Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II

ladywclass

I'm not sure of the model of Victrola I have, but it's an oak floor model with the cabinet below and has never had any restoration done and is in 'mint condition'. Some fellow gave it to my grandfather in trade for some work, and it has been passed down through the family to me. There is a paper "label" inside the cabinet with the 1918 date, and there might be more information on that sticker about the model, but I'd have to take out all the PLAYER PIANO ROLLS that are stored there!
(Yes, I also have an antique player piano ... lol .. we enjoy music in MANY forms at my house.)

lucien2

I'm sure the AM/FM/CD/cassete double din unit from an '01-'03 WRX would fit in there....

ateixeira

And it's a very easy swap on the Forester/Impreza. At this point I could do it in 15 minutes or less.

A little less so on Legacy. That takes longer and you need a really long Phillips with a magnetic head and a really short one.

But - that's a black stereo, isn't yours silver now?

-juice

fibber2

Sounds terrific! Oak case finish was more rare in those later years - most are red mahogany. Personally I like oak better, as most of our home is decorated in turn-of-the-century oak (Larken & other mfgs).

Lift the lid and look for a small build plate back near the tone arm base. It should have the model number (VV-xx) where VV = Victor Victrola, and a serial number. The Victrola name indicates an 'inside horn', as oppose to the older external metal or wood horns.

We also looked at restored player pianos, but finally settled on a new accoustic Baldwin with the concertmaster record/play system.

Steve

armac13

According to my converter, you are spot on. 155kw equals 207.77 hp, while 320Nm equals 235 pound-feet of torque.

Ross

ateixeira

It's basically the same engine we get, then. I get the 2hp delta is due to the type of gas you have there.

-juice

kate5000

I already thought of swapping for 01-03 unit, but I think the slot is smaller on 04 Forester.

I would love to transfer my tapes to CDs, but I think one needs a bit of equipment:
a) cassette player with quality analog output;
b)a special analog-to-digital converter card
c) computer to install the card into;
d) software to control the card

and a lot of time and patience

any easier solutions?

BTW, saleswoman in Santa Cruz told me they hear people complaining quite a bit about the lack of the cassette on new models. STI won't have one, either.

ateixeira

The fascia might be smaller, but I doubt the stereo is. Subaru has used single DIN and double DIN sizes ever since I can remember, even the harnesses are the same.

Perhaps the Macintosh is a little different, I'm not sure.

STi won't have *any* radio standard. Subaru had to cut the weight by juuuu-uust a tad to get it under a certain tax penalty.

-juice

nygreg

Congratulations!

Greg

subaru_team

Yes Kate - we are hearing from customer's about the lack of a cassette player. I know that there is one that fits. I'll check it out and see what I can find and post it here.

I'm so glad your car buying experience went well! I'm sharing your commentary with the appropriate folks in the regional office (yes - I do share the bad too!!)

Patti

P. S. - I'll see you all at the chat tonight?

fibber2

I have a mandatory Soccer Coaches meeting tonight. Draft night - divide the kids into teams for a Sept 6th start. Hopefully I will catch the end of the chat.

Steve

ateixeira

Chat should be good. Last week we broke an attendance record (excluding special events).

Suggested Topic: we got Patti back, can we get 8 tracks back? ;-)

-juice

subaru_team

overhead light??

babaoriley

What would it take to get a reel-to-reel tape player installed on a dashboard? My dad, god bless him, just tried to pawn off his reel-to-reel on me that he swore by for 30 years as having the best sound fidelity. A new computer w/ CDRW and DVDRW has convinced him otherwise.

Can you imagine, trying to spool up a new reel while driving?

-Brett

kens

So, who's going to announce their new XT at the Chat tonight? ;-)

Ken

kate5000

I already thought of swapping for 01-03 unit, but I think the slot is smaller on 04 Forester.

I would love to transfer my tapes to CDs, but I think one needs a bit of equipment:
a) cassette player with quality analog output;
b)a special analog-to-digital converter card
c) computer to install the card into;
d) software to control the card

and a lot of time and patience

any easier solutions?

