Member Profile - Stevo3RB *Caution Pic Heavy*
Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2015 8:52 pmIt was about time I put together a build thread for my Liberty as I’ve slowly been upgrading after purchasing it in late 2011. The first few years it has been stock apart from the obligatory Plastidipped grille, wheels and chrome strips. This year I’ve taken the plunge and started modifying it and been enjoying the experience.
I’m in my early 40’s and have had all sorts of cars ranging from wagons (Datsun 120Y – first car
), hatches (Mirage, Pulsar, Charade and Excel), 4WD’s (Pajero), family cars (Magna Sports AWD) and SUV’s (Honda CRV).
The Liberty is the first of all these cars that I have actually modified. It’s a Diamond Grey MY07 H6 Spec B premium wagon with 6MT. I say premium as it has the sunroof, sat nav, leather seats, traction control and privacy tint options as well. I feel really lucky I managed to snag this as I searched high and low for a spec B manual wagon and at the time it was only one of two on sale in NSW at the time. It had one previous owner and 75K km on the clock.
I have always preferred wagons as this fits in nicely with my other love, cycling. I can put the seats down and throw any one of my 3 MTB’s or 1 road bike straight in without having to undo wheels etc. For trips away, the bike will end up on the roof rack, and I can sleep in the back of the car with the seats down fully stretched out if I’m at the occasional MTB race…
It now resides in the Blue Mountains although I commute daily to and from Macquarie Uni. The car has racked up some miles and I would say that it currently enjoys a 70:30 highway/street ratio.
Mods include:
Engine Mods completed:
Full stainless exhaust which includes:
Raptor EZ30 headers
100CEL metallic core cats
Third cat delete
Custom piping with resonator
X-Force Y-Pipe and mufflers
The installer has actually set it up so that the resonator can be unbolted and dropped out and the third cat reinstalled without any modification if there’s any issues with the constabulary or RMS. Thought that was a nice touch.
Tune from Matt @ Kido_Tune
K&N panel filter
Cobb front shifter bushings
“MRT” heavy duty clutch (which is probably just an Exedy but I was a noob and had no idea about MRT at the time)
Cosmetic mods completed:
Replaced the rear taillights with tinted D1 Spec tail lights
Painted the stock Spec B alloys in Duplicolor Phantom (which is a black with a tiny amount of metallic flake)
Blacked out the headlights
Painted the engine cover and air intake
Painted the brake calipers
Plastidipped the grille and side chrome strips in Matte Black/Glossifier
Complete interior LED fitout (courtesy in part to HKS180)
LED parkers (courtesy of HKS180)
Conversion of Step Lamp from red to white lenses
Front license plate lift – because the OCD part of me hates how the NSW plate sits off centre of the front bar. - DONE
Other Mods completed:
Replaced the stock Bilstein springs with King Springs Lows
Whiteline Anti Lift Kit
6MT short shifter adaptor (made by BillyCorgi)
Replaced the stock gear knob with an aluminium weighted D1 Spec knob
Pro Rack Whispbar roof rack with Yakima Front Loader bike rack
Upcoming planned mods (in no particular order):
Suspension – most likely coilovers such as Tein or BC with corresponding sway bar/bushing upgrade. This will likely be a long term thing as I upgrade this over time. I have been unhappy with the Kings and just want the car to sit flat if nothing else.
Raptor CAI Intake – I understand that Tradewind is not making these anymore however if this changes I’ll be all over it.
STI Genome mufflers – because Genome
… and I love the sound.
DIY mesh grille – a DIY project I’m keen to attempt when time permits.
Colour code the chrome strip on the tailgate – another DIY project I’m keen to attempt when time permits.
Disc Brake upgrade – DBA T2’s with SR/SS Intima pads (or equivalent) and braided lines.
Mods I’m considering (but may or may not happen):
Driver’s seat – my only criticism of my Liberty is how flat the front seats feel and I would love something with a bit more holdability (if that’s a word I can use). If I could find something similar to my mates Focus XR5 Recaros that would be the ultimate.
New car audio – need I say more?
New wheels/rubber – just because I want something a little wider although nothing extreme width wise
Further mods depending on ideas
---
I have learnt so much about the car (and myself) in the time I’ve had it and am now not so scared to attempt to mod the car, especially cosmetically. Love driving the thing and am quite happy to jump in the car at any point, even if it’s a drive around the corner. The kids like it too and even though I obsess over it (esp from a detailing perspective), and sometimes to their neglect
, they like riding and being seen in it too.
