Hey everyone,
Been lurking for a while and the forum has been a great resource, so I thought it was time to say 'hi' and share my build.
I've always been a car guy rather than trucks/SUVs, and my DD for the past 4 years has been an '06 Subaru Legacy GT specB. I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I've finally reached the point in my life where I am tired of DD'ing a manual and one that's highly modified, lowered, stiff, loud, etc. I decided that it's time to retire the car to garage-queen status, and pick up something more practical. My buddy convinced me to look into 3rd Gens because you don't have to spend a ton, they're practical, parts are cheap, and they're virtually indestructible. My only want was a 3rd gen that was 4wd, no frame rust and I preferred an auto, and the 96-98 style. After weeks of looking, I finally found one that ticked all the boxes, under 200k and the price was right. I bought it on eBay sight unseen after chatting with the owner on the phone for a while. Big gamble, I know, but it amazingly paid off. $4500 with 175k. Here are some pics from the ad:
I flew out on a weekend to DC, and drove it back to Cincy. A better pic from when I got it home (sorry for the portrait mode on my photos, you can thank Instagram for that):
I took the car to my good buddy who is the lead tech at our local speed shop, Turn In Concepts, and is an ex-Toyota Master Tech, so that he could give it the once over. There are some minor things here and there to take care of, some of which I have taken care of, but in all he said it is a very solid car, and I was surprised to hear him say that this 4R had pretty much every option you could order. It had the factory brush guard, tow package, Highlander springs, Limited model (obviously) and had the E-locker!
First things first, I had to remove the side steps and install a B&M transmission cooler to avoid the pink milkshake. Turns out I chose just the right time to do it, since when I removed the lines leading to the bottom of the radiator, coolant started pouring out:
I then ordered what I thought was a Koyo rad, but instead received a TYC unit. In the end it worked, but it was a PITA to get it to fit right... When picking up the car I had noticed the rear heater pipes were shot, so I took the opportunity to install lines I picked up from the local U-Pull-It lot, and they looked brand new. The old ones were so bad that they sheared under their own weight after I removed them:
Once back on the road again, I fixed some more things here and there, and here's a pic with one of my buddy's 4R:
I decided to pick up some KC fog lights, legokcen shackle mounts and some D rings:
Fully enjoying the mall-cruiser status at our local Cars and Coffee:
And the first time off roading the 4R, and my first time off roading too!
Fast forward a few months and a friend of a friend unfortunately got into a wreck avoiding a deer, but amazingly walked away uninjured:
From that car's death, I got a great deal on a TJM-15 front plate bumper:
Since it was also time for new tires, I decided upon 265/75/16 LT Toyo ATlls and picked up some 99-02 Limited wheels:
Since it's my DD and I don't want to dump a ton of money into it (that's what the Subaru is for!), I won't be going crazy on mods. I can't wait to get it back off-road again, but so far I am absolutely loving this thing! My future plans are:
-Rebuild my two 199mm Tundra calipers and do the front conversion
-new rear brakes
-Bilstein shocks
-Daystar leveling kit
-small LED light bar
-maybe a rear plate bumper with integrated hitch
Been lurking for a while and the forum has been a great resource, so I thought it was time to say 'hi' and share my build.
I've always been a car guy rather than trucks/SUVs, and my DD for the past 4 years has been an '06 Subaru Legacy GT specB. I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I've finally reached the point in my life where I am tired of DD'ing a manual and one that's highly modified, lowered, stiff, loud, etc. I decided that it's time to retire the car to garage-queen status, and pick up something more practical. My buddy convinced me to look into 3rd Gens because you don't have to spend a ton, they're practical, parts are cheap, and they're virtually indestructible. My only want was a 3rd gen that was 4wd, no frame rust and I preferred an auto, and the 96-98 style. After weeks of looking, I finally found one that ticked all the boxes, under 200k and the price was right. I bought it on eBay sight unseen after chatting with the owner on the phone for a while. Big gamble, I know, but it amazingly paid off. $4500 with 175k. Here are some pics from the ad:
I flew out on a weekend to DC, and drove it back to Cincy. A better pic from when I got it home (sorry for the portrait mode on my photos, you can thank Instagram for that):
I took the car to my good buddy who is the lead tech at our local speed shop, Turn In Concepts, and is an ex-Toyota Master Tech, so that he could give it the once over. There are some minor things here and there to take care of, some of which I have taken care of, but in all he said it is a very solid car, and I was surprised to hear him say that this 4R had pretty much every option you could order. It had the factory brush guard, tow package, Highlander springs, Limited model (obviously) and had the E-locker!
First things first, I had to remove the side steps and install a B&M transmission cooler to avoid the pink milkshake. Turns out I chose just the right time to do it, since when I removed the lines leading to the bottom of the radiator, coolant started pouring out:
I then ordered what I thought was a Koyo rad, but instead received a TYC unit. In the end it worked, but it was a PITA to get it to fit right... When picking up the car I had noticed the rear heater pipes were shot, so I took the opportunity to install lines I picked up from the local U-Pull-It lot, and they looked brand new. The old ones were so bad that they sheared under their own weight after I removed them:
Once back on the road again, I fixed some more things here and there, and here's a pic with one of my buddy's 4R:
I decided to pick up some KC fog lights, legokcen shackle mounts and some D rings:
Fully enjoying the mall-cruiser status at our local Cars and Coffee:
And the first time off roading the 4R, and my first time off roading too!
Fast forward a few months and a friend of a friend unfortunately got into a wreck avoiding a deer, but amazingly walked away uninjured:
From that car's death, I got a great deal on a TJM-15 front plate bumper:
Since it was also time for new tires, I decided upon 265/75/16 LT Toyo ATlls and picked up some 99-02 Limited wheels:
Since it's my DD and I don't want to dump a ton of money into it (that's what the Subaru is for!), I won't be going crazy on mods. I can't wait to get it back off-road again, but so far I am absolutely loving this thing! My future plans are:
-Rebuild my two 199mm Tundra calipers and do the front conversion
-new rear brakes
-Bilstein shocks
-Daystar leveling kit
-small LED light bar
-maybe a rear plate bumper with integrated hitch
Last edited:
