mystery machine

I understood the GB270 to be the same as the WRX in most respects apart from the PPP (exhaust, intercooler pipe & remap), the quickshifter, the lower springs, the spoiler, the mesh grilles, the interior toys and perhaps some additional security - but I believed it to have the same turbo... (whatever model that is). ...I'm prepared to be corrected, though

Hi, and welcome to the forum

You're having no joy of late, Welsho Have you had thone car park damage fixed yet? If not, I guess at least you don't need a separate visit to the paintshop to have the bonnet fixed at the same time. And you can't beat a flawless new windsrcreen... Years ago I was travelling at 70-ish on an empty dual carriageway, when out of the blue there was an almighty crack as something hit the windscreen. I noticed a circular chip with a tiny 1cm crack emanating from the side of it. By the time I got to work, the crack was halfway along the windscreen... Never found out what caused it, but with no traffic around and farmland either side of the road, my guess is it might have been an airgun pellet (administered by a gun-totin' farmer or grouse-humper). On stones/rocks, just a couple of weeks ago something larger than a pebble dunted the door of my Scooby after being thrown up by a passing car - left two wee scrapes in an otherwise perfect door panel - bandit! Don't think it was as big as the projectile that hit your bonnet, mind... Chin up, mate.

Sorry to hear you've had more bother. ...although that kind of gash luck is perhaps more common than you'd think. A few years back a car that I'd bought new was seriously damaged by two separate drivers within three days of each other. I had a witness to one, but the driver that caused the other one wouldn't admit to it... took ages to resolve. The joys of car ownership

Spiler's lookin' mean Was it yourself who re-spaced the SUBARU badging on the boot lid, Shelly? Very ' w i d e s c r e e n ' Tam.

Me too. If I had a straight choice between an STi and an STi spec D, it would be the spec D - mostly for the low-level spoiler (prefer the silver alloys too). Each to his/her own, but

Welcome, glad you're enjoying your classic Getting used to the p1sh weather and long nights again yet?

That's some serious brass neck Might be worth letting the polis know about this (if they haven't already been notified). Car as distinctive as that might be known to them already...

Cool, I'll bet it looks great... (hint, hint!)

Hello and welcome, mate Just admiring your pic of the Cossie engine... is there another piece of machinery (outside of the military) that looks as hard as that? Tam.

Tam - have you considered an STi? Looking in autotrader, the asking price for a low mileage 08-plate GB270 is similar to that of a low mileage 57-plate STi. And considering your performance requirements, Andy Forrest's STi Level 2 will get you into 340-360bhp territory, without you having to buy a new turbo. To get into the same territory with a WRX/GB270, Andy specs a new turbo (£££). Not to mention with the STi you get more powerful brakes, stronger gearbox, stronger engine internals, DCCD, etc, etc... Don't get me wrong, the GB270s are beautiful motors, and I can see why they made a fantastic buy when purchased new - but S/H I think you'll get more for your money buying/tuning an STi. JMHO, FWIW.

Hi mate. Cracking classic you have there Loving the paintwork - take it that's a respray?

I wasn't actually up there myself Craig - just commenting on the full sequence of photos from pistonheads Funny you mention drifting sessions, though - because that's something I'd very much like to try! (the skid pan, more specifically).

Aye, that was a wee bit more than a tank-slapper mate! Looks like you were having fun, but! The facial expression is priceless too - "ach, dinnae think any kint noticed"... A credit to the forum, as always

Good sound technical advice AND two double-entendres into the bargain! Comic genuis

My and my knob - we got tissues.

Aye, makes it all the more ironic! Quite right.

Ah, but there's more to a fuel than its mere(kat?) octane rating... I guess it's possible that there are a few other additives in there, one of which a particular engine might not agree with. I'm no petrochemical expert, so I can offer hee-haw science to reinforce this theory, but it sounds halfway plausible to me.

Yes, simples.

I love your taste in cosmetic mods! Some folks seem hell-bent on taking a nice motor and ruining it with fussy bolt-ons, stickers & clutter - but you've taken the more holistic approach and gone for a clean, mean and uniform appearance. The clear indicators, the wheels, the return to standard tail lamps, the monochrome badging scheme... fantastic!

Thanks for posting that, Paul.

Car is braw - almost as braw as yer sunglesses, Elton

Great stuff - very impressive end result! Long exposures are fun - last time I played about with anything like that you had to load the camera with some wacky stuff called 'film', then disappear into a darkened room with smelly potions and stuff before you got to see the results...

Sorry to hear about the bother, mate. The state of the roads at the moment is appalling. I notice the government's latest move in their insidious campaign against the motorist is to refer to road tax as 'car tax'... presumably just to make damned sure there's no implication your hard-earned will be spent on improving the roads