In My Shadow

Upper Harness

2011-07-02T05:52:00.000-07:00

Friday, July 1, 2011

After the harness edit, it was time for install. Not only did the new harness (grabbed from the Pearly's old engine) now have only the required connectors, it also didn't have a vampire tap on its TPS connector.

(Screwdrivers point to removed connectors; new harness is at top.)

The harness was a little tricky to fish out from under the throttle body, especially with all the additional mechanics underneath it.

The Nismo injector connectors were different than the Subaru ones, so they needed to be swapped. A very tiny screwdriver's press on the plastic tabs next to the electrical hoozies got them out easily.

I was a little concerned about pulling off one of the connectors while replacing the harness, so I removed the airbox from the throttle body. This reminded me of why we never remove the airbox from the throttle bodies. It's a pain in the ass to get it back on.

No more vampire tap on the TPS (brown). Note that the idle controller normally found under the throttle body is actually relocated next to it (grey connector, tan actuator).

All told, the harness fit back into place pretty well. I probably made a mess of the hoses putting them back in, so I'm going to revisit their locations later. One additional change I made was fixing the canister purge solenoid to the intake manifold so it wasn't floating on top of the engine. It's kind of hard to see, but it's between the bypass runner and the intake, under a hose.

Always handy to have reference material.

Top Harness

2011-06-28T18:44:00.001-07:00

There are two main harnesses on the SVX's engine. The "top" one mounts to the bottom of the intake manifold, supporting the six injectors, PS switch, TPS, two idle controls and the EGR, canister purge and IRIS activation solenoids. Since the IRIS and EGR are out of the picture, I figured that I'd eliminate their elements in the harness.

One thing that was interesting was the amount of extra wire that led to the passenger side injector leads. I'm not quite sure what the rationale was behind that.

I removed the wiring straight back to the connector, using a very small screwdriver blade to pop out the two pins that wouldn't be used anymore, and I stuffed some RTV black in the holes where they used to be.

Substantial mass reduction? No. Necessary? Probably not. A cleaner install? Absolutely.

Proprietary Hardware Conflict Two

2011-05-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

Opting to keep the newer alternator from the Pearly, I went ahead and pulled it along with the one from the Silver. I found that there were a few differences... The ground connector, the spacing of the wing mounts, and the retention bolt diameter. Two of those could be overcome with some mild work, but the bolt hole was too far to go. Alas...

I connected the vapor canister between the manifold and the bypass valve. Now that I think about it, hooking up the purge solenoid might be a good idea... whoops. Here's the tee in white:

I've got to work out this mess. The wiring is disproportional and pretty battered.

Corded tires are corded. I put the new tires on the gold BBSs - RE-01Rs, 245/45/17.

Not for nothin', but headlights still fog.

Proprietary Hardware Conflict One

2011-05-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago, I replaced the serpentine belt that does, well, everything. In the process of tightening the belt, the adjustment bolt's head sheared off. It's an M16-1x90 with a shoulder cut under the head, about .360 wide by .270 diameter. I got a replacement from Mike's leftover stock and am back in business.

The DCCD controller cometh!

2011-05-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

Of the many ways to install a DCCD controller in a car that's never had one before, the cheapest one involves a Velleman K8004 pulse width modulator. In simple terms, it takes a voltage signal and converts it to a constant voltage signal with varying pulse length.

The one that was in the car was in rough shape, so I picked up a fresh kit and soldered it up. The DCCD needs a 100Hz, 12V max signal. I got out the oscilloscope and adjusted the K8004's pots to a 0V minimum, 12V maximum, and 100Hz cycle.

This sequence shows the differential signal going from wide open to full lock:

I'll do a clean wire job and life will be good!

Tail happy!

2011-05-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 1, 2011:

For lack of knowing the consequences, I removed the shift surround from the console in order to install the leather shift boot that arrived recently. Naturally, the thumbwheel control for the DIY DCCD controller went with it.

This means that the center differential was completely open.

Needless to say, the back end was ten kinds of loose, and the SVX wound up on the grass at Cherry Valley twice. I pulled several large gobs of mud from one wheel.

Fortunately, the weather held out after the event, and I was able to get a wash in before the club meet.

Nothin' Special

2011-04-15T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today entailed just a little cleanup work.

