Wingnuttzz

Been lurking and reading here for a while so figured it was time for a build thread. Bit long winded but here is the start to my journey of Impreza ownership.

This is a big post, a bit of a testimonial to Beppe at JDMFresh.
https://www.facebook.com/JDMfresh.uk?fref=ts

First off, big thank you to Beppe for sourcing the car and doing all the leg work on my behalf - been a perfect transaction which regular updates and nothing hidden.

The whole idea goes a long way back from when I was looking to import a DC5 and Beppe and I discussed a few options and passed a few cars at auction between us but nothing tickled my fancy. Given all the issues with my ITB DC5 I decided that change was what was needed and I'd wanted something with rally pedigree, turbo and either 4wd or rwd. An Impreza ticked all the boxes. An Evo was considered but frankly at this point in time the running costs scared me a bit.

After discussing the different models and what I wanted with Beppe we both knew what I was looking for - Blue or White late 54 or 05 plate (Widetrack model), modified or standard, good grade, mileage realistic for age - we both kept an eye on the auctions. A Spec C would have been even better but for my first venture into Impreza ownership they were just a bit beyond how much I wanted to spend.
A couple of cheeky bids were made on a couple of very nice, modified low mileage cars but we were generally outbid by 200000yen, and then this car came up.









Sensible mileage - circa 71k miles, completely standard bar the rare BBS alloy wheels, and overall great condition for a used car. The bid was made and we won the auction for circa 200000yen LESS than our max bid, couldn't believe it, I now owned an Impreza and got it for a great price. Having continued to watch the auctions I was very lucky and nothing else has really taken my fancy.

Very quickly after Beppe had the car moved to the docks ready for shipping and got a whole load of pictures for me

























I was thrilled, pictures were better than I thought it would be, a good honest standard car. Pictures showed no engine modifications, BBS wheels which looked immaculate, nice straight bodywork also showing the mark on the front bumper, interior photo looked brilliant with the interior looking far better than the auction sheet suggested, and also that the car had a Hornet aftermarket alarm fitted - bonus as the JDM models don't have a factory fitted alarm.

And then the long wait started, Beppe got me the info of the boat the car was on so I could follow its progress, across from Japan, around the west cost of America, then around the east cost and then across to Europe.

Then the day we had been waiting for, the car was at Southampton docks. The day it cleared customs Beppe was straight down there picking it up. Beppe instantly filled my Facebook Messenger with loads of pictures and basically a full walk around - I think it was both better than we were expecting.















All is good with the car driving well.

Almost the day after Beppe had the car away for its MOT which it passed with no issues and then it was just a waiting game on the port releasing the information confirming the tax and customs had been paid and then on the DVLA registering the car - with me being the first registered keeper.



Beppe then had the car full detailed for me and sent another load of pictures also detailing some of the marks on the car, everything was as expected. Scruff on front bumper drivers side, scruff on rear bumper passenger side, mark/chip on rear bumper just under boot lid - this must be the dent as described on the auction sheet. We scored very lucky on the interior, the seats cleaned up like new and the scruff on the interior console is actually on the center console cubby hole behind the handbrake which for the most part you can't see. WIN. Also was lucky because I got a full service book, and with a dealer sticker on the side of the dashboard the car was service 1000km ago and the oil was still golden - always a very good sign.





















Once the paperwork came through to me, Beppe for the plates made up straight away and the next day I started the long drive with the girlfriend from the Scottish Borders to Milton Keynes to pick the car up. Insurance was sorted out on the way down with no issues and we met Beppe around lunch time where he had the car waiting for me. Not many pictures here as I was probably too excited but I was blown away by how much better it was than I expected, almost immaculate bar the odd stone chip and the marks Beppe had already highlighted to me.



Beppe had got the spark plugs changed for me by a Subaru Specialist who highlighted that the MAP sensor was on its way out causing a slight hesitation at low revs, I purchased a new genuine one knowing this and brought it down with me, we swapped out and Beppe gave me the keys and we all went for a test drive.

