major_tom's alpine '92 SW (and an introduction)

[major_tom]

Hello everyone!

I'm new here, having just made my first purchase under the stars of the Pleiades, a 92 Legacy wagon. I hail from the great state of Colorado, so the idea is that this will be the ultimate mountain car eventually.

(pardon the crappy iphone pics, my real camera is in the shop )







EJ22 N/A (seen here sans dust cover), 218k miles, AWD. The engine is a little old, but still in great mechanical shape for its age. Eventually, it'll be retired in favour of an EJ22T, but for right now it still does its job well.

Only mods so far are a Great Divide Brewing sticker replacing the Jesus fish on the back, and kimokalihi's blackout grill. Next up are better brakes (again, mountain car) and suspension. I'm on a bare-bones budget, so I've heard RS springs/KYB adjustables are the way to go. Anyone do bigger brake mods on an SW? I've heard the H6 Outback brakes are a step up, but I'm not familiar with the additional modifications necessary to adapt them to my car.

A little background on me: this is my first Soob; I'm a recovering vintage BMW addict who recently realized the benefits of owning a slightly more practical car. The good thing about having owned two E30s is that I learned pretty quickly how to swing a wrench haha. I miss my 318s, but this Legacy has more power (~50bhp!), can fit more hippies in the back, and doesn't give a shit about snow. I'm really digging it so far.

Thanks everyone!

[BiNiaRiS]

I've got a set of KYB AGX struts for sale for $260. I'd have to look into shipping if you're interested.

Your gonna live the car though. That EJ22 will take a beating and keep running. Probably the most reliable Subaru engine made.

I was really close to buying an e30 318is or a 325 but chose another Subaru. As much as I love E30s they are just so slow, especially the 1.8L. Someday I will own an e30 M3. Or maybe just a swapped e30

[Legacy777]

Welcome to the BBS!

[alexandermf]

Welcome, we have quite a large meet/cruise coming up if you wanna look under the community section

[major_tom]

Thanks! I've noticed that Subaru has quite a following here...a friend told me that the only state with more Subarus registered in it than Colorado is Oregon. Food for thought.

The Yeti hit a milestone last week: the summit of Mount Evans at 14,130 feet (4,310 m)! This is the end of the highest paved road on this side of the world.



Looking west, with the ruins of Crest House in the background.



And for reference, this is what the road looks like on the way up:



It's just been opened last week; there's still places where you drive past huge walls of snow 20 feet deep that have been peeled away by the plows. Narrow, no guard rails, ridiculous, thousand-foot-plus sheer drops, some minor flooding from snowmelt...it's one hell of a road!

[Legacy777]

I like that picture!

[kimokalihi]

Welcome. I see you've found my build journal. Lots of good info in there if you've got a lot of time on your hands. That last pic if pretty cool. Washington has a ton of subarus. I've been to other states and realized the abundance we have here and the serious lack of subarus everywhere else. Sad.

[CFK]

WOW That's an Awesome Shot

Looks like a pretty Clean car, great first pics !!!

[major_tom]

Hey guys! 220K has come and gone; service is due so it's going to be oil change time soon. In the meantime, I picked these up last week:



'sup, turbo wheels!



and they don't look half bad, either!

Also, I crossed another high mountain pass off my list this week with some friends:



Guanella Pass near Georgetown, 11,669 ft (3557 m)!

[Legacy777]

Tom,

I'd rather have you create a new thread for the build forum. Shoot me a PM if that's what you want to do and I'll set it up.

[free5ty1e]

Welcome to the forum and the community!

May I just say those are some awesome photos.

Having just moved to Oregon myself, I haven't done much 'splorin yet but I sure do appreciate how few straight roads there are up here!

Seems to be related to the # of Subarus registered in the state... lol

Florida was so boring; the roads curved in a way that was imperceptible until you found yourself right where you started, and so flat. Mountain roads in NV were interesting but nothing like the scenery and roads up here.

