Dan's 818C (Lightweight818)

[blomb11]

Nice work looks good! You might want to check the height of your intercooler with the rear (humped) engine panel. I had to lower the AWIC heat exchanger because it hit this panel due to raising the engine.

[BigDanSubaru]

Nice work looks good! You might want to check the height of your intercooler with the rear (humped) engine panel. I had to lower the AWIC heat exchanger because it hit this panel due to raising the engine.

I am building the coupe with the hardtop so I will not have that issue but thanks for looking out. I have heard that was a problem on the S model.

[blomb11]

Ah okay that makes sense and will make things a bit easier. I thought you had mentioned that so my bad for bringing it up again.

[BigDanSubaru]

The axles are finally installed. Had to unbolt more of the suspension than I had anticipated, but it still wasn't too bad. Everything went together great, and the axles popped right into the transmission with a satisfying click!

Ignore the bungee cords holding the IAG Air/Oil separator in place, that was just me playing around with possible mounting locations. More details on that in the post below.

Axles Installed.jpg

[BigDanSubaru]

I began looking around for a good place to install the IAG AOS in the engine bay. I wanted to keep it close enough to the intended install location on the WRX so the supplied hoses would still reach. The IAG AOS has two coolant lines and it inserts into the coolant system between the de-gas bottle and the turbo. My initial thoughts were to put it here on the outside of the rear engine crossmember. This makes it easy to service and install, but it also kinda sticks out and looks a little janky IMO.

AOS Fit Check Top.jpg AOS Fit Check Front.jpg Coolant Tank Fit Check.jpg

I decided to move it to the inside of the rear engine crossmember instead. I bent up some small angle brackets for the de-gas bottle and mounted that to the 1" crossmember running over the intake manifold (tapped holes in the frame). I was able to use the supplied IAG AOS mounting bracket by drilling an additional hole in it and tapping two more holes in the frame to mount the AOS. All of the hoses reach with ease and are tucked pretty nicely. I cut them to length as needed and used the IAG supplied heat protective sleeves to protect the lower hoses from the hot exhaust. I am pretty thrilled with this install. There are so many hoses that go to/from the AOS that it is hard to really make it look organized, but I did my best.

AOS Installed Top.jpg AOS Installed Side.jpg AOS Installed Top Back.jpg AOS Installed Back.jpg

Since these photos were taken, I have also installed a turbo blanket over the factory turbo. This should greatly reduce the amount of heat rejected onto nearby components.

[BigDanSubaru]

Finally sorted out the ebrake and shifter arrangement. After finding a comfortable shifter throw from the furthest back seating position, I was not left with much space to mount the ebrake. I ended up cutting off some of that mounting tab that FFR tells you to bend flat. I drilled a new hole in the mounting tab closer to the handle and shifted the entire ebrake a little towards the passenger seat. This allowed for the passenger side shifter cable to pass through, avoiding a hard bend to get around the ebrake otherwise. I made a little extender mount for the driver's side rear bolt on the ebrake bracket since it no longer lined up with the tunnel frame. The last mod I had to make was cutting away some of the angled firewall piece so it would clear the ebrake mechanism.

One thing I had to work out was why I wasn't getting the ebrake to engage even with all of the adjustment out of the handle. Turns out that the cable retaining mount (that bolts to the thick angled firewall piece from FFR) was too close to the handle. So the cable section had a bunch of slack in it. Pulling the handle just took out the slack in the bunched up cable section between the handle and the retainer bracket piece. So I moved that further back on the firewall and just bolted it to the top and now it works great. I did not have much room at all behind the ebrake mechanism to fabricate a separate internal bracket to bolt it to, but this works just fine. The pictures were taken before I moved the bracket back which is why it still appears as if it is bolted in the FFR intended location.

