Transcript
Speaker: All right, welcome to this week's episode of the Dirt Subies podcast. This is gonna be a long intro, so you can either skip through it, but there is an important announcement at the end of it. We got Dan Benoit, the ah co-owner and lead tech at Whiskey Row Automotive. This dude is just a massive wealth of Subaru knowledge. has just done some insane things over, you know, the last three decades of kind of being in the automotive industry. This guy actually built one of the most insane first gen legacies that I've ever seen.
Speaker: And I'm going to put pictures and a little bit more info about the build up on the Lifted Imports website. I may not be able to get that info up on the website right away, um but I will get something up on the website. But nevertheless, You guys will be shocked when you see this car, and I think you'll really enjoy and listening to Dan. I had ah just a blast listening to this guy, just picking his brain, and we didn't even scratch the surface. so I'm going to have to have him come back for round two, round three, and we'll see you know what kind of helpful information we can get out there for the community.
Speaker: um Okay, but before we jump into that, I got some things we got to talk about. First, you guys know I always do this. If you're not already familiar with the Subie and You podcast, you've got to go check it out. Huge library of stuff. And he's been interviewing people way longer than I have. So there's a lot of good episodes already there that you can binge.
Speaker: And then also, I got to give a massive shout out to Melee Design Firm. You guys have heard me ranting and raving about all the batteries that I've upgraded to ah with the help of Melee.
Speaker: And I've got pretty much every other accessory that Melee makes in both my Subarus. And ah anyways, they're supporting the podcast. And the way that they're doing that is by giving you guys actually a full 10% off on pretty much anything in their store. All you got to do is use DIRTSUBIES at checkout. You just go to meleedesignfirm.com and ah get that discount. But yeah, just make sure you use the code DIRTSUBIES.
Speaker: One more announcement here. I've been running ADF parts for about 10 years when I first got into the lifted Subaru thing. I started buying parts from them back when I was a broke college student.
Speaker: So you guys know I'm um a huge fan. Well, me and Patrick, the owner of Anderson Design and Fabrication, you know, we've connected over the years and become really good friends. We have created kind of a little sponsorship. He's offering a 5% discount on pretty much all ADF hard goods.
Speaker: so lift kits skid plates light pod brackets um all sorts of different like adf hard goods you can't use it on things like the torque locker that's not an adf product that's just a product that they sell on their website if you're thinking oh maybe i'll just buy a cheap lift kit off ebay and you need a little bit of encouragement to actually do it the right way and to buy it from a reputable brand that knows what they're doing, this is your opportunity.
Speaker: But yeah, all their stuff is made in the U.S., right here in Oregon. Solid stuff, and I'm a huge fan of everything that they're doing. If you want 5% off, it's the same thing, just dirt Subies at checkout on the...
Speaker: awdadventure.com website. That's the ADF website. Just want to give a massive shout out to Patrick for being willing to do that. His lift kits sell themselves. All of his stuff sells itself. It's all top-notch stuff.
Speaker: He doesn't need to do a discount to you know sell his parts at all. um So I appreciate that he's willing to do that for you guys and um get you guys set up with some good lift kit parts. So Massive respect. Now, let's go ahead and jump into the interview. I know that was a long intro, but I just wanted to do some housekeeping and let's go ahead and get into this conversation with Dan.
Speaker: We got the one and only Dan Benoit in the house, right? Did I say that right? Yes, sir. You did. Dude, I love it. Thanks for thanks for being on here, man. It's honor. it's an honor Good. I appreciate it.
Speaker: So like you said, my name is Dan. um I am co-owner of Whiskey Row Automotive in Prescott Valley, Arizona. ah We are a general purpose automotive repair shop, but we specialize in Subarus.
Speaker: I have been working on and modifying and enjoying Subarus for over 25 years at this point. That's kind of what we're doing, focused on growing the business and and branching out and
Speaker: seeing how we can grow and and benefit the community. There are not nearly enough Subaru specialists in the world. not Not even a little bit.
Speaker: Yeah, i I agree. It, of course, ah depends on where you're at. um I did have a shop in Oregon for a while and we had some competition.
Speaker: When we, we talked on the phone previously and, um, you were talking about how you sort of initially got into the cars and I think you said you were working somewhere where you were a tech on a massive range of different vehicles.
Speaker: Uh, what was that whole story and how did you kind of come to the realization that, well, these Subarus are actually pretty cool cars. Well, two things happened at about the same time.
Speaker: um The first of which is i was a alignment technician ah for Les Schwab Tires in Northern California. um At the time, it was a good job. i i worked with two of my brothers.
Speaker: um But as a part of that job, I had my hands on literally everything that exists. So I'd an alignment on a Honda Accord, and the next one was a Dodge Viper or yeah ah Ferrari or something like that.
Speaker: So having that much hands-on experience with such a wide variety of vehicles early on in my career, um I figured out pretty quick who makes a good car and ah what I enjoyed working on.
Speaker: And then coincidentally around that time, um I had a Subaru Brat given to me by a good friend. yeah Those are always the best stories.
Speaker: I got this car for free. Well, he he owed me a little bit of money and offered it as payment and I took it. ah To this day, he's a good friend.
Speaker: But at that age, ah when you receive a free car, the rules are you have to destroy it. yeah Even at this age, that is the rule.
Speaker: So um my brother and i took it out to our stomping grounds up in the woods of Northern California and For a couple days, tried to kill the car.
Speaker: um We couldn't. Unsuccessful. Yeah. um i I think towards the end of the whole experiment, I had a broken wrist and a broken nose.
Speaker: And the Subaru still ran. it it It was pretty rough around the edges at that point. um But i I do remember walking away from that situation with the understanding that Subaru builds one hell of a car.
Speaker: Okay, what did you do to the thing? Oh, it got rolled over a few times. Um, and, uh, we had a series of jumps. I think it was an abandoned motocross track.
Speaker: Oh man. We would take, ah cars that we didn't particularly care about into that area and kind of do an endurance test.
Speaker: And, uh, It did phenomenally well, and that stuck with me. yeah um And then the first one that i purchased with the intent of using as a vehicle was about a year and a half later, and I found it in a field in Southern Oregon.
Speaker: It had been sitting for five or six years. And we threw a battery in it and I put 200,000 miles on that car with almost nothing other than yeah oil changes and tires.
Speaker: Yeah. It was a ah fantastic little car and and that kind of started my love affair with off-roading the older Subarus. And then while I owned that one, I got a hold of a 94 legacy turbo sedan.
Speaker: Yes, sir. And it was a ah particularly rare version of that car. um And I ended up doing an STI drivetrain swap in that when I was maybe 21.
Speaker: That's that's impressive. Started dipping my toes into the performance aspect of the vehicle. Yeah, man.
Speaker: So I think I told you this on the phone, but the first gen legacy ah to this day, first gen and second gen, I just can't get enough of them, dude. And 94, you know, I like the post facelift, like the facelift legacy first gens.
Speaker: um I love them both, but I i really, really, the 94, 92, or 93 and 94, I think they look so good. And the EJ22, dude, the 22T, you beat the piss out of those things, man.
Speaker: Yeah, they're widely considered some of the best engines in the history of the automobile. Yeah. Phase one Yeah.
Speaker: is just bomb proof. And between my brother, Tommy, and my business partner, Bill, and myself, um we have all owned ah Generation One Legacies with well over 400,000 miles.
Speaker: I've had one with 560 on it, and it was a daily driver. Yeah. so I had my most recent first gen. I don't own one currently.
Speaker: um I think I only got it to 280. And then the Synchros, it was a five speed. The Synchros started to take a dump and I had two other cars and I just was like, I'm just going to sell this thing and wish I'd have kept it.
Speaker: Really wish I'd have kept it and done a drive, you transmission swap on it. But yeah, it's it's kind of funny you say that. um I have in my possession a 91 Legacy Wagon that I owned.
Speaker: for the better part of 10 or 11 years, and I sold it to my business partner. This is the 91 Legacy Wagon. It is her.
Speaker: And she's back in my possession again. um But it's funny that you mentioned the Syncros. At about 345,000 miles, the Syncros went out in the car.
Speaker: And at the time, I had two babies at home and was barely making the rent. And I just continued driving it. And one day, it started being quiet. So I just kept driving it.
Speaker: What? Fast forward, probably... Oh, seven years later, the Synchro started to go out again started to make a lot of noise.
Speaker: And that was part of the equation that led me to turn her into what she is today. Yeah, I've got ton of other questions here. And there are so many rabbit trails we can go down. But let's let's talk about that car and what it is.
Speaker: Yeah, so it's it's a very special car. um It was a car that I serviced while I was the manager of a Subaru-specific repair shop in Portland.
Speaker: And the clients indicated to me that they had an intention of selling the car due to the fact that it had, at the time, 342,000 miles on believed that she had met all of um they believed that she had ah met all of her goals and aspirations and it was time to retire the car.
Speaker: Yeah. um And I purchased it from them. um And she immediately got a three inch lift and some general grabber all terrain tires.
Speaker: And I sourced a limited slip diff out of a legacy turbo and put it in the back. And that became my daily driver commuter. I brought my son home from the hospital in that car.
Speaker: love that. And I proceeded to drive it daily up until she had about 427,000 miles on her. and at that point um the synchros and the tranny were starting to voice their opinion on a more regular basis. and That's one way to put it.
Speaker: The ah passenger window was having issues going up and down, which is fairly typical of early Subarus. Yeah. And the final straw for me was the CD player stopped ejecting CDs.
Speaker: Yeah. So I went and purchased a brand new Subaru Outback, and this was in 2015.
Speaker: And at the time, I lived with my brother, and he is a fabricator, welder, mechanic, and so he and I just...
Speaker: kind of decided to do what I had been thinking about doing for the better part of 10 years. And she became a full-blown rock crawler. Let's go.
Speaker: Let's go. So ah the way that I accomplished that is I purchased a Toyota pickup that had already been turned into a rock crawler from a young man that was in desperate need of money.
Speaker: um as As are we all. ah Still am today. yeah But my initial plans was to solid axle the car, do dual transfer cases, and you know maybe some 33s or 35s.
Speaker: But ah oftentimes as projects go, things snowballed and Facebook Marketplace changed. ah found some pretty good deals. So ah the first build ah was FJ62 full width Toyota axle and a Toyota Tacoma rear axle.
Speaker: ah The front springs are handmade oh using a combination of three different vehicles and We called up Alken Spring and had them make a top leaf to our specification.
Speaker: Perfect. um We made it the original EJ22 to a Toyota W56 five-speed transmission out of a pickup. Okay. ah The bell housing is handmade.
Speaker: I worked with a gentleman in the Midwest. His name is Bill also. ah And he specializes in doing a lot of...
