Stang70Fastback Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Every once in a while, you stumble across a piece of music that seems perfectly suited to some aspect of your life. You might hear a song that reminds you of your childhood summers, your old place of work, even your worst nightmares. It's a magical thing when a piece of music brings back a flood of memories that you weren't expecting. Recently, a friend posted a piece of music on YouTube that he called "the most epic music ever." After listening to it, I must admit it was indeed epic. Very epic. For me, however, the music was SO epic that it triggered a mental montage of what has been one of the most amazing adventures in my life: My travels and adventures with none other than my trusty old Subaru. Go ahead and listen to the piece really quick, since I know you are itching to hear just how epic this song really is. Then, if you're up for it, you can skim over the massive rant this two-minute clip spurred me to write. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRLdhFVzqt4]Two Steps from Hell - Heart of Courage - YouTube[/ame] For me, this piece of music almost perfectly relates to what my last 5-6 years have been like with my car. It started out simply as a free hand-me-down "mom's car" with 170,000 or so miles on it. Lots of miles. Well worn. A station wagon. Something I wanted to get rid of as soon as possible. Give my my Mustang! My Camaro! 350z! I don't car! Surely there is something out there cooler than driving my mom's station wagon. Time marches on. It's my first car. I learn how to drive in it. Countless hours of being yelled at by my father in the passenger seat when I do something wrong. I take my driver's test in it. I get my real license. I am FREE. Time goes on. I watch a high-speed accident unfold not 50 feet ahead of me on the highway, narrowly avoiding getting caught up in it myself... with my whole family in the car. My dad is finally convinced I am capable of driving on my own. I drive to high school senior year... my first feeling of true independence - even though it's anything but. I drive friends to school in the snowy winter. One day the temp gauge spikes. Headgaskets go at 175,000. I drive it for over a year with blown headgaskets until we can afford to fix it. Lots of pulling over on the shoulder to let the engine cool. I drive through my first flooded road... an exhilarating experience. I go storm chasing. I get into my first hail storm, swerving off the road and under a tree on some random person's yard to protect "my" car from the pea-sized hail. Am I starting to become attached to my station wagon?! Time passes. I learn winter driving in this car. I become addicted to snow driving. I know I have spent at least a thousand dollars of fuel in the past few years just playing in the snow. The snow melts and brings many more floods. I ford some flooded roads so bad that people in Excursions are making u-turns. I pick up a girl for my first date in this car. On road trips with friends, we always take my car. My 180,000 mile Subaru because it's the most reliable, and most convenient. More time passes. I go to college... 450 miles from home. I am truly independant now. The car comes with me, because freshman can park their vehicles on campus. Good. I would not have been able to live without my car. I drive home for winter break... in a snow storm so bad, and on such terrible roads, that 99% of people wouldn't attempt to make the trip in a Hummer. I discover that open diffs don't work well when trying to maintain 50 mph up a 5% gradient on I-81 when the road is a sheet of ice. ZOMG look I'm doing 90... 100... 110 MPH! I make many more trips home and back. I am master of the highways now. I get into my first fender bender. I start learning to do my own repairs. My first body repair. My first brake job. I know all the little foibles of the car now. All its nuances. I can tell when I am running out of grip on any given road surface. I know just how hard to brake in the snow without activating the ABS. I know how much throttle I can give without forcing the car to downshift, or when to let up on the gas for the 1-2 bump shift. I know just how narrow of a gap I can squeeze my car through. The car has many more miles now. 245,000. I participate in my first autocross. I sneak into a construction zone and climb giant mounds of dirt and mud. I move furniture for friends. I take my girlfriends' parents to the store in the snow to get their medicine. I got my first kiss standing right next to my car... a long, unexpected kiss. I've... done some things... with my gf in the back of that car. I've towed other cars out of snow banks with that car. I've thrashed it through snow, water, dirt, mud, hail. I've raced friends home... or to work. I've gone on many drives to cool down when something has got my in a very angry mood. Always, at the end of the day, the car has been my savior. It's been probably 