Kostamojen

Hey guys, im back to work on my '78 wagon. Im picking up some 15" pugs (which ive always wanted to try on this car) and was curious if anyone else has done it. With my experience in fitting plus size wheels and tires on scoobs (Ive run 225's on both of my Imprezas) I can see right away that the rear fender will need major modification. Probably need to remove that entire "inner" lip that seems to be totally in the way. Thats not a huge deal, since im doing major body repair with this car anyhow. I was curious as to what size tire to look for. I dont know if 205's will work with the offset of these wheels, and which height to go with the 15" wheels... 195/45's maybe? Not sure. And are there really any simple suspension handling options for the car? Perhaps even a way of lowering the car if theres nothing pre-fabricated up there. I know all about the lift kits and such, but I dont think ill be off-roading this one... Oh and no new pics yet, at least not til I finish the motor rebuild and get it back in Hopefully I can have that all done here soon so I can get going with the rest of the bodywork and eventually get her in for a paint job (cheap-o Marco paint job of course, i'd do more but paint is just major $$$ ).

One of the Legacy Outback H6's was put into an Impreza, so I dont see why it wont fit in a first gen Legacy (same size engine bay for the most part)

Whenever I finish with the paint job (which wont be anytime soon) im gonna sticker it up with a rally-type sticker job to cover up some of the lousy paint

I updated and added 2 pics, one of the painted fender, and another of the fenders on the car. Next up, painting the hood and trying to get the engine back together http://community.webshots.com/album/166896604vSrMWC/1

I found some zip ties with screw holes, and some plastic thingies that probably wont work to hold them down, but it will have to do... Junkyard ones wouldnt work, because as soon as you remove these things they break.

You know, those little black plastic things that hold down the engine bay wiring in certain spots by poping into holes in the chasis... Little black strap things. I cant find them anywhere, anyone know where to find them?

I'm painting the fenders now

Well the front of the car is painted, im working on the fenders now... The front lip/bumper is also done. Here are the pics of the color, as you can see it is a much better color than the first really bright blue. I call this more of an R2 D2 blue (Im going to use that clear coat type finish, it worked well on the bumper/lip) http://community.webshots.com/album/166896604vSrMWC/1

Its rustoleum mettalic paint, for outdoor use. Cars, sheds, metal toys, etc. (at least thats what is pictured)

This is all just temporary really, because I cant afford any real paint work with the car and just need something done to it because of the rusty spots and such.

Is enamel, acrylic or lacure the kind of clear top coat I should do? Ive seen all 3 in spray cans in clear form, but I dont know which is the right one...

Ya, the dark brown is some rust inhibitor paint I painted on and then sanded smooth before applying the regular sandable primer to the rest of the area. I painted it the darker blue today... Its rather metallic, but the blue is much better. Any suggestions on if I should apply some sort of clear coat after the final layer of paint to protect it?

Ya, I kept thinking it looked like a paint job from a 80's water park or something... It was just too much. It might have been ok if it was metallic with a clear coat, but it was just like ZING its blue!

I thought it was a little too bright... http://community.webshots.com/photo/166896604/187862897BIpUTP So im going to go with a darker blue with metallic. What do you guys think? (more pics here: http://community.webshots.com/album/166896604vSrMWC/0 )

Any other opinions before I start to paint the engine bay? Im just going to do some primer then paint it the same beige... I might change my mind about the outside of the car, but right now im limited on having to paint only SOME of the engine bay so I figure it should be the same color in there... I also took off the chrome accents along the sideskirt area of the car, and I think ill paint some of that black rubber bumper protective paint I used on the bumper on there, might give it a neat look as well as be functional...

My 78 CA model doesnt have cats... And it was passing smog minus idle and speed issues. (a hole in the muffler helps)

At least your car didnt explode in a ball of fire...

Did you have to get the whole dash or just the cluster? Im having a hell of a time finding one of those gauge clusters... I think Ill just get an aftermarket tach.

Bright yellow would be neater than orange... But I'm not sure about either as being the way to go.

Naw, no olive drab for me...

The blue is definatly good, but how could I paint it that blue?

Well im working on some rust repair work now, you can see what it looks like here: http://community.webshots.com/album/166896604vSrMWC The front bumper and brush gard i'm definatly painting black, along with the vent area under the front window. The side view mirrors, also black. I think im going to remove the roof rack... The big question is what to do with the rest of the car. I just got two front doors from a white car in perfect condition (mine have serious rust issues) along with the front passanger side fender which is white as well. I just repaired and primered the front bumper/spoiler piece, and I kinda need to decide what to do before everything goes back in, including the engine (the engine bay needs work as well rust wise) I cant decide what to do about the whole car... I want rally blue, but I cant afford a REAL paint job right now. I could also just leave everything FUGLY for awhile, but since my other car went up in flames im going to have to get this repaired ASAP and drive it to work for awhile... I saw the SCC article about the STI they painted flat black (absolutly horrible thing to do to a new car, but for an old car...) and it gave me ideas. Maybe just paint it flat black? But it seems harder to clean... Maybe just paint it white, or grey? But those seem rather plain... I also think I want to paint the headlight backing plates some interesting color... Red, maybe yellow? I dont know, I was just going to do black (they are all rusted up and need SOME sort of color...) but something like red behind the lights/grill with a flat black paint scheme would look rather interesting... I do plan on putting some scoob stickers on it later, since this will be my official "Rally support vehicle" (well not really, but you get the idea...) Ideas? Photochops?

For a $500 STI drivetrain, I would buy plane tickets, fly there, rent a uhaul and drive it back from wherever it is. Its that damn good of a deal.

An STI drivetrain in the US still goes for what, $8k usually? Maybe more?

:eek: