mikeb75's build thread

After delays, delays and more delays took delivery of the kit last Friday; chassis #206.

The driver Steve was super helpful and made the act of suspending a car in the air held up by a few chains not a total disaster.
Over the weekend I got through stripping the chassis and inventorying a few boxes. Should get through the remaining ones this week; then we can get to work.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._42_17_Pro.jpg
(yea, about the floor -that's a long story involving a nest of angry hornets... not a happy memory)

FYI, gas tanks are still back ordered (well mine is anyway…), and a couple of other parts. Gives me a chance to catch up on the clean/ remanufacturing of parts that I’ve been slacking on.

For grins a couple of slide shows:
Donor Tear Down http://youtu.be/7SO6gD0-mGI
Donor Viking Funeral http://youtu.be/J01x9iJyc4o

You can have mine

Edit: Claimed by Samiam101

Left the transmission at AndrewTech for an inspection and LSD install. They split the case and found the gears and synchros were in pretty good shape! Stoked: not bad for 192K.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...ssionatAT2.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...ssionatAT3.jpg
Got the reassembled transmission home and spent a day wire wheeling it (crusty)!
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._22_00_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._59_16_Pro.jpg
Then taped it up and started painting:
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._34_30_Pro.jpg
So here it is after a can of hi-temp that I had left over and a touch of wrinkle black, just because
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._15_30_Pro.jpg

That looks great!

I admit, that black is pretty nice!

I’ve had the kit home for 4 weeks but with travel for vacation, work and other family obligations I’ve barely had a chance to do anything. Last week I had a feeling of accomplishment putting the 4 plastic end caps in the square holes on the frame… lame.
Making progress on the firewall has been 1 step forward, 2 steps back with measuring, drilling, cleaning, painting, having the wrong size Clekos, drilling into the frame, re-measuring and re-drilling some holes.
Finally getting to riveting… the Harbor Freight air tool works well:
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._08_52_Pro.jpg
And the wife was not impressed when she saw where I left one of the child-seats to get it out of the way; but it does solve the cup-holder dilemma 
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._09_18_Pro.jpg

Nice. I like the seats. ;)

Since my donor was more rust than car I have a lot of hardware I need to replace. Finding the names/part numbers has been a bit challenging, so here are guides for the front and rear suspension including diagrams, part numbers and the numbers of each I estimate are needed based on the 818 assembly manual.

front suspension:
http://1drv.ms/1oCij8V

rear suspension:
http://1drv.ms/1mJmkeE

Got the front suspension assembled (after I paid $150 for new hardware… yay me). Had a small issue with one of the upper ball joints; after I aligned the cotter-pin hole it twisted while torqueing the castle nut. I damaged the threads on the stud while trying to relocate the hole and had to take the entire assembly apart and do some Dremel re-profiling and now everything looks happy. Don’t know why the threaded shaft spun, but don’t do what I did. Just remove the upper A-arm and pop the ball joint shaft out and relocate it –saves a lot of time and pain.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._34_07_Pro.jpg

Good bye Godspeed red (blaugh)
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._19_58_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._30_20_Pro.jpg

Currently Rasmusing the outer front CV joint… taking a while with a 3” cutoff disc on air tools.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._53_32_Pro.jpg

I believe it was described in the 6th circle: taking the flaking paint off a JDM STI v5 intake manifold by hand using sandpaper and a wire wheel. My kingdom for a media cabinet –except I don’t want to pay for it or store it…
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._33_49_Pro.jpg

And continuing the fight against terminal rust and corrosion
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._35_32_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._06_13_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._24_17_Pro.jpg

Also noted in The Inferno using the proper tool makes a job easier, finished both CV outers using a $15 Harbor Freight angle grinder in about 20 minutes after spending a few hours on it yesterday using an air grinder
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._22_16_Pro.jpg

Front suspension… is suspending.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._23_56_Pro.jpg

Looks good! We are getting ready to start de-rusting our donor parts soon... not looking forward to that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tamra

Looks good! We are getting ready to start de-rusting our donor parts soon... not looking forward to that.

