Bugeye up for sale (be warned, it's a long post)

I’ve decided to finally part ways with my bugeye that I’ve had the pleasure of owning for over a decade. I’ve spent countless hours and probably more money than I should have on it over the years but the amount of time I actually spend driving it keeps getting shorter and shorter. Seems like a good time for me to move on and let someone else enjoy it for (hopefully a long) while. I apologize in advance if this post gets overwhelmingly long but I want to include as much info as possible to avoid any unnecessary questions and to make sure any interested person knows exactly what they’d be getting into.



The Basics:

2002 Subaru Impreza WRX sedan

100% rust-free, purchased from Alabama in 2010 and never driven in snow or salt, always garaged, clean title in hand with no lien. Mileage is currently just under 89,000 and as I mentioned it rarely gets driven so that won’t change much, if at all. It was a very early manufacture date of August 2000 with serial/sequential number of 00029 so this may very well be one of the first bugeyes in the states and one of the oldest still on the road (not so much a selling point, just an interesting bit of info). Maintenance is up to date but considering how much time the car spends just sitting it wouldn’t be a bad idea to freshen up the fluids and maybe get the timing belt done a little ahead of the scheduled mileage. I’ve only had it on a track once at Brainerd’s road course for an HPDE but tend to drive it fairly conservatively most of the time, no hard launches or drag racing, just the occasional “spirited” driving on some twisty back roads.

 

The Not So Good:

Might as well get this part out of the way first, this is a very clean bugeye but it is over 20 years old and isn’t a perfect showroom example. Aside from a few chips and door dings the body looks great for a car that age but there are a few flaws worth mentioning. A previous owner trimmed the fenders and quarters to fit larger tires, no rust from it anywhere but the edge is a little unfinished and slightly distorted on the quarters. I had ‘04+ moldings on it covering that up but had to take them off when I changed up the aero. Since there are no trim pieces on it in that spot right now there’s a small exposed clip hole down at the bottom of each dogleg. All things considered it would be a good candidate for some Karlton flares or something similar since it’s already been cut a little (which was my plan) but it would take a bit of modification to get them to flow with the bumper lip and rear spats. The roof has some light hail damage, which was the main reason for the carbon fiber overlay on it. There’s nothing that big and it could be repaired with PDR if the carbon overlay is taken off, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a fresh coat of paint on the roof anyway if someone were to do that (some minor swirl marks and very light fading there). There was also previously a minor front collision many years ago (before I owned it) and there’s still a small amount of deformation on the front edge of one apron panel, not visible unless you start taking things apart but it’s there and I want to be as transparent as possible with this. Other than the body blemishes, the only sort of mechanical issue it has right now is some accessory belt squealing on cold starts, tensioner/adjuster is about maxed out so it may need a slightly shorter belt to remedy completely.

 

The Modifications:

Like any good WRX owner I’ve made plenty of changes from how this car rolled out of the factory, some more significant than others and a few that were done when I bought it, but I’ll try to include everything I can think of.


Drivetrain

• Original EJ205 with stock internals (as far as I know)
• Blitz oversize conical filter directly off of MAF sensor
• Silicone turbo inlet hose
• VF34 turbo with titanium heat wrap blanket (surprisingly effective at insulating heat)
• Grimmspeed 3-port EBCS
• GReddy FMIC with all new silicone couplings and clamps, GReddy relocated coolant overflow tank
• GFB blow-off valve
• TGV deletes (modified original ones)
• Modded stock injectors, flow-tested at about 820cc (done by WitchHunter Performance)
• High-flow fuel pump, was installed when I bought the car and I haven’t taken it out so I can’t comfirm the brand or flow rate, but it’s very audible when priming so obviously has been upgraded
• Unorthodox Racing lightweight crank pulley, have a power steering pulley to match but is not installed
• Cusco aluminum oil catch can
• UEL stainless headers, unknown brand, wrapped with DEI titanium heat wrap
• Catless up-pipe, unknown brand
• Tanabe Medallion full TBE, downpipe section wrapped in DEI titanium heat wrap, not terribly loud but large tubing and muffler body so it sounds pretty deep and smooth
• V7 STI 6-speed and R180 rear differential swapped using original axles and SuberDave bearing race kit. Transmission code is TY856WB1CA, non-DCCD with front and rear A.P. Suretrac LSD, originally found in ’01-02 JDM STI and RA models. Viscous center differential which was replaced with a brand new unit after the donor transmission was found to have a bad one.
• Fidanza 2-piece lightweight flywheel (friction surface is replaceable separately)
• South Bend stage 1 clutch
• Kartboy short-throw shifter with all polyurethane bushings, zero play and very solid feel
• Goodridge braided stainless clutch fluid line to slave cylinder
• Torque Solutions rear engine mount
• Timing cover, relay box, and alternator cover painted WRB to match exterior
• STI-branded oil filler cap and 1.3 bar STI radiator cap

Suspension/Brakes

• Tanabe NF210 lowering springs (about 1.75” drop)
• Whiteline 24mm sway bars front and rear
• Whiteline sway bar mounts and end links
• Cusco front subframe brace
• STI front strut tower brace
• Centric slotted rotors
• StopTech street performance brake pads
• Calipers coated in blue ceramic paint
• Goodridge braided stainless brake lines
• Grimmspeed master cylinder brace
• Currently filled with ATE DOT4 brake fluid, wouldn’t hurt to flush and refill
• Gram Lights 57C 17x18.5” ET40 wheels, repainted in GM Carbon Flash metallic black with blue Gram Lights decals, black RAYS center caps, and blue steel lug nuts (have an extra set of black ones too that would go with the car)
• 255/40ZR17 Nitto NT05 tires, few years old but still lots of tread left on them

Electronics

• Cobb AP3-SUB-001 (married and will come with it) with E85 and 91 tunes done by JM Auto
• Accessport mounted on flexible arm bolted to passenger seat rail mount with OBD extension cable running behind dash
• Color-coded toggle switches wired to reflash connectors, mounted in dash switch blanks
• Blitz FATT DCII turbo timer
• 2 additional 12v outlets installed inside center armrest
• Glowshift multicolor gauges for coolant temp, oil pressure, and boost
• Sony double-DIN touch screen DVD/Navigation/Bluetooth head unit with backup camera mounted above license plate, wired for satellite radio with antenna mounted on top of third brake light inside back window
• Hands-free mic mounted in map light housing
• Audiobahn 10” subwoofer in ported box with Alpine amplifier (forget the sub model and amp wattage but it’s plenty sufficient), easily removeable so it does not need to go with the car if not wanted.
• Quick-disconnect harnesses for amp wiring, including power and ground cables
• Door speakers “upgraded” but still not terribly impressive, IIRC they were Polk Audio and Boston Acoustics component speakers
• Optima red-top battery mounted in trunk with 2 AWG copper strand HD welding cable to distribution block in engine compartment and 150a in-line circuit breaker
• Schumacher battery maintainer mounted near battery with weatherproof external plug-in under spare tire well
• Dual Sickspeed horns behind grille (basically Hella knockoffs)
• All bulbs except tail lamps replaced with LEDs
• Also have an Escort Max 360 radar detector I can throw in if you want it, not hardwired or anything but I don't really have any other use for it

Exterior

• Version 1 STI front lip (replica)
• OEM replica front and rear side strakes
• OEM replica ’04-05 style rear bumper spats and diffuser
• Rally Armor mud flaps (black with blue lettering)
• Color-matched fog covers (no fog lamps behind them due to the FMIC tubing)
• Prodrive grille with STI badge
• Depo replica JDM projector headlights
• Front bumper lower opening trimmed larger for FMIC, impact bar was cut by previous owner for FMIC installation and steel bars welded across for some added rigidity but could benefit from a steel tubing brace
• Grimmspeed front license plate delete plate
• Kaminari reverse cowl carbon fiber hood with Aerocatch locking hood pins and Grimmspeed hydraulic hood struts, no windshield washer nozzles on it so the washer pump is currently disconnected
• Carbon fiber side marker deletes
• RPG carbon fiber roof overlay
• Kakumei carbon fiber rear window spoiler
• Velocity fiberglass trunk lid with integrated lip spoiler, no emblems except STI badge, did not come with a lock cylinder hole and I didn’t want to drill into it so the interior release lever is the only way to open it. Trunk is also much lighter so I removed the torsion springs so the trunk wouldn’t violently fly open
• Tail lamp lenses spray-tinted (done at a body shop using automotive clear with a touch of black mixed in)
• Side and rear windows tinted to 35% VLT, sun strip on windshield at 18% VLT (I think, could be off slightly on that)
• Tinted rear license plate cover

