Welcome to the North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club Friday March 29, 2024
Home Forums Images WikiNASIOC Products Store Modifications Upgrade Garage
NASIOC
Go Back   NASIOC > NASIOC Subaru Models > Baja Forum

Welcome to NASIOC - The world's largest online community for Subaru enthusiasts!
Welcome to the NASIOC.com Subaru forum.

You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, free of charge, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.







* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads. 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 10-13-2015, 05:46 PM   #176
cliffhanger
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 80446
Join Date: Jan 2005
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: HR VA, enroute to Guam
Vehicle:
2005 5spd Baja-T
>300WHP White/Silv Cruck

Default

Love reading your posts - Keep up the amazing work!
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
cliffhanger is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
Old 10-14-2015, 09:40 PM   #177
Nitro350Z
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 200357
Join Date: Jan 2009
Chapter/Region: W. Canada
Location: Winnipeg/Manitoba
Vehicle:
2003 Baja Classic
Regatta Red

Default

Thanks! I try to keep my posts interesting, hopefully it's working!

Dropped the motor in:



Turns out, the EJ251 in the Baja uses 4 studs mounted on the motor to attach the transmission, the stud that is by the starter is actually too short with an automatic transmission. So the motor went back out and I removed that stud. (It was a pain, really did not want to come out, liberal application of penetrating fluid and torch was used to aid in its removal) And then motor goes back in.



Today I buttoned most of everything up, didn't take many photos though, so here's one when I just started.



Once most of everything was together, just have to finish filling the PS and burp/fill the coolant, I tried starting the motor:


ITS ALIVE!

(I lied it, it was the second start, first time around I did the usual of swapping the fuel lines around. I swear its my version of the USB uncertainty principle, 50/50 chance and your first choice is always wrong.)

But it runs! PS pump is making noise (did before too, and now still needs to get the air out so it makes sense) and I think I might have not finished tightening the intake support bracket so there's that. But it doesn't sound too terrible.
Nitro350Z is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-17-2015, 08:07 AM   #178
Trailmix88
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 432034
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Philly
Vehicle:
2012 Impreza Sport P
That silver & blue one

Default

Man, this thread. Nice work!

I'm green with envy... Nah, mostly I just want to do that stuff to my old Pathfinder and wish you lived up the street.

In addition, mod my current little Impreza. Vroooom!
Trailmix88 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-17-2015, 08:04 PM   #179
Nitro350Z
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 200357
Join Date: Jan 2009
Chapter/Region: W. Canada
Location: Winnipeg/Manitoba
Vehicle:
2003 Baja Classic
Regatta Red

Default

So... It turns out that the noisiness in the previous video is not from just an exhaust leak and the general Subaru charm.



It looks like the Auto and Manual starters are actually different, and that if you use a manual starter on an automatic transmission, the starter will not disengage once the motor is started. I found this out when I took the forester for its inaugural new-motor drive and I made it a few km's from home before I got some great mechanical failure noises and I turned the key off with fear of having grenaded my franken-motor. I tried restarting it and just got a high pitch spinning noise from the starter. Chances of grenaded motor going down.



Towed it home, put it back in the garage, and spun the motor by hand to put my mind at ease. Rotation is nice and smooth and you can feel resistance for each compression stroke. Good signs. The next morning I threw in the old semi-reliable AT starter and gave it a whirl.


The video doesn't do it justice. Short of a small exhaust leak just past the header, it's the quietest subaru motor I have ever heard. No piston slap on startup. No injector tick. Just plain smooth. It's eerie.
Going to buy a new starter on Monday and throw it in. Thought of going used, but a starter isn't *that* expensive and I want this forester to be bulletproof.
Nitro350Z is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-08-2015, 08:09 PM   #180
Nitro350Z
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 200357
Join Date: Jan 2009
Chapter/Region: W. Canada
Location: Winnipeg/Manitoba
Vehicle:
2003 Baja Classic
Regatta Red

Default

Tiny update. (Crappy cell pics since taking my real camera out is :effort

The only service history I have for the Forester is the carproof report, and the word of the PO. VIN isn't blanked out because who gives a crap. $425 Forester got around before I got my hands on it. It shifts pretty damn nicely, and the fluid looks good so here's hoping the trans really is healthy. I've got a certificate for service at AutoGallery (local used car dealer) so I'll be having them do a brake flush since that's the only thing that might need some attention. The brakes are fine, but a little spongy and I suspect the fluid hasn't been changed in a long while.



