July 7, 2023

Blue tooth and green lights, for the second time

History has a way of repeating itself, and this was the case here. For the second time, I set off on a crusade in emerald green. This time, the task was more challenging. In addition to replacing the light bulbs, I also wanted to upgrade the backlighting of the driver’s door control panel. It bothered me that only the LOCK and AUTO buttons were illuminated. It turned out that the board had connectors for the other LEDs as well, so I soldered the missing resistor and three LEDs. Since they differed in color from the original ones, I decided to replace those two as well:

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July 1, 2023

Rallye Boží Bojovníci

Since it’s an STI, a true thoroughbred with roots in WRC, I thought it would be fitting for the Impreza to take part in a rally. As spring approached, I started browsing maps, checking out rally stages, and planning a route. Meanwhile, I had some stickers printed — after all, every rally needs stickers. Then it was just a matter of waiting for the first warm weekend, pulling the Impreza out of its hideout, and heading out for our “rally” stages.

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June 30, 2023

20555

Now, let’s spill the milk. The Forester has been joined by an MY07 STI Impreza, a Hawkeye. But before we talk about the car and the plans for it, let’s start with where the Impreza spends most of its time — the garage.

I took advantage of the kindness of my local council and, at a promotional rate (dictated by the non-normative ceiling height), I became the tenant of a garage in a very hipster part of the city, which fits the car’s character quite well. The garage is nice, heated (the lowest recorded temperature during the winter was 18°C), in a closed courtyard, but it has just one small (narrow) flaw: it was built in the mid-1960s, in a building that once belonged to the Forests Commission (a coincidence? I don’t think so!) and was designed with the dimensions of cars from that era in mind. And while there are some people who could fit into it sideways, see:

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June 21, 2023

But actually, why the Forester?

Rumour has it that I was once a forester myself, but whether that’s true or not, we’ll never know – nonetheless, it gives some clue as to why a Forester. Moving on, we all know that the pre-facelift SG models are the most beautiful, and that the 2C6 (Green mica/Gray mat) is the best color for them*.

And why this particular one? I searched for a long time and tried to be reasonable, as one does when buying a car that could walk into a pub and legally ask for a pint. The Swiss gentleman diligently collected stamps from his local dealership, changed the oil when needed, and in general, it was clear he liked his Forester. The seller even went out of his way to provide many underside photos (I encourage you to browse listings on the web – it’s rare to see this), so I thought: I have to go and at least check it out.

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June 14, 2023

Lamco

I once drove a USDM Hawk, though that story is for another day; a bit sad and a bit happy. But what’s important is the boost gauge that was in that Impreza: Lamco. In my opinion, it doesn’t really match the Hawk with its beautiful crimson-red Feng-shui, but I remember thinking: “Hm, in the Forester, that would look really good.” I kept it at the back of my mind thinking about it from time to time, and when, a few months later, a similar one showed up on eBay, I clicked on “Buy it now” without much hesitation. The installation is very simple and well-described at blingstorm.

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June 12, 2023

2*555?

Yes, but probably not today, though maybe?

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June 7, 2023

... and the green lights

My mild OCD made itself known when I noticed that not all the indicators were properly illuminated. I embarked on a crusade in emerald green. It turned out that all the issues could be solved with three types of bulbs:

W5W for the gauges - larger ones
R5/T5 for the gauges - smaller ones
T3 for the buttons

A pleasant surprise was that the problem with the infamous rubber caps that change the backlighting color is perfectly solved with colored bulbs. Two evenings later, the Forester looked like a Christmas tree:

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June 6, 2023

Blue tooth...

The Forester arrived in the land of the Vistula River with a highly advanced car audio system. Unfortunately, the level of sophistication was negatively correlated with the car’s age. And so, the CD changer module integrated with the Clarion navigation system (which must have been a futuristic device some 20 years ago) was replaced with a modest storage compartment, and the radio was upgraded with a Bluetooth dongle. That was the best 50 PLN I’ve ever spent, without a moment’s hesitation. It was completely plug-and-play with the factory unit, powered via quick-connects from the cigarette lighter wires, and with the AUX option added to the radio settings, the driving experience improved tremendously. The only thing I regret a bit is not trusting Chinese technology enough to buy the version without a microphone.

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June 5, 2023

At the Beginning, There Was the Forester

Yes, at the beginning, there was the Forester. If I had to describe this car in one sentence: “A perfect car (except for all its flaws).” After nearly 2 years and 40000 km together, I still can’t get over how good it is. If I ever manage to find the golden rod bearing that allows me to fulfill three wishes (take that, Aladdin), one of them will be for a time travel. To Basel, the year will be 2002, the roads will once again be ruled by the like of Octavia MK1, Golf MK4, and I, for the first time in my life, will have a “2” in front of my age, and I shall walk into the Emil Frey showroom. And there, the Subaru Forester 2.0 XT 4AT — what a car!

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