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John Hall's 2007 specB - Daily turned Restoration (Respray, Engine Build, Air Ride, More!)


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The VA chassis WRX sunvisor arrived today and it looks to be a go!!

p7KcY8M.jpg

 

The bolt holes for the chassis mount lined up nicely, the illumination wiring is plug and play, and the visor fits within the contour of the headliner as shown. The retainer clip from the VA chassis was too big for the square receiving cutout in the BL/BP roof panel, but I'm suspecting that the original retainer will accept the clip on the new sunvisor. I'll confirm after work tonight but as of now, this looks like a victory!

My 2007 specB (full undercarriage & drivetrain refinish, every nut and bolt replaced, full engine rebuild/restore, glass-out respray, air ride, wide body, and more! All done by me, at home!)

Instagram: @bagriders_john for more Subarus (and also my wife and cat)

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Part number please, looking to order a set myself

 

No idea man, sorry. Got em on eBay!

 

edit: did your homework for ya :p

http://parts.subaru.com/a/Subaru_2015_WRX-Limited-20L-6MT/_54103_6464526/ROOM-INNER-PARTS-SUN-VISOR/V10-931-01.html

Edited by BagRidersJohn

My 2007 specB (full undercarriage & drivetrain refinish, every nut and bolt replaced, full engine rebuild/restore, glass-out respray, air ride, wide body, and more! All done by me, at home!)

Instagram: @bagriders_john for more Subarus (and also my wife and cat)

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21820354_120408995326909_7185413817294127104_n.jpg

 

Annnnd confirmed! The retaining clip from the original Legacy sunvisors happily accepted the 15+ WRX sunvisor. Now I just gotta snag a passenger side sunvisor :D

My 2007 specB (full undercarriage & drivetrain refinish, every nut and bolt replaced, full engine rebuild/restore, glass-out respray, air ride, wide body, and more! All done by me, at home!)

Instagram: @bagriders_john for more Subarus (and also my wife and cat)

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Part number please, looking to order a set myself

 

Here ya go

 

http://parts.subaru.com/a/Subaru_2015_WRX-Limited-20L-6MT/_54103_6464526/ROOM-INNER-PARTS-SUN-VISOR/V10-931-01.html

 

I paid $25/ea on eBay, and they are plentiful on there which is nice/sad.

My 2007 specB (full undercarriage & drivetrain refinish, every nut and bolt replaced, full engine rebuild/restore, glass-out respray, air ride, wide body, and more! All done by me, at home!)

Instagram: @bagriders_john for more Subarus (and also my wife and cat)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've had the specB in our shop for the last few days for some "maintenance" :)

jU9yyxY.jpg

 

I was driving around with my 10 year old sister-in-law + her cousin (both of whom refer to my specB and WRX as racecars, lol) and did a downshift on the highway as they "wanted to hear the racecar" and noticed the exhaust was wayyyy louder than it should've been (which they reviewed as "AWESOME!!!!!") and it turns out my downpipe rusted right through and completely disconnected from the rest of the exhaust. So, I decided it was time to slap on the GrimmSpeed downpipe I've had sitting in my garage for nearly a year now!

hGaWbwf.jpg

 

I had to bend the wastegate divider to clear the actuator arm, no pictures of that sorry. Basically just a trial and error thing. Before torquing everything down I ensured the wastegate was able to actuate fully. I love the quality of this part, I have the same one on my WRX except that one is catless.

 

You might notice in the last picture the turbo inlet is removed in addition to the downpipe. I figured it was as good a time as any to replace some of the worn couplers in the engine compartment, so I installed a Perrin turbo inlet and Perrin throttle body coupler. Both of the original pieces were very worn, but only the throttle body coupler had actually torn. I also installed a Turbosmart BPV I got in a parts trade earlier this year.

20clsgI.jpg

 

I also put on an AutoSpeed catback that I got in the same trade, which fits to the bumper cutouts a lot better than whatever was on the car before. It does however interfere with the rear anti-roll bar, so I've got to figure out what to do about that. I've got a couple XL hangers to give a try but assuming that won't be enough I think I'll just drill new holes in the rear mounting points to move the bar up a 1/2" or so.

