Cool Article about the 05 SCCA wagons floating around still.. :)

i see a couple rolls of racer tape in your future. :-)

 

My first time to a race, I threw a roll of duct tape & baling wire as a joke. We ended up needing both to put the airdam back on. I guess Murphy got the last laugh there.

 

Wish I could make it out to see the wagon rumble around ORP. Good luck!

i see a couple rolls of racer tape in your future. :-)

 

My first time to a race, I threw a roll of duct tape & baling wire as a joke. We ended up needing both to put the airdam back on. I guess Murphy got the last laugh there.

 

Wish I could make it out to see the wagon rumble around ORP. Good luck!

 

Gaffer's Tape FTW! Beats the heck out of duct tape....

Gaffer's Tape FTW! Beats the heck out of duct tape....

 

Probably what I use, too. My shop calls it racer tape, which means it costs double what everyone else pays. I know it stays on when taking the direct route from T13 to T15 at the Ridge.

The first Subaru factory backed road race car, a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT Wagon, is being dusted off and brought back to racing by Subaru of Bend and Colonel Red Racing, LLC.

 

Bend, Ore (July 23, 2014) In 2006 Subaru built their first factory supported road race car, a 2005 Legacy GT Wagon, and raced it in the Grand Am cup. In 2007 the team switched to Legacy Spec B sedans, and the wagon was converted to time attack, driven by Tarzan Yamada. Since 2007 the race car has been collecting dust in a warehouse in Pennsylvania.

 

This year the car was acquired by Colonel Red Racing of Bend Oregon. Subaru of Bend is sponsoring this unique and historic car as it races across the NW in the International Conference of Sports Car Clubs (ICSCC) ST class.

 

“We are extremely gratified to have Subaru of Bend’s support in keeping this car on the race track,” said Jim “Gator” Hudson, owner of Colonel Red Racing. “Not only because the car is unique historically, but it’s a lot of fun to race against Corvettes, BMW M3s, and Mustangs in Subaru Wagon! Subaru of Bend’s service technicians’ performance expertise will be valuable in keeping this car going throughout the season, and having a source of OEM Subaru parts is very important.”

 

“We look forward to sponsoring this car in 2014 and 2015,” said Bill Thomas, President of Subaru of Bend. Subarus are great performance cars and Subaru of Bend is building a reputation as performance specialists. This gives our technicians a chance to show their expertise, and the dealership the opportunity to support an important piece of Subaru history. We are the oldest Subaru dealer on the west coast and can’t wait to see this car racing on west coast tracks.”

 

<<<>>>

I am ecstatic to have Subaru of Bend's sponsorship!:):)

This is hugely important to the future of this car. They are supporting us in every way...Service Techs, Parts, Tires, the whole thing!

Thank you Subaru of Bend!!

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Thats awesome, congrats..

 

Is there a link to that article we can share? Showoff to some of my car friends

Thats awesome, congrats..

 

Is there a link to that article we can share? Showoff to some of my car friends

 

Thanks, I'm very lucky at the amateur level to have a great sponsor!

 

I doubt it will be picked up by the news media, our local paper might. I'll check on it.

 

It will be posted on my CRR Facebook page : www.facebook.com/ColRedRacing

 

And I know Subaru of Bend will be posting it on theirs.

I liked your page

Last weekend at Oregon Raceway Park was hot. 90+ hot with track temps in the 120s - 130s. In the counter clockwise direction it was especially hard on the brakes and trans temps. The brake problems come from the CCW direction down Valkyrie Hill. And the straights aren't long enough to get high speed air and time to cool the discs. There is no place I get to 5th gear.

 

I had channel alarms twice for transmission temps. The trans went over 228 degrees even with the cooler pump and fan on the entire time. I'll have to look at getting the diff/trans cooler better airflow, and the routing of the trans lines down the center hump, not far from the exhaust, is probably not helping. I'll see if I can re-position the lines or the cooler system.

 

My brakes went spongy on Friday in the last session, almost in bad way at the bottom of Valkyrie Hill. Saturday morning I put in new front pads and bled the entire system. In the sprint race they went spongy at 17 mins, I backed off a bit and within 2 laps they were firmed up again. I was able to finish out the race with no problem.

 

During the Enduro we were doing great, in second place right behind Michael Contatore's STi. This was incredible because it wasn't just 2nd in class, but 2nd overall! We were running 1:59 laps. (159.277 best).

 

I pulled into the hot pits at the 30 minute mark for the mandatory 60 second pit stop. Other teams switch drivers and add fuel, but I don't, so I just sit there for the 60 seconds then go. However the ORP hot pits are not level, so I had to keep my foot on the brakes. Normally in the pits I put the car in neutral and take my foot off the brakes.....it's standard procedure to not put on your parking brake after hot laps, and I don't even have a parking brake, but I wasn't thinking about the hot pit not being level and needing to shut off the engine and put the car in gear to keep from rolling.....

