My teacher back in 2004 had one of these. I had no clue what it was but I saw the big fog lights, big wing, blue paint and gold wheels. I told her those fog lights are going to get her into heaven. It wasn’t until I played Grand Turismo 3 I realized what this car actually was. She clearly knew her cars.
I always liked the Alpine White RS. I was a tech when these were new. I had a set of 98 gold five-spokes that I put on a 99 white RS during a PDI and I thought it looked so good. I like the 2000-01 six-spoke and the TR brake upgrade too. The Corbeau seats are so much better than the stock RS. The Bilsteins are a great upgrade. Also the Borla header and Stromung exhaust used to be the thing but they were good upgrades. There are a lot of period mods to it but a nice car for sure. Just clean it up and drive it as is.
Thanks man! I always wanted a white one. When I was 16 I used to drive to the Subaru dealer and stare at a white one and silver one that sat forever. Wish I bought one then. Thanks for the info! I did not know the headers were Borla or the six spokes were 00-01. Id like a pair of both to be proper. Also, rs seats would be good to have too, for value. Harnesses are such a pain as well. If you notice any other subtle changes let me know!
I had a similar CAI on my 99 RS when I bought it. When I drove in flash flood rain, it would start missing/dying and I'd have to limp it home/to work. I ended up buying a simple, aftermarket pipe that puts the filter under the hood. Wasn't concerned with performance because it's my daily (and it's NA obviously).
Hey mate great subie you got there, car look almost identical in paint and spec to my wrx difference being mines a 4 door but you got a pretty nice car if you need any wrx parts I can keep a look out for you in australia as wrx gc8 part can go for pretty cheap sometimes and white gc8s were somewhat common in australia so I can help you find oem wrx panels, light and trim pieces, can’t wait to see you fix up this car and turn it into a proper Subaru, like what the us should have got in the first place. Edit: I can find a set of 99’ wrx seats here for pretty cheap around 250-300 aud And I’ve got a oem 99’ wrx gc8 top mount imtercooler
Thank you! Yes, I am always on the hunt for parts. Grill, bumper, seats, lights, fog covers, spats, aeroguards, you know all the good stuff we never got! Email me if you run across anything. Road patina at gmail.
Did you ever tell us how much you picked this one up for and where? You really picked apart every single aspect of this one when you get down to it there’s quite a lot of repairs needed here. I have a white 2000 2.5RS coupe 5-speed that’s 100% stock driven by a grandma with every single factory option on it such as gauge pack, strut tower bar, subwoofer, CD player, sunroof visor, and even rear mudlaps. There was like 60 callers on it after I already secured a deal on the spot. Crazy fun story I love this car and it’s my third 2.5RS and by far the best one. I would keep it OEM no need to destroy one of the few stock ones left. For me stock was always the new modded with these old classic collectors.
Don’t burst my bubble before I even get started! Paid more than I am ready to admit to my wife. Yours sounds like a dream… ready to sell it?! I will be waiting!
@@RoadPatina haha that’s why I asked the price so I can get a feel of where you are at. I love my RS but if I ever do sell it would only be to someone that’s highly knowledgeable and that would keep it 100% stock being one of the few unicorn survivors.
@@MPowerSubie12 that’s the reason I pick up the white one, so many are hammered and beyond reasonable restoration! I plan to get it as close to OEM stock as possible. The search for the perfect unicorn mystical creature continues for me… not so much for you! Give me a shout if you ever consider letting her go to a warm caring home.
@@RoadPatina I know exactly what you mean! I’ve actually looked for these cars up to 12 years ago and it was just as hard then. I will let you know! And I will try to get some photos on IG perhaps as I don’t have the time for UA-cam anymore.
DEPO makes the crystal clear head lights! they are glass like OEM and fitment is great. My OEMs were in prefect condition but wanted to replace them just incase they ever get damage or chipped I won't feel so bad lol
@@RoadPatina Yeah Depos are really good. I bought SpecD at first and had to return them quality was terrible....I'm keeping the OEMs for now, I think I'll be looking into getting a second "GC8" project in the future.