I’m in my early 40’s and have had all sorts of cars ranging from wagons (Datsun 120Y – first car
), hatches (Mirage, Pulsar, Charade and Excel), 4WD’s (Pajero), family cars (Magna Sports AWD) and SUV’s (Honda CRV). The Liberty is the first of all these cars that I have actually modified. It’s a Diamond Grey MY07 H6 Spec B premium wagon with 6MT. I say premium as it has the sunroof, sat nav, leather seats, traction control and privacy tint options as well. I feel really lucky I managed to snag this as I searched high and low for a spec B manual wagon and at the time it was only one of two on sale in NSW at the time. It had one previous owner and 75K km on the clock.
I have always preferred wagons as this fits in nicely with my other love, cycling. I can put the seats down and throw any one of my 3 MTB’s or 1 road bike straight in without having to undo wheels etc. For trips away, the bike will end up on the roof rack, and I can sleep in the back of the car with the seats down fully stretched out if I’m at the occasional MTB race…
It now resides in the Blue Mountains although I commute daily to and from Macquarie Uni. The car has racked up some miles and I would say that it currently enjoys a 70:30 highway/street ratio.
Mods include:
Engine Mods completed:
Full stainless exhaust which includes:
Raptor EZ30 headers
100CEL metallic core cats
Third cat delete
Custom piping with resonator
X-Force Y-Pipe and mufflers
The installer has actually set it up so that the resonator can be unbolted and dropped out and the third cat reinstalled without any modification if there’s any issues with the constabulary or RMS. Thought that was a nice touch.
Tune from Matt @ Kido_Tune
K&N panel filter
Cobb front shifter bushings
“MRT” heavy duty clutch (which is probably just an Exedy but I was a noob and had no idea about MRT at the time)
Cosmetic mods completed:
Replaced the rear taillights with tinted D1 Spec tail lights
Painted the stock Spec B alloys in Duplicolor Phantom (which is a black with a tiny amount of metallic flake)
Blacked out the headlights
Painted the engine cover and air intake
Painted the brake calipers
Plastidipped the grille and side chrome strips in Matte Black/Glossifier
Complete interior LED fitout (courtesy in part to HKS180)
LED parkers (courtesy of HKS180)
Conversion of Step Lamp from red to white lenses
Front license plate lift – because the OCD part of me hates how the NSW plate sits off centre of the front bar. - DONE
Other Mods completed:
Replaced the stock Bilstein springs with King Springs Lows
Whiteline Anti Lift Kit
6MT short shifter adaptor (made by BillyCorgi)
Replaced the stock gear knob with an aluminium weighted D1 Spec knob
Pro Rack Whispbar roof rack with Yakima Front Loader bike rack
Upcoming planned mods (in no particular order):
Suspension – most likely coilovers such as Tein or BC with corresponding sway bar/bushing upgrade. This will likely be a long term thing as I upgrade this over time. I have been unhappy with the Kings and just want the car to sit flat if nothing else.
Raptor CAI Intake – I understand that Tradewind is not making these anymore however if this changes I’ll be all over it.
STI Genome mufflers – because Genome
… and I love the sound.DIY mesh grille – a DIY project I’m keen to attempt when time permits.
Colour code the chrome strip on the tailgate – another DIY project I’m keen to attempt when time permits.
Disc Brake upgrade – DBA T2’s with SR/SS Intima pads (or equivalent) and braided lines.
Mods I’m considering (but may or may not happen):
Driver’s seat – my only criticism of my Liberty is how flat the front seats feel and I would love something with a bit more holdability (if that’s a word I can use). If I could find something similar to my mates Focus XR5 Recaros that would be the ultimate.
New car audio – need I say more?
New wheels/rubber – just because I want something a little wider although nothing extreme width wise
Further mods depending on ideas
---
I have learnt so much about the car (and myself) in the time I’ve had it and am now not so scared to attempt to mod the car, especially cosmetically. Love driving the thing and am quite happy to jump in the car at any point, even if it’s a drive around the corner. The kids like it too and even though I obsess over it (esp from a detailing perspective), and sometimes to their neglect
, they like riding and being seen in it too.