Shifter Installed 1.jpg Ebrake Installed 1.jpg Center Console and seat fit check.jpg

[BigDanSubaru]

This STI intercooler needed some serious TLC. When I got it, I noticed it was dirty, had bent fins, and a broken mounting tab. I carefully bent back the bent fins and cleaned it inside and out. It's looking much better than before! I'm using a shop vacuum to make sure the inside is completely dry before installing it.

STI TMIC Before Top.jpg STI TMIC Before Bottom.jpg STI TMIC After Top.jpg STI TMIC Drying.jpg

One thing I didn't know when I bought it is that some knucklehead used an impact wrench on the Y-pipe and stripped all the threads out of one of the holes. I threw a helicoil in there which matches the thread of the factory hardware. I have a plan for the busted mounting tab. It feels good reinvigorate a part that was otherwise abused then abandoned.

STI TMIC Helicoil.jpg

[BigDanSubaru]

I am getting super excited for Boxerfest 2023. I have entered the 818C into the show, and it was accepted! We will push it up onto a U-Haul trailer and show it in its current state. I think it will be really fun to share even though it will not have the full body on it. I may just have the side panels bolted on for the show (but I am still on the fence about it).

What do you guys think would be cooler? Absolutely no body panels at all, or just have the side panels on to show how low it sits and display the rear wheel fitment to the rear fenders?

Anyway, I made this these little signs to put next to the car so people can see the mod list so far. There are a lot of quality parts on this list (some are still in boxes in the basement). I think it will help answer most of the "what is this thing?" and/or "what's done to it?" questions that people may have but are too shy to ask. I am actually really looking forward to answering any questions that people may have at the show. This car means so much to me and I love talking about it and all the work I have put into it. I am going to try to force myself to take lots of pictures, as this will be the very first time the car has left the garage since it was wheeled in on a cart by Stewart Transport over 1 year ago.

Car Show Sign.jpg

[Dave 53]

I was looking forward to the West Coast Subifest in Southern California. But, they changed it to a date I couldn't make. Hopefully 2024.

I say defiantly bolt on some body panels!

[DJWalker]

Some body panels would be good I think so that people get an idea of what it will look like. Perhaps just one side so you get the “hood up” view from one side and a more finished look from the other. Probably best not to rush it just for the show though.

[BigDanSubaru]

Some body panels would be good I think so that people get an idea of what it will look like. Perhaps just one side so you get the “hood up” view from one side and a more finished look from the other. Probably best not to rush it just for the show though.

That's what I was thinking, I don't want to rush it for the show. I think leaving all of the body panels off looks intentional. Having some body panels on but not others just makes it look like I didn't finish it in time. I think I am just going to show it with no body at all, then next year maybe I'll have the body on.

[Bicyclops]

I am getting super excited for Boxerfest 2023. I have entered the 818C into the show, and it was accepted! We will push it up onto a U-Haul trailer and show it in its current state. I think it will be really fun to share even though it will not have the full body on it. I may just have the side panels bolted on for the show (but I am still on the fence about it).

What do you guys think would be cooler? Absolutely no body panels at all, or just have the side panels on to show how low it sits and display the rear wheel fitment to the rear fenders?

Anyway, I made this these little signs to put next to the car so people can see the mod list so far. There are a lot of quality parts on this list (some are still in boxes in the basement). I think it will help answer most of the "what is this thing?" and/or "what's done to it?" questions that people may have but are too shy to ask. I am actually really looking forward to answering any questions that people may have at the show. This car means so much to me and I love talking about it and all the work I have put into it. I am going to try to force myself to take lots of pictures, as this will be the very first time the car has left the garage since it was wheeled in on a cart by Stewart Transport over 1 year ago.

Car Show Sign.jpg

Howdy Big Dan,

I recently put my S up on a U-Haul car trailer. My suggestion is to put it on backwards. The stuff on the bottom front of the car probably won't clear the forward wheel stops on the trailer. Another big consideration is how much weight winds up aft of the trailer axles. If the car is on forwards, more than 50% will be behind the axles. Not a good setup for trailering. Could even pop the hitch loose on a bump. U-Haul provides some over the tire ratchet straps for the front (rear wheels in my case) which worked just fine and pulled the tires hard against those stops. I tied down the front of the car with some ratchet straps. My Tundra pulled it like it wasn't there.