First impressions were it was a much bigger car than the DC5, with a very high driving position, but a beautifully smooth engine. Once everything got up to temperature and I got comfortable I gingerly started to see what it was all about, and wow, for a standard car the power is incredible, it pulls like nothing I've driven before, and the noise for a standard car is brilliant - plenty of turbo noise. The grip on the Dunlop road tyres it came with seems great, car was very stable with good brakes and gearbox. Back to Beppes, hands were shook and we were on our way home, firstly after stopping to fill up with some of Shell's best V-Power.



A long drive home which went faultlessly bar not being able to get the Japanese stereo to work at all, it powered on but couldn't get it to take an CD's, and it wouldn't pick up radio 2 either. There was no HDD in the navigation bit so I wonder if this is why. So a long quiet journey it was. I was surprised at how well the car did the motorway journey, was great. Even Katie liked driving it.





And all parked up at home next to the DC5.



Interior is very good condition





And what an engine



I had a trackday booked with Monster Unit - had booked it at the beginning of the year and was humming and hahhing over what car to take, but after giving the Impreza a once over and knowing it had been faultless on the way home I jumped in with both feet and took the Impreza











Track evening was taken very gingerly, learning the car and how it drove. Totally different to the DC5 but the weather didn't help. Very powerful, loads of grip, the punch out of corners is fun but driving around the turbo is something that will take practise. Really need my bucket seats and harnesses fitted and probably some coilovers, but very very happy.

And that is where we are at now. I'm currently collecting a lot of parts for a full service and to get the car track ready. Some Defi gauges have already been bought as well as a full timing belt kit, service parts, full set of oils etc etc.

Big thanks to Beppe at JDMFresh, anyone looking into importing a car I highly recommend it and would do it again in a heartbeat. Now to enjoy the Impreza.

ZANY

Very nice and genuine example enjoy and keep us updated with the mods mate very nice

RAF1

iTrader: (5)

Congrats on the purchase. I would look into getting it re-mapped for UK Fuel though before anything else.

nortonscooby

Stunning mate. Good to see it being used properly aswell

silver-sub

Congrats nice car pal.

ZANY

Good thought!! A DEFO 👍 In anybody's opinion excellent advice mate

Wingnuttzz

Thanks for all the positive words guys. A remap is very high on the cards, would just like to get all the maintenance done first. Track day was taken very gently, just to try and get a feel for the car and see what needs doing.

Anyway, the next instalment - I've been part collecting.



ImportCarParts full timing belt kit inc Water Pump (Dayco Belt)
Gates PS&ALT and AC Belts
CDF Racing Timing Belt Guide
Genuine Subaru Front Crank Seal
Millers CFS Racing Oil - 10w50 for engine and LSD oil for rear diff - gearbox oil still to buy
Genuine Subaru JDM Oil Filter
Genuine Subaru Fuel Filter
Genuine Subaru MAF Sensor (Already fitted when picked up car)
NGK Iridium Spark Plugs (Already fitted when picked up car)
Cosworth Panel Filter
Defi CR Oil and Water Temp Gauges inc Control Unit
LMA Oil Pressure T-In, Oil Temp Adapter, Water Temp Adapter
Recaro SPG Seats in Blue with Takata and Sabelt Harnesses removed from my DC5.
Not in picture - 5l concentrate coolant.

Still to purchase
M2 Side Mount Bucket Seat Rails
Defi Oil Pressure and Boost gauges
RCM/Cosworth Oil Sump Baffle - to fit while doing oil change
Millers CFS Gearbox Oil

Following on from when I picked the car up

Nice new genuine MAF sensor - not cheap but if the original sensor lasted 70k miles then all is good.



I haven't translated any of the service history yet, but still not knowing when the timing belt was last changed I made it a priority to get it done ASAP. After plenty of research the ImportCarParts kit was constantly recommended and after reading 3 or 4 DIY guides I felt confident enough to do it myself.

