I'm still alive.

[McTaff]

Her Majesty sees fit to take up all of my time in service, so I apologise for not being able to stop by all the time.

However, the ol' girl (Black on white) recently made the transit from Sale, VIC to Sydney (Via Cann River, Cooma, Canberra), had a 250,000km service and went back via the scenic route (out to the coast at Bega) and back to Sale in stunning form. The new cross drilled/slotted discs are a little shaky under heavy brakes sometimes but she stops very well. Brake fade is still very apparent on long downhill stretches (which surprised me) but overall I cannot complain because the price was right (next to nothing).

I will be making a couple more trips to Sydney but for very short periods of time, so alas I will not be able to play.

The Black on Burgundy (show car) has been given a present of my old discs which were nice and straight. After a nice machining, they will replace the wobbly discs she currently has. She's better than expected. Warped discs and a scrape on the door is the only thing wrong. She is rarely driven, only turned over for 15 minutes or so every week or so, and driven around the block to keep her in good shape. As much as I want to restore and preserve her as she is with the 55,000km, I still want to turn the joints and linkages to keep them from seizing.

Dad's Black on Charcoal Grey still sports the funny rims, which is a matter of contention. I have a spare set of rims which I am thinking about resurfacing specifically for the Burgundy. If so, the Charcoal will inherit those and we can finally ditch the other rims. However, Dad is thinking he kinda likes the style of the aftermarkets and might just decide to buy a new set of afters.

(Someone did ask in another thread if anyone had a spare set? No, I'm not selling mine at the moment.)

As for me, I now am the happy owner of a late '07 Outback 3.0R Premium. Goes like a rocket for a family wagon, that's fer sure. It's handy as anything, comfortable on the Sydney run, the only drawback is the lack of beautiful exhaust note.

The Navy is brilliant fun, and I am getting married in December. That is all.

[Dessertrunner]

Good to here you are still alive and the news about the wedding so are the cars going to be SVX's I think we might be able to get about 3 the same as your low K one.
My car has had a few changes since we last caught up. It now has 440,000 on the original engine. I changed the tyres to Wrangler Silent armour tyres to get more ground clearance and had to cut the body of the car to get them to fit as they are big mothers. Last but most interesting is that I changed the gearbox from the WRX 5 speed to a 6 speed DCCD with limited slip front and rear diff's. Also has low ratio diff's so the thing goes like a stung cat. I plan on driving part or may be all the way across the Simpson Desert in the next couple of months. Here is a photo of my last trip to the Simpson with the car on one of the dunes and one of the car with the larger tyres before I put the trim back on the car.
The way to stop the brakes fading is to remove the dust shield from the inside on the front. We have done it to both the rally car and mine and neither ever suffer from brake fad because they can now get better cooling.
Tony

[nextse7en]

Ermm, desertrunner?

Yer, *ahem* wheels?

[ridered777]

Originally Posted by nextse7en

Ermm, desertrunner?

Yer, *ahem* wheels?

I even looked at the picture and didn't notice, till you said something.

[~*~JenSVX~*~]

I like the second pic ALOT. It is now the background on my work computer.
Thanks for sharing... Oh and i cropped your thumb out of the pic

[McTaff]

I damn near sh!t myself laughing looking at those pics. Dammit Tony that is awesome. I remember someone jokingly photoshopping an SuVX (a play on the US culture of SUV's), looks like you've just about done it.

All we need is a few 'action' shots of you destroying some snow and sand, and the obligatory Dukes Of Hazzard 'General Lee' jumping the local creek shot and I think then I've seen it all.

Yes, the same boss as when we went for a cruise. No, The Minister For Internal Affairs has decided she wants a couple of Rolls Royces.

I take it you are referring to the ones inboard of the wheels that stop all the stones or grease from burst CV's from getting onto the disc, when you are talking about the dust shields? I will take them off next time I take a spanner to the white one, I know the perfect place to test it.

Edit to add: What kind of advantages/differences are there in the 6 speed? (Plenty of that kinda stuff scattered around the forums, but I am more interested in the 'once the work is done' and 'Down Under' themes colliding. Plus I'm working on a tight schedule and can't spend days browsing the forums)
What diff(s) did you have to change?
What type of work did you have to do to the transmission mounts from the original auto?
What, if any, differences between the 6 and the 5 speed were there with respect to the mounting?
What type of 4WD distribution is there in the 5 as opposed to the 6 speed?
Most of all, how much did the 6 speed cost you?