Interior

• ’05 center console swap with TS manual HVAC, mirror controls mounted in carbon fiber panel ahead of cup holders
• Dash trim painted Lexus Atomic Silver, similar to original color but with more depth and gloss, Accessport faceplate painted to match as well
• Turbo timer mounted in ash tray location with carbon fiber filler panel
• ATI triple gauge pod in clock location, carbon fiber bezel around gauges on pod and in instrument cluster
• JDM red hazard switch
• All dash backlighting replaced with blue LEDs
• Added ignition ring light, also lit with blue LED
• STI titanium key, also have standard spare key
• Black suede shift and handbrake boots with blue stitching
• WC Lathe Werks titanium sphere shift knob
• SSCO black aluminum handbrake grip handle with blue “drift knob”
• Black STI floor mats with IAG brackets
• ’05 STI front and rear seats, driver’s seat shows minor wear but whole interior was just redone last summer so everything is exceptionally clean and looks nearly new
• Door trim panel inserts reupholstered in foam-backed blue “suede” to match seats
• Upper pillar trim and seat belt hardware painted/dyed to match dark gray on lower trim
• Headliner professionally wrapped in black “suede” with all hardware, grips, and visors painted/dyed to match
• 3-spoke steering wheel (not STI-badged) custom wrapped in black Alcantara with blue stitching and blue center stripe, done by Redline Goods
• Trunk floor sprayed with bedliner and a gray carpet-wrapped 2-piece MDF false floor was installed, sub enclosure held in place with carpet-wrapped MDF strips screwed to false floor panels but could easily be removed if enclosure changed or not wanted, matching carpet-wrapped pressed fiberboard installed as rear seat backing cover

 

After typing all of this out I can’t deny it’s making me second-guess whether I should really sell this car, but it honestly doesn’t make sense for me to keep it any longer even though I’d be perfectly happy doing so. If I do then it’ll just be a never-ending process of putting more and more into it while never actually driving and enjoying it. I’m sure someone else will love it just as much as I have and hopefully be able to make use of it more than the one or two thousand miles a year I drive it. I’ve obviously put a lot into this car to make it how I wanted it to be, but as always there’s still plenty of potential for more depending on how far the next owner wants to go with it. The car is located near Osceola, WI, I work from home quite a bit and I'm usually available evenings and weekends if anyone wants to check it out in person.

Price is $15,000 OBO

I will be listing it elsewhere soon for the same price but I'm much more open to reasonable offers from MNSubaru members in good standing, not interested in trades or parting anything out. Photos to follow, thanks.

 

Put it on Cars And Bids. You’d get your $15k or thereabouts. Car is awesome!!!

 

Not familiar with it but I'll check it out. Thanks.

 

Oh man

 

A "miniature "Bring a Trailer" run by Doug DeMuro.

 

Ok, gotcha. I guess I have heard about it, just never checked it out. Hoping I can find a new owner somewhere local but maybe if that doesn't work out I'll try my luck on BaT or CaB.

 

Just my two cents, but this car is one of, if not the best, bug eye I've ever seen! Such a beautiful work of art! Good luck with the sale.

 

Props for posting pics of a clean car without crap all over the floor mats and stains on the seats.

You do need to tuck that trunk liner under the weatherstripping on the driver's side though.

 

Haha

Haha yeah, good eye. That's a fairly old photo, since then replaced the battery with a different one that has the +/- posts reversed (hated having the cables crossing over each other) and added the maintainer/trickle charger. I'll have to get a new photo uploaded soon. And honestly that car always looks like that on the inside, easy to keep clean when you never drive it.

 

no... why.

All my cars I've owned has always been clean and well taken care of. I can tell you that none of them are running right now because the new owners destroyed them.

 

Seriously, I always enjoy looking at well done ads, and this is one. I can tell you are proud of the car and it was a struggle to make the decision to part with it. Good luck with the sale and I hope it goes to a good home. It's always sad seeing a well taken care of car disrespected by the new owner.

 

Quick heads-up, I'll be reviving this thread and posting the bugeye back up for sale soon, really nothing has changed since this post was created so everything should still be accurate (including mileage). I do need to flush out the fuel and maybe freshen the other fluids before selling since it never gets driven, but before I do I wanted to make sure any MNSubaru members who might be interested get first crack at it.

 

As a fellow bugeye owner, i can say that's a fine looking ride...

 

You looking to get into a bugeye again? I'm sure I'll want to replace the WRX with something else interesting, so I wouldn't be opposed to the right trade. Because of the strict regulations in CA my options are either a pre-1976 car that I can modify freely or a newer car that I won't mind leaving mostly stock (mechanically anyway). So far I'm leaning towards a fun RWD manual like an early Datsun Z, another 240SX, or a BRZ/FRS. Tempted to get another lowrider-style car too, either something from the 50s-60s or maybe go newer with a Lexus LS? Not really sure yet.

 

Just finished up my submission to auction this fine automobile on Cars & Bids, waiting a few days now for them to review everything and prepare the listing before it goes live. Also I can't have it for sale on any other platforms anymore so this post will need to be locked down. @tangledupinblu if you'd be so kind?