I replaced the two bolts that held the ABS controller in place with a pair that were shorter, vac'd, shampoo'd, and vac'd the passenger side carpet front to back (easy with the seat out!) and plunked the seat back in. Since the trunk carpet was convenient, I did that, too.

Ameer showed up, and after we hit the Taco Bell, he gave me a hand in replacing most of the catch cans' hoses with black ones that don't show how filthy the lines get. We also emptied the catch cans.

I'm guessing that's a lot of gas? Yeesh.

More tomorrow!

ABSolutely not.

2011-04-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

My boss was rather surprised to hear that I got a new belt - 55.5 inches. He didn't think it would fit me! It went over the pullies on the SVX nicely, though.

There are quite a few things that can be removed from the car for the lack of their purpose. One of them is the ABS controller and its harness. The module itself is under the passenger seat. 15mm bolts hold the seat in, and 10mm bolts hold the module in place. After pulling this and trimming all the wires (I intend to remove them from the harness in their entirety later), I taped off the brown and brown/red ones (power from the fuse and the alternator) and threw the thing on the scale. Two pounds! Every bit counts...

The easy way to control the DCCD is with a Velleman K8004 PWM kit. It converts a DC voltage into a pulse width signal. Our goal here is a 100Hz signal, varying with duty cycle to adjust the torque bias. The Silver has one of these in its console, and Tom told me it was "shorting out". I figured I'd have a look.

See that resistor? It's a 4.7k that's for testing; it's not supposed to be there. I picked up another K800 to replace the resident one...

Mixed Progress

2011-04-10T18:47:00.000-07:00

April 10, 2011:

The shifter surround that I snagged a few days back fit exactly over the tabs that hold the panel around the shifter in place, making it quite useless. Fortunately, they are in demand, so I was able to recoup much of the price I paid. There ends this entry's fail.

Between yesterday and today:

* I swapped the centers of the steering wheels between the Pearly and the Silver. The one in the Silver said "Impreza" on it, and it's surely not one of those. It now just says "MOMO". Trick of it is, I wanted the cruise control switch to stay with the Pearly, partly for keeping it active for some possible future buyer, but also because it may as well stay, as the wheel in the Silver doesn't have a hole to accommodate it. This meant a lot of messing around with the bracketry that the airbags mount to the wheels with. I also had to do some goofing around with the horn wiring. I didn't even get around to taking pictures during it all. Maybe I'll shoot some later.

* The antenna is finally installed. This turned out to be a real pain in the ass. I don't know if there are different antenna bodies and different trim pieces, because these surely didn't match. There was a key on the antenna shaft that didn't have a matching keyway on the trim. The trim had a pair of legs that collided with a land on the antenna, keeping the mating surfaces too far apart. All told, with a file and some needle nose pliers, I was able to rectify the obstructive bits and all went together. Some time ago, I'd installed the new side lamp bulb holders, so my business behind the trunk panels is complete! The trunk is all buttoned up and good to go.

* Lewis had snagged me a piece of trim to complete another project. There's a C-shaped plastic piece that goes on the back deck under the glass that covers the wiper arm shaft, which is installed as of today!

I've got some great ideas on how to get the DCCD working. It could actually go right through the Hydra for automatic mode. Details as they roll in!

Not This One: Scoop Fail One

2011-03-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

Well, this was my first shot at a cover for that hole in the hood. The manufacturer's dimensions were creative in their favor, the hood is a little curved toward the front, and the cowl scoop needed to be far forward to get the highest point over the tallest point of the manifold. Back to stock, friend.

Because Good is Dumb

2011-03-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

It got to 60 degrees today while I was at work, and the afternoon dragged like nobody's business. My obligations to the gym and dinner stretched the agony until I was able to hit the garage and fire up the beast. It's easy to forget just how much power it has, and how quick the clutch takes up!

I'm still working on the shift boot details...

DroppedClutch on NASIOC made a bunch of aluminum shift surrounds some time ago, and the box of remaining ones recently resurfaced. I've got one on the way; it should look sharp! Here's a look at one (below).

I'm checking out some details regarding an outfit called (iirc) RedlineGoods and their shift boots. I got a cloth sample today in the mail, and when the shift surround shows up, I'll match it all up and place my order. Nice!

Wake up...

2011-03-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

March 15, 2011

I got the battery charger out tonight and put a little juice back in the Red Top.

Lewis stopped by with a few parts... Trunk sill, wiper drive arm cover, and a pair of map light lenses. The tabs on the lens bodies break too easily.

