ricochet

**this is not a customer service thread, if you have a question or concern regarding your subscription please call 1-800-927-4344 or use the form available at http://www.subiesport.com Can you believe it's been a whole year since we posted our first thread soliciting ideas for an all-new Subaru magazine? Posted June 24, 2004: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18055 From that initial thread, and others like it posted to other forums, we created Subiesport Magazine. This has been an exciting year, and we have a lot to cheer about! Top "good things" include: - Never missing a press deadline - Only blowing up the project 2.5RS engine once - Keeping the layout and printing top-notch - Nobody on staff has suffered a stress-induced stroke (yet) - Armin's mud-bogging article...we need to do something like that again soon! - No speeding tickets on the staff! - Total readership of 30,000 Subaru owners and enthusiasts! - 5,000 subscribers! - Circulation in over 30 countries--Including New Caledonia and Germany! - Ever-increasing orders from Borders, Barnes & Noble, Chapters, Hastings, Etc... - Record high sell-through on the newsstands! - Made a 1-800 subscription line available for subscription orders, address changes, etc. Of course we're not perfect, and we see that there are some areas that we still need to work on, or that we've messed up in the past: - More Legacy coverage! - Some prizes took way to long to deliver to contest winners. - Still finding small (and some large) typos after an issue prints. - Still not shipping periodical class (the permitting process is expensive and long) - We need to get out to more events (like the recent Wicked Big Meet) - We need to finally start doing our own meets!! - Magazine is still "only" bi-monthly (sorry, no plans to go Monthly--yet.) - Customer service could always use improvement - Post office still looses a few copies of every issue. I also suspect some mail carriers are snatching issues; we're considering going to opaque bags to reduce pilferage. My principal goal for year two is to actually get Subaru corporate to take us seriously. Some departments within Cherry Hill are cheering us and helping where they can, while others are actively campaigning to keep us out of "the loop." Oh, if you only knew! Okay, so now that we've covered the basics, we want to hear from USMB members about what you would like to see from Subiesport Magazine in our second year. Want more Legacy coverage? More GL coverage? Want to read interviews with Subaru's corporate leaders? More from Japan? More tuning or driving tips? Any areas we need to improve upon dramatically? Any that we're particularly good at already? Thanks for reading, thanks for subscribing and here's looking to a fantastic second year! If you're not yet a subscriber, we have a special offer on our Web site--check it out! Cheers, Ryan Douthit, Publisher Subiesport Magazine http://www.subiesport.com

If you do want to submit a story to another magazine and want to improve your chances of having them run it, I would suggest also doing the following: - Pick no more than 10 really good shots already re-sized to 300dpi - Send a .doc file with captions for every photo including the first and last names of people in the shots as well as the make and model of each car. Also include photo credits. - Send a short article, about 300 words in length, that they can use. Do *not* require any copyright restrictions. Just submit it along with your byline and let them know that they can alter the submission as they see fit. Some mags may build a larger story from a shorter one provided, others may cut it down to 100--but that's still something. - Include a list of orginizer contacts (email and phone numbers) in case any follow up is necessary. In fact, I would suggest that whoever is putting this together give it to an orginizer to submit to the magazines. Looks more official that way. Also, this is important, get the article and pics sent within a week (preferrably in a few days) to the magazines you're submitting to. And if sending in "cold," follow-up with an email asking if they received it and if they would like anything else to go with it. Cheers, Ryan

Ah, good suggestion. And for everyone recommending tranny swaps...doing so will, in fact, make us less competitive. Once we do that, we're in open class with the STi's and much more experienced drivers. We'd get our assets handed to us on a silver platter. Sticking to stock components will allow us to run in the Historic class--the only place this chassis really belongs.

From the primary inspection it appears to just be surface rust. I was thinking about just putting it up on blocks, and sandblasting the underside to start. Any alternate suggestions? R

Any suggestions on getting rid of the underbody rust? For those that have done it before: should we just do it first (and suggestions on technique). Or should we get it running, then worry about the underbody rust? Thanks! R

Photos have been posted of the 1400 DL! http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?p=234222 Cheers, Ryan

This is a continuation of the Subiesport Magazine 'old school' project thread located here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=28964 In that thread I basically asked for suggestions for an old school project. It later turned out my grandfather had this 1400 DL sitting in a barn and was willing to 'donate it to the cause.' It's a 1976 1400 DL 4WD Wagon powered by a 1400cc (hence the name) boxer engine. We're going to build it up into a historic class rally car and detail the progress in Subiesport Magazine. Now, back to my regularly scheduled post: ============================ Okay, here are the first shots of the car. I went up today for a little recon to see just what what sitting in the barn--and what wasn't. Replacement 36,000-mile EA63 engine Engine goes here, apparently 75,000 on the odo (though I wont be suprised if it's really 175,000--but 75k is what my grandfather was told) Currently powered by a small forklift Did you know the 1400 DL has a "city" and a "country" horn volume control? The rear is a bit loaded with parts from the original engine Okay, now you've seen it. What do you think? Suggestions for where to go from here? Obviously we need to get it running. What would you do? Remember, I'd like it to be up and running (safely and reliably) in time for the June No Alibi TSD gravel rally I'm out of town for a couple days, but will check back when I return. Cheers, Ryan Douthit, Publisher Subiesport Magazine http://www.subiesport.com

Here's a long-shot...anyone know the company that did the *original* sticker and paint jobs on the Ski Team cars?

Of course, I'm assuming it still has some of the elements from the original use...if not, then I really dont need them.

