Hi... I am ordering a Subaru WRX today and was thinking of getting a spare face plate and painting it silver to match the interior.... (unless someone knows how I can get an aluminum one! )

Does anyone know if they are available, if they will take paint well etc etc....?

I realize that the handle will stillbe black, but that should be okay.

if it is cheap, it would be a cool experiment.

32GB (JUST UPGRADED!) Mk. II BLUE
Detroit, MI USA
www.PfeifferBeer.com

Cool idea. We'd like to see a picture of the silver face when you're done. I don't think they sell spares, though, so you'd probably have to take your chances with the one you've got.

You can remove the handle and paint that, too, I'm sure.

There was also a thread somewhere about how to get replacement hex bolts that are bare metal instead of black anodized. That would be a cool finishing touch.

My only fear would be that the paint would chip and flake wherever there was friction (say, from putting it in the carrying case), and would eventually start looking bad.

As an alternative, someone had a milling system that allowed them to do metal faceplates for a Mark1. You could see if they could do one for a Mark2 (different holes). It'd be flat instead of contoured to fit the handle, but it might look cool. Then again it might not. Anyone have that link to the metal face thread?

___________
Tony Fabris

Right here...

/Michael

SE,

I just added a short WRX post under installation notes. You might be interested in it with respect to WRX options (like the spendy carbon-fiber trim option that you would have to cut!). Also, not sure about Detroit, but I'm starting to see WRXes available on dealer lots here in Seattle now that the wave of early adopters has bitten and the "Miata effect" is reduced. For a cash deal I was able to get mine from dealer allocation for invoice + $500 just by calling a bunch of dealers and offering them that deal. The 5th dealer I called had what I wanted and took it. If not in Detroit, you could get an invoice + $400 deal from Van Bortel Subaru in Rochester, NY -- a short hop from you.

I *just* passed 1000-mile break-in. The car is a complete hoot. You will *not* be disappointed.

Jim

Jim,

Thanks for the post! I don't have my WRX yet (just ordered it yesterday and placed a deposit), so it is hard to really picture wat you did, but I printed it out and will look it over. I noticed you on www.i-club.com. I go under "WRX Sport Driver"

Currently, I have the empeg temp installed in a Focus....

So how is the car so far?

32GB (JUST UPGRADED!) Mk. II BLUE
Detroit, MI USA
www.PfeifferBeer.com

SE,

I'll try not to get too far afield here, but...

Like many Japanese cars (I think), the DIN-spec radio is held by a pair of brackets. In the double-DIN Subarus, these brackest are held in place by 6 screws. You can see these screws once you pry off the plastic trim ring/bezel. Search Installation Notes for "Forester" and you might find some posts and pics that show this.

The car? Well, I've been more of a VW/Audi partisan, and, whatever their positive qualities, felt that Japanese models just didn't make my heart go pitter-patter. I was about to replace my ancient GTI with a Jetta 1.8T, and then I finagled a test-drive in a WRX while on a business trip. That's all it took. It is a pretty remarkable little package -- I say "93 percent of an Audi S4 for half the price". Even allowing for some turbo lag, the nicest part for me is that it is a very civilized daily driver -- pretty quiet, decent ride quality -- but it just loves to consume twisty on-ramps!

Jim

On ramps is about as twisty as it gets for you guys ?

- --
Rod, UK Mk2 64gig Red S/No.341 2xDell RioReceiver

Pretty much. In 1946, Dwight D. Eisenhower was briefed on the results of a Surgeon General's study, "Fatal Jeep and Transporter Accidents and the Coriolis Effect, England, 1942-1945" (Umdiecke, et al, 1946). No surprise, he became a zealous supporter of the nascent safety movement to convert the U.S. to right-hand drive, but this movement was pretty much stopped in its tracks by the International Harvester's "So now, the government is going to make you hold your pipe in your *right* hand??" campaign. Stymied by IH and the Big 3 and saddled with inferior left-hand drive, Ike decided on a different approach to reduce roll-over accidents; beginning with the expansion of the Interstate system, federal funding for state highway projects is awarded in part based on scored compliance with federal "straightened arc" criteria. The country is now 38 percent complete on its goal of eliminating all curves by 2020.

Hope this helps,

Jim

That was me.
I planned on offering fascia's for the Mark II's but didn't have anything to really go by, but now that someone has finally sent me a Mark II fascia, buttons & knob, I have my template and will start prototyping soon.

I will post a notice & links when I'm ready but until then I'm open to doing one-offs depending on whats wanted.

Steve

What kinds of faces can you do?

32GB (JUST UPGRADED!) Mk. II BLUE
Detroit, MI USA
www.PfeifferBeer.com

Well, I've made this in brushed aluminum Rowmark for mine and another similar one for someone else.

I'm still pretty much in the brainstorming phase.

What specifically did you have in mind?

Steve

that would be beautiful for the Mk. II. I'd still like to be able to use my color'd screen too....

any other pics?

32GB (JUST UPGRADED!) Mk. II BLUE
Detroit, MI USA
www.PfeifferBeer.com

It's evidently not that difficult to anodize your own parts. I've known guys who've done it for their remote controlled cars and helicopters.... There's faq's on the net too. Pretty much household stuff will do it.

If there's a bit of interest in this, I might be able to find that magazine article I read on it a few years ago....

There's also a way of stripping off the old anodization, sodium hydroxide or something ....

Keep in mind that all of the above can cause blindness, lack of limbs, sex drive, will to live, and ownership of pretty looking empeg faces....

[Edited] Here's a website which quotes a magazine which takes it's information from a news article which researched it on the web which .....

http://www.paintballtimes.com/anodize.htm

g

--
Rio Car (10MB) Blue Face (Looking for Tuner!)
'01 Audi A4 2.8 Quattro

Edited by grgcombs on 15/07/01 06:51 PM.

does any one know what type of plastic the face plat is made out of eg abs as you mite be abele to cote the the face plate using vacune .metallising

andrew butler
sn 08000176 6G amber