Violaracers 818c Build

[Violaracer]

Hello anybody who may read this post! I have just started by 818c build and thought it may be a good idea to be a bit more public about my latest project; especially considering I'll most likely need quite a bit of help. A little about myself...... I know very little about cars. I grew up as a small engine mechanic with the family business, so I am very comfortable around a variety of tools and understand how engines work. My dad and I were always building something, so I have a fair amount of experience with a variety of fabrication methods, BUT I know very little about cars besides the fact that I love to drive fast and make a lot of noise. The biggest reason I wanted to build this car is because I'm assuming that by the time I'm done, my knowledge about how cars work will be significantly improved. I purchased my parts from Wayne and have had a lot of opportunity to clean them up because it took quite a long time for my kit to arrive once I ordered it. I'll post a few pics of some of the parts and some more of the build as I progress. Wish me luck!

[Violaracer]

Here are the brake calipers before and after (assuming I can figure out how to upload pics). I disassembled and sand blasted them. I painted them with caliper paint and baked in the oven for hour @ 200 degrees.

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[Hindsight]

Welcome, and happy building.

[Shawn818c]

I'm excited to see some pictures and follow your build. Where are you located and what options did you go with?

[BN]

Looking good those brakes

[dallas_]

Welcome and keep us posted on your progress.

So, how did you come up with that user name?

[Violaracer]

I'm excited to see some pictures and follow your build. Where are you located and what options did you go with?

I live in Irvine California. I moved here about 3 years ago from Washington State. My username Viola racer is derived from the fact that I play Viola and used to race in the SPEC M class. I had 2 racing licenses, one with the SCCA and the other with a local racing group of which acronym I cannot recall at the moment. Anyway, here are some more pictures!

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[Mitch Wright]

Enjoy your build

[flynntuna]

Great to see another 818 build in Ca.

[Mechie3]

My username Viola racer is derived from the fact that I play Viola and used to race in the SPEC M class.

Welcome to the madness. I played viola from 3rd grade through 6th grade. Only stopped because I didn't have enough time for everything I was doing and I liked playing the drums more than viola, so that one got dropped.

[Violaracer]

Welcome to the madness. I played viola from 3rd grade through 6th grade. Only stopped because I didn't have enough time for everything I was doing and I liked playing the drums more than viola, so that one got dropped.

Small world! I ended up going to school on the east coast and played and taught several years but I'm basically retired from it now. Going back to my roots in getting my hands dirty I guess.

[Violaracer]

Today I got some more refurbishing done and worked on the front suspension/tin work I didn't tighten quite few things permanently with the suspension because I'm not 100% happy with some of the bolt choices. I'm going to replace some of them with nuts and bolts that I prefer. I like to use a bolt with a flat washer lock washer and lock nut whenever I can. There are several situations where the manual wants you to put a bear bolt head on the frame. This seems like a very bad idea to me. Also, I believe that the kit is missing quite a few bolts, which was extremely frustrating at first, but now I just assume that the bolts will not be available and I just take measurements and go to Home Depot. I've already spent about $120 on just nuts and bolts alone!

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[Violaracer]

Ok, people are wondering what kind of extras I got and what parts I am installing, so I finally found my docs and here it is:

From Wayne:

--Wire harness with ECU
--6 Spd Transmission
--06 donor: Shortblock with STI crank, forged rods/pistons, 06' WRX heads (valve job, seals, heads surfaced, titanium retainers, springs and BC Racing cams 272/272, ARP head studs, New oil pump, timing belt, idler, bearings, water pump, tension assembly, stock 06' intake manifold, TGV deleted, 1000 cc injectors
--AWIC
--Billet Shifter

Ad ons from FFR

--Padded dash
--Powder Coating
--Street Splitter
--Carbon Fiber rocker panel extensions
--Rear diffuser, carbon fiber
--Carbon Fiber street Spoiler
--Complete carpet set
--6-spd trans awd to fwd conv. w/kit
--818 trunk kit
--CV Axle w/KIT

[Violaracer]

Here is some more progress. I was unable to complete the rear suspension on both sides because I managed to destroy some of the suspension parts (lateral links) trying to separate them. The manual shows the rear lateral links separated from the main hubs, so of course I tried to separate them with 3 hours of: torch, hammer, sledge hammer, cut off saw, hack saw, etc. After destroying the lateral link mounting points, I tried mounting one of the still connected other side to the frame (as I received them from Wayne) and guess what?.... fit on the car just fine. F$#%^&*!!! Anyway, new parts are on the way. Until then, I only have one side 1/2 done.

BTW, it would seem that fully connecting the rear axle to the engine and the suspension can only be properly accomplished AFTER the engine is mounted. The manual says to attach the drive shaft at the same time as as trying to get the engine mounted. It looks like the best method is to connect the drive shaft to the engine after the engine is mounted THEN connect it to the suspension that is not fully bolted in yet. In other words, don't connect the hubs to the frame until the engine is fully mounted with the shafts installed in the transmission.

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[AZPete]

Very impressive list from Wayne and FFR. Did the engine arrive that nice from Wayne or did you pretty it up?

[Violaracer]

Very impressive list from Wayne and FFR. Did the engine arrive that nice from Wayne or did you pretty it up?

I sandblasted the shiny Parts on the engine. Such as the air conditioning pump the alternator and the water pump. I also slicked up and painted the turbo and the exhaust system. The red portion on top of the engine which I believe this the manifold?...Already arrived RED, which i thought was cool. The transmission was also painted black by me after copious amounts of degreaser.

[Rob T]

I replaced the drive shafts on my 818R after the car was completely built with the engine in. I had to pretty much disassemble everything around the rear hub, but could sneak the driveshafts in with the engine mounted.

