edrach

You don't have to remove that to pull the axle. I'm assuming you have either an EA81 or EA82 model. Drop me a PM with a 'phone number; I live in Bothell and I can show you how to replace your axle without undoing that portion; save that onerous job for some other time.

Jamal has the right idea. Hankook's are excellent rallyX tires but they will wear down too quickly on pavement as well as not feeling quite right on pavement. A set of nice alloy wheels are not too hard to find if you wait for the right set and the older stock alloys are not too pricey. This is the wheel I use for rallyX, lightweight, fairly attractive and pretty common.

Sorry to hear about the bad luck; good catch. In any event, keep looking there are many good finds in CL now and she'll find what she is looking for. Also, don't discount www.autotrader.com; even though it's mostly dealer cars, there are often good catches there. We got our '97 wagon on Autotrader last year after 6 months of very active looking at a local dealer only 4 miles from our home. Good luck; the car she wants is out there.

Reply to Shawn: Yea, you hit the nail on the head. When Everett's PAP closed all the north Seattle cars went to Lynnwood and the cycle time of cars went from 6 to 8 weeks to a 3 week turnover. Lynnwood is just not big enough to handle all the cars they get.

The manager's comments while talking about Smokey Point: "It's larger.....and it's flat." I may have a problem with it too since I have to go through Everett to get there and that's always a pain.

I spoke with the manager at the Lynnwood PAP today and he confirmed that the new PAP would be open in August. Located around the Smokey Point exit of I-5 (you B'ham folks should be happy about that). It'll be larger and flatter than Lynnwood and is expect to hold 50% more cars when full.

Owning a '97 Impreza wagon for a year now, I'd say go for it. However, know that the price is a bit high. I bought ours last year for $3995 with 120K on the odometer. Also, last year they were far harder to find than now. If you really like the car and an independant shop can inspect it for you (I suggest Smart Service in Shoreline) you should be relatively safe. I've seen a number of them on CL locally with that kind of miles for less than the $3500 you're looking at. Also, you know that the '97 EJ22 is an interference engine so make sure that the last timing belt change was done by a reputable shop and recently done. Good luck with it.

You expected the SCCA news release to be accurate! They couldn't even get the class right for the rabbit. Somehow, they couldn't understand that 2 seconds at the end of 9 runs is equivalent to a photo finish in other types of racing.

News release from SCCA: http://www.scca.com/News/News.asp?Ref=799

The bearings ARE replaceable. I haven't done it on the Legacy knuckle but I have on the GL wagon and Brat; essentially the same. Do you have a reputable shop in your area that can replace them for you? It shouldn't be that expensive; maybe an hour labor and the cost of the bearings.

I think qman knows all about getting the wheels off the ground.

Actually, Craig was doing just fine. But it is hard to get it to compete with the newer stuff out there with an early EA81 engine. All things considered, Craig's times are not bad at all.

Re-reading your post: You bought a new hub with bearings installed? If that's the case, the bearings are bad and the Seller doesn't know what he's talking about. Take it back.

Early Legacy bearings are ball bearings of the non-tapered type so over-tightening them has no effect on the bearing. It won't help (or hurt) the bearing. From your description, you'll need to replace both bearings in the hub.

Odd that NGK's are hard to find in your area. ALL the chains (Shuck's, NAPA, B&B, Bow-wow) in this area carry them. I wouldn't use anything else.

I believe all the starters for EA82 with manual transmission are the same; not sure about the XT6.

Old wagon!? I'll have you know my '97 wagon is only 126K miles old. As in real life, old is just a state of mind.

You're right about that. My problem will be which to order and which one to use for my desktop to replace the white Impreza.

I can't contain myself. Here's a collection of USMB regulars playing at the rallycross. Qman, Zap, edrach, and jrach (with friend). See if you can identify the people (cars are easy). http://www.pdxsports.com/photos/showindex.asp?folder=rxrequests Thank you Wayne Flynn Photography.

Here are a bunch of funky cellphone videoclips. http://www.brokenvaporware.com/rallycross20070505/

This was a very different course for Paul and it required more attention to the correct line than usual. I was under the same dark cloud as you were. But it was a learning experience and still a blast to drive. The pix from Wayne are quite "alive" compared to past events.

Mary, I have a few Oregon friends; if they can get them up to me, I can get them to you. I'll let you know. How much of a rush are you in?

Some awesome shots from Wayne Flynn. Really gets down to how competitive this weekend was. http://www.pdxsports.com/photos/showindex.asp?folder=20070505RX

From Travis: Hey all, I have my pictures up for all those interested. http://shutterdriven.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=2596 ...I have the pictures broken up in morning/afternoon session and then one for my favorites which is also for people not wanting to wade through the 300+ pix I took . I hope I got a decent shot of everyones car, you can copy the low res shots off the page and if you would like to buy high rez prints/high rez digital copies, let me know or buy on the page Travis

Final results for the Regional event this weekend.: http://www.oregonrally.com/files/RX_5_6_2007_Regional.pdf