My friend has had his SVX for about 4 years I believe it is now. He has replaced the tranny 2 times and the flex plate 3 times. Actually, the Subaru dealer has done the work. It is really nice inside and the AWD is good for the snow, but it is slow. At Bandimere Speedway in Colorado he met up with a bunch of guys from the local SVX list, the best run of the night was 17.5 from the fwd car. All the AWD cars were running 18.1-18.5. Once they get going they are quite nice on the highway. over 100 is effortless and smooth. He luckily hasnt had the wheel bearing problem yet. Apparently that is one of the problems the car either has or it doesnt have. If you have the problem you will go through wheel bearings over and over again, if you dont have the problem your bearings will last forever.

As for that manual tranny swap, I think I remember reading that it is a WRX tranny. Is that right? It has been awhile since I payed any attention to it but I also remember that the tranny swap alone was good for over a second off the 1/4. As much of a dog as that car is off the line it really could benefit from the manual. Actually I bet a higher stall torque converter would help things also. Do they make upgraded SVX torque converters?

Whoa. Those are some not so great times.