Honolulu 818S Hana (work/build) Thread

[Aloha818]

Here is the crate at the loading dock at Hawaiian Freight;

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Pic of the space allowed at the rear;

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About 2"-3" space on sides

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Top of crate bracing and space;

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View from front, the boxes of parts are in front of the windshield/frame to front of crate;

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All four corners are chained and bolted to the floor;

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Starting to remove taped on body panels to lighten the chassis;

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Cockpit view;

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A side view, there are a few 1/4" headed wood screws holding some panels together and/or to floor;

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I conned 3 of my men with lunch to help me break down the crate and get the parts in the garage. With all the body parts removed I can just lift one end of the frame, to give a rough idea of weight (I'm just average build/strength). One of my guys is a good sized Samoan, so he picked up one end and the other three of us picked up the other end and carried the chassis into the garage. Then since I had the help the three of them held up the frame while I put the jack stands under it. Breaking down the crate and moving the kit into the garage took less than 45 mins, FYI;

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FFR's crate size and weight was good, no extra charges from the shipping company. There was not any damaged parts, no great movement of the various parts during shipping. As a matter of fact, if you didn't know it, you couldn't tell from the outside of the crate or the inside that crate had ever been moved, little lone partway across the world. The only thing I noticed was a couple places that the body panels had rubbed the powder coating off. Very minor.

Let me know if anyone has any other questions I can answer.

[Mechie3]

Now the fun begins!

[fastthings]

I like playing find the Hula girl in the pics, and please slip in a pic of the sunset once in awhile.

I'll be watching,
Gene

[WIS89]

Thanks for the pics, and the hula girl is awesome!!

I also take back my original concern about having enough space-- I think you will be fine!

Frankly, I think the take-away for me is that I need to clean some of the crap out of MY garage!!

Please keep us updated, and congratulations on getting started.

Regards,

Steve

[DodgyTim]

Thanks for the crate photos, much appreciated

[THE ITALIAN]

Very nice , good call on showing others how a long distance shipment is handled. FF5 does a great job
As for your location, best mountain biking in my life-really. As for the views, your pissing me off. As for the hula girls, married one and she just gets better.

[Aloha818]

Now the fun begins!

I sure hope so! Today is the start! First with unpacking the boxes and inventory. Then I guess I start building in order of the manual. The parts going to the powder coater will hold me up some and I have reviewed the parts list, and like the rest of you before me, lots of parts on back order, like hardware. FedEx delivered something yesterday from them but I haved gone downstairs to pick it up yet.

Thanks for commenting!

[Aloha818]

Thanks for the pics, and the hula girl is awesome!!

I also take back my original concern about having enough space-- I think you will be fine!

Frankly, I think the take-away for me is that I need to clean some of the crap out of MY garage!!

Please keep us updated, and congratulations on getting started.


I.

Regards,

Steve

Thanks for reading my updates and commenting! I will say, after getting all the parts in the space, it is full. Today I will be organizing and throwing out all the paper wrapping and cardboard, and trying to hang body parts from walls and ceilings to make room to actually work.

Very nice , good call on showing others how a long distance shipment is handled. FF5 does a great job
As for your location, best mountain biking in my life-really. As for the views, your pissing me off. As for the hula girls, married one and she just gets better.

Since 33 people are ahead of me, and some very talented are sharing their build experience, documenting the crate/shipping is the very least I could do. I love the people and culture here, not to mention the views and weather. Lucky you on your Hula Girl find!

[Aloha818]

Thanks for the crate photos, much appreciated

Your welcome! Let me know if there is any other pics or info I can give you.

[AZPete]

Congrats on the new adventure! I also work with limited space and have hung body panels on walls and the ceiling. As you inventory you'll see that FFR has boxed stuff that is used together, which is good, but makes for some big boxes. For instance, the cooling system parts are in a box big enough for the coolant tubes and pipes. I hung those plus other big stuff and then consolidated into smaller boxes carefully labeled the same number. Now I've got FRR box #1 in a smaller box #1, etc. Just be sure to retain the box numbers so you can find stuff later. And, the page of last-minute additions (Box 10?) can be sorted into the correct boxes. Unless you get your backorders soon, you can jump ahead in the manual to other sections to keep moving. For missing fasteners I've been buying what I need at an Ace Hardware to keep progressing. Ace is in HI, isn't it?