 

I spent quite a lot of time cleaning up this exhaust before putting it on the car, mostly just wiping it down with tinfoil and vinegar to shine it up a bit but also had the "S" pipe media blasted and painted that with high temp paint. I replaced all the bolts and gaskets too. The nuts and bolts that were holding everything together when I received the exhaust were all low grade stuff which was extremely corroded, so I replaced them all with JIS or greater quality hardware from McMaster.

 

Furthermore, the 2.25" section of pipe coming off the rear of the mufflers that accepts the "Y" pipe was extremely rusted and crumbled when I removed the "Y" to clean it up. For whatever reason, these small sections of pipe were not stainless like the rest of the exhaust. No problem, I cut those off and welded on new pipe, then added a couple relief cuts (as it needs to clamp to the "Y") and replaced the severely corroded clamps with new Vibrant clamps. It's good as new now! The 3" flange that mates to the downpipe had been cut off by the previous owner so I welded a new flange and section of pipe there to complete the exhaust.

wa7BSUa.jpg

 

Hoping to figure out the rear swaybar this afternoon on my lunch break so I can get the car off the lift and back on the road. Since adding these parts will require a tune, I'm going to try to do that myself so wish me luck!

 

There's only a few things remaining that I want to do to the car:

  • Paint + Install wingless trunk
  • Side skirt extensions, I think Evo 8/9 ones work?
  • Replace 9.5" wheels with 10.5" +20 wheels so I don't have to run such massive spacers
  • Modify rear trailing arm bracket to reposition rear wheel back to center of wheel arch

 

Anyhow, happy Friday and have a great weekend everyone!

My 2007 specB (full undercarriage & drivetrain refinish, every nut and bolt replaced, full engine rebuild/restore, glass-out respray, air ride, wide body, and more! All done by me, at home!)

Instagram: @bagriders_john for more Subarus (and also my wife and cat)

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Didn't want to drill new holes through the rear swaybar mount so I think I'm going to try to find a set of the AutoSpeed relocation brackets or design and machine my own.

 

Added a sound clip of the AutoSpeed catback + GrimmSpeed catted downpipe to my instagram, no idea how to embed it here without uploading to YouTube: https://www.instagram.com/p/BaADjaVHKSX/?taken-by=john_br

My 2007 specB (full undercarriage & drivetrain refinish, every nut and bolt replaced, full engine rebuild/restore, glass-out respray, air ride, wide body, and more! All done by me, at home!)

Instagram: @bagriders_john for more Subarus (and also my wife and cat)

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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

Long time no post but I'm still alive and kickin' and so is my specB.

 

Lots has happened in my life over the last year! Biggest news is that my wife and I bought our first house and moved in over the summer! Exciting! Shortly after that, we broke ground on a big ol' workshop to house automotive projects for years to come.

 

The day we closed on our home :)

36160979_613283575712312_2473705187433250816_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com

 

And here is the workshop! Progress photo from back in February. It is 29' deep and 36' wide which is exactly how large we could go without applying for a zoning variance. It is built with attic trusses for a nice 16' wide attic running the depth of the building and an 8/12 roof pitch for 8' ceiling height upstairs. No plans to finish the attic but I'm happy to have a lot of space for storage and space-hogging tools like my floor press. The building all done, just waiting on the dirt roads to be unposted so the excavator can come back for back filling and final landscaping, and the cement guys can come and pour the slab. Definitely a bit of a tease having the building up yet not being able to use it, but soon that will change!!

50703209_125352881848701_908698862861022674_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com

 

Anyhow, back to car stuff!

 

I sold my 18x9.5 cast wheels yesterday (remember I had to run a 50mm spacer to make them look decent, lol) and decided to fit up my splits that I had my wagon. They're 17x10 +12 up front and -14 in the rear with a 26mm spacer (the wheels are +12). I like the look but I always feel like 17's are just a little too small on this car in my opinion. I had to spin the coils way down to make them look decent so now I think I'll end up putting one of our air ride kits on it to regain some drivability!

59636986_137350877329399_7688960349902179956_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com

 

If anyone wants to buy these wheels they're always up for sale. As stated they are 17x10 +12 but I can rebuild them to 17x9 +25 or 17x10 +38. I will gladly ship. They will not have tires.

