Tlag

Great stuff. Thanks for that. Should have another episode to report on in the next few days too, so good timing. :)

Definitely electrical. Although I'm surprised that no codes have shown up. Going back to basics, you have fuel, you must have air so the next question is sparks. Has the coil pack failed ?

I would think that unless is has an absolute cast iron subaru service history, they won't want to know. Hope I'm wrong.

Those numbers sound ok. The fact that they are so similar means the rings and pistons are in good shape. You are however losing a lot of oil. Take a look under the car at the bottom of the engine and gearbox. My bet is that you will find the underside covered in oil. If the underside of the sump is covered, I would suggest the front crank seal. If the sump is dry, I would suspect the rear crank seal. If the underside is totally dry of oil, it may be a rocker cover gasket ( although they normally just weep and wouldn't leak that much oil in that time scale.

Id not seen the overhead Lotus shot before. Is it an optical illusion or is one bit longer than the other?

You,re right, its just the noses that look wrong. The Mclaren looks like an anteater and the Lotus is really odd with two protrusions. The rest of the car is ok except the rear wing which looks like something is missing. I know thats to do with the new regs and its something we will get used to.

I can almost guarantee thats head gaskets. The little copper flakes are a sign that a previous owner knew about it and threw some of that head gasket fixer stuff in to it. That stuff is only ever a quick and short term fix. (believe it or not, Subaru in Europe actually sell and endorse the stuff). If its still under warranty, they should sort that out, but make absolutely sure they skim the heads when they are off, otherwise the problem will return.

That nose section is truely ugly! In fact, all the new cars I have seen so far for 2014 are pretty much the same in the ugly stakes. Looking forward to the season though. It should be very interesting rather than predictable. :)

Spur of the moment actions like that are pure instinct for most of us. We just have to hope that like you, our instincts are correct at that precise moment in time. If you had braked instead of accelerated, the outcome could have been a whole lot different. Glad to hear it worked out well for you. The car undoubtedly helped, but the instincts were yours ;)

Sounds like a good project. Don't forget to add pictures as you go :)

Worn diff bushes perhaps, making the diff slide back and forth on acceleration and braking.?

Fuel economy dosnt always follow. My old 2.0 an legacy was about the same as my first twin turbo legacy. May have been something to do with my right foot though :) Seriously though. The pros of a GX: cheaper insurance, Will probably not have been ragged to death Less to go wrong Pros of a wrx/STI: Power, Looks, (personal taste) Power, Tune ability. Cons of wrx/STI: Insurance Fuel Probably has been ragged to death, Money pit, once you start modifying it. It's all down to the budget you have right now and a budget for the future.

Welcome. I doubt you would even get a skyline shell for £500, probably the same for the IS to. I would advise looking for an Impreza sport. A lot have Been made to look like sti's and with plenty around, you should be able to get one at the budget you have. The DCCD system allows you to control power to the front/rear but the models with it are way above your budget. You could go the route of modifying an Impreza to make it totally rear wheel drive, but it's not a cheap mod to do it properly.

I've never been asked that before. Several answers really depending on the actual question. If you are asking if you could fit the gl engine and run it as a gl engine, then the answer is yes but it will give you a lot of issues unless you change the ecu, exhaust and a fair few other bits and pieces, probably the gearbox and diff as well. If you are asking if you could fit it and put all the wrx parts on it, then the answer is no because the head will not have the oil feeds for the turbo. If you are asking if you could just use the short motor and fit your heads and ancillaries to it, then yes you can. I know of one engine that was used in this way. While it ran, it was great, smooth and powerful. However, it didn't last long due to the extra pressures of boost and it not being forged. Whichever of the above applies, it would probably be easier to either repair your own engine or get a replacement engine that came from a turbo car.

That's aggressive. I like that :)

I was going to refurb one once. Got it out of the car, drained the fluid, lay it on its side and removed one side of the casing. Took one look and replaced the cover before sending it away. What ever is in there is black magic and I'm not messing with it :) Seriously though, take your time with loads of pics and you should be ok.

Hi, welcome along. Being a relatively rare car, it may prove difficult finding owners on a forum. Have to say though, I have always had a soft spot for them. :)

The seal on my black GTB has also lifted although not leaking yet. When it does, I will try silicone too to re seat it.

That's bad news indeed. Sounds like a real Frankenstein motor. I wonder what the real history of it is.

Pulling the earth off the battery for about 30 mins will reset the ecu. The downside of that is that your radio will probably lose it's memory. I agree with Gambit. Using the green plugs is the factory way, but the battery way is less hassle.

Haha, I wasn't aware of that particular etiquette. Maybe it's a forester thing :)

Hi and welcome. With the engine running at idle, unplug the MAF. If the MAF has had it, the engine will run on without issue. If the MAF is a good one, the engine will falter and maybe even stall. However, if the running issues are fine but the engine rocks from side to side, it's probably got a broken engine mount.

Good work! Looks stunning too.

Just take your time and you will be fine. It is vital that all bolts are tightened to the correct torque settings or problems will occur down the line. Use graphogen paste between all moving parts when you build it, dont go mad with sealant and you should be fine. The head compatability issue: The later heads (V5 onwards I think) have a different bolt pattern to the earlier ones for the inlet manifold. Yours will be the later ones. Yes, the 2.5 STI,s have AVCS which you should steer clear of

Not sure whats going on here. I shouldnt like it because I dont like the evo X looks. This looks so much like it at the front, but I like it. The back, I'm not so sure about though. It may grow on me.