I ordered a hood scoop - cowl style. It's not exactly what I wanted, but I had few options.

Three days of rain ahead. It should be out sometime this weekend!

A Touch of EDM

2011-03-14T18:12:00.000-07:00

The center taillight bar that was on the Silver when I bought it had the logo cleared. With no reasonable reasons, I'd wanted to pick up an EDM taillight bar.

Most markets - Center says "Subaru SVX", reverse lights are inboard, no fogs
JDM - Center says "Alcyone SVX", reverse lights are inboard, no fogs
EDM - Center says "Subaru SVX", reverse lights are outboard, fogs are inboard

I sold the JDM bar that was on the Pearly (still resident in my driveway) and replaced it with the cleared bar from the Silver. A friendly outfit on eBay located in Germany had an EDM bar available, and was courteous enough to violate their rule of Germany-only shipping to send it to me.

I installed it tonight, along with replacing the right side reflector/lamp, which had some issues where the socket was supposed to be retained. On both sides, the sockets were damaged as well, so those also saw replacement.

Save for the power antenna trim, the sill plate, and adjusting the trunk release cable, that about wraps it up for the trunk!

Fillin' in the Well

2010-08-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

It seems that the wheelwell lining on the front driver's side was missing. Not only did this expose my horn to the elements, it also looked kinda bad, considering that you're not supposed to see through down there. TJ came through again, and half of the fasteners were still there, so this was a pretty easy job. Pull tire, 5ish screws, replace tire.

Hooray for the easy ones! This clears a big freakin' thing out of my garage, too. I need to get that antenna piece quick so I can get the other trunk liner out of the garage!

Front 'n' Back

2010-08-29T07:01:00.000-07:00

Sunday, August 29, 2010:

Somehow, I managed to score another Perrin catch can in blue, brand new on eBay for super cheap. Sometimes, you don't ask.

Some outrageous number of clamps later, you get this:

You can kinda tell which one's the new one, huh? That's a little over three weeks on the first one. I figure I'll see how the new hoses look (just to see what they're spitting out) and eventually replace the browned ones with some opaque lines, leaving the clean ones to be sure that everything's good there.

Out back, another of TJ's contributions arrives: the trunk inner roof. With the rear wiper attached and functional, that area can be sealed up. The panel is held in by ten plastic clips, two of which secure the front inside walls, as well. Plenty of backlight, but alas...

Lookin' good! After the antenna install, I can seal up the driver's side, and the trunk will be done. NICE.

Trunklid and Rear Wiper

2010-08-22T05:41:00.000-07:00

Saturday, August 21, 2010:

I got off the phone with Josh with both of us somewhat frustrated with the parts diagrams that he has to use to look up pieces of my car. The rubber gasket that goes on top of the SVX's back window in the rear wiper assembly is probably the upper CUSHION, but I figured I had just as good odds with one that I fabbed up from Lowes's bath section. It took a little bit of trimming, but it fit nicely. This install wasn't bad, but it did require some accounting for alignment and location of the fluid hose.

EDIT: Evidently, it leaks just a lil' bit. I'll have to get the correct seal.

TJ dropped off a trunklid interior for me from Dave today (thanks, gents). I did a quick sound deadener job and smacked it on. Looks great!

Of Hydras and Harnesses

2010-08-22T05:24:00.000-07:00

Thursday, August 12, 2010:

With the first available autocross looming, I figured it would be good to permanently mount the Hydra and install the harness.

If I didn't post it before, or if you just don't recall, the Hydra was dangling from under the dash when I got it. In order to drive the car, I grabbed a couple of wire ties and kept it over the pedals as a temporary fix. Today, I did something a little bit better.

The first thing I had to contend with was that when I disconnected the harness, one of the wires came undone from the Hydra side! I checked my wiring diagram, and it turned out that it was the line that fires Injector #6. Yep, I need that one. I did a neat solder and shrink job on it, and all was well again.

The popular mount method for the Hydra is Velcro. I made a template of the bracket where the ECU used to be (Coke can shown for size scale), cleaned both surfaces with alcohol, and presto - permaHydra.

If you do this, make sure that the MAP hose has clear passage past the steering column. If it gets crimped, you wind up with really bad fuelling. Don't ask how I know.

