Bryan's boring regular plain old 818 (*cough* STI donor *cough*) Build Thread

[blbrchnk]

Hello all, I haven't even purchased the kit yet, but just yesterday I picked up my donor from auction and brought her home. She was rear ended but looks like most everything we need is in tip top shape. Even though the hood crinkled and the bumper came off, the engine is not damaged from what I can see visually in my garage. They did steal some gauges, the radio and swap the seats with a WRX but not really that big of a deal considering I only paid $5500 for it.

Anyhow I am looking forward to tearing it down and getting to know you all a lot better. I plan on this being a slow build as I am still finishing my basement as well as installing stone on the outside little by little on the nights I am not daddy the chauffeur. I am hoping for a ~400whp coupe when it is released using the 6mt from my donor. Here are some pics from the auction site:

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[xxguitarist]

Wow, that took a HARD hit!

Are the transmission & rear suspension OK, or did they get shoved into?

Label everything. And then some.. There are some good threads in the donor area for how to prepare.

[blbrchnk]

Wow, that took a HARD hit!

Are the transmission & rear suspension OK, or did they get shoved into?

Label everything. And then some.. There are some good threads in the donor area for how to prepare.

Upon first glance it looks like the suspension and tranny are good. It looks like whatever hit it was higher (note the muffler/diffuser underneath still in place so it just crunched the trunk. The engine bay looks like it escaped unscathed outside of the radiator.

[Frank818]

Woho, what a hit. Probably a truck or a rig, something. Windows have not shattered, Subaru did a nice job to absorb impacts. :)

When are you or ok you have not "bought" the kit yet. Doing so soon?

[blbrchnk]

I have a lot of other house projects going on atm so I figured I would strip the car down and rebuild the motor in my spare time. Plus I am waiting for the 818 hardtop to be released and hopefully some sort of official support for the STI donor which I know they have been working on. By the time those happen, I should be ready.

[ehansen007]

BORING!!!! LOL. Can't wait to see it. Remember, we've already had one spin out and wreck with a WRX motor so be super careful! On my first drive in Brandos R I noticed that when that boost kicked in it's a bit similar to a 2 stroke with no real weight to hold it back. Get those tires warmed up first especially if you're a subie driver/owner and used to the AWD saving your butt! :)

[blbrchnk]

BORING!!!! LOL. Can't wait to see it. Remember, we've already had one spin out and wreck with a WRX motor so be super careful! On my first drive in Brandos R I noticed that when that boost kicked in it's a bit similar to a 2 stroke with no real weight to hold it back. Get those tires warmed up first especially if you're a subie driver/owner and used to the AWD saving your butt! :)

I have never owned a Subbie before but two cars ago I owned a 500hp BMW 335 AWD. I loved that car. Although I sold it to purchase this:

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Which in turn I ended up selling to help fund this project as well as my basement remodel/theatre project that is going on concurrently. It had some upgrades and was pushing over 600hp at the wheels. The power was intoxicating, but it was a bit heavy. Crazy to think that I will have an even higher p/w ratio in this car and be able to hold the twisties at ridiculous speeds.

Couple crappy basement pics. 120" crystal clear 3D projection is delicious.

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Needless to say I have to keep a nice balance between the two to keep the better half from becomming frustrated with me ;).

[blbrchnk]

Oh and I figured I would mention all the items I plan on using for the build. I already have a Blousch 20g turbo coming for which I traded my BBS wheels off the STI as well as ported grimmspeed headers and uppipe. Some of the rest of the things I plan on doing:

-Catless dp and AJW custon 818 exhaust
-upgraded intercooler
-Walbro Fuel Pump and Deatschwerks 1000cc injectors
-Replace Timing belt, pulleys, water pump and all gaskets
-New radiator and fan (since mine was smashed)
-Hone and deck the stock block
-install Wiesco or CP forged pistons
-Manley H beam rods (I know many say rods aren't needed, but I'd hate to build the whole engine and not just to save a couple hundred bucks)
-ACL Main and Rod bearings
-New crank pulley
-1 step colder plugs
-Killer B Oil Pickup
-Probably a Quaife LSD
-Possibly Meth Injection if needed (I had it in my BMW and if tuned right can be a very safe and beneficial upgrade for cooling while keeping the carbon off the intake valves)
-VCP trailing arms
-Flaring the rear wheel wells to accept some larger wheels/tires to plant that power.

