2002 Subaru WRX Wagon Project PART 1 -
TheCarGuy - 04-30-2024
Part 1: The Backstory
This project is not like the WRX project I have going on the other thread. This car I have had for about 6 years now. It all started when were stationed in Naples Italy. My wife was a Navy Nurse, and we were stationed there for 3 years. About 2 months from moving back to the states. I started to look for a car to purchase. I really wanted a Subaru WRX or STI. This was one of my dream cars since I was a kid. I blame my father, who had me fall in love with these cars.
Back in 2004, The Subaru WRX STI came to the states. This was the first year that the STI was released to the states. I remember my dad calling the dealership (they were closing, and were about an hour away), and said he would be by to get the car. The dealership stayed open for him. I went with him and saw the car for the very first time. My god that car was a beauty.
My father ended up getting the Aspen White, with the silver BBS rims. Originally it came with the gold BBS rims, but he wanted them switched out for the silver.
As we were driving back home in the new car, I remember the car being so fast and so loud. (Remember 300hp back then was considered a lot for a car, especially for a 4-cylinder car. My dad was driving on the highway and shifting through the lanes, and excitedly screamed out that he could not believe we had just reached 100mph. It didn't even feel like it.
It did not take long for my father to start autocross with the car. He did that for maybe a year before he sold the car. Maybe a year or two later, he got a 2002 WRX wagon, I loved this car. He had it sent down to Boxer4Racing and put a bunch of stuff on it. Car was awesome. That was my favorite car.
Anyway, I found a 2002 WRX wagon for sale in Richmond. Which was not far from where we were going to live. I contacted the guy and we talked for a bit. We ended up agreeing on a price and he told me that he would hold the car for me until I moved back to the states.
The car had been heavily modified by the previous owner. I think he had close to 30k in parts and labor. The car had a new hybrid set up boxer motor (2.5 block with 2.0 heads), PPG gear box 1-5, methanol injection, and a bunch of other stuff. It was fast and sounded so good. The car 400BHP and around 350WHP.
Moving forward in time a little, I used to daily the car, but since then, I stopped using the car as a daily driver.
On the next post, I will start getting into the project of this car.
This is my dad in his 2004 STI. This was our second or 3rd time at an autocross event. As you
can see, he was going a little to fast and spun out.
This was the first photo I took of the WRX wagon right after I bought it.
New lights I thought were cool but ended up being crap. Halos went out within a 6 month time frame.