Picked up our STI-hybrid swap donor today!

[Tamra]

We've been absolutely awful about updates lately, for a couple reasons.

1, Sanding, sandblasting, de-greasing, and brake-parts-cleaning things isn't very exciting.

2, We also just got back from a week long roadtrip vacation in "Frog" our Miata up through Maine, New Brunswick, and around Nova Scotia, including the Cabot Trail. We had a great time, and thoroughly enjoyed the seafood!





Now that we're back, things are starting to come together.
We got our Group N motor & transmission mounts, TGV to intake & block gaskets, Injector seals, OBX "front" LSD, placed a massive Subaru OEM parts order from North Coast Subaru (if you call them, they'll give you a better discount)- STi Oil pan (only $93!), valve cover gaskets, CV joint boots, lots of exhaust related gaskets, etc etc.

We also have finally been making progress on cleaning up parts in a way that feels rewarding. All the calipers are cleaned and painted with the VHT caliper paint, which looks great! The axle parts are all cleaned out from LOTS of old grease packed in there. Hint: Degreaser & a rag first, then when it's almost all out, use WD-40 as a solvent to finish, it worked better than brake parts cleaner to thin the grease.



We also painted the OEM header with another VHT product. Before & After:


Other parts on the list to order are an Exedy Stage 1 Heavy Duty Clutch and ACT Street Lite flywheel, an AWIC (most likely Frozen Boost), FFR lateral links set, steel braided brake lines, a cheap CAT to get through emissions, and racing seats TBD.


On Tuesday we took another trip up to FFR to check out the new options, sit in the 818S that wasn't available last time we were there, and see the new red R car.
We knew we needed to get a better idea of what to expect with the kit, and it was a valuable trip.

Things we figured out:

• Wipers are an option, not included. We'll probably have a go at setting up our own, but FFR's kit looks pretty nice.
• The trunk kit is decent sized, and most of the way ready. We'll probably make our own to fit around the AWIC kit that we've decided to go with.
• Body panels are not perfect, but they're pretty good. We think we'll be OK with some wrap.
• Seating and steering positions are pretty good for us, although we will need a rather low seat mount to pass the "broomstick" rule.
• Kits will be coming with the "old" gas tank for a while still.
• Shifter as delivered isn't mushy at all, if anything, it's a bit too mechanical feeling, it'll take some time to get used to. It also sits really high if you don't undermount it in the tunnel.

The red R has a Frozen Boost kit installed:



We've sold a little over $3600 in donor parts so far. We haven't been promoting them as heavily lately, so things slowed down a bit. We are pretty confident we will still hit over $4k before long, especially since we just listed an STI TMIC and some extra exhaust parts.

[wleehendrick]

We also just got back from a week long roadtrip vacation in "Frog" our Miata up through Maine, New Brunswick, and around Nova Scotia, including the Cabot Trail. We had a great time, and thoroughly enjoyed the seafood!

Nice! Looks a lot like PCH through Big Sur. I've had some fun runs on that road in my Z (when not stuck behind an RV). Can't wait to take the 818 on a road-trip like that.

use WD-40 as a solvent to finish, it worked better than brake parts cleaner to thin the grease.

Now you tell me! I went through a bunch of BrakeClean getting my CVs ready.

Wipers are an option, not included. We'll probably have a go at setting up our own, but FFR's kit looks pretty nice.
The trunk kit is decent sized, and most of the way ready. We'll probably make our own to fit around the AWIC kit that we've decided to go with.

Good to know, I'll probably order the wipers soon, and will consider the trunk when there's more info on it.

Seating and steering positions are pretty good for us, for me, I'll need a rather low seat mount to pass the "broomstick" rule.

If you go with fixed back racing seats on side-mounts with a little recline, like I did, you should have no trouble getting under the rollbar. You might, however want to drop the steering wheel a bit, some longer spacers and bolts is all it takes.

[xxguitarist]

Nice! Looks a lot like PCH through Big Sur. I've had some fun runs on that road in my Z (when not stuck behind an RV). Can't wait to take the 818 on a road-trip like that.
Now you tell me! I went through a bunch of BrakeClean getting my CVs ready.
Good to know, I'll probably order the wipers soon, and will consider the trunk when there's more info on it.
If you go with fixed back racing seats on side-mounts with a little recline, like I did, you should have no trouble getting under the rollbar. You might, however want to drop the steering wheel a bit, some longer spacers and bolts is all it takes.

The WD40 was especially useful on the ball/retainer style ones. The others, we weren't worried about just removing everything to clean, but after doing the fronts, we figured it might be hard to get everything back in!
We finished off with brake parts cleaner to get the WD40 off, but it would have taken a lot longer without that intermediate step.

That "I" was actually me- I'm around 5'11. FFR's S car has a nice kirkey road race seat mounted up on some 1.5" square tube, which put me almost completely level with the rollbar. We'll just have to get the sliders positioned quite low at the longer end, which should work well for both of us.

[wleehendrick]

That "I" was actually me- I'm around 5'11. FFR's S car has a nice kirkey road race seat mounted up on some 1.5" square tube, which put me almost completely level with the rollbar. We'll just have to get the sliders positioned quite low at the longer end, which should work well for both of us.

I'm 5'11" also, and with NRG seats mounted low I have adequate clearance. I have a slider for the driver's side so my wife will be able to reach the pedals. Without a Boyd tank, there's very little range of motion, with the firewall moved back around 3" it works for me pushed back, and she should be able to reach with it forward.

[xxguitarist]

Tamra & I don't think we'll need the boyd or FFR's new tank, we hope. We both like to be up pretty tight on the wheel for auto-x.
I'll probably be a little closer than preferred for street driving, but oh well. Just hope I can get into & out of the car with the stock (non-quick release) steering wheel in place..