The first little thing that made me happy was the set of Speedline decals. I bought them so long ago that I’d actually managed to forget all about them.

I won’t say it out loud how many times I test-fitted them or how long it took to get all the stickers into exactly the same position. Let’s just say I started with a ruler and ended up making a precise template for one of the spokes…

The next little thing was a wiper stalk from Forester SG. I’d read somewhere that they were plug-and-play, so I decided to install one.

It’s not like I’m planning to sail thousands of nautical miles through a mix of drizzle, rain, and sunshine, but being able to adjust the intermittent wiper frequency can come in handy from time to time.

The one you need is 17A164LH1 (the original one from the Type R is 17A164LH2).

And sure enough, they’re interchangeable and don’t require any modifications.

Although this one doesn’t quite count as a little thing, since it’s a legal requirement, but I finished converting the mirrors. Interestingly, taking them apart turned out to be the hardest part. I had to drill out the screw heads to get them apart.

In the end, I had to buy three European-spec mirrors because I didn’t know that the triangular mounting bases also came in a metal version. And to get the correct mirror angle, the attachment point on that base needs to be slightly enlarged.

Nothing a Dremel would be worried about though..

I’m also happy that the triangular trim pieces are now black instead of body-coloured, as they were before. They look much better this way.

While I was at it, I “discovered” that I seem to have a rather cool set of Prova mirror panes. Looking at the photo now, mirrors are noticeably blue-tinted, and it’s hard to miss. But it took having both of them side by side for me to notice it for the first time.

• Impreza
• Gc8
• Type-R