Felix79

Hi all!

Some time this month I hope to get a Scooby. I've been involed with BMW e30's ( my current one is a rare Alpina ) and decided it was time to have something a bit more modern.

The Scoobies I have been looking at are the P1's and the WRX Type R's. From the various buyers guides and info there seems that there is only slight differences between the Jap and UK cars. Is it true that the Jap cars have no underseal on them , where as the UK cars had better anti-corossion?

Another thing I am concerned about it cost of parts and how easy it is to get them. With parts for my Alpina it can take upto 6 months before they arrive and the prices are retardely high. Is it best to always use an approved dealers or is there other options that will still keep the same quality? ( for the normal BMW bits I use euro parts as they have OEM parts at a fraction of the price )

My final question is servicing and general matience. One problem I have had over the years is finding a good specalist who knows about the car and can sort out any problem. Can people reconmend a good place to take a car to around the Oxford area? Also when looking at a cars history should I be worried if the times for servicing are not bang on? I have never known if it is myth or fact that Scoobies and Evo's need to be service bang on otherwise you can face some real nasties?

Sorry for a big wall of text and all these questions but I find this way I can get a much broader idea than following various guides.

Many thanks Dan

birchy2010

iTrader: (12)

Welcome, service history is the key to a good one of these. Parts are quite easy to get a hold of through hear using a reputible breaker or retailer on here, the same goes for garages for servicing and the invevitable improvements off the top of my head rich @ FBtuning in maidenhead is the closest i know of to you.
If your not 100% happy with it or the history then just walk away.

topman2180

+1 FB Tuning Rich has moved to Princes Risborough he is your man for maintenance.

Cambelt changes at at 50k/5 years .

V555MAC

iTrader: (4)

I to came from a E30 background, and I to had a Alpina version ( C2 2.7 ). I use genuine items where price permits, and quality aftermarket or second hand parts ( usually bought of here ). There are various buying and model guides on here aswell.

I also find the Scooby community far friendlier than the BMW/ALPINA forums

I still miss my C2 though

Felix79

I own the C2 2.5 , which used a 323i as the base model. The engine was hand built by Alpina germany and shipped over to Sytners. It uses a 525 eta lump and a fully custom Alpina head. It produces around 186 bhp , which is pretty good for 1985 , but the 18-21 mpg is painfull at best! Who would have though a Scooby with a massive Turbo is an more economical option . I'm only involed with the e30zone as the Alpina register and BMWCC hold old e30's in little regard unless they are concorse , and mine having done 236,000 miles with the orginal engine and box is not going to be that I might sell it , but I don't want to let it go as I've thrown a lot of cash and time over the last 3 years , and I am pretty attached to it.



The one thing with me is I like orginallity and I'm a tad cautious about any modding.The only things I would do or acept is uprating the brakes as I understand the standard ones were prone to warping , putting a full stainless system on and last but not least it has to have the proper gold wheels.

How would you describe the quality feel on a Scooby compaired to an e30 and espcally Alpina's? I'm use to everything feeling heavy and solid ( steering and throttle response ).

Is there a web site or phone number for the guy you have kindly reconmended?

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Ok from the top.

1. Do you need a two door or would you consider 4 door Jap WRX STi?
It's not as highly strung as a Type R and the gear ratios are better for day to day stuff. The Type R is more of a Sprinter with DCCD etc as standard unless you get a Limited with the longer 5th. P1's use the same body shell and most mechanicals but are not as quick and lack ABS. Because the Type R was so popular Subaru UK had to get a fix sorted. Jap cars are specced better than UK cars as well. Later Jap cars have better underseal than you think, they need to run on V-Power or Tesco Momentum and as such need to be looked at quite closely when buying.

2. If your in Oxford, Bob Rawle Developments is in Swindon, one of the best Subaru Mappers and informed men on the Subaru scene. Parts are quite easy to get. There are a number of Breakers and suppliers about eg Camskills, GradeA Subaru, Japperformence Parts and my fave Import Car Parts. Servicing can be a bit tastey but again there are loads of excellent specialists and even if your a spanner novice some can be done your self. I do loads of my own but any internal stuff a proper spanner chucker is used.

