Jaubin's NH 818S Build # 234

[JAubin]

I picked up my frame on 7/19....then was away traveling for a few weeks, so I've just really been spending a bit of time working on it. First off, thanks to all the early builders, holy crap would this be hard without a lot of the insight I've picked up on the first builds. My plan is to do a V7 EJ207, AWIC, Cobra Imola seats, 6 point harnesses (Schroth ASM DOT) Traction control, LSD, etc. My donor was a train wreck, so I've been scrapping a lot of parts...but at least I bought it for $1500 and made about $3k in parts. I may win some type of award for the slowest build because I don't have my motor yet, and don't have a bunch of time to spend on it...plan is to take my time and agonize over every detail hah.

I'm sure everyone does this, but I had to first throw in my seat, pedal box, and steering wheel just to get a sense for how it all felt. Then take it all back apart so I could get working on it for real.

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Very glad I picked up the tip that the new bolt-in pedal box mount needs to be aligned to the pedals, mount, and aluminum. I bolted up the pedal box mount loose, and then mounted the pedal box, and aluminum, and tightened the mount and threw in a few cleco's. Made the entire process much easier.

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And a shot of a front firewall Cleco'd up because you can't have too many of those.

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My plan is to get a rough alignment and ride height set on the front suspension so I can torque the front lower control arm bushing, then install the firewall. Of course I ran into the fun that a lot of people have that the bolts hit the welds on the shock mounts, so I had to grind those after I had painted them (fit everything up dry next time, woops)...got those installed, and then found that the holes for the front bolt of the LCA @12mm on the unthreaded portion was too large for the hole in the bracket. Ok, so that's just over 11mm, maybe the powdercoat was too heavy? So I drilled it out to 12.3, and with the rear bushing already held in, that the front bushing is misaligned. I recall a bunch of people running into this previously, but they had to correct for the rear brackets being off, so maybe it wasn't as big of an issue....I'm sure I can get it to install with some twisting of the front bushing, but then both bushings are going to have a pre-load applied to them before they are torqued.... I'm sure I'll get a few "just make it fit and move along" but I was hoping FFR would have these types of issues sorted by now. I got the last, or one of the last White bodies and it doesn't look too bad to me, but I haven't dug into it, so I've got that going for me. Hope to start taking more photos as I move along....I know you can in theory build this car with basic hand tools...but damn would I be frustrated by now if I wasn't using air tools between a New England donor and tweaking parts here and there.

[Frank818]

Welcome aboard! Let's see what that "etc." will be hiding, in your plan list. :)

[AZPete]

Welcome to the madness. That first photo, called "Vroom, vroom", is like I did also to see how the cockpit feels. You are a good writer and I look forward to reading your progress.

[RM1SepEx]

Where are you in NH? I'm in Freeport about 1 hr from the border, stop by for a beer sometime and see how it all goes together

[JAubin]

Hah Thanks Frank. Some of the etc are things like: Monstaliner on the exterior front firewall, sound deadening sheets in the interior, and plan on doing either rubberized coating or more bedliner on the fenderwells, etc. Defi gauges, STi cluster, will run either a hardtop or a soft top depending on when the hardtop is available. I plan on keeping the 5 speed, but I'm tempted to just use a 6 speed for reliability sake, and the fact that even rebuilt 5 speeds can be tough to get perfect. We'll see when more people get the 6 speeds up and running.

Thanks Pete, glad you like my rambling!

Dan thanks for the offer! I'm in Goffstown so ~2 hours from you. At some point I need to swing by and see a few of the builds in the area as it seems like there are quite a few in New England.

Backorder update - I rec'd all but 2 backordered parts within 3 weeks of picking the kit up. And just checked on the front springs, and those and the fuel filler should be ready to ship out next week. Not bad at all.

Spent a bit of time today working on the front control arms. Happy to report the right side just needed the holes opened up a hair and everything lined up fine. I spent a bit more time scratching my head and determined that the hole alignment on the
front was more like to be out of whack from manufacturing tolerance that the rear mount, especially since a small angle change can really throw the rear bushing mount holes way off. So I decided I'd use the 3 points based on the two rear mounting holes for the bushings, and one of the front holes, as that's enough to locate the parts, if I opened up the other front hole, as long as it has plenty of area for clamping, it's not locating the part anyway. So I ground it open another .5mm or so in the correct direciton, and voila, it all fits. Need to get a photo of one of my front outer CV joints, as it appears it's an aftermarket one. The length sticking out of the knuckle makes me uncomfortable...I was thinking based on the OEM one that I'd be lazy and just leave it full size, but after seeing this one I'll probably have to turn them down. Wish I had access to a lathe (did at my previous job...) but just found out about a "Makerspace" in Nashua, so I may join that so I can access a CNC, lathe, etc. Or I'll just end up buying one on craiglist...say it with me "You can never have too many tools."

[RM1SepEx]

cut it off with a bandsaw...

[JAubin]

Hey Dan, I would definitely do that, but my little home/hobby bandsaw even w/ a metal blade would take forever and be a really sloppy cut.

Got the firewall all mounted, and then recalled about the stud for the left Lower Control Arm bushing hitting the firewall. Back to the vice, and cut about ~5mm off of the stud, just beyond the nut for the LCA rear bushing. Got the upper control arms roughly adjusted, and torque them in along with the LCA, and dry fit the knuckles. Knuckles were in pretty rough shape so I had them blasted and rebuilt (OEM bearings repacked with high performance grease, ARP extended studs, new backing plates on the rears, TiC bushings in the rear). Just got word that my fuel filler neck and front springs are shipping out today which completes my backordered items!

The steering rack was another source of fun as the right side jam nut is seized onto the inner tie rod well enough that I can't seem to break it loose with heat, pb blaster and an impact...then I looked and they're only $20. Hah, ok time to just replace and move on. Once I receive the springs and the new tie rod I'll be able to finish up the front suspension.

Sidenote: I made the mistake (need to replace) of using some Prothane jackstand covers. Way too slippery, but the bigger challenge is how damn light the frame is. Trying to torque things like the LCA rear bushing (@184 ft-lb which was a spec when the bolt went directly into the chassis on the donor) will need to wait until the car is on the ground for me. I torqued it up to 140 ft-lb as much higher and I was rather confident I'd be pulling the car off the jack stands.

Here's what it looks like for the time being. 33404

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Cleanest garage I've ever seen

[Aero STI]

Nice saabaru

[riptide motorsport]

Welcome to the madness!!

[JAubin]

Cleanest garage I've ever seen

Hah, that's because I shoved all the junk behind me before I took the photo. Cleanup is half the battle...I thought I had a ton of room too, and my workshop is basically filled with donor parts, body panels, and FFR boxes. Glad I maintained the illusion for one photo at least!