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Yea, its a bit of a pain. Absolutely recommend the Bucket Of Doom method described by others on this forum. Wish it worked on de-painting also !

Should be getting the engine here next week for compression/leak-down testing and (crosses-fingers) installation. Work on de-corroding and cleaning continues:

Starter –reassembling the motor was anti-fun. Much easier when the brushes can be accessed from outside
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._55_16_Pro.jpg

Drive shafts – nasty. But Brakleen is absolute magic
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._33_44_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._52_27_Pro.jpg

Don’t think Evaporust is going to fix this…
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._33_50_Pro.jpg

Alternator – reassembly of the armature was a lot easier than the starter since the brushes could be locked from the outside, but getting everything lined up so it spins freely took a little time
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._51_52_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._44_41_Pro.jpg

Intake– almost done, probably another few hours of prep
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._06_37_Pro.jpg

I would have blasted that for ya for the price of shipping.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by metalmaker12

I would have blasted that for ya for the price of shipping.

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I may have to take you up on the offer next time! (thanks!) but for now I will suffer for my art :)

Better than my intake.. I had an "affordable" powder coating shop in Phoenix blast my intake and coat it.. It looks great apart from the 200-300 plastic blasting beads that I had to get out of it using a pressure washer with the nozzle shoved into every vacuum port I could find to get them all out. I don't know what they were thinking when they decided to bead blast it :(

Back on topic.. your parts look great and are coming along.. keep up the good work :)

Engine delivery is going to be delayed until weekend because of scheduling issues. Pedal box assembly is having a touch of trouble from clearance of the master cylinders to the firewall and frame, so have to wait on another clutch master… and figure out where to remote mount the reservoirs.

So I jumped ahead in the manual and started doing the side aluminum. It’s a lot of work to get everything lined up, drilled, painted, re-drilled, hung, and looking correct before riveting and putting down silicone, but it feels really good to make some progress on a bit item. Starting to look like a real cockpit!
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._33_27_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._06_11_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._59_57_Pro.jpg

I need to touch up the paint on the panels and I’ll probably paint the rivets also and planning to put some grip tape on the dead pedal area but really happy with how it came out, feels quite solid.
Once I get all the panels done I’ll apply some GTSpec LiquiDamp to the outside.

I was actually looking for some close up pix of that area, you are posting just at the right time!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Frank818

I was actually looking for some close up pix of that area, you are posting just at the right time!

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glad I could help. I'd recommend test fitting everything before painting. I missed the smallest inset panel the first time and had to go back & refit/paint.

Yeah, test fitting, also to make sure all is ok before you rivet! And I riveted the side panels already. I see the small coolant tube cover slides under the side panel and dead pedal box. My dead pedal is not riveted, but my side panel is! And in the manual, they are using a different part and no coolant tube cover, so I wasn't aware of that one until I saw your pix! That's why I said you were posting at the right (almost loll) time. I guess I missed a manual update or something, or just forgot to read the one with the side panels update (if any). I will rivet the coolant tube cover on top of the side panel, then. Certainly no major issue there.

Looking good!

Frank, don't think there was a manual update for this style coolant tube cover; at least none that I saw. I just got lucky since I had the parts clamped and Cleko'd in place and had a big hole where the covers went. I dove through my aluminum panel box and found the covers and said aloud -guess those go in the hole... before driving rivets. Was ][ that close to doing what you did. You could drill out a few rivets at the bottom and work the cover under the dead pedal box

Thanks GUNS. The drivers side came out good (almost), but the passenger side didn't line up quite as well... and now I get to spend a day fixing paint issues :)

yea I got lucky with the coolant cover as well. It was by looking at a build thread like this where I saw it and luckily it was before I began riveting. Like you, both sides of mine turned out pretty good, but one side is a little better than the other. Doubt you'll notice when all is said and done. Keep up the good work.

Finished paint correction on the aluminum parts and applied GTSoundControl Liqui-Damp that I found from a recommendation on this site; so here is a quick review.

