Red92

That's a pretty sweet deal.

Colder temperatures and winter blend gas? One suggestion for not running out of gas is to simply not plan on running your tank completely empty! If you start with an empty tank, and a car which gets 20 mpg, you shouldn't fill it up with 4 gallons of fuel and expect to pull into the gas station 79.9 miles later to re-fill. You need to have some extra, so that fluctuations in MPG won't leave you stranded. Second, why are you only putting 4 gallons in at a time and filling twice a week? That would drive me crazy! Try this for a new technique. Estimate your MPG, look up your tank size in gallons, and then go fill the tank completely full until the pump clicks off. Reset your trip counter, and drive until you've gone enough miles that you've used an estimated 80% of your tank. Then, go fill up again completely until the pump stops, recording the amount (in gallons) that it took to fill it. You can now compute your exact MPG. For your next tank, and all future tanks, continue filling completely full until the pump clicks off, and drive 90% of a tank full based on your actual MPG from the previous tank. From here on out, just keep repeating the cycle. It might take a small scrap of paper to keep the running tallies, but you won't be caught off guard by changing MPG over the season, you will make the most use of your fillups, and most importantly - you will always have a good idea how much gas you actually have in your tank. Something which is impossible to know for sure if you keep filling partial tanks without letting the pump stop. Well, unless you run out of gas that is.

Both are answered in the posts above. Another benefit that I forgot to list: The electric block heater can safely warm your engine up while the car is in the garage with the door closed. So while many people purchase and install remote-start systems for the wintertime, this is one area where block heaters come out way ahead. Accidentally remote starting a car that is in an attached garage with the door closed can be a deadly mistake.

Car starts easier in the cold, oil isn't as thick and lubricates better, the warmer engine provides heat to the interior faster, less wear on the engine, etc. They also reduce the time you need to idle your car in the morning warming it up, and help it run more efficiently sooner, so they reduce air pollution.

Thanks Miles. So are you saying that I should disconnect the hose at the radiator, and fill the block through the hose while the engine is running? Will the thermostat allow it to be filled like this when cold, or would it have to be warm for the thermostat to open for the fluid to pass?

Sounds easy enough. In addition to the radiator, do I need to fill the overflow tank to the line? Or should I just fill the radiator and let it burp out into that tank while it is empty? Also, how much higher do I need to get the front? (Is jacking it up with the factory jack sufficient?) Thanks

I took some time this afternoon to check out a few more things on the car. There is a bit of a gurgling sound from behind the dash at startup, so I checked the coolant level. The overflow tank was empty, and the level in the radiator is WAY down there. :eek: I'm not even sure there is enough coolant in there to circulate! I've read that these Subarus take a special coolant, not just plain anti-freeze? I'll have to stop by the dealer tomorrow to pick some up. When I top it up, is the EJ22 one of the engines that needs the "burping" procedure? I'm also a bit concerned about how the level got to be so low, and how long it has been driven without enough coolant. I also connected up the black read memory connector, and got the check engine light to blink the codes. It gave me codes 31, 32, and 35. 31 is the throttle sensor 32 is the oxygen sensor 35 is the purge control solenoid valve It runs and drives fine, so I'll probably clear the codes and see what comes back before I start throwing parts at it...

Got the front struts installed this past weekend!! We had a few setbacks along the way, but nothing we couldn't handle. The car sits a LOT higher in the front now, looks like an inch and a half or more higher. I'll have to measure it. I liked how it looked before better, but this should be a better ride height for winder. Pictures to come... I didn't have my camera, so my brother took some pictures with his phone.

I've seen several links to this site, but I haven't tried their products. http://www.frostfighter.com/prt2100.htm I myself had been looking at the conductive tab adhesive, as one of my tabs is broken off. http://www.frostfighter.com/prt2000.htm

^^ That right there is the very definition of awesome. Does anyone happen to have a video from the event?

Yep... it would be heavier too, and still have the issues with moisture retention.