Ed

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Howdy Big Dan,

I recently put my S up on a U-Haul car trailer. My suggestion is to put it on backwards. The stuff on the bottom front of the car probably won't clear the forward wheel stops on the trailer. Another big consideration is how much weight winds up aft of the trailer axles. If the car is on forwards, more than 50% will be behind the axles. Not a good setup for trailering. Could even pop the hitch loose on a bump. U-Haul provides some over the tire ratchet straps for the front (rear wheels in my case) which worked just fine and pulled the tires hard against those stops. I tied down the front of the car with some ratchet straps. My Tundra pulled it like it wasn't there.

Ed

Here is what it looks like on a uhaul trailer.

P1050322c.jpg P1050325c.jpg

[lpmagruder]

Any issues with towing it backwards like that with the windshield on? When I had to bring my car to the dealership to get the immobilizer paired to a new key, I towed it like this but it was before I had the glass in. Seems like a lot of wind pressure would build up on the glass and in the dash area now.

In the coming weeks I'm towing mine in to the DMV to start the registration process (been pushing my luck a little too long driving the country roads around my house! ) The cheaper rental trailers don't have enough room in front of the axle for me to feel comfortable going nose-first, trying to decide if I want to back it on to a short trailer, or grab a longer one where I could get more weight forward.

[J R Jones]

Light tongue weight can result in the trailer swinging L & R on decel or downhill. The proportions effect the magnitude. A light towing load, trailer brakes and a heavy tow vehicle make the effect less apparent.
For the record, 10% trailer weight on the tongue is preferred.
jim

[BigDanSubaru]

Thanks for the tips on trailering the car. I will push it up on there backwards. I won't have any of the body on for the show, so I will have a little more ground clearance at least. I will still be using boards to help with the approach angle like Bob showed in his pics.

[BigDanSubaru]

For the first time since it was rolled in on a cart over a year ago, the 818 has seen sunlight! We pushed it out of the garage, then out onto the street. Took 4 of us to push it up some sketchy wood ramp extensions and onto the uHaul but we got it without too much drama. This was the day before Boxerfest 2023 because we had to be there to unload the car at 7am the next day. The car is sitting on some 2x4s under the rear wheels otherwise the bumper would scrape the wheel stops on the trailer. The blue SUV is my dad's Infiniti FX50 which hauled it no problem.

818 Driveway Front.jpg 818 Driveway Rear.jpg 818 Trailer Side2.jpg 818 Trailer Front.jpg 818 Trailer Side.jpg 818 Trailer Rear.jpg Infiniti Towing.jpg

[BigDanSubaru]

We got the car loaded up in time to make it to a local Subaru meet at an ice cream shop. A friend of mine hosts this meet every year before Boxerfest to get everyone together. It was really nice sharing the 818 with them a little before the show. We kept the car on the trailer for this meet because it would be too much hassle to unload and load back up for a short meet. My son also got to sit in the car again which he always loves to do. He was a little upset when I had to pull him out of there, but the smile came back once he got some lime sherbet. Someone also gave him a little Subaru Brat Hot Wheels car which he loved. We got tons of compliments on the car and a surprising amount of people actually knew what it was.

818 Macks Meet.jpg 818 Cameron Macks2.jpg

[BigDanSubaru]

We had an absolute blast at Boxerfest 2023! I had so much fun that I forgot to take pictures as often as I wanted to. I did take a few here during the event while I had a break from talking to people about the car. I also walked around a lot to the vendor booths. My step-brother hooked me up with this sweet Billetworkz oil filler cap which looks way better than the yellow OEM one. The wrinkle red finish matches my IAG AOS which I like a lot. I also got the dipstick handle in the same color, but I needed tools to install that one so I will do that later. I also got to talk to Keith who has the AEM 818R. He was in the autocross and got some really great results! There were a couple more of you there and I really enjoyed talking to you there. Thanks for a great day at our first car show!