The Forester got its set of winter tires mounted and it's been driving around fine absolutely reliably (I'll snap a pic with the new wheels, looks pretty decent on the factory 5 spoke alloys and meaty winters). Can't wait for winter to see how it handles. Since Costco took care of those tires a little while ago, and this weekend is supposed to be the last 'nice' weekend we're having before winter, I swapped on the winter tires onto the Veloster.



Took a torque wrench and got them tightened to spec, and I have to say I LOVE those airpumps that have an automatic cutoff. Set the required pressure, turn it on and walk away to do other crap. No need to watch it so it doesn't overfill. SO NICE.

And since the Baja is sitting this winter out, I donated its gold winters this season to the parents new green forester.



Snazzy.
Nitro350Z is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-23-2016, 11:17 AM   #181
Nitro350Z
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 200357
Join Date: Jan 2009
Chapter/Region: W. Canada
Location: Winnipeg/Manitoba
Vehicle:
2003 Baja Classic
Regatta Red

Default

Woops, haven't updated anything in quite a while. The below is from the day after the previous update:


Quote:
Originally Posted by Nitro350Z View Post
The Forester got its set of winter tires mounted and it's been driving around fine absolutely reliably
HAHA, jinxed it. Wife came back last night and said the battery and brake light started flickering. Went for a test drive and it went from flickering to fairly solid after a quick drive. Ripped out the old alt and threw in the one from the EJ251 from the Baja. Only issue is 2 wire for the forester vs 3 wire plug from the Baja. The new alternators only use two wires in the NA market, but they have a 3 wire plug. Already stole a plug with pigtail from the old Baja harness and I'll wire it up later tonight.

Got the equipment ready to splice in the new plug.



I'm going the soldering route since 1. I'm good at it. 2. A mechanically sound joint that's soldered will not have issues. 3. Don't have any UL listed crimping components laying around at the moment (which reminds me I need to stock up). Fancy blue pulley on the alt so you know it's HIGH PERFORMANCE



Back together, Soldered, marine heatshrink, and wrapped in electrical tape and split loom.



And back up and running. Good as new.

Nitro350Z is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-23-2016, 11:17 AM   #182
Nitro350Z
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 200357
Join Date: Jan 2009
Chapter/Region: W. Canada
Location: Winnipeg/Manitoba
Vehicle:
2003 Baja Classic
Regatta Red

Default

Since I'm going to tackle the rust this year before it becomes an actual problem I've decided to paint the whole car rather than trying to match the small sections (need to make another hood so that it doesn't weigh a ton as well) but I can't decide on a colour.

Something like a dark candy apple red pearl is a top contender, lets me leave the engine bay and most of the door jambs alone since they're already red.



A bold green or blue would be nifty as well. Ugh, so many choices... too many choices. Removing the motor and all the accessory crap is going to be a pain if I go away from red colours. I think it would really bug me to leave the bay and other details red, even if its not visible unless you pop the hood, but I've seen loads of Honda guys do it and I guess it's not *that* bad.

Suggestions? Thinking of sticking with the two-tone, I'm so used to it that the mono-tone ones through me off.

In the vein of taking a break from studying, I whipped up a few variations on my Baja to help visualize the colors. (click for HUGE)

http://imgur.com/Z6yTgpn.jpg

http://imgur.com/EZ7LeLq.jpg

My feeling is that darker colours suit the car better.

I've also found a possible OEM colour that would look great:

Sedona Red Pearl



Lexus Ultrasonic Blue Mica 2.0


Saw this colour in person at a car show, and it blew me away. Looks stunning in person. Skilled artists Monkey with access to Photoshop rendition below:





And at a cost of $Texas$ most likely, Dodge Viper Stryker red



It just looks so alive, and from the process, I bet it has incredible depth in person. Kinda scared to get a quote for this though as the process seems really involved.





Gold with a *lot* of dark metallic flake is also a contender.
Nitro350Z is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-23-2016, 02:18 PM   #183
Flowmastered87GL
WCSS Drunk
Moderator
 
Member#: 8914
Join Date: Aug 2001
Chapter/Region: NWIC
Location: Portland Oregon
Vehicle:
2005 Baja Sport
Regal Blue Pearl

Default

How about Subaru STX orange??
Flowmastered87GL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2016, 12:03 PM   #184
Nitro350Z
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 200357
Join Date: Jan 2009
Chapter/Region: W. Canada
Location: Winnipeg/Manitoba
Vehicle:
2003 Baja Classic
Regatta Red

Default

Orange could work, if anything I'd go with the orange that came on the special edition WRX/STI just before the new gen came out. I've found that orange photographs really well, but kinda doesn't deliver the same 'wow' factor in person. Best example that springs to mind is that when we were getting our Veloster, we almost ordered an orange one until we saw it in person. Looks great in photos, kinda disappointing in person.



And don't worry, I'll be hemming and hawing over colour for the next month or two while I start stripping the car for paint.

Top contenders are below:

For the body cladding:

Subaru Dark Grey Metallic 61K


Chevy Cyber Grey Metallic WA637R


For the body itself:

Dodge Stryker Red Pearl RK/LRK


Lexus Ultrasonic Blue Mica 2.0 8X1


Dodge Stryker Purple PHL/NHL


My wife is pointing me towards a more dramatic change, in her words, "If you're spending all this money anyway, why do you want to be boring and get a similar colour to what you have. Go all out."
Nitro350Z is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2016, 12:03 PM   #185
Nitro350Z
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 200357
Join Date: Jan 2009
Chapter/Region: W. Canada
Location: Winnipeg/Manitoba
Vehicle:
2003 Baja Classic
Regatta Red

Default

And now, for an update:

The frozen wasteland has thawed out and it's time to think of the warm summer, so that means winter rubber has to come off. Took my winters back off of my parents foz and gave them a wash. Just have to soak them in 303 before storage



Since I'm switching their car over...

FORESTER UPDATE

Winter MODE:



As I previously stated (or at least I think I did) I finally got a set of wheels for summer that was made in this decade! Behold what $140 Canadian Pesos can get you from the 'jij.



You keen eye readers may have noticed the playing cards surrounding the perimeter of the steel wheels. Well, silver is kinda boring, and these had some specs of rust here and there, and well... I had some paint laying around from my previous projects (plus some that has *expired* so no good for use on things I care too much about).



Since I had limited resources laying around, I went with a silver base coat and a splattering of gold on top for some sparkle and topped it off with expired 2K clear coat. Still looked and smelled fresh so what the heck, we'll give it a try. couple hours passed, did some stuff around town, grabbed a fatboy for lunch with the missus, and we're back at the races.



GOLD GOLD GOLD GOLD GOLD GOLD GOLD



And there ya have it. Looks good enough in my eyes and damn bit better than rusty wheels so I'm happy.
Nitro350Z is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-2016, 08:36 PM   #186
Nitro350Z
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 200357
Join Date: Jan 2009
Chapter/Region: W. Canada
Location: Winnipeg/Manitoba
Vehicle:
2003 Baja Classic
Regatta Red

Default

Went dealership cruising to check out OEM colours and found some really nice greys in case the corvette grey disappoints in person, saw a grey corvette driving around but I can't confirm if it was cyber grey, looked good in any case.

This (matte iirc) grey is gorgeous, but I've heard matte jobs are a huge pain to maintain so I don't think I want to go down that particular rabbit hole.


Then there's this Lexus grey, definitely caught my eye.



Forester update:

My Forester was stolen one morning. My wife had driven it the night before and parked it out in front of the house. In the morning I come out ready to drive to work and I do a double take and think to myself where the hell is the car? I go back home and ask my wife where she parked the damn thing and she says it's right in the driveway. Walk out again, look around on the street, and it hits me. Damn, it's stolen.

Later that day it was found by police and towed to the impound. After a couple days they completed their investigation and the car was handed over to MPI (local public insurance) and I got a call from insurance that the car is totaled. Went to go pick up our things from the car.

Punched in lock as expected


Deconstructed ignition with a distinct essence of going back to basics


And a wheel that is distinctly not mine.


My best guess is they stole the forester because it's big enough to transport the other stuff they wanted to steal, which included those wheels. Car had a bunch of receipts in it from service on a ford bronco, so I'm assuming that's what the wheels are from. Anyway, still have to settle with insurance on how much the forester was worth, I've got a bunch of receipts and pictures from all the work I've done on it since I've bought it ( < 6 months ago), and now I get to go car shopping.