Coverage: This is some thick stuff. Easy to get coverage on the aluminum panels. 1 quart is more than enough to do the front firewall and side panels with 2 coats.

Application: Use in a well-ventilated area -still dealing with being high. Cleans up easy with paper towel and alcohol.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._09_28_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._35_14_Pro.jpg

I put a two light coats on the side panels and two heavier coats on the front firewall. Mostly concerned with noise and heat intrusion from the front of the car, so that’s why I focused on the front panels. It’s actually a bit of a dense product when being applied; but I am willing to add the mass to get a bit more comfort. I’ll be interested to see if it addresses heat from the radiator well –I’m a bit temperature sensitive; I’ve had to cut short a few track sessions because of overheating (I’d overheat not the car).

I’ve had a bit of a dilemma on what to do about the front brakes; I found a used set of Wilwood superlites on a forum with no instructions and they’re not a current product, but the price was right. After rebuilding them I’ve been looking for a set of rotors to run. Part of me wanted 2 piece for the light weight, but I couldn’t find a set larger than 12” with the correct bolt pattern. I want to maximize the front rotor size, if not for weight purposes for thermal capacity.

Finally I stopped trying and spent some time on the summit racing website. I found a set of rotors with the correct bolt pattern that were 12.7”. Unfortunately they’re EBC –I’m no fan of their pads, but I figured how bad could they mess up rotors… I know, don’t ask questions you don’t want answer to.

Received them today and slapped them up front to make sure my measurements weren’t too far off. Looks like the clearances are good, and they look pretty badass up there:
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._55_03_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._55_17_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._55_25_Pro.jpg

The rotors are sick. :)

How many quarts you think you may need for front FW, side panels, front hood, front fenders, rear deck lid, rear trunk lid, rear bumper and rear fenders, all that with 3 coats?
I think 5 quarts won't be enough.

What are those purple markings on your LCA near the big bushing?

That's a pink quality check mark from the factory

I didn't have these marks. Maybe mines are of no quality and will break on the first bump. :)

Frank, I have about 1/2 of the quart left after doing the front and sides with 2 coats. I have no idea how much would be needed to cover the inside fiberglass, hadn't considered doing that since I don't think the Liquid-Damp is very weatherproof.

I'm actually quite pleased with the rotors, they look more evil than the DBA's on my STI.

The rotors look like your avatar. :)

Probably 3-4 quarts can do the whole car, but I wasn't aware of the waterproof thing. I may use something else in some areas, then.

Got the Wilwood firewall attach pedal box and master cylinders finalized today, not without a bit of struggle. I bought combination reservoir masters for the brakes and a smaller integral reservoir master for the clutch, but there were interference issues with all the reservoirs. The combo reservoirs didn’t clear the firewall; the integral reservoir did, but the filler cap was un-removable because of interference with the frame. Definitely not to plan.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._43_34_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._57_51_Pro.jpg

So a third combo reservoir was ordered and I would run all three reservoirs remote; there must be enough room up there for them –there’s no engine to get in the way!
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._14_56_Pro.jpg

Then I found that the threaded shafts for the masters were way too long –couldn’t install them on the pedals and have a reasonable resting position. I’m short(ish), but not 4’ short so modifications were required. I had a very uncomfortable feeling as I was cutting $240 worth of hardware, but cut I did.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._59_42_Pro.jpg

Now it has some show, time to get started on the go.

Ok, getting spooked here. The donor car has 192K miles and looked like a warmed over corpse. The engine is NOT in pretty shape on the outside, but just finished the compression test:

1: 162
2: 158
3: 150
4: 160

Was the donor’s name Nosferatu?

Bolted on the ebay flywheel and now I can get to work refreshing the engine.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._19_24_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._46_52_Pro.jpg

FIL was positively shocked; he expected a full rebuild on order
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._46_33_Pro.jpg

Also test fitting the seat and harness bar/a dummy harness
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._31_56_Pro.jpg

those are great compression numbers

Sure, the engine tested well (ok compression-tested well) –but it’s going to take a lot of work before I bolt that into the car… There was so much rust and corrosion and old oil that I figured a teardown was in order.
I’ll keep the heads on and the block won’t be split; other than that game on!