 

Rust has started to poke through on my rear doors so I picked up (4) rust free doors. I also have a wingless trunk from my wife's old 2.5i. I also have a scoopless hood that I might swap on and switch to an FMIC, though I'm unsure about that as I do like the look of the recessed scoop. Other exterior stuff, I picked up a complete JDM frontend with honeycombe grille, crash bar, headlights et. all from Randy at HKC Speed. Can't say enough good things about working with Randy, very professional and exceptionally quick to work with, 10/10 recommend him.

 

yUI7Qksh.jpg

Not pictured: headlights, crash beam, headlight brackets, etc.

 

Here's my collection of doors and trunk... dunno where door #4 is when I took this picture but, I have it somewhere, lol.

43734549_1772577949517839_536114999982364160_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com

 

Last but not least, I've been sitting on this 8 piece fiberglass wide body kit for over a year now. As soon as the weather finally clears up (we got snow here this morning) and I can start daily driving my WRX, my specB is going under the knife.... replacing all the doors, trunk, installing the frontend, and finally fitting this kit. Of course I will have to respray the car after I've fit all these panels. I'm thinking some kinda grey.... I like Audi's Nardo Grey quite a lot and also Porsche's Chalk Grey.... any input?

 

Anyhow, here is a photo from way back when I got the kit and was eager to test fit it. This was obviously with my old wheels, in this photo the spec is 18x9.5 -15 with a 265/35 tire... plenty of room for fun :)

 

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Alright I think that wraps it up the updates for now. Hopefully I will be able to embark on this next round of mods for the Legacy soon, but I do have a few other projects to tackle first.... I'll keep the community updated!

Edited by BagRidersJohn

My 2007 specB (full undercarriage & drivetrain refinish, every nut and bolt replaced, full engine rebuild/restore, glass-out respray, air ride, wide body, and more! All done by me, at home!)

Instagram: @bagriders_john for more Subarus (and also my wife and cat)

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Super jealous of that shop! Should be an awesome work space when done. Also I love that Audi grey. Would look great on a Spec B.

 

Thank you! The slab should be poured soon and the final excavation work will then get done.... I'm very eager to move in there :) Since we moved into the house over the summer I've rebuilt two EJs in our extremely cramped 2 car garage (basically a 1 car, with my WRX hibernating in there, plus the aftermath of moving) but have convinced myself I'd be much happier doing the body work on the specB in a space where I can actually open the doors on the car all the way, lol :lol:

 

Can't wait for more Updates, congrats on the postal code change. Garage space is awesome.

 

I have always loved Audi's Nardo Grey, I say do it, unless you want something that stands out a little more in which case you should go with BMW's Monte Carlo Blue or Dodge Stryker Red

 

Thank you very much! It is a dream I've had for most of my adult life so its great to see it all coming together.

 

The color is something I'm regularly debating with myself (ask my wife lol), always taking mental reference of colors I think would look good on the car. This will be my first time painting an entire car so I'm thinking I'll stick to a more simple color to spray which unfortunately rules out Stryker Red and generally speaking a lot of the newer, "hi tech" finishes. I loooooove Stryker red but I don't think I could do it justice! I like Nardo a lot and the fact that its a relatively simple color to shoot (and repair, if needed) makes it a winner for me.

 

I might steal the 4/2 pot brakes from my WRX and refinish those in a "slightly darker than original" red to add some color to the side profile, which I think would tie in nicely with my tail lights. Other than that, there will be some gloss black accents like aero pieces and the grille for an overall clean, sharp look... at least IMO :)

My 2007 specB (full undercarriage & drivetrain refinish, every nut and bolt replaced, full engine rebuild/restore, glass-out respray, air ride, wide body, and more! All done by me, at home!)

Instagram: @bagriders_john for more Subarus (and also my wife and cat)

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  • 2 weeks later...
Need to get my spec.b this clean! The black interior swap looks great!

 

Thanks! I enjoy it!