Thanks Aero, that's my wife's car...it came very close to becoming a donor, but luckily I found a more suitable (less working) donor to tear apart. I knew someone would pick up on that quickly. Still tempted to "Borrow" the quicker ratio steering rack out of it tho...

Been mulling over wheels and tires. Want a reasonably light set of wheels, and some grippy tires that won't cost $2k for the setup. Current front runner is the Team Dynamics wheels that a few people seem to really like (17X7.5 et 38 F, 18X9 et 35 R) with Federal 595 RS-R's, 215/40/17 front, 245/35/18 rear as the 255s are 260 or larger and I'm hoping to get a good amount of width without going too crazy getting things to fit.

[wleehendrick]

Good luck finding those feds for the front. They're out of stock everywhere.

[JAubin]

Yeah I've been reading that they're tough to come by...no rush for me on tires/wheels as I don't even have my motor yet, since I can gokart with any number of subaru wheelsets I have kicking around, wheels/tires are pretty low on the priority list, but can't help thinking about which ones to get!

Got the steering rack mostly sorted tonight, replaced the inner tie rod with the lock nut frozen onto it. Got it bolted back onto the chassis and went into my sorted bins of parts to find my castle nuts, and they really didn't want to go back onto the ball joint studs. Ummmm why didn't I replace the tie rod ends when I was taking the donor apart? Good question...and one of the holes for the pin was full of junk (like rusted in pin that was cut off) Ok, time for new tie rod ends! I thought the fancy go-fast bits were going to blow my budget...pretty sure it's all these little items that I thought were "good enough" but when it comes time to actually put even slightly questionable parts onto this thing there's no option to re-use parts that aren't definitely up to the task.

[JAubin]

Wow, don't post for a month and you end up on page 3 eh? I've had almost no time lately to work on this, but at least a little bit of progress looks like a bunch when you get some parts in.

Managed to get some time on a lathe, and cut off the extra material on the front axle stubs. I kept the tone rings as I'm planning on traction control. Between the two of them I lost ~2.5 lbs of rotating weight! Not too shabby. Painted them black and threw 'em into the hubs. Got the rest of the front suspension together after a lot of head scratching on how off the front spacers were (ie 22mm width of shock + spacers, vs ~19mm shock mount), but made up some new spacers, moved on. Still need to torque a few bolts, and want to get it on the ground before I cut the threads on the sway bar mounts. I ended up buying the Prothane mounts (P/N 1911119) as they fit perfectly and the '02 mounts were beat, and didn't look like they had much chance of fitting either.

Need to torque and finish up a few things up front (mount front brakes so I can torque my axle nuts) and then start mounting up the rear suspension.

Had been distracted by a guy selling a V8 EJ207 long block locally...tempting, but I have other things I need to buy before I'm ready for a motor anyway, and piecing together the rest of the parts will end up costing more than sourcing a complete motor anyway. Hopefully have another update before November!

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[JAubin]

Got the rear suspension installed today. Just a pre-fit mostly, but I'm always working one 3 sections of the manual at once. Finishing up the previous step, working on the current, and checking things for the next step so I can discover any issues. Found out during that process that:
-My forward trailing arm bushings were shot. How shot? To the point that the center steel compression limiter basically fell out, it was rusted and had zero bond to the rubber. Hacked those out of there, and replaced with the TiC Race forward trailing arm bushings. So nice.
-I have one aftermarket axle, so of course the splines, etc. don't work w/ the FFR axles. Found this on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DMA2MN8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Which (I hope) is compatible w/ the stock splines. One thing I discovered between taking apart the front outer and rear outer CV joints is that using a deadblow hammer is a good way to waste a lot of time. Just twist the axle stub to one side so you have a clear shot at the inner race and give it a few solid hits w/ a regular steel hammer.
-The rear springs aren't sitting very nicely over the lower spring perches...anyone run into this?

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[Frank818]

-The rear springs aren't sitting very nicely over the lower spring perches...anyone run into this?

Mine were a little tight to install on the shocks/perches.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

-The rear springs aren't sitting very nicely over the lower spring perches...anyone run into this?



Are you talking about where springs sit on the adjusting nut?
Mine fit fine.

[JAubin]

Yeah the lower adjusting nut has a step with a smaller diameter that goes inside the spring. Both sides the spring won't fit over them...it appears it's the very end of the coil (where it's flattened out) that's the interfering point. If it was some other part I might just grind off a few mm and call it good, but I'm not excited break out the die grinder to the coils. I'll drop FFR a line if it's something others haven't seen either.

Still waiting on some axle parts to come in so I did a bit more mocking up on the pedal box area, and did a test fit w/ the DBC throttle bracket, etc. Since the lower portion is on the firewall, and that's closest to the pivot, it seems like it might be stiff enough to be fine. I've read that the travel is adequate also, so I'm thinking I'll go with how it's intended for now. Was pretty surprised when I spent some more time getting a basic idea for where my seat would go. I'm only 5'7" and with my seat mostly upright, I have it almost back to the firewall.

[JAubin]

Here's a shot of the spring that won't seat on the adjusting nut.
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So I've been playing around with fit, so I threw on the harness bar, and jumped into the seat. Ugh, failure. Even w/ the seat relatively high, the harness bar is *almost* too high for my shoulders, and unfortunately the shoulder harness holes are too high, as the harness isn't going straight to my shoulders. It's super close, but not something I'm willing to "make work" So looks like I need to find a seat with slightly lower shoulder holes. Photo doesn't show it well, but in a regular driving position the harness is being redirected by the seat. Anyone in the market for 2 Cobra Imola S seats? One is Standard, one is "GT" size (14.5" and 15.5" width bolsters, ~23.5" min shoulder height).

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[mikeb75]

You have the FFR harness bar installed? In the picture it looks like you wrapped the harness to come forward from the underside of the bar. Could you try re-wrapping so the harness comes over the bar to gain a bit more clearance?

They are nice looking seats, would be a shame if you can't get them to work. Do you have any room to adjust the rake of your seats? If you can drop the back slightly you might get clearance for the harness.

[RM1SepEx]

springs in the oven, shocks in the freezer? perhaps you can get them to drop over. My springs were tight but slid over and seated nicely

[JAubin]

Mike, I installed the harness bar on the back side of the main hoop, I'm pretty sure it needs to be on the front based on how the straps run, but aside from that it's too tall IMHO. I ran the straps on the lower side to try and keep the height as low as possible. If I wrapped the bar to come from a higher angle, it would be angled down from the anchor to my shoulders, which is incorrect based on my understanding.

