hopefully you can take your new bug out for a drive later

[05subysti]

Originally Posted by dburgoon

1. The car will not run with the MAF plugged in
2. The crank pulley is wobbly, not just the pulley itself but the bolt as well.

Do a boost leak and smoke test. Also clean w/ maf cleaner(might be dirty)

From my experience, not running right with the maf, i ended up have a few leaks from my fmic couplers and tgv.

Onto the crank pulley/bolt, first try removing and reinstalling the same pulley/bolt and torque correctly.. it might be loose.

Second, try using a new crank bolt. If still wobbly, find another crank pulley.

And lastly, at the worst.. would be a bent crank.

[dburgoon]

Originally Posted by 05subysti

Do a boost leak and smoke test. Also clean w/ maf cleaner(might be dirty)

From my experience, not running right with the maf, i ended up have a few leaks from my fmic couplers and tgv.

Onto the crank pulley/bolt, first try removing and reinstalling the same pulley/bolt and torque correctly.. it might be loose.

Second, try using a new crank bolt. If still wobbly, find another crank pulley.

And lastly, at the worst.. would be a bent crank.

Thanks, figured out the MAF problem. The people before me installed it backwards. I'm changing the spark plugs now, next is the crank pulley.

Hopefully it's not bent...