BTW, saleswoman in Santa Cruz told me they hear people complaining quite a bit about the lack of the cassette on new models. STI won't have one, either.

twrx

1. iMac with included iTunes software
2. Cassette deck and RCA plugs to mini stereo plug for iMac analog input
3. Sound Studio- a $25 shareware analog to digital program.

Used iMac costs as little as $500 with CDRW (2001 600 mhz model) or new eMac for about $800.

Digitize analog tracks with Sound Studio, arrange and burn CD tracks with iTunes.

Macs are the easiest solution for audio and video.
TWRX

paisan

No offense, but she probably doesn't have time to fiddle with that stuff. I know I don't have time for that

-mike

miksmi

You're a DBA, right? Maybe you know a Mac or audiophile that could help you so you wouldn't futz with the Mac. We know how yucky they can be.

..Mike (yes, a PC guy)

kate5000

and we don't use Macs around here...

miksmi

Anyway, there must be a closet Mac junkie in your midst.. Be careful, they lurk everywhere!

..Mike

twrx

1. iMac with included iTunes software
2. Cassette deck and RCA plugs to mini stereo plug for iMac analog input
3. Sound Studio- a $25 shareware analog to digital program.

Used iMac costs as little as $500 with CDRW (2001 600 mhz model) or new eMac for about $800.

Digitize analog tracks with Sound Studio, arrange and burn CD tracks with iTunes.

Macs are the easiest solution for audio and video.
TWRX

fibber2

to crank the Victrola while driving.....

Steve

p0926

That annoys me a little also. I guess I can see where the demand isn't much for them any more (I too almost always listen to music on CDs now). But I still use the cassette because I like to record NPR's CarTalk on Saturday and listen to it during the weekly commute.

-Frank P.

P.S. What's up with the double posts? Server going wacko again?

ateixeira

Is there an echo in here?

Is there an echo in here? ;-)

Great chat, BTW. It was hard to keep up, in fact I'm sure I missed a lot.

-juice

ladywclass

I looked at the model number and it's a VV-XIV
so .. #14 I suppose.
Does that help you know what it is?
And next to the player piano is a digital keyboard with MIDI capabilities .. lol

jim_loves_cars

I'm going to be picking up some winter tires for my WRX wagon in the near future and was wondering which tires are recommended by the Crew.

I live in Northern NJ and do mostly highway driving, so I'm looking at H-rated dedicated snow tires (made for snow, rain and going up to 99mph). Any personal experiences you guys can share is worth a lot to me.

Also, I'm wondering if July is a good time to buy. I look at it two ways - either it's off-season, demand is low and so are prices -OR- when demand rises in autumn, prices drop as tire places fight to attract winter tire buyers. I figure I can wait if it makes financial sense to do so (I don't need the tires until it snows, after all!). Any advice here would be helpful, too.

Thanks,

-jim

fibber2

I guess that this should probably be addressed in one of the car-specific threads, but FWIW:
I put Dunlop WinterSport SP's on my OBW, and loved them. Check out Consumer Reports winter tire review from last year. Very highly rated H tire. I bought them at TireRack on rims, making the transition easier season to season.

Steve

paisan

Drop me a line I've got some cool writeups to send yah about winter tires etc.

-mike

ffsteve

Hello again to all of the Subaru regulars. I've been unable to take the time to post lately, but have tried to follow the news regardless.

A warm welcome back to Patti. The forum feels whole again with your return.

Steve

twrx

twrx

fibber2

Nice! A real family heirloom. 1918 was near the end of the run for the Victrola VV-XIV (yes, otherwise known at the 14th). It was a moderately priced machine - aimed at the more 'well to do' buyer. If you had a little over $200 of disposable 'change' in your pocket (a princely sum, as the average factory earner made maybe $10/week), you could visit your local music shop and have one of these babies delivered. Of course, for not even twice this sum, you could also visit your local Ford dealer (someday to be a Ford/Subaru dealer ?) and pick up an entry level Model-T coupe!

