Darren.1987

iTrader: (1)

Hi, i have a subaru i bought and i think it's a facelift model 98 reg but im not sure??

on ebay some of the bonnets i looked at say something about a honeycomb grille and either frosted or crystal clear front lights..what exactly are the differences

the dash looks more rounded than the older models but i need to know whether a 96 turbo bonnet will fit my car or not.

Can anyone help?? thanks

Splitpin

That's a 1997 or '98 model year car, first part of the facelift. And no, '96 stuff won't fit. If you look at 96MY and earlier cars you can see that the bonnet, grille and headlights are a different shape, while 99/00MY have a different bumper, grille, indicators, and the clear headlights and foglights.

Why on earth would you want to fit a bonnet from an older car anyway?

pandyman

If you look at the pic you can see the car is NOT a turbo version!

I assume he is trying to source a turbo bonnet to make it a 'lookalike'

possibly seen one of a number of alloy bonnets that are on e bay for phase 1 models

Andy

PS keep up your excellent posts splitpin, your technical knowledge is impressive, have seen a number of your posts now.

Splitpin

Yes, I'd noticed - and made the same assumption as you did, but it's worth asking the question anyway. Nothing worse (IMHO) than trying to dress a perfectly tidy car in another's clothing, especially when the facelift ones look so much better. Thanks, btw.

Ste98Turbo

You would need to change your headlights too to make the mk1 bonnet fit, the grill is fine with the old shape lights

Why not just buy a facelift bonnet? i got mine off ebay for £160 with scoop and vents

Darren.1987

iTrader: (1)

yeah thats what i was intending to do, as the bonnet i found was perfect colour etc apart from it's not the right model year as i now know.

and the reason i want to put a turbo bonnet is because i can't get insurance on a turbo till i get another years no claims. I'm happy with the sport model for the moment.

Plus how can you say it's wrong to make it a lookalike. All i want it for is the scoop and vents as i like the look of it. Maybe i shouldn't put the wrx turbo seats in either and keep the standards might make it look too fake for your liking.

I'll get a facelift bonnet and get it resprayed then. thanks for the help

Splitpin

Because, let's think, you're spending money on a Sport that you could be spending on a turbo in a year's time. Because, on a car that doesn't need one, the grille cutouts and scoop allowing water all over the battery, airbox and plenum are a pain in the *ss. And because, as said earlier, there's nothing actually wrong with the world knowing you drive a Sport. You could always work on the basis that it's a lookalike of a stealth FMIC car rather than a standard one!

Cool the jets. Not our fault if you come on here asking for info and don't like some of the answers, and the bottom line is that I gave you the information you were after in post #2.

At least the turbo style seats are much more supportive than the benches, so you do get a better driving experience with those. Again though you're using this as a short term stopgap, and if insurance is an issue, it might be worth checking with them whether your premium will be affected by cosmetic mods.

Darren.1987

iTrader: (1)

No it's not effected by cosmetic mods i checked already when i took the policy out. Also yeah i am spending money on the car but i am only doing these mods and then leaving it as it is..so not spending a huge amount

i just wanted to know just which would fit i wasnt being funny at all.. either way i got a full interior and a sonic blue sti lightweight bonnet for £150 as someone else took my wrx seats from the seller so they messed up.

If it's that much of a problem to put a turbo bonnet on a sport then i can just sell the bonnet, no one has mentioned about the rain getting on the battery etc..although on the vents it has some covers underneath so i dont think it can get wet.

i can take a photo to see what you think?