Subaru Tard Eli

*****NOW NOT STAGE VI+, WENT BACK TO STOCK.....BUT THERE ARE STILL A LOT OF GOODIES ON THERE!!!!***

The day I thought would never come has arrived. I have accepted an offer at a new company that will require me to ferry clients about in a more comfortable car that the Subaru. In other words, my beloved monster is up for sale--and it's gotta go fast! My car is a World Rally Blue 2002 WRX with just over 33,000 (!) miles on it. I did try to sell it as a whole package, with every imaginable mod, but I parted it out over the last month and I'll be selling it with what's left on there, including the built motor and prodrive wheels, among other things.

Engine

Stock block
balanced and blueprinted
Forged JE Pistons, with extra oil squirters
ARP head studs
STi RA cams (verify with Mike Shields, who was in charge of the engine build)
Mild head/exhaust port matching
TGV stack delete
Inconel exhaust valves
titanium valvesprings and retainers (verify with Mike Shields)
Stock turbo
GReddy Profec B boost controller (currently disconnected-stock one is being used)
stock radiator

Racing modifications

Weight savings and distribution:
Battery relocated to trunk in custom aluminum box (Apex Motorsports)
A/C REMOVED (but included!)
Full interior

Telemetry and diagnostics:
GEEZ Cube data aquisition unit with PDA interface (Will need your own PDA, but they're really cheap. Software included!) http://www.extremegeez.com/GCube.html
Code puller with harness for PDA
Greddy A-piller turbo gauge

Intake and Exhaust

Stock exhaust
Stock intercooler
Stock intake

Transmission

Stock clutch, but will include ACT Racing Clutch/pressure plate and STi clutch/pressure plate
Stock tranny
Stock differentials

Fuel System
Stock fuel system

Tires/Wheels
Prodrive P-7 17 inch GOLD wheels (purchased January 04)
Falken Azenis tires (purchased January 04)

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Brakes
EBC slotted rotors
Stainless lines all around
MOTUL fluid
stock pads and
AXXIS Metal Master pads (rear and front--spares)

Suspension and Chassis

stock suspension and sways
STi Aluminum control arms
Kartboy short shifter
Kartboy hardened shifter bushings
Kartboy Knuckleball ****

Body
WRB painted side markers
STi replica hood scoop with splitter

Upkeep and maintenance:
FULL Subaru professional manual set (like 6 books)
Oil changed at least every 3K miles (changed December 26, 04)
TORCO tranny fluid used
MOTUL Racing brake fluid
Alignment always by Clarence Brown Alignment in San Diego
Only premium fuel used

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STOCK PARTS AND SPARES INCLUDED: (there are enough here to sell and finance a new turbo, FMIC, lighter wheels, or whatever) Boxed up and ready to roll.

Wheels
One 17 inch Prodrive P-1 gunmetal Spare with tire
Stock 16 inch spare
4 used RE-92 tires with 40% tread remaining (16")

Engine/Tranny
Complete air conditioning system with all parts
Complete air intake box
Two new exhaust manifold gaskets

Exhaust
Axleback straightpipe (this thing is LOUD)

Body
Stock hood scoop
Stock splitter
Stock side markers

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History
This car was bought in 2002 for use in SoCal SCCA Solo2 and ProSolo events. The previous owner, Derek Punch, is a regionally recognized autocroser. The co-driver for the car was Bret Norgaard, nationally ranked Solo2 driver who is an R&D guy over at Bilstein America in Poway, CA. After campaigning the car *stock* for a few months, Derek decided to go big and build it from the ground up as a Street Modified killer, and with only the E-36 BMW M3 as the main competition at the time, they thought they had a great chance of being very competitive, even on a national level, and they were right (once completed, the car did very well).

From there, Derek sought out Mike Shields, widely known in the US as a Subaru guru, to build the engine. Mike outsourced the engine build to a guy named Jeff Stretch, whose builder makes helicopter drone engines for the government from Subaru motors. The goal with the car was to retain stock displacement and the stock block, but to fortify it for heat, heavy boost and racing conditions. In other words, to bulletproof it. The engine was built to the specs of his military drone motors (i.e. very strong). Out the engine came, and Derek worked on shoring up the suspension and chassis while Mike took care of the engine. After some issues with finding parts (mind you, this was in 2002 when WRX parts were still not that easy to come by), the engine came back after the car had been sitting in the garage engineless for almost a year (hence the low mileage). At 10K miles, the rebuilt engine went in. It was balanced, blueprinted, and built 'loose' for extreme temperatures and racing situations. A quote about the engine: "The crank, rods, pistons where all balanced and the tolerancing of the entire engine was brought within all factory specs or better on the low end of the scale. The Pistons to cylinder wall clearance was set up fairly loose, This reduces frictional losses when the pistons reciprocate within the cylinder but may induce a bit of blow by (oil past the piston seals)." This results in a bit of a mettalic rumble at start up and idle, which is enough to let the people at the stoplight know you are not stock. Heads were ported and port matched, all valves are lightweight (exhaust valves are inconel, same stuff as on the space shuttle), TGV's removed, titanium valvesprings and retainers, forged JE pistons, etc etc. Whomever wants to can call Mike Shields and ask about this strong motor.

Once the engine, suspension, brakes, and LINK ECU were all set up, Derek autocrossed the car in a few Solo events. This car participated in only about 10 short events total. Autocross events typically only have less than 5 competitive minutes of driving per event. A spirited canyon run can put more stress on a motor than an autocross. Derek decided to sell after finding an M5 that tickled his fancy, so I bought it last September for $23,000 at 14K miles (3K miles on built motor). Score for me.

The car was dynoed with the VF23 quite some time ago with about 265 at the wheels, which is terrific for that turbo and the very, very conservative tuning map. Obviously, with the right octane, turbo, and tune, this engine is capable of well over that. It was built for strength and the parts definitely prove this. Redline with those mods comes up QUICK.

So, the Cliffs Notes is that this car already has a built motor, if you're looking to go down that route, but as it sits today, almost totally stock, it runs great and even a bit quicker that new WRX'es because of the engine work. No expense was spared on the engine buildup (If you know how expensive inconel is, you can appreciate that!). Autocrossers/Solo guys would probably want to get another VF23 turbo back in and run that if they wanted. Maybe an STi Type RA gearbox would help too. Drag racers would only have to drop a bigger turbo in there and into the 12's you go. It's really set up at a crossroads, ready for whomever to adapt it to whatever they want. Hell, put a cage in it and rally it.

There is so much money in the engine of this car I can't believe i'm selling for so little. I just need to sell it quickly for what I owe.


Issues/Concerns

--The tranny is not perfect, but still runs fine. First gear whines a bit when coasting and the synchro between third and fourth is chipped, which are annoying, but no big deal. I have TORCO tranny fluid (the best) in there and baby it. I bought the car this way and have driven it over a year with NO problems at all. I also know a shop (Aerosim Research) who will swap one in for $1,000. My asking price reflects this smudge on an otherwise awesome car. Drives just fine as it is though. Could go another 30K miles as is.

--The underside of the car is scraped up a bit. My roomate ran over something and bent a few of the wheels, a suspension mounting point on one of the coilovers, and scraped the underbody, but no other real damage was done. To be certain, I had the car checked out at an alignment shop, chassis is perfectly straight. I also had ALL THE WHEELS, SUSPENSION, AND TIRES replaced.

This car is a little loud (forged pistons, built motor). The paint has typical small rock chips here and there. The hoodscoop has developed a barely noticeable deformed lip after running without a turbo heatshield. The car still looks great though, as it has been garaged almost every day since new. Washed weekly during the summer and waxed regularly. All preventative maintenance was handled on time and with only the most skilled mechanics.

PRICE: $17,500 obo. NEED TO SELL, NO PARTING OUT!

Subaru Tard Eli

bump for new lower price and almost back to stock.
eli