Harley's 818S

[Lumpyguy]

did you have anymore pics of your car assembled with the wheels on? I am just looking to see how yours wheel sizes fit to the body if you have it done. it seams like the +33 on the rear would push the wheel in word and you should have a 10mm inset to the body. do you have and front to back pics of how flush the wheels are to the body? Thanks

[flynntuna]

It's great to see Vman's design come to fruition. :cool:

[Harley818]

Finished my MR2 shifter and bell crank set up just to see how it works.
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but now that Mechie has his offered......

And finally have my dual exhaust set up bolted in. Now I need to add brackets to keep it supported.

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[Hindsight]

Another unique take on dual exhaust. Very nice! Sure wish we had another 12" or so of room to work with between the turbo and rear bumper.... such a short span to try to cram things in.

Looks like we have the same shifter cables.

[Harley818]

Yeah, there isn't much room to play with for exhaust. I laughed when I read your thread..... i went through the same mock-up about 30 times trying to find a way to fit it in. Not ideal, and different length for the one exhaust exit, but hey, its a street car. I wanted the dual exhaust look with the Vman back end... so now I have it!
And yes, i bought the control cables after reading somewhere that they had the tightest tolerances. So far they feel good, but I'm going to add mechies bellcrank rather than my own mock-up one. I think my length was a bit longer.... at around 85 or 85 inches. I go through the firewall where the trailing link attachment is and around the engine.

[Hindsight]

I wouldn't worry too much about the different lengths. That only really matters at the header. Once you are down to a single pipe and then split it up, it really won't make any difference. You'll have different flow coming out of each pipe but no one will notice and it won't matter. Going to look great when the rear is all finished up!

[Harley818]

OK, I'm back in the groove..... spent time 3 nights this week, last weekend twice, and the weekend before.

Installed the front wheelwells and aluminum around the rad, then the rear wheelwells, got the doors lined up, mocked up the shifter, installed the exhaust - finally, hooked up my gauges, and figured out how the dash is going to be laid out. Today I moved the radiator overflow tank so I can access it.

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[Frank818]

Yeah pretty tight on the exhaust but you did it!
No worries about heat on the FG?

[DSR-3]

Great looking build! Can I ask where you got the coolant port/cap/overflow unit in the 6th picture in post #257?

[Harley818]

Great looking build! Can I ask where you got the coolant port/cap/overflow unit in the 6th picture in post #257?
Sourced it from Frozen boost along with all the AWIC parts. Its part of the coolant for the AWIC, not the main rad coolant. For the main coolant, I did the Wayne mod to the pressure tank, then overflow to the WRX stock overflow tank located just off the frame in the fifth picture in the post above.


Yeah pretty tight on the exhaust but did you it!
No worries about heat on the FG?
I'm going to wrap the exhaust along the bumper, and add a protection ring at the exit of the mesh........ whenever I get to it. I have to add the exhaust support first.

[Harley818]

Finally, an update.
Been working on getting the aluminum riveted in around the front end rad and wheelwells, nothing exciting to show there.
Also been working on my console. Got it mocked in place to ensure it fits, then did some carbon fiber film.
I'm going to use my donor console and some of the pieces in the middle.
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I didn't like the colour of the prosport gauge trim rings, so I painted them flat black.

Also installed a turbo blanket. Couldn't find a reasonable priced one to fit, so I just bought a prosport generic blanket and cut it to fit. Fits great. Hope it lasts. I'm going to to wrap my muffler and exhaust as well to keep the temps down.
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For some reason the pics are rotating during upload..?

[wallace18]

Looking Good!

[07FIREBLADE]

Looks good. Love how the center console is turning out. Do you have any more pics with it installed. Trying to gauge how much depth it has once installed. Do you happen to have any pictures on how you mounted it too?

[Harley818]

Console isn't installed yet but i do have a couple brackets that will bolt to the FFR crossbar, and to the center tunnel steel.

[Mechie3]

I've never seen or used these blankets but they're made in Cincinnatti and specific for TD04 or VF turbos.

http://www.thermalzero.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=category&virtuemart_category_id=35

[Harley818]

I'm happy with the one I got from Prosport - T3
Its a bit longer than I needed but once I cut about 2 inches off, it fit perfect.

http://prosportgauges.com/turbo-blankets.aspx

[Bob_n_Cincy]

I've never seen or used these blankets but they're made in Cincinnatti and specific for TD04 or VF turbos.

http://www.thermalzero.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=category&virtuemart_category_id=35

Those guys are only a few miles form my house. As soon as I get the 818 back on the road, I will stop and see what they have.

I have a cheap ebay blanket that is falling apart already.
Bob

[Frank818]

Man that's a nice console, I really love the CF and the gauge locations, that's so damn wise!

[Harley818]

Thanks Frank,
little victories add up. My CF was only 6 in wide so I had to overlap. It applies quite easily especially with some heat.

taking a break for 2 weeks. Hiking Machu Picchu then going to the Amazon Jungle for a week with my wife and some friends,
Hope we survive!!

[Loring]

Good luck!

Looking forward to pictures.

[Frank818]

That's a trip I've been having in my head for a long time.

[Harley818]

Been doing little bits and pieces....
Got the front lights and fenders to fit better, got the wiring wrapped up a bit nicer, then received a package from Mechie....

Took about 30 mins to fit the shifter parts, and the feel is very nice and direct. Just what I was hoping for.
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I also received the trunk hinges from Mechie, but that will be next weeks project. Out of town again all week..... not allowing me to progress much.

[Vman7]

Harley, I got a chance to check out your thread today :) Looks like you have a lot going on. The new rear looks great! Really well done. I hope everything works out for you being a vendor and being able to sell some new rear panels :) Maybe help you make some side money to help offset your build some.

David

[Harley818]

Well, I've been able to grab bits of time here and there, so time for an update.

I worked on my wiper over the last few weeks, starting with the set up that Lumpyguy used.
Mine sits a bit lower for some reason, but I have full sweep, and I can use the hood as is without cutting the fiberglass. I may need to take a little off the fiberglass return, but not cut into the hood.

I ended up with a 5 1/8 in arm from the motor to the wiper pivot to get full sweep. I used the longest wiper from the standard 2002 WRX.

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anyone wants other measurements, just contact me.

[Hindsight]

Thanks for posting this. I am planning on doing mine this weekend so your post is very timely! Do you have a pic of the bottom, by chance? Did you have to change the length of both arms?

[Harley818]

Thanks for posting this. I am planning on doing mine this weekend so your post is very timely! Do you have a pic of the bottom, by chance? Did you have to change the length of both arms?

Hindsight, I cut off the second arm pivot and welded on an angle as an attachment point. Then I took one of the moving arms and cut it down to 5 1/8 in. and attached it between the drive motor and the wiper pivot.

Here's a couple more pics from the bottom.

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Harley

[Hindsight]

Excellent thanks. So you only changed the length of the arm in the middle, and the other two arms remained the same?

[Harley818]

yes, I left the motor arm and pivot arms as is. I only modified the linkage length.
I tried out the new length before welding. I moved the wiper to the start position and marked the angle on the pivot. Then moved the wiper to the fully opposite location on the drivers side. When in this position, I measured the distance between the two ball joints. 5 1/8 in. I cut the two pieces to make the 5 1/8 in., inserted a 3/8 thread, and taped it with duct tape. Then I moved the motor linkage by hand through its full travel to see how the wipe travel worked out.
First try was perfect.

Hope this helps.

[Hindsight]

Yes very, very helpful. Thank you!

[Harley818]

I'll be using your aluminum angle idea on my door panels.....thanks for the idea. Looks good.

[Harley818]

Been doing a little work on installing a heater. We don't need A/C here....

Bought the Vintage Air Gen II unit from Summit.

Basically just a heat exchanger, in a nice neat package.... 10 x 10 x 6 in. Comes with three control knobs for temp, heater/defog switch ( 3 position), and 3 blower speeds. The kit includes the hoses and defroster vents.

There is quite a bit of room below the top dash surface and I wanted to mount it as high as possible to allow the air to feed both passenger and driver side when on heat mode. I made a couple brackets from the back and mounted it as high as I could.

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I didn't like the switch mounting bracket the sent, so I made my own and transferred the switches and the function decals.
Then integrated into the console.

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I'm going to run the car for a while first, then hook up the heater once everything else is working well.
Fits in great......
edit...damn the pics rotated again!!

[Harley818]

working on headlights and posted on the headlight thread. now posting here as well.

Adding Minimoto HID projector lenses and LED halos!!

first - found a utube video showing how to take apart the headlights. Bake in the oven for 7 mins at 270 F. Pull apart.

unscrewed the reflector and disconected the ball joints.
For details see headlight thread.
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?16429-Headlight-Thread&p=243616#post243616

Now adding LED halos.
Once I seal up the lenses i'll try to mount and see how alignment is.

