True car enthusiast see their cars as extension of themselves. The car, whatever it may, becomes more than just a car, more than just a mode of transportation, it’s their true pride and joy. They become one with their cars, they go broke to afford mods, they lose sleep working long hours, all for the love of the scene. There is simply an unbreakable bond between a car and its owner, at the end of the day they will always love their car. Andrew Johnson did not let anything stand in his way when it comes to his 2007 WRX wagon. The bond between him and his Subaru is unbreakable.
Andrew, like any other car enthusiast, dreamed about owning his Subaru long before he had the money or even a license. We’ve all been there looking through magazines, playing video games, spending hours online just looking at our dream car. Andrew purchased his 2007 WRX in 2009 and skipped no beat modding his Subie to his liking. Everything was kosher until tragedy struck in October of 2012 when Andrew was involved in a front end collision traveling to North Carolina for a car event, causing all sorts of damage to the wagon. Now, the average person would have taken the insurance payout and walked away from the car, but not Andrew, he decided to rebuild the car. Andrew packed up and moved from Florida to North Carolina and with the help of friends built the car to what we see before our eyes today.
Andrew sat out to make it count. He wanted to make it worth the effort to save the wagon. He had to rebuild the engine which was destroyed due to collision in addition to the cosmetic repairs. Andrew decided to go all out and might I say it was worth all the blood, sweat, and tears. The exterior features a plethora of modifications, some more obvious than others. Karlton fender flares were installed to help fit his aggressive wheel fitment, more of which I’ll get to later. Karlton’s seem to be a popular modification to Subaru’s in the past couple years and with the aggressive wide body look seeming to be the next trend, it looks as if we will see more and more Subarus sporting them. The biggest modification that may go unnoticed to the untrained eye is the Hawkeye (06-07) sedan front end conversion. The front end is finished off with a scoop-less hood taken from a 2.5RS and a front lip.
Andrew’s choice of wheels came from the guys over at Rotiform. Andrew went with the TMBs measuring in at 18 x 11.5, hence the need for the flares. The TMBs feature a gloss white face with polished lips and gold bolt hardware to complete the package. Andrew then used Project Mu lugs to compliment his Project Mu BBK. The white, gold, and turquoise go together very well and make the package complete.
Out back Andrew chose to install a Mature rear diffuser to go along with the aggressive nature of the exterior modifications. For exhaust he got custom blast pipes made with twin pipes. Andrew also continued the rivets along the rear bumper to mirror that of the Karlton flares, its the small attention to details that show flow in a build and overall cohesiveness, rather than a bunch of random mods thrown onto a car.
The wagon is brought down toward the Earth with the help of Air Lift struts and Accuair Elevel management. Air ride is another staple in the Subaru community with newly bagged cars popping up more and more. There is just an ease to air ride that people are beginning to realize. Not only are you able to go lower, but on the fly height adjustability can’t be beat.
Now at this point you’re reading and thinking you’ve got Andrew’s car figured out right? Just another bagged Subaru, but I’m sure you did not expect this car to put down over 500 horsepower to the wheels. 517 to be exact. Andrew’s WRX features a fully built motor with rods and pistons compliments of Manley, in addition to new valves, springs and retainers. All the motor work was done by Motion Lab down in Charlotte where Andrew works. A Blouch dominator 3.5 XTR is what helps the boxer motor put down 517 whp and 417 wtq to the ground through a STi 6 speed transmission, very potent numbers that match the aggressive exterior of the car.
Andrew’s journey is just beginning with his WRX. Deciding to rebuild the car was just a stepping stone for what he has in store. Andrew has shown that hard work does eventually pay off and when the going gets tough, just keep on trucking. There will always be up’s and down’s when it comes to modifying cars, but it’s the passion that keeps the spark alive. When building cars is your passion, you are a true car enthusiast.
Wheels/Tires/Suspension
18×11.5 Rotiform Forged Race TMB
255 35 18 Hankook Ventus V12 tires
Project Mu Super Lock 7 Lug Nuts
Airlift Performance Struts
Accuair Elevel Management
2x 3gallon Airtanks
2x 400c Compressors
Perrin Anti Lift Kit
Whiteline rear lateral Links
Whiteline Roll Center Adjuster
Project Mu 355mm Big Brake Kit with matching Rear STI Brembos
Project Mu SCR-Pro Front Rotors
Project mu Bforce pads
Exterior
Sedan front end conversion
Karlton Fender Flares
Mature Rear diffuser
RS hood(scoopless)
Shaved Roof
Front Lip
Morimoto 55W HID
Interior
Grip Royal hand painted steering wheel or Black leather Grip Royal
Hand painted mural headliner(Japanese theme, professionally painted)
STI Transmission surround
PBM Shift Knob
Prosport Gauges
Status Ring GT-X seats
Audio Integrations 12inch enclosure
Pioneer AVH-X4500bt
Engine
Manley Performance Forged Pistons
Manley Performance Forged H-beam Rods
ACL Race Bearings Rods and Mains
STI Oil pump,
Manley Performance Springs and Retainers
Ferrea Valves
Brian Crower 272 Cams
Killer B oil pick up
TS AirPump Delete
Perrin Fuel rail
Perrin 3inch turbo inlet
Perrin Equal length manifold
Grimmspeed external gate up pipe
Tial MVS wastegate
Blouch Performance Dominator 3.5 XT-R Turbo 58lbmin
APS intercooler piping
Tial Q BOV
ETS 4inch Custom intercooler core
Protuned by Motion Lab Tuning 517awhp/478ftlb
APS Coolant Overflow
Crawford Performance Oil/Air Separator
Gates Racing Kevlar Timing Belt
STI 6speed swap
Exedy Stage 1 Heavy Duty clutch
ACT Streetlite fly wheel
Sti Drive shaft
Shout out
First and foremost my friend Jonathan Stamper, without him I wouldn’t have had the guidance and help to save the car. John Hall @ bagriders. Micheal Wallis @ Status Racing. Jason, Ivan and Brian @ Rotiform, And of course Motion Lab Tuning.