Boxerfest Crowd1.jpg Boxerfest Crowd2.jpg Boxerfest Engine1.jpg Boxerfest Engine2.jpg

Once everyone was lining up to leave and we were waiting for them to clear out, I had a chance to take some more pics. The car was loaded up with our stuff so we didn't have to make 2 trips.

Leaving Boxerfest1.jpg Leaving Boxerfest2.jpg Leaving Boxerfest3.jpg Leaving Boxerfest4.jpg Leaving Boxerfest5.jpg Leaving Boxerfest6.jpg

[BigDanSubaru]

When we got home it was sunset and the car was unloaded from the trailer after a long day. I had to take a few more pictures of the car on the street before I tucked her away in the garage again until next year. Factory Five actually shared one of my sunset photos on their story which felt really nice, so thanks for that guys. Oh, and Mishimoto took a video of my car at the show and shared it to their story as well. I guess because I have their radiator front and center which made it really easy for them to show in their video. I was pleasantly surprised as to how many other Instagram reels featured my 818. I can't wait to bring her back next year in a further state of completion. Maybe I'll even stand a chance at the "Best Other" car show award that went to a really cool STI powered "exo truck" this year. Congratulations to that guy on a seriously impressive fully custom build.

Wood Ramps.jpg 818 Street Sunset2.jpg 818 Street Sunset1.jpg

[FFRWRX]

That is very cool to have your car at an event like that. Gives people a chance to see something that is very unusual. Normally these cars don't see much of the light of day until they are finished and all the guts are hidden away.

I'd say about 1 out of 10 people know what my car is; based on a couple cruise nights and delivery people seeing it in the garage. The most common guess is Lotus (maybe 7 or 8 out of 10), followed by Alfa. But the most common is "what is that?".

Rick

[BigDanSubaru]

I spent a lot of time on those guts! Too much time to hide it all away. My attention to detail is something that I have a very hard time suppressing. There are things that I bolted onto the car for the show that have now already been removed so I can do them how I think they should be done. I am also getting into the wiring harness now. This stage is going to take me a long time.

[Dave 53]

Looks like a fun day!

I have many friends with show cars that ask if I'm taking my 818 to whatever car show is coming up. I enjoy going to those shows without my car, but I don't like the idea of being stuck there all day. The exception being, I hope I can make it to our California Subiefest next year.

[BigDanSubaru]

I noticed there was a huge difference in the angle of the steering tierod and the lower control arm. A lot of builders seem to be using the Bear bump steer kit so I picked one up. I swapped out the driver side to compare against the oem and there really is not much of a difference. I have seen a few builders add more washers to the kit to further decrease the difference, but that would not leave many threads past the nylon lock nut. I tend to follow the general rule when using nylon lock nuts of having at least 2 threads extending out past the locking ring.

I suppose I could find a way to extend the stud down further so I could eliminate more bump steer. I don't really want to drill out my knuckle and use a large through bolt. I might need to get a little creative here. I'll think on it for a bit and move on with the build for now.

OEM LEFT & BEAR RIGHT (Facing the car)
TieRod Compare.jpg OEM Close.jpg Bear Close.jpg

[lance corsi]

Dan, I think you’re in effect trying to correct the instant center geometry. That’s where the imaginary lines drawn from lower control arm pivots and another drawn thru the uca pivots intersect, usually a fair distance from the outside of the wheelbase. With these lines projected, the imaginary line drawn thru the steering pivot joints should pass thru the intersection point of the other two imaginary lines. The steering inner tie rod pivot should be on an imaginary line drawn from the uca inner pivot thru the lca inner pivot. Some have had spacers to the rack ends in order to correct this.