Thats not everything, but a good part of the list. If you guy have any suggestions I am always open to listening to advice.

P.S. Drained and took the radiator and AC condenser out of the car this past weekend so I could check out the timing belt since I noticed there was a small hole punched into the cover. I was afraid the pieces may have become lodged in the belt and caused some damage. Luckily it appears that all is well and it didn't affect the belt at all.

[Kurk818]

Do you plan on using all of the STI running gear including the 6speed?

[blbrchnk]

Do you plan on using all of the STI running gear including the 6speed?

I hope to. I have read over your build and others trying to soak in as much as possible. After it is all said and done what is your thought? The hubs/axles/cvs are what worry me the most. The 6 speed seems pretty straight forward now.

[Kurk818]

The hubs, axles and CV's were actually the least of the issue. Make sure to adjust your rim offset since the reuse of STI axles makes the rear width greater by approx 5/8" to 3/4". Im modifying my body to fit.

[blbrchnk]

The hubs, axles and CV's were actually the least of the issue. Make sure to adjust your rim offset since the reuse of STI axles makes the rear width greater by approx 5/8" to 3/4". Im modifying my body to fit.

I am contemplating doing the same to the body as I want to fit as wide of tires in the back as possible for traction. If those parts were the least of the issue, what were the worst part of using the full STI donor ?


On a different note, cleaning out the donor car last night, I found a lunch box with about $3 in change, a $16 home depot gift card and a $17 gamestop gift card. SCORE! This car is pretty much paying for itself :p

[Kurk818]

Dieting the electrical was a pain, especially since i kept the ABS system.

I also performed the 2WD conversion on the 6speed before FFR made it available and did not provide any sort of guidance to how it is installed. It is completely different than the 5speed and posed a how to challenge. I ended up bolting and welding the hubs together.

I kept the OEM center console from the STI and have installed it. I modified the FFR supplied shifter to incorporate the subaru reverse lock-out and be as OEM as possible. The shifting mechanism on the tranny side was also custom fabricated but now that FFR supplies one, that should make it easier.

[tebriel]

Will you be building the motor yourself? Just out of curiosity how much did you get your donor car for?

[Kurk818]

Will you be building the motor yourself? Just out of curiosity how much did you get your donor car for?

From his first post.

Hello all, I haven't even purchased the kit yet, but just yesterday I picked up my donor from auction and brought her home. She was rear ended but looks like most everything we need is in tip top shape. Even though the hood crinkled and the bumper came off, the engine is not damaged from what I can see visually in my garage. They did steal some gauges, the radio and swap the seats with a WRX but not really that big of a deal considering I only paid $5500 for it.

[blbrchnk]

From his first post.

Hello all, I haven't even purchased the kit yet, but just yesterday I picked up my donor from auction and brought her home. She was rear ended but looks like most everything we need is in tip top shape. Even though the hood crinkled and the bumper came off, the engine is not damaged from what I can see visually in my garage. They did steal some gauges, the radio and swap the seats with a WRX but not really that big of a deal considering I only paid $5500 for it.


I will be building the motor myself and in the interest of full disclosure, while the car was only $5500, all of the fees brought it up over $6k. Still well worth it IMO.

I plan on stripping the donor, building the motor, prepping the trans and refurbishing/painting most of the parts before I order the kit so I have everything in line when it arrives. I bought a copy of the build manual that I have been reviewing and want to be as ahead of the game as I can.

[Wayne Presley]

6K for an STI is great!

[blbrchnk]

6K for an STI is great!

I thought so. And if it weren't for one guy bidding against me from Iowa, I may have been able to shave $1500 off that price...

[tebriel]

Did you get it through copart?

[blbrchnk]

Did you get it through copart?

I did. Since it required a broker's license in the state of Pennsylvania I used salvagereseller.com as my broker. First month of membership is free and I think $20 a month after that if you wish. Its just like most other brokers, they have their fee's which I found to be somewhat reasonable, but then you have to add in copart's fees as well which sucks. You have to put in a deposit of 10% for your buying power. They simply placed a hold on my cc for that amount and in the end when I asked for it back, they refunded it no problem.