My “practical dream” two car garage has served me well the past two years, but the day has finally come. I’m making my quick car even quicker. That’s right, I’m modifying the Outback.
I bought the Outback second owner in 2014 with about 134k on the clock. Since then we’ve gone ocean-to-ocean, recce’d rally stages, gone off roading, gone kayaking and biking, camped in over a dozen states, and spent way too much time at work. After six years of (mostly) faithful service and now with 215k on the clock, she’s developed a mechanical issue that doesn’t affect performance, and if monitored could be lived with indefinitely, but to truly properly fix needs an engine out service. So here we are.
Knowing that the engine had to come out I did what any Subaru owner would do, I looked at options to add some fast in the process. This culminated in a series of texts with a friend whose company builds motors for rally cars, and ultimately a build sheet. New motor, rebuilt Spec B six-speed transmission, and an estimated ~50% increase in power. Undoubtedly a dumb thing to pay for on a 12 year old, 215k mile car, but the body/chassis is still in good shape, and no other manufacturer is really offering a lifted, AWD, manual, go-fast wagon (don’t you dare say Allroad), so here we are.
Tomorrow starts a two-day, ~700 mile road trip to drop off the car (with several Oppo Hunt stops along the way). With luck in about two weeks I’ll be picking up the finished product. It feels... kinda weird honestly. It’s one of those things I always thought I’d like to do to the car but knew I never would. Now that I am I’m both excited and questioning just how impractical I’m being. (There’s also that third voice in my head, holding a sharpie, crossing this off the list, and queuing up my next big impractical modification to the Outback. Black interior, WRB exterior for anyone wondering.)
Whatever. One more sleep and it begins.