5-6 years now. I finally got my dad to transfer the title to me. I can finally say it's MY car without lying. It's still my only car. If I wanted to, I could easily get rid of it. Get rid of the station wagon. The car that gets me made fun of all too often. Until people sit down in it and realize it's actually a nice car. Until I take them out in the snow. Until they need their couch moved. Until THEIR car breaks down, whereas mine keeps going. Why do I still drive a station wagon? I'm a car guy. I should be driving some small, sporty, RWD coupe. Surely I can't REALLY like my car. It must be a money issue, if anything. Nope. I LOVE my Subaru. My wagon. One of the few things I can ALWAYS rely on. It has done EVERYTHING I have ever asked it to (except for climb that one 40% gradient, grass hill covered with 6" of snow, but I'll attribute that to my cheap all-seasons) and begs for more. As an only car, it is absolutely perfect. I could not have asked for a better first car. 248,000 miles now. That's a lot of miles. Yet it still works. Everything on it works. Nothing is broken, other than the A/C needing a recharge. Sure, there are some cosmetic flaws, and it seems that wind erosion has eliminated all the clear-coat on the hood. I do not foresee getting rid of this car any time soon. I owe this car so much. Short of some awful, terrible wreck, I have sworn to it that I will NOT let it go. It will stay with me for as long as I can manage. We've had some tough financial times of late. If this car wasn't so damned reliable, I would not be driving it today. Any other car with this number of miles would have cost me too much to keep running. I will keep it. I will slowly restore it. Hopefully it will stay in the family for a long time to come. Jeremy's first car. That would be an AWESOME keepsake. Anyway, this is all really just one giant rant, and I'm not really sure how to sum it up. That two minute musical piece... silly as it may sound... triggered all these memories, and many more, and I felt like writing it down because I have nothing better to do right now. It might be illogical, or out of order, or poorly written, but I felt like saying it, and I guess the best place to post this would be a forum on which perhaps just one other person can maybe understand how I feel about my Subaru. I'm not even going to proofread this. I guess, what I really want to say is, if I could create a montage of all my experiences in this car, with dramatic camera angles, set to this music, and able to express even 1/10th of how I feel about my car, Subaru could use it as a TV commercial and it would be better than anything they might have running on TV right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zues Marine Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jab83 Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 You made me really sad with this post. :/ I want my wagon back. I still have it i just blew the engine. But I miss it still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lookatmyrust Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 makes me miss my first sedan... but i never had it that long. this wagon will last me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated broknindarkagain Posted August 1, 2011 I Donated Share Posted August 1, 2011 Looks like an interesting thread...but I'm too lazy to read it right now. Ill read it tomorrow -broknindarkagain My Current Project - Click Here COME AND TAKE IT "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005legacy2.5i Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Great post man, I loved reading it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated broknindarkagain Posted August 1, 2011 I Donated Share Posted August 1, 2011 OK I read it. I'll post up my story soon -broknindarkagain My Current Project - Click Here COME AND TAKE IT "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated broknindarkagain Posted August 1, 2011 I Donated Share Posted August 1, 2011 My Subaru story....through 4 Legacys My story starts with a 1970 VW Baja Bug, and a 1980 Chevy Luv truck. I wasn't happy with either car...nor was I happy with anything else that I had driven... Fast forward to when I'm 20. I'm working at Home Depot. I did not own a car at the time, but lived with two friends. One had a 1994 Legacy L, and the other had a Wrangler. I loved the Legacy, and decided that as soon as I had the money I would get one. I had been working at Home Depot for about 6 months by the time the X-Mas party came around. During the party, they raffled off a 42 inch plasma TV. Of course, my name was drawn. I get a ride home from a friend at work with my brand new plasma tv in the back of his truck. We unload it in my apartment and I immediately put it up for sale. Two days later, the TV sells and I now have money to buy my first Subaru. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/broknindarkagain/newside.jpg I spend a week looking for one that I could afford. I come across a 1993 Legacy L (2wd). I test drive it, and fall in love with it. I paid $950 for it. It was ugly, but it ran like a champ and the interior was beautiful. The day after I got it I picked up a few friends to go out driving. Its about 10pm and we were driving down a divided road. I was coming up to a section of the road where the median was boken for a turning lane. ******* deer runs out in middle of the road. At this time I have driving experience, but not any kind of performance driving experience. I knew I couldn't stop in time, so I yanked the e-brake, jerked the wheel to the left aiming for the break in the median, hoping for the best. BOOM! I flip a complete 180, but I wasn't able to get out of the slide. My front passanger corner jumps the curb on the other side of the road. My car is stuck. We fucked around for over an hour trying to get it unstuck and finally did. As soon as I start driving it, I notice that the steering wheel is pulling VERY hard to the right. Now I've owned this car for only a few days and I've wrecked it. I limp it home and let it sit for a few wheeks while I gather the money to fix it. I visit the local junkyard and buy pretty much all the suspension peices for the front (control arms and everything) and rebuild the front steering / suspension. I finally get the car going again. I drive it around for awhile. The car is GREAT! A few months passes and I decide to visit Atlanta, GA to see a girl that I had been talking to. I work a full shift at work, then hop in my car and start my 900 mile drive from Austin, TX to Atlanta, GA. I drive straight through, cruising at about 95mph all the way. I arrive in Atlanta at about 8am New Years day. Little did I know, but my Subaru had just driven me to the woman that I am now married to. I stayed in Georgia for about a week. Wile in GA, her and I drove down to Savanna, GA to visit a friend of hers. On the way back to Atlanta, I had my first break down ever. Radiator cracked. This was actually a fairly scary situation. Some mexicans had pulled over and wanted to give her a ride, but wanted me to stay. When we refused to let that happen, the two guys started to get some what agressive. I told her to get in the car and lock the doors and be ready to drive the over heated car as far away as possible. There I stood with my 4D cell mag light at 3am with two angry mexicans. I somehow diffused the situation and the two guys left. GA State Patrol showed up and used the push bumper on their car to push me to the next exit. At the gas station, I bought copper dust to put in the radiator, and JB Weld to seal the outside of it. After tinkering with it for a few hours we are road worthy again and make it back to Atlanta. With each passing minute, I'm falling more in love with this girl, and I'm loving my car more and more. It comes time for me to go back to Austin. She decides to go with me, and I'm falling in love with the girl so I want her to come back with me. We get in the car and leave for Austin. Our drive down I20 was the first time I've had "adult activities" while driving lol. It was also the first time I had ever been laid in a car. We get back to Austin and the car is doing great for a few weeks, until my ghetto repair on the radiator gives up. It chose the perfect time to break....2 inches of ice on the ground and 15 degrees outside. Subaru handled the weather great! and I was able to keep the car cool by getting up to speed and shifting into neutral and coasting. I make another visit to the local junk yard and pick up a radiator. Throw it in and I'm good as new. Several weeks later, a transmission cooler line blows up while my girl is driving it to pick me up from work. I fix it on the side of the road, and fill up the transmission dipstick I found. The car still wouldn't move. I figured the transmission was toast so I put it up for sale. The first person that came and looked at it told me I filled the front diff...not the trans. I felt stupid. He fixed it for me and told me he wouldn't buy it from me because he didnt want to screw me over. I had my Subaru again! The car is great for quite awhile after that. Its creeping up on 200k miles. While my girl is driving it, she gets t-boned by someone who sped through a stop sign. Car is totaled. A couple of years pass by and I'm without a Subaru. I get married (driving a Chevrolet Caprice at the time), My first son is born, I get my first job in a real shop, and I move to GA with my wife. Tax returns came back one year, and I decided to buy another Subaru. I found myself a beautiful 97 Legacy GT 5MT. It was love at first sight. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/broknindarkagain/168024_495277578325_605068325_5941944_1329147_n.