Keep the posts coming. We all like seeing other builds.
Pete

[Aloha818]

Congrats on the new adventure! I also work with limited space and have hung body panels on walls and the ceiling. As you inventory you'll see that FFR has boxed stuff that is used together, which is good, but makes for some big boxes. For instance, the cooling system parts are in a box big enough for the coolant tubes and pipes. I hung those plus other big stuff and then consolidated into smaller boxes carefully labeled the same number. Now I've got FRR box #1 in a smaller box #1, etc. Just be sure to retain the box numbers so you can find stuff later. And, the page of last-minute additions (Box 10?) can be sorted into the correct boxes. Unless you get your backorders soon, you can jump ahead in the manual to other sections to keep moving. For missing fasteners I've been buying what I need at an Ace Hardware to keep progressing. Ace is in HI, isn't it?

Keep the posts coming. We all like seeing other builds.
Pete

Thanks for commenting!

It took about 4 hours to inventory the parts, I didn't find any discrepancies. I have several back order parts, like the rest of you. Mainly the hardware, the lights, and inside door panels. As I went through the boxes to inventory I pulled out all the paper and tossed with most of the cardboard. Like you mentioned, I kept several boxes of parts as they were shipped for easier search later. I have the body panels standing up around the garage, need to clean up and organize a little more, but needed to start building!!!!

[Aloha818]

I started from the beginning of the manual with the aluminum panels on the firewall. It's all riveted and silicone'd. The pneumatic rivet gun made it pretty painless. I have about 50 cleco's, but only used a few at a time, maybe I'm not as anal as some others, but everything lines up and went pretty fast.

I purchased aluminum control arms from a 2006, but still waiting for ball joint and boss (cone). My donor is a 2000, so some of the suspension I didn't clean up until I could verify what parts will actually work. Looks like the steering rack, front wheel assembly, and brakes are all going to work. I'll work on that tomorrow, but with no hardware and then the brackets going to the powder coater, it will be a little while before I get back to it.

Tomorrow I'll check out the rear suspension and see what I have that works and what doesn't. For the rear I picked up hubs, disc brakes, etc from a 1997 forester, the 2000 outback had drum brakes. My lateral rear links are aftermarket for a 2002-2005 WRX. I was shipped axels, will check out what I have and see if they will work.

I have been reading other posts about seat and steering wheel fitment so I played around with my donor stuff. Looks like you can lower the column with shims if you wanted, but seems about right almost tight. Not sure how my factory seat would work, very tight in width it looks like. And with the brace located at the front of the seat you don't have any real room to adjust front to rear.

A quick measure of the automatic trans reveals I will need to cut off about 4-5 inches. After I get it mounted I'll pull off the tailpiece and see how to modify and shorten.

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[longislandwrx]

Great pictures! I LOL every time I see these donor seats, they all look like violent crimes were committed on them.

[WIS89]

I love playing "where's Waldo" with the hula girl in your pictures!! Some of them are pretty easy, others not so much...

Looks like you are off to a great start! Pretty exciting stuff, huh?

Thanks for keeping us updated. I can't wait for my kit; it is so hard waiting, but I am living vicariously through others!

Best of luck going forward and I hope you take the time to update as you build. It is very selfless. Great fun!

Regards,

Steve

[Aloha818]

I love playing "where's Waldo" with the hula girl in your pictures!! Some of them are pretty easy, others not so much...

Looks like you are off to a great start! Pretty exciting stuff, huh?

Thanks for keeping us updated. I can't wait for my kit; it is so hard waiting, but I am living vicariously through others!

Best of luck going forward and I hope you take the time to update as you build. It is very selfless. Great fun!

Regards,

Steve

Thanks for reading and I will try and keep updated and interesting! When do you get yours? R or S?