[07FIREBLADE]

I would check your alignment before you seal up the lenses. It's easier to rotate the projector. Using both hands even if you get a rough alignment it's better than taking the lenses apart multiple times. Also of your not comfortable using the oven because all ovens are different you could use a heat gun and slowly work your way around the light.

[Harley818]

I was looking at your suggestion for this from before, but I don't think I can set my headlights in final position unless I have the front lenses installed...... so I am putting the lenses on without sealing, then after I adjust it all, I'll seal it up and then re-check alignment.
Good advice though, just hard to do.
I don't have much distance in my garage to check alignment either....

[Canadian818]

Really looking forward to seeing how these turn out! Take lots of pics.

[Harley818]

Things have been going slow on the car for the last while. I just realized that although I have been reading and posting a bit in other threads, mine has been neglected for the last 9 mo.

I've been chipping away at things, but never seem to get the time to take pics and post. I've been travelling a lot for work, so I'm not around a lot, and time is a premium when I get time to work on it.

In any case, I'm getting close to registering the car, so I have a few things to complete.

I had completed my dual exhaust, but it was 1/2 in too wide on one side.... so I had to cut it and ask my friend to reweld it. That took longer than I thought as he was pretty busy.
Now its in and is perfect, so I started the car again after about a year.
It fired right up just like it was running yesterday. Ran it till the coolant was fully circulating and thermostat was open, and rad fans coming on at 207 degrees.
I had my Cobb AP hooked up so I could monitor temps during the warm-up.
Everything looked good.


The other thing that had been lingering is the headlight install. I got frustrated with aligning them with the body, so I took them out. Getting the hood, fenders, and front bumper set up was a breeze without the lights. I plan to put them in from below and set them up so I can adjust them up and down to get the projection at the right level.
Today, I tested the headlights to make sure they worked correctly. I had added in the projector lenses and Halos.
I guess my wiring is good as they all worked as planned.

I finally added in the LED flasher from FFR.
Thought I would document it here as I haven't seen any details on the forum yet.
This is the 2002 signal Hazard flasher
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You just pull out the black portion and plug in the LED flasher from FFR. Then connect the ground to a local ground.
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While I was at it, I thought it might help someone to post the map of fuses on the fuse block. This is from a 2002.
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[07FIREBLADE]

Hey Harley did you still want the reverse lights? Good to hear you are making some progress. Some is better than none. I'm in the same boat you are in. It's been 1 yr almost and my car looks pretty much the exact same way it did last year when I went to the HB show. It's sorta depressing

[Harley818]

yes, I sent you a PM. Need your email to send PayPal.

[Harley818]

Installed my speakers and door panels a while ago.
I'll post door panel pics in the next few days, but here is the speaker placement.
Polk Audio 5.25 with tweeters mounted separately.
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Mounted the crossover inside the door
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Here is the interior now. Still have to add the carbon fibre wrap to the inset panel by the door latch.
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[Harley818]

Here's how I mounted my door panels.

I tried mounting them with the panel overlapping the fibreglass door, but I didn't like the way it looked and it didn’t give much clearance for the door swing. Also, like Aloha, I wanted a more OEM look to the door.

I'm sure there are a lot easier ways to do this, but I'm happy with the result.

I got my first inspiration from Hindsight and the aluminum strips he put on the inside of the fiberglass to provide a strip to screw the panel to. I glued one aluminum angle along the top, but also cut and glued aluminum angle along the door near the latch and down across the bottom. I used methacrylate to glue the aluminum to the fiberglass. it will never come loose. The fibreglass will delaminate before the bond breaks.


First, I cut off the door panel return on the table saw. I just set the guide so it was the thickness of the panel and went slow.
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Then I cut the aluminum angle strips to size, and carefully glued, and clamped them in place. I had to cut the angle so it would bend to conform to the door curve.
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Once the aluminum angles were cured, I placed the door panels on the door, and drilled the pilot holes for the screws, drilled and tapped them for 10-24 screws, and screwed the panel in place.
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Last item was to trim the outside of the panel to match the door shape.
The front of the panes is secured with 3- 10-24 nut inserts into the front aluminum angle provided by FFR.

Worked great, and gave me lots of clearance to the door sill.

[Canadian818]

Looking good! How's your door gap? I really like the small slot you were able to use to clear the striker post, I had to trim to clear the entire striker.

[Harley818]

Looking good! How's your door gap? I really like the small slot you were able to use to clear the striker post, I had to trim to clear the entire striker.

My door gap is pretty minimal. I used a paint stir stick per the suggestions in this forum. I couldn't get that with the door panel overlapping the door, and I didn't like the big gaps I had, hence my method of securing the door panel.

I'll take some pics tonight and post them. Sorry to hear you have to rebuild the rotary.

[Harley818]

Finally finished my dual exhaust.
recently had to cut and reweld it to get the right spacing to the body cutouts.
I also added the left side support. Supports vertically but can move forward and back if the tranny moves.
I found some nice trim rings that finish off the raw pipe cuts in the exit pipes.
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I pulled off all the panels so I could do a wheel alignment.
So I figured this was a good time to go over all the wiring, brake lines and coolant lines, AWIC lines to neaten it all up.
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heater lines
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I ran the AWIC lines down one side, and the heater coolant lines down the other side. Not much room left going through from the side into the front LCA area.
I insulated the coolant line on the AWIC side so they wouldn't absorb any excess heat.

[Harley818]

Yesterday I did my alignment.
I hadn't been planning to do it, but was motivated by a few here who did it.

I posted an alignment process in the suspension section, so take a read.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?24402-Alignment-Process-for-the-818S&p=278801&viewfull=1#post278801 (http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?24402-Alignment-Process-for-the-818S&p=278801&viewfull=1#post278801)

I had one LCA mounted wrong, so had to pull that apart to get the squiggly down.
But since I had all the body panels off, it wasn't too hard.

I used the string method which seemed to work quite well.

One question though, what is the correct length for the lateral links? My old wagon rear lateral links measured 16 1/8 in center to centre, but others here reported it was 15.75 in.
I used the 15.75 measurement since I had the wagon links and I thought the shorter ones were the ones FFR used for design. Not sure. Does anyone know?
I have the adjustable ones now, so I can just re-set the length and re-align.
But, now my wheel is touching the trailing link, so I think I'd rather use the longer length.

[Frank818]

Finally finished my dual exhaust.
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Really sad, those 2 links ain't working.

[Harley818]

Really sad, those 2 links ain't working.

Frank,
Nothing a little cutting and welding can't fix.
I'm kind of resigned to it anyways.

But I still need to know how long the lateral links need to be......


Harley

[Frank818]

Sorry I meant the links as "URLs" are not working, not the links as "lateral links". lolll Although yes it's sad to see your length problematic but in the 1st place I meant the URLs/attachments you posted don't work. :)

[Harley818]

OK Frank, sorry, I misunderstood.
I reposted one, but you can only have 10 images per post, so I'll have to repost the second one in another post.

[Harley818]

So I just re-measured my old links from the 2002 WRX wagon, and they were 16 1/8 in long.
When I did my alignment back in post #294, I used 15.75 in. per someone on the forum. My tires were rubbing on the trailing links

I reset the rear link to the 16 1/8 in. then re-did the string method alignment.
Its amazing how fast it goes after you did it already for the first time.
Took less than an hour to re-align the rear with the new lateral link lengths.

this is my process for aligning the rears:
Set the rear lateral link to the correct length.
Set the front link to approximate toe in of 1/8 in.
check that the lateral links are level & adjust with the long upper trailing link (level is important to eliminate roll steer)
Set the camber to - 0.75 degrees
Re-check and reset if necessary - toe in to 1/8 in each side (measured at the outer tire diameter using a flat angle)
re-check the camber.
Tighten up all lock nuts
Check toe in, level between lateral links, and camber again.
Done

Now I have 3/16 to 1/4 in. clearance from tire to trailing links.
I'm happy.

[Harley818]

Submitted my application for my BC VIN today.
After calling in 3 times to try to get the right story, I finally had someone today who sounded like they knew the rules......
Now I am holding my breath...... hoping BC is better than Quebec..... EH Frank?

[Frank818]

It is! :)
Congrats on getting your VIN even if you don't have it yet, it's gonna be a piece of cake anyway so it's as if you already have it. :)

Couple of calls, complaining and someone will know what to do to let you go off on the road.

You've completed everything on the car yet or you got some left?