 

--

 

Not much car stuff this weekend but the workshop got one step closer to being usable! The excavation crew came in and prepped the subsurface of the driveway in front of the shop, so now the cement crew can come and pour the slab. Wahoo! It looks like this now:

 

3V6JjwAh.jpg

 

On the inside, I'm just about done with the insulating I can do before the slab is poured. I've put 2" XPS on all the exposed concrete, right down to the footings where applicable and to the 2" under-slab insulation elsewhere. This will ensure the slab is entirely encased in foamboard which provides a capillary break between the foundation and early, helping prevent heat loss/transfer in both directions. In the wall cavities I'm using R23 mineral wool / roxul which is more expensive than fiberglass but a lot easier to work with and provides a number of other great performance benefits compared to fiberglass. Still itchy though :lol:

Mre2bWsh.jpg

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Here's to hoping we get the slab poured quickly so I can justify tearing into the Legacy and finally pulling my WRX out of its extended hibernation :p

 

Oh I did do one car thing this weekend-- I cleaned my specB :p It cleans up pretty good for 185k on the clock!

61870825_849314535445702_3018831221690611102_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com

My 2007 specB (full undercarriage & drivetrain refinish, every nut and bolt replaced, full engine rebuild/restore, glass-out respray, air ride, wide body, and more! All done by me, at home!)

Instagram: @bagriders_john for more Subarus (and also my wife and cat)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Alright alright alright! Here's something I've been wanting to do for a long while but other stuff has always come first... until now! Check these out! Before I give it away, any guesses as to what they may be?

64336516_2361915180518710_5546984254778465367_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com

 

In other (very exciting!) news, the slab finally got poured in the workshop!! I've been watering it regularly since it was poured on Friday, with hopes that this weekend I'll be able to start framing up some stud walls in front of all that foam board and finally embark on the joyous and invigorating process that is hanging and finishing sheetrock. I know, I know... sheetrock in a workshop sounds like a lot of work when OSB would do the trick and be good for hanging stuff easily. Well, fact of the matter is, its my workshop and I want it to look a certain way in there, and that way is not painted OSB :p Anyhow, feast your eyeballs on this glory!!

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I'm giving it 4-5 weeks of curing time before laying down some textured epoxy. I've got plenty to keep me busy in the mean time. Hoping to start moving in and really setting up shop some time in August. I also promised my wife I'd build a big back deck this summer so I've got my work cut out for me lol.

My 2007 specB (full undercarriage & drivetrain refinish, every nut and bolt replaced, full engine rebuild/restore, glass-out respray, air ride, wide body, and more! All done by me, at home!)

Instagram: @bagriders_john for more Subarus (and also my wife and cat)

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:lol:

need more detail on this rear arm bracket !

 

when i think i m done with mod something always pop up ! :lol:

 

lol isn't that always the case :lol:

 

to start, i will say that this sort of mod only applies to a vehicle where the suspension height has been significantly altered from stock. for example my legacy is lowered a lot, I don't know exactly how much but i think most would considered it "slammed" :lol: I am putting air ride on it as well, so with the air springs deflated when parking it will be sitting on the ground!

 

anyhow, due to the design of the rear suspension on the BL/BP chassis, as the vehicle is lowered the rear wheel moves forward, closer to the rear doors / "dogleg" panel. i think most anyone with an aggressively lowered legacy will be familiar with this.

 

this scenario is easy to picture in your head when you understand that the rear hub pivots on the trailing arm bushing in what would be a giant circle if it was not limited by other suspension members, the chassis, etc. so as the suspension compresses, the rear hub travels not only upwards but also forward a bit along the curve of this circle.

 

so, once you have statically lowered the suspension, you have a rear wheel that has traveled forward some distance and is more likely to interfere/foul on the dogleg panel over speed bumps and what not. not to mention it just kinda looks weird IMO. this same phenomenon plagues other vehicles too due to their suspension geometry and design.

