Excitement

To say I have a fire lit under my ass would be a slight understatement. When I initially got the Subaru back I wasn’t quite sure how things would go with the car. Would I half ass things again? Would it just be a whatever thing until I decided to sell it again? I didn’t know. At the time I also had the IS300. Reality set in and obviously the Lexus has since been sold. I knew deep down that the Subaru needed the attention it deserved. I got back on the forums and started doing what I use to do which was research and read to see what would work and what wouldn’t for my intended goals.

I brought the car down to work  last month which means having it here would allow me to work on it little by little with whatever time I could find.  Cleaning stuff here, installing a part there and being able to really look the car over and assess what needed to be done next. Like I stated in a previous post I underestimated the sentimental attachment I had to the car. From parts trips with Corey to working on it with my dad or calling my best friend George because I had no clue what I was doing. I know I’ll have other projects, in fact, I’m planning them out in my head right now but this car will never leave my possession again. I have a long way to go with the car and I’m creeping up on ten years of ownership which is crazy. I’ve got some obtainable goals over the next 6-12 months for the car and I but I do know things feel whole again.

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YouTube

I figured it was about time to start using the GoPro I was gifted months ago. Below is a very short, awkward into video to the Subaru.

Subaru Intro  <<<< Click here.

 

Up to date

Not much has happened since my last update. I’m slowly accruing parts for both the Truck and the Subaru, but not trying to go broke while doing so. I scooped up a different front bumper for the Subaru which means I can turn my attention to finishing putting the rest of the exterior together.

Meanwhile, with the truck it’s been quite the up and down adventure. Power steering cooler line blew so I had to have it towed and replaced it at work.Meanwhile I ordered new speakers and a head unit for it since only one speaker worked and I had no Aux/Bluetooth capability. Once those showed up I took a few minutes and swapped all the new stuff in. While I had the truck inside I also swapped in the new headlights with all new bulbs then test fit the APC tail lights. I need colored bulbs then I’ll install those for good.

Other than that the truck is close to be “done”. A few more things and I’ll be content with where it’s at as far as a working truck goes. As for the Subaru, that’s got a longer road to go but I’ll get there.

Hoarding

Quick update on some progress over the last few weeks. I sold the Lexus and managed to score some hard to find APC Clear tail lights for the Silverado and two sets of Weld Velocitis (22×12 and 17×10). Excited to start the make over on the truck after winter is over and currently enjoying the process of hunting down some parts for the Subaru. Progress may not be fast but i’m getting there. Once things getting rolling I’m going to do my best to either update here or record some things from my GoPro. Good things are on the horizon.

Chasing a Vision

I do my best to try and write here often, which is apparent that it doesn’t happen as much as I’d like. I do start time write at least once or twice a week but it feels too forced. I don’t like that feeling, if I don’t think it’s something worth writing I’ll delete the draft and go on about my day. Two weeks ago we ushered in a new year and with that the usual “new year new me” mantra that everyone takes hold to. Instead of resolutions I gave myself two goals : finish the projects you’ve started before taking on anything new and being better than the day before. Simple and straightforward. I tend to get myself going in a thousand different directions with no clear direction.

I now have direction and motivation. The next 12-16 months are going to be a whirlwind of excitement, change and new beginnings. I got an offer on the SportCross and while the gentlemen is on vacation at the moment, it’s an offer I may not say no to. I love the car but four vehicles is a bit much and It would allow me to turn my focus on the Subaru and getting some much needed things done to the truck that I’ve been putting off.

I’ve gotten into a groove the last few weeks of moving parts to get rid of some excess stuff I have laying around. Sometimes, though, I stumble into something I can’t say no to. I emailed a used wheel company a few weeks ago about a set of wheels they had on their site that were in a rare 5×100 pattern. Time went by and they eventually emailed me back an stated the wheels had sold and the site hadn’t been updated. Bummer.

Two weeks go by and I’m doing my usual browsing of Facebook market place and wouldn’t you know, and identical set popped up TWO miles from where I work. Instincts took over and it was like my fingers had a mind of their own; “are they available?” was the message sent. Moments passed and I heard the “ding”.

“Yes” was the response.

