818C Build - John and Lou - The Woodlands, TX

[TX-Lou]

I can't believe so much time has gone by since I was last able to post. We've continued to move forward on our build but we just haven't had a lot of time due to just being super busy in May, June and the first half of July. When we have had time we've run into roadblocks from missing donor parts, stuff that needed to be replaced and issues with customization we are doing.

Since our last post we have:

• De-rusted and painted the rear knuckles
• Had new bearings and seals pressed in
• Cleaned and rebuilt the Ebrake components
• Completed the build out of the rear suspension including the Wilwood rotors and calipers, knuckles, shocks, axles and all control arms and links. We spent a lot of time adjusting and testing the ebrakes on both sides to make sure they worked because once those Wilwood rotors go on for good you really can't get in there to adjust it.
• We got our engine and transmission back from Auto Science and installed new fuel injectors (ID 1000's) and the adapters for connecting into the wiring harness.
• Had to pick up a new plug for the transmission fork rod. Once we had that we were able to install the new throw-out bearing and fork.
• Changed the engine and transmission mounts to new Group N mounts
• Mated the engine and transmission, and put them in.
• Cleanup of the pedal assembly (clutch and brake) to remove rust and repainted them.

Our new turbo (Blouch 18g XT-R) is in but we haven't installed it yet. We need to clean up some of the rust around the mount first but I really just wanted to get the engine in this past weekend.

Here are a few pictures...



- Lou

[TX-Lou]

I just wanted to post another update showing where we were at. We have been working when possible through the summer and early fall. Since our last post we have:

• Put the AC Compressor back on the engine and put on and tensioned the Alternator and Compressor belts
• Installed the steering column from the donor. Connected it up to the steering rack. We have the donor steering wheel on temporarily but will replace it with the optional FFR wheel later in the build.
• Installed the new FFR fuel tank
• Replaced the fuel pump with a Walbro 255 lph fuel pump
• Connected the Fuel lines from the tank to the fuel rails
• Installed the Blouch 18G XT-R turbo
• Installed the fuel filler neck
• Installed the Clutch, Brake and Gas pedals
• Installed the Brake and Clutch Master Cylinders. We replaced the Brake Master Cylinder with a new one.
• Made our brake lines, installed the proportioning valve and connected up all of the lines to our calipers
• Bled our brakes
• Made our clutch lines and used the Replica Parts flexible clutch relocator kit.
• Bled our clutch
• Ran the throttle line through the car and connected up the throttle body. Needed to use a Cable Stop kit (set screws) from Autozone to terminate the end of the FFR throttle cable. If anyone needs it the part is Dorman 03336.
• Took the fan unit off of the donor radiator and mated it to a Mishimoto 3 row radiator we picked up from Wayne at VCP. Installed the radiator.
• Installed the coolant lines and used the 818 Hard Line replacement kit from Mark at Breeze Automotive to replace the corrugated lines that come with the kit.
• Started installing the AWIC kit that we got from Wayne at VCP.

We also just sent out our donor wiring harness and related FFR parts to iWire.

Here are some pictures of where things stand:




We have the Mishimoto radiator mounts but we will need to do something with them to get them to attach to the frame. We have one of them sitting on the top drivers side mount but it isn't actually on yet. We also have a temporary setup for the throttle pedal mount. We have some steel cross members that we are going to put on instead of a section of aluminum bracket that is there temporarily. The steel cross members should stiffen up that pedal so there is no flex at all. It is very slight as it is but we would prefer it to be rock solid.

Of course there were a lot of things we had to learn (and sometimes the hard way) to get to where we are today but all in all we are happy with the build so far. We hope to be able to go-cart by Christmas.

- Lou

[ben1272]

Looking good!

[TX-Lou]

Thanks Ben. Just one correction from the last post. We got the replacement hard line coolant hose/tube kit from Breeze Automotive.

- Lou

[frankc5r]

Lou,
When I was at Wayne's picking up my donor for 818C a few weeks ago, I asked him about using the stock a/c compressor with the mini a/c from
Vintage Air.. There is a question about whether it will work since it is a variable displacement unit. He said he was working on problem. Did u talk to Vint Air
about it or have further info. Thanks
frank

[Wayne Presley]

The car looks great Lou

[AZPete]

Lou, I'm running the donor compressor in my 818C and the A/C works perfectly. Long ago, the tech guys at Vintage Air said that the Subaru compressor would not work with the Vintage Air system because it is a variable displacement compressor and the Vintage Air system needs a fixed displacement compressor. My local Vintage Air dealer said it would work just fine, so I researched it. The Subaru factory service manual lists the compressor as “vane rotary, fix volume”, which sounds to me to be fixed displacement. I then confirmed this with the Vintage Air tech guys who confirmed that the Subaru compressor will work well with their system. Now I know for sure that it works fine. If you call Vintage Air, remember that the Subaru compressor is compatible because it is not variable displacement but fixed volume, even if a tech says otherwise.
Pete

[frankc5r]

Lou, I'm running the donor compressor in my 818C and the A/C works perfectly. Long ago, the tech guys at Vintage Air said that the Subaru compressor would not work with the Vintage Air system because it is a variable displacement compressor and the Vintage Air system needs a fixed displacement compressor. My local Vintage Air dealer said it would work just fine, so I researched it. The Subaru factory service manual lists the compressor as “vane rotary, fix volume”, which sounds to me to be fixed displacement. I then confirmed this with the Vintage Air tech guys who confirmed that the Subaru compressor will work well with their system. Now I know for sure that it works fine. If you call Vintage Air, remember that the Subaru compressor is compatible because it is not variable displacement but fixed volume, even if a tech says otherwise.
Pete

Thanks for that info!!

