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Thread: Jaubin's NH 818S Build # 234

  1. #1
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Jaubin's NH 818S Build # 234

    I picked up my frame on 7/19....then was away traveling for a few weeks, so I've just really been spending a bit of time working on it. First off, thanks to all the early builders, holy crap would this be hard without a lot of the insight I've picked up on the first builds. My plan is to do a V7 EJ207, AWIC, Cobra Imola seats, 6 point harnesses (Schroth ASM DOT) Traction control, LSD, etc. My donor was a train wreck, so I've been scrapping a lot of parts...but at least I bought it for $1500 and made about $3k in parts. I may win some type of award for the slowest build because I don't have my motor yet, and don't have a bunch of time to spend on it...plan is to take my time and agonize over every detail hah.

    I'm sure everyone does this, but I had to first throw in my seat, pedal box, and steering wheel just to get a sense for how it all felt. Then take it all back apart so I could get working on it for real.

    DSC_3124.jpg

    Very glad I picked up the tip that the new bolt-in pedal box mount needs to be aligned to the pedals, mount, and aluminum. I bolted up the pedal box mount loose, and then mounted the pedal box, and aluminum, and tightened the mount and threw in a few cleco's. Made the entire process much easier.

    IMG_20140819_213933_037.jpg

    And a shot of a front firewall Cleco'd up because you can't have too many of those.

    IMG_20140827_162601_283.jpg

    My plan is to get a rough alignment and ride height set on the front suspension so I can torque the front lower control arm bushing, then install the firewall. Of course I ran into the fun that a lot of people have that the bolts hit the welds on the shock mounts, so I had to grind those after I had painted them (fit everything up dry next time, woops)...got those installed, and then found that the holes for the front bolt of the LCA @12mm on the unthreaded portion was too large for the hole in the bracket. Ok, so that's just over 11mm, maybe the powdercoat was too heavy? So I drilled it out to 12.3, and with the rear bushing already held in, that the front bushing is misaligned. I recall a bunch of people running into this previously, but they had to correct for the rear brackets being off, so maybe it wasn't as big of an issue....I'm sure I can get it to install with some twisting of the front bushing, but then both bushings are going to have a pre-load applied to them before they are torqued.... I'm sure I'll get a few "just make it fit and move along" but I was hoping FFR would have these types of issues sorted by now. I got the last, or one of the last White bodies and it doesn't look too bad to me, but I haven't dug into it, so I've got that going for me. Hope to start taking more photos as I move along....I know you can in theory build this car with basic hand tools...but damn would I be frustrated by now if I wasn't using air tools between a New England donor and tweaking parts here and there.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Frank818's Avatar
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    Welcome aboard! Let's see what that "etc." will be hiding, in your plan list.
    Frank
    818 chassis #181 powered by a '93 VW VR6 Turbo GT3582R
    Go-karted Aug 5, 2016 - Then May 19+21, 2017
    Tracked May 27/July 26, 2017
    Build time before being driveable on Sep 27, 2019: over 6000h
    Build Completed Winter 2021

  3. #3
    Senior Member AZPete's Avatar
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    Welcome to the madness. That first photo, called "Vroom, vroom", is like I did also to see how the cockpit feels. You are a good writer and I look forward to reading your progress.
    818S/C : Chassis #25 with 06 WRX 2.5 turbo, ABS, cruise, PS, A/C, Apple CarPlay, rear camera, power windows & locks, leather & other complexities. Sold 10/19 with 5,800 miles.
    Mk3 Roadster #6228 4.6L, T45, IRS, PS, PB, ABS, Cruise, Koni's, 17" Halibrands, red w/ silver - 9K miles then sold @ Barrett-Jackson Jan 2011 (got back cash spent).

  4. #4
    Senior Member RM1SepEx's Avatar
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    Where are you in NH? I'm in Freeport about 1 hr from the border, stop by for a beer sometime and see how it all goes together
    Dan

    818S #17 Picked up 8/1/13 First start 11/1/13 Go Kart 3/28/14

  5. #5
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Hah Thanks Frank. Some of the etc are things like: Monstaliner on the exterior front firewall, sound deadening sheets in the interior, and plan on doing either rubberized coating or more bedliner on the fenderwells, etc. Defi gauges, STi cluster, will run either a hardtop or a soft top depending on when the hardtop is available. I plan on keeping the 5 speed, but I'm tempted to just use a 6 speed for reliability sake, and the fact that even rebuilt 5 speeds can be tough to get perfect. We'll see when more people get the 6 speeds up and running.

    Thanks Pete, glad you like my rambling!

    Dan thanks for the offer! I'm in Goffstown so ~2 hours from you. At some point I need to swing by and see a few of the builds in the area as it seems like there are quite a few in New England.

    Backorder update - I rec'd all but 2 backordered parts within 3 weeks of picking the kit up. And just checked on the front springs, and those and the fuel filler should be ready to ship out next week. Not bad at all.