Speaker: Mitsubishi conversions. but So he makes bell housings to put those engines in weird places. yeah And he and I talked for a while about making a Toyota 2 EJ series adapter.
Speaker: I believe he made 10 or 12 of them. I don't know how many exist, but that's how we were able to get a ah Toyota transmission behind there, which, of course, offered us the opportunity for dual transfer cases.
Speaker: um So it has a set of Marlin dual ultimate. transfer cases. oh dude. So the gear ratio is somewhere around 225 to one.
Speaker: It's been a while since I've calculated that, but that sounds about right. um So the car has a ridiculous amount of wheel travel, lots of gearing.
Speaker: ah The first set of tires were 39 inch Toyos. um They were rotten when I bought them. So they were only on the car for one season. and okay It now has a set of 37-inch Toyos, ah which is better suited to the car.
Speaker: um It has, like I said, an enormous amount of wheel travel, and I can get the tires into the body pretty easily. um But that being said, ah it drives down the road comfortably at 75 miles an hour. it still gets 20, 21 miles gallon.
Speaker: twenty twenty one miles a gallon
Speaker: That's so crazy to me. it just It blows my mind. like Yeah, um we we did have an issue for a while finding a shock absorber that ah
Speaker: could control the car at speed. It would kind of get something that resembled death wobble, but it was... In a different direction, maybe? Yeah, kind of side-to-side movement.
Speaker: Okay, okay. But a couple years ago, I got a hold of a rep from Bilstein, and we had some shocks that were valved a little heavier than what you can buy off the shelf and seemed to control it pretty well.
Speaker: So as of today, i could go start it up and... Slowly drive it wherever I wanted to. Yeah. You know, trying to avoid law enforcement as much as I can, but.
Speaker: I guess that's right. It's technically not ah to like up to, up to, up to code, right? Well, here in Arizona, um it's perfectly fine. It's a hundred percent street legal. It's licensed, registered, insured, and the law enforcement around here are pretty entertained by her.
Speaker: um They give me thumbs up and high fives. Let's go. hey If we were to drive it in California, it would probably lead to somebody being in in handcuffs. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. They don't seem to have a sense of humor out there, but. and Yeah, not at all. Yeah. I could rant and rave about California and that, that whole thing for hours, but that's a different conversation.
Speaker: As, as a former resident, I could also.
Speaker: Well, let me let me. So something that I really like, ah you know, as we were talking about ah this, this build, I absolutely love that you didn't just take a take a legacy and slam it on like a K5 blazer frame.
Speaker: This thing is still, it's, it's a Subaru. You essentially did what would be the equivalent, like in the XJ world is like frame stiffeners. Much to the chagrin of my wife and family. Um, I will always do the harder thing.
Speaker: Um, it would have been very easy for me to set it onto the chassis of the, uh, the Toyota that I purchased to donate parts. Um, I didn't want to do that for a couple of reasons. Um,
Speaker: I don't think that it requires any skill to do that. yeah And I consider myself to be a pretty skilled fabricator. So I wanted to push the envelope of what I was ah capable of doing.
Speaker: In addition to that, I wanted the car to be as low to the ground as possible. um So with a 39 inch tire, she had 23 inch belly height. she had a ah twenty three inch belly height Okay. um And in the rock crawler world, that's very low.
Speaker: Yeah. ah With the 37s and the different springs that I've put on it, it's still about 22, 23 inches height. Can you... inches belly- height you Can you explain, i mean, I have my own reasons for why I like the biggest tire on the smallest lift, but what was, is that just for, in your case, was that for like ease, like comfort or a center of gravity?
Speaker: ah a couple of different reasons, most of which pertain to the rock crawling world. um I went to high school and spent my teenage years in Lake Tahoe, California.
Speaker: Mm-hmm. So I had access to the Rubicon Trail ah every weekend. um My brothers and I were there as often as we could be there.
Speaker: And we learned that center of gravity means something. and Definitely. So I wanted the car to be low to the ground, but capable so that it would be stable in off-camber situations and ah back then we really pushed the envelope of what these vehicles were capable of doing.
Speaker: um The age I'm at right now, I don't really have a lot to prove. So generally when I go out, it's just to have a good time. But specifically for this build, um I wanted it to be as low to the ground as possible because the car simply doesn't have large doors that
Speaker: so So yeahs it's hard to climb up and into a car that's designed to be very low to the ground. yeah um And I am not a small man. So um it was necessary.
Speaker: i wanted the car to be as low as possible so that I could get in and out without hurting myself. Yeah, I think even at stock height, a lot of Subarus are kind of a especially first gens, they're kind of a turn, fall into the seat, and then get yourself in. And I'm only six foot. You're six four is that...
Speaker: I am 6'2". Oh, okay, okay. And getting pretty close to 300 pounds. you You're a moly dude. ah so Tell us, okay, we got to explore a couple things here, but ah tell us how you, I think you've changed your ways recently, but tell us how you used to install transmissions.
Speaker: When we opened up Whiskey Row Automotive, it was the first time that I had access in my private life to a lift. Yeah. um So for 20 some odd years, i was doing everything out of a two or three car garage.
Speaker: And the way that I would install trannies was I'd lay under the car and bench press them into the car. um which was successful 99.9% of the time.
Speaker: Unfortunately, it did lead to a life-altering injury somewhere around 2014. Being as as large as I am does have its advantages.
Speaker: yeah It also has some disadvantages. But um yeah, I used to lay under the cars and and press them into the into the car and kind of hold them with one hand while I was threading nuts onto the back of the bell housing.
Speaker: um yeah But now I have the benefit of very nice lifts and transmission jacks and a very nice environment that is conducive to me being successful without hurting myself.
Speaker: All that just to say you are of a certain genetic makeup that is not small.
Speaker: No, no, I come by it honestly. um My grandfather, when he was a young man, was six foot four, six foot five, and 400 something pounds.
Speaker: how My uncle Daniel is probably six foot four, six foot five, um and he's probably 320, 340, somewhere around there.
Speaker: um Just a particularly large man. Do any of you guys do strongman competitions? You should. I got into bodybuilding as a young man.
Speaker: um I was a semi-professional athlete during high school. um Believe it or not, I raced mountain bikes. hu I was always double the size of everybody out there, but um I enjoyed it. I was relatively successful. I'm looking at a couple silver medals right there on the wall, but that's rad.
Speaker: Um, I got into bodybuilding because I had a pretty severe injury at the age of 14 that left me with no feeling or use of my right arm. Hmm. And I just believed at that point that if I got strong enough, uh, it wouldn't be an issue.
Speaker: And I guess to a small degree, I was right. Um, it's caught up with me now. Um, my, my right arm is, um not what I need it to be or want it to be.
Speaker: But, um, I have a wife that is very understanding and helpful. And my business partner is probably the most compassionate, understanding human being I've ever met.
Speaker: And, uh, I think ultimately like that we do. ah ultimately at the end of the day, I think I hold myself to a much higher standard than he does. Um, so I'm the one pushing myself, but I understand that. ah Yeah. 100%. Well, it's, you know, I'm, I'm not big by any stretch of imagination. And, uh, you know, I, I actually started lifting weights for a similar purpose. You know, my,
Speaker: I was on a trajectory to be legitimately like in a wheelchair by my mid-40s. yeah And I was like, you know what? I'm already almost crippled. I might as well you know just see what happens.
Speaker: Never felt better. If I had stopped to think about it when I was younger, that was that would probably be my train of thought.
Speaker: But as a young man, i I needed to go to work, and I had bills to pay, and yeah um I needed and also wanted to be very independent.
Speaker: So there was not a lot at that age that was going to slow me down. It has certainly caught up with me now, but um now I have an enormous support system. Yeah.
Speaker: you know It's crazy to hear you talk about at the age of 14, oh, I had bills to pay. I had you know ah had things I had to do. like that's That's absolutely wild. I was still playing with Ninja Turtles at 14, man.
Speaker: Well, my my dad taught me a pretty valuable lesson when I was very young, um that if I wanted something, I needed to figure out how to accomplish that. um At the time, i wasn't real happy about learning that lesson. and But ultimately, in the long run, it was one of the more valuable lessons that I've learned.
Speaker: I strive to be as self-reliant as I can. Mm-hmm. But I have been afforded a number of opportunities in recent years
Speaker: that have been hard for me to accept. And it's hard for me to, uh, take the help and, and the love that some of, uh, my very, very dear friends and family have given me, but I'm very grateful for it. And, uh, it has forced me to think about problems from a different perspective.
Speaker: And ultimately at the end of the day, that's my job is to look at problems and figure out how to solve them. Some of them are very easy. Some of them are not. um But when you have multiple different perspectives in your toolbox, ultimately you become a much more valuable tool.
Speaker: You and i probably have very different ah stories, but also similar in a lot of ways. You talking about opportunities you know coming your way.
Speaker: A lot of that's luck, you know, like, oh, you just right place, right time. But you also are the person you have to become the person that is even there and able to even see those opportunities or be the person that somebody else is like, oh, I see something in that guy.
Speaker: We have to work together, you know? Yeah. um My wife and I discuss that situation or scenario often. um I'm very hard on myself.
Speaker: I get it. and And other people see things in me that I don't. But um I have tried consciously. it's It's a lot of work to try and quiet myself so that I can listen to others around me that see things that I don't.
Speaker: And, uh, I think ultimately has led to some opportunities, uh, such as the one that we're experiencing right now. you know, a couple years ago, I wouldn't have been in a position or a, a mind space to, uh, to be a part of this. And I'm, I'm glad that I've grown enough to allow that to happen.
Speaker: Ultimately, if if you're not growing, you're dying. Doing my best. Just in the little amount of time that we've talked, ah I think if the world had more people like you in it, it would be a better place. so well Happy that we've crossed paths.
Speaker: I'm not sure that I would say that, but i I do think that there are people that would agree with you. Oh, well, good. I don't care what you say about it. I'm going to say it. Take take the compliment.
Speaker: We've got a beautiful young man that is an apprentice. um ah i don't even think he's an apprentice anymore. Honestly, he's... I was going to ask you. Yeah. I was going to ask you about him.
Speaker: He's a hell of a technician. Yeah. um And he's hungry to learn. Yeah. And you can't teach that. Yeah. And he's got a great attitude 99.9% of the time. And um that's also something you can't teach.
Speaker: Yeah. ah Where did you... Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to cut you off. No, no, go ahead. ah Where did you find this guy? you You told me this story, but this, this, you were the dude that was able to offer that right place, right time opportunity to somebody else. And I love this.
Speaker: Well, I can't really claim any, uh, responsibility for him. Um, My business partner, Bill, is a ah very emotionally effusive person.
