Being involved with cars for 20 years, there’s not a lot that I haven’t seen or experienced. Lamborghini and Ferrari in Italy: been there. Drag raced in 3 states and 2 countries: done that. Drooled over the newest car offerings at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit: check. Perused every corner of the Henry Ford Museum: you know it! I’ve seen the best the aftermarket has to offer at SEMA, been buried in smoke at Formula D, and participated in setup day at Hot Import Nights. I even co-promote the largest import-themed car show in Idaho. Along with my abundance of experience comes an unfortunate side effect: piquing my interest is a challenge. Browsing the forums, I click on a thread and cannot click the back button fast enough, having neither the desire nor the willingness to look at another lowered car with wheels, and not much else. I’m not a hater, just been around so long that a mild build bores me. I want to see rare parts, wild aero, absurdly aggressive wheels, a car that imprisons my stare, so you can imagine the lack of excitement aroused in me when Elvis gave me my first assignment: write a story about a Subaru WRX.
Photos By: Watson Lu exclusively for StanceNation.com
I have nothing against WRXs, in fact, I really like them, many times considering picking one up as a project, but where I’m from, they’re typically built pretty conservatively. Luckily for me, Tucker Scharf of San Clemente, California, didn’t build a typical WRX. He loves the versatility of the chassis, adept on the street, track, and rally course, so he set out to find this, his third WRX. Wanting to separate his newest ride from the crowd, he decided to search out a rare, San Remo Red WRX, but to no availability.
Unable to find a car in San Remo Red, Tucker did the next best thing; he purchased a completely stock, silver 2004 WRX on January 1, and set about giving it his personal touch. The first order of business: perform a full color change. Ordinarily, a color change isn’t a big deal, but Tucker had set a deadline to finish his car: Slammed Society Long Beach on April 13. He had 3 ½ months to build this car from the ground up, in a way that set it apart from all the other lowered Subarus you see. Challenge accepted!
Once I peeled my eyes from the stunning red paint, I noticed the wheels. You can tell a lot about a car from its wheels. A set of one-piece, lightweight Volks or Advans suggest performance, while huge lips and aggressive offsets hint at an urban street sweeper. Wheels painted an outlandish green or purple reach for attention, while a sleeping giant may hide behind a set of modest, or even stock, wheels. As with any stereotyping, there are always exceptions, and some wheels are harder to classify than others. Such is the case with CCW Classics. If you don’t know, CCW stands for Complete Custom Wheel, and each set of wheels is designed specifically to the owner’s specifications. The 3-piece, forged Classic is just that, and is regularly seen on track cars, show cars, and everything in between. With his deadline on the horizon, Tucker contacted CCW and ordered up a set of 18×9.5 +12 Classics, complete with white, front mounted faces, 3-inch step lips, and polished ARP hardware.
To achieve his fitment goal, Tucker stretched a set of 215/35/18 Delinte tires around the CCWs. Not always a fan of CCWs, they have grown on me in the past year or two, after a couple of friends purchased them and I had the opportunity to really pore them over. Now that I appreciate, even love CCWs, I cannot think of a wheel that would better fit Tucker’s WRX.
Looking past the wheels, I noticed the STI limited edition front lip sitting on the ground. This thing is dumped! Long a fan of air ride suspension setups, Tucker’s unwillingness to fork over the money such a suspension costs has always overruled his desire to bag his car, but with this build, he decided to go for it. Nothing like an air ride setup to further set his car apart! Tucker chose Airlift struts, manifold, and Autopilot v2 digital controller, a 5 gallon steel tank, and a chrome, VIAIR 480c compressor, all plumbed with 1/4″ lines. Personally, I love static suspension, and have never seriously considered an air setup. Like him previously, I’m not hip to dropping the money on a set of bags, but the execution on his car makes me rethink my prior stance. Now that he’s fallen in love with the air setup, he says he’ll have a hard time ever going back to static, and looking at his car, I understand the feeling! In addition to the bags, Tucker fine-tuned his suspension to get the ride just right. He added a JDM STI front strut tower bar, a rear strut tower bar, and Whiteline roll center adjusters and anti-lift kit. The result of all the work is fenders that nestle perfectly into the lip of the wheels when the suspension is aired down.
With the suspension dialed in, Tucker tapped further into STI for his aero needs, adding STI side splitters and STI fog light covers to go with the front lip. Bringing a bit of aggressiveness to his build, Tucker added an HKS-style rear diffuser, and he completed the look of the car with an RS wingless trunk lid. Installing a Koyo radiator and Mishimoto hoses, Tucker made sure his WRX is breathing properly. To expunge the gases on the back-end, he bolted up an Invidia downpipe and Blitz Nur Spec R cat-back exhaust. An Exedy clutch helps put that extra power to the ground, and Tucker added an anodized SPT oil cap to spruce up the engine bay. To keep attuned of the goings-on under the hood during his 100 mile daily round trip to work, Tucker added Prosport boost and voltage gauges. A Greddy turbo timer is in place to properly cool the turbos.
To make the ride even more enjoyable, Tucker installed a set of Pioneer speakers with a 6-inch subwoofer hidden under the seat. Subscribing to the theory that less is more, Tucker has chosen the perfect complement of parts to keep his car clean, yet differentiate it from the masses. The San Remo Red paint, white CCWs, and tasteful aero harmonize perfectly, while the air ride adds a dimension rarely seen on a WRX.
With a beautiful vision, a plan to realize that vision, and plenty of help from the guys at Unlimited Auto Craft, Tucker Scharf gave his WRX a complete makeover in 3 ½ months, finishing 2 days before the Slammed Society Long Beach show. Never having built a car this fast, this build has been a source of pride and accomplishment for Tucker, and rightfully so. Maybe more impressively, he built a car that impressed me, as unlikely as that may have seemed.
[toggle_box]
[toggle_item title=”Wheels/Tires/Suspension” active=”true”]JDM STI front strut tower bar
rear strut tower bar
Whiteline roll center adjusters
Whiteline anti-lift kit
Airlift struts
Airlift Autopilot v2 digital controller
Airlift manifold
5 gallon steel tank
VIAIR 480c chrome compressor
1/4″ lines front and rear
CCW classics
front mounted faces
3″ polished lips
white faces
polished ARP hardware
18×9.5 +12
Delinte 215/35/18 all around[/toggle_item]
[toggle_item title=”Exterior” active=”false”]STI limited lip
STI fog covers
STI side splitters
HKS-style diffuser
RS wingless trunk
[/toggle_item]
[toggle_item title=”Interior” active=”false”]Prosport boost and voltage gauges
Greddy turbo timer
6″ sub hidden under seat
Pioneer speakers[/toggle_item]
[toggle_item title=”Engine” active=”false”]Invidia downpipe
-Blitz Nur Spec R catback
Koyo radiator
Mishimoto hoses
Exedy clutch
SPT anodized oil cap[/toggle_item]
[/toggle_box]