I have a 2000 just like it, same color. I tired of it's issues and parked it and bought a GTi. It's a great car. I really need to find the time and money to get it going again.
Dang, and the OEM door cards are in good condition. Every one I see including mine has wrinkle looking damage where your hand goes to open it. Nice find!
The hood and fender never lined up perfect. But that fender was in accident. “Upgarage” in Japan has stock lug parts. Check the trunk, left and right don’t line up either😁 The stock exhaust is the exact muffler off the Forester and it sucked. That muffler is great! Courbo Seats are the JDM STI upgrade they were featured in the Subaru catalog. The stock seats are ok. The under coating is like that. Had mine 3 years in Minnesota so that rust is not bad. Subaru had Very thin paint. All the GC8 Subaru here are rusted in rear fender. Get Hyper-Rev 2001 mag has great upgrades info. Get the Whitline antilift kit too pluse a brake booster brace and as line from booster. Transmission mount and Cobb short shift if u can find it. Use Redline 75-90 LSD fluid only rear LSD with some redline grip additive. Great autocross car! 😁 P.S. still have my stock shift knob😁. Sold car with $5000 worth of upgrades, Still miss it.
Lots of panel gaps but never an accident on title. Maybe a small bump here and there! Muffler is subtle and period correct, I would like a stock one for back up. Already has the COBB short sifter installed. Stock one on the shelf. Super clean and relatively rust free considering these cars. Everyone wants a perfect, clean, old car but not willing to put in the time and money. They all need both!
@@RoadPatina Right on 👍 edit: Get a Stainless steel line. Pirtek hose company here made a set of replacement hoses back in 2001. But I don’t know if they do that stuff anymore. I was planning on a turbo(never did). I got Stainless steel brake lines from JDM and SubieGal on the Nasioc Subaru forum out of Washington worked with speed shops suppling things but this was 20 years ago 😁 Also I had an underdrive pulley for accessories. It did dim lights. To counter act this I had a friend install my Kenwood Subwoofer 350w amp with a push/pull 1farad capacitor. When my (trunk installed) battery died. I was able to turn key to accessor position leave for 5 minutes and it started the car😁 That enabled me drive to auto store and buy a USA made Optima. Dang, too many good memories. I’ll keep watching your channel and wish u luck 😃
Nope, I had mine since 2001 (MY01), no rust anywhere after 18 years (sold, also white). California. :D. I think also the USDM is "Aspen White", and the replacement fender is JDM "other" white, that explains why both sides were replaced, and maybe it did have a crash to bowl the front hood up, yeah, the hood should not bend up like that. @3:48 The corner are like that from the factory (above the front blinkers). PO probably had extender on their after market wheels, left the long lug nuts for you. I have a few JDM parts left over. DM me if interested. @22:37 That's possible oil leak that got blown from the front and it accumulate over the diff housing and transmission and cross member etc. Sad to see the truck, there's a hard cardboard that covers the spare tire, it also has a bracket to hold the wrench sets. That backer board is aftermarket, that's should be back of the seats, since you had no back seats. :D @28:11 no not factory, that's something I saw inside an oven. The exhaust manifold is a turbo one... hmm... I still got a leaking OEM factory Y pipe you could fix up, I replaced mine with an OEM factory Y pipe before I sold it, I was about to scrap the broken one... let me know. @28:53 that manifold flanged looks different from stock and the bolts locations are not the same, now I doubt your engine is a EJ25... Continue on, wow, you got an aluminum A arm!!!! Do a JDM version 6. Or JDM Type RA (more difficult) restore. If you have the resource, do STI engine swap and RS25 sleeper.
