Andrew & Tamra's 818SR EM Autox Hybrid Destroked Long-Rod Build

[Buzz Skyline]

Check out posts 19 and 21 of this thread to see one example of how to install wipers without having to cut the hood. http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...d-wipers-818-s

[Tamra]

That's not really the FFR kit anymore although, for someone wanting a wiper solution without cutting the hood, it looks like a fantastic modification!

We aren't keeping our wipers (they are just for inspection), so we probably won't go through the effort. Thanks for the link though, that is interesting to see!

[Buzz Skyline]

I hate the wiper cut out. I hope they pass you so you can ditch the wipers. I plan to daily drive mine, and I figure I should keep the wipers just in case. I just finished my wiper install without cutting the hood. I moved the FFR wiper bracket an inch to the left of the point required by the FFR instructions, drilled one extra hole, and ditched one wiper. Works great so far.

[brian b 36]

tamra I was talking to one of the guys at the open house and they said dmv is requiring defrosters you may want to call them on it

[Tamra]

I spoke with the CT inspection dept. two weeks ago and asked about a defroster. They said it is not required on a roadster in CT.

[CU9DZ]

Has anyone in CT or Mass had there 818 inspected and registered? I'm wondering about the headlight aiming problem. The Camry lens assembly from the kit has little or no adjustment. Don't want to find out my kit fails because of misaligned lights.
Davis

[Tamra]

We should be able to let you know in the next few weeks. I'm not sure what our solution for that is yet - but I do know that we want properly aimed headlights in case of night driving. I'm also not sure if they check during the inspection.

[brian b 36]

tamra i know your going to dmv soon i have a friend who works there and he gave a complete list of requirements for a composit build if you want the list give me fax n# and i can send it your way looks very basic and the last salvage inspection we did the did not chk the head lights being aimed

[Tamra]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for that! Is it different than this list? http://www.ct.gov/dmv/LIB/dmv/20/29/R-157.pdf

If so, we'd love to see it. We don't have a fax number though.

[brian b 36]

same list your good i pm you on the other stuff

[Tamra]

Just realized I hadn't updated in a little while. We've still been hard at work on the doors, the rear bumper solution, and the lights wiring. We should be finishing up the rear bumper and the catalytic converter installation tonight, and countersunk screws are on order from McMaster so we can finish up the doors. I'll post some photos later tonight.

We, unfortunately, had to spend a few evenings working on our van rather than the 818. The brand new water pump we installed a few weeks ago was leaking, so we had to drain the system, pull it back off, and add some Honda Bond. Unfortunately, we put it back on, and it was STILL leaking, and we figured out the culprit was the filler neck, so off it came, Honda Bond applied, and now so far so good (knock on wood). A bit time consuming, but it needed to be done before making the trip to Toledo, OH this weekend for the next SCCA Pro Solo.

Last weekend was the SCCA Devens Championship Tour, where I drove a Miata in STRL. It was my 2nd time in the car, but it was well set up and I get along with Miatas, so I ended up winning the Tour! In this run, if I wouldn't have hit a couple of slalom cones, I would have been 9th overall on Saturday (fastest car by pax on street tires) and would have been leading open STR. My fastest clean run was ~.8 slower and put me at 22nd overall and would have been 3rd in open, but put me at a .8 second lead in STRL.

[Tamra]

Andrew also did very well, but it was a tough course for S2000's against the Vettes again, unfortunately. I'm not good at "catching" a car, whereas Andrew is a master of it. I hope I can pick up some of his skills! Here's a fun video of him hitting the rev limiter in 2nd (56mph) a bunch:



For the record, the Corvette Z06's that they are up against, can go 61MPH in 1st gear, and 93MPH in 2nd gear. They were literally shifting to 2nd where the S2000's were bouncing off the rev limiter.

[Tamra]

Okay, back to the 818!

Catalytic converter v-bands are welded on:


The cat is the exact same size as our bullet muffler (after being cut down a bit), so it fits into the exhaust perfectly:


We finished welding up the rear bumper and welded it onto the car. Hopefully this is sufficient for inspection. Later, we will extend it taller and create a rear ducktail support bar. We also painted our "Cherry Bomb" muffler silver to tone it down a bit...



