Hello, my name is............................
 

Tim

Hello to all the forum members.
I have been using this forum as a great resource for a couple of weeks now since I purchased an SVX.

So……………… I am a newbie her and this is my first post.

So lets talk cars (and bikes)? OK…….

My car for the last 16 years. My trusty 1990 Mazda Miata.
Never a problem, never a hiccup, just reliable and fun, fun, fun transportation for over 200,000 Kms of service. It is no wonder to me that these are the most raced cars in the world. But, I only drive in the winter and last winter had me stuck for a few days…………….. well that and the fact that I have 2 young boys now and there are no back seats. So I sold her for $1000 bucks and started looking for a SUBARU AWD!

Then the SUBARU I found. “Miney”
It was a 1995 Impreza. It was cheep and practical and AWD.
I drove this car for a total of 3 times before deciding that I could not live with it.
It sucked so badly compared to my trusty Miata.
I sold it for quite a loss just to get rid of it ASAP.

Miney
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...straya/008.jpg

I had been searching for and researching the SVX for quite some time, but there were none to be had in my neck of the woods (Vancouver, BC). But then at the same time as I was trying to get rid of the Impreza, My wife spotted a small ad on Craigslist and responded to it immediately. The seller brought the car to me as he was hot to sell. When I first saw her, I knew I had to have her. I had not seen an SVX in person (only pictures). She was beautiful under all the dirt and grime (owner did not care for her). My favourite paint scheme and no spoiler!! My dream car had arrived. I looked her over very carefully and was amazed at the condition of the body and paint, almost perfect, one little scuff on the front corner of the bumper and no dents or dings down the doors or anywhere.

BUT and it’s a big BUT, she has 224,000 miles on her! Leaking oil, rims were shot, interior was filthy and leather has rips and cracks in the driver seat. A test drive revealed warped rotors and some serious tranny shift lag between 2 and 3 (felt like it shifts twice with a 2 second gap) , some vibration at highway speed and a little bit of play in the steering.

All electricals and power options are working except for the fuel gauge (intermittent), the rear defrost button backlight, and the cruise button backlight.
I BOUGHT HER ANYWAY (cheep)

First thing I did was change the oil and filter………. and man, it looked like it hadn’t been changed in a year of so.
Then the external trans oil filter got changed. She has an external trans oil cooler, Yay!
Then the air filter (she was choking)

Then I had to address the wheels. They had brand new tires on them, but the finish on the rims was flaking off like crazy. I put on a set of 18” RSS Syoua-10 rims (+42 offset is absolutely perfect) with Falcon 225/40/18 tires.
Well what do you know………… the stock rims were torqued unevenly and up to over 130ft/lbs. Once I got the new wheelset on and torqued correctly to 85ft/lbs, the breaks felt allot less warped and there was no more vibration at high speed….hmmmmmmmmmmm,

The remote key transmitters were not working, but a couple of batteries got that system up and running like a top.

The cars battery died a couple days later and I bought a new one and added the 4guage wire modifications (specified in this forum) to the grounds and positive direct to alternator post.

I have adjusted the transmission break band (3 times so far and counting) and the shifts are almost perfect now. There is a little slippage under full throttle between 1-2 and 3-4, but otherwise they are instant and solid. 2-3 still feels laggy (3/4 second) as the transmission shifts from the low to high drum (as I understand it from reading this forum). I will keep on tightening the band little by little till it feels right (Tell me if I am wrong in doing this).
The transmission has an external cooler and I will only be driving this car in the winter (up here in CANADA), so it should last if I maintain it properly (tranny #3 for this car by the way)

I have just bought myself a set of subs and an amp for the trunk, but have not yet installed them ( I have not had bass since high school).
What is really cool about the subs is that they match the pearl white paint perfectly; it is like they were meant for each other. (Infinity Reference 1030W)

Now I have allot of maintenance and mechanical work to do, so I will be asking questions here as I go along. I am planning on changing the tranny fluid and pan gasket and internal filter ASAP. I have a set of 4 new rotors and 8 break pads on order. I need to replace the head gaskets (there are indications of leakage). Then its onto timing belt and seals and hoses etc. etc.

“Jazzmine” SVX-LS-L
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...straya/030.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...straya/027.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...straya/028.jpg



Here is my wife’s car “Alice”
This car is the reason I got turned on to SUBARU.
It is a 2005, 5-speed, Legacy, 2.5 Turbo, GTX wagon. The X you ask? It was added by the Kolb dealership (US import) when they modified the car prior to sale (full Borla exhaust, 18” wheels, suspension, intake, interior, sound etc)
What a machine!!

Alice
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...a/IMG_5055.jpg

Alice GTX
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...a/IMG_5056.jpg


I mentioned that I only drive a car in the winter.
Well….that is because I only insure a motorcycle for the rest of the year.
I have been riding for 17 years now.

My previous bike "Amber" had over 100,000 kms on her when I sold her.


The year before last I bought my first ever brand new vehicle.
My new bike. “Raya”
A 2007 Kawasaki ZX14. One word. CRAZY!! I can’t believe that they can even legally sell a vehicle like this. Let me compare its acceleration to a car. It is the equivalent of a 1000HP supercar (Bugatti Veyron)
ZX-14 0-60 in 2.5 sec (Vyron is 2.8)
¼ mile in under 10 Sec.
And that is bone stock.
The first winter I had her all apart, all over my garage, (my brand new under warranty bike). I logged over 20 modifications before the new year, now she is perfect.

My daily commuter and transportation for 6-8 months out of the year, rain or shine.
I just cracked the 20, 000 Km mark


This biking season I will be working on the SVX “Jazzmine” while she is off the road.

