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Just over a year ago now I sold my 02 WRX in pursuit of a nicer car to commute to work in and ended up buying a BMW E46 330Ci Sport. Of course this probably wasn't the smartest of choices due to fuel and such, but its super comfy and great to drive.
Ever since I sold the WRX I've always missed how it drove, sounded, and looked, and I would always found my self looking at WRX's for sale every other week or so.
Last week I came across an advert that was actually for the car I sold and instantly thought I needed this back. After a few messages to and from agw_01 here on the forum (who is honestly one of the nicest guys I've met), I was set to pick the car up on the Saturday just gone.
So thats the short story of how I now own a BMW and a Subaru Will use this thread to keep a log of things I do to the car, but here is a generic photo of it at the moment as I've not had a chance to go over it with a tooth brush to make sure its as clean as it can possibly be
As much as I want to start buying STi parts (scoop, wing, interior), I don't really think its worth the money, better off spending the extra on an actual STi
So far I've wet sanded and polished the headlights, wet sanded the patch of flakey clear coat on the bumper and covered in some new clear (doesn't look perfect, but at least it will stop the clear peeling any further), resprayed the interior trim to a darker grey, repaired the interior clock, installed new boost and oil temp gauges, and I have a new rear bumper on the way. Also got it booked in to finally get those noisy struts sorted.
Not had the car long but I've managed to spent quite a bit on it already
I will eventually get some more photos though...
Last edited by jamesfoley; 10 June 2016 at 09:07 AM.
Cool, rear bumper came last week and fitted perfectly. Not 100% perfect but it was £80 so I'm not going to moan.
Also picked up a new set of plates as I find new ones always make a car look better. Annoyingly after a good clean you can really pick out nasty stone chips and dinks in the doors, but not sure I'm going to bother sorting those any time soon. Bodywork was never that great when I first had it, and its paperwork / history more than makes up for it.
I've also picked up a boost / volt, and oil temp gauges which I need to fit. Boost / volt one is sorted, just need to fit the oil temp sensor at some point. Nothing fancy, I just like to see battery voltage now and then, and oil temp will just be there so I never drive hard when cold.
Oh, also bought a new Sigma fob so now the car has two sets of working keys
Yea, the bumper does tidy it up a bit, much cheaper than a panel respray, plus I found the drivers side mounting bracket was broken which was making it sit lower on that side so glad I picked one up.
The sensor is there but one of the bullet connectors is missing and the wires are too deep to fiddle about with. I have a new remote t-piece coming in the post which I plan to put there and have temp and pressure run off it, should make access a little easier.
Oh I forgot to add that I also got rid of the no-name backbox it had fitted and put a prodrive box on instead, a much nicer sound in my opinion.
One thing that has been bothering me is how far the wheels are in the arches. I'd like to fit some spacers to pull them out closer to the edge of the arches but unsure if its a good idea?
Last edited by jamesfoley; 22 June 2016 at 02:23 PM.
Nice one, glad you're getting on with it and sorting bits out along the way.
Oh, is it? I didn't realise when I removed the wiring. I must have damaged it, sorry about that! Where are you going to take the feed for the T-piece from? The intercooler isn't too bad to remove and re-fit once you get the hang of it if you need to free up some space.
I saw your thread about the backbox. Tbh, when I bought the car it was advertised with Prodrive this and that but when I did the clutch and saw most of the system was standard, I wasn't really sure what box was on there. Is your Prodrive box a 2.5" inlet?
haha, I know what you mean about the wheels. You could either go with spacers or new wheels with a different offset.
No worries I didn't actually expect any of the sensors to be attached still seeing as you took the gauge out anyway, so no biggie.
I think so as its 2.5" stock right? The prodrive box bolted up with no issues at all. Its a lot quieter inside the car now which makes for a nice drive without losing too much of the burble.
23 May 2016, 02:34 PM
My 2002 WRX
Will use this thread to keep a log of things I do to the car, but here is a generic photo of it at the moment as I've not had a chance to go over it with a tooth brush to make sure its as clean as it can possibly be 
I didn't actually expect any of the sensors to be attached still seeing as you took the gauge out anyway, so no biggie. 