[Harley818]

I have everything on the car now, but only to get it passed.
Then I plan to drive it and finish the bodywork and make it look good.

[Harley818]

Still waiting for my VIN..... here's a few pics of the car. Looks pretty good in my view, but you can see that I still have to finish off the trunk so it lays down flat, and I haven't done the hood pins there yet..... Then the rest of the mesh for the vents, and finally.... finish the bodywork.

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I want to drive it!!!!!!

[Hindsight]

Looks great! Is that the gel coat? Because if so, it looks incredible. Better than mine and mine isn't really that bad.

[AZPete]

Yes, Harley, it looks great! I found that my trunk conformed to fit after I secured the corners down. After a while, the fiberglass learns.

[RM1SepEx]

Lookin good! Gravity helps a ton, I used 5 qt oil containers and gallon jugs to help form the body, use the Sun too.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Still waiting for my VIN
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I want to drive it!!!!!!

Hey Harley,
Looking good.

I want to hear what the exhaust sounds like. With un-equal headers and un-equal tail pipes. Will we get DOUBLE RUMBLE?
Bob

[wirenut]

So I just re-measured my old links from the 2002 WRX wagon, and they were 16 1/8 in long.
When I did my alignment back in post #294, I used 15.75 in. per someone on the forum. My tires were rubbing on the trailing links

I reset the rear link to the 16 1/8 in. then re-did the string method alignment.
Its amazing how fast it goes after you did it already for the first time.
Took less than an hour to re-align the rear with the new lateral link.

16 1/8" measures center hole to center hole? I got rid of my old lateral links before I measured.��

Car looks really great!!! I'm with Bob, let's hear it!

[Frank818]

Don't worry, waiting isn't that bad. Take it cool, 1 beer per hour of wait and all will be fine.

I like the huge rear openings.

[Harley818]

16 1/8" measures center hole to center hole? I got rid of my old lateral links before I measured.��

Car looks really great!!! I'm with Bob, let's hear it!

Yes 16 1/8 was what I measured from my wagon lateral links.

[Harley818]

Hey Harley,
Looking good.

I want to hear what the exhaust sounds like. With un-equal headers and un-equal tail pipes. Will we get DOUBLE RUMBLE?
Bob


OK, I'll take a video ..... it does sound good at idle.
I haven't been able to try it out at full load under boost yet....

Later this week.

[Harley818]

Looks great! Is that the gel coat? Because if so, it looks incredible. Better than mine and mine isn't really that bad.


yeah, just the gelcoat. I'm going to go with the corvette grey..... once I drive it for a bit.

[Harley818]

Thought I would update my front lights install.
I mentioned before that the drivers side went in pretty easily. The passenger side didn't fit. It was too tight between the fender and the bumper with the FFR supplied mounting tray.
I spent a lot of time on trying to get it to fit and ended up just taking the lights out, aligning all the pieces of the fenders, hood and bumper to where i wanted them.
Then I installed the headlight and tray from the bottom.
Here's how I did it......
I had to end up cutting the top plastic angle mount from the light housing, and I cut the top lip off the FFR headlight tray at the back.
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With the headlight in the tray, it actually goes into place quite easily from the bottom (with the wheels off and I waited to install the last piece of wheel-well tin for the front).
To secure the bottom, I bonded a piece of PVC plastic to the Front bumper just below the light tray. I drilled and tapped a couple locations for crews, and added another piece of PVC to act as a clamp to hold the lower portion of the tray.
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Then with the lights and tray in place, I located the correct height for the back of the light tray to attach to the FFR fibreglass at the back of the light.
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I did a quick check of the elevation of the light projection and cutoffs and it looks good. I'll have to do some detailed measurements in the next couple weeks.

I have the ability to adjust the bucket up or down a bit.....and shim the projector if I need a bit more.

[svanlare]

I'm currently fighting with the lights so thanks for the photos.

[Harley818]

My car is Registered, has Plates, and is on the ROAD!!!!

My FIRST drive other than down the street for a block was 45 Km (about 30 miles). I was really nervous, but the car performed perfectly. Its hot here now, about 80 - 90 deg F. and the engine kept to about 190 up to 207 where the fans kicked on. The AWIC temp stayed around 80 - 90 about 5 above ambient while driving, but rose to 105 when sitting or in heavy traffic. After stopping for a while, and some heat soak, it quickly cooled down to 90's again when driving.

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In BC, they attach a VIN plate for the Province, and also stamp the VIN on the frame under the front hood.

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I'll post a new thread under registration for the Province of British Columbia..... went pretty easily but lots of paper (sorry Frank... you should register here)

As far as the car goes.....Wow! is all I can say. This car rocks!
I am breaking in the engine, so taking it easy, but it sounds awesome and good acceleration. Corners like its on rails.
I am happy with all my choices for wheels, tires, AWIC, steering wheel etc.
Just have white gelcoat for now, but planning to paint in October. I still have to clean up the joints and edges.

After 3+ years of fun working on it, and learning lots .... this feels awesome.

Now I know what you early finishers felt like. I'm driving it to work daily, and after work for fun......

I didn't like the blow off valve I bought from Frozen boost. Couldn't hear anything above the constant Whoosh and Psssssst. Made an adapter last night and now have the stock Subaru Air/Air blow off valve. Sounds better.

Brakes...... not happy with the pedal effort.... so now looking back through those threads and will upgrade the pads first, then maybe the master cylinder to the Nissan one.... then ???

I'll try to post a video so you can hear it....

Thanks to all who have posted on this forum.... you provided me with helpful information, product options, vendors, and links to products I didn't know about. You helped me get here.

and last but not least..... lots of looks .....and lots of "whats that... that's cool"

[AZPete]

Congrats on this big milestone. I chuckled at you saying you were really nervous on the first drive because I know that feeling. At first, every pebble and tar strip caused my heart to miss a beat - "Oh no, what's that?" - then relief that there are no parts or smoke in the rear view mirror. Gradually, after longer and longer trips, you'll get confident in your work. Next, you'll look down at guys driving Ferraris, Maseratis, Corvettes, etc. as "all he did was write a check". The third level is over-confidence as you think you can build anything . . . I'm looking for a space shuttle kit now.

[Frank818]

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! !!!!!!

I gave the girl at your DMV a call last week and offered her some sex, looks like it helped! I told her how ****ing wicked it was in QC and she quickly apologized and said you'd get your plate soon.


We want more feelings of how it is on the roads.

[Frank818]

The third level is over-confidence as you think you can build anything . . .

Yeah, that's true, however it could be before registration! I already have that confidence. I can build and register anything anywhere (except in QC I don't know yet, but anywhere else I know I can with both fingers up my nose).

[Harley818]

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! !!!!!!

I gave the girl at your DMV a call last week and offered her some sex, looks like it helped! I told her how ****ing wicked it was in QC and she quickly apologized and said you'd get your plate soon.


We want more feelings of how it is on the roads.

Hoping it comes in for you.....soon.

As for the driving, the road feel is awesome! I think I said that. I'm really happy with the NRG steering wheel and adapter I bought. Feels good but its a bit of arm wrestling when parking, but great once you have any speed.
One annoyance is that the signal lights don't cancel..... I have to figure that out. Anyone have any ideas?
Also, little rocks picked up by the tires end up on the door step sill. not a big deal and should be taken care of when I put on the last pieces of wheelwell tin.

I was worried I would have a lot of noise from the moving body panels. I made sure I caulked and riveted or bolted everything and looks like it paid off.
No rattles or vibrating yet. I plan to use locktite when I put the body panels in "permanently" after paint. .....no laughing out there..... I know they won't be on permanently.
Actually, I have had them off enough times that its not really a big deal if you need access for some reason. Just takes 15 - 30 mins to get a couple panels off.

I'll post more as I continue driving.
And I guess I have to sign up to utube to upload a video. did I mention it sounds great!

[Frank818]

Hoping it comes in for you.....soon.

The sex with that DMV girl or car registration? You should be specific, man. lolll


One annoyance is that the signal lights don't cancel..... I have to figure that out. Anyone have any ideas?

Oh yeah, a couple of people, including me, fabed up something to make them cancel.
Oh god that's almost 3 years ago for me but it's on my build thread with pictures. Try june to september 2014 or may to september 2015. If you can't find let me know.



Also, little rocks picked up by the tires end up on the door step sill. not a big deal and should be taken care of when I put on the last pieces of wheelwell tin.

From where do you think the rocks picked up?


I was worried I would have a lot of noise from the moving body panels. I made sure I caulked and riveted or bolted everything and looks like it paid off.

That's great, my worry is that the fglass panels will get stressed by frame flex and will then crack, not rattle. I can't decide if I should tighten the bolts a lot (prone to cracking) or less (prone to unbolting).