So I was faced with this



Draining the coolant, removing the radiator, auxiliary belts and the timing belts covers gives you the money shot. I love how clean everything is on this car, even the exhaust manifold heat-shields look like new!!





There is a lot of different opinions on whether or not the waterpump needs changed, it probably doesn't but for the cost it doesn't hurt.



And with all the bearings replaced, new tensioner fitted etc and belt refitted with CDF timing belt guide (see how much chunkier it is than the OEM item).



New belt was tricky to fit, had to get a 2nd pair of hands to help as the passenger side cams are right on the lobes so you look at them and they spin round. Had to get the girlfriend to hold them in place while I lined up the belt and got it all on in the right place. Got the timing all bang on and cranked the engine over a few times by hand and its all perfect :-).









Decided it would be silly not to replace the auxiliary belts at the same time. Nice to see the belts that were on it were STI belts - bet they weren't cheap.



And all refitted



And she lives



So went for a good drive down to Cragside - beautiful day



Chuff to bits - probably one of the biggest mechanical jobs I have done bar doing a drop in baffled sump on the Integra.

M2RTXhawkeye

iTrader: (61)

Awsome mate these jdm's really are something else enjoy

Martin

Sarg400

iTrader: (1)

Very nice example

**jay**

iTrader: (1)

Cracking car mate but id be getting it mapped soon as you can for uk fuel if you have not already done so

BBB3

iTrader: (7)

very nice car, seeing threads like this makes me want to keep my spec c

Suberman

Lovely car mate!

Kudos to you for doing the belt change. That's quite something!

Keep the updates coming!

Kam B

Great read up and great car! Can really feel you anticipation and excitement there

Zuber

Excellent first thread! Congrats on your first JDM Scooby, you done well getting it timed up first time. Did you measure the gap between the timing belt guide and belt, it should be approx 1mm gap all around. I use a piece of thin cardboard at 1mm thick to do this as you can curve it round and hold the guide in place before doing the torque on the bolts. If you don't gap it properly you run the chance of the guide rubbing into the belt and causing some real damage. Enjoy your new car!!

adamroutley

Epic work. I'm in the market to get another Scoob and have been tempted on importing. I'd love a white spec C but the fear of importing is putting me off. Sounds like you had a good experience with Beppe, might look to use him in the coming few months.

Wingnuttzz

Thanks for all the positive comments, huge update coming, suspect this will take a few posts!!

@Zuber - I gapped them with feeler gauges just so I was sure all was clear!!

So 1st big update - undersealing. A lot of photo's here but I couldn't believe how clean this car was underneath.

These are all pre underseal, under panels removed and after cleaning. Mix of G101, Surfex HD and tar remover were used along with lots of water.

Wingnuttzz

My underseals of choice were
Dynax UC (clear underseal) and Dintrol Cavity Wax (for chassis rails/box sections etc)



And the results

































At the same time I also fitted some KW V3 Coilovers with STI Group N Rear Top Mounts and Whiteline Max-C Caster Increasing Camber Adjustable Top Mounts, Cosworth Panel Filter, Miltek 3" Turbo Back Decat Exhaust, new Yokohama Advan Sport Tyres and 4x ProSport Gauges (Boost, Oil Temp, Oil Pressure and Water Temp) - also removed the JDM headunit for a Pioneer touchscreen unit.

Wingnuttzz

Next the car was booked in for alignment at a local Hunter Alignment place, the guy didn't understand how to do the front camber though and I could really do with rear camber adjusters but its much better than it was.



And then it was a new fuel pump - Scoobyworx Colossus 340lph. Had planned to add a Scoobyworx 3 port boost controller too but ran out of time :-(



And then it was to Andy Forrest for a remap, ECUTek with low and high boost maps, and this was the result when Andy did a "road dyno" on it, excellent power. Unfortunately I didn't even get to the drive the car as was on medication but my girlfriend loved it and when Andy took us out in it after he'd mapped it I couldn't believe the difference!!