[BigDanSubaru]

Dan, I think you’re in effect trying to correct the instant center geometry. That’s where the imaginary lines drawn from lower control arm pivots and another drawn thru the uca pivots intersect, usually a fair distance from the outside of the wheelbase. With these lines projected, the imaginary line drawn thru the steering pivot joints should pass thru the intersection point of the other two imaginary lines. The steering inner tie rod pivot should be on an imaginary line drawn from the uca inner pivot thru the lca inner pivot. Some have had spacers to the rack ends in order to correct this.

Yes, I believe you are correct. Here is a diagram I found online representing a setup with near-zero bump steer. I am not sure how I will be able to achieve this other than adding a lot more spacers to lower the tierod end on the knuckle.

instant center.jpeg

I drew these lines on my car and the instant center is off the page. The tierod center isn't even close to meeting up with the control arm center. Perhaps with a proper alignment, the control arm center will move closer?

TieRod Compare with lines.jpg

[lance corsi]

Dan, if you haven’t already, check where your inner tie rod pivot joint is relative to the imaginary lines drawn from the uca pivot to the lca pivot, wheels straight ahead. If you need spacers there, it could make a difference in the angle of the tie rod, and the instant center intersection point.

[Dave 53]

I have the Bear kit installed. I took it to a top-notch race car alignment guy (Brandon at Krause Racing, Castro Valley, CA). He exercised my suspension on his alignment rack (turn the wheel left / right and watch the alignment numbers). He concluded to be perfect, the bump steer needed to be about 1/8" longer. While we were going for a perfect track car alignment, the conclusion was "good enough" since an 1/8" washer/spacer would cut down on the engaged thread count.

My takeaway is, you won't know until you get the car on an alignment rack. And the Bear kit without extra spacers is within the +/- green zone of tolerance. I also learned... make sure you have fresh bushings. If you have the original donor car suspension bushings, change them out before getting your final alignment.

[BigDanSubaru]

I have the Bear kit installed. I took it to a top-notch race car alignment guy (Brandon at Krause Racing, Castro Valley, CA). He exercised my suspension on his alignment rack (turn the wheel left / right and watch the alignment numbers). He concluded to be perfect, the bump steer needed to be about 1/8" longer. While we were going for a perfect track car alignment, the conclusion was "good enough" since an 1/8" washer/spacer would cut down on the engaged thread count.

My takeaway is, you won't know until you get the car on an alignment rack. And the Bear kit without extra spacers is within the +/- green zone of tolerance. I also learned... make sure you have fresh bushings. If you have the original donor car suspension bushings, change them out before getting your final alignment.

Thanks Dave, that is really good info! I replaced all of the bushings with new (some polyurethane). I also replaced the lower ball joints.

[BigDanSubaru]

I had a little time at the end of a garage night, so I installed the billet aluminum Billetworkz oil dipstick handle. Matches the wrinkle-red finish of the oil fill cap and my IAG AOS. Cool gift from my step-brother, and very much appreciated!

Billet_Caps1.jpg Billet_Caps2.jpg

[BigDanSubaru]

Custom bracket to lower the fuel filter down a bit. I did not like how high it was and it would have left the hoses too close to the frame rail. These brackets utilize the existing threaded holes on one of the engine component brackets that is unused.

Fuel_Filter_mount1.jpg

Fuel lines have been routed from the tank, to the filter, to the engine, and back to the tank. Evap line on the engine is capped off for now. (see question below).

Fuel_Lines1.jpg Fuel_Lines2.jpg Fuel_Lines3.jpg

I bought this little charcoal canister off of eBay. It came off of an '05-'15 Yamaha Majesty 400. I found the manual for it and here are what each port is intended to serve.