bought my 2000 RS on 12/28/99 for about 23k USD and still have it...got rust under the gas door at the fender/bumper...also looks like i have some on the drivers side in front of the rear wheel well where the side skirt is...i wish there was a shop that has specialization working on these in my area...i need to get this fixed...i garage mine too...also its a daily driver...looking forward to watching you return this car to factory usdm specs (hint) haha good luck
Great story! How cool that you are the original owner. I wished I bought one back then, well, actually my younger self would have probably destroyed it! That rust does not sound bad and is fairly common. I have watched many videos on people repairing rusted out Subarus. Educate yourself on the best way to fix these areas, then have a discussion with a few body shops. Pick the shop that seams to be me more than competent. Phase one is to get her back to USDM goodness!
Some fun facts about the car: All 2.5RSs had the sunroof and side protectors (they weren't an option, they were standard). The Coupe was made all four years, but the sedan only 2000 and 2001. The automatic sedans are the most rare. Approx. 7500 coupe manuals were produced. The suspension components, the front grill and the rear spoiler are from the version 4 STI. Only the STIs (and by extension the RSs) had painted door handles and mirrors. The front and rear bumper covers are from the Version 5 STI. All RSs had ABS and fog lights. The front emblem IS an STI emblem, but the RSs never came with them.
@@RoadPatina Np. I'm actually restoring the exact same car right now (JF1GM6754XG402246, but your last 2 or 3 digits will be different, obviously. Maaaaybe the last 4, but unlikely)
Its a nice coupe rs. But im scared they repainted it to hid all the rust. Cuz i have 2 GCs with original faded paint and it does not have rust like that. It looks like ur RS was by salt water air area. 😲 hope all is good man
@@RoadPatina No. TLEVs require a MCO/MSO to register. You reduced the number available in CA by 1. Just make the rest of them even more valuable. Thanks :D
Suburu doesn't last as long as Hondas I've ownd both Suburus rust more all or their hardware they probably used low grade and low quality paint it's crazy 90s civic don't even rust that bad
My teacher back in 2004 had one of these. I had no clue what it was but I saw the big fog lights, big wing, blue paint and gold wheels. I told her those fog lights are going to get her into heaven. It wasn’t until I played Grand Turismo 3 I realized what this car actually was. She clearly knew her cars.
My kind of girl!
I always liked the Alpine White RS.
I was a tech when these were new.
I had a set of 98 gold five-spokes that I put on a 99 white RS during a PDI and I thought it looked so good.
I like the 2000-01 six-spoke and the TR brake upgrade too. The Corbeau seats are so much better than the stock RS.
The Bilsteins are a great upgrade.
Also the Borla header and Stromung exhaust used to be the thing but they were good upgrades.
There are a lot of period mods to it but a nice car for sure.
Just clean it up and drive it as is.
Thanks man! I always wanted a white one. When I was 16 I used to drive to the Subaru dealer and stare at a white one and silver one that sat forever. Wish I bought one then.
Thanks for the info! I did not know the headers were Borla or the six spokes were 00-01. Id like a pair of both to be proper. Also, rs seats would be good to have too, for value. Harnesses are such a pain as well.
If you notice any other subtle changes let me know!
Aspen White, not Alpine White. Color code is 51E
@@occamsrazor1285 You are correct.
I’m so excited to see what you have in store for this car. Love your vids, keep it up.
Thank you, Westin! Give me some ideas?!
I had a similar CAI on my 99 RS when I bought it. When I drove in flash flood rain, it would start missing/dying and I'd have to limp it home/to work. I ended up buying a simple, aftermarket pipe that puts the filter under the hood. Wasn't concerned with performance because it's my daily (and it's NA obviously).
Hydro lock is no joke. She is a fair weather car, but still on the lookout for puddles!
I grew up in Santa Cruz! Some things are lookin a little questionable on this car
1:00 Yes. G = Impreza vehicle line, M = Coupe (C is sedan, believe it or not) and 6 = 2.5l SOHC NA. 8 would be 2.0l DOHC turbo
its literally in thr vin, how do people confuse this
Finally omg you said it man everyone is dumb they think it's a gc8 lol. Your a smart guy! Thanks for clarifying it for everyone lol.