 

alright so with all that said i hope it is easy to understand the very simple solution that this modified bracket provides-- it simply relocates the rear trailing arm bushing mounting point by about 20mm toward the tail end of the vehicle, which should (if I measured correctly :lol:) reposition the rear wheel back to its original position, that is close to the center of the arch! you must also ensure your other suspension members are setup properly for this change. check out pages 8 and 9 of this thread: https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/legacybt-6mt-compromised-autocross-build-225271p9.html

 

maybe a lot of work for something "so minor" but really it bugs the sh** out of me seeing a big gap between the rear wheel and rear bumper, not to mention the rubbing on the dogleg. plus it gives me a reason to replace my worn out trailing arm bushings :lol:

Edited by BagRidersJohn

My 2007 specB (full undercarriage & drivetrain refinish, every nut and bolt replaced, full engine rebuild/restore, glass-out respray, air ride, wide body, and more! All done by me, at home!)

Instagram: @bagriders_john for more Subarus (and also my wife and cat)

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I went through the trailing arm adventure. Just a heads up - it results in the other arms binding! Johann (DeadMr) was successful in doing this by using heim joints on all of the lateral arms. Stock arms/bushings won't work, plus the rear shock will be under bending load unless the upper rear shock mount is replaced with a spherical bearing.

 

It can be done, but it's more work than it looks at first glance!

 

https://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5442508&postcount=116

Edited by legacybt
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I went through the trailing arm adventure. Just a heads up - it results in the other arms binding! Johann (DeadMr) was successful in doing this by using heim joints on all of the lateral arms. Stock arms/bushings won't work, plus the rear shock will be under bending load unless the upper rear shock mount is replaced with a spherical bearing.

 

It can be done, but it's more work than it looks at first glance!

 

https://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5442508&postcount=116

 

Oh yeah! Adjustable arms are going to be a must! I did not mean to imply that I expect this piece will be the only variable in the equation, but I can see how that is very much how my post reads-- my bad! I edited the post to clearly state that other suspension members will need to be addressed. I actually private messaged Johann some time ago after the idea to modify the bracket popped into my head when pondering how to re-center the wheel, followed by the realization "surely someone else has thought of this before" and eventually stumbled on his thread... and now yours!

 

Also, I love your wagon build!! Just read through your thread, very impressive and great attention to detail! I'm jealous of that brand new STI transmission. I have an 04 STI tranny in my WRX and while it does the job of holding power (much unlike the 5 speed it replaced :lol:) I find myself missing the specB gearbox on the highway. I'm really tempted to to swap in the specB gears... how do you like your new trans? What do you have in there for a diff? (sorry if I missed that in your thread!)

Edited by BagRidersJohn

My 2007 specB (full undercarriage & drivetrain refinish, every nut and bolt replaced, full engine rebuild/restore, glass-out respray, air ride, wide body, and more! All done by me, at home!)

Instagram: @bagriders_john for more Subarus (and also my wife and cat)

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Oh yeah! Adjustable arms are going to be a must! I did not mean to imply that I expect this piece will be the only variable in the equation, but I can see how that is very much how my post reads-- my bad! I edited the post to clearly state that other suspension members will need to be addressed. I actually private messaged Johann some time ago after the idea to modify the bracket popped into my head when pondering how to re-center the wheel, followed by the realization "surely someone else has thought of this before" and eventually stumbled on his thread... and now yours!

 

Also, I love your wagon build!! Just read through your thread, very impressive and great attention to detail! I'm jealous of that brand new STI transmission. I have an 04 STI tranny in my WRX and while it does the job of holding power (much unlike the 5 speed it replaced :lol:) I find myself missing the specB gearbox on the highway. I'm really tempted to to swap in the specB gears... how do you like your new trans? What do you have in there for a diff? (sorry if I missed that in your thread!)

 

I'm glad you know what you're in for haha, it's definitely doable - just more than it looks.

 

Thanks! I miss the spec b gears on the highway too, but things get a little expensive when you factor in the cost of swapping them in. Shame it's not a simple job to swap a DCCD centre diff into a spec b transmission.. The 5th/6th gear swap like you're considering is really the only way to go to get the best of both worlds.

 

The transmission is fantastic, but there aren't any changes in the transmission design since the '08 update. Stock sti torsen diffs front/rear plus a torsen/clutch combo centre from what I remember. I'd like the 06/07 trans most, since it has the oil pump and ability to add an external oil cooler. Realistically I'll never need it, though. Just one of those nice to haves for future upgrades and daydreaming.

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