1. Inlet to canister from fuel tank. (I am routing a hose from the tank roll-over valve to this port)
2. Inlet to canister from carb. Should I route a hose from the engine evap line (bottom fuel line on the engine which is currently capped)? Or should I just cap this port on the canister and keep my engine evap port capped?
3. Outlet from canister to the atmosphere. (I am going to route a little hose down the rear firewall pointed at the ground)

Charcoal_Canister_Diagram.jpg

Fuel filler hose needed to be modified to fit the Boyd tank inlet location. It was easier than I anticipated and did not require any pipe bending. I just cut the middle section of the pipe out and used the two elbows and the provided hose. I still need to cut a small section of hose to go to the filler cap, but I was just dry-fitting this before I bead roll the pipes to prevent leaks where I made cuts.

Fuel_Filler_Cap.jpg Fuel_Filler1.jpg Fuel_Filler2.jpg

[BigDanSubaru]

Not off to a great start with electrical already. I don't have much experience with it. This is evident by my complete ignorance to the fact that you cannot tip a battery very far from vertical or it will spill sulfuric acid (mostly diluted but still very acidic) all over the place. At first I thought maybe it was just water because I had just sprayed down the battery with cleaner to wash it (dirty donor battery). Nope! And it ate into my aluminum panel as you can see (just left of the starter cable). So, I mixed some baking soda with water and neutralized the acid so it wouldn't do further damage. I will be painting those panels now I guess, because I don't want evidence of my ignorance immediately apparent every time I pop the "hood". Gives me an excuse to buy a new battery that isn't green. It's kinda ugly tbh...

battery_oops.jpg

I am jumping into the wiring harness project. I tried laying it out like the manual says, but that was nothing but frustrating and seemingly impossible without removing all (or most) of the sheathing. I removed some of it and got the alternator wires routed, then kinda gave up on that section of the harness and took the larger section out of the box (because that makes perfect sense and should be so much easier).

starter_power1.jpg SubHarness_InitialFit.jpg Alternator_Wires.jpg

Okay, why the heck did I think that this would be any better than that smaller section that I dumped into the car? It's massive! Well, maybe I will just strip some of the sheathing off and I will be able to make sense of it... I'll just do this on my workbench which is already too freakin small to do any work on (Past Dan in denial thinking he can just wing this wiring project...HA!).

MainHarness_OnFloor.jpg MainHarness_OnBench.jpg Delooming1.jpg

Nope, it's a million degrees in this garage and the spooders keep nipping at my ankles as I work on this. Time to move it into my house and just hope my wife doesn't see it or care. I am also going to slow down and take my time with this now that I have A/C and a really uncomfortable table height to work with. This folding table is super low and a folding lawn chair is the only chair I could find with a somewhat suitable height to work on it without destroying my back. I printed the entire wiring harness section of the manual and I am highlighting the wires the I delete in Orange. Anything in Green is not part of my harness from factory.

My donor is a 2007 Subaru WRX Limited with Auto A/C, heated seats and heated wipers/mirrors, and a sunroof. I am hoping that when I am done, I will have a little manual that I can refer to if I need to see what I removed (as long as I keep up with it). It is a little annoying that they show connectors multiple times in this manual. There are times where I look at a connector and swear that I removed it just to find out that I already did a few pages back and I just need to transfer my highlight marks. I am doing my best to de-pin at connectors to avoid the risk of shorts. This is a huge PITA but is getting easier with practice. I also have Mechie3's wiring delete guide printed out which has helped me identify some connectors that I did not label when disassembling the donor.

MainHarness_OnTable1.jpg WiringDiagram_Highlights.jpg

I know wiring is pretty boring and there isn't much to take from a picture of a jumbled mess on a table. So here is a little bonus pic from Boxerfest 2023 that I found on the internet after the event.

FB_IMG_1693057985267.jpg

[blomb11]

I printed out the entire wiring diagram and used it as my reference going subsystem by subsystem removing what I was not going to use. I also removed all of the sheathing and electrical table before any deleting and laid it out on the floor. As mentioned I used the wiring diagram marking it up like you did and I also reference some other harness dieting posts like the one from Mechie3 and some others. I documented my process from a high level, but it definitely takes time. I think it took me about ~40 hours once I knew which systems I was going to delete. I told myself I will go back and cover it back up with sheath or wrap but we will see if that actually happens more so for the stuff under the center console.

[driveslikejehu]

Just to build on what blomb11 says... If you don't have it, try to get a searchable PDF of the Subaru manual. Being able to search all the locations that reference say "Radio" or a particular connector, "i2" was a help even after I assembled it all.
And I kept lots of notes in case anything had to go back together.
I was quite intimidated but once I got into it, I actually enjoyed the puzzle solving aspect of it.

On the fuel stuff, I also got a generic (moped?) cannister. I didn't connect to the engine at all, since I was unsure how the engine/ECM would deal with added air/vapor when not regulated by the stock purge valves, etc.. I just use it to catch fuel vapors and it does, I never smell fuel in the garage or driving. Also, I didn't roll beads on the cut fuel pipe; no leaks so far.
Of course, not saying my way is the right way, just letting you know what worked for me.

[RPGs818SNA]

Sounds like you have a good process for dieting and documenting the harness. To give you some insight into the whole wiring task, here's the seven step process I used that seems to have worked well for me. I haven't had to add an eighth step called troubleshooting yet.

First, remove all the sheathing and tape so you will be able to find the hidden splices.

Next, going connector by connector, remove unneeded wires up to the nearest splice or connector. Painting the cut wire ends with fingernail polish will prevent shorts.

Next, determine where to mount the fuse boxes, ECM, and relays. Plugging in as many connectors as possible will help. I found that mounting the fuse boxes in the front, the ECM in the back, and the relays under the console minimized the number of wires that had to be lengthened.

Next, lengthen the wires that are too short. Here you have to decide on crimp vs solder. Crimp, with a good tool and connectors is probably best. I can’t recommend a tool as I used solder. Heat shrink tube with internal glue gives the connections a nice finish.

Next, optional, shorten the excessively long wires to clean up the mess of extra wire.

Next, make good grounds to the frame that will last a long time. The key is to avoid corrosion. I used aluminum powder based antisieze on fine threaded bolts into tapped holes in the frame.

Finally, protect the wire bundles with some sort of sheathing to protect against rubbing.

You'll still have to make connections to lights and other things you add along the way, but this is the bulk of the task.

RPG

[BigDanSubaru]

I picked up a new lightweight battery and placed it in the car. But I couldn't bare to install it with the battery tray area looking like it did after some acid spilled from the old battery. I didn't want to uninstall everything and tape it all off because that would delay the build quite a bit and I did not feel that was worth it. So I just sprayed it quick as it was with minor taping/masking. Turned out okay and that's fine. Moving on!
spilled sulfuric acid battery tray.jpg new lightweight battery.jpg battery tray after paint and new battery.jpg

The coolant pipes were sticking out quite a bit per the FFR instructions and the front wheels would hit them. I saw a couple of builders using these reducing 45 elbows up front so I did the same. I also used reducing 90s in the back to clean up the bend. The corrugated pipe bends were super wide and would cause the flow to be quite turbulent. I am thinking that this will work better (as long as it doesn't leak under pressure). So far no leaks with the system filled.
coolant reducing 45.jpg coolant reducing 90.jpg

Trans fluid filled using the quantity identified by Subaru. I marked the new FULL mark on my dipstick which ended up being just under 1.5" above the OEM marker. That's a little better than usual since my motor is lifted a bit. I am sure I could have gotten it better yet by lowing the transmission, but I did not want to mess with that at this stage. The build is really dragging out and I want to drive this dang thing!
new dipstick marker for trans.jpg

Fuel filler pipe cut to fit the Boyd tank arrangement. I bead rolled the piping to prevent leaks. Pretty handy little tool!
bead rolling fuel filler pipe.jpg bead rolling fuel filler pipe 2.jpg

[BigDanSubaru]

