JAW 818S Build

[jaw777]

My quick introduction: About 6 months ago my 15 year old son started bugging me to build a Factory Five 818. I owned a 66 mustang when I was 16 so I am more of a MK4 Roadster guy, but he convinced the 818 would be more fun… and cheaper. This is no small financial commitment for my family, but my best friend planted a seed in my head. This is probably the last chance I have at a father-son experience like this before he goes off to college and starts his own life. If we don't do it now, we never will. My wife was supportive so I just couldn't pass it up. I can't thank my wife enough for supporting me in this endeavor. No matter how much money I have or make, whatever goes to this car will have to come from somewhere.

We bought our 2002 WRX Wagon in March and ordered our kit. We got the parts stripped our donor car and are now getting things ready for when our kit arrives. It is due in early August 2014.

We have already made a few mistakes, which could have been avoided if I had started reading these build forums earlier. Parts you destroy in the process of learning can be very expensive.:mad: I am pretty decent with tools and have learned how to fix things with limited tools. Keeping my old mustang running and on the road with a shoestring budget was no small feat.

I feel like I already know many of you on the forums and I look forward to sharing my experience and questions. I will contribute to solutions when I can, but I am confident that there are a lot more knowledgable folks on here than myself. Thank you all in advance for answers and help you provide.

My first two questions:

1. I am replacing my wheel bearings. Do I need to keep the ABS ring on the hub if I do not plan to utilize the ABS? I assume not, but I do not want to have to take these hubs apart again.

2. Our donor had a lot of miles (224,000). I wasn't worried because next year's plan is to rebuild the engine. However, we destroyed a number of rusted/frozen suspension bolts getting this thing apart. Can someone recommend a good source for replacing the various suspension bolts that hold the control arms and hubs on?

Thank you again.

[svanlare]

Welcome aboard, I'm only a couple months into the build with my sons, but it has been a great experience so far.

I cannot see any reason to keep the ABS ring if you aren't using ABS. I'm keeping it, but it should be fine to leave off.

As for parts, I'm getting bolts etc from McMaster-car, but i expect Ace if better on a budget.
http://www.mcmaster.com

and I use opposedForces a lot but I haven't figured out a good way to translate part numbers to bolt sizes.
http://opposedforces.com/parts/

[Frank818]

This is probably the last chance I have at a father-son experience like this before he goes off to college and starts his own life. If we don't do it now, we never will.

Great way of thinking, absolutely right, jump on the last opportunity and feel the great (sometimes bad lol) memories for the rest of your both lives.



1. I am replacing my wheel bearings. Do I need to keep the ABS ring on the hub if I do not plan to utilize the ABS? I assume not, but I do not want to have to take these hubs apart again.

Trash 'em. There is no reason to keep these if you don't use ABS and it's more weight and rotating weight for nothing. Besides, it is SUPER easy to remove, it's not like a 1-day job just to shave off 500 grams.

[jaw777]

Thanks for the advice.

And thanks in advance to Rasmus for the step by step instructions for bearing replacement. That's the plan for the weekend. Soon to be followed by work on the wiring harness. I have been putting that off. That is a daunting task and not very exciting, but must dealt with at some point.

[jaw777]

Please help.

I pressed my front wheel bearings in and they seemed to work fine. I am running into some trouble in the rear. After pressing the knuckle onto the hub in the rear, the outer seal (next to the hub) is partially pressed into the knuckle. My question is do I need to find some way to work it into the knuckle or out so it rests against the hub. I assume in, but that has been a challenge so I thought I would ask for some advice before I force something and have to start over. If it goes in, any tips on how to accomplish this would be greatly appreciated.

My next question is that I ordered a bushing kit that includes the large bushing for the rear lower control arm. It appears that there is still a metal ring inside the control arm. Does it need to come our or is it part of the arm? It too seems to be pretty well fixed and I don't want to destroy the arm trying to remove something that does not need to come out.

Thank you

[jaw777]

30430

Engine with new timing belt, water pump, oil pump and plugs. New hoses and valve cover gaskets to be added.

Compression: 140, 150, 155, and 155 (More variance that I would like to see, but the engine rebuild is going to have to wait until next year.)

30431

Transmission cleaned up, painted and waiting on new clutch.

[jaw777]

My wife is the best. On top of supporting my 818 she bought me this beautiful box to keep all my new tools in!

30432

[jaw777]

Powder coated hubs with new bearings, seals, and bushings. New powder coated Powerstop brakes with new rotors and pads to follow. I will be replacing the emergency brakes and hardware, but I wanted to see if I could get them back together. It has been a while since I put drum brakes on and it is still a challenge if you don't take a picture.

30433


Powder coated front and rear control arms with new bushings. After reading reviews, I am not sure I would go with the polyurethane bushings again, but it is a race car. And if they fail, I will replace them with something better.

30434

I have a question about the rear lateral arms. I ordered the adjustable rear lower control arms with my kit, but I am not sure which OEM arms they replace. I assume that the arms with the extra bracket welded to them are the ones that I will need. If someone could confirm that for me I will order the last of my bushings and cut those brackets off. I will have to re-powder coat them, but I prefer the cleaner look.

New steering rack with new tie rod ends awaiting de-powering. I'm not sure if I will use the simple FFR method or the more thorough method. This is also something I may wait to do until the car is completed and I drive it.

30435

[Frank818]

About the lateral links, if you are talking about the FFR option that costs something like $130, I don't know which ones they replace. If you talk about ebay, you can get all 4 adjustable for around 100-120. But you have some washer grinding to do after that.

[jaw777]

Yes. I ordered the FFR ones. I am trying to figure out which ones they replace. Mine are fine, i just need to replace the bushings in the correct ones.

[jaw777]

Project Update - New harmonic balance, thermostat, valve cover gaskets, rear seal, exedy clutch. Engine and transmission put back together and waiting for the kit, which is about a month away.

31045

[jaw777]

And so it begins…

Spent tonight removing wire wrap and connectors. What a mess. The wiring harness is as dirty as the hubs.

31085

I plan to start by removing the airbag wiring, security system, anti-lock brakes, then A/C. I will review the threads on wiring, but if anyone has any tips to offer they will be appreciated.

[samuel]

Hi, where are you guys located? I am right there with you. I have an 02' Wagon with a 2.0 turbo. My kit should get here in August also. In the past 6 months I have been cleaning, painting and rebuilding stuff like brakes, suspension parts, steering rack, hubs and I am in the middle of trying to sort out the wire loom and electrics. I haven't got to the engine yet but there is a good thread called "simplifying the EJ." I need to read it a few times. I look forward to your thread updates. Sam

[jaw777]

We are in Edwardsville, Illinois (near St. Louis, MO). This project has been a lot of fun and I haven't even received the kit yet. We are starting to get anxious though.

[RM1SepEx]

Yes. I ordered the FFR ones. I am trying to figure out which ones they replace. Mine are fine, i just need to replace the bushings in the correct ones.

they replace the rear lateral links... allow easy toe adj. must have on early frames the eccentrics didn't allow proper toe.

[riptide motorsport]

Welcome, best father son project ever. Enjoy it, it will be the best bond you ever make....

[jaw777]

Yesterday was delivery day. We got one of the first red cars. It looks pretty cool. I think that it is odd that FFR didn't bother to contact me to let me know we were getting a red one. What if I had my heart set on a white one? No matter, the fun begins today.

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The guy from Stewart was awesome. When he called and scheduled my delivery time and found out I had to leave by 2:00, he promised to try to make it by noon. He made it and had the process down to help us get it off the truck and into my garage easily. Thanks Steve!

[Buzz Skyline]

Looks nice. I wanted red one, but my girlfriend wanted white. I think it's better for our relationship that we ended up with white.

Do you think you'll paint it? Or does it look good enough to be the final color?

[STiPWRD]

Congrats! I kinda wish they were offering red (or better yet black) ones when I ordered mine

[RM1SepEx]

serial #? Should be a great bonding project! My son and I built an electric reverse trike when he was a teen, he used it as his capstone project as a HS senior too

[jaw777]

I assume the serial number is the number on the sheet attached to the front It is 096367.

The car definitely looks good enough to drive without painting it. It will need some buffing and TLC though. We planned to paint it, but this way we may drive it for a while as a red car. Plus we have have been struggling with color choices. We have gone back and forth between gold metal flake, black, Ferrari red and Daytona racing blue metal flake. Red has always been stuck in my head even though we want it to be as unique as possible. This way we can see it in red and then try something else.

I am going through and inventorying everything now. This is a challenge for a novice. You don't always know what you are looking for and you have to determine some things through the process if elimination. I will be trying to get the parts to be powder coated out to the shop today to get that started.

This is a dream come true!

Another big thank you to my wife. She is giving up her kitchen remodel for a few more years so I can do this with my son.

[AZPete]

The serial number (chassis #) is stamped in the frame to the left of the steering wheel, by where the driver's knee will be. The last 3 numbers . . . probably 2xx? That's what we refer to here because they are consecutive build numbers, e.g. Dan's (RM1SepEx) is #17, mine is #25, so both very early. I think Dan is trying to figure when the first red body was started.

[Jaime]

I'm assuming it looks more red in person; red has a tendency to look different in different lighting. My red 2001 Dodge Ram used to look horrible under sodium lights.

[thall818]

Awesome! Congrats. Looks good in red.

[jaw777]

I had a couple missing parts. Luckily not much on back order. The red definitely looks better in person.

I don't have my serial number yet. I asked FFR about it when I called about my missing parts. They mail it after deliver now. I'll be sure to post it when I get it.

Thanks for all the support. The community here is as special as the cars we build.

[jaw777]

OK - I was incorrect on the serial number. My car is FFR100000244ES.

We got all of the parts off to the powder coater. We are going with anthracite grey. I am not sure how it will mesh with the black, but my son is colorblind and it is one of the colors he can see. If we don't like it I guess we can take it back apart and change it.

[Goldwing]

Inventory can be tough. Skip the ones you can't figure out. Then after you've identified everything you can, box by box, it's easier to ID the remaining pieces. For the couple remaining items after that, a call to FFR or a question here usually gets it all nailed down. I'm glad you're enjoying the process.

[K3LAG]

It's interesting that your chassis number starts with FFR, mine starts with F5R.

Larry

[jaw777]

Larry - You are correct. I memorized the number incorrectly and then punched it in when I got back in the house. It is F5R.