 

Unknown to me this caused too much heat to be absorbed into the calipers. I came out of the pits and down the hill, at 90+ mph I went to brake for Turn 14, brake foot went to the floor...I went straight off the track, still going down the hill. Pucker brush flying, mowing down grass and small mammals, but it was ok until the bottom where there is a 2' berm then back uphill on the other side of the ravine. Right about then I was wishing I had Subaru Rally Car Skid Plates!

 

I hit the berm hard, sailed thru the air a bit and came to a stop further up the hill. Now the really scary part is the sage and grass is so dry that #1 worry is a grass fire, but despite some smoke, no flames. I almost pulled the Fire Bottle pin, a fire there would be a disaster.

 

Preliminary Damage: Front lip and bumper are destroyed. . That's no big deal, I planned to replace them anyway. Side skirts may be trashed too. The FMIC looks ok even though it and the radiators are bent up and back towards the engine several degrees, so the radiator supports are tweaked hard. The radiator will probably have to be replaced. The main problem is the oil filter and oil cooler adapter ripped out of the engine block. I don't remember how long the engine ran at idle speed while oil poured out the filter hole, but it wasn't more than 30 seconds. The right front wheel is pushed rearward a few inches, so no doubt I'll need at least new upper and lower control arms. Maybe more. Pics attached.

 

Friends helped me get the car in my enclosed trailer. It has not been turned over since the excursion.

 

The car is at my brand new sponsor, Subaru of Bend, being triaged. More info soon on what needs to be done!

 

Luckily:

1) This was at ORP with 95% desert to run off into. In fact going CCW it would be really hard to hit the one wall. At a track with a wall 20' away it would have been totaled and I might be hurt badly or dead. I'm uninjured other than a sore lower back from the berm slam.

 

2) I hadn't put my newly rebuilt JRZs on yet. I wouldn't be surprised if the K-Sports are blown.

 

3) No fire erupted!

 

 

Oil Filter/cooler adapter, the lines are still attached to the cooler radiator:

 

 

 

 

The FMIC and Radiator pushed in at the bottom:

 

 

 

 

My new right front wheel position:

 

 

 

What I'm glad didn't happen!

 

 

That's actually the view from my back deck a few weeks ago. Fire is scary here. I'm going to get a hand held fire extinguisher to mount in the trunk just for these situations. It was at least 3 minutes before the first safety truck was able to 4 wheel out to my location, the car would be fully engulfed by then if the sage and grass had caught fire.....

DAMN!! Glad to hear you're OK, sorry about the car. Look forward to more updates when it returns from triage.

Dang Gator! I hope you got some video?! How did the strut tower look? Did you just kill the coils and a lower control arm? As for the brakes. That is a bummer. Time to get some Ap racing mono blocks.

Any wreck you walk away from is good. Sorry to hear about the car. If you need spare parts, there's a silver wagon up for sale on CL for cheap.

 

Gex - not sure the monoblocks would have helped. Once you get heat soaked, there's not much you can do until the brakes cool off.

 

Feel for your ride thru the desert. I went off the lip at the top of Valkyrie Hill in the miata last year heading for the powerlines. It's amazing what goes thru your mind as you wait for everything to slow down.

FYI, with the weird drum brake setup we have, you're fine setting the e-brake. Way better off than holding the pads to the rotor. That is exactly the problem with most ebrakes these days is that they put the main rear pad on the rotor.

well it's not really 'weird' many cars have it as it is a better way for the parking brake to operate. Yes as long as he has the stockish drum parking brake then it would be fine setting the hand brake.

I have Brembo STI brakes front and rear. No parking brake. I should have had a ground crew person, namely my wife who is crew chief, in the hot pits with a block for the wheel, if I had thought about it in advance. All the other tracks have level pits, but not ORP.

 

On the + side my thru the headlight air intake worked great and survived unscathed. And the radiator ducting mod I did just before the race helped with water temps, I was seeing higher temps at Pacific and Portland in much cooler weather.

 

The strut towers seem ok at first glance, we won't know until tomorrow. I'm meeting the lead tech at the shop to go over everything.

 

And yes I've already asked AP Racing if we can make up a set of their front racing brakes to fit the 5 x 100 hubs. Waiting to hear back. For those who aren't famialiar with AP Racing, they make the NASCAR brakes. Here's the page for the Subaru STi, scroll down to read it:

http://www.essexparts.com/shop/complete-brake-systems/competition-brake-systems/essex-competition-brake-system-subaru-impreza-wrx-sti-bundle.html

Edited July 29, 2014 by Sgt.Gator

Jeez Gator so sorry to hear! Things were rolling so good on the Friday sessions for you, (except for that brake boil issue). Good thing you've got a sponsor to help out with the repairs.

I have Brembo STI brakes front and rear. No parking brake. I should have had a ground crew person, namely my wife who is crew chief, in the hot pits with a block for the wheel, if I had thought about it in advance. All the other tracks have level pits, but not ORP.

 

On the + side my thru the headlight air intake worked great and survived unscathed. And the radiator ducting mod I did just before the race helped with water temps, I was seeing higher temps at Pacific and Portland in much cooler weather.

