I have learned a lot over these 10 years. For the time being, I use this as a daily driver and have participated in an a couple autocross events.
Notes:
I bought this car for $2500 in Colorado without even a test drive. For some reason I wanted this model, because I "liked the looks" of this generation of Subaru Legacy. Turned out to be one of the worst models for many reasons, but mainly due to the engine, as well as lack of support and availability of parts.
Right after moving back to Maryland, I was robbed locally at a garage in Owings, Maryland. The owner said they could get my Maryland inspection and clutch replaced for a decent price. They ended up calling me a week later saying that they left my doors unlocked outside of the garage, which aloud a couple of local thieves to take my headunit by ripping it out, causing unrepairable damage to the dash. They then proceeded to take another couple weeks to finish the repair. I had to go to court for months and was never compensated for the damage. I had to find rides to work during the month long repair all for the sake trying to save a buck on auto repairs.
I recently found a replacement for the radio trim in 2024, but I am unable to fully attach unless I replace the entire dash.
The sunroof mechanism broke and I was unable to repair. I had to fabricate a temporary panel until I can find and replace the full mechanism. I had to take out all of the interior panels to access and remove the sunroof. I had mold developing in the carpet and rust on the floor panels. I wired in a led strip for interior lighting.
The paint process was interrupted by the Covid pandemic, hence why part of the car was silver and charcoal grey. The pandemic caused a pigment shortage. I was starting to get rust so I had to come up with a solution. I bought spray on truck bed liner, but developed paint runs trying to apply it. I ended up buying a gallon of roll-on truck bed liner and mixed in metallic flake.
The UEL headers developed a leak near the oil pan where they rubbed. They got in the way of the oil filter, which made oil changes more difficult. They gave that boxer rumble, but I went back to my stock equal length headers.
The cat-back exhaust is for an Impreza. I bought a kit that had a 2-piece mid-pipe and welded in an extension because the Legacy has a longer wheel base than the Impreza. I used a 2.5" to 3" adapter from the catalytic converter to the midpipe. I went back to stock. Both autocross portions are with full stock exhaust with muffler uninstalled.
The cold air intake was only on for a short period of time. I have a K&N air filter installed in the stock air intake system.
The hood risers caused vents to suck in engine fumes.
The oil cooler was fully functional. I mounted it using the metal behind the bumper. It was pointless and made oil changes frustrating.
I had to cut out under the rear seats to access the trailing arm bolt mounting points because one of the bolts broke the weld trying to take it out.
I installed Manzo adjustable rear lateral arms to help get more camber in the rear.
The first 2 sets of coil overs were horrible for daily driving. I drove across country with a set. Damn near caused me to break my back and my nerves. Tried a set of forester suspension for a lifter ride and now I am on a set of Pedders.
The MAF sensor has failed causing me to almost get stuck on my ride home.
I had a misfire in Cylinder 2 diagnoses that turned out to be a bad wire running to the injector.
I had an injector seal rip causing it to leak petrol.
The alternator has been a consistent issue with getting a rebuilt part that didn’t seem to fail. I found a wiring harness adapter to put a 3-prong alternator from newer models.
The first set of wheels were Niche Verona 17x8 I found used. I painted and hyrdrodipped them.
Second set of wheels were a set of BBS 15x6.5. The bolt pattern is 5x114.3 so I need adapters to fit them.
My current set of wheels are white 17x9 +30 Vors TR4.
The brake disc size difference, first picture is of the front brake disc (old) and second picture is of the rear brake disc (new).
The parking brake mechanism has seized due to rust and gets stuck in the cold. The tiniest of pieces needed replacement.
The stock fog lights had water leak and were replaced with little led light bars.
I am on my second Auxbeam light bar. I mounted it behind the grill to help with driving up the mountain during the evening because the stock headlights do not provide enough illumination for night time driving.