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I thought about adjusting the rake, but essentially run into the same issue, unless I also raised the seat up, which then puts me too high relative to the roll bar. I can't see the roll bar working for too many in fact, it just seems like if you're tall and put the seat way down, it'll be too high (downward angle again) and if you move the seat up enough you'll be at or above the roll bar. I might need to copy Rasmus' firewall mod and loop the harness around the square tube there...

Dan that's a good idea, good thing to try next.

[mikeb75]

I have put the harness bar in both positions (in front and behind the main hoop) to try to find the best position also, it definitely seems like it's right at the limit for usability.

I'm your height, but am using Kirkey seats (10 degree layback).

I have a 1/8" plate over the X tubes in the chassis and am using an additional 1.5" square riser under the seat base. I have the seat set to almost 20 degrees rake (using the seat base) so the openings in the seat back are 24.5" to 28.25" over the plate. I measured the harness bar which is now installed behind the main hoop as 27 to 28" over the plate, so I just barely clear the opening wrapping the harness over the top of the harness bar (but it does angle down slightly, which is approved in the harness install figures I've been using which have the same requirements as the one you posted) above.

I also did a trial using the square frame tubes to mount the harness earlier; It really is a close thing.

How tall are the openings in your seats from where you are mounting them in your frame?

[JAubin]

I measured it quickly and it looks the lower opening is right at about 27" from the top of the mount plates I have (1/4" aluminum). I took a look at the mounts you welded in, nice work!

I found that Cobra actually sells different height pads for the seats too....I may see if a combo of raised mounting + pad + increasing rake angle might do it. Then there's the issue that my wife finds the seat uncomfortable....ok, so maybe I"ll just have to replace one seat? Heh.

[JAubin]

So it looks like a combination of moving a bunch of things around will make the seats I have just about work...but, I'm really not looking for something that is so marginal in fit. So I'm going to sell these and get either Sparco Pro 2000's or Cobra Monacos, both have lower shoulder openings.

Sorted out a few more things, Springs are still an issue tho. 3484934850

[sponaugle]

So it looks like a combination of moving a bunch of things around will make the seats I have just about work...but, I'm really not looking for something that is so marginal in fit. So I'm going to sell these and get either Sparco Pro 2000's or Cobra Monacos, both have lower shoulder openings.

Sorted out a few more things, Springs are still an issue tho. 3484934850


I had the same problem on one spring. I used a die grinder the take a little material off the spring and now it fits fine.

Jeff

[svanlare]

I have the same problem on one of the springs, my plan is identical to Jeff', a moment with a grinder to take the "tab" off.

[JAubin]

Thanks Steve, Jeff. When in doubt, grind it out! Applied grinder and after a quick touch up paint job got the rear suspension together temporarily.

Built up my axles yesterday, Cleaned out the old grease, packed with Redline CV-2. I used Wayne's trick of compressing the circlip for the outer CV joint, but used a zip-tie instead. Also, was having trouble hitting it solidly, so I just held the axle stub and axle, and slammed the stub down on a block of wood. One the zip tie was tight, and aligned properly (biased towards the inside of hte axle so it could be pushed off easily, the cv joint seated with one solid hit. The inner side (2002) was a bit more interesting as I thought it might be the wrong splines, but after a closer look, the outer side slipped on easily, but inner was a bit tighter for some reason...in fact the aftermarket CV joint I rec'd w/ the car would have fit the axle splines strangely enough, but in the end I bought http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DMA2MN8/ref=sr_ph?ie=UTF8&qid=1414435660 and that fit fine as well. So if you're looking for an '02-'04 inner CV joint that will work.

[JAubin]

Wow it's really been a long time since I posted an update. Wish I could say I had made a ton of progress, but this winter did a good job of limiting that!

Good news is I've done a few things:Got the interior sheet metal mostly on, painted outside w/ 3M undercoating, inside will have sound deadening applied.
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Also mounted the pedals, and mounted the throttle pedal and cable too. I added a 3" long piece of aluminum angle per Dan's suggestion (Thanks!) as it seemed ok first, but once I got it all mounted there was definitely some flex. I tied the angle to the frame with two rivnuts, and still had some flex as I kept the FFR bracket too. To fix that I riveted the top of the pedal frame to the FFR bracket (just below the cable opening). Initially I tried to fix it with an M4 nut/bolt, but the cable was riding so low there was interference...I ended up clearancing the bracket to make sure it all fit...I should add a photo of this to make sense of it. Either way, removed the nut/bolt, added a rivet and it all seems good now. Just need a pedal stop on the bottom.

More importantly than a bit of progress there, I spent some time finishing up the front end alignment...I'm at +4.1 for caster both sides, and -.375 and -.75 camber (L/R) I cut about 10mm off the longer/forward threaded adjuster so I could reduce caster as I initially adjusted to get camber in and had caster of +6-8. That seems like a pretty good starting point I think. Dialed in the rear trailing/toe links to the same length and leveled, and tweaked camber for that as well. The length to get the right amount of neg camber ended up being rather long for that link, as others have mentioned. I believe I have 5-6 threads per side though, which shouldn't have any strength issues.

And most exciting I finally got a motor! It was sold as a V7 EJ207 STi-RA Spec C. I'm pretty sure based on a few things it's an STi-RA I'm not sure it's Spec C tho, it does in fact have a VF34 turbo, and the right alternator cover for a Spec-C, but is missing the oil cooler, and the motor serial number is unreadable. The ECU I received suggests STi-RA rev A, which makes sense, so maybe it's that w/ the turbo added. Either way, it should work just fine. Need to do a timing belt on it, new oil pan and pickup, replace a few hoses, and new plugs. 40587

My other task to finish is to convert my transmission to 2WD. I also have LSD that needs to go in, but I'm debating on whether to even do that...I'm sure I will want a LSD (or technically TBD) but this is an 02 WRX transmission...if I go easy it'll likely be ok for a while, but eventually it's not going to fare well against the motor I'm bolting it to. Tempted to use as is converted to 2wd and just save the LSD for a Legacy GT transmission or similar once this one fails.

[JAubin]

Started to try and move things along since I have a motor now.

Tore down the Transmission (Gulp) and reworked the OBX TBD/LSD that I picked up for it. The oil had come out of it pretty clean, and I was happy to see that there were not small shiny things lurking in the case halves. 41933 That said it was rather grimy in there (obviously the car had seen some time in the dirt). I reassembled the halves after adding new bearings to the new Diff, and followed Hindsight's awesome instructions. After tightening it down everything was locked up, no rotation...I freaked out and tore it back apart, checked it out, and then redid the whole process. Not sure what was going on, but second time was the charm, and after getting to zero backlash, I did 2.5 turns which in theory would put me at .00525" of backlash in theory. I measured .0055" Errr yeah that's within the measurement error, and better than I expected on the first pass. Double checked the pre-load on the bearing, marked everything, replaced the oil seals and o-rings, and all done!