I'm sure it could be done... perhaps not to the "spray it clean with a hose" stage, but you could certainly manage the other issues with the appropriate covers, access panels, wire re-routing, etc. But keep in mind that the car is going to be pretty loud inside without the interior and sound deadening...

We're *all* really busy. At some point, as a potential buyer, you just give up! If a vendor doesn't have the time to answer questions or to sell their own product, then who really has the time to keep hounding them about it? I'm sure the AA/SOS wheels are great, but that doesn't do us any good if you can't get 'em. That, in a nutshell, is why I think the market is still open for 4-lug 15" steel wheels.

How about a dump truck conversion?

Really! The builder must have had some small kids or something. If anything, I suppose you could lengthen the front doors... but I would definitely take out the rears if I was building it for myself. For the winch, I bet you could just give the rollers and internal bumper support a quick spray of black paint, and cut the hole a touch lower to keep the chrome strip across the top of the bumper, and you'd probably never see the winch even without a cover. :cool:

Forgot to mention - the "hidden" winch in the front bumper is sweet!

It should have a fair amount less weight though! Less metal and less glass on the exterior. In the interior, there are no rear seats, no rear seatbelts, shorter headliner, etc. The rear doors would be gutted (hinges, latches, handles, paneling, window mechanisms, etc), and the rear driveshaft and exhaust would both be shortened. It's a bunch of little things, but all of that weight adds up.

Do it and post the pictures! Random red/green from Google:

Oh! I see what you're saying now. On my report, every title number is different, except the ones in PA. In PA, there were three title lines for 09/2002, 08/2003, and 07/2004, all with the same title number, and all in Philadelphia, PA. But the two in CT at the beginning are different.

Interesting idea. It was titled 9 times, including the initial CT title and my WI title. It looks like it was first titled at just 10 miles, back in 08/1994 in "CT", with the next event being the registration renewal (indicated as being a leased vehicle) in 04/1996 in "CT", and then given a new title in "Farmington, CT" in 06/1997. Lots of registrations and emissions checks in CT after that (none listing it as being leased), but no new title until 11/2001 in MA. The MA registration is from 10/17/2001, but the MA title is at 11/02/2001, and no other MA registrations are listed.... so I'm assuming that it just took a few weeks for the title to process. I'm not sure if that gives us enough to go by though, to tell if the first real "owner" was the person who had leased it?

I think generally it is advised to use the POR-15 directly over the rust, without using a rust converter product first (other than an etching prep)... The reason being that POR-15 works by bonding to the rough rusty metal and "sealing" it with a hard protective layer to prevent further oxidation, and the rust converter products can artificially smooth out the metal surface and prevent good adhesion of the POR-15. Not saying that you shouldn't use it... as it seems to work for Miles... but that's just what I've read. For what it's worth, I've used POR-15 directly over rusty metal with great results, so I'd definitely recommend the product. My oldest use was over 10 years ago now, and still looks great. Also, note that POR-15 is UV sensitive... so it really does need a topcoat of some kind (paint, or some sort of undercoat as Miles suggested).

I wouldn't do that.... white with a red lip just makes wheels look like generic trailer wheels... :-\ You know, if these are for snow tires, that might not be a bad idea. It would help out a bit with the visibility.

Got the tracking number yesterday from Shawn... The strut assemblies are on their way, leaving Colorado this morning with an ETA of Friday!

Just curious, was there a reason why you didn't get a matching wheel for the spare, and have it powder coated white with the rest? I've always liked cars with matching full-size spares and identical tires... because when you have a flat and change it, then get the flat repaired, you can just toss the repaired tire back in the car without having to pull the "spare" back off again... But I've also read that some people like having a spare which is different, as it "reminds" them that they need to get their flat fixed. Thanks for posting the "before" pictures, by the way. Gives some hope to those of us with rusty cars.

Yeah, I'm normally not a fan of black wheels either, but they work well on that color Loyale. tractor pole, I'm in the same boat about repainting my wheels. Darker red Legacy, can't decide what to do. I was leaning toward a gunmetal or a dark bronze...