Speaker: He's jovial and happy and kind and compassionate and inquisitive and ah came across Jose by happenstance in Southern California.
Speaker: Yeah. And a series of really weird but interesting circumstances led them to have a friendship and eventually Jose working with Bill.
Speaker: And as an extension, ah he started calling me asking advice on how to accomplish this and that and the other. And he was a very respectful, kind young man.
Speaker: ah so I was happy to do it and it evolved into, ah ah very familial relationship um i he is young enough to be my son but yeah uh he's part of the family he he is he is he's just family at this point and uh bill and i have spent the last
Speaker: Five, six years ah sharing stories and anecdotes and knowledge and being patient and and giving him the space to learn.
Speaker: And he has turned out to be one hell of a technician. That's sick. He's just a sponge and he soaks it all in. And oftentimes he'll spit out ideas that we hadn't thought of.
Speaker: yeah And it's it has been one of the greatest blessings of my life to watch him grow. And at this point, you know I don't think apprentice is the right word for him. he's He's part of the family, and he is every bit as important to the success of the business as I am and yeah and ultimately he is the future of automotive repair as far as we we're concerned.
Speaker: You know, it's a dying breed. Yeah, absolutely. And I've got some questions about that that I wanted to pick your brain about. um yeah Yeah. Did he relocate with you or is he still in in California?
Speaker: No, he, he lives in the Los Angeles area, um, near, my business partner, Bill. Um, I selfishly would love to have them near me, but, uh, ultimately at the end of the day, when you love somebody, you want what's best for them.
Speaker: Yeah. And what's best for him uh, figuring it out on his own right now. Yeah. Um, He's welcome here, and and I would gladly open the doors of the shop and have him come on board, but it would be pretty selfish for me to ask him to do that. So at this point, he's aware that he's welcome, and if he wants to be here, he can be.
Speaker: So, um you don't have to go too in detail, but what's kind of the setup with your shop?
Speaker: And like, are you an extension of what they've got going on over there? ah i know you and Bill are business partners. How's all that kind of set up currently? ah So I'm running a traditional automotive repair shop.
Speaker: you know We're open 8 to 5 Monday through Friday. i take whatever comes in the door. I would love to focus on Subarus. It is my specialty, but we do have bills to pay.
Speaker: So I'll work on anything that comes in the door. um Bill has a large collection of interesting things and um he's using he's using the collection ah to teach jose some a diverse number of skills um he's learned how to weld in the last few years he's learned how to start shaping metal um i i think that their shop is
Speaker: maybe considered a hobby shop. Um, they at times take paying jobs, but that isn't the focus of what they're doing. Um, okay. Bill is enjoying himself and he is enjoying, sharing the skills and knowledge that he's acquired with, uh,
Speaker: a younger generation. And, you know, ultimately when, when he and I are ready to retire, you know, it's, it's going to be Jose's generation that takes the reins.
Speaker: Yeah. I'm, I'm really happy that you reached out to me. Um, you know, you emailed me maybe like six months ago or something. I, I don't remember for sure. Um, but you, you sent me some photos of the, uh, of the beast and,
Speaker: Yeah. and it She is something I'm very proud of. Yeah. And I'm happy to to share her with yes yeah other people that are as weird as i am yeah yeah well you know um there's just you're 100 right there's so many oh i don't know what the right way to refer to it would be but just you know like hard skills that are just they're dying uh yeah depending on where you're at and
Speaker: When we talked on the phone, I really, um you know, we all kind of think about, you know, what legacy do we want to leave, you know, on this planet? Where do where do we want to like bake our mark?
Speaker: And what do we want people to remember us for? And I really appreciated your passion for passing on all this information and this experience. I couldn't be happier. Well, we're that is ah one of the things that Bill and i bonded over ah pretty early on in our relationship.
Speaker: ah We both have a desire to share ah the unknown with the future. You know, the he owns a lot of cars that nobody's ever heard of.
Speaker: Yeah. I own a lot of cars that nobody's ever heard of. And if people like us don't preserve them, they will be lost to time.
Speaker: a a picture... is ah very limited way of sharing the beauty of some of these older cars. When you're in person and you can see its scale and size and how they did this and how they accomplished that, ah it broadens your vehicular horizon.
Speaker: and yeah Not everybody can or will drive a Ford F-150 all day, every day, and just be happy with that. and Yeah. Some people are, and that's fine. But I'm not. I have always gravitated towards the weirdest of the weird, and so is Bill.
Speaker: Can you tell me how you guys met? I love this story. Sure. um
Speaker: So just to be completely candid, my wife and I were on the couch one evening and had ah consumed a fair amount of whiskey.
Speaker: And ah one of my habits is to search Craigslist and Facebook and eBay for projects and things that are fun and entertaining. And ah I happened to find a absurdly rare and almost unknown vehicle for sale on eBay.
Speaker: And I bought it. ah When I took possession of the car, it came with two or three extra engines and two or three extra transmissions.
Speaker: And, I didn't need them. So I put them on Craigslist and pretty quickly got a phone call from Southern California. And you're living in Oregon at this time.
Speaker: I was in the Northern. I was in Northern California, pretty close to Lake Tahoe. Okay. Um, And so basically the gentleman on the phone wanted to know how and why I had acquired these parts because they were absurdly rare.
Speaker: And we got to talking about the car that I purchased and its rarity. And he asked to purchase everything from me and I agreed to it. And when he came to pick up ah the car and the extra parts,
Speaker: he was introduced to Goldie, the super Subaru. Yeah. And at the time she had 39 inch tires and, you know, it was ah hard to ignore.
Speaker: yeah So real quick. Yeah. He, there was some skepticism with him about the fact that you even thought you had the car that you had purchased.
Speaker: What was the deal? Well, so the car in question is a Borgward Goliath. And there is a very, very limited number of those vehicles in existence and even fewer in North America.
Speaker: ah They were technically sold here in North America, but in very, very limited numbers, probably only double digits.
Speaker: Crazy. And what's interesting about the Borgwards is you can talk to one source that are experts and they'll say that there's X amount of these cars in existence. And you talk to another source and they said that there's Y amount of cars in existence. And so everybody has conflicting information.
Speaker: yeah Everybody agrees that they are absurdly rare. um And so at the time, ah we believed that all of them had been accounted for.
Speaker: And the one that I had purchased was an oddball that nobody was aware of. um So we started talking about the BorgWords and ah he informed me, I did not know this at the time, that BorgWords are incestually related to Subarus.
Speaker: Mm-hmm. and which piqued my interest as a Subaru enthusiast. um And he started showing me a few pictures of some of the few that he had in his collection already.
Speaker: um So we bonded over that and he purchased the Super Subaru from me. And pretty shortly thereafter,
Speaker: ah i became unemployed in a dramatic fashion. Oh, I've been there. I've been there. And, uh, he asked me to come down and help him.
Speaker: And, um I jumped at the opportunity because I i knew that he was a like-minded individual. And in addition to that, I had a mortgage, so, you know, I couldn't turn down work.
Speaker: It could be a pretty easy to be persuaded to do almost anything. If you got that mortgage to, uh, to take care of. ah So I, I was commuting from, uh,
Speaker: basically Lake Tahoe down to Southern California to spend time with him. And and he and I got pretty close. um I would say that during that period, we became very good friends and continued our relationship after I left California and moved onwards. And things just steadily grew over time.
Speaker: And, eventually at one point, uh, he wasn't a friend anymore. He was family. And, uh, my wife and i have, uh,
Speaker: a lot of, uh, most of the relationships that we nurture revolve around family that we've chosen. Um, yeah. Our blood family,
Speaker: ah has its challenges. And, um, yeah, sometimes it's not, uh, sometimes those are not the strongest bonds. The ones, the blood relatives are sometimes you gotta distance yourself a little bit.
Speaker: Well, they, they say that the best family is a gas tank away and ye all of my family is four or five gas tanks away. So, yeah,
Speaker: Mine, mine too, actually, I'm the only one left in the state. And well, you know, i I told you I got a brother up actually near you. And, uh, I got my parents in, in the Phoenix area. So few gas tanks for sure.
Speaker: Yeah. Um, it's been interesting for us because as we nurture these relationships that we've created, um you know we've We've learned to appreciate or understand more ah the relationships that we were born into.
Speaker: And I can count on one hand the amount of blood relations that I still maintain a relationship with. And my wife cannot count any.
Speaker: um Yeah, I've got direct family that I'm really close to, but i most of my extended family lives on the other side of the country. And some of them, I mean, a lot of them are fantastic people, but some of the other ones probably wouldn't be somebody that I'd ever want to be near or let my let my kids near. you know One of the things that I've learned, everybody has an impact on your life when you meet them.
Speaker: ah There are some people The more you get to know them, the more you love them. ah Bill and Jose fall firmly in that category. The more time I spend with those men, the more grateful I am for the time that I get to spend with them. yeah um
Speaker: My family, for the most part, ah with few exceptions, is different. The other way around, the more time I spend with him, the happier I am that I live far away.
Speaker: I could sympathize. I wish it wasn't that way. i spent decades trying to maintain relationships with people that I shouldn't have. Yeah.
Speaker: But. I think it's easy for people to take their own family for granted. Do you, do you notice that at all? Yeah.
Speaker: um Yeah, I do. um And I think that it's taken me a while to come to the understanding that it's not my job to change people or um expect them to see my point of view.
Speaker: yeah If everybody thought like I do, the world would be a very boring place. There'd be a lot more Subaru. So, yeah, but, um, you know, I, I, my wife and I, as a team came to the conclusion that it's not our job to change people and we can either accept them for the way that they are, ah if we can, or we can choose to evacuate them from our lives and from a distance.
Speaker: you know i i don't I don't hate anybody um in my family. There's a couple of them that I wouldn't put any effort into saving. Yep. Yeah.
Speaker: You know, for me, a lot of that stuff is you know forgiveness and all that type of thing. It's got nothing to do with them. i I couldn't care less how they feel. It's just for me, if I yeah if i hold that like hatred and unforgiveness, it just eats you up. you know and So I fully understand what you're saying.
Speaker: I don't talk to any of those people anymore, but I certainly don't give any energy to it. so Well, and and that's that's kind of been...
Speaker: our motto for the last, uh, my wife and I've been together for almost nine years now. Oh, congrats.
Speaker: We only have so much give a shit. Yeah. And, and she deserves all of it. Uh, she deserves all of my give a shit. Yeah. And, and whatever I don't use on her, Bill and Jose deserve.