I used the same mount points for the harness as in the Pearly - the rear seatbelt shoulder point for the rear strap, and the lap belt point and a seat bolt for the rest.

History Calling

2010-08-22T04:58:00.000-07:00

Sunday, August 8, 2010:

Before finishing reinstalling the trunk interior, I did an audit of what might need tending to, including any free connectors. This little guy in the back of the passenger side of the trunk, to my knowledge, is the plug you'll use when you go back in time and get your bag cell phone.

Catchy

2010-08-06T19:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't done much that's noteworthy for a few days. I've done some datalogging, but it's not worth much without a wideband hooked up to the Hydra. I'm still sorting out the overly rich warmup ramping, and it seems that the car sometimes has trouble staying at or above stoich when under low load, like maintaining any given speed. I wind up revving for a bit and then coasting, repeat, repeat, which has got to be killing my fuel economy - now up to a lofty 13.4 from 12.6.

Today was good; I had an easy job. I had my boss fab up a little block of aluminum to use as a spacer to mount the catch can I bought from Jim the Mouse. I found a spot where the air filter box used to be that had a threaded hole, and the rest is history. Check out the foamy rings that are what captures the airborne junk.

Aaaand... after.

The hose that the can intercepts was replaced for about a week, just to see how bad it was. It was pretty nasty.

More to come!

The Horn

2010-08-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Of the two horns in the car, one wasn't working, and the other alone was kind of meager. Just like in the Pearly, I replaced them with a Stebel Nautilus Compact. You can find these at varying prices depending on whether you pick them up as Stebels or Wolos or (I can't remember the third name). This one happened to be a Wolo.

Seen below: The old horns, the old location, the harness, and the new horn inside the fender in front of the tire.

It's plenty loud! A definite upgrade, and if I'm lucky, it'll still work when I take it in for inspection tomorrow.

An Assortment

2010-07-31T11:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 31, 2010:

It's been a busy day!

The gold wheels look great, but the RE070s on them do not. The sidewalls are plenty cracked, and they're down to the wear bars. I swapped on the silver STi wheels with RE01Rs that you've all seen before.

I found these plugs under the driver's seat. The seatbelt light stays on all the time, so I figured plugging them in might stop that. Turns out, no. Alas.

The dirt on the hood finally got to me. I washed it, clay bar'd it, waxed it, and waxed it again. The result? Awesome. The cloud pic is a reflection off the hood.

I replaced that taillight that I'd mentioned before. If you get a good look at the fender side of these things, they've got several openings. Your condensation is more based on the gasket, it seems. Here's what the fender looks like without the lamp; you can see the six stud holes, which have 8mm nuts holding the lamp on.

I only got around to the back half of the harness today. I figured I could use a break. Shown: The rear half of the harness installed (15mm bolt to come out, 17mm bolt supplied with the harness), B-Quiet sound deadener on the back deck, and today's work completed.

I did shove one side of the trunk interior in. The other side needs to wait for the antenna to be replaced and the meth tank to be removed. Left and right:

Goodbye, Ground Control sticker.

This one's staying, though.

Headlight Installation Day

2010-07-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

It was threatening rain, but I had planned on this since last night, so I figured I'd chance it and see what happened. I got a little wet, but just after I'd finished shooting my last picture and was gathering the stray bulbs and tools from the project.

The tinted headlights followed the look of the car well, but they didn't do much for lighting, you could see the bulbs as clear as day, and the driver's side one was broken on the fender side, with a large hole allowing plenty of water in. OK, let's go!

The before and during surgery shots:

Mighty PWR radiator:

And here's what it looks like now!

The grille is definitely a lighter shade of silver, although the camera enhances the effect plenty. All told, it's a functional improvement, even if some of the "awesome" has gone away.

Time to go do some work with the Hydra!

Log and Lights

2010-07-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, July 27, 2010:

I know you guys dig the pictures, but those are coming last in this one.

Garrison and I plugged my laptop into the Hydra tonight and went for a spin. He seemed impressed with the number and extent of the features it can read and log. I haven't taken a look at the data we collected yet, but I've taken a quick look at the manual for the Hydra, and it's evident I have a lot of learning to do.

Here's part two from today:

Upon looking at the headlights, I noticed that they were rather short of "bright", and it's far too easy to see the bulbs with the clear front lenses. I've decided to use the spare set of headlights (that we all have, I'm told) in my garage to replace the tinted and cleared ones on the car right now.