    Spent a bit of time today working on the front control arms. Happy to report the right side just needed the holes opened up a hair and everything lined up fine. I spent a bit more time scratching my head and determined that the hole alignment on the
    front was more like to be out of whack from manufacturing tolerance that the rear mount, especially since a small angle change can really throw the rear bushing mount holes way off. So I decided I'd use the 3 points based on the two rear mounting holes for the bushings, and one of the front holes, as that's enough to locate the parts, if I opened up the other front hole, as long as it has plenty of area for clamping, it's not locating the part anyway. So I ground it open another .5mm or so in the correct direciton, and voila, it all fits. Need to get a photo of one of my front outer CV joints, as it appears it's an aftermarket one. The length sticking out of the knuckle makes me uncomfortable...I was thinking based on the OEM one that I'd be lazy and just leave it full size, but after seeing this one I'll probably have to turn them down. Wish I had access to a lathe (did at my previous job...) but just found out about a "Makerspace" in Nashua, so I may join that so I can access a CNC, lathe, etc. Or I'll just end up buying one on craiglist...say it with me "You can never have too many tools."

  6. #6
    Senior Member RM1SepEx's Avatar
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    cut it off with a bandsaw...
    Dan

    818S #17 Picked up 8/1/13 First start 11/1/13 Go Kart 3/28/14

  7. #7
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Hey Dan, I would definitely do that, but my little home/hobby bandsaw even w/ a metal blade would take forever and be a really sloppy cut.

    Got the firewall all mounted, and then recalled about the stud for the left Lower Control Arm bushing hitting the firewall. Back to the vice, and cut about ~5mm off of the stud, just beyond the nut for the LCA rear bushing. Got the upper control arms roughly adjusted, and torque them in along with the LCA, and dry fit the knuckles. Knuckles were in pretty rough shape so I had them blasted and rebuilt (OEM bearings repacked with high performance grease, ARP extended studs, new backing plates on the rears, TiC bushings in the rear). Just got word that my fuel filler neck and front springs are shipping out today which completes my backordered items!

    The steering rack was another source of fun as the right side jam nut is seized onto the inner tie rod well enough that I can't seem to break it loose with heat, pb blaster and an impact...then I looked and they're only $20. Hah, ok time to just replace and move on. Once I receive the springs and the new tie rod I'll be able to finish up the front suspension.

    Sidenote: I made the mistake (need to replace) of using some Prothane jackstand covers. Way too slippery, but the bigger challenge is how damn light the frame is. Trying to torque things like the LCA rear bushing (@184 ft-lb which was a spec when the bolt went directly into the chassis on the donor) will need to wait until the car is on the ground for me. I torqued it up to 140 ft-lb as much higher and I was rather confident I'd be pulling the car off the jack stands.

    Here's what it looks like for the time being. 1-DSC_3224.jpg

  8. #8
    Senior Member Bob_n_Cincy's Avatar
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    Cleanest garage I've ever seen

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    Nice saabaru

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    Senior Member riptide motorsport's Avatar
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    Welcome to the madness!!
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  11. #11
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bob_n_Cincy View Post
    Cleanest garage I've ever seen
    Hah, that's because I shoved all the junk behind me before I took the photo. Cleanup is half the battle...I thought I had a ton of room too, and my workshop is basically filled with donor parts, body panels, and FFR boxes. Glad I maintained the illusion for one photo at least!

    Thanks Aero, that's my wife's car...it came very close to becoming a donor, but luckily I found a more suitable (less working) donor to tear apart. I knew someone would pick up on that quickly. Still tempted to "Borrow" the quicker ratio steering rack out of it tho...

    Been mulling over wheels and tires. Want a reasonably light set of wheels, and some grippy tires that won't cost $2k for the setup. Current front runner is the Team Dynamics wheels that a few people seem to really like (17X7.5 et 38 F, 18X9 et 35 R) with Federal 595 RS-R's, 215/40/17 front, 245/35/18 rear as the 255s are 260 or larger and I'm hoping to get a good amount of width without going too crazy getting things to fit.

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    Senior Member wleehendrick's Avatar
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    Good luck finding those feds for the front. They're out of stock everywhere.

  13. #13
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Yeah I've been reading that they're tough to come by...no rush for me on tires/wheels as I don't even have my motor yet, since I can gokart with any number of subaru wheelsets I have kicking around, wheels/tires are pretty low on the priority list, but can't help thinking about which ones to get!

    Got the steering rack mostly sorted tonight, replaced the inner tie rod with the lock nut frozen onto it. Got it bolted back onto the chassis and went into my sorted bins of parts to find my castle nuts, and they really didn't want to go back onto the ball joint studs. Ummmm why didn't I replace the tie rod ends when I was taking the donor apart? Good question...and one of the holes for the pin was full of junk (like rusted in pin that was cut off) Ok, time for new tie rod ends! I thought the fancy go-fast bits were going to blow my budget...pretty sure it's all these little items that I thought were "good enough" but when it comes time to actually put even slightly questionable parts onto this thing there's no option to re-use parts that aren't definitely up to the task.

  14. #14
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Wow, don't post for a month and you end up on page 3 eh? I've had almost no time lately to work on this, but at least a little bit of progress looks like a bunch when you get some parts in.

    Managed to get some time on a lathe, and cut off the extra material on the front axle stubs. I kept the tone rings as I'm planning on traction control. Between the two of them I lost ~2.5 lbs of rotating weight! Not too shabby. Painted them black and threw 'em into the hubs. Got the rest of the front suspension together after a lot of head scratching on how off the front spacers were (ie 22mm width of shock + spacers, vs ~19mm shock mount), but made up some new spacers, moved on. Still need to torque a few bolts, and want to get it on the ground before I cut the threads on the sway bar mounts. I ended up buying the Prothane mounts (P/N 1911119) as they fit perfectly and the '02 mounts were beat, and didn't look like they had much chance of fitting either.

    Need to torque and finish up a few things up front (mount front brakes so I can torque my axle nuts) and then start mounting up the rear suspension.

    Had been distracted by a guy selling a V8 EJ207 long block locally...tempting, but I have other things I need to buy before I'm ready for a motor anyway, and piecing together the rest of the parts will end up costing more than sourcing a complete motor anyway. Hopefully have another update before November!

    1-IMG_20140918_092531068.jpg1-IMG_20140922_230609186_HDR.jpg2-IMG_20140922_232618.jpg1-IMG_20140922_083248822.jpg

  15. #15
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Got the rear suspension installed today. Just a pre-fit mostly, but I'm always working one 3 sections of the manual at once. Finishing up the previous step, working on the current, and checking things for the next step so I can discover any issues. Found out during that process that:
    -My forward trailing arm bushings were shot. How shot? To the point that the center steel compression limiter basically fell out, it was rusted and had zero bond to the rubber. Hacked those out of there, and replaced with the TiC Race forward trailing arm bushings. So nice.
    -I have one aftermarket axle, so of course the splines, etc. don't work w/ the FFR axles. Found this on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Which (I hope) is compatible w/ the stock splines. One thing I discovered between taking apart the front outer and rear outer CV joints is that using a deadblow hammer is a good way to waste a lot of time. Just twist the axle stub to one side so you have a clear shot at the inner race and give it a few solid hits w/ a regular steel hammer.
    -The rear springs aren't sitting very nicely over the lower spring perches...anyone run into this?

    IMG_20141010_211420432.jpgIMG_20141010_211534470.jpg

  16. #16
    Senior Member Frank818's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JAubin View Post
    -The rear springs aren't sitting very nicely over the lower spring perches...anyone run into this?
    Mine were a little tight to install on the shocks/perches.
    Frank
    818 chassis #181 powered by a '93 VW VR6 Turbo GT3582R
    Go-karted Aug 5, 2016 - Then May 19+21, 2017
    Tracked May 27/July 26, 2017
    Build time before being driveable on Sep 27, 2019: over 6000h
    Build Completed Winter 2021

  17. #17
    Senior Member Bob_n_Cincy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JAubin View Post
    -The rear springs aren't sitting very nicely over the lower spring perches...anyone run into this?
    Are you talking about where springs sit on the adjusting nut?
    Mine fit fine.
    818S #22 Candy Blue Frame, Front Gas Tank, 2.5L Turbo, Rear radiator, Shortened Transmission, Wookiee Compatible, Console mounted MR2 Shifter, Custom ECU panel, AWIC soon
    My Son Michael's Turbo ICE Build X22 http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...rts-818S-Build
    My Electric Supercar Build X21 (on hold until winter) http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...e-Build-Thread

  18. #18
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Yeah the lower adjusting nut has a step with a smaller diameter that goes inside the spring. Both sides the spring won't fit over them...it appears it's the very end of the coil (where it's flattened out) that's the interfering point. If it was some other part I might just grind off a few mm and call it good, but I'm not excited break out the die grinder to the coils. I'll drop FFR a line if it's something others haven't seen either.

    Still waiting on some axle parts to come in so I did a bit more mocking up on the pedal box area, and did a test fit w/ the DBC throttle bracket, etc. Since the lower portion is on the firewall, and that's closest to the pivot, it seems like it might be stiff enough to be fine. I've read that the travel is adequate also, so I'm thinking I'll go with how it's intended for now. Was pretty surprised when I spent some more time getting a basic idea for where my seat would go. I'm only 5'7" and with my seat mostly upright, I have it almost back to the firewall.

  19. #19
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Here's a shot of the spring that won't seat on the adjusting nut.
    IMG_20141013_205632484.jpg


    So I've been playing around with fit, so I threw on the harness bar, and jumped into the seat. Ugh, failure. Even w/ the seat relatively high, the harness bar is *almost* too high for my shoulders, and unfortunately the shoulder harness holes are too high, as the harness isn't going straight to my shoulders. It's super close, but not something I'm willing to "make work" So looks like I need to find a seat with slightly lower shoulder holes. Photo doesn't show it well, but in a regular driving position the harness is being redirected by the seat. Anyone in the market for 2 Cobra Imola S seats? One is Standard, one is "GT" size (14.5" and 15.5" width bolsters, ~23.5" min shoulder height).

    IMG_20141013_204718196.jpg
    IMG_20130621_165252_186 (1).jpg

  20. #20
    Senior Member mikeb75's Avatar
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    You have the FFR harness bar installed? In the picture it looks like you wrapped the harness to come forward from the underside of the bar. Could you try re-wrapping so the harness comes over the bar to gain a bit more clearance?

    They are nice looking seats, would be a shame if you can't get them to work. Do you have any room to adjust the rake of your seats? If you can drop the back slightly you might get clearance for the harness.
    818SC chassis #206 EJ207 2.0L VF37 twin scroll || Cusco type RS 1.5 LSD || Wilwood pedal box (firewall attach) || Wilwood superlite front calipers
    BUILD Phase 1: 6/6/2014 car delivered || 5/24/2015 first start || 6/7/2015 go karted || 4/20/2016 hard-top-topped || 10/25/2016 registered || 11/18/2016 inspected & complete
    BUILD Phase 2: 3/8/2017 EJ207v8 || 5/29/2017 re-first re-start || 7/17/2017 re-assembled with race car bits

  21. #21
    Senior Member RM1SepEx's Avatar
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    springs in the oven, shocks in the freezer? perhaps you can get them to drop over. My springs were tight but slid over and seated nicely
    Dan

    818S #17 Picked up 8/1/13 First start 11/1/13 Go Kart 3/28/14

  22. #22
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Mike, I installed the harness bar on the back side of the main hoop, I'm pretty sure it needs to be on the front based on how the straps run, but aside from that it's too tall IMHO. I ran the straps on the lower side to try and keep the height as low as possible. If I wrapped the bar to come from a higher angle, it would be angled down from the anchor to my shoulders, which is incorrect based on my understanding.

    image_033.gif

    I thought about adjusting the rake, but essentially run into the same issue, unless I also raised the seat up, which then puts me too high relative to the roll bar. I can't see the roll bar working for too many in fact, it just seems like if you're tall and put the seat way down, it'll be too high (downward angle again) and if you move the seat up enough you'll be at or above the roll bar. I might need to copy Rasmus' firewall mod and loop the harness around the square tube there...

    Dan that's a good idea, good thing to try next.

  23. #23
    Senior Member mikeb75's Avatar
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    I have put the harness bar in both positions (in front and behind the main hoop) to try to find the best position also, it definitely seems like it's right at the limit for usability.

    I'm your height, but am using Kirkey seats (10 degree layback).

    I have a 1/8" plate over the X tubes in the chassis and am using an additional 1.5" square riser under the seat base. I have the seat set to almost 20 degrees rake (using the seat base) so the openings in the seat back are 24.5" to 28.25" over the plate. I measured the harness bar which is now installed behind the main hoop as 27 to 28" over the plate, so I just barely clear the opening wrapping the harness over the top of the harness bar (but it does angle down slightly, which is approved in the harness install figures I've been using which have the same requirements as the one you posted) above.

    I also did a trial using the square frame tubes to mount the harness earlier; It really is a close thing.

    How tall are the openings in your seats from where you are mounting them in your frame?
    818SC chassis #206 EJ207 2.0L VF37 twin scroll || Cusco type RS 1.5 LSD || Wilwood pedal box (firewall attach) || Wilwood superlite front calipers
    BUILD Phase 1: 6/6/2014 car delivered || 5/24/2015 first start || 6/7/2015 go karted || 4/20/2016 hard-top-topped || 10/25/2016 registered || 11/18/2016 inspected & complete
    BUILD Phase 2: 3/8/2017 EJ207v8 || 5/29/2017 re-first re-start || 7/17/2017 re-assembled with race car bits

  24. #24
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    I measured it quickly and it looks the lower opening is right at about 27" from the top of the mount plates I have (1/4" aluminum). I took a look at the mounts you welded in, nice work!

    I found that Cobra actually sells different height pads for the seats too....I may see if a combo of raised mounting + pad + increasing rake angle might do it. Then there's the issue that my wife finds the seat uncomfortable....ok, so maybe I"ll just have to replace one seat? Heh.

  25. #25
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    So it looks like a combination of moving a bunch of things around will make the seats I have just about work...but, I'm really not looking for something that is so marginal in fit. So I'm going to sell these and get either Sparco Pro 2000's or Cobra Monacos, both have lower shoulder openings.

    Sorted out a few more things, Springs are still an issue tho. 1-DSC_3341.jpg2-DSC_3342.jpg

  26. #26
    Research Calibrator sponaugle's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JAubin View Post
    So it looks like a combination of moving a bunch of things around will make the seats I have just about work...but, I'm really not looking for something that is so marginal in fit. So I'm going to sell these and get either Sparco Pro 2000's or Cobra Monacos, both have lower shoulder openings.

    Sorted out a few more things, Springs are still an issue tho. 1-DSC_3341.jpg2-DSC_3342.jpg

    I had the same problem on one spring. I used a die grinder the take a little material off the spring and now it fits fine.

    Jeff

  27. #27
    Senior Member svanlare's Avatar
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    I have the same problem on one of the springs, my plan is identical to Jeff', a moment with a grinder to take the "tab" off.
    -Steve

  28. #28
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Thanks Steve, Jeff. When in doubt, grind it out! Applied grinder and after a quick touch up paint job got the rear suspension together temporarily.

    Built up my axles yesterday, Cleaned out the old grease, packed with Redline CV-2. I used Wayne's trick of compressing the circlip for the outer CV joint, but used a zip-tie instead. Also, was having trouble hitting it solidly, so I just held the axle stub and axle, and slammed the stub down on a block of wood. One the zip tie was tight, and aligned properly (biased towards the inside of hte axle so it could be pushed off easily, the cv joint seated with one solid hit. The inner side (2002) was a bit more interesting as I thought it might be the wrong splines, but after a closer look, the outer side slipped on easily, but inner was a bit tighter for some reason...in fact the aftermarket CV joint I rec'd w/ the car would have fit the axle splines strangely enough, but in the end I bought http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DMA2MN8/...qid=1414435660 and that fit fine as well. So if you're looking for an '02-'04 inner CV joint that will work.
    Last edited by JAubin; 10-27-2014 at 02:08 PM. Reason: formatting
    --Joe
    818S #234 V7 EJ207 Spec-C (VF34) Build Thread

  29. #29
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Wow it's really been a long time since I posted an update. Wish I could say I had made a ton of progress, but this winter did a good job of limiting that!

    Good news is I've done a few things:Got the interior sheet metal mostly on, painted outside w/ 3M undercoating, inside will have sound deadening applied.
    1-IMG_20150224_222628123.jpg3-IMG_20150308_142956643.jpg2-IMG_20150308_142948560.jpg

    Also mounted the pedals, and mounted the throttle pedal and cable too. I added a 3" long piece of aluminum angle per Dan's suggestion (Thanks!) as it seemed ok first, but once I got it all mounted there was definitely some flex. I tied the angle to the frame with two rivnuts, and still had some flex as I kept the FFR bracket too. To fix that I riveted the top of the pedal frame to the FFR bracket (just below the cable opening). Initially I tried to fix it with an M4 nut/bolt, but the cable was riding so low there was interference...I ended up clearancing the bracket to make sure it all fit...I should add a photo of this to make sense of it. Either way, removed the nut/bolt, added a rivet and it all seems good now. Just need a pedal stop on the bottom.

    More importantly than a bit of progress there, I spent some time finishing up the front end alignment...I'm at +4.1 for caster both sides, and -.375 and -.75 camber (L/R) I cut about 10mm off the longer/forward threaded adjuster so I could reduce caster as I initially adjusted to get camber in and had caster of +6-8. That seems like a pretty good starting point I think. Dialed in the rear trailing/toe links to the same length and leveled, and tweaked camber for that as well. The length to get the right amount of neg camber ended up being rather long for that link, as others have mentioned. I believe I have 5-6 threads per side though, which shouldn't have any strength issues.

    And most exciting I finally got a motor! It was sold as a V7 EJ207 STi-RA Spec C. I'm pretty sure based on a few things it's an STi-RA I'm not sure it's Spec C tho, it does in fact have a VF34 turbo, and the right alternator cover for a Spec-C, but is missing the oil cooler, and the motor serial number is unreadable. The ECU I received suggests STi-RA rev A, which makes sense, so maybe it's that w/ the turbo added. Either way, it should work just fine. Need to do a timing belt on it, new oil pan and pickup, replace a few hoses, and new plugs. 5-IMG_20150410_200335007.jpg

    My other task to finish is to convert my transmission to 2WD. I also have LSD that needs to go in, but I'm debating on whether to even do that...I'm sure I will want a LSD (or technically TBD) but this is an 02 WRX transmission...if I go easy it'll likely be ok for a while, but eventually it's not going to fare well against the motor I'm bolting it to. Tempted to use as is converted to 2wd and just save the LSD for a Legacy GT transmission or similar once this one fails.
    --Joe
    818S #234 V7 EJ207 Spec-C (VF34) Build Thread

  30. #30
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Started to try and move things along since I have a motor now.

    Tore down the Transmission (Gulp) and reworked the OBX TBD/LSD that I picked up for it. The oil had come out of it pretty clean, and I was happy to see that there were not small shiny things lurking in the case halves. 1-IMG_20150414_090719018.jpg That said it was rather grimy in there (obviously the car had seen some time in the dirt). I reassembled the halves after adding new bearings to the new Diff, and followed Hindsight's awesome instructions. After tightening it down everything was locked up, no rotation...I freaked out and tore it back apart, checked it out, and then redid the whole process. Not sure what was going on, but second time was the charm, and after getting to zero backlash, I did 2.5 turns which in theory would put me at .00525" of backlash in theory. I measured .0055" Errr yeah that's within the measurement error, and better than I expected on the first pass. Double checked the pre-load on the bearing, marked everything, replaced the oil seals and o-rings, and all done!

    Replaced the timing belt and oil pan in the motor (Gates racing belt, and Killer B Pickup, '06 STi Pan) 2-IMG_20150501_224112208.jpg3-IMG_20150501_231633330.jpg4-IMG_20150511_233202421.jpg

    In getting ready to drop all this in, I'm working on sorting out all the hoses on the motor since there's quite a few differences from an EJ205. The Evap system is simpler, but the one on here has a Tee (circled in blue) that broke off at two places...I'm assuming that they tied into this for a boost gauge, and that I can just remove the whole thing, plug where the red X is and be done correct? the line it ties to I assume is just the evap hard line that you'd normally connect to the fuel tank. Does the vent line that is towards the front of the two that is mounted to the intercooler routed to the open port on the turbo inlet? (outlined in green). And from what I can tell the BPV pressure line originates just below the throttle body on the left side.
    ej207 connectors.jpg
    --Joe
    818S #234 V7 EJ207 Spec-C (VF34) Build Thread

  31. #31
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Reduced the file size so this photo shows up. Any insight here if I'm on the right track w/ these hoses? (see above)

    1-ej207 connectors.jpg

    Also got my new shifter linkage that was built by coldwater914...not sure if they're still around as I got this used, but I hooked it up w/ the FFR cables (w/ transmission way behind the car) and it goes through the gears really nicely. Should be even better w/ the correct shorter cables. MR2 shifter will need some cleanup, but nothing major. I drilled out a 1/4-28" clevis for the side-side movement pin but there really isn't enough material left for me to be comfortable. I think I'm going to drill the pin out and but a fastener w/ a rod end on it or similar...if it doesn't spin when I try to do that. Tho I did see Bob used a large blank clevis which is a good idea too. Transmission needs more cleaning!
    1-IMG_20150520_212913934.jpg

    Oh, and yes I anticipate some interference w/ the standard mesh...but I'm not planning on using that anyway.
    Last edited by JAubin; 05-22-2015 at 09:16 AM.
    --Joe
    818S #234 V7 EJ207 Spec-C (VF34) Build Thread

  32. #32
    Senior Member STiPWRD's Avatar
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    Cool shifter linkage. I found this thread useful for figuring out which hoses go where:
    http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=2614458

  33. #33
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    Slick shifter linkage!

    I cleaned my transmission with Eagle One Etching Mag Wheel Cleaner. It's an acid product and it REALLY cleans up aluminum nicely. You don't need to scrub much at all, but I scrubbed a little with a scrubber brush with stiff plastic bristles that you can get at any hardware store. It will take a few applications (as in, spray, scrub, soak a few minutes, then spray more and scrub and soak, repeat). When done, rinse with clean water. I followed it up with a final cleaning of Simple Green Automotive cleaner, then rinsed again with water.

  34. #34
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Thanks STiPWRD, that is a great thread for hose reference. I think I've got what I need to do all sorted out now. Just have to avoid going and replacing all the hoses with fancy silicone ones now.

    Hindsight, I did a quick clean w/ a power washer already, but sounds like that cleaner would help out a bunch, thanks for the tip!
    --Joe
    818S #234 V7 EJ207 Spec-C (VF34) Build Thread

  35. #35
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Hit a few milestones recently:

    The clutch that was on the car was relatively new (close to new spec for material thickness) and the flywheel looked to be in decent shape so I thought I might give them a shot, but after some more inspection the clutch was a brand I had never heard of, and the flywheel had a pin that was sheared off. Ok, not worth the trouble so I picked up an Exedy OEM replacement (probably going to have trouble keeping up w/ the motor once it's dialed, but should keep my transmission from turning to mush immediately). So I installed the clutch, flywheel after I finished the motor work.