Speaker: So I have found specifically, when it comes to Subarus that there's two types of mechanics. Yeah. um those of which that have come to the conclusion that there's a lot of money in doing head gaskets and cv axles and ball joints yeah and they're in it for the money and there's nothing wrong with that per se we all need to feed our kids and we all need to pay our bills that's that's fine um The reason that Bill and I bonded so deeply so quickly and the reason that you and i get along so well is I think we're the other type of Subaru enthusiast.
Speaker: ah We genuinely love the car. um And I have found that when you genuinely love a particular field and put an enormous amount of effort into learning about it and devoting time into bettering yourself, the money comes.
Speaker: ah But it it has to be in that order. Ultimately, at the end of the day, if I was independently wealthy and did not need to go to work anymore, I would still do what I'm doing.
Speaker: Because generally speaking, People that drive the car are people that I can get along with. um And Subaru enthusiasts, for the most part, are cut from a different cloth.
Speaker: But, you know, i I do this honestly. I drive a Subaru to work. My wife drives a Subaru to wherever she needs to go. yeah My dad owns one. My mom owns one.
Speaker: Two of my brothers own one. Bill owns one. Nobody knows how many. ah We're close to triple digits over there yet? or we have We have probably 10 or 12 cousins that have them. Both of my little sisters have Subarus. One of my little sisters bought a brand new one last last weekend, I think.
Speaker: Uh-oh. She's caught the bug. Well, yes. um you know i've I've been barking up that tree for a while, and she is just now...
Speaker: in a position financially to where she can get what she knows she needs. Yeah. Um, and it's become more important. you know, she has two daughters that, uh, obviously she wants to keep safe. So, you know, Subaru makes the safest car money can buy.
Speaker: And, we have put that to the test. Yeah. Okay, let's let's take a detour here. What do you mean?
Speaker: ah So I can think of three very personal situations where Subarus have surpassed um
Speaker: expectations as far as safety is concerned. ah The first of which is wrecked a Subaru GL um probably 2005 and
Speaker: and ah I hit a lady that was doing 10 or 12 miles an hour and I was doing 70. ah And we both walked away.
Speaker: um The car did its job. It absorbed the impact. Yeah, it was, nobody was hurt. ah In 2009, my ex-wife and both my children were involved in an accident on the Oregon coast ah in a WRX.
Speaker: And the damage was so severe that when Oregon Highway Patrol showed up, they called for a coroner. ah My kids had almost no injuries. They had some bruising on their chest from their seatbelts.
Speaker: um My ex-wife was hurt pretty bad, um but she's still here. um The driver of the Subaru that they were in is a very dear friend of ours. She was hurt significantly, but she is still a productive member of society and and recovered pretty well.
Speaker: um I know that Subaru used pictures of that accident on their We Survived or We Walked Away or whatever they called that campaign. It was probably 2010 when they used those pictures. It was on their Subaru of America website for a while.
Speaker: The third story is is kind of funny. ah My brother Tommy and i built him a STI-powered Outback wagon in 2015. Okay. And he grip that ah he found the limitations of grip at over At over 100 miles an hour and ah rolled the car several times end over end.
Speaker: oh my gosh. And somehow managed to land in his own front yard.
Speaker: What? True story. Wait, what is his name? His name is Tommy. Okay, okay. Oh, that's... And he ah he called me, which, you know, it was a miracle. If I had pictures to show you right now, I would. it it was a horrific accident.
Speaker: Okay. And he called me, and he was fine. he He had some glass in his finger and glass in his hair, but for all intents and purposes, he walked away with not a mark on him.
Speaker: And a couple months later, when he moved to a new city, we drove that car like 30 some odd miles, even in the condition that it was in And the whole time we were just laughing because only in a Subaru.
Speaker: that That's pretty outrageous. Okay, so it was triple digit accident. and you drew And the thing still drove.
Speaker: it had ah It had crushed the passenger compartment in the back of the car. ah It had torn one of the fenders almost completely off.
Speaker: All four tires were flat. um When California Highway Patrol showed up at the scene of the accident, um I was in a mood.
Speaker: And I ended up driving the car out of his front yard up into his driveway, um, with a broken strut and four flat tires. And,
Speaker: they, they're just hard to kill. Was he, was he just testing it out on his road or, um, Tommy lived in a a very rural area of Northern California and ah Everything was one lane road, very curvy, twisty, steep inclines, steep declines.
Speaker: And he had a very beautiful pregnant wife at home at the time. And I think that he was trying to get from point A to point B as efficiently as possible and either ran out of talent or ah found the limitations of a continental all-terrain tire.
Speaker: Yeah. Do you remember that ad? this would This would have been really old. The ad said something like, Volvo built a reputation for making safe cars.
Speaker: Subaru's built a reputation for... ah or They built a reputation for building safe cars in an accident. Subaru's built a reputation for avoiding them um or something like that. Yeah, that was ah that was in the early 90s. They used a Generation 1 legacy for that ad.
Speaker: And in the late 80s and early 90s, Subaru was very cheeky. um they They would say some some pretty funny things to get their point across. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: Now, in my experience, that is true. um
Speaker: Subaru just makes one hell of a car. yeah And even when I'm trying to be a silly asshole and I turn the traction control off, they just go straight.
Speaker: yeah um And, you know, it goes back to that story about me trying to kill the brat when I was a young man. All things considered, there's not a lot of cars that could have taken the abuse that I was dishing out, and certainly none that could have driven away from the scene under their own power.
Speaker: um So, you know, the the car genuinely proved itself to me before I became very interested. And then ah as things progressed when I was a young man in college and, you know, I was commuting,
Speaker: two college in one. You know, that car was not just my commuter, but it was my bed and it was my snow machine and it was my four wheel drive and it was my tow truck and yeah it did everything I asked it to do. it never complained.
Speaker: um It just kept taking abuse and kept taking abuse and it was doing it the whole time while getting 35 miles a gallon. Yeah. And just kept going and kept going and when i sold it i replaced it with a fuel injected version of the same thing when i graduated college i got a job in northern california but i still lived in southern oregon so i was commuting 342 miles each way and that car was routinely getting upper 30s low 40s miles per gallon and easy it had mud terrain tires and a three-inch lift and
Speaker: you know they They have their limitations off-road, but I guarantee they're going to surprise everybody that's watching. That's the way that I put it to to people is if you think you're just going to go take some independent suspension vehicle with no T-case and do a bunch of crazy rock bouncing or whatever, this is just not the car.
Speaker: That said... Like you said, they'll surprise the heck out of you and do things that you never thought were possible. Yeah, the the most recent example of me doing that is I bought a 2000 Impreza Sport wagon.
Speaker: Okay. um We did a five and a half inch lift on that. No straight axle, just using the traditional Subaru platform. Yeah, so we called up Patrick ah with Anderson Design in Oregon, and we got a two-and-a-half-inch lift.
Speaker: And then we put Forrester struts in addition to the lift. And on top of the Forrester struts, we did Rally Tech springs and long-travel front axles.
Speaker: ah The car was remarkably capable. It had a locking rear diff. ah It was a torque locker. Oh, yeah. And um that car would embarrass most things off-road.
Speaker: What is the best Subaru of all time? And can you talk a little bit about why you why you pick that car? Well, I guess it depends on how you qualify it.
Speaker: Because if you're looking for you know just a reliable daily driver that has a low cost of ownership, the Phase 1 Gen legacy We can't be beat.
Speaker: If you're looking for something that's super fast, the early STIs are amazing cars. um They had a lot of technology that a lot of people don't appreciate.
Speaker: You know, the the first STIs to come to the States had methanol injection, water sprayers on the intercoolers. Intercoolers? I did know that, yeah. Fairly large turbos, driver-controlled center differentials, limited slips front and rear on some of the versions, definitely in the rear on all of the versions.
Speaker: ah Aluminum control arms, robust ball joints. um Some of the higher ends came with Bilstein struts on them, which are phenomenal products. I think I knew that part. That's cool.
Speaker: Yeah, my my twin turbo legacy is all Bilstein suspension, aluminum control arms. it's So there just a lot of technology and effort went into making them very capable.
Speaker: um There's just not a lot out there that you can take off the shelf and put a roll cage in and go enter into a competitive rally race and be competitive. um They're phenomenal cars.
Speaker: um You know, if if you're focused on off-roading and, you know, adventuring, canoeing, hiking, camping, the wilderness platform, Subaru invested an enormous amount of money into doing what you and I were already doing, but making it legal and safe. Exactly, and making it sustainable. Yeah. In the car.
Speaker: my My brother Tommy and i specifically probably made dozens of wilderness package cars long before the wilderness package existed. And it consisted of a as big a lift as we could buy and as big a tire would fit under the car and a limited slip from the junkyard and some skid plates from Primitive Racing. And, you know, we'd go out there absolutely beat the we out of them. And they just kept coming back for more.
Speaker: ah like One of the most famous cars in my world is when I moved back to California in 2015, my brother Tommy and I decided we wanted to get into flipping Subarus together because he was um kind of retired at the time.
Speaker: And I didn't have a legitimate need to go back to work at the time. ah So we bought a 94 Legacy wagon in Northern California that had a bad clutch. ah that being That being said, I drove it under the trailer.
Speaker: And we went home and put a used clutch that I had sitting underneath my toolbox in the car. ah used clutch? Yeah. I love it.
Speaker: The intention was to just turn around and sell it for a profit so that we could go buy tacos and whiskey. Yeah.
Speaker: And the car didn't sell in the timeframe that we had really hoped it would. And so it became his daily driver.
Speaker: And fast forward seven years, and he is still beating the shit out of this car on a daily basis. And it finally got to the point, I i think he also lost the Synchras and the Tranny.
Speaker: I think that he lost half of the gears, if I remember correctly. But even then, when that car was dead... We took the engine out and put it into one of his buddies in Prez's.
Speaker: And we took the suspension off and put it over here. And the lift kit that was on that car is hanging on a shelf in my shop today. It lives on. Yeah, we've we've always joked that Subarus don't die. They just change shape.
Speaker: Oh, it's just a law of the universe, you know? It's just like nothing... nothing dies. It just changes form. It's all energy. Yeah. But it is, you know, it's, it's a difficult question to ask because even though they, they kind of really only build one car and everything's interchangeable, they, their product line targets a very large demographic of people, absolutely which has led to their success in the last 30 years.
Speaker: And I'm honored to be a very small part of it, but, uh, You know, that's that's what I tell clients. What do you need the car to do? And then I kind of guide them down what should. Down the funnel.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. You know, like my my sister a couple weeks ago called me. She's like, I need something that gets good gas mileage and has room for four or five people and a giant dog and a cello and, you know, whatever my nieces are playing in band right now.
