Bagheera- my 05 GT

[BagheeraLGT]

Hey guys, a few of you may have seen some of my posts on the forum.... i thought it was time to personalize my member journal. Here it goes.

I was able to flip my 97 Tacoma SR5 V6 4X4 with 113XXX on the odo for the exact same price that I picked up my 05 GT with 102XXX...... Thanks Craigslist. It was a little high mileage, but the price was right. My family has owned subarus ever since ive been a kid (now 22+ yrs) so I know they can handle an aged odometer.

Upon pulling the car into my driveway, I debadged it, vacuumed, washed, and put a few coats of wax on it (a prewax cleaner and 2 coats of Mothers Gold). Now its ready to be seen by everyone and I can start to think about the real mods that I want.

I just finished a minor one today- a DIY Grill. I followed JediMasters thread in the Exterior/Styling part of the forum. Id say the worst part was trying to use the bondo (my first time....lost my bondo cherry and realized im a big bondo n00b) You cant tell how ugly it is since I installed it, but I feel bad for anyone who happens to see the back.....very unsatisfactory. As long as it looks good from the front though, I dont rly care.

Anyways, I will get some pics up as soon as I can find my chord that connects my camera to my comp. Till then, this is Bagheera signing off.....

[TSi+WRX]

^ Looking forward to the updates!

[BagheeraLGT]

ill start the gallery with some pics of the Tacoma that I flipped.... as much as I love my GT, i cant say I dont miss the Taco- she loved to tow other trucks that needed it. I had the Taco for 3 yrs and put 25XXX on her. Despite my use and the sour economy I kept my losses to about $2K.... Ill post a reply with her replacement...

[BagheeraLGT]

Now i know that this isnt a Tacoma forum, so Ill get to the good stuff -- Heres the 05 GT... more pics to come

[BagheeraLGT]

a few more pics... my whips is black

ya might notice my dogs in these pics. Skipper was with the tacoma (sad to say he just passed a few days ago (4/9/00-7/17/09). Blazer is the other one in the pics with the GT.

Enjoy and next comes the pics of our Subie family

[BagheeraLGT]

Heres the Subie family.

2002 Subaru Outback Wagon 211,--- (Mom's old)
2005 Subaru Outback Wagon 85,--- (Mom's New, haha and her first auto)
2005 Subaru Legacy GT 103,--- (Mine )

like ive said earlier, my fam has gone through many subies (all but 2 were OBW)....im the reason for the two exceptions- of course the GT and the other was my first car- a 97 legacy SUS.

btw...thats my n00ber bro in the first pic
pics of the DIY Grill next.....

[havanisda]

Sorry about Skipper. I've had dogs my whole life and they're just like a member of the family. I care more about dogs than people, but enuf about me. I got a boxer/german shepherd mix turnin a year old next month.
Anyway, so what's the mod path 4 OBP LGT?

[BagheeraLGT]

yea, it was sad, but it was just his time. I think we may bring another lab home in august to keep his old crate in use. Your boxer/shepard is a little older than Blazer (hell be 1 in October).

NEways, about my mods. I bought it needing brakes so Ill do those within the next 5K probably and was thinking to get a decent set of slotted rotors (i think i need new rotors, otherwise Ill just cut the ones i have now) but I havent looked into a good set too throroughly (Any Suggestions??)

As far as making it move a bit faster, I would love to go stage 2, but dont really have the cash now. I just finished up school and dont have a job yet to allow me to spend on the GT...soon tho. When i do go stage 2, along with the tune, ill try and upgrade my hardware to an Sti UP and a High Flow DP with Cat.

So for now ill prolly start with a stage 1 tune and mabye do something with the intake. Idk about Short Ram vs Cold Air, but ill do my reading.... mabye just throw a better filter in the stock box (not rly sure)

Ill also keep my eye out for a mildly used Spec B suspension, as I believe they're a bit more nimble and use coilovers which would be pretty cool.

For the exterior, mabye ditch the spoiler (switch for a trunk w/out a wing so I can pull my sleeper look off). I need new headlights as mine are oxidized to hell- hopefully i can find a decent used set already cleared (gotta look for a set ) and tint the tails.

Thats my unoffical list for now....very likely to change tho
I just modded my grill today, so ill post some pics tomm after i take them. Its pretty n00b, but you rly cant tell when its in... unless youre really lookingbut youd have to get through me first, haha

.... and if any of you guys have suggestions about the mod paths, pls post as im sure you can help guide me a bunch...

[havanisda]

As far as brakes I think I'm goin w/Hawk HPS pads (already have) and Racing Brake slotted rotors (oem size). Sposed 2b 5 lbs lighter than the stockers.