Here is a pic of my last project, done about 1 1/2 years ago. It's a 1995 Wrangler. I striped it down, cut-in Poison Spyder fenders and rocker knockers, painted it a true candy apple red (12 coats total), bed liner inside, custom wheels with 33" tires, no lift. Main attraction, I stuffed a 2006 Chevy 4.8 Vortec w/auto. Almost all work, including paint, was done by yours truly. Only outside work was modifying the axles and custom exhaust.

What I love about Hawaii? Year round driving with this as the only top!

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[flynntuna]

What's this! Only two cases of beer? LOL

[metalmaker12]

You have the best location to own the 818

[metalmaker12]

You have the best location to own the 818, sweet jeep too, I helped with a 79 land cruiser restoration a couple years back, which was sold for a solid payoff

[wleehendrick]

You have the best location to own the 818

No knock on Hawaii, I love it there, but this road is in my 'backyard':

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and San Diego has a pretty nice climate, too!



P.S. Love the Jeep... we usually rent a Wrangler when we visit the Islands.

[Aloha818]

What's this! Only two cases of beer? LOL

I make my own beer occasionally. So I keep about 60 empties around for the next batch! Hard to to do in the condo, the stove takes too long to boil 5 gallons of water. Now that I rented this space I plan on setting up a little "brewing corner". That is, after the 818 is finished!

[Aloha818]

You have the best location to own the 818, sweet jeep too, I helped with a 79 land cruiser restoration a couple years back, which was sold for a solid payoff

My thoughts exactly! I can't wait to cruise the island. Need a bikini top though, I hope that is the style FFR is designing. If not I will have to "engineer" my own.

My first major auto project was a 79 Jeep Cherokee Sport (2 door). It kind of fun "rescuing" a classic. I love Land Cruisers. Such classic style.

[Aloha818]

No knock on Hawaii, I love it there, but this road is in my 'backyard':

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and San Diego has a pretty nice climate, too!



P.S. Love the Jeep... we usually rent a Wrangler when we visit the Islands.

I love San Diego! Over the years I have worked on several projects there. Great weather and a lot to do there. A little wider temperature spread though, over Hawaii that is. Beautiful backyard BTW!

I get stopped/asked almost every time I drive it what color it is and who painted it. Just like the 818 pictures don't do it justice. I've been stopped by tourist bus drivers, even got flagged down on the HWY once. I used FFR sponsor Sherwin Williams Planet Color.

Thanks for commenting!

[Aloha818]

I spent some more time cleaning and organizing the garage this morning before I got started. Needed some more elbow room. I moved my workbench and work table and hung most of the body parts on the walls. Now I have a good amount of space around the car and free floor area so I'm not tripping over everything. I think I will be fine now with the size of the space. Spent the afternoon cleaning up rotors, brakes, hubs, etc. Now I won't have to get so dirty on my afternoon work time the rest of the week.

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[longislandwrx]

Tons of room now. Time to order an R as well.

[THE ITALIAN]

What I love about Hawaii? Year round driving with this as the only top!

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My fav Island, My Fav vehicle on that island, My Fav vehicle ON THE BEACH on that island - you are really starting to piss me off !! ........Say it !! Say It !! Say one more thing !.... Oh ! show me a luau with your Jeep parked in the distance & YOU dancing with some hot Hula girls and a drink in your hand-GO AHEAD !!

[WIS89]

Thanks for reading and I will try and keep updated and interesting! When do you get yours? R or S?

Here is a pic of my last project, done about 1 1/2 years ago. It's a 1995 Wrangler. I striped it down, cut-in Poison Spyder fenders and rocker knockers, painted it a true candy apple red (12 coats total), bed liner inside, custom wheels with 33" tires, no lift. Main attraction, I stuffed a 2006 Chevy 4.8 Vortec w/auto. Almost all work, including paint, was done by yours truly. Only outside work was modifying the axles and custom exhaust.

What I love about Hawaii? Year round driving with this as the only top!