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Great Job Harley!!!
Have fun
Bob

[RM1SepEx]

AZPete worked up a short tutorial on the cancelling lights, you need to adapt the plastic part that cancels the blinkers and adapt it to your NRG wheel and adapter. Not difficult, photos on our threads... sorry I can't give more info right now, about to drive up to Loring AFB to autocross for the weekebnd! Sadly my 818 made it up last year, this year I'm running the shifter karts only

[Harley818]

I must have missed that as an issue.... I'll go back and look.
Thanks for the info.

[Harley818]

OK, I can build a car.... but need my son to show me how to upload to utube...... haha.

Finally..... here is a video.... my first day on the road.... legally.

https://youtu.be/S-mUhQdgFjk

since this video, i have replaced the frozen boost blow off valve with the stock Subaru BO valve. Now less whoosh and psssst from inside the car, but still more than I want.
From the street.... it still sounds awesome.

OK, now with my new utube skill, I'll take some more from inside the car. The burble is very Subaru......

[Frank818]

We learn a lot of new things from building a car, right Harley? :)

[Harley818]

So today, after 500 km of engine break in this week, trying desperately to keep the revs below 4000, (300 miles for you south of the border), I'm changing the oil and checked all the bolts on the suspension etc.
Oil looked pretty clean, so hopefully all is good there.
I went over the whole vehicle, and for the rest of the bolts and connections, everything was OK, except the shifter mechanism bolts somehow worked loose, and that explains why my fifth gear shift was getting hard to find.
No oil, trans, or coolant leaks anywhere.
No sign of wear on the tubing, hoses or electrical....

Also, for some reason, my windshield bolts were loose.
All suspension and body panel bolts were good.

I would have thought that the body panel screws would have worked loose, but I have absolutely NO squeaking, or vibrating or other annoying noises.
I am very happy with the fit and finish and keeping it together so far.

[Frank818]

I also think the body panels will rattle, get loose or crack, with all the stress put on some areas where it wasn't possible to relieve that stress... Good news the bolts don't loosen.

Those of the windshield that's not very good, were they torqued at 75lbft? I noticed the weight of the windshield is quite in the back so it tends to tilt down, even with 4 bolts.

[AZPete]

The 2013 thread about steering wheel and turn signals that Dan referenced is:

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?12759-FFR-Steering-wheel-installed

I updated it so now it is near the top .

[Harley818]

I also think the body panels will rattle, get loose or crack, with all the stress put on some areas where it wasn't possible to relieve that stress... Good news the bolts don't loosen.

Those of the windshield that's not very good, were they torqued at 75lbft? I noticed the weight of the windshield is quite in the back so it tends to tilt down, even with 4 bolts.

I don't think they loosened.... probably my mistake in not torquing them properly.

[Harley818]

The 2013 thread about steering wheel and turn signals that Dan referenced is:

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?12759-FFR-Steering-wheel-installed

I updated it so now it is near the top .


Thanks Pete, I'll take a look.
I hate it when someone else doesn't signal or leaves it on.... and its even worse when you find out its been on for 5 mins since the last turn.

[Harley818]

OK, ......Dyno session today.

Have you ever heard that phrase...."you learn something new every day"? That was my day.

Took the car to Racing Greed here, a local shop. RetroRacing said they seemed to be pretty good, and there aren't a lot of other options around.
.... and guess who's car was also in the shop...... a nice blue 818R.

Racing Greed is a Cobb tuner, so that was good too.
Tommy, the owner did the work, and this was my first dyno tuning session, so it was interesting to see the process.
7211472115

Well, for starters, I had the wrong gas. I didn't have the highest octane premium so we ran the engine and looped the return line into a gas tank till it was empty (but before the pump ran out of fuel - didn't want to cavitate the pump). Then I took it to the gas station to fill with 94 octane. Apparently, its not as good as what you Americans have. He said its about the same as your 91 octane, but it does contain additives to prevent detonation....which is what we needed.

OK, good to start tuning.....

Got the car all set up, started tuning, and Tommy found that at higher RPM we were getting a misfire.
Pulled the plugs and replaced with new ones. He said that the Subaru engines perform with a hotter spark with the normal plug, not the iridium ones I had installed (could have saved a few bucks there). Still misfire.
Pulled the coil wires one by one and found cylinder #1 wasn't firing. Uh-oh.
Switched the coils. Same problem - still #1.
Spark checked on both.
Switched the injectors. Same problem - still #1.
Traced the wiring for the injector back to the ECU....... hmmmmm..... one wire wasn't connected. Added a jumper from the ECU to the injector.
That was it..... now back in business.
AND...... lots more power. Interesting how 4 cylinders is better than 3!!
72116
72117

During the dyno pulls, he couldn't get the boost controller to work at all. I used the one from my donor. Could be the controller, or the wiring. So rather than waste more time, we agreed to just finish the tune as he had another appointment coming in, and he didn't have a replacement controller in stock. He is going to order me a Cobb 3 port controller, and we will re-tune it in a couple weeks.

In the meantime, I definitely have way more power than coming in, although Tommy says its limited to 9psi boost until we replace the controller. This will give me time to find out if its another wiring problem. Apparently I now have 220 Rwhp, and he says I should be able to get another 40 with the new boost controller working correctly.

Tommy said the engine AWIC worked amazing in his view, and he LOVED the feel of the car during the test run on the street. He tunes a lot of WRX, and says the stock TMIC do not cool enough and he usually has to tune around the engine temperature. With mine, he says its no problem and he can ignore it. With the fan in front of the car, doing multiple pulls, it stayed down around 100 degrees with 85 F ambient.

All in all, in my view it was a great day. Learned a lot, and came out with more power, with the assurance of more to come.
After all that work over 3 years.... and it was only one wire and an old boost controller????
I'm happy with that!

[Frank818]

I was expecting to see a picture of the dyno figures. :)

RetroR is in Canada??

Wow I'm impressed about 94!! Was it PetroCan? Our PetroCan's 94 feels better than US's 91, tested on my bike.


Oh my god, you were running on 3 that whole time for weeks and months??
Tuning sessions always find issues in an engine (or exhaust, like it was my case 12yo).


So.......... about those numbers? lolll

[Frank818]

Where did you tie down the front and rear straps on the frame?
Going in on Monday, for dyno.

[Harley818]

just responded to your thread......lol

[Harley818]

I was expecting to see a picture of the dyno figures. :)

RetroR is in Canada??

Wow I'm impressed about 94!! Was it PetroCan? Our PetroCan's 94 feels better than US's 91, tested on my bike.


Oh my god, you were running on 3 that whole time for weeks and months??
Tuning sessions always find issues in an engine (or exhaust, like it was my case 12yo).


So.......... about those numbers? lolll

Yeah, RetroR is local here near Vancouver.
I only have a verbal on the 220 RWHP...... no point asking for a graph and numbers now.
I'm happy to wait till we get the boost controller installed.
And I only got the car on the road on Monday last week, so only 600Km on 3 cylinders.....

[Frank818]

220, about 250bhp, not bad. What boost? 7?

[Harley818]

220, about 250bhp, not bad. What boost? 7?

he said its limited to 9 without a functioning boost controller.

[Frank818]

It'll be interesting to see what you get with a functioning boost ctrler. Any milestone in mind for next run?

[Harley818]

I have to chase a couple wiring gremlins, and some shaking on the front end at 100km/hr (feels like tire imbalance), so probably a couple weeks.... Sept sometime for the next Dyno session.

I get to play with my newfound powerband for a while.

[Frank818]

You mean the newfound cylinder. :)

[RetroRacing]

Great to hear! Tommy is great, glad you had a positive experience.

Ours, not so good, bearing failure again before it even hit the dyno. Taking it down to the builder to fix. Running out of time.

[Harley818]

Could it be remnants of bearing from the previous failure..... coming from the rest of your oil cooling system?
I would assume you cleaned that out pretty good or replaced the parts/hoses etc.
Once the remnants are in , they are hard to get out...

[RetroRacing]

We cleaned the hell out of everything, but that's what we thought as well.

[Harley818]

The 2013 thread about steering wheel and turn signals that Dan referenced is:

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?12759-FFR-Steering-wheel-installed

I updated it so now it is near the top .

Thanks Pete.

Here is what I have.
Pic of the copper spring that runs on the back of the NRG adapter. Two for redundancy. So far still springy.
72455


Here is a pic of the inside of the turn mechanism looking down the steering shaft.
If you look closely, you will see a small white square item protruding from the turn signal side. Compared to the previous picture where there is no white item.
72454

When you turn left it pops out and allows turning left, but cancels when the wheel turns right.
When you turn right, the white square protrudes but allows turning right, and cancels when the wheel turns left.

