Dan's 818C (Lightweight818)

[BigDanSubaru]

The pedal box was definitely annoying to install. I couldn't figure out why the picture in the FFR build manual looked different than my firewall. Turns out that there is some adapter plate deep in the pits of box 6 with all of the aluminum panels. Also, the place where they have you drill for the bolts leaves them WAY to close to the round extrusion that goes around the steering column. The bolts wont fit that close. I followed some advice from another builder's thread and zipped the one side of the bolt head off. The bolts were also too short so I bought longer ones to reach all the way through and have at least 2 threads sticking out past the nylon locking nut.

I also can't believe that the master cylinder is crooked by design. It kinda bothers me, but not enough to make any significant design changes. Anyway, if you're getting close to calling it a night in the garage and you think "oh, I'll just bolt the pedal box in before I call it a night", think again. Also, make sure you get the interior aluminum riveted in place first or you will have to take this all apart again so you can have space to drill and rivet them in place. As me how I know.

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[BigDanSubaru]

The interior aluminum panels were a bit of a challenge to adjust in a way that they made a good seal. It doesn't help that FFR decided to prank me and ship the two upper front corner panels on the opposite side that they belong on. I sat there scratching my head trying to figure out how the f*** I was going to make those work. Once I flipped them, it became much more feasible. I used a ton of Cleco fasteners to test fit them. I had them on and off the car more times than I can remember, trimming and filing little by little until they fit nicely. I finished them off with clear silicone and riveted them all in place. A bit tedious and frustrating, but I think I will be glad I spent the extra time getting it sealed up nicely.

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[BigDanSubaru]

I have been procrastinating on assembling the rear drum emergency brakes. They can be quite the pain in the butt. Spring-loaded puzzle of clips that love to pop apart and make you wish you had 6 hands to hold all of the pieces in place while assembling them. I finally got them put together and that allowed me to finally install the rear brake calipers. I absolutely LOVE the way these turned out. I have since been informed that the rear brakes on the 818 are a bit undersized now that the engine is toward the rear. I already sunk a ton of time and a reasonable about of money making these look nice so I am going to run these brakes for now. I may upgrade the rear brakes at a later date if I find them to be lacking performance. I do plan to use this car for spirited drives on street and Autocross. I would like to take it to the track, but this would not be done very often. If I can even man up enough to take my pride and joy out on the track at all and risk destroying her. Either way, there is always something better out there. For now, these will work and as long as the car can stop, I am happy for now.

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[BigDanSubaru]

I placed the Boyd fuel tank in and the firewall overtop of it. Nothing bolted in yet. This was just to start planning where the seats will end up. The seats are Corbeau Forza fixed back racing seats. With the sliders on the bottom, they slider bar sits just below that dreaded crossbar that goes under your legs across the car. I am okay with the adjustment bar being down that low. The seat cannot slide forward much because it hits that bar, which isn't really a problem because I am tall and sliding that far forward would put my knees in my chest.

I could raise the seats, but I am worried my head will hit the hardtop when I have a helmet on. I am 6'-0" and sat in another 818C where my head was pretty close to hitting while sitting in his thicker adjustable reclining racing seats. Also, raising the seat puts my head even higher up above the rollbar. There is no way I can get my head below it unless I install the seat laid back super far which wouldn't be very ergonomic. Not sure if the broomstick test is a thing when you have the coupe, but if it is, I'm failing that. I'll post pics later with me in the car and you can see where my head sits in relation to the rollbar.

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[BigDanSubaru]

Time to tear down the intake manifold and get it cleaned up. I removed everything from the manifold and took photos. I labeled each bolt in the photo and then placed the bolt into a box with the corresponding numbered label so I could remember where each one went. I plan to paint the bolt heads so they don't look so nasty. I also removed the valve covers so I could clean them up as well. I took the valve covers and the intake manifold to a local powder coating place who quoted me $500 to coat them with base coat and clear coat. HA! That's WAY more than I expected it to cost, so I went to Autozone and spent $50 on engine primer, base coat and clear coat. More pictures to come of the process.

While I was at Autozone, I also picked up some more black chassis paint and painted the door frames. Oh, and I painted the coolant crossover pipe with black engine paint. I plan to install the barb fitting like most builders have to help burp the air from the coolant system. I already bought the barb fitting. I just need to man up and get the drill and tap out.

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[rjp]

So, are you going through a backlog of photos or are you just moving this fast? I assume a backlog, but maybe not.

[BigDanSubaru]

So, are you going through a backlog of photos or are you just moving this fast? I assume a backlog, but maybe not.

This is indeed a backlog of photos. I am nearly caught up to my current progress on my build. I meant to start this thread a long time ago but just never got around to it until now.

[BigDanSubaru]

I got the intake manifold and the valve covers blasted, masked, primed and painted in VHT Engine Metallic Gold paint. The primer sprayed nice and even but the gold was very thin and runny. It didn't like to spray evenly, but the parts still came out okay considering the condition they used to be in. Waiting for the paint to cure before applying VHT Engine Clear Coat. I also removed the plastic OEM half-moon seals. They were super brittle and the raised edges broke off without much force being used to remove them. I decided to upgrade to these billet aluminum IAG half-moon seals which should be much more durable.

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[BigDanSubaru]

I thought for sure I had removed everything I needed from the donor shell. I mean...there was practically nothing left of it when we scrapped it. Just a metal empty shell...annnnd the lower rubber radiator grommets that I need for the 818. DOH! A quick trip to the dealership and I picked up some new ones so I could drop the radiator in. It's a Mishimoto X-Line radiator and it's gorgeous. I am working on sorting out the upper mounts for it. I don't really like the way you cut the OEM Subie mounts to be reused. I have some black aluminum Mishimoto mounts that I think I can make work for it.

I am also continuing to progress on the engine projects, I blasted, masked, primed and painted the hardware that goes with the intake manifold and the TGVs. Speaking of the TGVs, I decided to leave them in place. I know there is a slight HP gain for deleting them, but that's going into the future upgrades list. IAG is working on developing new TGV deletes for this motor so maybe when those come out I will just buy those and upgrade the fuel rail system at the same time.

I am having to list out my tasks on this white board I keep in the garage. It's a great way to keep my ADHD brain from scrambling and forgetting tasks. Plus it feels great to cross a bunch of them off each night. Here is my list that I will be chopping away at for a while.

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[BigDanSubaru]

Me, my uncle and my father started planning out how to mount these seats. The current plan is to use a bolt in approach. These steel brackets are made from 3/16" steel flat bar that is 1.5" wide. There are 4 holes in each bar. 2 holes are for the seat slider and 2 holes are for the bolts that hold everything to the car. The bolts will be fed up from the bottom of the car and there will be a welded nut on the top of the holes marked with a "C" for car. The holes marked with an "S" are for the slider bracket. I am drawing all of this up on AutoCAD on lunch breaks at work. We are trying to keep the mounts as low-profile as possible. As you can see, my head is already above the roll bar. There is no way I can get below it unless I installed the seat reclined back on a ridiculous angle which wouldn't be practical. They are fixed back seats, so we need to get the positioning just right.

Back on the engine projects, I got the clear coat sprayed on the intake manifold and the valve covers. I removed the masking tape and was very pleased with how they turned out. Are they as nice as they would have been if I spent 10X more money on professional powder coat? No, but now I can say I did this myself, learned some lessons and honed some skills. I am really happy with these and you won't be able to get close enough to see any imperfections once the engine is down in the car.

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[Ajzride]

Intake looks nice.. but I wonder how well it will hold up? I bought an Eastwood powder coating kit and used oven on craigslist for $25, and it's been the best money I spent on this project. Everything gets powder coated and it holds up so well.

[BigDanSubaru]

Intake looks nice.. but I wonder how well it will hold up? I bought an Eastwood powder coating kit and used oven on craigslist for $25, and it's been the best money I spent on this project. Everything gets powder coated and it holds up so well.

It definitely won't hold up for very long compared to powder coat. My garage is not large enough to accommodate a kitchen oven to cure things in. I am hoping I can assemble it without causing significant damage to the finish. The heat from the engine should help cure the paint and make it stronger. You're supposed to cure this paint in an over like powder coat which is supposed to greatly increase its durability. I just don't have a feasible means of doing so.