Speaker: and you know, Outback or Ascent was the logical answer. And she went with a ah new Outback, um, beautiful car and it's, it's meeting all of her needs and, you know, doing great for her. So, yeah, you know, I, it's, it's funny. You mentioned the, um, uh, what is it? The,
Speaker: the GD chassis, WRX and STI, was ah everybody just thought, oh, you know, WRXs and STIs, they're the exact same thing. One just has a bigger motor. And I think you're right. I think a lot of the stuff that went into the STI of making it essentially a day one track car went unnoticed because people were like, well, could just go buy WRX. It looks the same and I'll put a wing on it.
Speaker: and it's Yeah. To the untrained eye, they're the same car. But those of us that know what we're looking at, they they could not be more different. um The STI, you know, and I'm referring to, let's just say 2004. It was the first year of the STI and in the U.S. market.
Speaker: It was significantly wider than the WRX. um Some of their lines had aluminum control arms. um They had the six-speed manual transmission with a driver-controlled center diff, whereas the WRX had the five-speed that was made of glass.
Speaker: Yep. think ah The STI had the 2.5 liter. The WRX had the 2 liter. um Even the hubs and the brakes on the STI were significantly larger, bigger bearings, bigger brakes, bigger calipers.
Speaker: Yeah. And then the STI had inverted dampeners from the factory. Okay. whereas the WRX was a conventional strut. Can you explain that? ah Yeah, so you know you you take the shock absorber, and on the the WRX, the main body was at the wheel level, and the shaft was at the top.
Speaker: On the STI, it was inverted. And it was much larger and everything was hidden inside of the strut body. So it wasn't super obvious, but it was rally pedigree being trickled down to the street.
Speaker: And, you know, if if you got the group N package, you know, it came with harder motor mounts, harder pitch stop dampener, harder tranny mounts, harder mounts ah on top of the struts.
Speaker: You know everything was firmer, tighter, more precise. Yeah. the rear The rear diff on the STI was significantly larger. It's an R180 instead of an R160 and came with a factory limited slip and Some of them were more aggressive than others. It depends on the the package that you bought.
Speaker: but Okay. you know Out of the box, really the only thing that can could compete with it was the Evolution. Yeah, the the Evolution was a fantastic car.
Speaker: But if I'm given the choice, I'd rather have a Subaru. ah The center of gravity is much lower. The fact that it has a forward-facing engine, it's easier to maintain. It's cheaper to maintain.
Speaker: The Evo is a great car. i don't have anything bad to say about it. But, ah you know, if I had X amount of dollars to go pick between the two of them, it's going to be the STI every day of the week.
Speaker: Well, and oh, I broke this interior piece. I'm just going to go pull one out of some Impreza somewhere and it'll work. That's true. You're going to be paying some price gouger in a Facebook group just to get some stupid little.
Speaker: Well, and and, you know, there's ah there's a huge Volkswagen community, you know, worldwide. it's It's not just here in the U.S. The early Beetles and buses and Type 2s and Type 3s and the Ghias and everything like that.
Speaker: Everybody loved them because everything was interchangeable and you could modify the vehicle to suit your needs. okay And I don't know that Subaru really intended on doing that.
Speaker: I think that Subaru did it as a cost-cutting measure. Yeah. But it has benefited the enthusiast enormously. And it has made them and incredibly cheap and easy to work on.
Speaker: A great example is the 94 Legacy that I just told you my my brother drove for several years. His starter went out.
Speaker: a long time ago. And at the time he didn't really have disposable income to go buy new starter. so I told him to go pull the starter out of his 2007 Outback.
Speaker: So we're talking about a 13 year difference in EJ 22 versus an EJ 25, naturally aspirated versus turbocharged, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. They literally had the same part number.
Speaker: So he bolted it right in and continued using the car as he saw fit. Cost him absolutely nothing to do. But when things are compatible along that long of production span, they become cheap.
Speaker: Yeah. Because you don't have to pay engineers to design something every year. And you don't have to pay engineers design 10 different starters for the same model.
Speaker: Oh, absolutely. You know, the like the Ford F-150 has the small V6, the big V6, the naturally aspirated, the turbocharged. They've got the 5-liter V8. They all have different starters and motor mounts and fuel injectors and so forth and so on. They're expensive vehicles to design, manufacture, and maintain when compared to something that was designed right the first time.
Speaker: you know Their bell housing pattern hasn't changed in decades. yeah I could conceivably bolt the transmission in my 2025 to my 1991. It'll bolt up. Physically, yeah.
Speaker: yeah There's going to be some wiring involved and things of that nature, but Subaru's been very, very consistent on finding something that works. And then modifying it slightly to meet parameters, you know, like in the late 90s, they had the Legacy, the Outback, the Forester, and the Impreza. They're all the same car.
Speaker: Yeah. You know, the Legacy GT was lower to the ground. The Impreza 2.5 RS was low to the ground. The Forester and the Outback were tall. Everything's interchangeable.
Speaker: And so you could have a lifted 2.5 RS or you could slam your Forester. i've I've got a a really good friend in Tennessee that's got to ah Forester that's pretty low.
Speaker: And I don't know if he put WRX suspension on it or coilovers or however he accomplished it. But the point is, is interchangeability makes these things fun and easy. yeah And they're good cars for the beginner.
Speaker: to get their feet wet and learn on. I was telling you, that's how I actually lifted my first, uh, or the first time I lifted a Subaru, I just went on to NASIAC and looked at the, the pinned post for suspension. Cause at that time everybody wanted to lower them. And I just thought, well, maybe if I just reverse engineer, whatever's on there, maybe I can lift my car using the opposite combination. So that's what I did.
Speaker: Didn't know that there were people like you already making kits, but yeah yeah, you're right. It just, it all like plugs in one way or the other. It's maybe not as much these days, but there's still a ton of crossover with all the parts physically.
Speaker: Yeah, it it still crosses over. So if I wanted to lower my Outback Wilderness, I just go put Legacy suspension on it. It'll bolt right on.
Speaker: yeah And it it'll still ride the same way that Subaru intended it to ride, just lower to the ground. um That's the kind of stuff I do on a pretty regular basis in in our shop.
Speaker: You know, I... I take people's vehicles. They're on a budget. They don't have the money to go buy a brand new car, but they want to go fishing. They want to go hunting. you know Here in northern Arizona, we've got a ton of mines and you know forestry access roads, and people want to go play and explore and enjoy the beauty that we have here.
Speaker: um yeah I just did it last week for a guy with an outback. He he wanted a little bit of lift. um So we ordered one of Patrick's kits and put it on there, and ah we ended up putting some Rally Tech overload springs on it. So he's three and a half inches over stock.
Speaker: okay But he he's using this car to replace 100-series Land Cruiser. And to date, he has had no complaints.
Speaker: Those are some big shoes to fill. They are. and And the 100 Series Land Cruiser is probably the pinnacle of overengineering. ah I mean, in reality, if you look at their ball joints and their brakes and the size of their suspension components, they probably could be rated as one-ton vehicles.
Speaker: Yeah. But his had 355,000 miles on it, and it was getting a little bit tired. And it was getting 12 or 13 miles a gallon. And he's a a contractor, and he needs to go all over the state of Arizona to look at people's houses and give them bids and whatever.
Speaker: So he wanted a vehicle that would get close to 30 miles a gallon, he be able to go off-road, and carry his tools. So we got him an 11 Outback 3.6R, and he has had no complaints.
Speaker: yeah he he I don't think that he really has um qualities missing other than a low-range transfer case, but he didn't really four-wheel the Land Cruiser, so he's not really missing it.
Speaker: Yeah, I think the one hundred so those were still, ah they had switched over to IFS in that gen, right? Yeah. yeah So you're really just missing the T-case and the solid rear axle, but if you're not really utilizing that, dude, he's he's in good hands now.
Speaker: Yeah, he's not using the vehicle in a way in which he knows what he's missing, but he still has the off-road capabilities that he needs and the carrying capacity for his tools.
Speaker: And, you know, he's getting close to 30 miles a gallon in it. That's impressive. And that 3.6 liter six-cylinder has more horsepower than the V8 that was in the Land Cruisers.
Speaker: I really like the six-cylinder Subarus. All the way back from the SVX up into those, was it the L.L. Bean outpacks that they did in the early two thousand I love those engines. And then what is it?
Speaker: Is it EZ36? Is that what? So Subaru's six cylinders started in the late 80s with the XT6.
Speaker: It was an ER27 and know it was a liter six cylinder that was based on okay um Great engine.
Speaker: Very smooth. Lots of power for what it was. um Then they went to the 3 liter, the EZ30. ah In the US, the first year of that was 2000.
Speaker: And they offered them in the LL Bean Outbacks. um Bill is daily driving one of those right now. Such good cars. It has close to miles on it.
Speaker: and He uses it as ah a commuter and a little puddle jumper, and and chris it's a great little car. It used to be mine. I i bought it in southwest Montana okay five years ago. And then they went to the EZ36, and they used those in the Tribeca's and the Outback's and some of the Legacies. The Legacies are pretty rare, but they dissolved...
Speaker: The six-cylinder, I believe the last model year was 19. Yeah, I think you're right. It had a lot to do with CAFE standards and emissions controls. and I don't think that Subaru wanted to get rid of it.
Speaker: I think they were kind of backed into a corner. But they're remarkably smooth. They sound very different than the Subaru four-cylinders. Yeah. And all things considered, they're not...
Speaker: significantly harder to work on than the four cylinders. Um, their timing chains are a little bit more challenging than the timing belts, but yeah, a single overhead cam, uh, EJ timing belt, super, super simple. When I look at the timing compartment on the inside of uh, six cylinder Subaru, I'm just like, uh, count me out.
Speaker: Yeah. i I was that way for a long time, but um when we opened the business about a year and a half ago, like I said, I can't turn away work.
Speaker: Yeah. So we have had ah an influx of FB series engines ah that have needed timing chains and replacements and short blocks. And so I've had to become fairly proficient at doing that.
Speaker: What's... What's kind of your thoughts on all the, you know, i know Subaru has been kind of trying to move away from the EJ platform for a long time. Now they, they kind of have, um, what's your thoughts on the, you know, everything's just getting newer and more complicated, no matter what it is, whether it's technology, cars, whatever, what are your thoughts on like the f FA and the FB platforms and then the CBT that they're putting in everything?
Speaker: um I view the FANFB as a progression of the EJ. um They've refined a lot of things. There are some things that are more challenging to deal with.
Speaker: um But that being said, um all automotive manufacturers today have to meet very strict emission standards. yeah And in the world that we live in today, horsepower and fuel economy...
Speaker: are selling points. It used to just be horsepower. Yeah. um The FB is a great engine. ah Just like anything else, if you take care of it, it's going to take care of you.
