The latest addition to my driveway.

As you can see it needs some TLC.

The first thing I did was spray down the engine bay, I should have taken a before shot, you wouldn't believe how much gravel dust was caked on everything.

It's all over the bottom of the car too. There was so much stuck in the wheels it had thrown them off balance. I took them off and cleaned them, and like magic it doesn't shake anymore on the highway! :-p

The underside of the engine isn't any cleaner...

 

The headlights are gonna be the first cosmetic fix.

A couple night shots. Low beams

High beams

Now there was a bit of ambient light when I took these that the camera couldn't pick up, but when I'm out in the country driving, that's about how it looks in front of the car. It's scary dark.

I might post a tutorial on how to polish the lights and make it last if I can remember to bring the camera along when I do it.

Then I'll get the back bumper taken car of...

and give it a good detail all around. It's also got a few dents in the hood and doors that need help, but I know a guy who can fix those for me pretty much any time for practically nothing, so they're not too high on the list.

 

I'd also really like to find some GT wheels for it. Though it looks like it may be a little difficult to get them.

Anybody know if a set of the two piece lights from a newer (like a 99 maybe?) Legacy would fit? I'm talking about the ones with the clear lens with no reflector lines.

Edited August 7, 200916 yr by Fairtax4me

Hey, it looks good--but then I'm partial to my good old '95!

 

What year? Tranny? Mileage? Do you know any of the cars history?

 

Happy cleaning and tuning!

96, manual, just rolled 167k miles yesterday. Don't know much about the car, except that it was in our body shop a few years back to have the front bumper replaced and one of the fenders repainted.

please do a headlight polish wright up. i know the scary night drive on the pass and country roads with no street lights. i was thinking about doing a wet sand with 2k grit. then a good polish, but dont know if the wet sand would make it worse if thats possible:lol:

For what it's worth to you, here's a headlight clearing procedure that Josh/Legacy777 wrote up a few years back--a topic that's developed a life of its own!!!

 

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=739&highlight=yellow+sand%2A

 

By all means give us your write-up, with pix if possible.

I have the exact same car, except silver. Really great car. Mine is a manual too. But I have a bit less miles, just turned over 100k the other day.

I have had good results cleaning the haze off the headlights using a paper towel, a little water, and toothpaste. Any toothpaste will work.

 

Have fun with your new car. If it were me, I would just clean off the rear bumper, and not repair the dent in the bumper. I think it would be too costly, besides the dent doesn't look that bad.

if you pulled the bumper off you could probably push the dent out and get it pretty flat.

I have had good results cleaning the haze off the headlights using a paper towel, a little water, and toothpaste. Any toothpaste will work.

 

Have fun with your new car. If it were me, I would just clean off the rear bumper, and not repair the dent in the bumper. I think it would be too costly, besides the dent doesn't look that bad.

 

I was gonna do the headlights this weekend, but the forecast is for 97° and heat index in the mid 100s. If it's cool enough in the morning I'll knock it out real quick, but I kinda doubt it'll happen. I'll be sure to take some pics if I do.

I've seen the toothpaste thing done and it looks good, but it doesn't ever come out quite as clear as a good sand and polish.

 

We have a guy at work who comes around once a week and does paint an interior repairs on our used cars. He does a "good 'nuff" job, and said he'd only charge me $100 to fix the dent and repaint the whole thing. It really looks bad up close because there are a lot of scrapes and spots where the paint is just gone all over the bumper.

Nice BD! Those headlights need some serious attention though. So much so that you might want to consider some JDM projectors!

They should clean up. You might have to sand them with high grit sand paper, and then buff them with plastic buffing compound. But with enough work they'll come back to life. But I'm not sure it is worth it... the lights absolutely SUCK even when they are nice and clear. Before this winter and all the darkness I'm considering going JDM projectors (EXPENSIVE), or making a light bar or something and going with hella 500's. Which would also look badass.

I cleaned a set up on my 91 Legacy early part of last year. Autozone sells a kit that comes with an adapter bit that fits into your drill and comes with 6 abrasive pads with the rubbing agent built in. What one does is spray it with a mist of water and use the drill moving in an all-over fashion.

 

Before:

 

During:

 

After: