Replicaparts.com 818 build thread

[michael everson]

Its been a long time since I have posted anything. I have been trying to get a HotRod ready for the paint shop. Since that's gone, I should be able to post a little more progress here. I have been jumping around a lot on this build, but there is a method to my madness. I started installing some of the body panels. I started with the side pieces and rear bumper. I then moved on to the nose and concentrated on that.

I found that there was no way to get the bottom of the nose to mount to the radiator cross bar. So I made up a bracket out of aluminum angle.





This bracket is slotted on one side and has nutserts on the other side. This allows for some adjustment up and down and left to right. The lower holes in the body are slotted as well.

Here is what the finished bracket looks like



The headlight buckets went right in with only minor trimming. I went a different route for the lower bracket mounting.
I bought these weld in studs from McMaster-carr and bonded them to the underside of the nose.



Here is what they look like installed




Using these allows me to not have the bolt passing through the nose.

[michael everson]

I also needed to notch both the nose and the headlight buckets in order to get the nose far enough back to line up with the fenders. This may vary from car to car depending on tolerances.







On to the passenger door. No real issues, just lots of trial and error on the first one. The steel frame bolted on to the Subaru hinges with no issues. The latch bolted on perfectly too. The mounting screws were missing from the hardware pack. Not sure if its just mine or all of them. I found some metric flat head screws from the Roadster steering wheel mounting kit that worked.





I did find that once the door was mounted, I ran out of slot length on the frame. I could not move the door far enough forward and not hit on the back side of the door. I ended up making the slots longer by about 1/4 inch. that solved that problem.


Trial fitting of the aluminum.




here are all the door related parts all powder coated and ready for final installation.

[michael everson]

And all installed.



I opted to use flat head bolts on the bottom of the door to give me a bit more room and not have them rub once its painted.



Here is the door fitted to the chassis. Works very well.

[wallace18]

Looks great Mike! Thanks for the pictures and tips.

[Quiny]

looks great Mike, what did you finally decide on for rims and tires?

[michael everson]

Quiny. I haven't decided if I am going to stick with what I have or go to something with more spokes. Really like the wheels that FFR used on the red car.
Mike

[Erik W. Treves]

looking great

[Frank818]

Nice pictures!

[Scott J]

Thanks for all of the parts today Mike. I'm sorry I missed you. Your build is coming great, I'll definitely have to stop by again to see it when I purchase the next pieces you design. Is the alternator belt included with the kit or separate (part number?). What do you use for powder coating (Eastwood?) and how big of an oven do you use.
Thanks again, Scott

[THE ITALIAN]

You are really giving GREAT shots of your altering ideas. Really enjoy your details. These ideas, and sharing your thoughts are appreciated. This is how questions are answered when confronted with the same problem
Thank You, you are building a data base for years to come. Mike
Have any ideas about finishing the inside of the fiberglass, I would like to "clean-up" the exposed fibers with one solution. I know there are weight junkies out there, but details can make the car , even some sound deadening where it is not exposed - just a thought.

[michael everson]

I plan to use bed liner or undercoating on all exposed panels. I really don't want to see bare fiberglass.

Scott. the alternator belt comes with the kit from FFR.
Mike

[metalmaker12]

Agreed, I am using bed liner on all exposed glass. Looks shaky, you must be an rookie lol. Getting one of my doors kinda together, they sent me a package with all kinds of stuff, it looks like door panel hardware. See ya this coming week, and thank you

[C.Plavan]

Great job Michael. I love your detailed threads and ideas.

I received my care package from you also- great parts!


Are those studs 1/4 by 1/2inch long?

[michael everson]

yes. 1/4 by 1/2
Mike

[Mechie3]

Did you mount your doors in the order listed in the manual? It seems if you mount the catch on the door jam ,then mount the door skin and cut it and then adjust it you'd end up with the lock mechanism no longer being lined up.

[Clubba]

Wow! That looks like a new motor! Great job!

[Quiny]

Hey Mike how goes the build? Anything new?

[michael everson]

I know its been a long time since I have updated my build thread. Truth is I have not had a second to work on my kit. This weekend I did find some time. I finally got the whole car wired and most of it checked out. Thanks to my neighbor and fellow builder , Randy we were able to get the headlight switch working properly. Other than that small glitch, everything worked. I have not tried to fire the engine yet though. Hopefully after buying some missing parts, I can finish up the engine and fire it up. After that, I will remove the harness and cover and tape it up. Its amazing how small my harness is compared to some others I have seen. I ended up using a Painless harness to handle the whole car with the exception of the engine. I dieted everything out of the stock harness that did not directly interact with the engine. Makes for a very small package. Once its running, I just need to finish up the interior and finish mounting the hood and rear engine covers.
Mike

[Mechie3]

How much was your painless system? Did it retain the alarm?

[michael everson]

I think the painless harness is about $400.00 It a stand alone universal harness I used part number10102. No alarm stuff.
mike

[JeromeS13]

It's been wayyyy too long, Mr. Everson. Any progress?

[michael everson]

Jerome. I have not had time to do much on it. I will post an update this weekend. with some progress.
Mike

[michael everson]

Ok. Heres an update. I haven't had too much time to work on the 818, but did get some interior work done. First, I knew I wanted to use harnesses, so I needed a way to mount them. For the uppers, I bought the harness bar from Factory five. The lowers were a little more tricky I started with the thickest piece of metal I could find. Quick jacks.



I used quick jacks for one of the floor mounts. They are bolted through the frame in three places. Should be plenty strong enough.



Here is a pic of the quick jack modified and ready for use.



And here it is installed.
I thought I took pics of the outer mounts, but I guess not. They were made from the FFR supplied stock seat mounts. they are bolted through the frame in 2 places.

[michael everson]

I decided to buy the covered dash and door panels. The dash is so much nicer than the stock unit. I have not opened the door panels yet.



Looks good mounted in the car.
needs more support than the 2 brackets that are supplied. I will make at least 2 more.

I also wanted to install a radio. I needed to make a console in order to do that. This is my first attempt. Came out pretty good.





The front plate is removable so I can add to it as I see fit. I know I will be adding some switches and possible a cubby. The plate will be powder coated black once it is finalized.




Even installed speakers in it.

I made the rear upper firewall removable even once the car is finished. This required cutting it a little narrower to clear the insulation and carpet. It was then insulated and carpeted out of the car. It can be removed with just a few screws. This panel got speakers as well.





Here are some pics of the interior fully insulated. Should be pretty quiet and cool.

[michael everson]

I used the Breeze seat mounts and will be installing a set of FFR high back seats that I picked up at the open house.

The following pics show the interior almost done. I still need to finalize the tunnel, but waiting on a new shifter from VCP before I can finish that up. I also plan on using an electric parking brake, so no need for a handle.

[michael everson]

My next project will be to see if I can get a heater and defroster mounted under the dash. There should be plenty of room.
Mike

[icky]

Simple and clean, I like it.

[JeromeS13]

Is that the FFR full carpet kit?

[michael everson]

Jerome. No. I cut it myself. I don't know how much there kit covers.

[wallace18]

Nice work Mike!

[ehansen007]

Clean as always. What do you think about the kit and the way it goes together compared to the others?

[michael everson]

Its been a huge learning curve for me. Not familiar with all the Subaru stuff, lots of guessing and changing along the way. I am sure 5 years from now these will be almost as easy to assemble as the Roadster kits. In my educated opinion, these will take longer to build than the roadster. Partly due to the multiple body panels, and the amount of aluminum that needs to be fitted and riveted. Not to mention the dieting of the harness. Someone really needs to come out with a cost effective harness that is plug and play. Somewhere around $800-$1000 would be fair.
Mike

[AZPete]

Mike, I'm impressed with our build and just went back through this build thread.
"Someone really needs to come out with a cost effective harness that is plug and play." - I agree! I thought I was done with dieting/wiring but now I'm back into it chasing a few codes and dash lights. Yech.

[rjh2pd]

Here is an option for a heater. Are you going to be doing a coupe, or an open top with a heater?

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS+Performan...70601/10002/-1

[07FIREBLADE]

Looks good, I like your center console what are the sides made out of? Also you speaker locations are perfect might need to copy you.

[michael everson]

The center console is made out of aluminum. It is then padded and covered in vinyl.
Mike

[TouchStone]

Your missing the front outer cv joint. This and the axle nut hold the wheel bearings in place and probably should be torqed before lowering the car.

manualpic.JPG

[michael everson]

Touchstone. That's an old picture. I was waiting to have the outer joint cup removed. It never saw an pressure.
Mike

[michael everson]

I have all the front wheel well panels powder coated and installed. Since I am not planning on using the sway bar, I made a panel to cover that hole as well.







Here are a couple of pics with the windshield installed. Really starting to look like a car now.





And the Dash and windshield together.


I still have quite a bit to do before its finished. Getting closer every day though
Mike

[tmoretta]

Hey Michael - why did you separate the front of the hood?