Bazil

Yes, well finished as well as it could ever be, given the turbo was kind of sticking out the front bumper a little and the engine came through the bonnet. It was on the road and attracting alot of attention and it was very quick. I followed it down a busy high street of a Nottingham suburb last year and 1/2 the street were turning round to look at it. Its now been sold to a guy who's father owns a rallycross track I think and is destined for a life of motorsport. Alex is building another 6R4 rep but this one will be 2wd and the engine should fit within the bodywork this time so the finish will be much better, I'm not allowed to give out any details until its finished though.

The people who want to see Rally GB moving about a little may be about to get their wish. The Welsh Assembly (not government) have decided not to put the £2.2m they promised in. I agree it would be great for it to be a tour of GB like it used to be but I think the teams / TV / sponsors demand that the service area is static. Its a shame but the way it has to be in the modern day. Most likely destination for 2010 seems to be Newcastle. Theres no harm in it moving round the country year on year though. I can see WRC following the F1 into threats of breakaways.

Lol, I've got a friend who built a Metro 6R4 with an evo 8 engine and running gear (though not to that standard). Its not really fair to call it a 2CV, really its a Ferrari with a mock 2CV body.

Its OK anyway. I've cleaned the boost solenoid and it seems to be running normally. Well, it was surging on the move, uneven idle and sometimes stalling when I came to a stop or changed gear slowly. Hence I thought it was more serious. I'll see if its all OK after a longer run tomorrow. Thanks for the advice all the same.

I'm not planning on keeping the impreza long term but definitely wouldn't want to buy a second hand one incase it went again before I sold it. I just thought it may be possible to pick up an OE or good pattern part new from somewhere without the main dealer price. I'll pop in tomorrow morning to the dealer and see what the price is.

Hi, I need a new MAF sensor for my MY00 impreza turbo and wondered if there is a UK source for them that is cheaper than going to a dealership. Cheers, B.

Why not try a 2.0 Sport instead of the turbo? All the looks (apart from the bonnet scoop which is easily added) and a new driver isn't going to miss the turbo. The one I drove wasn't too pedestrian either.

Yes and No. The pillars and beams in a modern car are still pressings spot welded together, which is why they end up much thicker than a roll cage bar for the same strength. The MG Metro 6R4 has its roll cage integrated into the pillars, but that would look a bit agricultural on a modern family saloon. and probably not as strong as a modern family saloon either with the way technology has progressed. Whatever the physical progress in car safety, it has some very negative effects. People feel more safe with all their airbags and crumple zones, so driving standards decline. I can't help thinking that the old adage about people driving more safely if there was a big spike in the middle of their steering wheel is completely true.

I think 4wd is available on quite a few Insignias. Doubt the take up will be very high and I guess it'll be one of those part time 4wd systems. Lets hope this has proper 4wd.

Its just the way of the market at the moment. People aren't generally buying cars with high tax rates or fuel consumption and the trade are avoiding such cars. Sign of the times I'm afraid.

I've been looking a bit more closely, taking a fog lamp out and taking some measurements. The Cibie Oscar will fit in the standard recess, just stick out a little further than the fog. So its just about how to mount it. If the mounting rotates to face the back I'll just use the template bracket from Phil_g above and if it doesn't then I'll drill a hole in the bumper recess out of site, add a strengthening plate and bolt it to the bumper. Looking at all the options Cibie have for driving lamps, the Oscar surface-complexe looks the best bet - 620m throw and 30m width beam compared to the 400m x 22m of the standard Oscar and even against the 370m x 28m of the super oscar. And its the same size as the standard Oscar.

Thanks for those replies. I'll look into them at the weekend aswell as a couple of faults that have developed on the car (n/s windscren wiper has stopped moving being the most annoying) so I've got to get it back to the supplying dealer to fix under warranty. In the mean time I may get those brackets copied to have a go at fitting the cibies. My only worry is that they could be vulnerable to stone chips down there.

Open areas of a forum like this are good for advertising and encouraging users to become paid up members, as are having open meets which is a kind of 'try before you buy' kind of thing. If a forum is completely closed then potential new members are more likely to go on to one of the other forums where you can get to know people before becoming a paying member.

Cheers. The super oscars are a tad on the large side to fit where the fogs are currently. We could make up some kind of bracket to go through the upper grille I suppose. At least then it can go back to standard in a few minutes. Is there anything behind the grille to mount against? Thanks.

Hi, What options are there for driving lamps on a 2000 model Impreza turbo? I've seen the PIAA kit but it doesn't seem good value at £230, searching for previous topics I've found mention of Hella and Cibie lamps being used but unfortunately all the links seem to be out of date. So are there any up to date links for places that sell alternatives? Also, if there are no direct replacements around, are there any brackets for fitting lamps above the bumper? I do have a pair of Cibie super oscars that would do nicely if there are any brackets for them. Thanks in advance. B.