Good luck with your RSTI build
@@mattk6629 thanks man!
Hey mate great subie you got there, car look almost identical in paint and spec to my wrx difference being mines a 4 door but you got a pretty nice car if you need any wrx parts I can keep a look out for you in australia as wrx gc8 part can go for pretty cheap sometimes and white gc8s were somewhat common in australia so I can help you find oem wrx panels, light and trim pieces, can’t wait to see you fix up this car and turn it into a proper Subaru, like what the us should have got in the first place.
Edit: I can find a set of 99’ wrx seats here for pretty cheap around 250-300 aud
And I’ve got a oem 99’ wrx gc8 top mount imtercooler
Thank you! Yes, I am always on the hunt for parts. Grill, bumper, seats, lights, fog covers, spats, aeroguards, you know all the good stuff we never got! Email me if you run across anything. Road patina at gmail.
@@RoadPatina I sure will
@@Lplaterwrx aeroguards are at the top of the list, cheers!
Did you ever tell us how much you picked this one up for and where? You really picked apart every single aspect of this one when you get down to it there’s quite a lot of repairs needed here.
I have a white 2000 2.5RS coupe 5-speed that’s 100% stock driven by a grandma with every single factory option on it such as gauge pack, strut tower bar, subwoofer, CD player, sunroof visor, and even rear mudlaps. There was like 60 callers on it after I already secured a deal on the spot. Crazy fun story I love this car and it’s my third 2.5RS and by far the best one. I would keep it OEM no need to destroy one of the few stock ones left. For me stock was always the new modded with these old classic collectors.
Don’t burst my bubble before I even get started! Paid more than I am ready to admit to my wife. Yours sounds like a dream… ready to sell it?! I will be waiting!
@@RoadPatina haha that’s why I asked the price so I can get a feel of where you are at. I love my RS but if I ever do sell it would only be to someone that’s highly knowledgeable and that would keep it 100% stock being one of the few unicorn survivors.
@@MPowerSubie12 that’s the reason I pick up the white one, so many are hammered and beyond reasonable restoration! I plan to get it as close to OEM stock as possible. The search for the perfect unicorn mystical creature continues for me… not so much for you! Give me a shout if you ever consider letting her go to a warm caring home.
@@RoadPatina I know exactly what you mean! I’ve actually looked for these cars up to 12 years ago and it was just as hard then. I will let you know! And I will try to get some photos on IG perhaps as I don’t have the time for UA-cam anymore.
DEPO makes the crystal clear head lights! they are glass like OEM and fitment is great. My OEMs were in prefect condition but wanted to replace them just incase they ever get damage or chipped I won't feel so bad lol
I have the black depo’s on the black RS. They do seem pretty good. So good, you should sell me those OEM ones!
@@RoadPatina Yeah Depos are really good. I bought SpecD at first and had to return them quality was terrible....I'm keeping the OEMs for now, I think I'll be looking into getting a second "GC8" project in the future.
I have a 2000 just like it, same color. I tired of it's issues and parked it and bought a GTi. It's a great car. I really need to find the time and money to get it going again.
Time to let her go? LMK, I always have people trying to buy mine.
@@RoadPatina I've thought about it, and somebody stops at my house every few months to ask about it, but I'm just not ready yet.
@@TheAgeOfAnalog hit me up when your ready!
Dang, and the OEM door cards are in good condition. Every one I see including mine has wrinkle looking damage where your hand goes to open it. Nice find!
Yes, they are hard to find clean! The drivers side is cracked but worth saving.
The hood and fender never lined up perfect. But that fender was in accident. “Upgarage” in Japan has stock lug parts. Check the trunk, left and right don’t line up either😁
The stock exhaust is the exact muffler off the Forester and it sucked. That muffler is great! Courbo Seats are the JDM STI upgrade they were featured in the Subaru catalog. The stock seats are ok.
