The Doctor's '05 White Wagon

I've been meaning to put together a build thread for a while now with how much I've put into this car and how much I've fallen in love with it as my ideal daily driver. I'm not the most proactive when it comes to taking pictures when I make modifications/changes so I'm going to post the majority of pictures that illustrate changes or just random photo's I've taken during the journey. Going forward I hope to be better at documenting changes that involves more than just saving receipts in my rapidly growing binder. So, I've put on NPR's Tiny Desk youtube channel and decided to dive in.

 

I purchased the car on October 23rd, 2017, in Steep Falls Maine. I had been searching craigslist for the past 2 months not for this particular car, but for a new daily driver in general as my '94 Cadillac Seville had sprung it's second oil leak (half block & head) and I didn't want to put the time/money into it even though the car was in mint condition with only 70k all original miles. ******* Northstar's. I had talked with a few sellers and test drove a few different cars and nothing worked out. Then I came across this beautiful, turbo white wagon with a manual all the way out in Maine . My gf, now wife, was skeptical becuase I was originally set on getting an EP3 civic for the economy and becuase I wouldn't be driven to modify it which would alllow me to give my S2000 some serious attention. Ended up calling the seller and after some negotiating agreed to buy it sight unseen. The massive amount of dealer maintenance receipts he had from the prior owner helped to take the doubt out of it. Shortly after that call I purchased airline tickets to fly out, pick it up and drive it back ~17hrs to Indiana.

 

I didn't know at the time that this was a 1 of 49 SWP manual wagon with black interior.....lucky me. It had roughly 146k miles on it when the keys were handed over to me and completely stock with the exception of cut OEM springs, Rota Gravel wheels, grill, and a dealer installed SPT intake.

 

To make up for lost time I'm not going to list out general maintenance or OEM replacement parts that ocurred during the time of purchase to now. There was quite a few when the car went through the re-paint process (i.e. roof rails).

 

2005 Subaru Legacy Wagon GT Limited - formerly Satin White Pearl and went through a slight color change to Toyota's Wind Chill Pearl. This can only really be seen and appreciated when the two colors are side by side.

 

Modifications

"NOC" = not on car

"WIP" = work in progress

 

Engine

Original Motor - Currently ~179k miles

Fluidampr crank pulley 

COBB Short Ram SF Intake w/ Air Box

Grimmspeed Coated TMIC w/ Splitter

IAG AOS v3 (comp) w/ 3MI Drain Hose

Invidia Q300 Exhaust

Grimmspeed Limited Coated Catted Downpipe

Killer B Hard Inlet

SAMCO Black BPV Hose

Silicon Vacuum Lines

TurboSmart Kompact BOV

Grimmspeed 3-port EBCS

Radium Engineering Black Top Feed TGV Deletes

Radium Engineering Fuel Regulator

Radium Engineering Top Feed Fuel Rails & Plumbing Kit & Pulse Dampers

IAG 3mm Phelonic Spacers

ID 1050x Injectors

AEM 340LPH Fuel Pump w/ iWire hard wire kit

Killer B Holy Headers w/ EGT Bung Swain Coated

Killer B V-band Up-pipe Swain Coated

Killer B Aluminum Oil Pan

Killer B Oil Pan Baffle

Killer B Oil Pick-up

IAG Stock Location Oil Feed & AVCS Line

GDT Cylinder 4 Cooling Mod

JMP Custom BNR 18g

GrimmSpeed V2 Coated Turbo Heat Sheild w/ Gold Foil 

PTP Turbo Blanket

Koyorad Aluminum Radiator

Killer B Water Pump Housing

ARP 11mm Head Studs

NGK Iridium Spark Plugs One Step Colder 

GrimmSpeed 1.1mm head gaskets

GrimmSpeed Exhaust Gaskets - All available/offered

Subaru OEM Engine Gasket Full Reseal Kit

 

Transmission

SpecB 6spd & R180 Diff 

South Bend Clutch Stg3 Daily

ACT Street-Lite Flywheel (Single Mass)

STI Short Throw Linkage

Cobb Adj STS w/ Bushings

GroupN Transmission Mount

Cusco Reinforced Diff Carrier

GoodRidge SS Clutch Line

Torque Solutions Drive Shaft Carrier Bearing

 

Suspension & Other

Swift Sport Mach Springs

Koni Sport Struts

Perrin 25MM FSB w/ RalliTek Bushings

Cusco 21MM RSB

Cusco Lower Arm Bar Brace Type 1

Cusco Steering Rack Brace

STI 13:1 Steering Rack (15+ STI)

Super Pro Steering Rack Bushings

STI Solid Steering Joint

AVO RSB Brackets

Subaru STI/Group N Top Hats

Super Pro Front Roll Center Kit (KCA313)