[TX-Lou]

Thanks Wayne, and thanks for the confirmation Pete! I have been following your thread on the AC issue and knew you had it worked out. That was what triggered us to go ahead and put the donor compressor back on. Right now AC is down on my list. After we get a running go-cart we will probably look to get the AC system installed and charged.

- Lou

[Connedale]

Lou, I was considering this kit, but could not figure out a clear path to registration. How are you planning to do that? PM if necessary. I'm in Montgomery BTW!

[TX-Lou]

Connedale,

I was planning to try to register it first as a car manufactured by FFR. From what I've read the paperwork they provide should be acceptable. However, it will require annual inspection and emissions testing just like any other car. From what I've seen trying to go any other route will be much harder. Things have already changed a bit in the last year. But I will know more as we get closer to the point when I will need to get it registered. I will post updates here as that happens.

Thanks,
- Lou

[nkw8181]

Josh and mine are registered if you have any questions.

[TX-Lou]

It has been way too long since I've posted an update. Part of that was the craziness of the holidays and travel. Part of that was wanting to hold off until we got to XXX in the build......we are so close.... We haven't have as much build time as we would have liked but the project is moving forward little by little.

Well, here is our long overdue update and status.

Since our last post we have:

• Completed our AWIC install
• Ordered our Kirkey High Back seats
• Ordered and installed a Saikou Michi Dual Catch Can setup
• Installed our 5 point harness bar
• Installed the K-Tuned Shifter and knob that we pickup up from Wayne at VCP.
• Installed the transmission cables
• Connected up the Ebrake handle to the ebrakes lines
• Installed Wayne's trailing arms so we could use larger tires on the rear wheels
• Ordered Federal 595RS-RR - 255/35-18 (rear) and 595RS-RR - 215/40-17 (front) tires from onlinetires.com. Had them mounted on the FFR wheels we bought at our local FireStone
• Installed the tires and did a first blush camber, caster and alignment setup
• Mounted the degas tank and connected the hoses including a splitter to bring in Wayne's coolant modification
• Ordered and installed the Boig under-car Center Exit Exhaust that we bought from Mark at Breeze Automotive

We were officially at "roller" stage on January 8th. Here are some pictures. The first is of the Catch Cans and the other three are of the car in our driveway on January 8th.



And here are two pictures from last Sunday (February 12th) after we had installed the exhaust.



The seats are just sitting there at the moment. We haven't mounted them because we wanted to make sure of the position and setup before we did.

We received our iWire harness back from Brian and are hoping to get that all installed this weekend. After that we have a few small things to finalize (coolant overflow, hoses, add fluids, etc) and we will be ready for our first start (hopefully).

Cheers,
- Lou

[TX-Lou]

FIRST START!!!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hoqkh3l0ps...start.MOV?dl=0

We are in the process of bleeding the coolant system now. Should have that done tomorrow and then we hope to take it out for a drive.

We had some delays including the fact that the donor starter was dead. I had started the donor but that was almost 2 years ago now. In the time since it must have seized up. But we are up and running now. Next steps are to get it tuned and then to start working on the body.

Cheers,
- Lou

[DSR-3]

Very cool - Congrats!

[Wayne Presley]

Make sure you do the cooling system mod!

[BN]

Congrats thumb up

[wirenut]

Looks awesome! I'm finally getting started on my 818s in Houston. (Oak Forest) Would love to come by some weekend and get some tips.

[TX-Lou]

Sorry I missed these replies, I didn't get an email message for them.

Thanks Wayne, yes that was one of the first things we did when we got the engine back from being rebuilt. We ended up doing the coolant via vacuum system. We got tired of trying to bleed the system and we ended up doing the same for the AWIC.

Wirenut, just PM and we can setup a day/time if you want to come see the build.

Thanks,
- Lou

- Lou

[TX-Lou]

So we hit a big milestone event in the build. My son and I took the car up to Fort Worth to get it tuned on Monday. It took 10 hours but everything went great. In the end the car puts out 307 horsepower at the wheels and 301 ft/lbs of torque.

Here is a picture of John standing behind the car with our tuner Dusty in the driver's seat. Dusty rebuilt the engine as well. If anyone is looking for a tuner Dusty is your man. He owns D.A.P. Tuning in Fort Worth.



The video below is to one of the many pulls where Dusty was accelerating full throttle in either 3rd or 4th gear to red line. In this video he is cruising at about 40 mph in 4th gear when he opened up the throttle (at the 33 second mark) and takes it up to about 130 mph before letting off the gas. The roar of the engine was so loud that the phone cuts out and just gives white noise when it can't handle it. The whining noise you hear at the end is the sound the Dyno makes when it is spinning that fast. He has a laptop in the car plugged into the ECU (Engine Control Unit) and another computer on the stand that reads engine sensors and the feed from the Dyno.

https://youtu.be/nJXzp5262aA

We had no issues with overheating. Both the cooling system and the AWIC worked great. The only issue we had was we had a crack in the up-pipe to the turbo right at the weld near the turbo. Clint, the guy who owns the shop, pulled it off and welded it for us. I don't know how Dusty heard the crack but he kept saying he could hear air escaping. John and I couldn't hear it.

Next on the list is getting the AC installed and starting the work on the body.

- Lou

[wirenut]

Man that thing sounds mean! Congrats. Great numbers too!

[TX-Lou]

Man that thing sounds mean! Congrats. Great numbers too!

Thanks!

It was such a satisfying feeling to see something we built perform like it did. It was hard to imagine we would be where we are now when this project started.

- Lou