This is the back of the NRG adapter.
72456

This is the plastic device that mounted inside the WRX steering column, but connected to the steering wheel.
72457
When you turn the steering wheel, it hits the white piece and cancels the signal.
So I need to somehow adapt from this black sleeve to the NRG adapter.

Hmmmmm..... I'll need to think about that, but I'm hoping a thin sleeve will work.

[wirenut]

Not sure if this will work for you, but check out ninjanick's solution. Post #110 in his build thread. http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?16584-Ninjanick-s-818S-Build-Thread&p=219384&viewfull=1#post219384

Also, he posted the file to print his adapter here. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1185548

[Harley818]

Thanks wirenut...... this is exactly what I need.
Now I'm off to google a 3D printer somewhere here......

[wirenut]

Awesome! I'm pretty sure you can have it printed from a vendor on thingverse. Shouldn't be more than $10 or so...

[Harley818]

I got home last night and couldn't source a 3D printer in Vancouver on google.
Who would have thought?
So I made my own part.
PVC pipe pressed on to the hub of the nrg spacer, then pressed on the modified Subaru part that I cut down.
Very solid.
7268072681

I'll post a picture when I'm back at the computer

Edit: added pictures. And of course after this, I found a guy to print my file, and now may also have a 3D printed part if this mod fails......

[Harley818]

Time for another update on here......

Brakes....
As I mentioned when I first started driving the car, I wasn't impressed with the ceramic stoptech brakes that I had in originally. It took a lot of pedal effort, and I could not lock the brakes up unless I stood full pressure on the pedal, and then it was hard.

So I read up on a few threads, talked to Wayne, and ended up purchasing some EBC yellows. Tamra also recommended these saying they were night and day.
Well, I installed them a couple days ago, and even though I am still breaking them in, I can get full lock up. Apparently it takes about 800 - 1000 miles to fully bed them in.
However, I'm already satisfied, and if they get better, awesome.

I have a little freeplay at the top of the brake pedal, so I need to work out a longer connection between the pedal and the master cylinder. Its adjusted so the rod it extended to the max, and I still have a bit of freeplay. Just need a longer rod.
As I mentioned above, I also fixed the annoying lack of self cancelling signal lights..... now it works great.

Vibration at speed.....
I have a bit of vibration in the car that is not evident until around 95 - 100 Km/hr. so I am thinking its wheel balance. The XXR's with Maaxis tires came pre-balanced from America's wheels, but who knows how good they were balanced. I'll have to get them re-checked as it does shake at that speed. Once you get over 130 Km/hr its not bad.
I'm hoping its not the rack, as I didn't do anything to the stock rack except depower it. There is a small amount of freeplay at center but not noticeable while driving.

AWIC....
The AWIC keeps the air under control and cool despite the high temps here in Vancouver. I am monitoring temps at the AWIC exit to the intake. With ambient temps around 85 - 90 degrees, the IC air as it enters the engine intake manifold tends to get up to 95 - 100+ degrees when I'm in prolonged stop and go rush hour traffic, but quickly gets down to the high 80's low 90's when consistently moving.
Shutting off the engine quickly heat soaks the AWIC, but moving again quickly gets the temps down. I plan to wrap the up pipe and turbo bellmouth/muffler/exhaust to minimize the heat even more.

Storage Space......
There isn't any.... For those of you who have added the trunk or other.... can you chime in how that worked out, or point me to your thread? thx.

Driving it.....
Still loving driving it, and the weather in Vancouver has been sunny since I registered the car.... so I have been driving to work every day..... put on about 2000 km so far (1250 mi for you guys south of the border).

LOTS of looks, and very surprised when I blow by them......
When its burbling around 3000rpm and you hammer it..... feels sooooo good!!
Even better when there are a few twisty corners.

[RetroRacing]

Way to go! You really need to bring it by for a look and ride:p

We are taking ours to the track for testing tomorrow and racing our EP cars all weekend, hope all goes well. If you want, you can bring your car by some day and we will throw your wheels on the balancer and drink a few.

[Hindsight]

Let me know how you like those brakes on the track. So far I've yet to hear of an 818 owner using the yellows on a road course... Tamra was using them on Autocross. I'd be interested if they work well under road racing conditions. For now I'm switching to Hawk DTC-60.

[Frank818]

Which brakes you got Harley, again? Aside from pads.

My AWIC used to control temps + or - 10C around ambient so you seem to be pretty much on spot.

[Harley818]

Which brakes you got Harley, again? Aside from pads.

My AWIC used to control temps + or - 10C around ambient so you seem to be pretty much on spot.

Frank I have the stock 2002 WRX brakes, 2 pot front, one pot rears.

[Harley818]

Let me know how you like those brakes on the track. So far I've yet to hear of an 818 owner using the yellows on a road course... Tamra was using them on Autocross. I'd be interested if they work well under road racing conditions. For now I'm switching to Hawk DTC-60.

probably won't be taking them on a road course..... too worried about the issues the track guys are having.
I'm happy on the street with a few autocross type events maybe.....

[Harley818]

Way to go! You really need to bring it by for a look and ride:p

We are taking ours to the track for testing tomorrow and racing our EP cars all weekend, hope all goes well. If you want, you can bring your car by some day and we will throw your wheels on the balancer and drink a few.


Hi Jeff,
We are gone for the weekend, but with beer and cars in the same sentence..... maybe next week. I'll txt you early next week if you are around after work one night.

Good luck on the weekend.

[Harley818]

Which brakes you got Harley, again? Aside from pads.

My AWIC used to control temps + or - 10C around ambient so you seem to be pretty much on spot.

Frank I have the stock 2002 WRX brakes, 2 pot front, one pot rears.

[Harley818]

I got my wheels balanced today.
What a difference.... silky smooth now at 100-120km/hr. Before it was vibrating at about 100 - 120km/hr.

Now it seems to self steer or wander at that speed. I guess the alignment is the next thing to re-check. On a smooth paved road it seems pretty good, but I have to work to keep it tracking straight.
Maybe I'll take Hindsights suggestion and add a bit more caster.

Thanks for the offer to balance Retro.... I still have you on my list to visit....I'll try next week.

I bought the tires at Americaswheels.com mounted and balanced..... I guess they put on the weights without balancing.

[Mitch Wright]

A long with the alignment I recommend checking the front and rear bump steer.

[Frank818]

How did you do your alignment before you went of on the roads? I mean, yourself, using a machine, at a shop, etc..?

[Harley818]

I used the string method.
At low speed, it seems to be dialed in right, but at higher speeds on the highway, I have to work to keep it tracking straight.

I didn't do the spacer in the LCA, so I might add that so I can get a bit more caster.
I did add the bumpsteer like you did up front with spacing of 43mm, so that should be good.
I set up the rear lateral links to be horizontal, but I'm wondering if it changes slightly under hard cornering, so Mitch is probably right, that I need to check rear bump steer.

[Hindsight2.0]

I had my rear lateral links parallel, as checked with a digital angle gauge. It wasn't enough. When I got a bump steer gauge and checked it, I had a fair amount of rear bump steer and it was making the car twitchy. I set it for just a hair of bump-in in the rear, mostly just to ensure that it never becomes bump-out under load.

[Harley818]

I've been working through one issue at a time, so now I'm ready to get back at the alignment.
at low speed, its awesome, however at higher speeds, like 55mph and above, it is a bit twitchy like you say, or it seems to "hunt" to either side at the center position. You really have to concentrate to keep it straight.
I was thinking now I will try to add the spacer in the LCA so I can adjust for a bit more caster, and I saw your comment about the rear bump steer in another thread. I'm not thinking that would affect steady state straight line twitchiness??? or does it?
How did you adjust for a hair of bump steer? Slightly out of parallel biased toward the front lower, or rear lower? or do you need the bump steer gauge?
I have been setting them parallel with the digital angle guage.

[Hindsight2.0]

Do you know how much caster you have now? I was able to get all I needed by flipping the hurricane bracket and cutting down down the rear tube nut on the upper a-arms a bit. I think I'm at like 5.5 degrees.

So many things can cause twitchy handling. Having toe-out or zero-toe in the front, bump steer front and rear, and lack of caster, so it's important to check them all. And yes, rear-bump steer can make the car feel twitchy in a straight line as the suspension loads and unloads over bumps and ruts. It probably won't be as noticeable in a straight line as it is in corners, but I bet you could feel it.

To get a hair of bump IN (very critical that it's bump-in and not bump out), you want the rear lateral link to be lower on the outside (toward the tire) end than the forward lateral link. The problem is, you can't really know how much you have unless you use a gauge. But in a pinch, I'd set them so your angle gauge reads maybe a tenth of a percent or two above 0. If you are laying the angle gauge across the two links toward the outside end of thinks, the front of the angle gauge should be higher than the rear.

