Meet the Baja Blast!

I recently found a 2006 Subaru Baja Turbo that was in need of some TLC.  With the body in good shape, an accident-free title, and an affordable price, I managed to make it mine.  This one is an Automatic with a 2.5 liter Turbocharged Boxer and 114,000 miles on the clock.  The interior was really dirty and the drivers seat leather was torn, but after some serious cleaning, I got it back in good shape.  It needs some mechanical love but will be great once it's all caught up.  To get it, I had to sell my 1999 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS Coupe, but it went to a good home and I'm excited to now have a fun AND functional car.  

There's a laundry-list of things I need to repair and replace to get it running right.  The brake pads, brake rotors, shocks, suspension bushings, and endlinks were all pretty shot so I've been going through those to fix em.  As with any vehicle that has lived it's life in Nebraska, the salted winter roads have not been kind to these components and some of the bolts have been troublesome to remove.  Still, I've been making good progress with these items and should have it riding right pretty soon.

Once I'm done getting the "Baja Blast" up to speed, I'll hopefully have a better idea of which direction to go with this in terms of modifications.  I think I've at least settled on the idea of not going any lower than stock ride-height, as I do like the 8.4 inches of Ground Clearance on this.  I've never had a tall Subaru before, so the idea of going off-road and having fun where my 2016 WRX STI can't go.  Light bars, lift kits, knobby tires, there's a lot to consider in this realm.  

It's nice having two different spectrums of Subaru-ness at my disposal.  The WRX STI is great on pavement and has a good time on dirt for Rallycross.  Plus I get my manual transmission fix with it and a good amount of power.  The Baja is a Blast in it's own way, giving me good ground clearance and hauling capacity while still delivering fun with it's turbocharged engine.  I feel like it's a good mix and look forward to enjoying both ends of the spectrum with these two.