Naturally, the first thing to do is clean them up. These things get yellow very easily! I figured I'd try something different than I've used before; I used a Meguire's Headlight Restoration Kit. Using the pad on the drill is plenty easier than three grits of sandpaper, which were the contents of the last kit I used. The box also contained the buffing goo, a cloth for clearing the goo off, and a sample of some sort of interior cleaner. After using the pad, it rinsed off easily. I was impressed with the results! The kit, and the before and after:

Dormant in my basement for months was this grille, scheduled to be painted Pearl White for the Pearly, but it's got a new destination!

TJ Arrives

2010-07-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

Sunday, July 25, 2010:

TJ is doing a 3.3 swap into his Legacy, and has been parting an SVX in the process. I managed to grab a bunch of parts from him, including the entire trunk interior, rear wiper and fluid reservoir, and the power antenna - if not for a stereo, then at least to fill the hole that's there now!

The trunk interior, and the spare well plug, spare retainer, cover panel, and trunk carpet installed:

Washer pump reservoir:

Cruise control actuator:

Speaking of cruise control... The module under the fuse block that links to the actuator was present, and its hose - typically leading to the actuator - was dangling next to the transaxle with a bolt in it!

There'll be plenty of time for that later.

Good and Bad

2010-07-24T08:06:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 24, 2010:

The good news is, I don't need to buy a wideband for the Hydra. The one attached to the AEM AFR gauge has output signals that I can use. For future reference, Tom offers this:

"OK just looked it up... There should be two pigtails out the back of the gauge. One if for the sensor wiring which you don't need to touch. The other is power&gnd with two other wires as well. one white and one blue. right now these shouldn't be connected to anything. The white wire is the 0-5v Analog output which is what we need to work with. For now run a 16-18gauge wire from the white wire at the gauge down to the nemesis with a little slack on it. I will try and mail out a couple pin connectors which will go right into the plugs on the hydra. I gotta grab my notebook which has the input/outpin pinouts for the hydra itself. Once you get the lead done and the wire installed to the proper pin of the hyrda connector, we will have to do a phone call and I will walk you through how to calibrate the hydra for the proper output of the gauge so it will work with the system the way you want it."

The bad? I'm adding to the list of things to work on...

* The driver's side headlight was full of condensation after the heavy rain yesterday. It is also missing the HID equipment.

* The right rear turn signal has condensation, too, but that's not much of a surprise. Still, I want to tend to it.

* One of the fog lights is out. This could be as simple as a bulb, or... ??? (Update: Bad bulb; fixed July 25)

* The dashboard brightener button (used to put the dash lights to bright when dimmed with the headlights on, for use in daylight) was disconnected for a failed attempt at meshing with the cruise control, whose controls are not present on the wheel.

I hope none of this overlaps. I need to compile the list complete!

Scrapin'

2010-07-22T18:37:00.001-07:00

Thursday, July 22, 2010:

Some real basic stuff today. I scraped off the Subaru security and SUBARU OK stickers and got rid of that big lunkin' New Jersey inspection sticker.

I also emptied out the console and other assorted crevices, finding $3.57, lots of screws, and a bunch of other stuff.

Regarding the car running ridiculously rich, Tom says, "...bypassing the AIAC and a fine tune of the idle will help with the AFR at idle and cold idle..."

Add the lighter outlet to the list of things I need to fix!

The Exterior Mods Begin.

2010-07-21T17:28:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, July 21, 2010:

The second day of driving the car to work!

The car runs ridiculously rich when cold, finding its way to stoich when it's nicely warm... Unfortunately, that's about 2/3 of the way to work, it seems. Looks like that wideband won't come too soon...

I figured it was about time to start swapping anything that I'm going to keep from the Pearly. The JDM lighting will move over, starting with the clear turn signals. I did this tonight, taking a hell of a lot longer than I'd anticipated, partly due to old parts on old cars being slightly shaped differently. Eventually, everything got squared away and I was missing the screw I placed on the driveway.

Note to self: Don't put a screw on the driveway.

After sweeping about a third of the driveway, I found the screw among the various twigs and other detritus I'd accumulated. It beats finding it in Karen's tire.

Here's the before and after, with the sunset showing how long this task took me...

Nice!

I'm working on what to do about the hood; that's not about aesthetics - it's about function. Also, I need to do a more proper job of mounting the Hydra. Maybe this weekend?