[Harley818]

Do you know how much caster you have now? I was able to get all I needed by flipping the hurricane bracket and cutting down down the rear tube nut on the upper a-arms a bit. I think I'm at like 5.5 degrees.

So many things can cause twitchy handling. Having toe-out or zero-toe in the front, bump steer front and rear, and lack of caster, so it's important to check them all. And yes, rear-bump steer can make the car feel twitchy in a straight line as the suspension loads and unloads over bumps and ruts. It probably won't be as noticeable in a straight line as it is in corners, but I bet you could feel it.

To get a hair of bump IN (very critical that it's bump-in and not bump out), you want the rear lateral link to be lower on the outside (toward the tire) end than the forward lateral link. The problem is, you can't really know how much you have unless you use a gauge. But in a pinch, I'd set them so your angle gauge reads maybe a tenth of a percent or two above 0. If you are laying the angle gauge across the two links toward the outside end of thinks, the front of the angle gauge should be higher than the rear.


I thought I dialed in 3 degrees of caster, but as you pointed out before, I measured it on the FFR weldment which may not be correct. I am going to do it again and measure the plus and minus angles you mentioned and divide by two. What did you set your angle gauge on?.
When you say hurricane bracket what do you mean? flip the attachment of the rear of the LCA to the spindle? or flip the LCA rear mount with the squiggle down?
And I didn't have to cut the nut to get my 3 degrees of caster, I just cut the thread, but if I go further, I will have to cut the nut as it is out of room.
Thanks for your help, this is all new to me....
thx again

[RM1SepEx]

Re-check that the rear lower lateral links are parallel, you could be getting the rear steering the car, can be very sensitive to throttle on/ throttle off. I think the car would be easier to setup if they eliminated the eccentric adj for the lower rear lateral link, you should use a length adj rear link to adjust toe in the rear

[RetroRacing]

You can come by and borrow our castor/camber gage, easy to use and super accurate. We set our race cars up with it, and could not be happier! We string every car we have on rotating pads and use toe plates for toe. To measure bump steer, we took out the springs, set jack stands to ride height all around, then jacked one wheel up at a time and measured toe. We were able to get set to zero bump steer front and rear with this method.

[Hindsight2.0]

I thought I dialed in 3 degrees of caster, but as you pointed out before, I measured it on the FFR weldment which may not be correct. I am going to do it again and measure the plus and minus angles you mentioned and divide by two. What did you set your angle gauge on?.
When you say hurricane bracket what do you mean? flip the attachment of the rear of the LCA to the spindle? or flip the LCA rear mount with the squiggle down?
And I didn't have to cut the nut to get my 3 degrees of caster, I just cut the thread, but if I go further, I will have to cut the nut as it is out of room.
Thanks for your help, this is all new to me....
thx again

Yeah I would not measure caster like that. I tried it after I set it using a digital gauge and it wasn't accurate at all. Maybe others have had better luck with it but not me. I set my angle gauge on a little jig I made that resembles this:
https://www.quicktrickalignment.com/shop/new-quicktrick-qta-limited-quantity-copy/
You have to turn the wheel 15 degrees to the left, measure, then turn back to center, then 15 degrees to the right and measure again. You subtract the two. Go to youtube and search "quicktrick caster" or even just "DIY caster" etc and you'll see. You can use two floor tiles with grease in between them for the pivots, and use cardboard taped to the floor to set your lines for 15 degrees. I think I have pictures of my doing that buried in my build thread somewhere.

On the hurricane bracket, I flipped the attachment to the lower control arm, but also had to ensure the squiggly part of the bracket was facing the same way as stock (I can't remember if it's up or down - I did it wrong initially and Bob noticed and corrected me as he has done for a number of other guys).

[Harley818]

Yeah I would not measure caster like that. I tried it after I set it using a digital gauge and it wasn't accurate at all. Maybe others have had better luck with it but not me. I set my angle gauge on a little jig I made that resembles this:
https://www.quicktrickalignment.com/shop/new-quicktrick-qta-limited-quantity-copy/
You have to turn the wheel 15 degrees to the left, measure, then turn back to center, then 15 degrees to the right and measure again. You subtract the two. Go to youtube and search "quicktrick caster" or even just "DIY caster" etc and you'll see. You can use two floor tiles with grease in between them for the pivots, and use cardboard taped to the floor to set your lines for 15 degrees. I think I have pictures of my doing that buried in my build thread somewhere.

On the hurricane bracket, I flipped the attachment to the lower control arm, but also had to ensure the squiggly part of the bracket was facing the same way as stock (I can't remember if it's up or down - I did it wrong initially and Bob noticed and corrected me as he has done for a number of other guys).


Thanks, I'll check the links and your thread. Sounds like I can switch the hurricane bracket. I know I have the LCA mount correct with Squiggly down because I had to change it once to get it right.

[Harley818]

little victories.....
Originally I set ride heigh to 4 3/4 inches.
Somehow it ended up lower than that.

A couple days ago I re-adjusted the ride height to 4 3/8 inches all around.
Then I set the rear lateral links to be slightly lower on the rear link than the front link (0.25 degrees on my digital level).

Subtle, but much better driving and tracking. Car does not "hunt" as much at speed. Still does a bit, but I suspect I can eliminate that when I work on the front caster.
One thing at a time.

Oh, and I had my car back to the dyno. I installed the Cobb 3 port boost controller. and had it re-tuned. What a DIFFERENCE!!!

For anyone out there who is not getting 15 psi boost, you probably have a faulty boost controller.
I just installed the one that came with my donor, not knowing that it wasn't working till I went for the dyno tune. It limits you to 7 - 9 psi.
However, now with the re-tune..... different story.
Now I get full 15psi and FULL Pull... wow does it haul!

Unlimited wheel spin in 1st and 2nd gear....... need I say more?
245 rear wheel Hp. I'm happy with that.
I'm already having to really watch the throttle on takeoff and on any corner.
A little too much throttle and the car is sideways......
on the other hand, play with just the right amount and it just takes off.
Lots of fun.....

[Frank818]

245whp and full spin in 2nd?

[bbjones121]

I had 261 whp and I could break it free in first, and if I really dropped the clutch,I could get some spin in second. It definitely takes some effort though. Do you have an open diff? I could see it easy to get one wheel to break free, but with my locking diff, it isn't easy to get both.

[Hindsight]

Glad you are getting things sorted and under way!

Did you do the bump-steer on the front yet? That's going to have a huge impact in stability.

[Harley818]

Yes, I have an open diff, so maybe just one side. Feels awesome though..... and the car just seems to slide so nice through the corners unless you dip too deep.

[Harley818]

Glad you are getting things sorted and under way!

Did you do the bump-steer on the front yet? That's going to have a huge impact in stability.

yes I did the bump steer right from the start based on your info. 46mm spacing. I didn't measure with a bump steer gauge though, so I don't know if its the same as yours. I have a 2002 rack.
I'm pretty convinced its the caster that needs attention.
The adjustment I made on the rears though based on your info for rear lateral link just a hair lower has had a positive impact on the straight line tracking.
On a smooth or recently paved road, it actually tracks great. However, we have quite a bit of pavement here that has the ruts from the big trucks..... so I think I'm getting a lot of tire steer. With the minimal caster thats a problem. If i dial in a bit more caster it should be better.

[Hindsight]

Good good! Yeah your bump-steer should be close - the only thing is that you are running a 2002 rack while I'm running a 2007 rack. The frames for the 818 are different based on steering rack year. As long as the two different 818 frames position the centerline of the rack at the exact same height, the 46mm number should get you close.

Also ensure you have enough toe-in front and rear. 1/32" to 1/16" front, and 3/16" to I think 5/16" rear. I'm running 1/4" rear but talked with Wayne today and he said 3/16" rear is working well for him. But more rear toe-in is supposed to make the car more track-stable, which makes sense. Can really cook the tires on the track though, especially if running a lot of negative camber.

[RetroRacing]

THat's allot of rear toe! We run 1/16th on track, front and rear. Interesting.

[Hindsight]

I'm new to alignment on mid-engine RWD cars. I agree that it sounds like a lot! But looking up the settings on relatively similar cars like a Porsche GT-4 and you'll find settings of around or just shy of 3/16" in the rear.

[Frank818]

Hey Harley,

About your lexan to fix 90% of the smell, 13x44in but how thick again? 1/8? Would you rather go thinner, same or thicker if you were to do it again?

