Hi all! I was going to hold off on starting a thread until after we received our kit, but with so much to do before the kit even arrives, I figure no time like the present. I've titled the thread "3-Gen" as I will be building the 818C with my Father Bob (77) and my Son Luke (14). The initial goal of the project was to try and spend more father-son time with my son, and hopefully teach him some more useful life skills than spending most of his time on the computer! As my dad and I rebuilt a 1964 1/2 Mustang when I was 15, I thought it would be a great project for all of us to work on. All three of us are headed to Mott Community College for the 818 Build school 11/13-11/15. Luckily, I'm a pilot and own my own Beechcraft Bonanza, so other than the time spent in class, feel we can safely socially distance ourselves and still attend.

We were able to find a 2004 WRX donor on Copart back in mid September for $2,000. Seemed like the ideal donor, with everything we needed. Only challenge was it was located in Savannah, GA, so I went on a 29 hour round trip from NY with a good friend of mine to pick it up. Was actually a fun (and comfortable) trip as we did it in a King Ranch F350. After disabling the aftermarket alarm system, the car fired right up and actually sounded really good.
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Stripping the car and salvaging the parts took us about 4 weeks, and then the carcass was sent to scrap we recovered $45... (Every little bit helps). As our kit isn't scheduled for pickup until 12/19, I didn't have the manual, so based it almost fully on the list of donor parts provided by FFR and the Grass Roots Motorsports video series on the build. Ironically, David did provide me the manual just yesterday, which will definitely help as we prep parts ahead of the kit arriving.

One disappointment in the donor was that in prepping the transmission for cleaning / paint, we found a large chunk of metal in it.
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I consulted a local transmission shop, and their initial advice was to try and find a used, low mileage unit. Sadly, such items don't really exist at a reasonable price. Plenty of them out there, but all greater than $1K. We decided to explore a bit and see what was going on. Turns out, it couldn't have been better news. It was actually the rear diff that totally blew apart, but we discard that anyway. Rest of the trans was in great condition! While apart, we will replace a few bearings, races and seals, but otherwise a solid 5-speed!

We are also rebuilding the engine from the block up. Mainly as part of the "learning experience" for my son. Not looking to modify it too much over stock, but looking for a couple easy upgrades that really won't provide too much risk to the engine as we don't plan to race it of anything crazy. Just figure while we're at it, can tackle a couple mods that seem generally helpful. Please provide any suggestion you might have!! I know one popular thing is to remove the TGV valves. Seems like many of you recommend that.

Cheers for now!
Rob, Luke and Bob