Replaced the timing belt and oil pan in the motor (Gates racing belt, and Killer B Pickup, '06 STi Pan) 419344193541936

In getting ready to drop all this in, I'm working on sorting out all the hoses on the motor since there's quite a few differences from an EJ205. The Evap system is simpler, but the one on here has a Tee (circled in blue) that broke off at two places...I'm assuming that they tied into this for a boost gauge, and that I can just remove the whole thing, plug where the red X is and be done correct? the line it ties to I assume is just the evap hard line that you'd normally connect to the fuel tank. Does the vent line that is towards the front of the two that is mounted to the intercooler routed to the open port on the turbo inlet? (outlined in green). And from what I can tell the BPV pressure line originates just below the throttle body on the left side.
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[JAubin]

Reduced the file size so this photo shows up. Any insight here if I'm on the right track w/ these hoses? (see above)

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Also got my new shifter linkage that was built by coldwater914...not sure if they're still around as I got this used, but I hooked it up w/ the FFR cables (w/ transmission way behind the car) and it goes through the gears really nicely. Should be even better w/ the correct shorter cables. MR2 shifter will need some cleanup, but nothing major. I drilled out a 1/4-28" clevis for the side-side movement pin but there really isn't enough material left for me to be comfortable. I think I'm going to drill the pin out and but a fastener w/ a rod end on it or similar...if it doesn't spin when I try to do that. Tho I did see Bob used a large blank clevis which is a good idea too. Transmission needs more cleaning!
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Oh, and yes I anticipate some interference w/ the standard mesh...but I'm not planning on using that anyway.

[STiPWRD]

Cool shifter linkage. I found this thread useful for figuring out which hoses go where:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2614458

[Hindsight]

Slick shifter linkage!

I cleaned my transmission with Eagle One Etching Mag Wheel Cleaner. It's an acid product and it REALLY cleans up aluminum nicely. You don't need to scrub much at all, but I scrubbed a little with a scrubber brush with stiff plastic bristles that you can get at any hardware store. It will take a few applications (as in, spray, scrub, soak a few minutes, then spray more and scrub and soak, repeat). When done, rinse with clean water. I followed it up with a final cleaning of Simple Green Automotive cleaner, then rinsed again with water.

[JAubin]

Thanks STiPWRD, that is a great thread for hose reference. I think I've got what I need to do all sorted out now. Just have to avoid going and replacing all the hoses with fancy silicone ones now.

Hindsight, I did a quick clean w/ a power washer already, but sounds like that cleaner would help out a bunch, thanks for the tip!

[JAubin]

Hit a few milestones recently:

The clutch that was on the car was relatively new (close to new spec for material thickness) and the flywheel looked to be in decent shape so I thought I might give them a shot, but after some more inspection the clutch was a brand I had never heard of, and the flywheel had a pin that was sheared off. Ok, not worth the trouble so I picked up an Exedy OEM replacement (probably going to have trouble keeping up w/ the motor once it's dialed, but should keep my transmission from turning to mush immediately). So I installed the clutch, flywheel after I finished the motor work.

I made a rear firewall, but it's mostly a "keep heat out of the fuel tank / ECU area" wall, as I used thin gauge aluminum for it, and covered it in the blingy reflect a gold, because....bling. Aluminum is cut for fuel fill, just didn't cut the gold sheet just yet. Threw on some cardboard to help keep from dinging the frame.
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Motor, meet transmission! This went pretty smooth, put transmission on a wheel dolley, and rolled it over, pushed it on once it was well aligned, and then tightened the 2 lower bolts and 2 lower nuts to pull it in.
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Ended up doing the drop by myself because I hit that step quicker than I expected. Took maybe 30 minutes once I cleaned the area up, and removed the turbo coolant reservoir, uppipe (headers were already off), oil fill and dipstick. I had the uppipe on until I got close to the uprights near hte rear suspension and then thought "I could probably wriggle it in" but it was a straight shot without it so I picked up my impact, buzzed off the nuts, and slide it forward. Once everything was lined up it was just a matter of creeping forward, and angling the motor down...I used a ratchet strap on the back of the gearbox to support it and adjust the angle the motor was at...tricky right at hte end, but motor dropped down without a problem. I had a bit of interference on the transmission studs, but a minute with a grinder and it was opened enough to drop in as well. Really happy to hit this milestone, can really start working on a lot of other steps now, yay!
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[bimmerbill]

Great job so far! I'm local, being just outside of Manchester, and will be starting up on my 818 build soon.

[JAubin]

Hey Bill, glad to hear there's another local builder! Shoot me a PM if you want to stop by and check out my (super slow) progress!

So I had a bit of a slowdown in my build a few months back as I got hit by a car while out riding my bike. I'm luckily totally recovered now, and ended up with bruises and road rash and nothing major. Car pulled out taking a left and didn't see me until they were already too far for me to avoid, I almost managed to avoid it but just ran out of road. Bike was nearly destroyed, but that's just carbon and will be replaced...much rather have the impact energy take out the bike than me!

Anyway back to the build. I got the fuel tank in, and after I had installed it I watched a FFR video randomly on installing the roadster fuel tank (essentially same process as 818). I noticed it said to use a fuel safe sealant on that video that I didn't see in the 818 manual....Arg, ok, so I bought some http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-85420-Permashield-Resistant-Dressing/dp/B007VIGCJW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440077405&sr=8-1&keywords=fuel+safe+sealant and added that. Not sure it's necessary but I've seen some cases of leaks in that area so figured I would give it a shot.

From there I wanted to sort out my shifter position so I could order my cables since I'm using an MR2 shifter and custom linkage. I also like the look of the raised shifter trim/console (might be one of the few) but the MR2 shifter is much shorter than the one FFR provides. In addition I wanted to ensure the cable exiting would go below the level of the trans tunnel area. Solution was to angle the entire MR2 shifter up to get the angle that I wanted, position it for the console, and then figure out how to mount it. As I was starting to design some brackets I came across the wrx rear swaybar mount brackets...they seemed about the right height, so I hacked off the raised rib on the side, and put them on, pretty much the perfect height. I had to trim the corners of hte MR2 mount to fit inside the trans tunnel, which is also where the drawn features that create all the rigidity in the shifter bracket live. So I riveted in a thin piece of Al angle, which helped a lot. The final piece was just making a bracket with each end angled so I could mount it underside the trans tunnel top rail. This is all probably hard to envision so here's some pictures...forgive how sloppy and hacked up all the parts are, these are going to be cleaned up and painted before final install. 44593
And here's a shot w/ the console on - Height/position is exactly where it feels right to me, and it feels super solid, and the shifting is even decent (considering the FFR provided 12 mile cables are in there now) It's apparent how much slop there is w/ the 360 degree loop in it - if I ended up in 4th and then fiddled w/ somethign, I'd go back and try to shift from neutral to first as there is so much slop it feels like it's in neutral. That should be much better w/ the 7' cables I'll be ordering (thinking of using Midwest Control...Looks like a 7' cable is $42 / ea w/ the custom builder app they have, seems low)
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Also working on getting the Firewall installed but using RivNuts to make it removable...alignment has been pretty tricky, need to clean that up a bit and then get the fuel lines run. After that I'll be jumping into Brakes, Cooling system, and getting my AWIC installed. Hoping to get that all installed ahead of my iWire harness getting finished up so I can go-kart before it gets wintry.

