hi all
i was helping a friend do some service work on his bugeye this week, 1 of the jobs was to tidy up his front subframe it had a lot of corrosion and was down as an advisory on his mot. However once we removed some of the plastic covers and got going with the wire brush we realised it was a lot worse then it looked. a big lump just feel away. my question is can somebody tell me how hard this part is to replace. its not every part of the subframe just the main u shape that runs underneath, best i can tell this just bolts to all the other parts and can be removed and replaced without having to drop everything else out except maybe the radiator which sits on it ?
he's a pic of the part of the frame i'm on about. it's on a 2001 bugeye wrx

 

https://www.scoobynet.com/general-te...ame-query.html

It does unbolt, nothing else of any consequence to remove.

 

Isn't that the frame that can be taken off and left off permanently ?

Can't work it out from that angle.

 

There are loads of threads about it on here. The concensus seems to be yes it can, but of course it's a safety feature so it might be wise not to, and your insurer will need to be told about it too.

 

cheers guys hadn't realised this was such a common problem with them. i had a bugeye a couple of years ago and it was mint even under the car. the bodywork on my mates is mint but the front underneath looks like it was parked in the sea for a couple of weeks lol

 

Given your location, your mate's could almost be the same car seen in my link, above, and which I bought (from Westaways of Spratton) back in 2011, but that was a 52 reg (VX52... something I seem to recall).

 

Apparently Spec C's didn't have this U brace at all, so fair to say it can be removed, I think some remove it and then replace with a aftermarket lower front brace, if you do remove though I understand you won't be able to refit the undertray. (assuming it has one)

 

You can refit the tray, you just need to be a little creative it's by no means difficult