RS Revival

Some things deserve a second chance.  When it came to this 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS Coupe, there were a lot of things in need of attention, but a solid engine and transmission on this rare find was enough to warrant the long-term project it will undergo.  There's a list of immediate needs that are already being tackled by myself and several other local enthusiasts, so I'm excited to be a part of this.

We've already started digging in to this car.  A thorough cleaning on the interior and a new clutch slave were taken care of over the weekend with the help of 3 of my good friends / fellow owners.  The previous owner must've had a killer sound system in here, as we removed a good 20 pounds of audio cable hidden under door sills and underneath seats.  A plug in the firewall will need to be installed to fill in where the main power was running off the battery for this sound system.  We also removed one of the front steel wheels to inspect the suspension to confirm what we already knew: struts are toast on this car.  Speaking of steel wheels, the front two wheels are steel with winter tires mounted on them.  The back two are mismatched all-season tires with the factory alloy wheels on there.  The other two alloy wheels were in the back, which I removed when cleaning the trunk.

There's the usual rust spots along the rear quarter panels.  This is a hereditary problem with older Subarus, which will need to be addressed eventually.  Body work is a secondary goal to improving this vehicle's driving condition.  There's a rear wheel bearing that'll need to be replaced and struts/tires all around the vehicle.  Luckily, there's help from Aki's GC4, which will lend a hand with this project.  Plans to pull parts from his Impreza L are already underway.

I'm learning a ton from folks who are helping with this project.  What it'll end up as is still quite the question mark, but there's no doubt in my mind that this RS will be making anyone who's behind the wheel smile.  I'm glad to be a part of it!