Good night sweet prince, your gold wheels were not meant for this world.













Oh, and I got wood.

Nitro350Z is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-16-2016, 11:31 PM   #187
Baja_Gernaut
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 229922
Join Date: Nov 2009
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: New Jersey
Vehicle:
2005 F-Inductd BAJA
rumble black

Default

That Lexus grey is pretty nice. I bought a 2016 IS250 pearl white. Lexus has some nice colors especially that blue, so shiny. My wife wanted that Matador Red but it wasn't available in 2016 F sport, pearl white does the job though

Sorry to read about your Fozzy, just when you had that car going but atleast your Baja wasn't touched. I hate thieves. Good luck with your new venture of another car.
Btw, my wife wants me to paint the car, now that i rebuilt the engine, to paint it. I like that clay looking gray that Volkswagen has or that beige from subaru, the sand color beige. Just thinking how the baja would look with a fresh coat. What do you think?
Baja_Gernaut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-17-2016, 07:07 PM   #188
Nitro350Z
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 200357
Join Date: Jan 2009
Chapter/Region: W. Canada
Location: Winnipeg/Manitoba
Vehicle:
2003 Baja Classic
Regatta Red

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Baja_Gernaut View Post
That Lexus grey is pretty nice. I bought a 2016 IS250 pearl white. Lexus has some nice colors especially that blue, so shiny. My wife wanted that Matador Red but it wasn't available in 2016 F sport, pearl white does the job though

Sorry to read about your Fozzy, just when you had that car going but atleast your Baja wasn't touched. I hate thieves. Good luck with your new venture of another car.
Btw, my wife wants me to paint the car, now that i rebuilt the engine, to paint it. I like that clay looking gray that Volkswagen has or that beige from subaru, the sand color beige. Just thinking how the baja would look with a fresh coat. What do you think?
You're talking about the Tungsten metallic that comes on the new ones right? It does look pretty good in person, and it's definitely a colour that looks nicer in person than in photos.



My tastes are more geared towards darker and bolder colours, but it could work on a Baja I guess.

Quick N' Dirty:
Nitro350Z is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2016, 07:08 PM   #189
Flowmastered87GL
WCSS Drunk
Moderator
 
Member#: 8914
Join Date: Aug 2001
Chapter/Region: NWIC
Location: Portland Oregon
Vehicle:
2005 Baja Sport
Regal Blue Pearl

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nitro350Z View Post

Forester update:

My Forester was stolen one morning. My wife had driven it the night before and parked it out in front of the house. In the morning I come out ready to drive to work and I do a double take and think to myself where the hell is the car? I go back home and ask my wife where she parked the damn thing and she says it's right in the driveway. Walk out again, look around on the street, and it hits me. Damn, it's stolen.

Later that day it was found by police and towed to the impound. After a couple days they completed their investigation and the car was handed over to MPI (local public insurance) and I got a call from insurance that the car is totaled. Went to go pick up our things from the car.

Punched in lock as expected

Deconstructed ignition with a distinct essence of going back to basics

And a wheel that is distinctly not mine.

My best guess is they stole the forester because it's big enough to transport the other stuff they wanted to steal, which included those wheels. Car had a bunch of receipts in it from service on a ford bronco, so I'm assuming that's what the wheels are from. Anyway, still have to settle with insurance on how much the forester was worth, I've got a bunch of receipts and pictures from all the work I've done on it since I've bought it ( < 6 months ago), and now I get to go car shopping.

Good night sweet prince, your gold wheels were not meant for this world.
Let them give you several thousand for the Forester.... then buy it back for $500 and fix the locks! Who cares if the title is branded?
Flowmastered87GL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2016, 04:15 PM   #190
Patrikman
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 234499
Join Date: Jan 2010
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: Astor Park
Vehicle:
2004 Outbrat XT
Regatta Red/Silverstone

Default

I agree, but the Foz back. Get a bug deflector that says "drive it like its stolen" on it.
Patrikman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2019, 11:52 PM   #191
projectrally
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 53916
Join Date: Jan 2004
Chapter/Region: NESIC
Location: South Portland, Maine
Vehicle:
16 19 ND RF / 818s
Soul Red/ Gel coat red

Default

Resurrecting this after three years to find out if you ever got around to painting it...
projectrally is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:53 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Copyright ©1999 - 2019, North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club, Inc.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission
Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.