Eeeeeeexcellent. Can you email over some photos from different angles of the car you have? Also, I'd be interested in buying a sticker set--right after I take a look at my families' car one more time (just to make sure I'm not getting in over my head )

I did a bit more research on the '76 1400 DL. As I had hoped that model was indeed the factory car for the U.S. Ski team. There's my target.

Who said we wouldn't put an EA81 into the 76 Wagon? (just kidding )

Hmm....possible parts car?

I get the feeling we'd still get creamed by Glenn Wallace's Historic RWD Ford Cortina (the only other 'regular' historic running club events on the west coast) My favorite Wallace quote "we slid around a corner and took out a taillight...bummer since thats one of three I know of still in existance" (and yes, I'm paraphrasing Glenn)

I'm going to get an inventory of what needs to be done to it this weekend. Hopefully, it'll be in good enough condition to get it running in time for the WCSS7. Worst case scenario...it's at least light enough to tow with the RS

Nope, in Bow...just north of Mount Vernon. With this we'd be looking to 'duke' it out in the historic class. Of course, that now means that the "real old school" is covered and we can upgrade next year to an RX. Note that I only wanted to be able to participate with this first car out. Granted, this is a bit more "classic" than I was expecting (being the first year Subaru introduced an AWD car in the U.S. makes it a pretty special model). Also, when we "move up" we can keep fileding this one in historic...or, at least that would be one option. And as far as sitting too long, he does rotate his vehicles around. I'm not sure what he's done with this one. But he has a circa 1930's dumptruck and a 1920's CAT he still uses regularly. "no reason to buy newer ones, these work just fine!" -R

I found a pic: Though the one we have is red...

Okay, here's something out of left field. I was visiting my grandfather this past weekend and there's an old wagon he's had sitting in the tool shed for as long as I can remember. I didn't think twice about it normally. However, this time I looked closer: It's a 1976 Subaru 1400 4WD wagon with manual tranny. There's also a 'spare' engine pulled from a JDM model just waiting to get installed . Check out the stats: (from cars101.com) Front wheel drive or 4wd (wagon only) Engines: 2 barrel carbed 4 cylinder 1.4L or 1.6L OHV 'quadrozontal' engine, known today as 'horizontal opposed', SEEC-T' (Subaru Exhaust Emission Control-Thermal) Transmssions: syncromeshed manual 4 spd, manual 5 spd, Automatic 3 spd (not avail in Califonia: 5spd manual, automatic) Suspension: 4 whl independent Steering: rack and pinion, 13" wheels Brakes: power assist front disc, rear drum Economy- 29/39 (5 spd manual, US spec, not Ca spec) Fuel tank: 2/4 door: 13.2 US gallons. Wagon: 11.8 USG Turning radius: 4wd wagon 75: 31.6ft, 76: 32ft AM radio,

We're pretty flexible as to fitting our definition of "old subaru" though I think that coupe would be about perfect. We'd even fit into the historic class IIRC. What I'd *really* like (aside from all the wonderful mutant build suggestions) is to have a car that can be picked up, tinkered with only slightly and then manage to run the No Alibi TSD (2-day) gravel rally without getting stranded. As far as story development, this isn't going to be one based on fabrication, or even performance, but taking a and older car and doing something fun with it--but mostly, keeping it accessible (well, at least at the beginning)... For those that remember, Sport Compact Car Mag ran a story about 6 years ago on rallying a Datsun 510 in the Ramada Express. It involved barely making it in one piece and at one point taking "the worlds largest hammer" and whacking the drive axel so they could complete the event. That's the story we're looking to make ourselves. Ryan

We would like to get one that's relatively easy to find....

Hey All, Subiesport Magazine is considering purchasing a 1980's-style Subaru to run first in the No Alibi TSD rally (June 11th-12th), then prep for full-on rally--hopefully making its debut at the Ramada Express Pro Rally later this year. We don't expect to win. We only ask that the car can finish reliably. After a year-or-so we'll then upgrade to a more class-specific competitive vehicle...and keep this one around for offroading and such. So, members of the USMB, it is in your hands: Which old-school Subaru should we consider for this project and why? Oh, and we want to spend under $1000 for the vehicle. I'll check in on this thread regularly. Thanks, Ryan Douthit, Publisher Subiesport Magazine http://www.subiesport.com

No, we have a single subscription shipment. That's just a generic message. You'll get yours in a couple weeks. Ryan

Actually, I figured there'd be late-comers. Subscriptions received today will be receiving issue number one as well...I was sneaky in saying it was Monday. But I'm not going to commit to any subs getting #1 if received after 5pm (EST) today. :cool: After that, if anyone wants #1...get it from our online store ( http://shop.midnightcafe.com ) or from your local newsstand . Just be sure to subscribe early to get number 2 in the mail. Ryan

Hey all, I posted an update in this very forum a few days ago... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18513&page=2&highlight=subiesport So, you can't blame me for not keeping everyone in the loop Ryan Douthit Subiesport Magazine http://www.subiesport.com

We're on the homestretch for issue one... A quick update for everyone... Last chance to get your subscriptions for the debut issue! To get number one you need to have your sub completed by end-of-day on Monday, October 4th. After that...issue number two will be your first. Issue one is now set to ship out on October 15th. Final numbers: 8,000 copies to newsstand throughout North America and 1,400 subscribers. The debut issue will be sporting 68 pages, a perfect-bound spine, UV Gloss cover and heavy internal stock. Cheers, Ryan Douthit, Publisher Subiesport Magazine http://www.subiesport.com