[Frank818]

Ah well, there you go http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?25406-exhaust-smell-in-the-car&p=289554&viewfull=1#post289554

1/4x13x44

But still, is 1/4 too thick? Would you have gone with 3/16 or 1/8?
I'm looking at the thinnest size that won't wobble.

[Harley818]

Hi Frank,
I wouldn't go with less than 1/4 in. Even with my 1/4, there is a lot of turbulence at speed. I had to add some rubber around the edge to keep if from slapping against the roller. It does buffet around a lot when you get over 100K or 60mph.

Just read the thread on separation vs divorce...... seems a few of us are doing the same thing. I'm just getting ready to get back at it to finish the body and paint before summer. It was good to drive it for Aug to October last year, but I still have some things to fix and found some things to modify based on how it drove...... for me the key is to not let it bother me... I get some time here and there and I work on it, then get back to it when the window opens again. I'm still having fun though.....

[Frank818]

Whoa, that is serious thing to keep in mind about the slapping.

Maybe it requires more attach points too.

If you were to do it again, would you still go with 1/4 or try 3/16?

[Harley818]

This was the year of getting the body done.
Last summer I drove the car around town and to work.
It was reliable and fun.
This year I spent the first part of the summer cleaning up the body panel joints, then drove it for another couple months.
The last couple weeks I've been taking off the panels, cleaning them up and sanding with 600 grit.
I'm happy with the look and fit and will be painting it in the next couple weeks.
95424

I also had a bit of an issue with my alignment. At about 60mph the steering would hunt and it took alot of attention to keep it straight.
With some advice from Hindsight, I pulled apart the front LCA and spun the rear attachment pin by 180 degrees. I already had the squiggle down to get as much caster as I could, but this added just a bit more.
Up till now the max I could get was 3.5. With this adjustment I was able to dial it in to 5.5 degrees of caster.
I have since re-aligned it and can say it drives like a different car. Straightline tracking is now firm and no hunting.
This car is fun to drive and for me has been ultra reliable.
Time to go and paint.....

[Harley818]

This was the year of getting the body done.
Last summer I drove the car around town and to work.
It was reliable and fun.
This year I spent the first part of the summer cleaning up the body panel joints, then drove it for another couple months.
The last couple weeks I've been taking off the panels, cleaning them up and sanding with 600 grit.
I'm happy with the look and fit and will be painting it in the next couple weeks.
95424

I also had a bit of an issue with my alignment. At about 60mph the steering would hunt and it took alot of attention to keep it straight.
With some advice from Hindsight, I pulled apart the front LCA and spun the rear attachment pin by 180 degrees. I already had the squiggle down to get as much caster as I could, but this added just a bit more.
Up till now the max I could get was 3.5. With this adjustment I was able to dial it in to 5.5 degrees of caster.
I have since re-aligned it and can say it drives like a different car. Straightline tracking is now firm and no hunting.
This car is fun to drive and for me has been ultra reliable.
Time to go and paint.....

[07FIREBLADE]

Hmm... what is this rear attachment pin you speak of... I did my front controls so long ago i can't remember
95498

[EODTech87]

I believe he’s talking about the black rod that attaches the LCA to the rear bushing. Take the 2 bolts out, flip it over, and bolt it back on.

[Harley818]

Robert, EOD is right, its the black rod attaching the LCA to the rear bushing.
It makes a big difference.
Some people are also adding a 6mm spacer at this location, but I am happy with just flipping it over.
Harley

[07FIREBLADE]

I did the spacer but I'm still short on caster... I might try this. Thanks for the tip!

[Harley818]

I am still working away on my car.
Got it on the road to drive for 3 months in the summer of 2017
Worked on the body last spring, drove it again for 3 mo in the summer 2018
Now got it painted.....looks like a different car.
I removed all the panels, had them painted by a local friend. It is the 2016 Corvette Cyber Grey Metallic. Code WA637R.
The colour looks different depending on the angle and the amount of light. Then with sunlight you see the green, blue and gold flecks.
Two base coats, one clear coat.
101841
101842
101840
101843

[Harley818]

The parts fit awesome when I went to put them back on.
I used a 1/16 in strip of Buna-n (edited) rubber between the body panels and the joints look OEM. It also protects the paint from rubbing together between the panels.

It looked pretty good in white..... but I am loving the cyber grey. Looks 100% better.
101845
101846
101847
101848

Then added Fiberglass sideskirts covered with carbon fiber wrap.
101849

Now I am working on the interior. Following Andrew's lead and I'll be using the BRZ interior door panels. We will see how that works out this spring.
Back on the road by the time May hits here.

[aquillen]

Harley, love that paint. Great choice. Can you elaborate just a bit on your rubber strips between body panels. What exactly you bought and maybe a picture of it if you have any you can share. Sounds like what I'd like to do someday... :)

[Harley818]

Harley, love that paint. Great choice. Can you elaborate just a bit on your rubber strips between body panels. What exactly you bought and maybe a picture of it if you have any you can share. Sounds like what I'd like to do someday... :)

Hi Art,
I used a 2 in. wide Buna-n rubber strip with adhesive back from Mcmaster Carr - part number below.
I cut it into 1/2 in strips and used it on all the lips where the hood and trunks rest. Worked great and sticks well. Buna-n is great for oil and fuel resistance.
Then I stuck it on the joint between the front bumper and fenders and trimmed it to fit, then used a sharp piece of tubing to cut out holes for the 1/4 in throughbolts at that connection.
I'll take a close up pic tonight and post it.

Line Product Ordered Shipped Balance Price Total
1 9028K523
High-Strength Oil-Resistant Buna-N Rubber Strip with Adhesive-Back, 2" x 36", 1/16" Thick 6 for 74.22

[mikeb75]

Beautiful!

[metros]

That color looks good. I'd like to see some of the finished pictures of it in sunlight when you get the opportunity. Nicely done!

[Harley818]

Thanks guys,
Here are a couple close-ups of the body joints with the Buna-n between.
Sorry but the car is a little dusty.
Front joint bumper to fender.....
101876
101878
Rear bumper to side sail.....
101879
strips along lip for front hood
101877

[Harley818]

That color looks good. I'd like to see some of the finished pictures of it in sunlight when you get the opportunity. Nicely done!


Metros, soon as it gets sunny and I can roll her outside I'll be taking pics and posting.
Right now its uncharacteristically cold here and supposed to snow tonight .... -7 C (20F)
Not often we go below freezing here.

[STiPWRD]

Great color selection, it turned out awesome! I was also considering a charcoal grey like this for an understated, stealthy look.

[AZPete]

beautiful! Thanks for the Buna-n tip.

[Mitch Wright]

Nice, the car looks fantastic and looking forward to seeing your finished interior.

[Hindsight]

Just now seeing this..... looks fantastic! I love the color. Very similar color as to what I was going to do if I ever got around to painting mine.

[Lumpyguy]

Cyber gray the same as mine. it is a great color

102184

[Lumpyguy]

102185

I made rear carbon side skirts and front spliter extentions

[Harley818]

the cars will look very similar.
I knew there were a couple more out there with this colour but I forgot who did them.
I have the same venting material, and front splitter just needs the carbon wrap then mounting.
Yours looks good. I'll have to go re-read your build thread.

[Harley818]

here is a couple shots on the street. The paint turned out really great.

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106997
106998
I'm really liking the way the rear turned out. For a while I was going to go with 3 smaller red lights on each side, but I think I'll stick with this.

106999
107002

[wallace18]

Car looks fantastic! Reminds me of the 818E I did awhile back.

[Jetfuel]

Congrats man... you have one stunning car.

[aquillen]

Very nice job - like it all around.

[ben1272]

Car looks great, and I agree, the rear end looks real nice and balanced. It is a sharp car! How does she drive?

[Bob_n_Cincy]

great job Harley

[Harley818]

Congrats man... you have one stunning car.
Thanks, I'm liking it.

[Harley818]

Car looks great, and I agree, the rear end looks real nice and balanced. It is a sharp car! How does she drive?

Car drives amazing. There is no body roll and acceleration is like a bike.
Ticks all the boxes for me:
Sound of the engine while driving - check
Acceleration - check
Cornering - check
Sound system - check
Looks? - lots of people rubbernecking... and asking what is that?.... check, check, check.
fun - check
built it myself - check, check check.....

I'm liking it.
Summer 2017 - I had it on the road originally as soon as I had all the mechanical working.... first summer and had fun driving it.
summer 2018 - drove it while working on the body.
Summer 2019 - now body is done and finishing the interior... pics to come.

I'm not sure who it was, but one of the guys on the forum suggested getting it on the road as soon as possible and finishing as you go.... best advice yet.