The under coating is like that. Had mine 3 years in Minnesota so that rust is not bad. Subaru had Very thin paint. All the GC8 Subaru here are rusted in rear fender.
Get Hyper-Rev 2001 mag has great upgrades info.
Get the Whitline antilift kit too pluse a brake booster brace and as line from booster. Transmission mount and Cobb short shift if u can find it.
Use Redline 75-90 LSD fluid only rear LSD with some redline grip additive.
Great autocross car!
😁
P.S. still have my stock shift knob😁. Sold car with $5000 worth of upgrades, Still miss it.
Lots of panel gaps but never an accident on title. Maybe a small bump here and there! Muffler is subtle and period correct, I would like a stock one for back up. Already has the COBB short sifter installed. Stock one on the shelf. Super clean and relatively rust free considering these cars.
Everyone wants a perfect, clean, old car but not willing to put in the time and money. They all need both!
@@RoadPatina Right on 👍 edit: Get a Stainless steel line. Pirtek hose company here made a set of replacement hoses back in 2001. But I don’t know if they do that stuff anymore. I was planning on a turbo(never did). I got Stainless steel brake lines from JDM and SubieGal on the Nasioc Subaru forum out of Washington worked with speed shops suppling things but this was 20 years ago 😁 Also I had an underdrive pulley for accessories. It did dim lights. To counter act this I had a friend install my Kenwood Subwoofer 350w amp with a push/pull 1farad capacitor.
When my (trunk installed) battery died. I was able to turn key to accessor position leave for 5 minutes and it started the car😁 That enabled me drive to auto store and buy a USA made Optima.
Dang, too many good memories. I’ll keep watching your channel and wish u luck 😃
Proud of you!!!
Thanks!
Nope, I had mine since 2001 (MY01), no rust anywhere after 18 years (sold, also white). California. :D. I think also the USDM is "Aspen White", and the replacement fender is JDM "other" white, that explains why both sides were replaced, and maybe it did have a crash to bowl the front hood up, yeah, the hood should not bend up like that. @3:48 The corner are like that from the factory (above the front blinkers). PO probably had extender on their after market wheels, left the long lug nuts for you. I have a few JDM parts left over. DM me if interested. @22:37 That's possible oil leak that got blown from the front and it accumulate over the diff housing and transmission and cross member etc. Sad to see the truck, there's a hard cardboard that covers the spare tire, it also has a bracket to hold the wrench sets. That backer board is aftermarket, that's should be back of the seats, since you had no back seats. :D @28:11 no not factory, that's something I saw inside an oven. The exhaust manifold is a turbo one... hmm... I still got a leaking OEM factory Y pipe you could fix up, I replaced mine with an OEM factory Y pipe before I sold it, I was about to scrap the broken one... let me know. @28:53 that manifold flanged looks different from stock and the bolts locations are not the same, now I doubt your engine is a EJ25... Continue on, wow, you got an aluminum A arm!!!! Do a JDM version 6. Or JDM Type RA (more difficult) restore. If you have the resource, do STI engine swap and RS25 sleeper.
This one is a CA too, but that coastal living has salt air!
bought my 2000 RS on 12/28/99 for about 23k USD and still have it...got rust under the gas door at the fender/bumper...also looks like i have some on the drivers side in front of the rear wheel well where the side skirt is...i wish there was a shop that has specialization working on these in my area...i need to get this fixed...i garage mine too...also its a daily driver...looking forward to watching you return this car to factory usdm specs (hint) haha good luck
Great story! How cool that you are the original owner. I wished I bought one back then, well, actually my younger self would have probably destroyed it!
That rust does not sound bad and is fairly common. I have watched many videos on people repairing rusted out Subarus. Educate yourself on the best way to fix these areas, then have a discussion with a few body shops. Pick the shop that seams to be me more than competent.
