We met Fred through go kart league racing. He’s got a good taste in cars and fits in with the #S4RWFamily quite well! He joined us for S4RW 2019 so you may remember him.
Stephen - Invited guest
I am him, the guy Fred blames the trip on. I held some cameras and stuff. If you don’t know the typical antics, just stick around.
What:
Pick up car from RHD Specialties in Kent, Washington and drive it back to Virginia.
I’ll get right to it. The performance of this car was surprising. In a move totally unlike me, I did not research the car or its specs before the trip. I just assumed it was like every other stock WRX I’ve been around. Fun, yes. Exciting, sorta. This version, however, is a fine example of the first version of the WRX. The meaneye era of the Japanese classic was engaging and spirited. A flat power and torque curve paired with a close ratio 5 speed manual and Subaru’s AWD checked off a bunch of the right boxes!
When & Where:
July 3rd - 2870 miles
Friday consisted mostly of flying and resting up for the journey ahead. My partner in life and crime dropped Fred and I off at Dulles International Airport with plenty of time to get through security and down to our gate for a 3 pm Eastern departure. We flew on American Airlines for a Fourth of July weekend tie in. After a short layover in Dallas, we were off to Seattle and landed a little after 9 pm Pacific.
Fred purchased his WRX through RHD Specialties in Kent, WA. Nick was kind enough to pick us up at SEA for a ride back to the shop. I snagged some photos and apparel, the deal was closed, and we were off by 10:30 pm. Huge shout out Nick and RHD for all the extra steps taken during Fred’s dealings. Customer service was on point and it was very nice to do business with actual JDM and car enthusiasts. Check them out at rhdspecialties.com
We were off to the Days Inn just up the street for some rest and an early start. Only 3300 miles lay ahead of us! Pf course we needed to get a little driving in first...
July 4th - 434 miles
Fred and I were up and on the road before 7 am. Of course when traveling, you ask the locals where to eat. Nick, our only local contact, recommended Burger Claim highly. We made the mistake of not ordering burgers and were disappointed by the sausage gravy. As boys from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, we know our sausage gravy. This wasn’t it. Go to Burger Claim and order a burger. We spotted a modified Subaru close by in the wild, so it was all just fine!
After our disappointing breakfast, we targeted Apollo Tattoo in Vancouver, WA. Sam of Swatchbot had some new art to lay down. A visit to Donut Nook and a seat by the road were all I needed. Fred and I were back at it around 4 pm. Back on the highway, we traveled along the Columbia River. We traveled down I-84 and crossed into Idaho at midnight. We stopped at Love’s in Ontario, OR for fuel and Fred and I swapped seats.
July 5th - 419 miles
We should have driven far more than 419 miles on Sunday, but it was not in the cards. As I drove along I-84 towards the Utah state line in the wee hours of the morning, there was an occasional misfire. We decided to be extra easy on the car and stop off at a parts store in the AM. The misfire progressed quickly and we pulled off. We arrived at Autozone in Brigham City, UT before they opened and waited.
We picked up a fuel filter and some fuel treatment. We swapped the fuel filter and were off again. An extremely short 63 miles later we were pulling off the interstate again. The car lost power stuttered and barely kept itself running. Lots of research later, we had ordered a set of compatible Legacy coils and picked up some new spark plugs. Swapping Subaru plugs in an O’Reily’s parking lot in Salt Lake City in July is an incredible amount of fun, in case you were wondering. We got the car back together and decided to test drive it around SLC. I am glad we did this, because if we hadn’t there would have been a couple of stranded Virginians in the desert. Our test drive resulted in sputtering into an empty parking lot and getting asked to leave while we diagnosed the car some more. We decided to find a room and a shop in the morning. We researched local Subaru shops and service centers.
July 6th - 441 miles
We were up early and off to a shop not to be named. We were waiting in the lot when the owner arrived. He said it was a mail delivery car. Fred explained it was JDM and we were looking for some help with diagnosing the misfire. No problem, we’ll get you sorted out. We of course asked for directions to a good breakfast spot. “Midvale Mining Cafe is just up the block and really good.” After a 1.4 mile walk, the food and service was great. Fred got a call about the shops inability to diagnose a JDM car. “You know this car was made in Japan, right?” We walked back, picked up car, and left pretty irritated. We drove over to JDM Legends. Unfortunately, they were unable to help us out, but Eric sent us over to Solid Autoworks. Phil worked on diagnosis the old way. No check engine lights and no way to read a code even if there was puts a small amount of added difficulty. Fuel pressure gauge is where he started and it immediately showed inconsistent pressure. He pulled the fuel tank cap and found a very rusty pump and mounty. He quickly ordered pump for 2002 WRX and retrofitted it to original bracket. We were sorted and left around 2:30. Another big shout out here to a true car enthusiast and shop owner, Phil of Solid Autoworks. Check them out at www.solidautoworks.com
With our planned schedule destroyed, we needed a new plan. Our apologies go out to those of you who we intended to see but missed. Shout out to @rwdyaudi_taxi for the “distanced” comradery! Give him a follow and check out rwdyaudi.com The new plan was to wreck miles and cover distance. First, we needed some food! We decided to try In-N-Out Burger. It was average at best, took forever to get our food, and should be named In-N-Eventually-Out Burger. We crushed miles through the evening, driving through Utah and crossing the border into Colorado before stopping to rest in Dillon.
July 7th - 647 miles
Dillon was a good spot as we were able to meet up with Fred’s friend Lee at Altitude Organics. We chatted about the car and met a random fellow drag racing enthusiast with a GT500. Best of luck with your build, ma’am. Back on the road by 10 am! The day was filled with long stretches of highway. We traveled through Colorado and Kansas. A couple fuel stops later and the day was done somewhere west of St. Louis, Missouri.
July 8th - 820 miles
I can say it was somewhere west of St. Louis because it was 1:15 AM Central Time when we made the most important spotted card drop! We carried on from Missouri to Illinois to Indianna to Kentucky to West Virginia to Virginia. It was a long day of driving but we made it. There are so many beautiful places to see along the way. From the drive on Corridor H in West Virginia to coming through the rockies in Colorado, there is more than enough places to cruise to and surround yourself with natural beauty.
#Raventhedog and I hopped in the van and headed out to one of our favorite monthly meets. The fourth Sunday of every month from April until weather breaks, Premium 304 Cars and Meets hosts Cars Read more…
The first weekend of August 2021 was a big one for the S4RW Family. Our good friend Jac, @RwdyAudi on the Socials, delivered the 1986 Honda CRX HF to Northern Virginia. He drove the little Read more…
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