17×8 +29/+35 Blitz 01’s. They’re mine. Excited is an understatement. I have an overall vision I’m chasing for the Subaru and inching closer with each passing week. It won’t be a quick process and it won’t be easy.  I’ll get there, slowly but surely. I can’t wait until I can get in the Subaru when I complete this vision and cruise some back roads. Sometimes going back to the beginning pays off.

 

Small things

No, I’m not talking about Blink-182 (although, now I’m singing it). I’ve gotten into a groove over the last couple of weeks of checking off at least one or two items on my to-do lists on my cars. The main focus right now is the SportCross. The eventual goal with the Lexus is to make it the daily driver and eventually move on from the Dart.

Living close to my parents again helps with the motivation. It’s only about 100 yards away from where I live so it’s super easy to head over, move their cars out of the garage and work. This week I had a small list of things I wanted to get done :

-Adjust the read coilovers

-Fix my rear-view and driver side mirrors (rattles like crazy)

-Install the rear Eibach sway bar

-Run new hood latch cable

Tossed the car on jack stands and removed the rear wheels and adjust the BC Racing coilovers. I sprayed the bolts for the OEM sway bar since they were rusty as hell and I know my luck with broken bolts. Sure as shit the first one I touch, snapped it off. It was at that point I decided to not venture down that road laying on my back and wait until I got to work this week and put it on a lift.

I’ll admit openly I’m no mechanic. I know my limitations very well and will never hesitate to ask a friend for help (usually it’s one of my best friends, George who is all too familiar with my usual shenanigans lol). Tossed the wheels back on and set the car down. I measured at least 20 times to make sure both sides were even, but still unsure of myself I got creative. I took two Popsicle sticks and taped them to the top of the tires then measures from there. Damn near perfect. I laughed at myself because, really, who does that?

 From there I fixed the mirrors which was as simple as just tightening some loose screws. Oh, while were talking about screws, apparently none of my dash and gauge cluster was screwed in. When I say none, I mean NOTHING. After digging through decades of screws and washers my Father has stored I managed to get it all tightened down. I popped the hood with anticipation of changing the latch cable, but I just ended up checking the fluids and calling it a day.

I really just didn’t want to mess with much any more and I had already felt pretty accomplished lol Straightened up the garage and grabbed some fresh cookies from my mom and sister who had been baking most of the afternoon, said my goodbyes and made my way up to the car wash to spray the car down since I hadn’t washed it since I took ownership. The list is getting shorter on what I want to get done, which I’m pretty happy about. Hoping next time I’m in the garage it’s going to be spent installing the black carpet I picked up. That’s all I have for now. I recently just turned 28 and time flies when you’re having fun; I received a GoPro as a gift which has me hoping to create some type of video content. Until next time.

Change is in the air

In September I wrote how I acquired a dream set of wheels, the Volk TE37. Unfortunately, I had to let them go. While they’re a beautiful wheel and I was beyond ecstatic to have them; they didn’t fit how I would have liked them to. They were gone in less than a week and I ended up placing an order for a set of cast Rotiforms that fit much more to my liking. Speaking of which, I’ve been making tremendous progress on the Lexus. I’ve been fixing the minor things that needed attention and swapping over to a black interior from tan. Slowly working it’s way towards daily driver duty. The list of things to be done is growing shorter, but the list for others grows. It’s a never ending process haha.

In a twist of fate, I happened to reacquire my old Subaru back a few weeks ago. I have no real plans for it right now but anyone who knows me knows that won’t last long. I feel like I have unfinished business with my vision for it so I’ll probably work towards my end goal with that car. It holds so much sentimental value that I feel like I owe it to myself and the car to finish my original vision.

Thanksgiving has come and gone and we’re now on the cusp of Christmas time, the weather in the North East has been pretty erratic. This past Sunday however it ended up being close to 60 degrees and beautiful out. Which meant putting up Christmas lights for my father. It wasn’t all work though; I managed to talk him into backing out his GTO for some sunlight and a wipe down before going into winter hibernation.

It’s a car I love and adore. I bragged about it growing up and talked about it to anyone who would listen. “My Dad has a GTO” was a phrase I will never get tired of saying. As I got older I realized just how odd and hard to find these are, not just because of the namesake but because at the time of production, muscle cars were slowly being phased out due to emissions and safety BS. I incessantly search on craigslist weekly to maybe find one that isn’t priced through the roof, hoping to acquire and put my own spin on a car I’ve loved for so long. It’ll happen one day, I just need to be patient.