    I made a rear firewall, but it's mostly a "keep heat out of the fuel tank / ECU area" wall, as I used thin gauge aluminum for it, and covered it in the blingy reflect a gold, because....bling. Aluminum is cut for fuel fill, just didn't cut the gold sheet just yet. Threw on some cardboard to help keep from dinging the frame.
    2-IMG_20150611_215333998.jpg

    Motor, meet transmission! This went pretty smooth, put transmission on a wheel dolley, and rolled it over, pushed it on once it was well aligned, and then tightened the 2 lower bolts and 2 lower nuts to pull it in.
    1-IMG_20150611_123709824.jpg

    Ended up doing the drop by myself because I hit that step quicker than I expected. Took maybe 30 minutes once I cleaned the area up, and removed the turbo coolant reservoir, uppipe (headers were already off), oil fill and dipstick. I had the uppipe on until I got close to the uprights near hte rear suspension and then thought "I could probably wriggle it in" but it was a straight shot without it so I picked up my impact, buzzed off the nuts, and slide it forward. Once everything was lined up it was just a matter of creeping forward, and angling the motor down...I used a ratchet strap on the back of the gearbox to support it and adjust the angle the motor was at...tricky right at hte end, but motor dropped down without a problem. I had a bit of interference on the transmission studs, but a minute with a grinder and it was opened enough to drop in as well. Really happy to hit this milestone, can really start working on a lot of other steps now, yay!
    3-IMG_20150611_231754005.jpg
    --Joe
    818S #234 V7 EJ207 Spec-C (VF34) Build Thread

  36. #36
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    Great job so far! I'm local, being just outside of Manchester, and will be starting up on my 818 build soon.

  37. #37
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Hey Bill, glad to hear there's another local builder! Shoot me a PM if you want to stop by and check out my (super slow) progress!

    So I had a bit of a slowdown in my build a few months back as I got hit by a car while out riding my bike. I'm luckily totally recovered now, and ended up with bruises and road rash and nothing major. Car pulled out taking a left and didn't see me until they were already too far for me to avoid, I almost managed to avoid it but just ran out of road. Bike was nearly destroyed, but that's just carbon and will be replaced...much rather have the impact energy take out the bike than me!

    Anyway back to the build. I got the fuel tank in, and after I had installed it I watched a FFR video randomly on installing the roadster fuel tank (essentially same process as 818). I noticed it said to use a fuel safe sealant on that video that I didn't see in the 818 manual....Arg, ok, so I bought some http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-85420...l+safe+sealant and added that. Not sure it's necessary but I've seen some cases of leaks in that area so figured I would give it a shot.

    From there I wanted to sort out my shifter position so I could order my cables since I'm using an MR2 shifter and custom linkage. I also like the look of the raised shifter trim/console (might be one of the few) but the MR2 shifter is much shorter than the one FFR provides. In addition I wanted to ensure the cable exiting would go below the level of the trans tunnel area. Solution was to angle the entire MR2 shifter up to get the angle that I wanted, position it for the console, and then figure out how to mount it. As I was starting to design some brackets I came across the wrx rear swaybar mount brackets...they seemed about the right height, so I hacked off the raised rib on the side, and put them on, pretty much the perfect height. I had to trim the corners of hte MR2 mount to fit inside the trans tunnel, which is also where the drawn features that create all the rigidity in the shifter bracket live. So I riveted in a thin piece of Al angle, which helped a lot. The final piece was just making a bracket with each end angled so I could mount it underside the trans tunnel top rail. This is all probably hard to envision so here's some pictures...forgive how sloppy and hacked up all the parts are, these are going to be cleaned up and painted before final install. IMG_20150819_122812195.jpg
    And here's a shot w/ the console on - Height/position is exactly where it feels right to me, and it feels super solid, and the shifting is even decent (considering the FFR provided 12 mile cables are in there now) It's apparent how much slop there is w/ the 360 degree loop in it - if I ended up in 4th and then fiddled w/ somethign, I'd go back and try to shift from neutral to first as there is so much slop it feels like it's in neutral. That should be much better w/ the 7' cables I'll be ordering (thinking of using Midwest Control...Looks like a 7' cable is $42 / ea w/ the custom builder app they have, seems low)
    IMG_20150819_123406228.jpg

    Also working on getting the Firewall installed but using RivNuts to make it removable...alignment has been pretty tricky, need to clean that up a bit and then get the fuel lines run. After that I'll be jumping into Brakes, Cooling system, and getting my AWIC installed. Hoping to get that all installed ahead of my iWire harness getting finished up so I can go-kart before it gets wintry.
    --Joe
    818S #234 V7 EJ207 Spec-C (VF34) Build Thread

  38. #38
    Senior Member Tamra's Avatar
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    So glad that you are okay and recovered! That's scary.

    Great progress on the car!

