The Monza Build

[kevinh]

I bought my 818C from MonzaMan last week, so I figured I should start documenting my progress here. I’ve already used the forum for help, so hopefully I can post a few things that help a done others.

Backstory: I preordered one of the original 818S kits 10 years ago, and bought a naturally aspirated 2.5l Impreza as a donor. I stripped the donor, then the delivery to Canada was delayed and I decided to move onto another project.

Fast forward: I was looking for a fun toy and thought I would check out the factory five website and saw MonzaMan’s 818C for $15k (11.5k USD), it was also the colour of the ‘73 Dodge Challenger I owned in High School (Sublime Green) so I couldn’t turn it down!

I’m still trying to figure out exactly what I’ve got for engine, transmission, wiring, brakes, A/C, etc. The plan is to finish the interior so I can drive it, then go back and improve a few things.

[kevinh]

Challenge #1 - Moving the Car
I rented a u-haul car trailer for $100, but I knew the 3.5” ground clearance was going to be a challenge. For anyone that goes this route, consider yourself warned: should have called a tow truck.

Trailer and car weighed 3600lbs, which was the limit of my Dodge Caravan’s towing capacity. Definitely made the minivan look cooler!

We needed to disconnect the trailer from the van so it could be tilted downwards at about a 5” slope, then we had to use additional ramps to extend the uhaul ramps by another 8’.

Didn’t realize until it was too late that the doors wouldn’t open due to the trailer wheel wells. Fortunately, the power windows were working so I crawled out the window!

IMG_4084.jpg

[kevinh]

Licence and Registration:

The car is already registered in Ontario, so fortunately that headache was looked after for me. Still working on finding a shop to do the safety inspection.

I couldn’t help myself, I ordered a custom license plate for it, since FFR 818 was still available in Ontario.

image.jpg

[FFRWRX]

You did certainly get a great deal on that. I got a very good deal when I bought mine semi-complete. It's a shame that these cars aren't worth much, even when nicely completed. It takes around $50k Canadian to finish one and they go for around $20k. With a careful build of a Cobra replica you can get your money back; not with these.

But that aside, they are very nice cars. Drive beautifully, look amazing, and get a lot of attention.

Where in Ontario are you? Maybe we can get our green machines together some day.

Rick