3. With servicing a full dealer or specialist is vital. The cars your looking at will probably have had a re-build by now or have been "Ms Daisy'd" only because of ignorance with regards to fuel and servicing. The JDM have better higher strength engines and are always more powerful out of the box, P1 accepted.

It's a big world of Subaru and someone else will be along to correct, disagree and give their option soon.

Oh and welcome

wrx fifer

iTrader: (34)

welcome along mate

markb_s1

I'd never heard that about the underseal... worrying as i'm about to buy a 1994 JDM wrx!

Felix79

Again thankyou for the welcome and replies.

The Jap underseal thing is a big issue for e30's. Japan has some of the best speced e30 Alpina's and M3's , but back in the late 80's and early 90's the underseal was never done as they do not salt the roads like we do over here. Old e30's suffer really badly from rust so it is something that is ingrained into my mind regardless of the age or type of car.

With regards to my preferred choice of Scooby , it has to be a coupe/2 door. I have always loved that shape ever since I sw Richard Burns race in it back in the late 90's. Also it's just me using the car and I very rarley have more than 1 person with me so it's not a big problem.

If there is little difference in rust prevention I am happy to go down the import route. Spec wise I'm not overly concerned , as long as it has those awsome bucket seats I'm happy as I'm 6.3 and finding a car with good seats is tricky. With the issue of gearing I'll be honest and say it's is a bit doungting trying to understand it all. I don't do mega miles ( around 30-40 a week ) so I can cope with the short ratios.

The only real criteria for the car is it is the coupe body shape and is in the awsome blue. Other than that I want to get involed with Scooby meets and the comunity as a whole. It is one of the best things I have experienced with the e30 scene and the german car scene.

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Felix,

Underseal is messy but I did mine not long after I got it in 2010 with some spray cans of Finnegans Waxoyl with Hammerite. It's a JDM WRX STi import new in 1999 but the underseal was OK.

Get your head around DCCD and you'll be having a ball

rossyboy

iTrader: (8)

Speaking of rust, check the rear arches of any classic you view. Most will either have rust there, or will have been repaired because of it. Repair is ok as long as its been done properly. There are some shocking bodge jobs out there.

Felix79

My poor old Alpina had sufered some criminal bodgery with the 2 previous owners to me. I had to replace the sub frames front and rear , anti roll bars , wish bones ect because when some restroration work was done they scrimped on parts and put old rusty ones back on. I ended up with a £2600 bill to get the car through the MOT and running better.

I have read that I should look out for any signs of crash damage. It also states that it was/is common for the front spoiler to catch fairly easily.

There are two cars I have my eye on atm , both seem to be very straight and vitally they both have FSH. One thing that I have read is if you have the diff set to locked and you drive it on a dry grippy road it can cause damage to the transition. Would uneven tyre wear be a classic sign of this happening? Also would it cause the car to pull to one side or the other?

When ever I see in an advert that mods or "tastefull mods" have been done to the car it puts me off the advert. A concern to me is it seems to be common place for engine mods to be done , the turbos have been changed to another type , truth be told it is all double dutch to me. Should I advoid any cars that have had custom work done on the engine?

I know the cars are restricted to 155mph , is it an electronic restricion or is it down to the final gear being low? I would want it taken off is this easy to do ( obviously I would ask a specalist to do ) and what is the normal price to pay. Am I also correct in going for a version 5 or 6 as these are easier for someone to remap? Basically I'm going to be happy running a car with 280-300 bhp , I will make sure it looks really nice and have that brilliant cracakle you get with the over-run.

Felix79

Well I found a P1 on a W plate , number 7 of 1000 and I won the auction. So in a few days I make the journey up to Telford to collect can't wait to drive it back home. It took me a good couple of days going through so many ads to find one that meet all my requirements. I almost stayed in budget , only over spent by £1000 lol.

Only thing I want to mod on it is install a 6 speed box.

Will put some pics up as soon as I fetch it.

Dave Y

iTrader: (52)

i used to have an e30 325 sport also an ex e30zone member.Welcome to the world of Subaru's.Spend and enjoy!

95turbowagon

iTrader: (17)

Congrats, welcome to scooby ownership.