Using a map gas torch, we bent the bumper bar and it fits about perfectly inside the contour of the bumper, just behind the center ridge:


The door bars are installed. I flipped the upper and lower hinges but they stayed on the same side of the car as the donor. We also removed the power locks. Our countersunk screws arrived but our countersinks did not, so the doors will probably have to wait until next week after we get back from Toledo. I'll do a full door post later once they're complete.


We wired in one of the blinkers. We ended up with a mixed up set of crimps - only 4 of one type, which we need 6 of. We'll have to contact FFR (unless anyone knows what they are and we can order them quicker from elsewhere?). The one we are short of is top center of this photo.


We also wired in the headlights. It appears we didn't get the extra bulbs required for an 02 WRX, so we picked up some from Advance yesterday for sake of time. I found another thread where someone listed that they bought these, so we got the same and they worked like a charm. The connectors are here. The bulb is here. The Camry headlights use 9005 bulbs for high beams (what we bought) and 9006 for low (what FFR provided). Also FYI, if you need turn signals, the front is 3457.

The aim looks relatively decent considering it was all luck. The car is only about 5 feet from the wall though, so we won't know for sure until we get it further back. The rear end is on boards, so they look a little low. Hopefully on a level surface it will be about right. If so, I think it'll be the first time in this build that something just "worked."

High beams:

[TouchStone]

Was also short on those pins, FFR ships them quickly.

[Harley818]

Hey Tamra, I've been waiting for someone to document the headlight alignment success.
There has been a few discussions on it and the fact that they were both canted inwards, but no real facts yet.
Be great if you could let us know how yours turned out.

Looking good!

[Hindsight]

Nice exhaust fab! I bet it sounds good.

Your garage looks like it was carved out of the side of a granite mountain!

[Tamra]

Nice exhaust fab! I bet it sounds good.

Your garage looks like it was carved out of the side of a granite mountain!

The house we are renting is actually on a very steep rock hill, so you're not that far off!

In the winter, you can see it is one giant rock with some trees growing out of it.


You can't really tell in the summer...


The house is only 800 sq feet. It has two one car garages. The giant rock wall in the middle of the two garages really gets in the way. Each are only 10 feet wide, about 20 feet deep.


The exhaust does sound pretty good in our opinion. It's a little loud and it might require a turndown on a cloudy day for some autocross events in order to make sound, but at idle it's pretty quiet. Here's a clip of it when we were doing some oval/skid pad practice at a school we went to in April. It lets you hear the exhaust fairly well.

[Tamra]

Sorry for the radio silence the past couple of weeks. We've been crazy busy!

The Toledo Pro Solo was fun, and I won my class (L3) driving the STR Miata! Saturday was more like lake autocrossing due to the 5" of rain that dumped on the area. It got so bad that they actually cancelled the afternoon session on Saturday - trees were blowing over and there was widespread flooding. My rain gear soaked through. It was pretty miserable. Sunday was blue skies and mostly dry pavement for my runs in the morning, clearing off to fully dry pavement for the remainder of the day. Beautiful blue skies with a light breeze and a pleasant 70 something degrees - the perfect autocross day. I was sitting 5th on Saturday in the rain (I'm apparently not so good in the rain), took off 7 seconds in the dry on Sunday, to win by .3 seconds. Andrew was sitting 2nd on Saturday I think (he's a great rain driver!), but slipped back to 4th on Sunday in the dry. Overall a great weekend!

Despite being out of town every weekend (and we will again be out of town every weekend in July), we have been making progress on the 818.

- Doors are done (such a pain, probably close to 25 hours of work)
- All lights are done (headlights, tail lights, etc.)

Next up is securing the light wiring a bit better (every 18" per the CT DMV rules), install wheel liners, new tires on the wheels, install decklids, and a few other odds and ends. We estimate somewhere in the range of 25 hours of work until we are ready to show up at the DMV.

I will post a how to on how we did the doors soon.

[Tamra]

Between the Factory Five manual and Wayne's Tips here, I was able to successfully assemble and install the doors with only a handful of bloopers. I definitely had some questions come up and some areas that weren't clear to me (I am not the most mechanically inclined though), so I'll post my experience here in case it might help anyone else. I did most of the work myself, with Andrew stepping in to assist when I had a hard time, and he also cut the fiberglass (it's fragile and made me nervous).