I admit I’ve never done this before
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._25_13_Pro.jpg

I’m pretty sure there was a mouse nest in there before I got started
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._27_18_Pro.jpg

Making some progress
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._10_16_Pro.jpg

At least the inside looks clean
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._30_33_Pro.jpg

Wire wheeled and sanded
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._19_05_Pro.jpg

Base coat
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._46_17_Pro.jpg

And done, wrinkle black that no one will ever see
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._23_55_Pro.jpg

That needs to be replaced
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._06_58_Pro.jpg

Not too bad in here, but all this needs to go. I want to pull the oil ‘cooler’ also, but I think I’ll leave it until after the car is built and the shake down runs are complete. I have a plan.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._24_05_Pro.jpg

KillerB Motorsports Oil Pickup & STI baffle. Cleaned and polished the gasket mating surface
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._35_13_Pro.jpg

Some local shop (which will remain nameless) banged the hell out of my STI oil pan when they were removing it (to install a Killer B on my STI). I pounded the outer lip back flat and cleaned the remaining gasket material with a wire wheel then cleaned out the pan with solvent.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._44_30_Pro.jpg

All done? Guess I should hit it with some paint.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._06_09_Pro.jpg

Completed building the drive shafts –no pictures! No helper available and having both hands covered with RedLine CV grease does not make me want to stop and shoot pictures.

After the drive shafts were assembled I hung the rear suspension and assembled the H6 brake brackets and test hung a wheel… and yes I’ll be buying spacers for the rear. Anyone considering the Godspeed rear trailing arms should be aware (again, others have said the same thing) that you get less clearance than the stock ones. For me it wasn’t really a choice since my trailing arms were a bit destroyed when we removed them from the donor.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._51_52_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._43_39_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._09_02_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._31_41_Pro.jpg

Got the value covers and installed and replaced the gaskets. Also put on engine mounts (yes, they are backwards in the picture -fixed now). So far so good.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._21_29_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._21_34_Pro.jpg

FIL was working on replacing water & oil pumps and timing belt when it all went to crap. Crankshaft sprocket wouldn’t come off without persuasion –said persuasion took some of the timing teeth off said crankshaft sprocket… but we really weren’t willing to leave the oil pump unchanged. Then when trying to remove the crankshaft position sensor from the old oil pump it got a bit broken also…
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._03_58_Pro.jpg

To console ourselves while waiting on ebay to deliver replacements the fuel tank was assembled and installed and I finished the intake plenum. Amazing what some paint stripper can do.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._41_55_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._23_11_Pro.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._34_21_Pro.jpg

Getting the steering linkage finalized was quite an ordeal. First I over-shortened the column… my excuse is I did a heavy arms workout that morning and didn’t realize how hard I was hitting the bottom of the column with a dead-blow hammer… well it’s an excuse anyway. Spent some time (and had help from the brain-trust on this forum) figuring out a way to de-compress the column. It’s a lot easier if you don’t make this mistake in the first place.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._31_57_Pro.jpg
(kinky)

Finally got the column back to a correct length and tried to replace the loosy-goosy WRX steering coupler with an STI one, but the steering rack input shaft was nowhere close to the size of the STI coupler union. After trying to spread the union end for an hour I finally grabbed an angle grinder and made some ‘adjustments’ to the rack input shaft. There was no way that was going on the union –ever.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._50_20_Pro.jpg
This doesn’t really show the degree of adjustment needed to the rack input shaft, but where the bolt goes in the union I had to relief cut out of the input shaft. And no, I’m really really don’t ever want to take that off again.

A couple of 2” bolts, a stack of spacers and new holes drilled in the frame plate and I’m pretty happy with where the wheel sits now.
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...0_09_Pro-1.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/..._50_02_Pro.jpg

Your pedal covers are mirror finished?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Frank818

Your pedal covers are mirror finished?

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Looks like it. Guess I'm going to cover them with grip-tape