Phase one is to get her back to USDM goodness!
@@RoadPatina good idea on watching fix it videos...maybe it was good you didnt get one back then!
Some fun facts about the car: All 2.5RSs had the sunroof and side protectors (they weren't an option, they were standard). The Coupe was made all four years, but the sedan only 2000 and 2001. The automatic sedans are the most rare. Approx. 7500 coupe manuals were produced. The suspension components, the front grill and the rear spoiler are from the version 4 STI. Only the STIs (and by extension the RSs) had painted door handles and mirrors. The front and rear bumper covers are from the Version 5 STI. All RSs had ABS and fog lights. The front emblem IS an STI emblem, but the RSs never came with them.
Love these fun facts! I could you your knowledge getting her back to showroom shape! Well, close to it.
@@RoadPatina Np. I'm actually restoring the exact same car right now (JF1GM6754XG402246, but your last 2 or 3 digits will be different, obviously. Maaaaybe the last 4, but unlikely)
@@occamsrazor1285 I would love to see it and follow along!
How did you find this car in sacramento? I live there but in the south, you beat me to it!
Lucky I suppose!
Tht mf is so clean i love it
Its a nice coupe rs. But im scared they repainted it to hid all the rust. Cuz i have 2 GCs with original faded paint and it does not have rust like that. It looks like ur RS was by salt water air area. 😲 hope all is good man
Surface rust from coastal living. Only front fenders look repainted.
Unlikely to be road salt rust. Road salt is illegal in CA, and this vehicle couldn't have been registered in any other State
Curious as to what you had to give? I just gave more than I wanted to for an 01.
Part of my soul 😂💀
What’s the plan with the car? I still have oem seats and a lot of stock RS engine parts in storage.
Definitely need front RS seats and many random parts.
Where are you located?
@@00imprezaRS So Cal
YES!!!
i cried in the beginning :(
Lol, it’s going to fine!
Could do a simple NA/T setup on this! I believe you have the EJ22 which is a solid NA motor!
That could be fun!
🔥
Very nice find! Restore it, OEM+ with a swap.
Not a bad idea!
Nice get! Those look to be 2000 or 2001 wheels. Get gold 99 wheel on that thing! 😁👍
Thanks! I’ve been searching. I think USDM 99 5 spoke only came in silver?
@@RoadPatina yeah...5 spoke gold for the 98 and 5 spoke silver for the 99..i almost bought 99 5 spokes for my 2000 rs...i think they look awesome
@@bradpittiful7288 *spoiler* I may have just picked up some silver 5 spokes!
@@RoadPatina man thats awesome...congrats!
I might be getting one of these for 3k 😮
Do it!
I don't know how my 04 wrx have dirt dust coming through the vents dirt road
Add a cabin filter?
If you don't mind me asking, what did you pay for this?
An arm and a leg 😂
It’s a GM6!
Yes Sir!
2:03 OMFG....are you in CA? These are TLEV vehicles. It can't be re-registered in CA once it's left the State!
Oh really?!?
@@RoadPatina No. TLEVs require a MCO/MSO to register. You reduced the number available in CA by 1. Just make the rest of them even more valuable. Thanks :D
Keep all original and flip it could easily triple your money without even doing a swap to it..
The problem is, I have a hard time letting them go!
Curious if someone can tell me what makes this car a "unicorn"???
ANd why dont JDM guys run bilstiens??? Ever heard of the 22b? The B stands for bilstiens, literally.
Jdm Sti swap like V5
That would be fun!
Suburu doesn't last as long as Hondas I've ownd both Suburus rust more all or their hardware they probably used low grade and low quality paint it's crazy 90s civic don't even rust that bad
The chassis is begging to be STI swapped. Coming from a JDM STI owner.
I don’t have the heart to do it. Yet!
Depending on the medium used to make the " deal", like Facebook, he could have been sued for breach of contract.