[Tamra]

So glad that you are okay and recovered! That's scary.

Great progress on the car!

On the fuel tank, the sender tends to leak for everyone because the o-ring isn't round. Most people have been adding sealant of some type to prevent it from leaking. We also had the same problem around the fuel pump. The tank in general is terrible between its problems with leaking and also fuel starvation if you are cornering with less than 1/2 tank of fuel. If it's in your budget I would just buy a new tank, personally.

[STiPWRD]

It's great to see that everyone has their own solution to the MR2 shifter mod, you'll really enjoy it. Make sure the cables you get match up with the attachment points on your shifter and linkage, some of the cheaper ones don't give you as many options. Also, it's best to mount the e-brake to ensure you won't need any extra cable slop.

[JAubin]

Moving Right along....only 4 months between posts, HAH!

Thx for the thoughts Tamra and STiPWRD! I've had a busy couple months, but all good things:

My latest excuse for the slowdown is this guy. Lucas Showed up in October, keeping with the theme that I think about half the builders have had kids while working on their kit. Here he is hanging out with his big sister.
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So aside from the new addition I've been able to get some work done on the brakes and clutch...and take a lot of close up photos that are probably hard to see unless you know right where they are. I used the provided adapters on the brake and clutch, with only two additions:
-I didn't like how the front flexible brake lines would have to be flexed to attach to the spindle mount, so I took my trusty piece of Al angle and chopped off a piece, riveted it to the spindle mount, and put on a riv-nut. Then used the regular mounting tab on the brake line to attach it. Moved the suspension around, turned the wheel back and forth and it looks good.
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-Using the stock clutch flexible line meant that in the event the motor (Wait, I mean WHEN) needs to be pulled, you're dealing with hard lines that need to be removed most likely. No likey. I picked up Mike Everson's SS clutch line kit, and it was exactly what I needed, highly recommend it. The photo is where it attached to the hard line on the front side of the Left hand brace that goes from the upper spring mount to the center of the engine bay.
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The rest was pretty much sorta by the book. I did decided to run the FL brake line under the master cylinder. Why? I'm not sure, seemed like a good idea? I'll be adding something to make sure it doesn't vibrate against the MC... I used a simple reinforced plastic bender which worked well, aside from bending things on the wrong plane occasionally. I used some bailing wire I had (per Craig's suggestion) to take some pre-measured pieces, and bend them up, then use that as a template. The routing is admittedly not pretty or perfect, but it's not terrible, and things are in the right spots, so I'm happy with it. And of course the one joint I put behind a frame bar was the one that leaked. Needed to remove, that, replace joint, and tighten/loosen a few times to get that sealed up well. The Brakes have a really solid, firm feel now, Yay! The one other thing that I don't love is how close the RR is to the up-pipe, may add some insulation there...
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The clutch bleed was the painful experience everyone described...I tried to just open the bleed screw and use a vac system to pull the fluid through (after greasing the threads to try and minimize air coming through the threads into the tube) and no dice. Eventually read the good advice on here and put in a 14mm socket and a spacer, and clamped it on the rear fender mount (see that SS flex line does come in handy eh?) w/ the bleed screw pointing up. Got a rock solid pedal after a few iterations there. The only issue I've run into now is this:
-The pedal bottoms out on the firewall before hitting 100% travel. I measured the clutch fork travel and it's moving 14mm measured at the slave cylinder pin. The clevis is adjusted so it will add fluid from the reservoir, but not all that quickly, ie as close to having pre-load as I was comfortable having...from any subaru I've driven, the engagement has always been super high, so where I'm bottoming out I imagine is all over-travel, but wanted to see if anyone had some input here. I guess I'll find out for sure when I fire it up.
Also ordered my shifter cables so those will be in at some point soon.
The last major punch-list item before actually trying to start it is the cooling system. I have the basics installed (Radiator, degas tank, Wayne's mod) but need to run the main lines. Once that's done I'll throw on the AAIC to make it easy, and drop in my favorite purchase on this thing - the iWire harness.

So hopefully running early 2016, then it's onto cleanup of a few things, and start on body work/interior! My wife gets to approve color and appearance stuff, and I showed her the new front end and that's on the "must have" list now, so I need to squirrel away a few Xmas $ to pick that up before it goes up in price. IMHO it looks nice, but the real value is the additional bracing and openings for the lights that aren't driven by two floating pieces...should make body install easier, even w/ the bit of body work required.

[AZPete]

Joe, that picture of Lucas with his sister is one of the all-time cutest photos!
Your brake lines are cute, too.:o

[JAubin]

Thanks Pete! I can't disagree on that front!

Inching closer, started on the coolant hoses, those certainly aren't user friendly, and the connection to the water pump is a bit odd too as the timing cover seems to force the corrugated tube in at an odd angle. Getting there either way...

I also got in the 7' shifter cables I got from midwest control, I paid $80 for both cables shipped to my door. I imagined they wouldn't be as nice as the custom control cables or other more expensive ones but figured it was worth looking into. The straight line feel (no bends) is that they have a bit more stiction than the FFR cables, and pulling off the caps on the jointed segment, they're not evenly swaged like the FFR cables, it's a series of crimps. Seems to work ok, but I'd say it's a notch below the FFR supplied cables. That said, I got them installed and WOW, the MR2 shifter + linkage + short cables has massively improved the shift feel, even with these cables. Very intuitive to find gears and the throw is relatively short also. I'll grab some photos of the cables for comparison, but I think they're a good value...certainly good enough for now, it's a relatively easy upgrade if I ever decide to swap them out.

Once the cooling system is in, I'm going to get to finally installing my iWire harness that's been sitting on my work bench wondering why I haven't gotten it in yet. I also need to spend 3-4 weeks cleaning my garage as I think every tool I own is scattered around there somewhere.