[BigDanSubaru]

Valve covers installed with new seals (obviously) and new hardware. Coil packs cleaned up and installed. Cleaned the engine wiring harness, the TGVs and the fuel rails. All set up for assembly of the intake manifold next time. Felt good to cross a bunch of things off of the to-do list! When torqueing the valve cover bolts down to spec, I could see the flange on the bolts peeling the paint up from underneath them. You can't really tell unless your are very close, but it doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling about the durability of this paint. The torque spec was only 4.7 ft-lbs.

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[Shannon4570]

Cool project. For what it's worth, I am assuming the sandblaster is from HF. Don't know if you have seen any of the youtube videos on how to hotrod the cabinet to improve the performance but it's well worth the effort and $100 or so to do it. I have the same cabinet and it's a night and day difference starting with not filling your shop with sandblast dust.

[Sgt.Gator]

BigDanSubaru,
Welcome to the forum and the process.
Are you going to drop the tail of the tranny? You can also drop the tail less if you raise the engine mounts higher. If you don't know why you should drop the tail I'll send you the link. You haven't mentioned modifying the frame for it so I'm not sure you've read the threads on it.

What is your plan for driving the car? Street only, street and track- HPDE, Autox, time trials...up to wheel to wheel? No matter which it is, your head being above the roll bar while strapped in a race harness that keeps you rigid vertically in the seat is a bad idea.

Think on this pic for a bit. A Corvette C6 Z06 with the factory integrated "roll hoop". I had a Z06 and felt perfectly safe driving it on the track, I had no idea it could collapse like this. The driver and passenger walked away with no injuries because they had the oem 3 point seatbelts which allowed them to bend inward as the roof forced their heads down. The car was only going 70mph as they entered the track for an HPDE day. If they had been strapped in race harnesses I'm certain the passenger would have been critically injured.



The 818 roll bar probably wouldn't collapse like this. But your head above the bar + the top of the helmet above that is going to put a lot of force on your neck if you ever roll it.
In short, if you came to a track where I am instructing I wouldn't get in the car with you because my head would be above yours.

Sorry to be a downer, but I'd feel awful if something happened to a young father and I hadn't said anything while it could still be remedied.

[BigDanSubaru]

Cool project. For what it's worth, I am assuming the sandblaster is from HF. Don't know if you have seen any of the youtube videos on how to hotrod the cabinet to improve the performance but it's well worth the effort and $100 or so to do it. I have the same cabinet and it's a night and day difference starting with not filling your shop with sandblast dust.

Thank you, and yes I have watched many of those videos. I installed the metering valve and sealed up the whole cabinet with clear silicone sealant. It doesn't leak (much) and it sprays much more consistently without having to work around that dreaded siphon tube that it comes with.

[BigDanSubaru]

BigDanSubaru,
Welcome to the forum and the process.
Are you going to drop the tail of the tranny? You can also drop the tail less if you raise the engine mounts higher. If you don't know why you should drop the tail I'll send you the link. You haven't mentioned modifying the frame for it so I'm not sure you've read the threads on it.

What is your plan for driving the car? Street only, street and track- HPDE, Autox, time trials...up to wheel to wheel? No matter which it is, your head being above the roll bar while strapped in a race harness that keeps you rigid vertically in the seat is a bad idea.

Think on this pic for a bit. A Corvette C6 Z06 with the factory integrated "roll hoop". I had a Z06 and felt perfectly safe driving it on the track, I had no idea it could collapse like this. The driver and passenger walked away with no injuries because they had the oem 3 point seatbelts which allowed them to bend inward as the roof forced their heads down. The car was only going 70mph as they entered the track for an HPDE day. If they had been strapped in race harnesses I'm certain the passenger would have been critically injured.

The 818 roll bar probably wouldn't collapse like this. But your head above the bar + the top of the helmet above that is going to put a lot of force on your neck if you ever roll it.
In short, if you came to a track where I am instructing I wouldn't get in the car with you because my head would be above yours.

Sorry to be a downer, but I'd feel awful if something happened to a young father and I hadn't said anything while it could still be remedied.

Hey thanks for the info on the frame mods. I have heard that 5th gear doesn't receive proper lubrication/cooling due to the trans being tilted forward. Since my exhaust manifold and oil pan are already going to hang pretty low, I think I would rather raise the engine mounts a bit. Do you know of any build threads that show how to do this? I know that raises the center of gravity a bit which doesn't help the rollover concerns, but I don't plan on heavily tracking this car. It will mostly be used for occasional street use and Autocross.