First fill of the tank today, as well. This should be interesting...

In the Beginning...

2010-07-19T19:07:00.000-07:00

Monday, July 19, 2010:

I had the pleasure of hanging out in the DMV today. The regular crowd was there, along with a gentleman sitting on the bench behind mine who broke wind every time the last cloud had wafted away. If you're reading this, thanks for finding a way to make the DMV truly ugly.

I got my ugly plates; the lady behind the counter told me that everyone asks if there are any white ones left. She also told me that there weren't any left. Oh, well. I bent the front one to match the plate that Tom had relocated under the bumper. Let's see how long it takes until I take heat for it?

Garrison hailed me up on Facebook and informed me that he noticed that the Silver has plates. This was code for "Let me come over and change the pulley with you so that I can ride in the car." It worked; that's just what we did.

I'll just say that getting started from a stop is going to take some getting used to.

Meantime, it pulls quite strongly, displaying as much as 7psi. I'll have to look into how much it's getting per the Hydra once I start logging. I also need to clean up its idle; it's very rich, and it tends to stall now and then.

Good times ahead!

The Mail Came!

2010-07-16T10:28:00.000-07:00

Friday, July 16, 2010:

...but I'm skipping town in an hour or two, and it's track, track, and work before I can get to the car.

I still have to change the pulley and secure the Hydra, so I probably won't drive it until Tuesday, anyway. Gah!!

Still waiting...

2010-07-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

Thursday, July 15, 2010:

Yep, the mail still failed to deliver, so there she sits.

I plugged the Hydra into the laptop yesterday and downloaded the programmed maps and settings. I want to find the serial number to request the wiring diagram from the guys at Hydra. It's got to be in or on it somewhere...

I have no idea what the inspiration was, but I turned the key to START without pressing the clutch, and the engine turned. It's not that I need one, but it would be nice to have a neutral safety switch on the clutch pedal. If this is going to be my keeper car, it may as well be right, right? Back burner job.

Regarding the DCCD, without any controls, the torque split is 35% front and 65% rear as a default. I can get an aftermarket controller for it; DCCDPro seems to be an economical one that lots of folks claim works well for them. It can wait.

So, it looks like the car will sit tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday. We'll give it a try on Monday, then.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

2010-07-14T14:11:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, July 14, 2010:

It looks like "overnight" is not how quickly mail comes from New Jersey. Hey, you never know. This puts the car off another day. That's not all bad - I can't drive it until I install the 9 psi pulley and secure the Hydra, anyway.

Still a project car

2010-07-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, July 13, 2010:

I've started to accumulate the list of things that I need to do to the car. Some of them are things that I'd change for myself. Some of them are things that don't remind me of the car from before.

* The interior of the trunk is gone, right down to the metal.

I'd envied that the interior of the car was all present and secured when I'd seen it some time ago; the panel under the rear deck in the Pearly is hanging due to some missing fasteners, but the Shadow had its panel properly in place. I've sourced an entire interior for the trunk, including one of the drain plugs in the bottom of the spare tire well, the screw that holds the spare in place, and the board that covers the spare. The same donor car will be offering the rest of the trunk's original contents, including the power antenna (in case the car ever has a radio again, and at least to fill the hole in the body) and the washer fluid reservoir.

* There's no rear wiper. The hole is plugged, and the car is undoubtedly slightly more aerodynamic and lighter as a result, but I'm not afraid to make the sacrifice to have a rear wiper. I have one en route.

* The cruise control has been removed. I really enjoy the luxury of cruise, and I intend to reinstate it in the car. Some parts are on the way; I need to sort out how much I need.

* The wideband O2 sensor for the Hydra was removed for another car. I don't want the Hydra to do too much guesswork, so I'll pick up a replacement; I've seen them as much as $400, but as little as $170.

* The Hydra is hanging over the clutch pedal. This is from when the O2 sensor was disconnected. It'll be an easy fix to place it back up where the original ECU was.

* The seats are cloth, and non-power. I'll swap out the seats with the Pearly. The extra mass of the power seat is worth it to me, and I really dig the leather.

* The DCCD isn't functional. Evidently, it was shorting out, so it was disabled. I'm not sure how much of the system is present (I can see the switch, anyway).

* The heated mirror switch has been wired to the meth pump. I have to decide whether to keep the meth system, and after that, whether the whole heated mirror thing is worth it in a summer car, anyway.

