Project Legacy
Project Legacy [Phase 2] (Sandblast / Primer)
Sep 13th
Phase 2 is underway. This is where it is starting to get good. I don’t own or care to learn how to operate a sandblaster so this will be one of the phases where I relinquish work to an outside vendor.
Step 1, getting the chassis off the jack stands and onto a trailer. 4 guys 1 chassis, it’s nothing like 2 girls 1 cup. Getting the chassis onto the trailer kinda gave me the same feeling though, it could have turned messy really quickly. All I kept thinking was “don’t drop it!” But unlike the mentioned short movie, 4 guys 1 chassis worked like magic and was not messy at all. And as simple as that, the chassis was off to Huntington Beach to Primo-Powder Coating for sand blasting and Primer.
One week later and it’s back, looking all nice and pretty in her new primer white color. So that was it for Phase 2. Other than getting the car on and off the trailer, I didn’t have to do much other than take some pictures. I can’t wait to get back into it though, and get my hands dirty.
Next week I’ll be posting about Phase 3, which will be grinding down all of the seams so the welder will have nice bare metal to do his seam welding.
Project Legacy [Phase 1] (Teardown)
Sep 7th
Here we are at Phase 1. Before you can build it it needs to be torn down to a bare skeleton, at least if you’re doing it right. That means it’s being torn down to nothing but the bare chasis.
Pulling the drivetrain was not a big deal, I’ve done it now countless times. Motor, trans, axles and the rest of the drivetrain will be swapped out and replaced with mostly that of a 2003 WRX. But that is still awhile down the road so I’ll write more about that later.
20 some years of use and this chasis is still in great condition. No major dents or bends and no rust! That’s very helpful and a big weight off my shoulders. That’s one less thing to worry about. Subaru sure knows how to build it to last. I expected to find a little bit of trouble here but it all went smoothly.
Pulling the entire interior was pretty much the same, but all of the sound deadening material was a pain in the ass to get out. They must have used some type of glue used by NASA to attach their rocket boosters to the Space Shuttle. Seriously Subaru, some Elmers Glue would have worked out just fine. 6 hours later and the inside was all cleaned up to bare metal, pretty much. The sandblaster can take care of the rest.
Anyway, now that Phase 1 is out of the way the car is looking much better and starting to feel like a real project. I’ve stored away the parts that I’ll be reusing, don’t want the local crack head to come up on some parts (yeah, I’m looking at you).
Phase 2 will be getting it sandblasted and primered so she’ll be nice and pretty for the remaining phases of work. Check back next week for more details on the completion of Phase 2.
Project Legacy [Intro]
Sep 3rd
So about 4 years ago now I came up on this 1990 Subaru Legacy. The previous tenant in our new location had left it here and said I could have it if I wanted. Since then I’ve had many dreams about what it could be.
Since then I’ve been throwing around ideas in my head. Should I build a track car? How about a autocross car? Or maybe a rally car? Or should I just make it a daily driver and trick out my 2003 WRX?
Well, here it is. I finally decided a few months back and have since started work on “Project Legacy”. The plan is to build a fun, entry level rally car on a tight budget. Nothing too crazy, just something I can go out into the dirt with and have some fun and of course be safe. But the idea is to build something that can easily be modified if / when I decide to make it a more serious rally car.
I’m going to be adding posts each step of the way. From tear down, to the first run in the dirt. I will be doing most of the work myself at SubieTech HQ. This is going to be the first shop car and my first chance to rebuild a car from the ground up. This is going to be a great adventure and I hope you follow me along the way. Leave comments or ask questions, it’s all good.
