Words: Warren Sare Photos: Glen McNamara
It’s not an easy job to try to sum up how Josh Elmiger’s Legacy wagon makes you feel. When you first take a look, it evokes a sort of big body stance feel but then you look underneath the bonnet and it is a Jekyll and Hyde mix of show-level chrome, polishing, and anodised blue, with a dose of big horsepower race car feel. Goal achieved — the priority for this car was to be something unique and achieve a high standard of modification which is how we come to be looking at the car today. Josh is so passionate he really should get a co-write credit. You get to know something of an owner’s mindset when he says things like, “The whole underside and engine bay of the car has been stripped down and cleaned of all the dirt and grime, and painted to look brand-new, giving me peace of mind that everything has been done properly.” Yeah, he’s fastidious.
“It all started when something broke,” Josh told us. It’s something we hear pretty often and, unfortunately, most of us can relate to it. Josh, who is a fabrication engineer by trade, like many others started a rebuild process but then slowly became hooked on the all-consuming drug that is horsepower. Simple bolt-on parts were just not up to where he saw his build heading and a new plan was hatched quite early in the piece. This has been five years in the making and did we mention it’s so clean you can pretty much eat off it? Josh wanted an impeccable finish, alongside a seriously stout 400kW goal — not too much to ask, right?
It’s the appearance that draws you in first because, quite frankly, it’s a long-body wagon and while we’ve seen more of them in NZPC pages recently, they aren’t usually the chosen platform for a full build. That alone adds a touch of mystique and the sparkle of the blue pearl hints at something special and worth a further glance.
The natural look of the wagon has been enhanced to keep it looking sleek and slammed, with the sought-after facelift front bumper and STi factory option lip modified and set off by a Zero Sports carbon fibre grille. The side skirts and rear lip are also a factory option Spec B kit with universal side skirt extensions, while the spoiler on the car is from Liberal Aero to create a longer duckbill look. Not stopping there in his pursuit of Subie-perfection, Josh had a full respray done in the factory Subaru colour with light blue pearl which comes alive in the sun.
Getting the car to sit ‘just right’ is a set of BC Racing coilovers with ONImade camber top hats which, of course, are maxed out. The Legacy sees the track from time to time too, so Josh saw that it would benefit from a Whiteline bump steer kit, adjustable arms, and Cusco body braces. To combat the factory boat-like body roll, the front and rear of the car have upgraded Whiteline sway bars with adjustable end links.
All of Josh’s handling upgrades, wide wheels, and tyres are actually incredibly functional, because although it looks like a cruiser, the forged 2.2-litre boxer engine makes sure this is no low ‘n’ slow street roller. Starting with an EJ20 closed deck block like most folk, capacity has been increased to 2200cc and fitted with JE forged pistons and Argo conrods connected up to a EJ257 crankshaft.
The heads have been ported and polished, with Beehive valve springs, titanium valve spring retainers, and 272-degree Kelford cams to ensure the 2200cc motor retains its naturally revvy nature. The EJ22 has a baffled sump with a 12mm oil pump to eliminate oil issues. With a target of 447kW at the wheels, these upgrades were not only wanted, but also 100 per cent essential. It’s incredible to note that while Josh was wanting to produce power, it was not coming at the expense of the engine’s appearance.
With the mechanical componentry and hardware in place, fabricated, and ready for action, the team at D-Tech in Tauranga was tasked with wiring in and extracting the best from the Link G4X Xtreme, resulting in a staggering 386kW at the wheels on 98 pump gas — with more on tap if required. It might have taken up Mum and Dad’s garage for five years, but in our eyes Josh has well and truly achieved his goal of building something unique, aligning with his vision of building one of New Zealand’s wildest Legacy wagons — low, and ready to rumble.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
This article originally appeared in New Zealand Performance Car issue 301