Removing old sheathing and electrical tape so I could track down circuits that I wanted to remove was the first step. It is super satisfying when you finally remove the last wire that lets you take out a huge chunk of wiring. I started with just a grocery bag to hold all of the discarded wiring, but quickly graduated to a larger bin. To seal wires that I had cut at a splice, I used marine grade heat shrink that has a heat activated adhesive and pinched it shut on the end. This should seal it from the elements as well as prevent shorts.

tape and sheathing box 2.jpg dieted wiring chunk.jpg bag of dieted wiring.jpg bin of dieted wiring 1.jpg heat shrink termination.jpg

I am at the point now where I am just ready to put the harness in the car. I removed the bulk of the unwanted circuits. Removed about 21.5lbs of tape, sheathing, and wiring combined. There are still a few circuits that I may delete later if I decide not to use them. But they are small and don't weigh much or take up much space if I were to just tape them off in the car. I also put some sheathing on the starter wire that is flame-retardant. It runs through the car and carries a lot of current, so I wanted an added layer of protection against abrasion.

12.8 lbs of wire removed.jpg 9.0 lbs of tape and sheathing removed.jpg starter wire sheathing.jpg wiring on table after diet 2.jpg wiring on table after diet 1.jpg

[BigDanSubaru]

I plopped the harness in the car and it looks like I am going to have a lot of figuring out to do still. Certain plugs are way off of their mark (like the ones that plug onto the transmission). I will try to get them as close as I can, then extend the harness the rest of the way. This will be the case with a few other things too. I will extend the alternator wires so that I can move the main fuse box up under the passenger side of the dashboard like others have done. I plugged in the main engine harness and some other things in that area. The ECU will be mounted on the back firewall in the middle as others have done. I will probably hide all of those other fuel relays and such back there too.

dieted harness in the car.jpg engine wiring harness connected.jpg

I am wondering if it makes sense just to lay the dashboard in place so I can map out where the fuse boxes can mount on the passenger side. What have you guys done? I don't want to mount the box in a place where I may be installing panels or other items later. Keeping in mind that my car does not have A/C or heat so I have a little extra room over there.

[lpmagruder]

I put the interior fuse box under the passenger area where you can get at it from the passenger foot well without having to remove the dash, but it's still kinda a pain to get to once I added the passenger sheet metal bit of the center console, definitely test fit that piece with the dashboard to see how much room you actually have to get your hands up in there. Next time I have the dash off I'll probably move it a bit.

there's the green connector pair that puts the ECU into test mode. You will need access to that, mine ended up right near the interior fuse box. If you are self-tuning like me, you will need frequent access to that. (I am probably on iteration 15 of my tune!) But if pro-tuning, you'll at least need to get to it easily on the day of your appointment, and again if you ever need to make tweaks. Similarly, I located my OBD2 port and serial interface for my wideband all in that same spot so I can get my laptop all plugged in and the car in test mode in one motion from the passenger seat. I even threw a 12v CLA port there (cheapo from eBay) so I can plug in an inverter to power the laptop.

I ended up putting the relay box in front behind the radiator. I'm forgetting exactly why, but it made sense at the time. I think the radiator and headlight wiring was a lot easier that way.

The transmission stuff was way off for mine too, I didn't even try to get those close. Just let them fall where they ended up and did the splice there. I just used 2 lengths of that 4 conductor trailer wire FF supplied. One of them was for the neutral switch and reverse sensor, the other went to the speed sensor (I think that one only needs 3 wires). Could probably have saved a tiny bit of weight piecing together smaller gauge wiring from the deleted bits, but I was really running out of patience at that point, wiring was not my favorite part of the build :-)

[octobersknight]

I put mine all up in the front passenger footwell (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...ht-s-818-Build post #107, 112) and then made a custom box (post #114) so I could "easily) access the fuse blocks. Not sure I'd recommend this approach. I did not fully unwrap my harness and regret not laying it out better. But everything's extended to the right places now and it works as intended (except maybe the DRL function).