With my kit being a coupe, I am not sure how I would even modify the roll bar to be higher. I think the hardtop sits pretty close to that roll bar. I am concerned that the hardtop will not fit if I raise the roll bar. I have seen some 818S kits and a few 818R kits where builders have raised the roll bar to pass the broomstick test and it is obnoxiously tall. There is just no way the hardtop would fit on with that sort of roll bar modification.

[BigDanSubaru]

Intake manifold is assembled! Even managed to do so without scratching the finish. For now, it's just sitting on top of the motor for the pictures.
I still need to tap a hose barb into the top of the coolant crossover pipe first. I have seen a lot of guys do this on these cars to help burp the air from the cooling system. That would be hard to do with the manifold on. I bought a 90 degree fitting like I saw another builder use. Now I just need to pick up the correct tap, man up and drill a hole in my crossover pipe.
I also need to sort out some minor wire routing concerns and put the turbo inlet pipe in before bolting everything down. It's really starting to look like something!

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[blomb11]

I raised my engine by 1.5” and dropped the tail of my 6spd. I haven’t put it through much testing yet so that is my only disclaimer. You can also check Hobby Racer’s first build thread to see what he did with a 5spd then a 6spd. There are a couple threads that show how you can easily mold your own engine mounts and trans mount. If you are not tracking your 818 reducing the height and molding your own trans mount might be a good option.

[Namrups]

If you can't raise the roll bar because it will hit the top how is your head (especially with a helmet on) going to fit?

[rjp]

The roof is sloping up as it passes over the rollbar.

[Dave 53]

Looking at your photo's, you might want to consider routing your belt like this...belt route.jpg

You have a double wammy in that you have very tall seats that are not designed for a 3-point belt system.

If the goal is 5-point belts, maybe replace the seats you have with a fiberglass shell seat and mount it right on the floor (no slider), but you probably will still fail a broomstick test with the FFR OEM rollbar.

A better option might be replacing the seats you have now with seats that accommodate 3-point belts and fabricating mounting brackets without sliders that get them as low as possible.

My passenger side is an OMP Designer tube frame seat. Super comfortable and 3-point compatible. Fine for the occasional track day. The Corbeau A4 looks very similar. The driver side is a Sparco fiberglass shell seat. Crazy low. Not designed for a 3-point belt, but I have a broomstick rollbar system (front and rear roll bars).belt.jpg

[BigDanSubaru]

If you can't raise the roll bar because it will hit the top how is your head (especially with a helmet on) going to fit?

Good point. I guess it's just hard to visualize how much space there would be to raise the roll bar up with the roof fitted on. I might have to bring mine down from storage and just take a look at it. If there was room to raise the roll bar up without hitting the roof, why wouldn't factory five do this? These aftermarket seats mount way lower than the OEM Subaru seats. There's no way anyone over 5'-6" passes a broomstick test in a coupe with the OEM Subaru seats installed.

[BigDanSubaru]

Looking at your photo's, you might want to consider routing your belt like this...belt route.jpg

You have a double wammy in that you have very tall seats that are not designed for a 3-point belt system.

If the goal is 5-point belts, maybe replace the seats you have with a fiberglass shell seat and mount it right on the floor (no slider), but you probably will still fail a broomstick test with the FFR OEM rollbar.

A better option might be replacing the seats you have now with seats that accommodate 3-point belts and fabricating mounting brackets without sliders that get them as low as possible.

My passenger side is an OMP Designer tube frame seat. Super comfortable and 3-point compatible. Fine for the occasional track day. The Corbeau A4 looks very similar. The driver side is a Sparco fiberglass shell seat. Crazy low. Not designed for a 3-point belt, but I have a broomstick rollbar system (front and rear roll bars).belt.jpg

I am sticking with these 5 point Corbeau racing harnesses and ditching the OEM Subaru 3 point. I have the belt shoulder straps fed through the seat openings as you pictured there. I just need to get the height correct by adjusting the harness bar so the belt is aimed directly through the openings and is at a slight downward angle.

I don't have the seats permanently mounted just yet. These Corbeau seats actually mount pretty low and the slider only adds maybe 3/4" to 1". Since my dad and I will be sharing this car at Autocross events and he is taller than me, I want to retain the slider so that we can both drive in a position that is comfortable for us.

[BigDanSubaru]

I raised my engine by 1.5” and dropped the tail of my 6spd. I haven’t put it through much testing yet so that is my only disclaimer. You can also check Hobby Racer’s first build thread to see what he did with a 5spd then a 6spd. There are a couple threads that show how you can easily mold your own engine mounts and trans mount. If you are not tracking your 818 reducing the height and molding your own trans mount might be a good option.

I bought brand new group-N engine mounts and transmission mount. I would rather not hack up that transmission mount if I can avoid it. I think raising the engine mounts would be my preferred route. I just don't have welding experience. Maybe I could get some bolt on risers made? Just a steel loop with holes in the top and bottom and it would be like a bolt on spacer.

[Sgt.Gator]

Corbeau Evolution X seats with the 3 pt belt may work. They are used by Corvette C5-6 owners to have better seats with the oem belts. Not for sanctioned wheel to wheel racing but should be no problem for HPDE and AutoX.
https://corbeau.com/racing-seats/evolution-x/

[Dave 53]

For the belt routing, I was referring to how the webbing is threaded through the hardware.

I raised my engine by 1/2". I just put a 1/2" piece of steel stock as a spacer between the mounts and engine block and got longer bolts. I couldn't go any higher otherwise the turbo flange would hit the bolt on cross member. But that might not be a problem if you are using an OEM turbo.

[BigDanSubaru]

For the belt routing, I was referring to how the webbing is threaded through the hardware.

I raised my engine by 1/2". I just put a 1/2" piece of steel stock as a spacer between the mounts and engine block and got longer bolts. I couldn't go any higher otherwise the turbo flange would hit the bolt on cross member. But that might not be a problem if you are using an OEM turbo.

My engine mounts just have a stud sticking out from the bottom. I don't think they can be removed and replaced with longer ones. Perhaps they could be extended if I could find a piece of hardware that could do that.

Or did you put the steel plate between the engine mount and the engine block and buy longer bolts to go through up into the block? Reference photo below that I found online.

51ed882f-7ca8-456b-a97d-e50b4d2dba80.medium.jpg

[Dave 53]

My engine mounts just have a stud sticking out from the bottom. I don't think they can be removed and replaced with longer ones. Perhaps they could be extended if I could find a piece of hardware that could do that.

Or did you put the steel plate between the engine mount and the engine block and buy longer bolts to go through up into the block? Reference photo below that I found online.

51ed882f-7ca8-456b-a97d-e50b4d2dba80.medium.jpg

Spacer between the mount and engine block. I sized the spacer for maximum contact with the block similar to the contact with the block that the mount makes.

Good call on getting the Group N mounts. Mosly because with soft OEM mounts and no pitch stopper, the engine will move around too much and bash up the timing belt cover. No matter how gently a 818 will be driven, at a minimum they should have group N mounts.

[FFRWRX]

I guess it's just hard to visualize how much space there would be to raise the roll bar up with the roof fitted on. I might have to bring mine down from storage and just take a look at it.

There will no doubt be small differences in that space due to tolerances, but I've got about 3/4" between the roll bar and the inside of the roof. I added some thin sound deadening on the roof and the hatch hinge mounts touch that. So using the stock hinge mounts, I have zero room to raise the roll bar.

Screenshot 2022-12-04 at 9.44.13 AM.jpg

Rick

[BigDanSubaru]

There will no doubt be small differences in that space due to tolerances, but I've got about 3/4" between the roll bar and the inside of the roof. I added some thin sound deadening on the roof and the hatch hinge mounts touch that. So using the stock hinge mounts, I have zero room to raise the roll bar.

Screenshot 2022-12-04 at 9.44.13 AM.jpg

Rick

Thank you for posting this picture. This really clears up the situation. Absolutely no way to raise the roll bar.

[Ajzride]

Thank you for posting this picture. This really clears up the situation. Absolutely no way to raise the roll bar.

There is a way, you just have to raise the roof as well. A sawzall and some fiberglass mat and resin will get you there.