Banked curves are pure WIN... wow those are fun!

[major_tom]

former Colorado Midland Railway tunnels near Buena Vista, CO.

[major_tom]

I went up to Cheyenne with some friends for Frontier Days a few weeks ago! I had a blast but it was eventually time to head back...



Home sweet home!

[Legacy777]

That's a cool pic!

[major_tom]

Thanks! I had a pretty busy weekend...two days, 500 miles, six high mountain passes - including the two highest in the state!



The Yeti at the top of Cottonwood Pass (12,126 ft/3696m). This is the highest pass in Colorado that doesn't require a modified Jeep. It closes down from October til May because during the winter there is, on average, twenty feet of snow at the top.



See that squiggly line down in the valley? That's the Gunnison County side of the pass. All dirt, big, sheer dropoffs, and plenty of car-sized wildlife. Guard rails, you ask? Guard rails are for suckas.

Once the county roads end, the Forest Service takes over. Just off of FSR 742, we made camp for the night next to the Taylor River. Our road for the day ends here:



gratuitous twilight Legacy porn:



Our view the next morning:



After some food, it's back up the Cottonwood Pass road. This route was originally built for stagecoaches, and it shows:



This is the view from the top of the pass:



After descending into Buena Vista, we took a ride up to Aspen to drop off some camping gear. To get there, we used State Highway 82, another former stagecoach route. This road is not for beginners; its 6% grades, sheer unguarded drops, impossibly tight hairpins, and grueling ascent to the highest fully paved pass in the state make it a challenge.

Here's the road on the way up; don't let the insane scenery distract you for too long!



There are points at which the road was damaged by rockslides and thus narrows from two lanes down to one...these used to be controlled by signals but are now traffic anarchy. Uphill traffic usually gets the right-of-way here.



Finally, the top of Independence Pass at 12,095 ft (3687m)!



The view from the top was tremendous:



Both of these high passes close in about a month or so, so this was a good time for adventure. And the car performed brilliantly!

[Legacy777]

Awesome pictures of your chronicles over the passes! Keep 'em coming

[92ColoradoTurbo]

Ever been up Mt Antero outside of Salida? Its a bit of a rough terrain, my stock land rover disco made it no problem, but at the top of that mountainis ggorgeous! All the mountains kinda do a half cricle and engulf this pond/lake at the top, it was a fantastic journey! But the wagon is looking great man, glad to have another guy from Colorado on here

[turbo970]

hey maybe we can do a cruise next summer. i'm down in the durango area.

[92ColoradoTurbo]

Durango and silverton are so nice! Got some really nice trails too

[turbo970]

i'll be hitting them next spring and summer

[major_tom]

Winter was long and frigid.

[turbo970]

was you over by salida ?

[major_tom]

was you over by salida ?

Nope. Winter was mostly in Denver and the 'burbs for me.

But now that winter's over, I've been up in the mountains again...



off of Coffee Pot Road, north of Dotsero, CO. This road eventually leads to a place called Deep Lake, where the road turns from mostly dirt to mostly boulders. Jeeps only after the lake (til I do the Forester lift!).



Along the Colorado River Road near Bond, CO. This road is epic; most of its length is dirt, it runs right along the river, and narrows in places for one-lane bridges. Part of the route also shares space (with no grade separation!!) with an active railway line. Challenging and fun to drive, and gorgeous.

[major_tom]

Above Montgomery Reservoir, Park County, CO. Just down the hill from this:



the Magnolia gold mill, built early 1930s to replace the original 1880s structure which burned in a fire.

[major_tom]

More summer mountain adventures in the Legacy:



Loveland Pass, 11,990 ft. (3655 m). The sign warns that we use long range artillery to do avalanche control on this pass!



Parked off the Benson's Cabin 4x4 trail near Shrine Pass.



Another odd road sign at the end of Shrine Pass - this area of the mountains was used to train the 10th Mountain Division during and after WWII, so unexploded ordnance is a possibility in these woods!