Step 1: Install striker support bracket inside of side sail and snug it up, making sure it is pressed against the side sail (don't want any space that could stress the fiberglass). Using Wayne's tip, I used a flashlight from the back, and traced the holes of the striker support bracket onto the front of the side sail. I then duck taped the striker in place over the holes I traced.



Step 2: Install Subaru latch onto door frame. We picked up some m6x20mm flatheads and countersunk the door frame.


Step 3: Install door frame (assembled hinges as per manual, although I didn't mark which was upper/lower from the donor car so I just made it match the photo in the manual. I put driver hinges on the driver side). Adjust hinges until door opens and closes easily on striker, and also make sure striker seems to be positioned correctly. Once you are sure everything seems to be in the right spot, drill the striker holes and install the OEM bolts.

Step 4: Mark where door skin hits striker. Measure and cut door skin so it passes by striker. Remember, the measurement is from the striker to the frame, not the edge of the side sail. Also, make sure you have cardboard or paint sticks around the edge so you get the skin at the right height before marking your location to cut. Also, trim the front lower corner so it doesn't hit the side sail.




Step 5: Drill two convenient holes in the door frame. You will use these to attach the door skin to. Close the door frame and ensure it is fully latched. Set the door skin in place on the cardboard to ensure it's in the correct location, mark through the holes you just drilled, and then drill the skin.


Step 6: Countersink the skin and install flat head screws with locknuts.


Step 7: Drill the mirror mounting holes. On the top front of the door skin, I followed Wayne's measurement of setting the door skin 3/16" over the door frame. I found a 3/16" drill and maneuvered the skin until it was at the right location (easier than a tape measure). I clamped it in place, and then simply drilled up and through the skin with a 1/4" bit. Be careful not to hit the windshield frame. For now, the bolt is just to hold the skin in place. I used a flange head screw, but if you have clearance issues with the windshield use a flat head for final mounting. Also, position the door frame where you want it to be for final mounting, and mark the lower holes. You will drill them once the door is removed from the car, so make sure you mark them carefully.

[Tamra]

Step 8: Remove the door frame, leaving the hinges attached to the car. Drill and countersink the lower holes you marked in step 7. One of these bolts will interfere with the hinge bolts, so one or the other will likely have to be cut shorter. Also, drill the 2nd upper mirror mount hole.


Step 9: Find the door aluminum, install weather stripping, and trace hinge holes. Drill/cut out the holes.


Step 10: Trim the door card to fit. The door card fits on the top of the door, but inside the side and bottom. You will need to cut a notch in the upper corner so it can transition from inside to outside the door. Also, if necessary, trim the rear of the door card so it sits flush with the aluminum.


Step 11: Notch the door card so it fits around the door latch. The door card will need to sit flush with the door. On ours, without trimming, it sat higher than the door and the door couldn't latch. I trimmed the edge so it could sit flush. Also cut out the striker area.


Step 12: Cut out the door handle area. I used the aluminum as a template, traced the hole, and then used a step drill in the corners, followed by an air saw to cut out the shape of the handle. (not pictured)

Step 13: Install weather stripping (not pictured). Position door card, and then drill, countersink, and install flat head screws. These attach the door card to the fiberglass. I drilled a 1/8" pilot hole followed by a 3/16" hole only through the fiberglass (so the screws can pass through the fiberglass easily but must be screwed into the door card), and then screwed them in.



Step 14: Once the handle location is finalized, set the handle in place and find a tool that fits through the bolt hole. Apply paint marker to the tip, and press down until it hits the door frame and leaves a mark. Drill for a 25/64" rivnut as provided by FFR. Also, drill out Subaru handle for 1/4" bolt (hole is slightly too small). Note: make sure door card is in correct location before marking for rivnut.


Step 15: Put bends in the rod until it is the right length. Futz with it until it hooks securely in the handle. Ours took quite a bit of work until it was really securely attached, as it wanted to slip out of the handle at first. Warning: this part is very frustrating. Also, see photo for spacer we installed. The door card holds the handle from twisting and it feels fairly secure once all installed.

[Tamra]

Step 16: Zip tie the child lock and the regular lock so they cannot change location. Make sure the latch functions properly.