Speaker: If you abuse it, you're going to find its shortcomings pretty quickly. Yeah. um The early FB engines that they put in the Imprezas and the Crosstrex had oil consumption issues. Subaru was aware of it.
Speaker: They issued some TSBs and recalls associated with those issues. um But I think around 15, they solved most of that.
Speaker: There's absolutely no reason why an FB series engine that is properly maintained can't exceed half a million miles. um That being said, i've I've had both of them next to each other.
Speaker: You can tell that they're related. um Yeah. They're very, very similar in a lot of respects. They're very different in some respects. But phenomenal engines, um great low-end torque, good fuel economy.
Speaker: They're not going to make a ton of horsepower, but that's not what they're for. um The FAA makes good power. Again, you know there's there's lots of people online that want to talk about reliability issues.
Speaker: but I will say with almost 100% certainty that everybody that has a complaint about reliability is also very lazy. Absolutely.
Speaker: They either don't maintain their vehicle or they modify them without doing their homework. ah Subarus are, it's a blessing and a curse when it comes to the ease of modification.
Speaker: Mm-hmm. They're very easy to make lots of horsepower out of. But it's expensive to make reliable horsepower. You can't just turn up the boost without also adding fuel and getting a proper tune and making sure that everything is working in harmony.
Speaker: ah I have a lot of young men that come in that have... ah done some foolish things and I'm not in any way, shape or form going to pretend that I didn't do the same thing when I was their age.
Speaker: yeah um But being the grumpy old man that I am now, i tell them it'll make whatever horsepower number you can think of, but you have to do it right.
Speaker: And it's going to cost you money. But as far as just brute force reliability, ah the phase one EJ22 is hands down probably the most reliable internal combustion engine that I've had my hands on.
Speaker: And that's coming from a Toyota background where, you know, in my day and age, I was working on 20 hours and 22 hours every day. I think and those are solid engines too, man.
Speaker: They are, but they're the same displacement. and And in fact, they're more displacement as the EJ 22 and don't make anywhere near the power and they're nowhere near as smooth And, uh, you know, they will go forever, but, uh, all things considered, uh, I'd, I'd prefer the EJ 22 over anything.
Speaker: Yeah. I've owned many of them. They, they're so just user friendly. It's like the ultimate engine. I mean, you can do spark plugs without really pulling anything out. You, all you gotta do to, uh,
Speaker: like a valve adjustment, no thanks. I'll just put new lifters in it, bleed the hydraulic lifters and you're good to go. You know, everything is super simple on that engine. Absolutely.
Speaker: i miss mine. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I, I think that I have, well, I can, I can get you an exact number here. Okay. Let's go.
Speaker: Um, I have had 70 first generation legacies. That's gold, dude. And all of them were EJ-22 equipped with the exception of ah the RS that's in the garage right now. That's an EJ-20. Okay.
Speaker: okay Obviously the same architecture and and everything. little bit more ah induction power, I would say. Yeah, it's... ah it's a fun car. it it makes all the right sounds and it, it'll put you in your seat.
Speaker: It is far from the fastest thing on the road, but, uh, it's a beautiful car and it's been very, very well maintained. And, and we are honored to, uh, to have it in our possession and, and,
Speaker: make sure that future generations can see exactly what this thing is. You know, this chassis and this engine is what set the endurance world record for Subaru that to this day still stands.
Speaker: Okay. So it's a hell of a platform. Can you explain that endurance record? um So I ah can't get the details exactly correct, but...
Speaker: For the sake of conversation, in 1989, Subaru sent four Generation 1 Legacies here to Arizona. ah They sent it to the Nissan Test Track in Maricopa, Arizona, which is southeast of Phoenix, about half an hour. They put 100,000 miles on a Generation 1 Legacy in 18 and a half days with an average speed 137 or miles an hour.
Speaker: And ah the only stopping that they did was to change drivers, change the oil, and fuel the cars.
Speaker: Otherwise, they maintained an average speed over 18 and a half days of you know over 130 miles an hour. ah Nobody has even attempted to break that record since then.
Speaker: That is insane. is that a hundred go ahead. that across the four vehicles? The 100,000 miles? ah That is ah an average um um for that period of time.
Speaker: And so all of the cars had zero miles on them They were brand new. And they essentially drove 100,000 kilometers, which is 62,000 whatever miles. Oh, okay, okay.
Speaker: Nonstop.
Speaker: with you know Basically, the only brakes that they took was to change drivers and change fuel. That's crazy. They had four of them. ah One was white, one was red, one was yellow.
Speaker: Maybe the fourth one was black. and i don't forget ah don't remember. but They were all Generation 1 Legacy RS turbo sedans.
Speaker: okay and Out of that achievement... ah They birthed the legacy RSRA, which was a tribute to that record. And RA stands for Record Attempt.
Speaker: um We never got them here in the States. They were sold in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, um maybe parts of Europe. um But they're absurdly rare cars.
Speaker: And they they all have this basically the same drivetrain as the first WRX. They had smooth hubcaps for aerodynamics. They deleted the grill for aerodynamics.
Speaker: ah Just a smooth face grill. um They didn't have fog lights. They were smooth face front bumper. Okay. I'm sure they had roll cages and other safety devices in them, but...
Speaker: For all intents and purposes, as far as the drivetrain grows, it was a bone stock Subaru. You've got some of the craziest information in your head. Yay mental illness.
Speaker: Okay, let me ah let me hit you with some questions here. What the most... maybe one of the most
Speaker: maybe like misdiagnosed issues that you see people come in the shop with, or maybe just a, an issue that is almost never successfully diagnosed by a you know, the average shop as far as Subarus go.
Speaker: Head gaskets. Okay. Uh, and the reason is, uh, in the mid to late nineties, um, Subaru did have some issues with head gaskets.
Speaker: It was primarily on the EJ25D. ah They put these engines in the Outbacks and Legacy GTs and in the late model Foresters and 98, 99 Foresters.
Speaker: ah They did have head gasket issues. um
Speaker: And everybody just kind of ran with it. And to this day, people think that Subarus have head gasket issues because of something that we dealt with in the 90s. yeah um It's simply not true.
Speaker: ah In the early 2000s, with the first single overhead cam EJ25, they had some issues. But it wasn't really the traditional blowing the head gasket kind of deal. It was more of a seepage or a weeping.
Speaker: In fact, Subaru corporate used the word weeping yeah to describe what was going on. But the car never got hot, and it never exchanged fluids, and it never started pumping combustion into the coolant like the previous generation did.
Speaker: Now, there's always a caveat to this rule. um People blow head gaskets in Subarus today, but...
Speaker: 99.9% of the time it is because of abuse. Yeah. So if you... Straight neglect. Yeah. If you overboost a car, things will expand.
Speaker: And you know combustion chamber pressures will allow problems to arise. So if you have the intention of building a high horsepower monster, do it right.
Speaker: Use the proper head gaskets. Use head studs instead of head bolts. Yeah. And And
Speaker: and and and i tell people this that are building race cars or having me build race cars or whatever. Find a goal number. If you want 500 horsepower, fine, we can do that.
Speaker: But we have to do X, Y, and Z. If you want 300 horsepower, fine, that's easy. We have to do X, Y, and Z. If you do things right, we don't have issues.
Speaker: Yeah. But when you start to cut corners, either because you're lazy or financially inadequate, then you start to run into issues where reliability comes an issue. But ultimately, at the end of the day, that's not Subaru's fault. That's yours.
Speaker: Oh, absolutely. And yeah we also have a lot of people, because the cars are so reliable, that you know want to go 80 100,000 miles between coolant flushes or want to go 10,000 miles between an oil change.
Speaker: and Absolutely. I don't care what the dealership tells you. Oil is not designed to live that long in this particular application. It just isn't.
Speaker: I'm so glad you said that because that was a question I had for you was maintenance intervals and kind of your thoughts on on where that's all going. It seems crazy to me to go past even 5,000 miles on an oil change.
Speaker: it It does to me also because I care about my cars. And I recommend 4,000 5,000 miles to my clients That being said, Subaru's recommended service intervals for differential fluid changes, transmission fluid changes, things of that nature, you have to understand as a corporation, they are recommending the worst case scenario because they have to cover their ass.
Speaker: Yeah. So I get clients once or twice a week that want me to flush the transmission of a newer Forester with a CVT. And I tell them, no, we're going to look at the fluid at first. Then I will make some recommendations based on what the fluid looks like.
Speaker: If it looks like it's clean, then I don't change the fluid. And I'm losing money as as a shop. yeah But I'm also establishing trust, which ultimately in the long run is better for us as a business.
Speaker: If it looks burnt and it's gray or black or has metal shavings in it, yeah, let's do it. It doesn't matter what the mileage is. If it needs to be done, let's do it. Yeah.
Speaker: But my mother's car has 110,000 miles on it. It's a 2015 Outback. ah I've done the diff fluids in that car once. and And based on Subaru's recommendations, it it's coming up on its fourth.
Speaker: Differential fluid change. It doesn't need to be done. You know, she's a 60-something-year-old lady that commutes to work and to go see her grandkids and whatever. She's not driving the car aggressively.
Speaker: She's not towing. She's not in a particularly hot climate. So we can extend the lifespan of that fluid to a point much longer than what Subaru recommends.
Speaker: But they, as a corporation, have to recommend the worst case scenario. So when they say 30,000 miles for a differential fluid change, that's an STI that has been beat it and beaten like a redheaded stepchild and has seen a number of track days. And, you know, maybe your 16-year-old kid is doing stoplight to stoplight racing in it.
Speaker: Okay, yeah, that that kind of stuff is going to see a lot more breakdown over time than ah grocery getter is. is there Is there anything regarding like a severe duty schedule that they have?
Speaker: ah I would say that the dealer recommended service intervals is a severe duty. No kidding. Okay. Because again, they have to cover their ass. Okay.
Speaker: Because if they don't, you know, as as a large corporation, and it doesn't matter if it's Subaru or Toyota or Ford or whoever, they don't want class action lawsuits because parts have failed prematurely.
Speaker: Yeah. So if they over-recommend fluid change, if they over-recommend wheel bearings or transmission services or whatever, they're covering their ass.
Speaker: um Yeah, that makes sense. In the real world, the way that you and i use a daily driver
Speaker: you know we'll be able to double or triple the lifespan of that fluid easily. Now, yeah engine oil is a little bit different.
Speaker: you know it It doesn't cost a whole lot, and it does get extremely dirty regardless of the circumstances. Even if it's just sitting in there, it's collecting hydrogen.
Speaker: you know A lot of it has to do with the fact that what we think we're buying at the gas station is... Not really gasoline, but you know. A bunch of ethanol. and Water, unicorn semen, who knows what's in there, but.
