Words by Michael Vernon / Photos by Katie Smith
A laugh, ominous and filled with an unusual happiness, breaks the still night air. The neighbors look out their window to see a blood-red blur pierce the country backroads. The sensual rumblings can be heard from 5 miles away with a following of thunderclouds overhead. This isn’t a story, ladies and gents. This is the legend of the RumbleWagon.
Katie’s 2004 Remo Red WRX wagon is a masterpiece. For the past couple of years, Rumble has been a utilitarian vehicle that allowed Katie and her cooler-than-ice husband, Ryan, to go anywhere and do anything. From the mudpits of West Coast Subaru Show to the passes of Washington State for some boarding, no land was safe from Rumble.
But then the couple was bit by the Sweet ‘N’ Low bug. No longer satisfied with setting off car alarms with the Nur-Spec exhaust or toodling around on their O.Z./ProDrive P1s, Katie put Rumble under the knife for a transformation that would change everything about how they live.
Last year, a friend of mine told me about a company called Umbrella Auto Design out of Bellevue, Washington. Reason was because I was pondering the idea of VIP for my own wagon. I’ve only seen a few bagged Subarus but neither of them VIP-status. The hitch: the price. Umbrella’s system is insanely expensive but also very unique in that there is no modification to the chassis whatsoever. It also allows for use of coilovers for a comfortable “real-world” ride instead of a floaty track that plague most airbag setups. I went around asking everyone what they knew about the system and if it was worth saving up for. Little did I know that Katie and Ryan had their wheels spinning just as fast as mine were. Katie had a secret weapon, however. She personally knew someone at Umbrella. Luckeeeee!!
Coupled with BC Racing BR coilovers and Swift Springs, Rumble is as comfortable as ever. The WhiteLine chassis bracing that she put on keeps the car neutral in the corners and straight when she pounds on the Stoptech Stage 2 system. Now Katie was not a fan of the stretched tyre a few years ago but as she continued to work on this project, it became very clear that a stretched tyre was going to set off the right amount of swagger. As she puts it “Opinions change.” With a temporary set of Gold Rota Grids, they are shod with 225/40/18 Potenza RE760 Sports. She wants a set of Works or Volks for permanent and legit status. This woman knows class!!
You may have also noticed the front flares do not match the back flares. That’s because the front are from a sedan. It’s different, it’s unique, it’s definitely cool on a wagon. She wants to do the back end with sedan flares as well. I can’t wait to see that! That front lip just eats up the concrete and sets off Rumble’s badass but super cute persona that matches that of Katie (my girlfriend’s words…not mine).
A fine piece of work right here in the Northwest. Katie and Ryan, with the extraordinary skillset of Tim “The Magician” Watt, have produced a game changer in how a Subaru is modified. Nw-built, NWAWD, and the entire car tuning community applauds.
Power
Helix Downpipe and Blitz Nur-Spec, 3″ catless
Perrin Up-Pipe
Perrin intercooler Y-pipe
Optima Redtop battery
Cobb AP v2 tuned
225 to the wheels on the Mustang Dyno(super conservative), 219 torque
Handling
BC Racing BR coilovers with Variable Ride Height system by Umbrella Auto Design
Swift Springs
Sti lower control arms
Whiteline steering bushings
Whiteline Wagon (quick release) rear strut bar
Cusco front strut bar
AD Motorsports FSB and Whiteline RSB (both 25mm)
Stoptech Stage 2 brakes – Pads, rotors, steel-braded lines
Kartboy Endlinks
18×9.5 +38 Rota Grids
225/40/18 Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport
Prodrive P7′s in gold for winter
Interior
Recaro SRD Seats
Pioneer AVH-P3200DVD
Polk front speakers and a Rockford Fosgate Sub
Red “JDM” hazard button
Exterior
Sedan conversion- Fenders, Bumper
Sti Splitters
Front lip
Painted side skirts
Rally Armor UR mud flaps
Hella Supertones
Blacked out and cleared headlights with led strips
HIDs
SPT Battery tie down
Debadged
Front plate delete thingy (technical name)