Unfortunately for your grandfather, the Model-T would have proven to have been a better investment. Your entertainment unit is worth about $500 today, the Model-T probably 20-30x that amount!

Steve

fibber2

ladywclass

thanks for the info on the victrola .. but it's something i just treasure for the musical/historical value to me ... it would be ok with me if it were worth $2 .. lol

p0926

Some one had previously posted that the ratio of Subarus in western NC is even higher than in New England and past personal observations seem to confirm that. Well this weekend I was in Asheville, NC and ran in a local 5k road race. As I was parking my Forester prior to the race start, I was amazed at the number of Subarus present. I guess it should have come as no surprise that when you combine fitness oriented Subaru demographics with the already high ratio of local Subaru owners, the result is going the be a heck of a lot of Subarus!

-Frank P.

ladywclass

at least to me it was strange ... lol
I ran to Target on a quick errand. When I was trying to park, I noticed a fellow in the parking lot who seemed to be paying attention to either my car or me .... I even drove over a row and parked, and then got out to walk to the door. As I approached the door, this guy walked over to me. He wasn't 'inherently' threatening ... you just have to remember I grew up in Houston ... and in big cities you tend to be more 'wary' ...

He was only wanting to ask me how I like my Outback. Wanted to know how long I'd had it ... etc .. etc ...
Poor man ended up with about a 10 minute harangue of how much I love this car and the dealership in town as well ... lol .. I also pointed him to Edmunds for info ...

ateixeira

If you can talk as fast as you type, 10 minutes ought to cover a lot of ground! :-)

-juice

ladywclass

faster .. .lol

earthwoman

I took my girls to see a movie on Friday evening. One the way home I saw a Legacy Sedan, probably 2 or 3 years old, being towed WITH THE REAR WHEELS ON THE GROUND! I actually considered chasing the tow truck down and telling him he was in the process of maiming a family member! It was upsetting. :-(

Then on Saturday we saw an Outback Wagon with about a third its front bumper cover hanging and dragging on the road. Sigh....

The good news is we (in our MY03 Red Forester) also met up with another red Forester MYO2 on the freeway and its passengers (a couple older women) and my kids had a Subie family wave session! They giggled and we followed the other Forester for about 10 miles. It was fun.

Subaru owners are a breed all their own and we are happy to be a part of them again.

Becky

nygreg

As I try to keep up reading the threads, does anyone else think we have way too many threads with many redundacies? Do you think it would be a good idea to condense, since as Subaruites we tend to be less wasteful than, say, S___V types?

Greg

fibber2

ateixeira

I noticed today that the hosts have been doing just that. Several "what did you pay" threads were consolidated, for instance. You might want to tip them off if you see an errant topic. ;-)

Becky: I hope that was an automatic, and that they inserted the FWD fuse. If it's not, the AWD system is shot, especially a viscous coupling.

-juice

jlemole

Does the fuse free up the rear wheels, even when the car isn't running? Just curious, in case it ever comes up in the real world.

Jon

earthwoman

Juice: I forgot about that option. I hope so too.

hypov

I thought the ATs must be flatbedded - period?
If it was an AT, fuse or no fuse, being towed with either wheels on the ground... I think the AWD is toast.

-Dave

earthwoman

Juice: I forgot about that option. I hope so too. I read about that somewhere. In my manual? I actually did read it! Maybe it was here I saw a few posts about the fuse.

Edited because I hit enter too soon.

Becky

ladywclass

but ... last week when we put the spare on, the b/f did see in the manual about putting in the fuse so I was in FWD mode until we had the new tires on and he went back and took it out ...

twrx

Hooray!!!!!!

Know what I mean?
TWRX

stever

Just wasn't sure it was safe to talk about it yet - some people just get their news via cable you know, and miss the joys of the blow by blow via dailypeloton.com. :-)

Steve, Host