Plans for the future..... adding double pot brakes to the back per bob and Cincy..... same as the fronts.
And I need a better alignment than I can do with the string method. Its good, but could be better.

[Harley818]

great job Harley


thanks, you've been a good help along the way.

[STiPWRD]

The paint turned out amazing! Looking forward to more interior pics, I'm also in the process of adapting the 02 center console.

[AZPete]

Very nice car.
I especially like: Looks? A lot of people rubbernecking.
That's a fun part of the 818. At stoplights guys motion "roll down your window" then ask what is it? it takes 20 minutes to buy gas with all the attention and questions (fun). I also enjoy the rubbernecking and photos. Enjoy.

[redbudrr]

Great looking car!!!

[Harley818]

Thanks for the positive comments guys.

107096
I've been working on the interior. Took a couple ideas from Aero and Kirk

107095
Cut up a couple BRZ interior panels and put them back together so they would fit.
107097

I still have to do the console down the middle......

[Aero STI]

Thanks for the positive comments guys.

107096
I've been working on the interior. Took a couple ideas from Aero and Kirk

107095
Cut up a couple BRZ interior panels and put them back together so they would fit.
107097

I still have to do the console down the middle......

That's a cool way to utilize the BRZ door panel bits if you don't want to make them fit the way I did.

Car looks beautiful inside and out! Keep up the great work.

[Harley818]

That's a cool way to utilize the BRZ door panel bits if you don't want to make them fit the way I did.

Car looks beautiful inside and out! Keep up the great work.

Thanks for the idea to use the BRZ panels..... love your videos with the full-on power.....

[Frank818]

Pretty good those panels!

Are you making the seams sealed between doors and side pods? All around the door-to-side-pod clearance there is an opening that I suspect lets air and dirt come inside the cabin. Haven't found a valid fix for that yet.

[Harley818]

Pretty good those panels!

Are you making the seams sealed between doors and side pods? All around the door-to-side-pod clearance there is an opening that I suspect lets air and dirt come inside the cabin. Haven't found a valid fix for that yet.

No they are not sealed between the door and the interior. I think most of the air you are referring to comes from the gap where the end of the dash, the footwell and the door meet. The warm air from the underhood area comes into the interior there. I have that blocked off with some 1 in soft foam. Works pretty good but I am working on a more permanent fix. As soon as I took it out, it got really hot - fast.

[Frank818]

Yeah I saw those huge foam plates. Something must be different between yours and mine, I don't see how I can implement that on mine I have no space there, the door shuts on the triangle piece of the side pod and even pushes it a little. I'll take a closer look tomorrow!

[AZPete]

Harley and Frank, you reminded me that I didn't put my door seals in my "Built" Thread so I added two posts. #44 & 45. Sealing the end of the dash and the door really helped reduce wind noise and dust.

[Flamshackle]

Car drives amazing. There is no body roll and acceleration is like a bike.
Ticks all the boxes for me:
Sound of the engine while driving - check
Acceleration - check
Cornering - check
Sound system - check
Looks? - lots of people rubbernecking... and asking what is that?.... check, check, check.
fun - check
built it myself - check, check check.....

I'm liking it.
Summer 2017 - I had it on the road originally as soon as I had all the mechanical working.... first summer and had fun driving it.
summer 2018 - drove it while working on the body.
Summer 2019 - now body is done and finishing the interior... pics to come.

I'm not sure who it was, but one of the guys on the forum suggested getting it on the road as soon as possible and finishing as you go.... best advice yet.

Plans for the future..... adding double pot brakes to the back per bob and Cincy..... same as the fronts.
And I need a better alignment than I can do with the string method. Its good, but could be better.

Such a good thread thanks so much for documenting. Have you made any more progress with the car?

[Harley818]

Thanks for asking Flamshackle..... I was surprised to see my thread up near the top!

Yes I've been concentrating on finishing the interior, and I can say the car is now 100% finished.!!!
129157
129162

Side doors I used BRZ panels - documented last year.
Glued in all the rugs
Adjusted the 2002 WRX console to fit. Recovered with 4 way stretch leather.
Redid the carbon fibre dash wrap that was starting to come apart.
Sealed off the interior a bit better around the doors from the front underwood area to keep the heat out.

And of course I did a few mods already over the winter.....
Upgraded new brakes - Front 2 pots on all four wheels like BobnCincy.
Added amber lights to my dash lights so I can see them at night
Added a fuel pump switch
Added 12mm wheel spacers to get a better offset. Wheels were 33, so now I have 45mm. Looks perfect.
Fixed the front bumper and repainted…. Some minor fibreglass damage after someone backed into me at work. Found out in the process that my driver side fender was 1/2 in lower than the left side (make sure your bolts are all tight and structural links are all spaced the same. The tolerances in the holes can make one side lower….).
Added a grille to the front radiator hole in the bumper.
Added LED switchback Halo’s to the projector lenses out front.
Still working on how to make the projectors work for high and low beam…. I need a diode between the circuits to make it work.
Wired in the side mirrors… intending to make them functional with the controls
Added a Mini Cooper wind deflector in front of the roll bar to cut a bit of the wind.

Car is now eagerly waiting to be licensed..... probably next week now that weather is starting to be sunny.
129159

[AZPete]

Beautifully finished! Congrats and good luck when you go in for your license. The interior is amazingly like OE!

[STiPWRD]

Harley, I was thinking of putting some plexi-glass under the roll bar. Do you have any pics of the mini cooper deflector and how you installed it?

[aquillen]

Harley, the car looks beautiful. Top notch work. The 818 is well represented with your specimen.

The seats look the same as my APC, but never saw that color/pattern on them. Did you redo?

[Harley818]

Beautifully finished! Congrats and good luck when you go in for your license. The interior is amazingly like OE!

Yeah, I wanted the OE look once I saw what Aloha and you had done.
I should have said Insurance.....I initially had the car licensed 3 years ago and have been driving it so renewing the insurance is no problem.
Keen to drive it again after the winter.

[Harley818]

HI Art,
I've been following your thread and you are doing some pretty amazing work. At another level....

Thanks for the positive comments.
My seats are Recaro knockoffs I bought on eBay. The fit and support is great.
So far they are holding out, but the material is starting to show some wear in places.

Harley

Harley, the car looks beautiful. Top notch work. The 818 is well represented with your specimen.

The seats look the same as my APC, but never saw that color/pattern on them. Did you redo?

[Harley818]

HI Stipwrd,

I initially went the plexiglass way, and it worked OK, but did occasionally rattle. Then I found my wifes Mini deflector that she never uses in the garage......
I haven't finalized the attachment yet but I'm thinking it will be a couple brackets off the seatbelt mounts.
Took some pics for you.....
129181
129182
129183
129184

[STiPWRD]

Thank you! Good to know about the rattling, I'll try to add a cushion layer.

[Flamshackle]

Thanks for asking Flamshackle..... I was surprised to see my thread up near the top!

Yes I've been concentrating on finishing the interior, and I can say the car is now 100% finished.!!!
129157
129162

Side doors I used BRZ panels - documented last year.
Glued in all the rugs
Adjusted the 2002 WRX console to fit. Recovered with 4 way stretch leather.
Redid the carbon fibre dash wrap that was starting to come apart.
Sealed off the interior a bit better around the doors from the front underwood area to keep the heat out.

And of course I did a few mods already over the winter.....
Upgraded new brakes - Front 2 pots on all four wheels like BobnCincy.
Added amber lights to my dash lights so I can see them at night
Added a fuel pump switch
Added 12mm wheel spacers to get a better offset. Wheels were 33, so now I have 45mm. Looks perfect.
Fixed the front bumper and repainted…. Some minor fibreglass damage after someone backed into me at work. Found out in the process that my driver side fender was 1/2 in lower than the left side (make sure your bolts are all tight and structural links are all spaced the same. The tolerances in the holes can make one side lower….).
Added a grille to the front radiator hole in the bumper.
Added LED switchback Halo’s to the projector lenses out front.
Still working on how to make the projectors work for high and low beam…. I need a diode between the circuits to make it work.
Wired in the side mirrors… intending to make them functional with the controls
Added a Mini Cooper wind deflector in front of the roll bar to cut a bit of the wind.

Car is now eagerly waiting to be licensed..... probably next week now that weather is starting to be sunny.
129159

That’s awesome mate! Would like to see more of the cars interior if you could get a few more?

Great workmanship and finish, very rewarding I am sure.

Thanks for replying

[Harley818]

Hi Flamshackle,
Insured it yesterday and took it out for a spin.
The brakes on the back are great.... lock up with normal brake pedal force. Now I'll have to adjust front/back balance a bit.

I'm heading out for the weekend so I'll post some more pics of the interior next week.

Harley