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What a terrific job!! The CJ is one of my family's favorite vehicles, although we don't have one. My son and I recently finished restoring an '88 XJ, and he is putting on some finishing touches when he is home from school. Front bumper with winch last holiday, and he is planning on fabbing up the rear bumper next time. I will say it is nowhere near as nice as yours though! What a beautiful job!

My project is bringing my wife's '88 VW Cabriolet back to life. It's been a slow build, but the finish line is getting closer... It is a true labor of love, because I have essentially replaced nearly the entire car. The engine only has 45K original miles, so it should be worth it-- I hope!!

I am actually not building an 818, although I think they rock! I am getting a Roadster in December when I pick-up my boys from school after exams. It is MY Christmas present, but they get to help me load it up and bring it home! ;-o)

Even though I am building a Roadster, I really love seeing the various build threads despite not necessarily building that platform. They are all truly beautiful machines, and there isn't a bad choice to be made! I think there is a lot to learn from the countless people here who are far more talented than I. It also helps me come up with different upgrade ideas, shortcuts, or just some good techniques! It helps me stay fired up without losing my mind waiting for my Roadster--HA!!

Thanks again for the updates! Hawaii is on my bucket list; enjoy paradise and enjoy your build. I will keep reading...

Regards,

Steve

[metalmaker12]

I am jealous

[AZPete]

You are making it tough to find the hula girl!

[Wayne Presley]

Looks like I should plan on mid November visit....

[Aloha818]

Looks like I should plan on mid November visit....

That sounds about right. The hardware package shipped today from FFR, delivery next week. I should have the rest of the donor parts cleaned and painted this weekend. Maybe get the engine bolted up.

I am new to Subaru, I see various comments about motor mounts. Seems like the choices are either solid mounts that transfer engine vibrations, or stock mounts that let the engine slop back and forth. Anyone used factory mounts to keep vibration down and then fabricate a brace with poly bushings somewhere on the topside to stabilize the movement? I want to have dual exhaust through the mid-section of the bumper in the area of the screened section so I need minimal movement but also want minimal vibration.

[Aloha818]

I have looking at wheels for over two months! Just when I think I've found the perfect wheel, I find out it doesn't come in the right bolt pattern, or width, or size, or cost too too much, or other. Enkie has great designs and the sizes we need, but a little more expensive, especially the cost to ship to Hawaii. Then it seems several others are already using Enkie and I don't want to be a copycat. To be honest I was about to give up for now and just buy some steel wheels and temp tires to get it on the ground and wait to see what others in the 818 community come up with.

Then I read where Wayne is using some XXR wheels on his car for SEMA. Good enough for Wyane/SEMA, good enough me right? I had looked at these wheels before, but I don't like the dual bolt pattern on the ones I saw. But made me look at their entire line. I have really been wanting a deep dish style, but with the Subaru bolt pattern design deep dish is not really utilized. But digging through the XXR website I came across their 535 design, deep dish, realatively simple 5 spoke design, in the single 5x100 bolt pattern, 17x7 size for the front, and 18x8.75 rears available. Perfect to keep a 30 mm tire size difference between front and back as suggested (will use 225 fronts, 255 rears). Then I found wheelproz on eBay that ships free to the lower 48, with a $95 upcharge to Hawaii, plus $699 cost for the set of wheels. I odered mine in Chromium Black. Anyway I ordered today.

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[Xusia]

Nice! I like those!

Any concerns with fitting a 225mm tire on a 7" wide wheel? I ask because I've been planning to use a 215mm wide tire, but I've been looking for 7.5"-8" wide wheels, which according to the "calculators" should fit well. Using that as a reference, you are putting a wider tire on a narrower wheel. Hence my question!

[wleehendrick]

Any concerns with fitting a 225mm tire on a 7" wide wheel?

I usually look at the specs tab on TireRack, it lists the nominal rim width (which I try to match, or within 0.5") and the acceptable rim range. Just an example I pulled up the tab for a 225/45R17 BFG g-force rival, the acceptable rim range is 7-8.5" (nominally 7.5")

[Aloha818]

Nice! I like those!

