I thought it might be cool to post up some info about one of my old builds instead of always talking about the S13. Most of you that follow this blog probably only know about my current vehicle since I have owned it for for over twice as long as this blog has been in existence. In 2003 I purchased a 2004 Subaru WRX Sti. It was a dream of mine to own one since up until the 2004 model, it was not available in the United States. I learned in 2002 that the Sti model would be coming to the USA and I quickly came up with a time frame to sell my current car at the time, a 2002 WRX. Everything worked out and I picked it up on July 5th, 2003. I will never forget the day and the feeling of literally driving it off the showroom floor. I bought a white one with the gold wheels… which were about the only two choices you could make when ordering the car: 1) exterior color and 2) wheel color.
A couple of weeks after owning it I tossed on a Turbo XS full turbo back exhaust with test pipe. Needless to say it sound awesome!
Fireballs were comical:
Next mod were some gauges. I was chomping at the bit to up the boost a little on the stock turbo, so I figured at least a boost and EGT gauge would be a smart investment. This was long enough ago that Defi only offered the BF series gauges in white. Defi also made a killer triple hood for the top of dash that went in place of the recessed clock pod. I decided to flush the Defi controller to the left of the cup holder. It was just blank plastic there, but unfortunately it was a tad too wide… so I cut into the face of the cup holder to accomodate it:
A little less than a year of owning it, I finally picked up a set of Work Emotions and the rare Cusco front lip. I was a Cusco dealer and had probably the first one in the USA. I think I also tossed on a set of Sti lowering springs… just to lower it a tad. I was still waiting for some Cusco Zero 2R coilovers to come in from Japan. I also wasn’t adverse in real good wheel/tire fitment back then, but it was what it was. I also dropped in a VF-22 turbo that I port and polished.
Next up was a huge ass Turbo XS FMIC setup. Which allowed me to ditch the hood scoop. My goal was to get the car scoopless, wingless, badgeless and so on. I hadn’t sourced anyone to trade for an RS hood yet, so I went with a reverse cowl for the time being. I also de-oranged the headlight assemblies and deleted the center post in the grill:
A couple pics with my installer’s basically stock EVO. I love these pics just because of them both being white and the fact that the EVO and Sti are direct competitors:
The Cusco Zero 2R coilovers finally came in. Which meant getting this thing a little closer to the ground. At the same time I also installed a wingless trunk lid and WRX sideskirts. The WRX sideskirts actually hang a little lower than the Sti skirts. So I was able to get a more agressive look without going to aftermarket skirts.
Shortly after, I found someone with a mint white RS hood that was somewhat local and willing to trade for mine. So I met him half way and swapped hoods in the Tirerack parking lot in South Bend Indiana:
I finally decided the blue interior had to go. I was able to find a WRX owner that was willing to swap me his OEM black interior with my OEM blue interior. Consisting of four door panels, carpet, rear seats and fronts seats. He also paid me I think around $500 on top. At the same time I tossed some Brides in for good measure:
The dark Emotions were growing old on me and I wanted something with a little more pop. I ordered up a set of Volk LE328N’s. I also landed a full titanium exhaust setup that was just gnarly sounding… I loved it! At that time I installed a set of GT-Spec headers and up-pipe.
I owned the car for 3 years before I sold it to a good friend in 2006. I had some big engine plans for it, but I wanted to start building the S13 instead. So unfortunately I never got to experience it with a ton of power. A random shot of the engine bay when I sold it:
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