Raya Front end
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...IMG_4184-1.jpg


My wife also rides (and the kids love to double up behind too).
Here we are the year before last, camping way up in the hills of Washington State
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...a/IMG_3928.jpg

Now she has a new bike that is a better fit for her.
This is a pic from last years trip across Washington State.
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...a/IMG_5649.jpg

Anyway, that is a little intro for me... Yah, I name my vehicles.
Cheers :)

Re: Hello, my name is............................
 

Welcome Tim. That is quite a collection you have there. The pearly is beautiful. (I'm a sucker for pearlies). Good luck with your new SVX and safe riding.

Re: Hello, my name is............................
 

I thought this thread was going to somewhere along the line of "Hello. My Name Is Inigo Montoya. You Killed My Father. Prepare to Die." but it did not.


Nice pearly and welcome to the network !

Re: Hello, my name is............................
 

Tim,

I started reading your story with keen interest and was going to tell you about another member in Vancouver with a 1992 pearlie. His name is Chris Gooderham "CDG".

Upon looking at your photos, I realized that your car was my very first SVX, known as the svxcess-pearlie".

Besides not having a spoiler, the first tipoff was the AWD emblem on the rear, which I put on the car many years ago.

The absolute clincher were the ALL WHEEL DRIVE decals in the rear side windows. I did that to both my pearlie and my 96 Polo.



Photos of the pearlie, before you or Chris had it, can be found HERE and also HERE


The story of how I originally got this pearlie can be found HERE

Click HERE to see the thread on my listing of "your" pearlie for sale. Chris eventually bought it



She still looks amazing even after 10 years. I hope you continue to enjoy her the way that I did. I don't know if Chris passed in all of the maintenence records to you. I know that I installed on the alternator wiring upgrade (see engine photos)

Your main expense will be the head gaskets. They fail due to age more than mileage. I just replaced them on my 1996 polo with 125,000 miles. When you do them is also the best time to replace the timing belt, plugs and reseal.

Welcome to the family, you will find a vast amount of information and assistance here. Never hesitate to ask anything.

Email or PM me with any additional questions you have, Also my cell phone number is 410-746-6770.


John

Re: Hello, my name is............................
 

Welcome to the wonderful car forum. ;)

Do you really mean "head gaskets" or valve cover gaskets? What is the type of leak identified? Just oil or other problems?

Lee

Re: Hello, my name is............................
 

Great choice in cars, man.

I also have most of those.

SVX- check. I wish mine looked as clean as the pearlie you have there.

2005 Legacy GT - check. Mine is a sedan... you had better keep that rare wagon in good shape. An amazing car, indeed.

1999 Miata, the wife's non-winter car, now that we have two AWD subarus.

I also have a 1989 Honda Hawk GT, very nearly like the one you have pictured there, (the red bike laden down with bags...) along side your nice Kawasaki... I was supposed to sell it to pay for the SVX, and some maintenance on the Legacy... but I haven't yet found a buyer.

Re: Hello, my name is............................
 

We obviously have excellent tastes is vehicles! ;)
My wife absolutely loves her Hawk. She had a Honda Bros 400 before but this hot rod Hawk is the ticket!
Try posting the Hawk for sale on the Honda Hawk Forum it is very active.

Re: Hello, my name is............................
 

Hey John,

WOW! That is fantastic!
Now I have the full history of Jazzmine.
I really enjoyed the story of how you found and purchased her.
I have all the records , printouts, and manuals that were kept, right back to the original window sticker (very cool). Along with a big plastic box of parts, pieces and a remote starter system and a timing light.

I looks like all the owners, save for the guy I bought it from (the person Chris sold it to) cared about her.
Those pictures of the engine compartment make me a little sad. What happened? The entire engine is now covered in grime and oil and the intake cover is cracked.

Oh well, I will get her back to her previous glory with a little hard work ;)

I PM'ed Chris to tell him about the car.

Cheers :)

Re: Hello, my name is............................
 

Not sure yet, I have not had a compression test done, but there is alot of oil seepage and a puff of blue when the car is started cold.

Re: Hello, my name is............................
 

Wow, wonderful car, wonderful bike, i had an 1990 Kawasaki KLR that i sold to pay part of my SVX price, what a good and trusty bike, i miss her in this summer!
But anyways, i am jealous, i want my own Raya!:mad:

Re: Hello, my name is............................
 

Thank you all for the warm welcome!

I am grateful for this forum as I have searched and found much valuable info that has acquainted me with this unique car.

Here is a pic of the subs (Infinity Reference 1030W) that match the Pearlie so perfectly. I need to find a wiring kit and do the install still.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...straya/033.jpg

Re: Hello, my name is............................
 

I have... it got lots of comments, but no real bites.

Re: Hello, my name is............................
 

Welcome to the site. I am a little slow on this thread. I am just to the south of you and have know CDG for quite a few years. Great guy! Watch the Northwest forum for some of our great meets and get togethers. Hope to meet you sometime in the future. :)

Re: Hello, my name is............................
 

Hey there Tim, welcome to the site, so glad to see you made your way here, and that this Pearlie has made it to another devoted suby fan.

It is all John and I had ever hoped for, to see our little girl grow up, still looking hot, and even hotter now, and having another loving owner.....:barf:
Was that over the top?

Tim, she's a great car, just needs the love.

Hope to see it in person again soon.

Re: Hello, my name is............................
 

Thanks for the welcome, I will check the Northwes forum and see if I can make it out to a get together.
I would like to meet other SVX enthusiasts in person too.
I have been on the phone with "CDG" and will meet up with him soon.

:)