Any concerns with fitting a 225mm tire on a 7" wide wheel? I ask because I've been planning to use a 215mm wide tire, but I've been looking for 7.5"-8" wide wheels, which according to the "calculators" should fit well. Using that as a reference, you are putting a wider tire on a narrower wheel. Hence my question!

Thanks!

Tire size brings up another round of choices/compromises. Trying to maintain a 25" diameter, keep a 30 mm split between front and rear (as recommended), as wide as possible in the rear for looks/traction/no extra parts, and narrower in front for looks/less traction (due to no power steering).

With a 7" wheel in the front I can use either a 225 width that is 25" in dia or a 215 width that is 24.6" in dia.

With a 8.75" wheel in the rear I can use either a 255 width that is 25" in dia or 245 width that is 25.7" in dia.

So the 225/255 combo keeps everything the correct dia and keeps the 30mm split, the 215/245 combo does too except that there is almost a 1" difference in tire dia between F-R.

I'm leaning toward using the Hankook Ventus R-S3's, in the 225/255 sizes, but based on their specs either choices fit. In my opinion I prefer the tire to be on the larger side of the wheel size spec, I don't like the look of the tire "stretched" wide to fit on a too wide rim.

[Mechie3]

I've stuck a 245 Kumho XS on a 7.5" wheel before and 255 starspecs (that measured out 265) onto 8" wheels before. Not the best setup, but it can be done. The 255 setup felt sloppy. The 245 setup didn't feel bad but had stiff sidewalls.

For the exhaust, you could always put a flex section in the exhaust and hard mount the tail pipe to the frame and let the flex take up the engine movement.

[Aloha818]

FFR sent my B/O hardware package, set to arrive late next week. I also ordered all new ball joints, steering end links, boots, etc, so I'm doing what I can. Since I'm in a rented space, and don't want to buy tools that I only need once or twice, I improvised on an engine hoist.

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I set the rear frame on a moving dolly and the front on a floor jack so I could move the frame around, then, as you can see, I used a 1 1/2" pipe drilled in between two joists above, down to a come-along.

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So a little lowering, a little pushing back, it slipped right in. Took me about 30 mins, by myself, FYI.

No one else has posted that they are using an automatic trans, so I guess I will have to pioneer how to get it done.

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So besides the fact that I have to cut off about 4" of the tail section, I need to figure out how to keep it in FWD. Any help would be appreciated. I know earlier years autos were FWD only, but I don't want to get into dealing with the electronics.

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A new rear trans mount will have to be fabricated, one because it is on the section to be cut cut off, two to keep the rear as low as possible. You can see in the pic the engine is tipped forward some. Does anyone think this will be a problem?

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Well the sun is coming up up, time to get back at.

[Mechie3]

I though some autos could be kept fwd simply by pulling a fuse. Not certain though.

[VD2021]

Henry (65 Cobra Dude) is doing an auto trans. He picked up his kit middle last month. I don't think he has a build thread yet so you may want to PM him.

[Aloha818]

Today I pulled the tailpiece off of the 4EAT to see what is required to fit. I am posting the more specific information in the Engine/Transmission section for those interested in that progress. Might need to cut out the cross racing under the trans to allow the trans to lower to level engine and be able to remove the pan in the future for service. I have about 5" from the center of the side driveshaft location to the frame below it. Anyone with a 5-speed care to measure what this distance is on your build so I have a reference?
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I purchased aftermarket rear control arms, not sure if I have the bolt locations etc in the correct spots, anyone care to advise?

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It seems I need different axles. The nastiest day of building yet, breaking down the old axles. Grease everywhere! Anyway, after getting everything apart, went exactly as the FFR manual, FYI, and cleaned up, I started test fitting. The axle end that goes to the trans fit, the end going to the wheel did not. The FFR axle has 29 splines, I need 21, is this common?

[Aloha818]

I though some autos could be kept fwd simply by pulling a fuse. Not certain though.

That's also what I read on Subaru specific forums. The other problem is trans length and height. Thanks for commenting