Fizzifish

At last, after just turning 40 I have indulged in my first WRX. I wanted a really clean car that had not been butchered or trashed so was prepared to wait until the right one came along.

This was the second car I looked at after much trawling on the internet and I just had to have it. The bodywork was near mint with no rusting of the arches and the only aftermark addition was a front splitter which I have removed. There are 4 small flakes of paint missing, one on the bonnet, one on the rear bumper and a couple on the rear spoiler. The rear quarter panel has a couple of scratches and apparently a slight dent which you can't see but the bodyshop technician can feel. It will be going down the bodyshop in the new year to sort out these few minor problems.

In the engine bay the only obvious additions were a dump valve and a strut brace. Did this model of car come with a strut brace out of the factory? Also were the back side windows and rear window tinted from the factory as well or has someone had them done?

Inside the car has full black WRX leather interior and Momo steering wheel. The leather is mint, no scuffs or scrapes, tears or holes and must be worth quite a bit on its own. The rear parcel shelf has been removed and it looks like a custom shelf has been fitted but has not been colour matched and is missing a pair of speakers. The boot lever down by the drivers seat is broken so will need repairing. There is no CD player but I will put the one in my old car in and buy some new speakers.

The engine was started from cold and sounded sweet. There were no untoward knocks or bangs or other unidentified sounds. It drove really nicely with perfect steering and handling. What struck me is just how quick it was in the low gears, certainly like nothing I have driven before. I have booked in for a rolling road test in the New Year but before I did I wanted to get my local garage to do some work on it. I believe the standard bhp of this JDM was 256.4 so a rolling road session will throw up any engine mods. What sort of non-obvious mods could be done to these older Scoobys. I say non obvious because a couple of mechanics have looked in the engine bay and cant see anything that has been stuck on. Would a racing cam be obvious for example?

The reason the car was a very good price was because there was absolutely NO history with it whatsoever although there was the V5 document and a 12 month MOT. I booked it in for a full service including gearbox oil and diff oil replacement. I also ordered a full cambelt kit and got them to change that too. Apparently they couldnt get the kit and quoted about £500-£600 just for the cambelt kit parts. I sourced my own kit from an import specialist for just £230! It just shows you that it pays to shop around. I asked the garage to remove the front splitter and STI mudflaps (one was damaged and it isn't an STI!). The guy who sold it to me was selling it as an STI but the code on the VIN plate was GC8C48D which according to the website.....

http://www.type-ra.com/what-model-is-my-impreza/

.....makes it an WRX JDM not an STI.

On changing the cambelt the mechanic said that although the belt itself was only a couple of years old, two of the pulleys were totally shagged. He spun them to show me and they made an awful noise. It certainly looks like a full kit was a great idea.

The HID headlamps a previous owner had fitted were not secure and so did not create the correct pattern, the mechanic replaced them with standard bulbs. The rear foglights were not connected, a rear indicator was the wrong colour and the exhaust had no CAT. Also the steering rack gaiter was in two pieces. Clearly the MOT was a sham and it looks like a backhander had been given to the MOT tester who was a friend of the previous owner.

Having said that there was nothing dangerous that needed immediate work apart from the gaiter which I will get a friend to do for me. The radiator was showing signs of age but wasn't leaking. Some total clown had put the wrong size brake discs on, they were about 15mm too small although they were quite new. The rear tyres are on about 3mm tread so will need replacing soon and one of the front calipers was sticking slightly.

The mechanic said that the mainframe looked very good and that my 18 year old Scooby that I had bought was indeed a lovely example. It was at this point that a big smile came across my face!

So I have a few questions for you experts out there.

1. What is the best product to remove silicone adhesive from the bumper?
2. How does the gear gaiter fit? At the moment it is just floating around, does it need a surround clip of some sort?
3. The car has a TOAD alarm but it doesn't lock all of the doors, only the drivers door. Is there any way of sorting this without getting an official TOAD guy to service it for about £300!
4. Apart from the work I have already carried out as above is there anything else that I should do considering it has no history?
5. What were the original stickers on this car? The front sticker is a pink STI one and there are a couple of pink STI stickers on the sides. There are no stickers on the boot. I want to get the exterior back to original (apart from the alloys)

Thanks, Emma.

stedee

iTrader: (4)

2 i think it fits around the metal underneath the console, could be another car i`m thinking of though.
3 probably doesnt have a servo fitted to the passenger door. does it have central locking??
4 walbro fuel pump ?? and upgrade brakes to 4 pot fronts and 2 pot rears

getting rare these are now mate ,pretty sure it will have a closed deck block which is a bit of a bonus doesnt mean that much though tbh.

rossyboy

iTrader: (8)

Non-obvious performance mod would most likely be a chipped ECU. The only way of finding out is to take the ECU out from under the passenger side footwell and open it up.

It's highly unlikely that the engine has been split to do any serious internal mods, given the lack of mods elsewhere.

It would not have had a strut brace as standard.

Fizzifish

Thanks for your help, the car only cost me £1750 so I think I have to be pretty pleased considering its condition. Fully comp. insurance with Adrian Flux was only £475 so affordable. I better tell them about the strut brace and dump valve although I shouldn't think they will be a problem.

Does anyone know what stickers it would have come with out of the factory?

Fizzifish

rossyboy

iTrader: (8)

The pic below is of my car. The sticker on the boot lid is the only sticker that they came with from the factory.

I bought a replica sticker off eBay as a spare a few years ago, in case I needed to spray the boot lid. Might still be available there?

mickywrx

iTrader: (29)

2 - There are plastic nipples moulded into the gaiter surround on the underside, as Stu mentioned on another thread.

Pull the cup holder out to reveal the 2 screws that secure it, it just clips in otherwise.

Please do something about those rear lights, they scream Halfrauds.