* The shift boot is kind of freely attached. No big deal, but on the list.

* The steering wheel says Impreza on it. I'll exchange this with the Pearly for the straight up MOMO logo. Both wheels are quality, but choice is choice.

I want to transfer the JDM clear front corner lenses, the red-lit interior bits, and the Alcyone tailbar. I have to choose whether to replace the tinted headlights with conventional ones, and whether I want to put the silver grille I have in the basement where the black one is now. It's hard to remove from the car's legendary character without sacrificing personal preference.

I think I can find a balance.

That's a pretty hefty start. I'll keep posting the new things and completions.

Delays, delays

2010-07-13T16:35:00.001-07:00

Friday, July 9, 2010:

Washed now:

It seems that New York State has decided to add to the amount of paperwork involved in registering a car. Contrary to every stipulation on the sheet, the seller now needs to fill out Section 6 of form DTF-802 in order for the buyer to register a car.

Evidently, the simple bill of sale isn't enough anymore.

This means that I need a guy some five hours away to scribble a few numbers and letters on a piece of paper. The good news is that the form is available online. The bad news is that I've got to wait until it arrives in the mail. Tom is sending it out today. The soonest I'll be able to register the car is probably Thursday, which is the same night I'm packing for back to back race days this weekend, and I'll be leaving Friday.

I guess I'll see you on Monday, friend.

Collecting the Car

2010-07-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

July 5, 2010:

Garrison and I head down to southern New Jersey in his Ford Expedition, with a U-haul car carrier in tow. The original plan was to leave at 2:00 AM in order to get me back in time for a family picnic. That was deemed unfavorable, so the time was shuffled to 4:00 AM.

The road to the car wasn't bad. It took a little longer than planned, partly due to construction, partly due to the classic GPS "Fooled you!", and partly due to filling the Expedition's gas tank, which is roughly the size of any major sports stadium.

Tom couldn't wait for us to arrive (meaning he had to leave) so he left the key and the title concealed for me to pick up.

We pulled into the lot to find the SVX sitting alone, and Tom was not kidding when he said he hadn't driven it in a while; it was well covered with dust. The battery was ten times dead. We put the jump charger box on the car, and it fired up. In an attempt to pull it onto the trailer, I found out that the car has plenty of power right from idle. Garrison decided that he shouldn't be between the trailer and the truck while guiding me up the ramps... I wasn't sure the car wouldn't wind up in the back of the Expedition, too!

The journey home was uneventful until we hit Route 33 in Pennsylvania. There was supposedly a three car accident that also involved a rig some number of miles ahead. We found this out from a guy who was in the highway-turned-parking lot with us. It took us over two hours to move 4/10ths of a mile in 100+ degree heat. We killed a cooler full of Gatorades and Vitamin Waters.

I told a woman who was trying to scoot past everyone else by driving up the shoulder to get herself back in line, and she and the two other cars that were following her did just that. A matter of minutes later, we were on our way.

Garrison seemed quite frazzled during the last two hours of the trip. I suppose being on the road for over 14 hours with 11,000 lbs. of metal under your control in ridiculous heat without air conditioning can be a little intense. Today, he plays it up as just tired and says that he didn't feel like clobbering me. I wouldn't have blamed him if he had!

We got back to town for the final minutes of my family's picnic, had some food from the spread that was set out, and skipped out so we could both just go home. What a freakin' day.

How it all started...

2010-07-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

March, 2007: I'd bought my Pearl White SVX from "Young Tom", one of the most experienced SVX mechanics around.

Tom drove "The Shadow Machine", a Liquid Silver '92 SVX, and it was simply gorgeous. The body was nice and clean, it sported gold BBS wheels, and it was pushed around by a 6-speed transaxle tied to a supercharged H-6. Full suspension, BBS goldies, and the interior panels were all there and secured, not hanging and occasionally absent like my Pearly. The dream came to be.

The Pearly treated me well. I had a great time upgrading it, racing it, showing it off and being seen in it. Life was good.

November, 2009: Tom's car is for sale. It's a ways outside of my budget at $15k.

December, 2009: Price reduced to $13k.

March, 2010: Price reduced to $10k.

May, 2010: Price reduced to $8k.

July, 2010: Price reduced to $6500. Rapid negotiations with Karen make it mine.