Being stationed in Japan opens up a lot of opportunities for a car guy. Suddenly all the cars you’ve lusted at over the years in magazines you couldn’t quite understand, are nearly at your disposal. The roads you’ve memorized from watching the Best Motoring Touge DVD’s 1001 times are within driving distance. And the parts….oh the parts!
For a car guy, being able to serve your country, and do it in a country that is the foundation of everything that makes you go ga-ga car wise, would be quite a lot of fun. The guy who owns the car here is a car guy through and through. But his Subaru is what punches all the right numbers for me. Because it reminds me so much of my old RS. This car started life as a 2000 STi V6 Type R that when acquired, had a few mods. My own personal Subaru muse 🙂 The owner has steadily modified it over the years with tons of mods. 6 speed swap, EJ257 block (forged internals), AVCS equipped EJ207 heads (with Kelford cams), ATP 35R, big FMIC, coil on plug ignition, a full helping of STi Group N and Cusco bits, LINK programmable ecu (I had one of those too!). It’s quite a bit of kit as our friends on the other side of the pond would say. Fast forward a few years, and while out and about, the car is rear ended in a hit and run. What’s more, he’s now planning on headed back to the states later in 2012. So what is a car nut, totally in love with what he’s created in Japan, to do? The pics speak for themselves! He decided to totally strip it down, and take every nut and bolt, every covetted part, ship it back to the states (being military has it’s perks…the parts ship free!), and start over. Same soul, different skin. The plan upon return is to insert everything into a USDM car. I see visions of the Bionic Man playing in my head “we can rebuild it, we have the technology”.
Those of us who truly love our cars, believe they do have a soul. There is a connection you get when you plan it yourself, work on it yourself, that really brings you to another level with what was previously just a machine. When this car was built, I’n sure the current owner would not have though he would one day own it. And I am sure the soul of this car never could have contemplated it would leave it’s native Japan and get a chance to be reborn half a world away. Like 2 ships otherwise passing in the night, that just happened to stop and grab a cup of coffee together. The relationship with one’s car can truly be a “romance” if you will.
The reason for posting this, aside from it being a sweet example of a Subaru is to try to convey how passionate some are about their cars. Sometimes your project takes a twist and turn you never would expect, but that’s not a reason to give up. Sit down with a beer or 3, reasses the situation, and formulate a plan. When you’ve worked so hard on something, poured so many countless nights into a project, not even a the distance from the mountains of Japan to the US can keep a project down. Will definitely be following the rebirth once it begins here in the states.
Tags: brembo, Cusco, gt35r, Japan, jdm, SSR, sti v6 type r, stripped impreza, Subaru
Kwame
Z1 Performance
Jonathan
Corner Balance 