1984 Subaru RX Turbo

Here are the spec's of our old car:

Engine:
1.8 turbo, 3 events since complete engine rebuild with forged pistons, rings, new bearings etc, front mount intercooler, BOV, legacy radiator, adj boost, 2-1/4" exhaust

Gearbox:
recently rebuilt (cost $1800.00 and had new 1st/2nd/4th/5th gears, new centre diff, new crwonwheel/pinion) gearbox with WRX RA close ratio gear kit, 12kg viscous centre diff and 4.11 front/rear WRX diff's, over select added to 5th gear.

Suspension:
Front - Bilstein 50mm custom built struts and dyno'd to springs, adj platforms, adjustable front bottom arms (rose jointed inner arm) Rear - Koni adjustable platform suspension Brakes - legacy front calipers with EBC pads (calipers had just had recent a o/haul) and std rear brakes with ELF hi perfromance brake fluid.

Interior:
6 point cage with side intrusion bars, kevlar autosport seats, momo wheel, brantz2 trip meter, terraphone intercom, oil/water/boost gauges, helmet net, hella map light, no belts.

Underbody:
Full underbody protection including rear suspension / diff plate

Massive amount of spare parts incl. doors, guards, bonnet, 2 x gearbox, suspension, driveshafts, 2 x radiator, alternator etc. Approx. 16 x 14" alloys and approx. 15 x 13" alloys, gravel and tarmac tyres.

THE RE-BUILDING PROCESS OF OUR OLD CAR

Well it all began with the Purchase of a 1984 Subaru RX Turbo from an ad in the May 1999 edition of the NZ Speedsport magazine.

I had spent the last two months hunting for a car, missing out on 3 Subaru RX's along the way. I also looked at an ex-Prodrive Legacy, and couple of Mazda GT-R's, but they were all too expensive, and had high repair costs associated to them.

By talking to people involved in the sport on my hunt for a car, I had been persuaded to start my rally career in a Leone, as parts were cheap, they were easy to drive, had good brakes and best of all, weren't too fast to get me into trouble.

So the day arrived, it had arrived on the back of a Carr and Haslam transporter, and delivered, to the great delight of my parents, into their double garage, and the work started from there.

July 1999
It all started here, the car was bought from an ad in the NZ Speedsport. It was in Rangiora, and had all the right bits (or so the ad said, "ready to rally, 100% reliable). So the deal was made, the car put on a transporter, and was at rebuild homebase Swanson, Auckland, 3 days later.

July 1999 - Dec 1999
Well, were I start. The car was in a much worse state of repair than originally thought, and a lot of components or part were in need of an overhaul. So we fixed up the suspension, repaired the mudflaps, fixed the body work, and tidied up the car in general.

Dec 1999 - May 2000
Engine rebuild time. We found two very sad looking pistons, and some strange uses of copper washers to help adjust the solid lifters. So it was new pistons, and a lengthy rebuild with new seals, rings etc. Also painted out all the gravel marks along the side of the car, and repaired some damage to the sills. Added a co-driver footplate.

May 2000 - Dec 2000
There was a second rebuild here, as we had not adjusted one of the valves correctly, and opps, it hit a piston down the back straight of Pukekohe Raceway @ 6,000rpm. So it was 2 new pistons, and a new clutch along the way, as the springs were only just hanging in there. The car also spent a rather large amount of time at the auto electricians, with an intermittent cutout under load. It was a shame they didn't do there job properly, as when it came back it still did the same, and so it was left to my father and I to sort it out. It is amazing what cleaning connectors does for an engine management computer. Bought a set of "new" tyres (Bridgestone RE46r's).

Dec 2000 - May 2001
Pulled out front suspension, and got it rebuilt and dyno'd (what a difference that made to the handling of the car) as whoever had built the originals had made the housing to short, and the piston was connecting with the foot, not good really. The turbo had a rebuild as well due to some high pitch whinning noises, and some loss of boost. A new rollcage, with side intrusion, and more pickup points was next on the list, and that was installed in late Jan 2001, and whilst that was being done, I lightened the car by about 75kg. Added a Brantz 2 tripmeter, and bought some more mags and Bridgestone tyres. Had the signwritting done, so people can see who we are sponsored by.

So now it is finally ready, and we were off, to find out more, click here....