High School Influence

In my previous post I said how excited I was about picking up my new wagon. A lot of my original automotive influence took place well before I was able to drive, like most enthusiasts. Wheels play an important role when it comes to the overall aesthetics and performance of a car or truck. All throughout middle and high school there was one holy grail wheel I told myself I would own one day, no matter what.

The Volk TE37. I first saw the wheel on a seniors M3 who went to my high school; carbon fiber everything, wonderful exhaust tone and these GORGEOUS TE37’s. I loved it. Another car that cemented my love for the TE37 was a fella by the name of Bill Vitale and his STi. Those two cars were the catalyst to my goal of owning a set.

It’s a classic wheel both in design and performance. Used across multitudes of racing series and throughout street/show cars it’s a wheel that never gets old. I won’t bore anyone with details but I will say this, it was one HELL of a deal and I’m glad to say these are on their way.

17×9 +15 square set up. Yee-Fucking-Haw. I’ll be posting more frequently to update what’s going on with all the excited new projects. Until next time !

Middle School Dreams

In middle school I had a teacher who had a car that I always reveled at. It was a Lexus IS300 Sportcross. Couldn’t exactly tell you why I loved it so much, but I did. It’s probably what started my strong love for wagons as well, come to think of it. From that point on though, in the back of my head sat that car, the IS300. From my teachers car to the RiskyDevil IS when I was in high school. Something about them just always had my attention. I really enjoyed Subarus, which is why I ended up with my original wagon. While I loved that car and everything it taught I was always stuck with what I wanted to do with it.

I loved the car, but it just lacked power (and the price tag to make it fast was just not in the cards). As I said in a previous post, I sold the Subaru Wagon. Fast forward a little less than a year later, I find myself in another wagon. Not a Subaru, but the same Wagon that I looked forward to seeing everyday before and after school. Just this week, I managed to find one hell of a deal on a 2002 Lexus IS300 Sportcross. To say I’m excited is an understatement. I love the car. Absolutely love it. It’s a blast to drive in stock form and is unbelievably comfortable. I managed to grab a few pictures of it today and below is just one of them. Between here and Instagram I should be documenting the progress on it pretty often, I hope! Here’s to more exciting things on the horizon.

Just Because

Those two words get me in trouble. Not the the kind of trouble I should be overly concerned with but enough “trouble” that I have to rethink how I approach things. Especially my purchases. A majority of my friends know I sit on Craigslist, a lot. It’s habit I’ve gotten into because I’m always looking for a deal and I tend to find some pretty good ones. I come across some wacky things that grab my attention and usually share them out of “look at this!” and a little because I want to save it for later to be able to revisit it. Lately though, I’ve had some close calls.

Since I sold the Wagon I’ve had nothing to really sink my teeth into. I have the truck, but consists of general maintenance and fixing things that at 240k+ miles, need to be taken care of. No real modifications anywhere to be seen, just a big, burly work truck that I LOVE. I’ve stumbled across some killer deals on Craigslist. I’ve made calls, sent emails and texts to kick the tires but not actually followed through. It’s worked out, though, whatever I had my eye on either turned out to be a bigger piece of junk then it showed or I just changed my mind to the next shiny things I found.

Last week, however, was a little different. I got it in my head that I build something from the ground up. I set out on the normal Craigslist adventure for what I thought was going to be easy to start with, because if you start with a blank, clear slate how could it not be, right? I found what I thought was the PERFECT chassis. My gut told me to text a friend to get some insight on my bright, fool proof idea. What’s that saying, good friends are hard to find? Not in this case. I asked a vague question which turned into me spilling my plans out simply because my friends read me like a book. A few texts later, and a dose of reality I decided against it. Not that I couldn’t do it, anyone can do anything with the right amount of time and patience but at the end of the day, what I wanted to do wasn’t me.

After that I cleared the board of everything. Project ideas, gun build plans, everything. My previous mind set of “just because” was scattering me all over with what I wanted to do.too much going on in my brain. I needed a reset. I believe I have it figured out now. With this “brand” that I created for myself, it’s more about finding what suits me best. Not anyone else, but me. Which, come to think of it, I’ll be happier in the long run. It may take a while, but i’ll get there.