[Violaracer]

I replaced the drive shafts on my 818R after the car was completely built with the engine in. I had to pretty much disassemble everything around the rear hub, but could sneak the driveshafts in with the engine mounted.

Ya, I would agree with that. I got the shafts installed today but I had to completely disassemble the rear suspension to make it work. It's not totally done because I haven't received the lateral links I ordered yet (the ones I destroyed trying to get them separated from the hubs). Here is a question that I'm hoping someone can answer: I ordered the drive shaft kit from FFR and they came with locking rings??? that I assume are supposed to go into the transmission side of the shaft, but if you put the ring on the shaft, won't the rings prevent the shafts from going into the hubs? I have attached a picture for reference. Also, am I supposed to lube the spline with anything in particular?

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[Violaracer]

Hello all,

I'm at the state where I am installing the tin for the inside of the firewall. I can't figure out what I'm supposed to do and after I rivet the pieces, it'll be permanent, so if there is any input that anybody has, that'd be appreciated!

Here is what I have so far...

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[Hindsight]

Won't be permanent because you can drill out the rivets. I would suggest using self tapping sheet metal screws instead of rivets, for the firewall. But before that, you will need to have the fuel tank and all its wiring and plumbing in place. You may choose to route some of the wiring harness between it and the tank too. I would personally install the firewall after you have go karted a while. No rush in putting it on now.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Won't be permanent because you can drill out the rivets. I would suggest using self tapping sheet metal screws instead of rivets, for the firewall. But before that, you will need to have the fuel tank and all its wiring and plumbing in place. You may choose to route some of the wiring harness between it and the tank too. I would personally install the firewall after you have go karted a while. No rush in putting it on now.

I agree with Hindsight. I go karted it for a whole summer before mounting the aluminum panels. Made working out the bugs, much simpler.

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[Violaracer]

Ah ok. Thanks a lot for the advice guys. I'll definitely hold off on the firewall then because I'm sure there will be some"re re routing" that'll occur....

[AZPete]

Do you know about Cleco fasteners? They are temporary rivets that hold pieces in place and can be removed easily. Most guys here have a bunch of them. I've built 2 FFR cars with the kit that includes about 25 1/8" Clecos for about $25. A few 3/16 Clecos would be useful also. In your case, you could Cleco the firewall in place and easily remove it later. Or, as Hindsight said, use screws like FFR used to hold panels when they shipped your kit. Here's a link to Summit Racing but other vendors also have Cleco fasteners.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-g1850?seid=srese1&cm_mmc=pla-google-_-shopping-_-srese1-_-summit-racing&gclid=Cj0KEQiAnIPDBRC7t5zJs4uQu5UBEiQA7u5Ne39iGBCM HxD7WtJWOIQTAsQicrM8q046PiwQQw7fFQYaAleg8P8HAQ

[Violaracer]

Ya, I actually use the clecos to hold panels in place while I drill the holes. The biggest challenge for me is that I have no idea what part of the car MUST be done "now" or can wait till later. I'm afraid of getting components installed and then find out that because I didn't get some panel installed in the proper order that I'll run into problems later on. I'm basically just following the manual and hoping that it doesn't lead me down a bad path. Even though it's early in the build, I can see how I would've done things differently already. For this reason I haven't tightened hardly any bolts on the suspension because I'm assuming I"ll probably have to disassemble it at some point. I'm just guessing a lot about a lot of things and seeing most of what I do as "temporary".

[Violaracer]

Does anybody know if I should push the axles into the transmission with these rings on the axle ends?

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[Bob_n_Cincy]

Does anybody know if I should push the axles into the transmission with these rings on the axle ends?

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Violaracer,
Retaining rings like you show above are used in 2 places.
1. Where the axle shaft goes into the outer CV joint.
2. Where the male CV joint goes into a female transmission.
If you don't uses them, the joints will flop in and out.

here is a shoe video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp1SEYEBfjM
Bob

[Violaracer]

Awesome. Thanks!

[Violaracer]

Well, I thought I would post some pics of my fuel tank install. The fitting of the fuel pump/pickup etc was definitely questionable as many people have mentioned before. It seems that both of the floats may interfere with each other's movement once fuel is added but we'll see! I installed some 1/16 rubber padding with some silicon to the frame where the tank sits because I hate rattles etc. I haven't figured out how I am going to tie the tank down to keep it from moving around. I will wait until I get more components installed before making a decision because I don't want to create some brackets that may interfere with somthing else down the road. I'm currently stuck on a bunch of things because I don't have many parts because they are back ordered from FFR. I called today and I hope they can send some stuff out soon!

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[alpine227]

Here is some more progress. I was unable to complete the rear suspension on both sides because I managed to destroy some of the suspension parts (lateral links) trying to separate them. The manual shows the rear lateral links separated from the main hubs, so of course I tried to separate them with 3 hours of: torch, hammer, sledge hammer, cut off saw, hack saw, etc. After destroying the lateral link mounting points, I tried mounting one of the still connected other side to the frame (as I received them from Wayne) and guess what?.... fit on the car just fine. F$#%^&*!!! Anyway, new parts are on the way. Until then, I only have one side 1/2 done.

BTW, it would seem that fully connecting the rear axle to the engine and the suspension can only be properly accomplished AFTER the engine is mounted. The manual says to attach the drive shaft at the same time as as trying to get the engine mounted. It looks like the best method is to connect the drive shaft to the engine after the engine is mounted THEN connect it to the suspension that is not fully bolted in yet. In other words, don't connect the hubs to the frame until the engine is fully mounted with the shafts installed in the transmission.

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leave the springs and upper links unhooked until the engine trans is in this gives enough room to get the axles in.