I though I had posted this up when I got it but I cannot find a thread for it at all, only the thread of my old blobeye. Anyway here it is for anyone interested:























Here are the specs, someone spent a lot on it, both in time and money.

Running Gear
New aluminium STI front suspension arms conversion with sti bushing
New track rod ends
New Whiteline front Anti roll bar drop links
White line anti roll bar bushing
Restored hubs
New ball joints
New CV boots
White line rack and pinion steering rack bushing
BC coil over suspension set up for fast road use
Inner Wheels arch restoration front and rear
Complete under-body restoration and paint - looks like new - no rust.
Rear suspension camber bolts
Complete caliper refurbishment with new pistons, seals, bolts, paint and decals front and rear
New discs front and rear
New Mintex M1144 high performance brake pads
Black diamond high performance brake fluid
New millers TRX 75W 90 synthetic gearbox oil
New millers rear diff oil

New NGK laser platinum spark plugs
New titan pro s 10w 50 engine oil
New OEM oil filter
Engine coolant flush and new triple QX coolant
New OEM front radiator
New OEM coolant header tank
New Alternator and AC pump belts
Walbro 255 fuel pump
New OEM STI group N engine mounts
New Cosworth panel air filter
Secondary air pump and EGR valve delete
Roger clark motorsport EGR valve delete plates
Roger Clark Motorsport Billet TGVs
New intake manifold gaskets
Fully refurbished STI intercooler with new ScoobyWorld silicone hoses,clamps and gaskets
Fully reconditioned genuine VF34 turbo with larger exhaust side supplied by Fastline turbos with all new bolts, gaskets and water lines.
New titanium turbo blanket
Ported and matched headers wrapped in titanium heat wrap with all new gaskets, engine studs and bolts
Wrapped catless up pipe with new gaskets and bolts
New full 3 inch turbo back Haywood & Scott exhaust system with 3.5 inch back box pipe and track day centre silencer. All new gaskets, bolts and rubber hangers.
Mapped at 350.6bhp

Since my ownership (just under a year) it has been over to hypertech for a service and a check over, Duncan was impressed and happy with the car, as am I. I have had the timing belt replaced as could not find evidence of it being done and have had the front drop links replaced with Meyle items as they started to knock a bit.

I know the 2.5 doesn't get a lot of love on here and was not planning on getting one but, given the condition once I saw it I crumbled.

 

Looks nice mate, very clean 👍

 

beautiful and very clean mate nice motor there

 

The background says UK but the underneath says Japan

Very clean mate

Have you had it undersealed

 

I actually contacted the guy that did the work (previous previous owner) after finding his email address on an invoice as I was going to get it under sealed, this is what he advised had been done:

•All arches, side sills and rear of car from sub frame back were stripped of any previous rust if any and coated in a metal primer followed by complete re stone guard everywhere and re spray in the original silver.

• Aluminium suspension arms, track rod ends, lower inner rear bushing bracket and manifold are all clear coated in VHT ceramic

• All hubs, drive shafts, chassis brace, anti roll bar, brake dust covers, surfaces of the rear and front sub frame all stripped and coated in black metal Paint.

• Side sills wax oiled inside

• All bolts holding above parts stripped and re coated.

It has not been undersealed but still toying with getting it done as it is my daily. There is a local company (preserve and protect) that specialise in Dinitrol and come highly recommended on many car forums but I dont want the car slapped in black goo underneath. They have just started offering Raptor as an underseal option as well, I may look into that.

 

I'm probably using the wrong term when I say underseal because to me that covers the goo stuff, the clear stuff and all the other products that you can use to stop the rust from the underside of the car.

 

This looks like new!

 

A little update for all. I had power issues about 3 months ago, car wasn't pulling properly between 2000rpm and 3000 rpm, turned out the MAF was misbehaving, replaced and issue disappeared. The issue then returned last week, another MAF tried as the symptoms were identical and it was possible the new MAF had gone faulty, issue still there, spark plugs replaced and voila back to normal. When I say back to normal, it's now pulling better than ever! The previous plugs were only 2 years old at most (NGK Iridium) but that was definitely the issue (till next time, lol). I will confess, I am not much of a spanner guy (a lot on here are very knowledgeable and hands on) and this work was carried out by a local garage that I trust.

The car is also booked into Preserve and Protect in Renfrew to get a proper underseal for peace of mind, car will be away for 7 days.

Apart from that its got a winter wax on it (colli 476s) for now and am planning to do a proper polish this year once the weather improves.

 

The Wagon does look good in silver. I could be biased!!. did mine with a DINITROL kit (cavity wax & clear underbody wax) as it was a low mileage import so it was a no brainer not to.
Removed all plastics...... bumpers/ side skirts / inner wheel arch covers. did this with pervious Scoob (with "top up" every year) in the 15 years of ownership, sub - frame, sills ,rear arches remained totally rust free!

stay safe and enjoy

 

and so it begins:

















All still looks good but you can see the orange stuff starting to creep back after only 2 years. I am glad I have decided to get it all undersealed after all.

 

Some more pics from Preserve and Protect, I have to admit I really like the regular updates from them.

Needle descale, steam clean and degreasing rust convertor applied:

 

Wax now applied, its being left to dry and it should then be ready for me to collect at the weekend:

 

If that doesn't keep the rust away I don't know what will

 

To finish, the cavity wax has now been applied, pick the car up tomorrow:

 

That looks **** hot, who is the company that does that mate?

soz mate “preserve and protect” 👍

 

You'll have to see if there's any companies that do it local to you hey Johno, there's quite a few places national wide that are classed as Dinitrol centre's, Rust Busters are another company ive seen that do the same kind of thing, nearest Dinitrol centre to me is Chelmsford, up the rd 60 miles but well worth the drive if the car comes back in that condition hey.

 

would it be better if the whole underside was stripped down, like in this video that nossy posted ? I’m guessing it will cost more due to the time involved?

 

I'm sure there was a thread on here recently about having the whole underside stripped of everything and refreshed, sure theprice mentioned was something like 2k for whole job.

 

cheers ted, a lot of money but definitely something I will have done, thanks.

 

Dinitrol center nearest to me said their prices start at 300 quid, going up depending on how much prep work is required, bumpers and side skirts ain't removed tho from what i understand only any underbody plastics and arch liners, thinks it's a 3 to 5 day job from start to finish as it goes into an oven overnight after different stages, they need to see the car first to get it up in the air to give it a proper look over so can give an exact price.

 

Front tyres have worn on both outer sides, happened pretty quickly, literally down to nothing but the rest of the front tyres still have plenty of tread left. New tyres on and booked in with a local alignment specialist (CLCM in Edinburgh, never used them before, they were superb). Toe in on the fronts was well out of whack, rears were out too, all straightened up and looking good. The fronts lasted maybe 12k miles, hopefully the new tyres should last longer now!

Biggest difference I have noticed is that the braking has improved, definitely not something I was expecting but definitely noticeable. It's also not something I can really explain ( as I know hee haw about suspension geometry) but I think I understand. 4 wheels pointing forward now so braking efficiency is improved.

MOT in the next few weeks, pretty painless year and still enjoying it. It's become a bit of a weekend toy and lost it's daily duties due to the purchase of a berlingo van that my work was replacing.

 

In for its annual service at Hypertech, new thermostat housing, radiator hoses, had some Pro Sport gauges plumbed in and the car given a clean bill of health. The car did under 3000 miles in a year...

Contemplating selling, someone change my mind! I have a habit of getting cars in top order and then selling them, lol. No idea what its worth either.

 

In for MOT on Tuesday and then all things being well up for sale, £8k.

 

Sold.