Step 17: Install the mirror bracket and tighten in its final location. Pictured are button head screws, but if you have clearance issues with your windshield, you can countersink the mirror bracket and install flat head screws. Test fit the door card around the mirror bracket and clearance it if necessary. Optionally, install the mirror now (recommended). If you forget, you can install it once the door is on the car, accessing the inner screws using a screwdriver tip and a 1/4" wrench or pliers.


Step 18: Install the aluminum door handle on the door card. Then, install the door card onto the door. Press in door handle trim ring.




Final Step: Wipe down door to make it look pretty (not pictured).

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Thank You
Bob

[Samiam1017]

so the doors really cant be assembled until the quarter panels are in place?? I was hoping to start doing something with my body but I guess I have to wait until is rolling.

[Tamra]

I'm not sure if you are referring to the front fenders or the side sails. You could install the doors without the fenders (although they might be helpful to have on to set the door stop location. On that note, I just bent in the FFR door stops a little bit to set the opening amount I wanted). But, you can't install them without the side sails.

You could partially assemble the doors off of the car, without any other panels. I would say you could install the latch on the door frame, drill all the holes for the door cards that secure them to the fiberglass (not the fiberglass to the frame though), cut the door cards to fit. Basically, anything involving the fiberglass and the door card you can work on, but hold off anything securing the fiberglass to the door frame until you can test fit on the car. For example, don't install the handle, or drill holes to attach the fiberglass to the door frame, or cut the aluminum panel, or install the mirror mount, etc.

[Samiam1017]

i guess side sails are what they are calling the quarter panels since its way more than a quarter panel. thx beautiful build

on the front edge of the side sails, where the assembly manual shows 5/8 from the front tube. they have there flange trimmed off did you have to do this or did leave the flange ?

[Tamra]

i guess side sails are what they are calling the quarter panels since its way more than a quarter panel. thx beautiful build

on the front edge of the side sails, where the assembly manual shows 5/8 from the front tube. they have there flange trimmed off did you have to do this or did leave the flange ?

Yes, we did trim it until it was slightly behind the sheet metal.

Which, brings me to a question for the forum members. I worked on installing the splash guard aluminum today, and the passenger side rubs. What have others done to resolve this? Run without that panel? You can see the mark where the tire rubbed in the photo below:




The perplexing part is, we just installed brand new tires, which meet the Factory Five "recommended" size for the front - 215/40/17. Our wheels are 17x8, et 45. We did not expect any rubbing with this much smaller size. It barely clears the edge near the side sail (and I mean barely), and definitely rubs the splash guard at full lock.






And, different question - what is the point of this block off panel? I would have expected it to protect the headlights, but it seems that there is a cutout that excludes that purpose.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Yes, we did trim it until it was slightly behind the sheet metal.

Which, brings me to a question for the forum members. I worked on installing the splash guard aluminum today, and the passenger side rubs. What have others done to resolve this? Run without that panel? You can see the mark where the tire rubbed in the photo below:

Hi Tamra
Erik T built a pocket into the panel.
Bob
erikt.jpg

[Erik W. Treves]

I also mod'd the rear splash guard in the front wheel well...I should have taken the picture before I coated it... but I think you get the idea...

[Pearldrummer7]

Man, I am so glad I don't have to deal with the door thing. Nice write up guys!

[Tamra]

Thanks everyone. We'll have to put some thought into this one. Does FFR just not run the splash guards?

Any comments on the front splash guard next to the headlight buckets? Trying to decide whether to just leave this one off or not, as I don't see its purpose. Plus, on the driver side it doesn't fit since our AWIC hoses required we push out the forward running panel.

[Mechie3]

The perplexing part is, we just installed brand new tires, which meet the Factory Five "recommended" size for the front - 215/40/17. Our wheels are 17x8, et 45. We did not expect any rubbing with this much smaller size. It barely clears the edge near the side sail (and I mean barely), and definitely rubs the splash guard at full lock.

I've found that a lot of features on this car are built with extremely close clearances that don't line up with the actual manufacturing tolerances making it difficult to fit fit even correct parts. Dan noticed it with this engine cover interfereing with the roll hoop and the stock seats barely fitting with the cross brace. Others have seen the transmission lever hit the mesh.