Speaker: It's pretty insulting. Yeah, and I tell clients almost every day, if you use a high quality oil and a high quality filter, this car will last generationally.
Speaker: and It will be something that you can easily pass on to grandchildren. And I thoroughly believe that. And, and I've put that to the test personally. You know, my, my mother, like I said, you know, she bought a, 15 outback brand new and she drives the pee out of that thing.
Speaker: i love that. And we just make sure that she's got a quality fluid. When I go to visit, I'll do spark plugs and filters for her and, and make sure everything's up to date and,
Speaker: But other than fluid changes, she hasn't done a damn thing to that car other than tires and windshield wipers. And there's not a lot of vehicles that are currently existing on the market that you can say that about.
Speaker: Oh, not at all. You know, she's ah she's not a mechanic. She's a school teacher. She's just driving. Yeah. she's She's living her best life as a consumer in the automotive scene, not having to think about working on anything, just driving the thing.
Speaker: Yeah. that's yeah kind of Really, the only issue that we've had with it is it had some carbon buildup in the intake manifold that we cleaned out and sent her on her way. But you know she lives in California, so she's getting the worst gas on the planet.
Speaker: And yeah you know for things to be dirtier inside of there does not surprise me at all. Everybody that owns a newer Subaru that's taking them off-road they're going to heat the piss out of the thing inevitably, unless they're very cautious or they have a scan gauge and they're watching temps.
Speaker: Yep. Do you have any thoughts for people on how they should approach off-roading in a Subaru that is equipped with a CVT? Well, you have to manage expectations.
Speaker: I mean, ultimately at the end of the day, you're taking... a station wagon designed for a family of five and a dog off-road. And yeah again, if you if you're capable of managing these expectations, the car is going to be so surprisingly capable.
Speaker: It is not a Jeep. It is not an old Toyota pickup. It is not a Unimog, whatever. you know these it it is a vehicle that is stepping out of its comfort zone and doing very well.
Speaker: yeah Now, I have a lot of clients locally that really, really push the limitations of what these cars are capable of. And I tell them, probably the first thing we need to do is increase your cooling capacity for the transmission.
Speaker: And the way that we accomplish that is by adding ah dedicated cooler to the transmission so that it is not using the radiator as a cooler.
Speaker: That helps out lot. Do you completely bypass the the ah ah two tanks on the radiator? Okay. I've done both. So on my personal car, the Impreza that was lifted five, five and a half inches, whatever, I did both. Yeah.
Speaker: So I added a cooler in line with the cooler that Subaru designed in the radiator. Yeah. And it was nice because I added quart and a half, maybe two quarts of fluid to the system.
Speaker: And I added an enormous amount of surface area of cooling capacity to the car. Yeah. I have also, i just did one two weeks ago, bypassed the system completely.
Speaker: And we put a very nice um ah Setrab or Setrag. It's a German german company. We put a ah big old cooler on front, in front of the radiator, so that's getting maximum airflow.
Speaker: Bypassed the radiator completely. His average temps dropped 25 degrees. That's crazy. So, you know, in his case, he's off-roading it.
Speaker: He's towing a small trailer. So, you know, we did what we could, but I told him, utilize the X mode of the car and be careful.
Speaker: And again, manage expectations. um The car will exceed most of your expectations. ah The CVT that Subaru is putting in these these newer cars is great.
Speaker: It is a great transmission. The people that want to talk trash about CVTs, I understand where they're coming from. But just like any other technology, if you give it time, it will develop into something that is far superior to what it replaced.
Speaker: And the best example that I have right now is my uncle Daniel. called me in 2015 or 16 and he wanted something that was very safe and got great fuel economy and I of course recommended Subaru.
Speaker: He went and purchased a brand new Subaru Legacy sedan. The car has 375 380,000 miles on it now. he was driving he was driving it back and forth between Tehachapi, California and some military super secret whatever the hell.
Speaker: He was driving, you know, an hour and a half, two hours each way every day, five days a week for years. He didn't do anything to the car other than oil changes and put tires on it when it needs it.
Speaker: The transmission went way above 300,000 miles with basically no maintenance. No kidding. That is, that's impressive.
Speaker: That is impressive. Yeah. And in the environment that he was you using the car, you know, he would leave his driveway, get it up to 75 miles an hour and set the cruise. Basically go to sleep.
Speaker: Yeah. You know, so the transmission isn't working super hard under those conditions, but still name another vehicle, a modern vehicle, or even an an elderly vehicle.
Speaker: that you can put 375, 380,000 miles on with minimal maintenance. Yeah. Not even. Yeah. I didn't hear any stories about wheel bearings. I didn't hear any stories about axles.
Speaker: I didn't hear any stories about brakes, nothing. He just drove the car and it did its job phenomenally. And the only reason he's not driving it right now is he retired.
Speaker: There you go. Did he, did he add something else to the garage or just, uh, To be honest, I don't know. um i offered to come get the car from him because you know we can refurbish it and give it a new life here.
Speaker: yeah He doesn't need it anymore, but ah that's kind of where that conversation ended. I'm not sure what's become of it. Yeah. Well, let me ask you this.
Speaker: um And I won't keep you on too much longer. I've eaten up a bunch of your day. No, I'm happy to do it, man. Okay. Well, this is a ton of fun for me to to listen. But let's say a customer comes in to your shop.
Speaker: Let's say they've got a somewhat modern Crosstrek. and they just want to lift the car and take it off-road, not with managed expectations, let's put it that way.
Speaker: yeah What are you, as as somebody that's going to guarantee your work, what are the parts that you would use to accomplish that for that customer? ah If they want the car to be taller, um I'm going to purchase a lift kit from Patrick Anderson.
Speaker: ah If they want skid plates, I'm going to Primitive Racing every single day of the week. um I have done awful things to Primitive Racing skid plates and been very pleasantly surprised.
Speaker: That makes two of us. ah Shout out, Blake. As far as wheels and tires go, you know the wheels are kind of up to the consumer. you know Everybody's making a halfway decent product.
Speaker: I really enjoy Sparico wheels. They're super strong. They're super light. um And for that car specifically, the Crosstrek or a Forester, ah the Falcon Wild Peak just does not get any better.
Speaker: It's a great tire. There's lots of tires out there that are fantastic. My Wilderness has a Pirelli Scorpion all-terrain. It's good tire. um Good on-road manners.
Speaker: I think that the Falcon is a better tire. Um, I've probably had half a dozen sets of the general grabber 80 fantastic product. Absolutely.
Speaker: The hand cooked Dynapro is a wonderful all terrain tire, very quiet on the road, great mileage. Um, I've had a couple sets of those, um, Justin Freeman from donut media just put a set on his brat.
Speaker: Okay. Look fantastic. They're tough as hell. Relatively inexpensive, but as far as tires are concerned, I think Falcon, Wild Peak, and Subarus go hand to hand.
Speaker: I don't think you can put a better tire on that car. um So my Crosstrek, we just sold our 22 Crosstrek Limited, and it had a two and a half inch lift from Patrick on it.
Speaker: And had Sparco racing wheels and, uh, a Falcon wild peak that was one size larger than factory. Okay. And that, that car routinely at 65 miles an hour would yield over 40 miles a gallon.
Speaker: And it was as safe as Subaru designed it to be. And it was comfortable. It was relatively quiet. You know, the, the foresters and the outbacks are going to be quieter. They got more sound deadening, but yeah, it was a fantastic car.
Speaker: Um, really the only reason we, we sold it is I think we had nine Subarus here at the time and that one were paying a pretty hefty monthly payment on. So, okay.
Speaker: You know, we, we chose to pass it on to another owner. Um,
Speaker: but yeah, that, that would be my recommendation is, uh, you know, get yourself a little bit of ground clearance there. if I've already got a ton and get yourself some good skid plates so that you can afford to be an inexperienced driver off road.
Speaker: Yes. And yeah get yourself at tire that is tough enough to do what you need to be doing. Um, And for 99% of off-roading that Subarus do, that's that's the package you need.
Speaker: If you need to go any further, um you know, their traction management system is easily the best in the industry.
Speaker: But it does have its shortcomings. It was not designed for rock crawling and and stuff like that. So yeah you can put a torque locker in the back of them. I've put torque lockers in three of my personal cars at this point.
Speaker: I got one. I love it. It's a game changer. It really is. They're a phenomenal product. Yeah. I mean, yeah if your wife doesn't complain too much about the sounds that they make in the parking lots at the grocery stores, I mean, they're they yeah phenomenal products. But yeah even that being said, the first one that I bought, I put into an 89 Legacy.
Speaker: and Really? daily Yeah, we daily drove it for three and a half, almost four years. And when we moved from Montana down here to Arizona, my wife drove it down here. And, you know, we were doing 75 miles an hour with a locking diff in the back. No complaints, no overheating, no issues. They make a great product.
Speaker: In my opinion, the best mechanical locker on the market. Well, it's really good bang for the buck. um You know, back in the day, if you wanted a lunchbox locker in the Toyota pickups that my brothers and I were four wheeling,
Speaker: Aussie Locker was a great product. And the Torque Master's Locker looks very similar to an Aussie Locker, but it's refined.
Speaker: Yeah. It's same company. It looks like it's been refined. Yeah. Well, that's yeah that's great. I didn't ah didn't know that. The Torque Locker, it's essentially like a spacer-less design.
Speaker: you In my opinion, they ratchet so much smoother. Well, you know, the the world that I come from, I had Detroit lockers and stuff when I was a young man. And when those things would shift and reseat, it would change lanes.
Speaker: Boom. Yeah. And if you if you were on a wet surface, you needed to go change your pants when you're done. Yeah. But, you know, I probably put...
Speaker: 30, maybe 40,000 miles on the torque locker that was in our 89. And no complaints. I knew what to expect. and My wife didn't complain about it.
Speaker: We were using the car for a very specific purpose. And and ah it was a great car. ah I miss it. I wish I hadn't have sold that one. But, you know, it was ah getting near the end of its lifespan.
Speaker: Yeah, those torque lockers. I mean... You can pull it out of one car and put it in another one and it'll go another Oh, I did. I mean, I did. Okay. Okay. yeah Yeah. When we sold the 89 legacy. yeah Okay.
Speaker: I just happened to go to the junkyard like two or three months after I sold it. And the poor guy was there oh and ah it had been in a pretty serious accident by whoever bought it from me.
Speaker: I pulled the locker out of it and put it in my empresa.
Speaker: Full circle, dude. Oh yeah. Yeah. I know you got to make money. Everybody's got to make money. And I think that's the way to go. But if people are anywhere near you, again, i wish I was closer to you guys because there's some stuff because I don't have anybody like you guys anywhere out here.