[JAubin]

So after seeing the great shot of Andrew and Tamra's punchlist on their tweaks to their car, I had to throw on a pic of my Countdown to Ignition I have on the whiteboard. It is encrypted because even I can't read most of what I write down. Lots of small steps, but it's getting really close!
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Here's a shot of the FFR supplied shift cables (top) and the Midwest Control cable (Bottom). You can see on the larger diameter the FFR is round, which the MC is crimped. I don't think I'd notice the difference when driving but now that it's dialed in the MR2 shifter and linkage setup is great...I would recommend anyone do that or Wayne's K-Tuned as either is much much better than the FFR supplied setup, I guess I just have an issue with the super long cable run and the loop in it.
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"You said this shifted much better...I still can't find first in this thing..."
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Beyond that got most of the harness laid out, but have a few additional things to wire (ie gauges, etc) Also decided that while A/C might be nice the units I can find are just too big...and for this first round I'm going to get just the heater/defrost setup. That will make packaging everything under the dash much easier.

[JAubin]

Making progress. Got the harness mostly (rough) installed, added the grounding points, and got my gauges wired up. Had to see if things looked like they would turn on...
YUP!

https://vimeo.com/151812304
I know it's been said plenty of time, but iWire is awesome. I even forgot to mention to Brian that I had a newer style radiator fan plugs, and after letting him know he's sending me the correct ones. Awesome service!

Need to sort out why the pressure gauge isn't working, may be that I mistakenly put teflon tape on the threads (woops) need to look into that, but I did turn it over and that worked fine as well. Getting so close to firing it up!

[wallace18]

Congrats!

[STiPWRD]

Which pressure gauge are you using? I've been looking for one that lights up red and does the sweep like that.

[JAubin]

Thx Wallace! All 3 gauges (EGT is off camera) are Prosports Premium 60mm Amber/White.

[STiPWRD]

Thanks

[Hindsight]

I have the same gauges. Do they cut-out when you start the car? IE if you move the key to the on position and leave it there until the "opening ceremony" on the gauges is complete, then if you turn the key to the start position and start the car do they cut out? Mine do it no matter how I wire them (IE per the instructions, or having both the power and the accessory wire going directly to battery +).

[JAubin]

I didn't notice that when I turned it over, but I can check next time I do. I wonder if there's an issue w/ their power side harness or something if it's multiple gauges, ie that the accessory power runs the opening ceremony. Their harnesses were a bit finicky when I was installing them, and I had to re-seat a couple. Otherwise I would wonder if the power is getting pulled to ground by something else once you turn the ignition on, but it sounds like you tested for that going straight to the battery.

[JAubin]

Hindsight, I tried some more and I don't have any issues w/ the gauges turning off after I move to the start position. I actually messed around with turning the motor enough to be sure I could build oil pressure and that seems ok. If you're running them daisy chained I wonder if the first in the line is bad, maybe try starting at a different gauge?

[JAubin]

Got it all set to go today, and decided that I wasn't going to kart, but just get it started as there's a ton of snow/mud on my driveway, and I don't think my tires would work well... I mean at all... so built up some oil pressure, around 90 psi, used my Airlift Coolant leak tester/filler. Had an issue that it was pulling pressure right through to my overflow tank, which I would've expected to be closed off, but maybe I have a bad cap? Either way threw a cap on the outlet there, and it help pressure well so I filled it up. That system is awesome! Dropped onto the dollies, wheeled to the edge of the garage, and turned it over. Oh, I put gas in there at some point too and primed it a few times...this was the first time turning the motor over with everything connected....

https://vimeo.com/154456693

Can I just say how awesome it is the first time it fires up? And the first try? Thanks Brian / iWire!!! Going to keep crunching on getting things cleaned up and sorted out...maybe gokart once things warm up and dry out...

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Got it all set to go today, and decided that I wasn't going to kart, but just get it started as there's a ton of snow/mud on my driveway, and I don't think my tires would work well... I mean at all... so built up some oil pressure, around 90 psi, used my Airlift Coolant leak tester/filler. Had an issue that it was pulling pressure right through to my overflow tank, which I would've expected to be closed off, but maybe I have a bad cap? Either way threw a cap on the outlet there, and it help pressure well so I filled it up. That system is awesome! Dropped onto the dollies, wheeled to the edge of the garage, and turned it over. Oh, I put gas in there at some point too and primed it a few times...this was the first time turning the motor over with everything connected.... https://vimeo.com/154456693

Can I just say how awesome it is the first time it fires up? And the first try? Thanks Brian / iWire!!! Going to keep crunching on getting things cleaned up and sorted out...maybe gokart once things warm up and dry out...
Good job Joe

[Hindsight]

Congrats on the first start, and thx for the gauge info above; I missed it previously. Sounds like I have an issue with my gauges I need to look into.

[JAubin]

After a few more days of cleaning things up, checking over a few more things, double checking tightness on all the suspension hardware (tightening my steering linkage...yikes) I dropped it down and went for...well, I pulled it out of the garage. So first Go-Kart! It's been a bit since I've driven a Subaru, clutch engagement point is as weird as I remember...plus I didn't want to go mach 10 out into the muddy/icy driveway. So I just abused the hell out of my clutch for a few minutes.

https://vimeo.com/156035707
The skier in me is going be pissed about this statement, but I'm really looking forward to spring so I can get out of my driveway. Still a pretty good punchlist to do before I even consider dusting off the body panels. Need to pull off the AAIC, and install the AWIC setup. Need to install my defroster/heater. Need to get the windshield installed (and then the wiper setup I just picked up from Frank, Thanks!) and need to buy or have an exhaust fabbed up. Interior has a bunch of work too...but feels like it's getting closer. Warmer temps are going to have me more motivated to get this finished up so I can get it registered...

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Good job Joe.
We have a track X that Mitch is putting on and an autocross that is snow or shine this weekend.
Bob

[Frank818]

Man the engine cranked very quickly! Nicely done.

[Tamra]

Congrats!!!

Glad to see those wipers getting around. They worked for us, and for Frank, so hopefully they will for you too!

[Hindsight]

Congrats on the first kart! Our kits were build at about the same time (I'm #225).

[JAubin]

Thx for the nice words! Bob, that sounds pretty cool...at the time my situation was a 0% chance of getting out of the driveway tho, the warm temps and rain helped get rid of most of the ice, but washed out enough of that area that I still wouldn't make it out :|

Frank - full disclosure, the fuel pump was already primed as my battery had run down a bunch and it didn't turn over the first try. The regular charger I had also wasn't correct for a small capacity AGM battery. Picked up a NOCO which has some really slick connectors, so you can permanently mount a charge port, and just plug the charger in when needed.