[lance corsi]

There is no room there. I opted for a front mount tank and laid my seats back to fit within the cockpit and I’m 5’9”. My seats are bare cf by Tillett. They are mounted about 3” above the floor tubes. I also found it necessary to bump out the ds firewall around the pedals to give me just a bit more leg room.

[BigDanSubaru]

There is a way, you just have to raise the roof as well. A sawzall and some fiberglass mat and resin will get you there.

There is more to it than just cutting the roof and reshaping it (as if that wasn't already a huge project). The roll bar would have to be so much higher that the whole shape of the roof would need to change and it would look ridiculous. There is also an air intake tunnel that is channeled through the roof that you would need to work around. It's just not feasible.

[BigDanSubaru]

There is no room there. I opted for a front mount tank and laid my seats back to fit within the cockpit and I’m 5’9”. My seats are bare cf by Tillett. They are mounted about 3” above the floor tubes. I also found it necessary to bump out the ds firewall around the pedals to give me just a bit more leg room.

I will try to give my seats some angle to help with this. Won't be that hard to stick some spacers under the mounts in the front to give it a few degrees and see how it ends up. I already have the Boyd tank so I am not currently considering the front mounted tank idea.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

I'm 6'0" 280#, My son is 6'4" 350#
We installed our alum Kirkey seat bolted directly to the cross bars with about 1" of foam in the seat cover.
We reshaped the seat and went with a front mounted 14 galllon tank.
See pictures. I'm in Cincinnati if anyone wants to try it on for size or go for a ride.
Bob

seat.jpg cuts 3.jpg

This picture shows how far back and how low our seats are.
seat_mount.jpg

[Shawn818c]

What are the specs on your wheels front and rear? Also, what changes did you have to make to allow for front and rear?

Also, you might want to consider a rear firewall now. Before you get the engine installed.

[BigDanSubaru]

What are the specs on your wheels front and rear? Also, what changes did you have to make to allow for front and rear?

Also, you might want to consider a rear firewall now. Before you get the engine installed.

Hey Shawn, I posted the specs on page 1 (post 27). I'll paste a quote from that section here though. As for any changes for fitment, so far I am running the VeryCoolParts rear trailing arms for additional clearance and I am also running Mach V 10mm Spacer Kit With Wheel Studs in the rear. Wheel and tire specs below. No changes needed to be made for the front for fitment yet. I am considering the Bear bump steer kit though. Also, I do plan to add an additional rear firewall. Santa is bringing some things to help get that job done.

For anyone interested in my wheel setup, here are the specs.
Front Wheels: 18x8 +45 Storm Grey Enkei Tuning TS-V
Front Tires: 215/35ZR18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S
Rear Wheels: 18x9.5 +45 Storm Grey Enkei Tuning TS-V
Rear Tires: 255/35ZR18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S

[BigDanSubaru]

Like most builders have done, I tapped a hose barb into the top of the coolant crossover pipe (Wayne's Cooling Mod). I practiced on an old aluminum straight edge that I used for a drill jig when I was doing the large aluminum panels. I found the point on the tap where the fitting got nice and tight. Then I mocked up where to put the barb by setting the turbo and turbo inlet pipe on the engine. Most builders have used a straight barb at the 2 o'clock position. I opted to use a 90 degree fitting so it could fit right on the top of the coolant pipe. I saw another builder do this and I just liked that idea a little better.

What I did not account for were the hard fuel lines that sit under the intake manifold (I had the manifold off when mocking up the position for the barb). I got very lucky and the barb missed those lines by just a little bit. It fits nice and tight and I used some blue Loctite thread locker on it like Wayne suggested. Plenty of room for a hose to clamp on there.

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[BigDanSubaru]

Cleaned the surface of the block where the TGV gaskets got stuck to it when removed. Then I added new gaskets, 3mm phenolic spacers, then another layer of gaskets. The phenolic spacers help to reduce the amount of heat that soaks up into the TGVs and intake manifold from the engine block. I also got the fuel rail covers, turbo uppipe brackets and wastegate painted. I am not going to be getting the turbo coated because I plan on using a turbo blanket to reduce engine bay temps as much as possible. No point in making the turbo all pretty if you aren't even going to see it (I did clean it though).

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