Speaker: Not even close. We do a couple things different. Yeah. and i like writer are you I pride myself on being as different as I can manage to be.
Speaker: ah The first and foremost thing is is I give you options. So if you take your car to whoever and tell them that you need struts or brakes or axles or whatever you need, you're going to get what you're going to get.
Speaker: And 99.9% of the time, it is the cheapest possible part that they can buy so that they can make the maximum amount of profit. I don't do that.
Speaker: um I give you options. And I have found, ah I started working on cars professionally in 1998. So it's getting close to 30 years.
Speaker: okay That when you give a customer or a client options and they understand how and why they are spending money, ultimately is better for the shop and it's better for the customer.
Speaker: So if you need struts on your car, I'll tell you we can hop on eBay and we can pay $300 for a set of struts that were made in China and they're garbage, but they're probably going to be better than the blown out struts that are on your car right now.
Speaker: Again, it's a management of expectations. And so if you're aware of why these struts are cheap, And you're okay with that, then fine, I'll put them on your car.
Speaker: At the end of the day, it's your car, it's your money. But if you tell me that you want to go do a track day once a month and that you drive aggressively, I'm not going to recommend that you do that.
Speaker: I'm going to recommend that we put a quality dampener on the car, whether it be a KYB or Bilstein. I'm going to find something that suits the needs of the client and the vehicle.
Speaker: If you tell me that it's something that you want to last forever and warranties are important to you and spending business or spending money locally with local business is important, then I'm going to go to Napa Auto Parts and I'm going to get a quality set of KYBs that is going to come with a great warranty from a locally owned and operated business and you're going to get a great product.
Speaker: ah I don't I do not do cookie cutter repairs. i suit I suit and tailor every single repair to the client and the vehicle.
Speaker: And sometimes it costs me a lot of money to do that. Sometimes it's cheaper for me to do that. No matter what the cost is, my clients leave happy because they know what they're paying for.
Speaker: And I can't tell you how many times when I worked in other shops or when I've worked at dealerships or when I worked for Subaru Corporate, I would hear people complain that they got an invoice at the end of the day and they had no idea what the hell they just bought.
Speaker: That's not good. That's not good. you know there's There's a big difference between spending $3,000 because your car is making a weird clunk and spending $3,000 because the strut mounting plates have become worn out and they are consumable items and they need to be replaced in certain intervals. And these intervals differ based on the environments that you live in and how you use the car.
Speaker: yeah And when they really understand why things are broken or worn out or bad and what we can do to remedy that problem, it's just easier for them to write me the check.
Speaker: And ultimately, a well-informed client is a good client. Because now that they understand what's going on, next time they hear a noise,
Speaker: They know that I'm not going to lie to them. They know that I'm going to give them options. They know that I'm going to do everything I can within reason to keep costs at a minimum. And again, going back to what we were talking about an hour ago, it isn't about making money for me.
Speaker: It's ah care for the car and I care for the product that Subaru has put out for us. And it is my job to make sure that within reason and on your budget, we can make sure that this car lives on.
Speaker: Whether it be another year or whether it be another 10 years or whether it be something 100 years from now, people's wondering how the hell a 91 Legacy is still running and driving. In 21, 22 or some year like that.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. But i the the cookie cutter, bland, impersonal way of running an auto repair shop to me is offensive.
Speaker: And I have found that if I get to know the client and I get to know the car and I tailor the repairs to their needs, they're happier. And if I give them options on how and why things cost this much money, they're happier.
Speaker: And if they're happier, they're going to come back. And ultimately, at the end of the day, repeat clientele, repeat customers is what's going to do it for me. I still to this day have people calling me from Tennessee asking for advice.
Speaker: I have people calling me from Montana asking for advice. I have people calling me from Portland, Oregon. To this day, I left Portland in 2010. yeah So I think that I'm doing things right.
Speaker: yeah I'm not making as much money as I'd like to be making. I'm not making as much money as my competitors. But when I go home and take my boots off and relax, I sleep well.
Speaker: And I can look at myself in the mirror and I know that I'm doing what's right for our community. It makes me want to move to Prescott, dude. Well, there's room. Yeah, I was just up there.
Speaker: think I was there three months ago. super hot in Phoenix. It was like one 16 on average. and Yeah. It doesn't do that here. Yeah. i escaped up to Prescott for a couple of days. was like, ah, this is more like it.
Speaker: Yeah. oh A lot of, a lot of people don't realize that it is very easy to be at 7,000 foot elevation in Arizona. yeah Very easy. it's it's Our, our office is at 5,420 feet. Yeah.
Speaker: And, you know, they they just assume that everything is Phoenix or Tucson. Yeah, it could not be further from the truth. Well, even like Flagstaff, you know, and just everything out where you guys are at anywhere in that radius, man.
Speaker: It's a beautiful area. It is. Nothing like it. it's It's changed a lot in the last few years, but yeah it's home. Yeah, the cookie cutter thing that you were talking about, can't remember it was a 2011 or 2012, think it was 2011 manual, six-speed manual outback.
Speaker: and Oh, very cool. Oh, it's a great, great car. I need to do a, ah pretty sure I need to do a, what is it, the center diff clutch pack thing on the transmission.
Speaker: it'sll It's a lot easier than you think it is. Okay. It's intimidating, but once you're in there, like, why did I wait so long? Yeah, yeah. it's At least I think that's what it is. It sounds...
Speaker: Sounds like that's what it is. But she thought that the oil light meant she needed to add more oil, not shut the car off immediately. And ah but technically means both. but
Speaker: Well, the Subaru dealership she took it to was just like, oh, you just she took it there previously. And they said, like, oh, you just need a new engine. This is before the oil light went off.
Speaker: So cookie cutter thing, man, they're just like, oh, you need a new engine. I finally dug into the into the front end you know after the oil light went off, and I was like, this is not good. i was like, bring it over.
Speaker: I suspected that the oil pump was bleeding pressure. Sure enough, man, I got that oil pump off. Just like we talked about those stupid screws, man. The screws backed themselves off of the bag. Yeah. and it was Pissed me off. But yeah, Subaru's solution was, it just needs a new engine, which it did need a new engine after the... Well, if if that problem had been caught early enough, it would have been a pretty inexpensive repair.
Speaker: I often wonder if Subaru's incredible reliability isn't the cause of the neglect. Because once you get into that comfort zone where you know that the car is far superior to most things that you're passing on the road...
Speaker: then you quit checking in on it. Yeah. You know, anytime I get a customer with 150 or 200,000 miles on the car, i just tell them, Hey, when you're putting gas in the car, check bill instead of looking on Tik TOK, go check the oil.
Speaker: And it's, it's going to be good for you and the car. You're going to get to understand how much it's using. I mean, we live in a world where gravity exists. These motors lay flat. The valve covers leak a little bit here and there. the On the FB series engines, they have like a cam phaser for the AVCS system. Those leak a little bit.
Speaker: With age, they're not expensive to fix. It doesn't even take that long. and i mean, four of them on the front. Okay. And ah yeah, you know, everything that's made of rubber has a lifespan.
Speaker: And, you know, if you just fall into the... you know, it's fine, it started when I put the key in the ignition this morning, I'm going to leave it alone, then yeah, everything's going to fail. The benefit that we have with owning and driving Subarus is when they fail, they're cheap and easy to fix.
Speaker: i tell this I tell this to people probably more than I should. I'm not particularly good at what I do. what i do ah I'm inherently lazy, but Subarus are so incredibly easy to work on. They make me look good.
Speaker: I've got an 05 Legacy right before they switched over to the new engine. I can't remember what that change was where they changed the exhaust manifold and everything. um But ah that thing has had rod knock for over a year, right at about 29 to 3,100. You can hear it.
Speaker: you can hear it I've got a short block sitting on the engine stand out there, but the engine hasn't died, dude. It's... yeah kids two I mean, part part of me wants to tell you to just keep it going as long as you can, but also that could lead to catastrophic failure and a bunch of metal flakes being pumped into the heads that you want to reuse later.
Speaker: i I actually found a slamming deal on some heads that somebody bought thinking that they would work on their... They had like a early model like like uh oh one and this these wouldn't work on whatever it was and i was like those are exactly what i need well next time call me first because i usually have half a dozen sets of heads and i got blocks and long blocks and short blocks oh dude i i try and stock a lot of stuff in-house and
Speaker: And it's easy to do when you've been focused on the same thing for close to 30 years. but um Well, you just opened up a can of worms because I am 100% going to call you for part. Yeah, no no, make a list.
Speaker: Between me and Bill, my business partner, between he and i there's not much we don't have. Most of it's on a shelf for either our own use or for the eventual someday somebody's going to need it.
Speaker: Both of us are kind of hoarders. at at least vehicular vehicularly. Yeah. it It pays off. Well, dude, um've I've literally eaten up over two hours of your evening. I could talk to you for another three hours, but let's do a part two at some point.
Speaker: um I like, seriously, I feel like if I spent a straight two days talking to you, I still wouldn't scratch the surface of everything you've got to say.
Speaker: Let me ask you this. I would, I think we would be doing people a disservice if we did not encourage them to at least come to your shop and meet you the next time they need some kind of, whether it's just basic maintenance or something massive service that needs to be done.
Speaker: Yeah. um Where can they find you in person and then online? Where are some good ways for people to get ahold of you? Yeah. So we are Whiskey Row Automotive ah based out of Prescott Valley, Arizona.
Speaker: And we are on Instagram. It's at WhiskeyRowAuto. We can be emailed at WhiskeyRowAuto at gmail.com. My phone number pops up on any number of those sites.
Speaker: We also have a parent or sister or however you want to call it location in Southern California in the Hollywood area. The gentlemen that run that shop are very knowledgeable and could not be kinder human beings.
Speaker: And they also have my phone number. So if they don't have an answer, i can at least pretend that I do.
Speaker: And ah I do an enormous amount of phone consultations. I ah typically don't charge for that. Usually it's a joy for me to share what I've learned with those that need that knowledge.
Speaker: that's how we can be found. Yeah. And I'm serious. I, um, you're not paying me to for me to, to say this or anything, but I genuinely would, uh, I would,
Speaker: Really, i really wish somebody like you was out here where I'm at. And I ah do think that if people are anywhere within driving distance, whether they're in the Phoenix area, Flag, I mean, how far is Flagstaff?
Speaker: It's 86 miles. Okay, well, that's still a little bit of a trick. But if I lived in Flagstaff, I would certainly drive to your shop. I just think people would be in good hands as Subaru owners if they were to drive.
Speaker: come visit you. Yeah. Yeah. We, we do our best to live up to that. So heck yeah. Well, dude, thanks for doing this, man. I appreciate it. Thank you enough. I know I'm, uh,