 

The strut towers seem ok at first glance, we won't know until tomorrow. I'm meeting the lead tech at the shop to go over everything.

 

And yes I've already asked AP Racing if we can make up a set of their front racing brakes to fit the 5 x 100 hubs. Waiting to hear back. For those who aren't famialiar with AP Racing, they make the NASCAR brakes. Here's the page for the Subaru STi, scroll down to read it:

http://www.essexparts.com/shop/complete-brake-systems/competition-brake-systems/essex-competition-brake-system-subaru-impreza-wrx-sti-bundle.html

 

there might be enough drooling LGT owners to put together a group buy on those ap brakes.

there might be enough drooling LGT owners to put together a group buy on those ap brakes.

 

That may be possible. I have confirmed with AP Racing they are now available and they will be shipping me a set for testing and a write up here. I'm not familiar with what it takes to convert a standard Legacy GT to STI Brembos, so I'll search some threads and figure that out. I'm going to assume that to swap out the front brakes with the AP you have to use rear STI Brembo calipers and maybe the STI power brake booster to keep everything balanced. Otherwise maybe a brake proportioning valve would work.

Front Brembos are a direct swap. It is just calipers and rotors (plus wheels that clear the calipers). Rears need an adapter bracket and either DBA conversion rotors or 04 sti rear rotors with adjusted parking brake drum shoes. I went with 04 sti rotors and the parking brake drum shoes. Of course I recommend the sti master cylinder and brake booster swap (like $100 for parts on eBay) and stainless lines(kns hooked me up).

Good News!

I walked into Subaru of Bend at 11:30 AM just as Ken "The Magician" Tillery was about to fire up the engine! Holy Cow!

 

He had already swapped out the trashed LCA, swapped my Perrin PSRS bushing over, installed an oil filter on the engine block, and gone over the rest of the suspension. We checked the oil, it was still 90% full, apparently the engine died fast enough that it didn't pump itself out the decapitated oil cooler/filter. Fired it up and it ran great! We got it up to full temperature, no water leaks, the radiator was fine, just angled back to the exhaust heat shield.

 

WOW, I was amazed. Later today he applied a power puller to the bent upper and lower radiator supports and got it almost, but not quite, back to vertical.

 

We are going to trash the factory "oil cooler/heater" and replace the destroyed oil cooler sandwich adapter. So now the oil filter/cooler will not be hanging down so low where it's the first thing to get ripped off.

 

The bumper cover is even ok to keep using.

 

Wednesday the Silver Eagle goes on the alignment rack. When that's done I can bring it home, Yahoo!

 

What got tossed:

The Aftermarket fiberglass lip spoiler, I'll look for a new one.

The right LCA.

The factory oil cooler.

Both brake duct hoses are toast.

The oil cooler lines need new fittings.

 

The best part may have been hooking up with the technician, Ken Tillery. The Service Manager, Sam Maxwell, told me a couple of weeks ago he knew just the guy to assign to my car when I need help and he was right. Ken has been racing since 1982. He has three race cars that he and his son race on dirt tracks and hill climbs. He has been a crew chief for a two car Acura Integra team that won the Rose Cup races at PIR in the 90s. He knows more about racing engines, transmissions, and suspension setups than I will ever know. We are already mapping out the mods to do next winter in the off season.

 

I'm confidant the car will be ready for the races at PIR and the Big NW Subaru meet August 8-9-10.

 

Thanks Subaru of Bend!

Well that's good news. Glad the damage was manageable. Now get back on the track and keep the rubber on the road!

Great to hear gator, that sponsorship is coming I awfully handy huh? I'm all about doing a group buy in the future on an AP brake kit if we can make it happen, otherwise I'll look at the stoptech trophy kit this winter. My wilwood front / stock rotor set up is barely keeping up these days

Are you allowed a brake water dribbler/spray, something that could be used in extreme situations?

Are you allowed a brake water dribbler/spray, something that could be used in extreme situations?

 

Depends on which class you are racing in. In the ST class in ICSCC and I think in NASA ST3, yes, you can spray water. Some guys also put fans in their brake ducts too, for tracks with short straights. Basically 12v marine bilge pump fans.

 

Update: I re-installed my JRZ coilovers and the boss camber plates. Very nice stuff! The JRZs are three way adjustable. I emailed JRZ USA asking for an owners manual and the COO in the Netherlands emailed me back; he remembered the car from 2006!

 

Out with the old brake ducts and in with the new:

 

 

If I were doing this from scratch I'd recommend using 2 1/2" duct components, or even 2".The 3" ducts I have rub on the inside of the tires and crush on full wheel lock.

 

The car's front end is slightly tweaked from my accidental attempt at Rally Cross. It seems to be fine, but to be perfect we'd have to cut out the radiator supports and put it on a frame machine. Not worth it yet.

 

I'm getting my new Subaru of Bend graphics installed now, I should have all new pics up tomorrow night. Then it's off to PIR for racing and the Big NW Subaru meet this weekend.

Thanks for the updates Gator!