And a couple of pics from slightly earlier on, got my Recaro SPG bucket seats fitted.
Carpets all removed to be cleaned first and to see what was underneath them - all perfect.



And all fitted with M2Racing Sliding Seat Rails and Genuine Takata Harnesses - much better.







And then went for a drive down to Eskdalemuir to watch the Border Counties Rally





I was a long slow crawl up this forest road - track setup coilovers and forest tracks don't equal a comfy ride.



And thats where we are at now.

Have a track evening booked for Wednesday with MonsterUnit at Knockhill and then Croft on the Sunday 17th April with Javelin Trackdays

ZANY

Hi bud hope the smaller sock on the new fuel pump doesn't give you any issues I got advised to use the original big one so there's no fuel surge wen taking them bends just a thought bud good work

Wingnuttzz

Andy Forrest advised the same thing as I was asking him about fuel starvation, oil coolers and oil starvation on track.
I will probably suffer fuel starvation with the smaller sock so lucky I kept the old one so will pull the pump when i get a chance and swap the socks back.

ZANY

I cleaned my old one with some brake cleaner excellent work mate

RustRazor90

Lovely work and lovely looking car

Darrell@Scoobyworx

iTrader: (5)

Our filters are specifically chosen for Impreza's rather than the small square filter that come with other branded pumps. We haven't had any feedback of issues with these filters so I wouldn't worry too much. We have tried to buy genuine filters but Subaru will only sell them with a pump assembly and not seperately.

Wingnuttzz

Thanks for the response.

Track evening is on Wednesday so I won't have a chance to do anything about it until after it so will see how I get on with the Scoobyworx one. Have bought 2 x 20l Jerry Cans so plenty of fuel!!

**jay**

iTrader: (1)

Strange that your jdm never had the anti surge box on the fuel pump i had one on mine when i changed the pump.

Wingnuttzz

Long awaited update.

Had a great track evening at Knockhill with MonsterUnit. The car is immense on high boost, very quick and it went very well. No issues bar overheating the front brakes and getting bad pad deposits on the front discs.





In preparation for Croft the next thing was new front brakes. The old ones had plenty of life left in them but at the Monster Unit track night I was getting brake deposits once the brakes were hot.

To solve the issue I ordered some Godspeed 2 Piece J Hook front discs and Carbon Lorraine RC6 Front Pads. Fitted nice and easily along with a full brake fluid change for ATE Blue. Rear's were checked and it has genuine Brembo discs and Endless pads!!

The Javilen track day at Croft was brilliant. Between my girlfriend and I we got plenty of track time and the car performed perfectly all day, temps and oil pressure perfect. The new brakes as brilliant too, I find them perfect from cold, only the occasional squeak but once hot they are very powerful and no pad deposits all day, best pads i've ever used on any car.



Didn't get many pictures - was too busy having fun.

In addition to this I have been enjoying the car on the road and it can quite easily eat up the miles commuting and steer down a B-Road. I love the power delivery and grip and with the new brakes it stops very well too.

The car will now be up for sale soon once I give it an oil change and get some pictures of it. My girlfriend finds it a bit intimidating with the power, the power delivery and its value so we have bought a 185bhp RenaultSport Clio 172 Cup that has been caged.

Rusti

iTrader: (4)

Great thread chap, subscribed.

I am assuming there were no fuel starvation issues on the track?

just me

iTrader: (3)

keep the scoob and giver your girlfreind the clio

MATT93

Awesome car, shame you're thinking of selling.

Wingnuttzz

No issues at all mate, I made a point of not letting it drop too much below the half but no issues all day.

Haha, I would but I have another toy coming from Japan at the moment. Just waiting on the IVA and registration.

Thanks mate, it is a cool car.