[JAubin]

Hah, so it's only been....what 6 months? I've made what seems like almost no progress, but have been steadily hacking away at the punchlist:

Got my ZDB AWIC Installed. 5746357464
Picked up an adapter plate for the Greddy BOV and attached the stock Recirc valve to it, had to use some RTV anyway as using it backwards wasn't a perfect fit.
Wired up an in/out gauge for the intercooler also.
The front firewall is a total mess now with all the hoses running around it. Here's a shot of the mess 57465
Top two hoses are for my Heater (more in that in a sec) then below that I have two 3/4" hoses for the AWIC, as I ran those through the center tunnel. I did a quick and dirty method of attaching the AWIC pump, just riveted two T-Clamps to the frame, and then added a bracket that ties those to the diagonal frame member. Anyone pick out where
that part was poached from? It's not pretty, but will keep things held together until I have time/resources to make one that looks nicer.

We need defrost for NH Reg so I put in a Heater/Defroster from Vintage Air, and used the Old Air Electronic Valve to make sure I have coolant flowing back to the motor all the time. Put it right in the center of the firewall, with a quick bracket that's attached to the center frame member.
Wired up and blows hot air....which, incidentally is the LAST thing anyone around here needs right now. that may get swapped for an AC long term if/when I do a hardtop. 57466

A bit hard to see, but that's it right there, two holes are for defrost hoses, heat is in a trap door on the bottom.

I'm getting it over to a local shop soon to have my exhaust fabbed (muffer + Cat) seat and harness mounts welded in, a base map thrown on the ECU, and a few other odds and ends. I'm going to consider it mechanically done at htat point (I hope) and then it's Just (GULP) the body! Hah

[Frank818]

Like the harness.

On the top right of your AWIC HE I see something black there, like either a hose connector or wire connector. What is it?

[JAubin]

Hey Frank, that's just a Rubber Cap over the overflow nipple. I'm pretty sure it will never see the pressure it would need to open given the low temps involved w/ the AWIC, but figured I'd rather just cap it either way.

[Frank818]

Ok, you probably don't have the same HE as I do, I have no cap on the driver's side. It looks so similar to mine. :)

[JAubin]

Recently got my car back from the shop that did some great work on my car.

First on the list when it came home was the kids needed to go for a drive, so they clambered in and the oldest (3) needed the harness on and to do "drive to the grocery store."
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Here's a shot of the custom 3" exhaust they welded up. It's a slightly ovalized tube where it meets the turbo flange, so while not a bellmouth it should work well. Next is a Vibrant high performance cat, and a Magnaflow muffler. Have a nice SS tip to add to it all once the body is on. Sounds great! And yes this post is now worthless without a vid of it, but needs to be outside as it sounds pretty weird in the garage. Also you can see the IAG AOS. Mounted it back there since there wasn't a whole lot of room anywhere else...looks like I'll be doing a custom trunk when I get to that point, heh. Went with the IAG based on the shop's recommendation and from everything I've read on it it's a really well built unit. New AEM Wideband O2 sensor peeking out there too.
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Both seats are in solidly finally, welded in some steel channel and regular sidemounts, Driver is a Cobra Suzuka Pro GT, Pass is a Imola Pro GT, basically same seats but higher thigh bolsters on the Suzuka, lower bolsters on the Imola are easier to get into. OMP 6 Point Harnesses. Interestingly, NH doesn't mandate seat belts for hot rods / kit cars, so when asking about if it was ok to use DOT 6 Point harnesses (ie Schroth ASM I think) the Officer said, "Seat Belts? You don't need seat belts unless you want them..." Ummm ok...so I guess cam-locks are ok instead of a push release. Good to know.
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Overall Kart photo...interior console is just clamped in for now.
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And I couldn't resist...besides getting some more sheet metal done and the interior, it's Body time! This is way premature, but it's so tempting to take a peek...amazing how much more it looks like a car with just one side sail on. Hah.
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So I'm resigned to the fact that I'm not moving fast enough to get the body on and have it registered for this year (was a goal at one point...what did Douglas Adams say

"I love deadlines...I love the whooshing sounds they make as they go by"

but I'm actually happy about it in some way, now I have the whole winter to take my time, and get small things mechanically cleaned up, then sheet metal, and finally get the body on, and then do the body work. I'll be happy if I can pull that all off in the next 7 months or so, hah.
Probably try and get it on the road prior to doing paint, etc so I can be sure I don't destroy my new paint job. Currently waffling between going inexpensive and doing plasti-dip, or spending the money and doing a full auto-paint set, as I have a friend that's building a large (ie a garage bay) furniture finishing booth. Either way, here's my rough plan for doing the body...picked from various sources and what I think makes sense as the new front end certainly has a bit of clean up to do, and this will likely apply to most panels:

Step 1 - Paint Prep application (De-waxer Interlux Fiberglass surface prep?)
Step 2 - Wipe w/ acetone/until clean
Step 3 - sand out seams w/ 80 grit paper
Step 4 - Fill Seams (Rage gold?)
Step 5 - If voids/gelcoat in seam us 3m HSRF
Step 6 - Sand incrementally up to 180 grit
Step 7 - Spray with Slick Sand Primer
Step 8 - Sand incrementally to 800 grit
Step 9 - respray/appy rage gold
Step 10 - Sand incrementally to 800 grit
Step 11 - Add glaze (Upol Dolphin Glaze??)
Step 12 - Sand incrementally up to 800 grit
Step 13 - spray on guide coat
Step 14 - wet sand high spots

If I end up doing paint that 800 grit will likely be 2000, we'll see...have plenty to time before I'm to that point!

[JeromeS13]

Nice choice in seats. It's the same exact setup that I had in my old STi. They're some of the most comfortable, supportive racing buckets that you can get.

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t43/JeromeS13/For%20Sale/STI/WhiffleBall010.jpg (http://s157.photobucket.com/user/JeromeS13/media/For%20Sale/STI/WhiffleBall010.jpg.html)
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t43/JeromeS13/For%20Sale/STI/WhiffleBall011.jpg (http://s157.photobucket.com/user/JeromeS13/media/For%20Sale/STI/WhiffleBall011.jpg.html)

[Brad]

Hey JAubin! Hopefully future builder here in Derry. Progress looks excellent!

[JAubin]

Hey Frank, I'm realizing that you were talking about a different part, I'm pretty sure that was just an electrical connector sitting on top of the heat exchanger...

Jerome, yeah I really like the setup so far, at least sitting in it, acting like I'm driving the car, hah.

Brad, still a potential builder? Or did you purchase/build/sell your kit by now? Hah.