Something like this if u wanna do ss lines + fluid also.

http://www.fredbeansparts.com/servle...-Subaru/Detail

[TSi+WRX]

BagheeraLGT, honestly, if you don't have the money now, "Stage I" isn't really worth the spendings, IMveryHO.

Instead, focus on making sure that the car's going to function well and is in good repair, and start prepping the other stuff (brakes, tires, suspension, etc.) for "Stage II," buying parts cheap ("used") where and when you can, with a dedicated "piggy bank" that you accrue over time so that you can afford to be flexible when the right deal comes along.

[john]

Welcome aboard. And I'll echo what TSI said above ^^ - stage 1 isn't really worth doing for the ROI.

I'd like to come across a wingless trunk lid for my car as well, as I've wanted to go wingless since I brought the car home.

[BagheeraLGT]

I apreciate the advice about stage 1... not anything i could do for a while. But ill start putting $ in the jar for the right time. I got my grill done yesterday and took some pics, so here they are. Its not the nicest day, but i couldnt wait for the rain to stop for the pics, so ill post what I have. I realize that theres a gap in the center of-the bottom lip.....definately didnt bondo correctly, but oh well, i can always go back and fix it. I love how aggressive the front end looks without the stock grill

Also, i should mention that im looking for a weighted shifter knob... prolly browse ebay n some other sites to find something reasonably priced- do any of you guys suggest anything? Id like a momo to match the steering wheel.

and I just noticed how effective it was to tape over my front plates... 2 layers next time

[havanisda]

Black tape on the pl8 4TW.

Grill doesn't look bad, but it'd look 10X better if u black out the chrome surround. There's a few websites out there that'll color match your paint and sell u just 1 rattle can.

[2.5sbd]

Nice job on the grill
There are some free mods you can do too
Turn off the Daytime Running Lights (DRL's)
Turn off the seat chimes
Take off the intake silencer

[TSi+WRX]

I think the grille looks great!

For the shift-knob, unfortunately, I don't know, off-hand, of any MOMOs that are weighted. Most are very, very light.

GReddy offers a "ball" type CounterWeight unit, with one that has pitch-matched threads for Subaru applications. TMW Performance also has some hefty knobs. I don't see the TMW knobs popping up on the secondary market that often, but you should be able to score a good deal on the GReddy Counterweight, if you're willing to shop around a little, particularly for second-hand units.

I have a GReddy Counterweight in my DSM, paired to a B&M short-throw kit. The end-feel is amazingly solid, like a precision rifle bolt.

I don't have the same setup on my Legacy only because I wanted my stick height to be HIGHER. I went with a MOMO F16 Evo "Wood," to match the interior of the car. The only thing I really don't like about it is how light it is.

If you want something more suited to your own unique preferences, WC Lathe Werks would be the place to go. It's gonna be pricy, but it's completely custom.

[rtbrjason]

Originally Posted by john

Welcome aboard. And I'll echo what TSI said above ^^ - stage 1 isn't really worth doing for the ROI.

I'd like to come across a wingless trunk lid for my car as well, as I've wanted to go wingless since I brought the car home.

If you have a laptop already, and are interested in an open source tune, then imo it is well worth getting a vag-com/tactrix cable to tune the car. Mickeyd has a few opensource tunes that can be used on this car that should only require minor tweaking.

If you have to invest in an accessport than I would agree it's just not worth the money to go stage 1.

[BagheeraLGT]

Originally Posted by 2.5sbd

Nice job on the grill
There are some free mods you can do too
Turn off the Daytime Running Lights (DRL's)
Turn off the seat chimes
Take off the intake silencer

thanks to all for the compliments.... 2.5sbd, will any of the 3 mods you listed prevent me from passing a NYS inspection? I just wanna make sure, so Id know to undo the mod before i try to get the inspection. Also, by taking off the intake silencer, is the only difference the sound the car makes when it revs?

Also, to anyone else who might know... im thinking of clearing my headites. Mine are very oxidized, so I would practice on mine, and if all went well, I would repeat on a new set of healight housings. My question is.... Id like to spray the housing black, to give it a nice dark look while i had th eheadlites out and opened up. Do you have suggestions of which paint to use or not to use, and what part of the housing to paint? Thanks again guys!!

[2.5sbd]

All free mods listed will not affect the inspection results
The intake silencer is strickly for noice calcellation mostly at mid throttle.

[kagenmateer]

I don't feel like reading all that, so I'm gonna jump in here and say welcome!

[BagheeraLGT]

Originally Posted by kagenmateer

I don't feel like reading all that, so I'm gonna jump in here and say welcome!

Thnks Kagen!! I browsed through some of your threads and have to say that im very impressed with your mods (esp your extensive audio work). Keep it up!