cafcwest
cafcwest HalfDork
9/17/20 2:34 p.m.

SOLD

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I'm thinning out the herd and this needs to go.

2004 Subaru Forester XT 5-speed

180,xxx

I am the second owner. First owners were in Fairfax, VA area. No rust!

 

I bought the car in the summer of 2017 while I was doing a consultancy with CarMax and had access to store inventory databases, so I was regularly monitoring used car purchases for things of interest. I bought it in September 2017 thinking "beater/rallycross car/GRM Challenge car" but once it arrived in Richmond, I saw how nice the car was and decided to treat it well and street drive it. This was (is) a really nice car, nice interior, straight body, etc.

 

It was ran into while sitting in front of my city home and the grill was knocked out and bumper cover messed up. I did receive an insurance payout from the person at fault, so that might appear on any vehicle history. I've included pictures of how the car looked when it got hit.

 

After the above, I let the car sit at my garage for a few months. Then a buddy of mine asked me to come drive for him at the $2018 GRM Challenge, so I did a two-week prep of the FXT and took it to the Challenge thinking it'd be fun to compete with two cars. In my Subaru ignorance, I plugged up the turbo oil feed screens, fried the turbo, contaminated the crankcase oil, and killed the engine. It still runs, but it sounds like a rock inside a metal trash can.

 

Things I did to the car (besides blow it up):

- 06 WRX 'four pot' four piston front calipers, Centric rotors, decent Stoptech street pads, SS brake lines all around

- Rebuilt STI steering rack (much quicker ratio, makes it a VERY pleasant/precise car to drive)

- Perrin 25mm front and rear anti-sway bars. Installed right before the Challenge, I remember that I needed to grease them more as they were noisy

- Zip tied in some Jegs spring rubbers into the stock coil springs front and rear, to help reduce body roll for the Challenge

- Camber bolts all around and aligned with whatever WRX auto-x specs I found on the internet.  Alignment sheet in the car

- New Bosch battery, that I've been decent about keeping on a Battery Tender since the car has been parked

 

 

Some other parts I also have for the car:

- No name 17x8 wheels with 225/x/17 Hoosier Wets

- Enkei 17x8 wheels with 245/x/17 A7s

- OEM Forester 16x? wheels with good all season Yokohama tires

- Unknown brand big TMIC

- WRX fitment front struts with Koni Sport inserts, Eibach springs. Can be used on a Forester platform for lowering while still retaining good amounts of travel

- OEM anti-sway bars that I removed

- Other stuff that I am sure I am forgetting.

 

Anywho, I'd like to push the easy button and be done with everything for $2500. Or I would sell it on the OEM wheels for $1800 and part out the rest of it myself. I personally think the parts have more than $700 in value, but opinions are like feet.

Car is currently at my place in South Boston, VA near VIR, but for a serious buyer I can bring it back to Richmond or even help someone with transport if needed within a reasonable distance.  For example I'm heading to Holden Beach, NC next week so that could assist a southward buyer.

 

Pics and a cold start-up video here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BpdyRv6SRsqRUKXa6

 

Post up here or email to my screen name at gmail

Thanks,

-Jay

spitfirebill
spitfirebill MegaDork
9/18/20 6:20 p.m.

Are these AWD or part time 4wd?

cafcwest
cafcwest HalfDork
9/18/20 10:31 p.m.

In reply to spitfirebill :

Full time AWD.  In this generation the Forester is just a tall Impreza.

Brett_Murphy (Ex-Patrón)
Brett_Murphy (Ex-Patrón) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/18/20 11:54 p.m.

These are fun. I already have one.

 

clutchsmoke
clutchsmoke UltraDork
9/19/20 8:20 a.m.

This would make a great sleeper. GLWS

Love it. I'm in no position to buy, but, what a car. GLWS.

cafcwest
cafcwest HalfDork
9/19/20 9:50 a.m.

Thanks.  Yeah during my months of street driving the car it was super practical and fun to drive, if a little thirsty (like all Subarus).

It's a shame that I only got to drive it for a week with the STi steering rack, as that totally transformed the car.

I'm going to give it another week here before I post it up on Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace.  I really don't want to do that, as my tolerance for bullE36 M3 and vape is pretty low.  It's a good car and I'd love for it to go to an enthusiast who will treat it right and get it back on the street and enjoy it.

Brett_Murphy (Ex-Patrón)
Brett_Murphy (Ex-Patrón) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/19/20 5:39 p.m.

Now I'm debating buying this and taking the nicer, less worn interior out of it and jamming it into mine.

One thing to note about these is that it's got the 4.44  final drive ratio with a rear viscous LSD in it. 

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