Super Pro Bushings & Bolts

- Front LCA (SPF3091K)

- Rear LCA (SPF5112K)

- Front Camber Adj Bolts (SPF4351)

- Rear Diff Mount (SPF3201K)

- Trailing Arm (SPF3388)

- Rear Upper Control Arm - Outward (SPF3389K)

- Rear Upper Control Arm - Inner (SPF3390K)

- Front Crossmember Isolator Mount (SPF3199K)

- Rear Toe Control Arm Outer (SPF3392K)

Kartboy Solid Endlinks Front & Rear

SpecB Aluminum Suspension (all of them)

Powder Coated Subframes F+R

PowerFlex Rear Subframe Bushings

STI Rear Strut Bar

STI Solid Steering Linkage

IAG Street Series Pitch Stop

Whiteline Rear Lateral Link Kit

STI Group N Motor Mounts

STI Flexible Lower Arm Bar & Braces

Prova Rigid Collars F+R

 

 

Brakes

Grimmspeed Master Cylinder Brace

GoodRidge SS Brake Lines "NOC"

2011 STI Master Cylinder & Brake Booster "NOC"

tbSTI Rear Backing Plates "NOC"

Rear Brembo Calipers "NOC"

 

Exterior/Engine Cosmetics

Ceramic Tint "WIP"

Yakima Ridgleline Towers w/ Aero Bars

Subaru OEM Waist Spoiler

Subaru OEM Window Visors

Subaru JDM STI Alcantara Owners Manual Cover

Madrig CF Belt Cover w/ STI logo

Madrig CF ABS Cover

Madrig CF Battery Cover

Madrig CF Air Intake w/ Snorkel

Madrig CF Radiator Cover (works with snorkel)

Madrig CF Grill Surround for Facelift JDM Grill

Madrig Extended Hood Scoop

Madrig Extended Wing

Madrig CF COBB Air Box Lid

Subarua OEM Spats & Strakes

Subaru Grampus Blue Mirror Signals

Subaru JDM Tail Lights

Torque Solutions Black Radiator Stay Brackets

Burger Motorsports Black Slip-On Exhaust Tips for BMW N51/N52

Redline Tuning Hood Struts w/ Carbon Fiber Sleeve

Perrin Brake Reservoir Kozy

Primitive Racing Skid Plate

STI JDM Oil Cap

JDM Facelift Conversion:

- S402 Fenders

- S402 Carbon Fiber Lip

- JDM facelift Spec B bumper & grill w/ Madrig Composites CF surround & emblem

- Custom JDM Blue tint facelift headlights from Circuit Demon

- Morimoto 4TL-R projectors with lens etching of S402 logo over honeycomb background

- Profile Prism RGB Demon Eyes w/ BT controller

- JDM Multi Color Fogs

 

Interior

Grimmspeed SS Shift Knob w/ Perrin Reverse Lockout

Subtle Solutions WRX/STI Metal Dead Pedal

Dual Vent Gauge Pod

PLX Wideband AFR Gauge

Subaru STI DEFI Gauge Pack

Subaru S402 Door Sills

Subaru OEM Homelink Mirror

JDM Double DIN HVAC

Pioneer AVH-601EX

SVX Adaptor Harness

RAAMmat Sound Deadening (doors, hatch, cargo area)

Full Black Upper Interior Conversion

JDM Door Cards w/ Additional Speaker Grills & black alcantara inserts from Spec B

JDM McIntosh Subwoofer Mount for Cargo Area

JDM McIntosh Mirror Tweeter Housings

JDM McIntosh Center Speaker for dashboard"NOC"

WRX Aluminum Pedals

Dual Center Console Cubby

WeatherTech Floormats Front (COBB Badged) & Rear

2014 OEM Front STI Seats - Driver & Passenger

tbSTI Rear Recling Seats "NOC"

2011 OEM STI Steering Wheel

Red Seat Belts

Redline Goods Shifter & E-brake Boot - Black w/ Red Stiching

08-09 Lower Dash/Console Trim

 

Lighting

DiodeDynamics TapTurn Flasher Relay

Osram D2S CBB HID Low Beam

LED High Beams

LED Interior Lights

LED Turn Signals - Amber Front & Red Rear

LED Reverse Lights

LED Running Lights

LED Yellow Fog Lights

 

Wheels/Tires

Enkei Raijin (Gun Metal) 18x8.5 +45

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ (245/40R18))

McGard STI Lug Nuts

 

Future Plans In No Specific Order:

6pot/2pot Brembo Brakes - Just need 6 pots and rotors/pads

Upgraded Stereo to Replicate McIntosh Speaker Locations - Upgraded USDM speakers with the addition of (all speaker mounts installed except center speaker):

- Additional tweater on front doors

- Additional 3" mid on front doors

- 8" Rear sub in cargo area

Edited July 23, 2022 by DoctorDaveLGT
Update parts list

The best picture of it pre-purchase.

 

The day I picked her up.

 

The only pic I have from the drive back. We left a little before 10AM and got back around 3AM.

Edited January 26, 2020 by DoctorDaveLGT

First thing I did with the car is replace the cut springs with Swift's, threw on the Koni struts, and new wheels and tires. Also had a thorough inspection done to get an idea of the general health of the car and had all fluids replaced.

 

A good buddy of mine liked the wagon so much he decided to join the Subaru family by flying to Florida to pick a up a rare Outback Sedan 3.0 in SWP.

 

First road trip in the wagon, excluding driving the car back to IN, was to pick up two Shiba Inu puppies in the middle of Missouri. My wife's nickname for the car became "Shibaru".

 

Few examples of why I bought it. I've also fit and hauled a fully assembled (collapsed) treadmill.

 

Took off the yellow fog-light film and put on the blue grampus mirrors.

Edited January 27, 2020 by DoctorDaveLGT

First and other rounds of performance mods.

Edited January 26, 2020 by DoctorDaveLGT

The beginning of the re-paint. A lady backed into the wagon while it was parked in my work lot. I was lucky enough that she went office to office looking for the owner. She hit it with the hitch on her 1500 Silverado and could have totally driven off or parked a few spaces over and I would have had no clue what/who hit it.

Edited January 27, 2020 by DoctorDaveLGT

More paint/body work pic's.

 

You can see the difference in the two pearl's here. The rear quarter hadn't been touched yet while the door jam had been completed.

Edited January 26, 2020 by DoctorDaveLGT

More.

Edited January 26, 2020 by DoctorDaveLGT

Final paint pic's, a few shots one of the younger guys at the shop took, and first day I had it back in the garage.

Edited January 26, 2020 by DoctorDaveLGT

Got the car dyno tuned in May of '19 by Shinji of ShinjiTuned. Car made roughly 268whp/283wtq. Car was later e-tuned when I added the 3-port EBCS.

 

 

 

Random pic's.

Edited January 26, 2020 by DoctorDaveLGT

These should get the thread entirely caught-up to how the car currently sits today.

Edited January 27, 2020 by DoctorDaveLGT

Beautiful wagon with tasteful mods. Planning to run that 18G on the stock motor, or is there a build in your future?

Yep, the plan is to run on the stock motor and do the Killer B headers, tgv deletes, ID1050's, and other fuel upgrades all at once rather than piece meal out and pay for several tunes. I'll do another compression & leak down test before everything goes on and then tune conservatively for 325-350ish.

 

Whenever the motor goes the plan is for an IAG closed deck and basically have an over-built motor that can support 650hp/tq so if I ever get bored I can just upgrade the turbo/injectors or go rotated depending on the power I want. Anything over 450 to the wheels and I probably won't be daily driving it anymore.

I've checked and re-checked your threads for a build thread. Nothing. I've been looking for pictures of your car and had trouble finding some. Glad you decided to make a thread.

 

That wagon is sleek! Looking good Doc. Keep it up!

Beautiful. Glad to see a new build on the forum.

ha finally !! nice ! love this wagon , so sweet !

god damn.

any plan on wider wheels with your fancy wider fenders !

Nothing currently. I want to see what the fitment of my 245/40s are with less camber before thinking about a wider wheels or tires. If i did go wider, the rear fenders would need some work to accomodate as all the free space is pretty much gone.

 

Now if only someone could make a drop in rear fender that is wider than stock....that would be very tempting.

Lol drop in rear fender.

 

I hated dealing with quarter panels when I did insurance work.

 

Can't wait to see the face lift all done.

 

 

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Lol lofty indeed, but if anyone could do it it would be madrig. I'm itching to see his carbon panel that he teased a few days ago.

I swear I've seen it! In his picture thread!

 

Maybe I've just seen bits of it and the outer quarter of the vehicle removed and just formed the image in my mind. You certainly could do it, it would be a lot like his fender flares, but in some ways easier.

 

I've been made to understand that outer carbon panels like the m3 roof are more or less glued in where the normal seam welds are. So you adhesive and a lot of clamps. But to pay someone for that! 30+ hours of labor.

 

 

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I think this bumper would look great with your S402 fenders: https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/q344832157

I think this bumper would look great with your S402 fenders: https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/q344832157

 

HO yes !!!

here is a pic of my quarter , not sure is wide enough for you

I think this bumper would look great with your S402 fenders: https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/q344832157

 

I've been thinking the same thing and been watching it for a while. Don't think I can go through with it though. I bought a facelift spec B bumper from the auctions and the shipping was $1.1k alone , which at that point I realized I would have been better off buying a front clip from eBay.

 

I really do think that bumper would look great with everything else.