Front splash guard might be there to prevent rocks from being thrown at the fiberglass with the opening there to allow for light bulb changes? I don't remember what my front splash guard looks like.

[matteo92065]

How about the rear inner fenders? Do yours rub too?
I've moved mine around enough to conclude that the original intended shape will never clear at full compression.

I also modified my front inner fenders to clear 235/40R17 lock to lock (unlimited).

The sheet metal in between front wheel and headlight does help stiffen the bumper fiberglass a little bit. There is one fastener. It would be a lot easier to work on the front head lights (aiming and bulb changes) with out that sheet metal. I think Aloha (?) left his off, but put in a single fender strut.

[AZPete]

Tamra, I used yoga mat to block off the headlight buckets and still enable access to the lights. See post #4 of this thread:
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...34-wheel-wells

[Tamra]

Matteo, do you have photos of how you modified yours? Is it similar to Eric's?

We are definitely going to add a bumper support brace separate of the sheet metal. It doesn't seem like the sheet metal would do much to support it anyway. I could definitely see that splash guard piece blocking some rocks from the bumper though... do you think this would be necessary to protect the bumper, or just nice to have? Does anyone know if FFR races with the splash guards in place?

I haven't started on the rear inner fender liners yet. Matteo, you aren't giving me much hope that they'll work either

Mechie, I think your splash guards are the same as ours. I used your photo to help figure things out (thank you). Have you found that your tires rub too?
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...l=1#post191961

[Mechie3]

My car is still sitting on a dolly with snow tires.

[Tamra]

Tamra, I used yoga mat to block off the headlight buckets and still enable access to the lights. See post #4 of this thread:
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...34-wheel-wells

Thanks for that, AZPete! Great idea! Hm, so you experienced star cracks... more thinking to be done.

[matteo92065]

Matteo, do you have photos of how you modified yours? Is it similar to Eric's?

I haven't started on the rear inner fender liners yet. Matteo, you aren't giving me much hope that they'll work either

No photos of that area, I'm too embarrassed. I was so sick of that area rubbing (front tire) that I took a cut off wheel and hammer to it. Its actually not that bad, but still not a bragging point.

For the rear inner fenders; I'd like to see how you address the front mounting point, the rear mounting point, the cut-out for the shock, and show how your tires clear at full compression. You (and Mechie, AZPete, and others) always seem to find more elegant and cleaver ways of doing things than I do.
For now I cut the shock access larger, and am pulling up the inner fender up with safety wire. I'm not sure of a permanent and cleaner solution yet.

[Tamra]

The rear wheel wells are done. We only worked on them last Thursday and then again last night (out of town all weekend).

We clamped everything in place and then put a jack under the hub. This is at max static compression (started to lift the car off of the jackstand), with a little over 1" of travel left on the shock.It's obviously hitting the splash guard on the upper link on the left of the photo, and looks like it would hit the camber adjuster on the right if the car were to bottom out the shock (which it does at autocross).


Markings are where we cut out for clearance:


Installed:


Matteo asked for how we attached the front and rear mounting points. We simply just riveted them. Note, the aluminum on the rear point does overhang the fiberglass - it's like the angles are slightly off. However, I was able to rivet across the entire length. Here's a shot of each from when I did the passenger side tonight:





The fronts are still a work in progress...


We also adjusted the ride height up about 1/2" on all 4 corners. We needed to, since the car was sitting at just under 4", and the rules specifically state it must be at least 4".

[Tamra]

We worked on the rear decklids today. They seemed like they were sitting at uneven heights compared to the side sails, so we took some measurements. The depth along the side sail varied, so we marked it on tape and then measured against the decklid.



The tape line is the cut line to get the decklid to sit level with the edge of the side sail.


Took the cutoff wheel to the body panels:



Before:


After:


Same thing with the rear lid. It was sitting very high.


Much better



Items left before going to the DMV:
decklids - hood pins and hinges 3
Balance tires 1
E-brake cover 2
license plate light 0.5
Other small finishing touches that we are forgetting right now 2
Hours remaining: 8.5 hours


Lots of items after the DMV, especially around ducting for cooling and cutouts for airflow.

[Pearldrummer7]

Man you guys are making some awesome progress! Best of luck at the DMV!