So here's my way overdue update:
Got to spend some time working on non 818 stuff, like replacing the hydraulic unit in my brand new floor jack...GRRRR, thankfully they shipped me a new one without any hassle.
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After cleaned up some stuff post getting it wrenched on at a local shop, I got to work on the new front end parts, and got the aluminum all mounted, did the drill/tap/screw method since I can imagine removing
a lot of these parts.
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And, ok, let me throw on the rest of the body to see how it's looking...ok really just to get the parts out of the way while I clean up, heh. And wow, lots of work to come in getting this to all align nicely.
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And more side projects, let's tear down and clean up this MR2 shifter because I don't want surface rust lurking around on there...
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Holy crap, I'm never going to finish this thing, it's a mess, and there's parts everywhere and WTF...and...
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CLEANUP! Ok that's better, I can breathe again.
69487
Last but not least got my exhaust swaintech coated, and all ready to get re-installed.
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Currently finishing up adding vinyl to the interior aluminum tunnel/console area. Mocked it up with my lower gauges and defroster controls, also a dual USB plug in there as well. Leaving some space for a marine radio at some point, hence the large open area in the middle there.

The front end body panels are already frustrating and I haven't done much with them yet...I imagine a lot of flexing, swearing, and twisting parts into place is going to come into play. I'm planning on loosening all the bolts, then tape everything with hte gaps I want, and go from there. I also need to install my wipes since they're required by the state.

So here's my next question:

-Does anyone in NH have a recommendation for a glass installer? I've tried every place I can find, and any larger franchised location basically says they don't do kit cars. I've called a few smaller places that people have recommended and haven't heard back. So frustrating, just want my windshield mounted! From everything I've read it's really not a DIY applicable item, so I'm going to hope that I hear back or someone has a good place to use.

In other news, does anyone want to move to Goffstown? I love the area I'm in, and my garage is great, and the roads around here are pretty awesome too, but moving a bit farther south to be closer to family. Mission is to get the car finished in the next few months so I don't have to trailer/store it, etc during the move. Pressure's on!

[RM1SepEx]

Joe, I brought my windshield frame and glass to Portland Glass in Brunswick Maine. They just sealed it in with no gasket and I picked it up a day later. Anyone should be able to install it for you.

[ben1272]

I had a safelite guy do mine.....he had never seen anything like it but did his best. Some problems we encountered:
- glass was too tightly fit to frame....hard to get and maintain an equal gap all around
- in order to remotely fit glass needed to be ~1/2" above frame, a gap that needs to be filled with more polyurethane than normally used. We did not use enough and the result was voids. I need to go back now and carefully mask and fill in with additional polyurethane .
- holding glass an even 1/2" off of frame was near impossible without making small clamp aids that allowed us to shim/prop the glass while still clamping it in place.
- there was NO WAY any sort of trim molding would have been possible with my glass and frame.....I wish it were possible as I think it would have looked MUCH better than it does without.
- Factory Five said all of this was normal and that the windshield frame has not changed since day 1.....mine still didnt fit well :(
- I ended up with glass tighter in frame at top middle and more flush to the frame at both sides.....hard to keep it even while setting up.....easy to squish out the adhesive if not careful
-My frame had factory installed plastic edge trim around outside edge of fiberglass frame.....I added a piece all along the INSIDE edge, which is visible from inside the car.....it is worth looking at/considering BEFORE you bond the glass.....dry adhesive may make it hard/impossible to add it on later.

Good luck! I hope yours goes better than mine....many seem to have had no problem....not sure what my problem was. We did it on the car (windshield frame installed). Maybe we would have had better luck with frame OFF of the car.....I would definitely try it this way next time.

[AZPete]

I had Safelite install the windshield in my 818S, then again in the 818C. I took the 818S frame and glass to their shop. The next day it was done and looked great. For the 818C, I couldn't fit the hardtop in my SUV so I took photos to Safelite and the manager scheduled his best guy, Jesse, to come to my house. Jesse installed the windshield, the rear hatch glass and the 2 quarter windows perfectly centered and with solid black sealant borders. It took nearly 3 hours and I paid the agreed $500, plus $50 tip. Jesse said he really enjoyed the job because it was different from the routine windshield jobs. Or maybe it was the tip.

[craigfree]

I have a guy that goes to local junkyards and pulls used windshields and installs them for 150 total. Used him a couple times for the daily beaters. He came out and did my s for 100 dollars. Same issues with tight fit, no room for a gasket, but he just caulked an edge with urethane and it looks great. It's nothing to be scared of, the glass guys are just worried about warrantying their work, so ask for price with no warranty.

[JAubin]

Thx Dan, Ben, Pete, Craig - I found a place that said they would be able to install the windshield here...hopefully set up a time after the 4th (Happy 4th!) Appreciate all the feedback, I was concerned about having it installed off the car, but after some searching (woops, lots of info, should've searched first!) seems like that's a pretty popular solution.

Does anyone need an old-style front end? I have the one that came with my kit, just taking up space right now, Flexible one price, just let me know what you think is fair! Posted it here also: http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?22802-818-Original-Nose-w-Lights-Aluminum-Etc-(Located-in-NH)

[JAubin]

Maybe I should update this thread? HAH.

So it's been nearly 2 years since I've posted here, been busy, moved, finished the car, got it on the road, etc.

So the summer of 2017 was crazy as I was working on trying to get the car on the road before I moved because I didn't want to move while I was mostly done w/ hte project and end up losing/missing/breaking stuff. I pushed hard but had to finish packing/moving the house too...it was less than ideal. Sufficed to say, I didn't get the car entirely finished, but I got the body on, lights installed, and glass installed enough that it was driveable to get it on a flatbed to transport to the new house.

104920
104921
104922
Body roughly on, install lights, get Mechie3's hood hinge sorted out. Bonded a block of wood w/ a few layers of fiberglass and then installed studs to that to attach to the hinge. Lights were a bit tricky, but look pretty good once they're in there.

Few shots of the (mostly) finished setup.
104923
104924
104925

Since then I did some work to address the heat in the engine bay with some additional shielding around the AWIC hoses and gold foil on the AWIC Core. Mostly cosmetic stuff to sort out, and get a tune. I had a fun adventure (maybe the wrong word?) when driving to a highly recommended tuner in MA last summer...first time driving on the highway for an extended time, which was nerve racking enough, and then just after I pulled off the trans started making a lot of noise, like a synchro trying to engage or something...luckily I was off the highway on a quiet sidestreet when I heard a giant *BANG* and both rear wheels locked up simultaneously (Hey thanks limited slip diff) and again very luckily I was on a quiet road, and it was straight enough for me to keep the car on the road... Don't like the thought of it happening 5 minutes earlier on a major highway. Long story short, I had a shop fix a trans leak due to a cracked rear casing, and I wasn't clear with them on the fill level, and I didn't double check it. I know this has been said :

*MAKE SURE YOU PUT IN THE FULL GEAR OIL AMOUNT*
104926
That's the bearing between 4th and 5th that failed somehow (best guess is due to overheating) but in any case locked up everything when it failed.

So running a Forester XT 5 speed in there now, and I'm back on the road. Will drop a post into the reg section w/ all those details once I dig up my notes on it.