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/broknindarkagain/subie1.jpg My GT and I have gone through a lot together. This was my first car that I got into motorsports with. Soon after I got this car, I was amazed at what the 93 was lacking. I did everything from drag strips to mountain runs in my GT. It served me well for 2 years. While teaching my wife how to drive 5 speed, she managed to shatter the center of the clutch. I pulled my frist Subaru transmission.....on jackstands. It sucked lol A month after I replace my clutch, I take a drive from Atlanta to Melbourne, FL to pick up a friend. As soon as I get past Macon, GA, my car shuts off of me while going about 80mph on I75south. Its about 11pm and pitch black. I have NO IDEA what is wrong with the car. It cranks over, but doesnt fire up. I have no check engine light on when I roll the key to the on postion, so I figured my ECU was shot. I call a tow truck, and spend near $600 towing the car back to Atlanta. I hop in my 01 Taurus and start the trip all over again. When I get back in town, I start diagnosing the problem. Come to find out, I didn't clip the upstream 02 sensor wire when I did the clutch.....and it got wrapped up in the axle and shredded part of the wiring harness. I do some wiring repairs and put in a new o2 sensor. Car still doesn't start. I find a bad fusible link....replace it and its good as new. Its near perfect the rest of the time I have it. I start getting more and more involved in the local performance scene. I frequently go on mountain runs, I go out and race, and I go out onto trails and tear up the dirt. My GT convinced several of my friends to buy Legacys. Atlanta had a MAJOR snow storm last year. My GT handled it like a champ. The Atlanta area basically shut down for a week. Roads were empty because they were "impassable". Naturally, I spent the entire week having fun in the GT. The first night of the snow storm, I drove around with tow straps and pulled people off the side of the road or up hills they were not able to make it up. I spent several hours in store parking lots pulling some pretty serious Gs spinning around in the ice and snow. I had a blast. Now we move on to Legacy #3. I got it in March of this year. As soon as I got it, I financed my GT to a friend who wanted a Legacy. The new Subaru was a 95 Legacy L sedan with an EJ20R swap. It is heavily built. I now own a Subaru that is just as fast, if not faster then mildly to heavily built WRXs. No I'm somebody in the local performance scene. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/broknindarkagain/95LegacySTI/255103_10150218995213326_605068325_7072105_3972646_n.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/broknindarkagain/95LegacySTI/208801_10150160302383326_605068325_6594977_2898117_n.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/broknindarkagain/95LegacySTI/205173_10150158621073326_605068325_6577783_6073431_n.jpg I continue with mountain runs and any type of road racing. Breaking my car, fixing it....just to break it again. I'm brutal on this engine, and it just keeps taking a beating. I still own the 95, however its parked right now due to blown head gaskets. I raced a C5 on the highway, and pushed 3rd gear a little too far. I just picked up Legacy #4 less then a week ago. A 1998 Outback Limited 30th Anniversary. 128xxx miles on it, and it had recent head gaskets and timing done. Great car. My first wagon. I still have to fold down the rear seats and break in the back of the car with the misses ^_^ http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/broknindarkagain/98OBW/IMAG0043.jpg I love my Subarus. I will likely never buy another kind of car again. I've been through hell and back in my Subarus, and they have been there for me in most of the major events in my life over the past several years. My first Subaru drove me to the woman that I have married, my Subarus have rushed my wife to the hospital while she was in labor, and my Subarus have saved my familys lives in some harry situations in traffic. I fully believe that if I were in an every day front wheel drive car, my family could be dead by now because of a poor handling car. I love my Subarus....end of story -broknindarkagain My Current Project - Click Here COME AND TAKE IT "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated broknindarkagain Posted August 1, 2011 I Donated Share Posted August 1, 2011 wow...that was long lol Reading your post starting bringing memories of my cars lol. BTW - that is the abridged story haha -broknindarkagain My Current Project - Click Here COME AND TAKE IT "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jab83 Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I need to get mine fixed I've only had mine for a few months. :/ its my first. i cant wait to be a somebody in TN with my wagon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reuben Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Epic thread. I love how you guys realise one can love a car, and how it can be their friend. Me and the black beast, we are joint at the hip. I am never ever