Garage · the ledger
Twenty-six vehicles since the first licence, plus a few co-owned trucks that don't count but should. Bought at auction, inherited from a grandfather, traded for a boat, raced in a field near Bancroft. This is the record.
Currently
The DC2. Hand-ported B18C5 at 195 hp, close-ratio five-speed, helical LSD, seam-welded chassis, red Recaros. Ours arrived from a fellow enthusiast, got fresh mounts and bushings, painted bumper and wheels, and a set of proper mats hunted down online. A CarProof lives in the glovebox.
JDM spiritFWD8,400 rpm
The diesel one. 3B four-cylinder, leaf springs, factory hardtop. Bought during a lockdown winter with a friend doing the negotiating, towed twice, and now the centre of the long project: brakes, fluids, safety, body, underside, ARB lift, tires.
ProjectDiesel4x4
The coupe everyone wishes they had bought in 2005. Came with a set of Speedlines from Montreal and a parts car. Destined for World Rally Blue, STI seats, a roll bar and no more rust. Photo shows its yellow sibling; the GC8 is camera-shy until paint.
Planned buildAWDEJ25
The VA-chassis STI with the EJ257 that everybody warns you about. It did the thing. Engine options went on a spreadsheet: IAG, Crawford, Outfront, or a factory long block. See the project log for how that went.
Engine rebuild6MTDCCD
Ledger
Ordered by the year it showed up. Trades noted, race cars noted, scrap yard endings noted with respect.
| Acquired | Vehicle | Colour | Years | Exit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 1974 MG Midget | Red | 2008 to 2022 | Sold | The first proper enthusiast car. Chrome bumper, 1275 A-series, top down on a farm lane. Held onto for fourteen years. |
| 2009 | 1997 Jeep Wrangler TJ | Black | 2009 to 2015 | Sold | Rotten underneath by the end. Sold to someone who wanted to restore it after a first buyer backed out. |
| 2009 | 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 | White | 2009 to 2010 | Sold | Auction truck. Brakes gave up. Went to a landscaper. |
| 2010 | 2010 Mazda 3 hatchback | Black | 2010 to 2012 | Lease ended | The only lease on the list. Daily transport, no stories. |
| 2010 | 1992 Volvo 240 DL | Grey | 2010 to 2018 | Sold | Came from Port Hope. Sat on driveways for years, then sold to someone building a drift car. The brick lives on sideways. |
| 2011 | 1998 Panel van | White | 2011 to 2019 | Sold | Leftover from a mattress delivery side hustle. Parked on friends' lots for eight years before Facebook Marketplace found it a home. |
| 2012 | 1994 Jeep Cherokee XJ | Grey | 2012 to 2015 | Sold | Two-door. Sold on, then sold on again to people racing sand dunes. |
| 2013 | 2000 Acura Integra SE | Silver | 2013 to 2018 | Sold | A donated car bought from a rabbi. Sold for more than it cost. The gateway Integra. |
| 2013 | 2004 Subaru Forester XS | — | 2013 to 2022 | Sold | First Subaru. Nine years of winter duty. |
| 2014 | 1997 Toyota 4Runner | White | 2014 to 2016 | Traded | Broke, then traded to the shop for service credit. Peak barter. |
| 2014 | 1997 Toyota Paseo | White | 2014 to 2015 | Raced | Bancroft race car number one. Small, light, doomed. |
| 2015 | 1994 Acura Integra SE | Black / red | 2015 to 2016 | Raced | Bancroft race car number two. Better than the Paseo, which isn't saying much. |
| 2016 | 1974 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 | Dark green | 2016 to 2017 | Sold | Bought out of Ottawa on a day trip with two friends, a Jeep and a U-Haul trailer. Worklist written, then sold to one of the friends. |
| 2016 | 2008 Cadillac DTS | Silver | 2016 to 2020 | Written off | Grandfather's car. Routine maintenance, tires, some body work, then an accident and an insurance cheque. |
| 2016 | 2006 Chevrolet cargo van | White | 2016 to 2017 | Scrapped | Came from a tenant who owed money. Kept far too long. Scrap yard. |
| 2016 | 2001 Acura Integra Type R | Championship White | 2016 to now | — | The keeper. See above. |
| 2017 | 1995 Honda Civic | Black | 2017 to 2018 | Scrapped | Placeholder car. Someone lived in it for a while. Scrapped. |
| 2018 | 1981 Doral 16 ft bowrider | White / tan | 2018 to 2020 | Traded | Inherited from a friend's family estate. Two seasons of insurance and marina fees, then traded, boat and trailer, for a 1978 Pontiac. |
| 2019 | 2003 Subaru WRX "Spec R1" | Sonic Yellow | 2019 to 2023 | Sold | The bugeye build. Full mod list in the projects. Sold January 2023 to someone who'd been circling it for months. |
| 2020 | 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS | — | 2020 to now | — | GC8 coupe with Speedlines and a parts car. World Rally Blue is the plan. |
| 2020 | 2003 Honda Civic | Blue | 2020 | Traded | Auction car, towed twice, used as a parking placeholder, then traded for the tow of the GC8 parts car. |
| 2020 | 1978 Pontiac Grand Prix | Burgundy | 2020 to 2022 | Sold | Arrived via the boat trade. Dropped its transmission on a lift. Sold on. |
| 2020 | 1981 Toyota Land Cruiser BJ40 | Red | 2020 to now | — | The long project. Diesel. |
| — | 2000 Honda Civic SiR | — | — | — | B16 Civic, the EM1. Folder exists, photos pending. |
| — | Suzuki GSX-R | — | — | — | The two-wheel entry. VIN checked clean with the police database before purchase, which is the only paperwork that survived. |
| — | 2015 Subaru WRX STI | — | now | — | EJ257 rebuild in progress. See projects. |
Co-owned and not counted: a Lincoln pickup, two F-150s, a green Jeep TJ, an Audi A4 and a grey Mazda 3.
Where it started
2008. Chrome bumpers, a 1275 cc A-series, and a top that comes down in about forty seconds if the snaps cooperate. Fourteen years later it was still the car that made people stop and talk. Everything on this page traces back to it.
Community
JCru Moto is a crew of car people. Send us your builds, your favourite stretch of tarmac, or the thing in your garage that almost runs.