Scrmblr2's 818R Build

[Scrmblr2]

Hello all,
Just took delivery of my 818R today. Been working on disassembly of my 2004 WRX Wagon donor on and off for the last 2 months. Since my kit arrived today, I felt i should start a build thread since the project has officially started. I also get to see how pictures may work, etc. To quote Ice Cube "Today was a good Day". :)

[Scrmblr2]

The Kit arrived today. I already had my daughters help me sort through boxes 1 & 2, and inventory parts. My eldest got a lesson in how to read a dial caliper. This is just another side benefit to building the kit as I hope to share/build the love of cars with them as the kit takes shape. Of course, the highlight might be when I take them for a ride once it is done.

[Rob T]

Welcome. It's great to Have another R out there. Where do you live?

[Mitch Wright]

Welcome to the R world, enjoy the build.

[DanielsDM]

Welcome to the fun. What are your plans for your R?

[Scrmblr2]

Welcome. It's great to Have another R out there. Where do you live?

Western suburbs of Chicago

[Scrmblr2]

Welcome to the fun. What are your plans for your R?

Plans are autox (possibly as I currently run a Miata) and track days, eventually leading to time attack.

[Rob T]

I lived in Naperville for 4 years in the early 90's. Grew up in Milwaukee. Now Central Valley CA.

[Scrmblr2]

So I got building this week. Removed the body panes, spent a few hours on my back on the creeper drilling and riveting the floor panels in place, and then hit a bit of a snag. I didnt have the control arms I plan on using (I want to use some aluminum STI arms, but don't have them yet), so I tried moving on and found I had a number of things to paint as they were in bare metal. So I started making my way through all the unpainted fabricated brackets that F5 provided. I got front and rear coil over shocks mocked up, rear control arms & front sway bar endlinks assembled but then ran into a snag. Anyone else have their front control arms show up like the image below? Best I can tell, I need to disassemble 1 and "flip" so I have 1 for each side. What else am I gonna run into? I still need to figure out what a few pieces are (as they did not come marked), and make a call to F5, as I have already found a few issues in the supplied components.

Next step is to work on the Wilwood pedal kit, which was slghtly confusing as I have panels for both the factory setup and the aftermarket setup.
75323

[frankc5r]

I would look thru some builds and faq because most people find the manual just a guide and not a exact procedure. For example most do not put bottom panels on till end cause it makes it harder
to get a things to assemble. Good example is seats, especially a R where alot have to get at that area to weld in new brackets to get seat where they want and low enough.

[AZPete]

This forum is the best manual. This thread may be useful:
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?7605-Upper-contol-arm

I agree with Frank about not riveting the bottom pan on yet but you could drill the holes and attach it with a few #8 screws, then much later remove the screws and rivet with sealant. I did this with a number of panels. Clecos also hold panels temporarily but they can get in the way, and you've got a handful of #8 screws from the shipped chassis.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Anyone else have their front control arms show up like the image below? Best I can tell, I need to disassemble 1 and "flip" so I have 1 for each side. What else am I gonna run into? I still need to figure out what a few pieces are (as they did not come marked), and make a call to F5, as I have already found a few issues in the supplied components.
75323

Hey Scrmblr2,
On the "A" arms, I don't think FFR distinguishes between left and right. So "YES" a lot have seen this.

You will run into dozens of questions like the upper "A" arms. The answers are probably in the forum somewhere, but they my be hard to find. So just go ahead and ask them here on your build thread. After you get a little deeper into your build, question will come up that you know the answer so you can help the next guy.

One more note on the Upper "A" arms. I had trouble getting my upper ball joints screwed in all the way. I ended up buying a special socket that fit them, then used a breaker bar to get them in all the way.

Oh, I put the grease fittings pointing down, so I could access all 3 of them with the tire off.

Bob