selling it - end of story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jab83 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Same way with me. I blew my engine but I wont let her go she's my baby she's just a little sick. Lol Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated broknindarkagain Posted August 2, 2011 I Donated Share Posted August 2, 2011 My EJ20R sedan is blown up too. I think I pushed it a little too hard lol -broknindarkagain My Current Project - Click Here COME AND TAKE IT "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightpath Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I just purchased my first Subaru a few weeks ago. For years I've been wanting both a Jeep and a Subaru. It's a 96 Legacy GT. Only issues are the oil separator leaks a bit, the transmission between 1-2 jerks a bit (might find a 5MT to stick in it) and I only have 90000miles on it as of today. I'm wondering if the head gasket has been replaced or if it will go on me. Anyways, I really like the car so far, and I can honestly see me buying a Outback or Forester off the lot in a couple of years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jab83 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 its not a Ej25 or shouldn't be from what i remember. and I dont think the ej22 had head gasket probs. @_@ I could be completely wrong. Since i'm still noob but I've read every thing that is written in this whole 2nd gen thing. atleast twice lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushey45 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I just purchased my first Subaru a few weeks ago. For years I've been wanting both a Jeep and a Subaru. It's a 96 Legacy GT. Only issues are the oil separator leaks a bit, the transmission between 1-2 jerks a bit (might find a 5MT to stick in it) and I only have 90000miles on it as of today. I'm wondering if the head gasket has been replaced or if it will go on me. Anyways, I really like the car so far, and I can honestly see me buying a Outback or Forester off the lot in a couple of years. the head gaskets usually let go around 90k or 100k so i guess you'll find out soon enough lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated broknindarkagain Posted August 3, 2011 I Donated Share Posted August 3, 2011 Yeah, you have the EJ25D...the one with internally leaking head gaskets. They probably have NOT been done yet, its still a tad bit early. I usually see them go between 100k and 110k. -broknindarkagain My Current Project - Click Here COME AND TAKE IT "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jab83 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 damn i thought they had the ej22?? :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated broknindarkagain Posted August 3, 2011 I Donated Share Posted August 3, 2011 All the Legacy GTs are EJ25D -broknindarkagain My Current Project - Click Here COME AND TAKE IT "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jab83 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 well darn. I thought i knew something. Turns out i don't know a darn thing. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated broknindarkagain Posted August 3, 2011 I Donated Share Posted August 3, 2011 Yes you do. You know that you have the option of JDM Flinstoning your OB -broknindarkagain My Current Project - Click Here COME AND TAKE IT "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jab83 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 your obsessed with JDM flinstoning my car. geez dude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stang70Fastback Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 Haha wow, forgot about this thread. Cool to see some other stories. So turns out, I had the music all wrong before. I just watched How to Train Your Dragon and realized that the song Forbidden Friendship when the boy and dragon are getting to know each other is even more fitting in every way, lol. I figure a montage with a little thumbnail of the odometer just racking up the miles. If you listen to the whole song, it just builds and builds and builds... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CJ96LGGP6w]How to train your dragon Score: Forbidden friendship - YouTube[/ame] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jab83 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 epic.. How to train your dragon was a awesome movie lol. have 5 year old brother so i've seen it a thousand times. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jab83 Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Bump for more epic storys like these. only thing keeping me sane is going out and working on my subaru everyday. if it wasn't for it. I would probably lose it. and these made me wanna work on my car and get it running good and all that even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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