    On the fuel tank, the sender tends to leak for everyone because the o-ring isn't round. Most people have been adding sealant of some type to prevent it from leaking. We also had the same problem around the fuel pump. The tank in general is terrible between its problems with leaking and also fuel starvation if you are cornering with less than 1/2 tank of fuel. If it's in your budget I would just buy a new tank, personally.
    Tamra
    Building 818SR #297 picked up 10/25/14 with Andrew (xxguitarist)
    First start 12/21/14, First "drive" 1/17/15
    First Dyno at EFI Logics 3/7/15- 310whp at 15psi for break in, full spool by ~3500rpm!
    First autocross 3/29/15
    1st Registered 818 in Connecticut 7/24/2015. 9 months - 1 day from kit pickup!

  39. #39
    Senior Member STiPWRD's Avatar
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    It's great to see that everyone has their own solution to the MR2 shifter mod, you'll really enjoy it. Make sure the cables you get match up with the attachment points on your shifter and linkage, some of the cheaper ones don't give you as many options. Also, it's best to mount the e-brake to ensure you won't need any extra cable slop.

  40. #40
    Senior Member JAubin's Avatar
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    Moving Right along....only 4 months between posts, HAH!

    Thx for the thoughts Tamra and STiPWRD! I've had a busy couple months, but all good things:

    My latest excuse for the slowdown is this guy. Lucas Showed up in October, keeping with the theme that I think about half the builders have had kids while working on their kit. Here he is hanging out with his big sister.
    DSC_4117.jpg

    So aside from the new addition I've been able to get some work done on the brakes and clutch...and take a lot of close up photos that are probably hard to see unless you know right where they are. I used the provided adapters on the brake and clutch, with only two additions:
    -I didn't like how the front flexible brake lines would have to be flexed to attach to the spindle mount, so I took my trusty piece of Al angle and chopped off a piece, riveted it to the spindle mount, and put on a riv-nut. Then used the regular mounting tab on the brake line to attach it. Moved the suspension around, turned the wheel back and forth and it looks good.
    DSC_4365.jpg
    -Using the stock clutch flexible line meant that in the event the motor (Wait, I mean WHEN) needs to be pulled, you're dealing with hard lines that need to be removed most likely. No likey. I picked up Mike Everson's SS clutch line kit, and it was exactly what I needed, highly recommend it. The photo is where it attached to the hard line on the front side of the Left hand brace that goes from the upper spring mount to the center of the engine bay.
    DSC_4361.jpg
    The rest was pretty much sorta by the book. I did decided to run the FL brake line under the master cylinder. Why? I'm not sure, seemed like a good idea? I'll be adding something to make sure it doesn't vibrate against the MC... I used a simple reinforced plastic bender which worked well, aside from bending things on the wrong plane occasionally. I used some bailing wire I had (per Craig's suggestion) to take some pre-measured pieces, and bend them up, then use that as a template. The routing is admittedly not pretty or perfect, but it's not terrible, and things are in the right spots, so I'm happy with it. And of course the one joint I put behind a frame bar was the one that leaked. Needed to remove, that, replace joint, and tighten/loosen a few times to get that sealed up well. The Brakes have a really solid, firm feel now, Yay! The one other thing that I don't love is how close the RR is to the up-pipe, may add some insulation there...
    DSC_4363.jpgDSC_4368.jpgDSC_4370.jpg
    The clutch bleed was the painful experience everyone described...I tried to just open the bleed screw and use a vac system to pull the fluid through (after greasing the threads to try and minimize air coming through the threads into the tube) and no dice. Eventually read the good advice on here and put in a 14mm socket and a spacer, and clamped it on the rear fender mount (see that SS flex line does come in handy eh?) w/ the bleed screw pointing up. Got a rock solid pedal after a few iterations there. The only issue I've run into now is this:
    -The pedal bottoms out on the firewall before hitting 100% travel. I measured the clutch fork travel and it's moving 14mm measured at the slave cylinder pin. The clevis is adjusted so it will add fluid from the reservoir, but not all that quickly, ie as close to having pre-load as I was comfortable having...from any subaru I've driven, the engagement has always been super high, so where I'm bottoming out I imagine is all over-travel, but wanted to see if anyone had some input here. I guess I'll find out for sure when I fire it up.
    Also ordered my shifter cables so those will be in at some point soon.
    The last major punch-list item before actually trying to start it is the cooling system. I have the basics installed (Radiator, degas tank, Wayne's mod) but need to run the main lines. Once that's done I'll throw on the AAIC to make it easy, and drop in my favorite purchase on this thing - the iWire harness.

    So hopefully running early 2016, then it's onto cleanup of a few things, and start on body work/interior! My wife gets to approve color and appearance stuff, and I showed her the new front end and that's on the "must have" list now, so I need to squirrel away a few Xmas $ to pick that up before it goes up in price. IMHO it looks nice, but the real value is the additional bracing and openings for the lights that aren't driven by two floating pieces...should make body install easier, even w/ the bit of body work required.
    --Joe
    818S #234 V7 EJ207 Spec-C (VF34) Build Thread

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