Ryan's Boring Titled Build Thread

[rjp]

Hello and welcome to my build thread!

This first post is going to be backstory heavy, since I don't really have anything to post yet, as I'm still going through inventory.

My 818 journey started way back in 2018 when my friend and coworker decided he was going to build an airplane. It sounded like it was going to be a fun, if massive and massively expensive undertaking. I was recently divorced and looking for projects to occupy my time, so I started thinking "maybe I should build a car." Factory Five was the only kit manufacturer I knew of (and the friend had seriously considered a Type 65 before settling on an airplane), having heard about them from a gentleman in the New England Subaru club that had built a Cobra. Given the context, you might imagine I'm a Subaru guy. I go on the Factory Five website and browse the models and come across the 818 (C, specifically, because I'm a redhead and even thinking about an S for too long will give me a sunburn). I was intrigued.

Around the same time, also due to the recent divorce, I started going out with my friends weekly. I met another guy in the extended friend circle who was quite into cars. I talked with him about the 818 kit and Factory Five, and it turns out he knew another gentleman who had built several (I believe a GTM and two 818s). I don't entirely know how this next bit happened, because I wasn't directly in the conversation, but the next thing I know, I am being offered a ride in a McLaren 570S from southern NH to Factory Five to get a tour and also see many other expensive cars that people arrived in. After checking the car out in person, I was sold.

What do you do after deciding on a project and doing literally nothing about it except decide? You make a bet with your friend who is building an airplane. Winner gets a ride in the other person's vehicle. Very high stakes, as we would never normally give the other a drive/flight. As soon as the bet was made, and still with me having done literally nothing except decide and make a bet, he is convinced I've already won.

A lot of things changed in 2019. You need a donor and a garage to work in, right? I had a townhouse at the time with a one car garage. Technically more than enough to build the car in, but is it really enough? I started watching craigslist and FB market for beat up WRXs. I had decided I'd really like a 2006 as it seemed like the best donor option. I found one relatively quickly. It was technically drivable, but in its current configuration it was definitely not legal (straight pipe turbo back), despite the windshield sticker proclaiming "Enthusiasts | Not Criminals." The car sat on the cheapest eBay coilovers, with all the pinch welds flattened, many damaged body panels and bottom covers, and rust. It seemed like a pretty good donor, since it still worked mechanically, and most of the parts I'd need would still at least be usable. I did plan for an engine rebuild, too. The seller included all the stock parts in the trunk, including a full suspension, the OEM exhaust and an upgraded cat back exhaust, plus the stock steering wheel. I planned to use it as a project car, get it inspectable and respectable, since I just had a base Mazda 3 at the time and I missed my old 2009 WRX. The car, as you can imagine, had a film from vaping on all the glass.

A few months later, I sold my townhouse and started looking for a house with a better garage to buy. I moved in with my Mom temporarily, which is really not very fun in your late 30's. After another six months or so, I found a house that had a beautiful 29x27 garage under a similarly large greatroom. The biggest annoyance was a relatively low ceiling (actually, throughout the whole house). I could stand up and put my arms up and touch the ceiling, but not so under the doors, and they only opened to about 6'6". Regardless, I made the huge mistake, and bought the place. I made sure to keep a small bundle of dollars from the sale of the townhouse to be able to purchase a kit when I was ready. Buying the house wasn't actually a huge mistake, but like any home, it needed things, sometimes things that weren't planned for. A cracked water line in the well? Not a problem! The well is 600' deep? Well, that's a bigger deal! When you're pulling up a well pump from 600' down, most of the money has already been spent just pulling it up, so you might as well replace it. By now we are into 2020, and nothing notable at all happened in 2020, I don't think. I never ended up working on the donor as a project after moving out of the townhouse. I had put in some time to try to get it running with the stock steering wheel, but the electricals for the clockspring were destroyed, and when I hooked up the battery the horn just blared. So it was towed, parked, and sat. That winter, I grew tired of getting stuck in the driveway in my Mazda and walked into a Subaru dealership on the same day their Series.White WRX allocation was arriving, and I'm a sucker for a plain gloss white with gold wheels (bronze was close enough). This, of course, did not motivate me more to work on the donor.

Mid 2020, I started a new job. The fridge broke on my birthday weekend, and I discovered this when I went to have some of the leftover ice cream with a slice of cake. That was fun! I spent most of 2020 and the first half of 2021 at work, as the new job was at a small startup and there was a lot to do, and not a lot to do in the outside world. In early 2021, my sister called and asked if she, my brother-in-law, and their two young children could move in while they build a house. They were living in VA at the time, and it was going to help them out a lot in their quest to build a new home back up here in NH. The schedule put them moving up in summer 2022. A few weeks later, my sister called and asked if they could move in later in 2021, as the housing market was doing well and they wanted to sell sooner rather than later. A few weeks later, my sister called and asked if they could move in more like summer 2021, as their realtor thought that timing would be better for selling. A few weeks later, my sister called and asked if they could move in in spring, as they were told they should list soon. A few weeks later, my sister called and asked if they could move in a few weeks later. It was certainly a new dynamic for me, having not been around toddlers full time before. They were talking with a builder and thought it would be 12-18 months before they could move into the house. Having people in the house that go to bed shortly after you get home from work is not conducive to working on a car in the garage, so I shelved the 818 plan for a bit.

I spent 2022 planning improvements on the house. My sister was covering many house expenses, so I was using that to fund improvements. Window ACs replaced by mini splits, replacing the front yard retaining wall that had an outward lean to it. I was considering paving the driveway, too, but I balked at the price tag. Having been a year since they moved in, I started looking at places to go to get away. I am not a parent, but I was dealing with things a parent deals with. I love my niece and nephew, but I needed a break. I took a look at the Mott schedule for Factory Five build schools, and I saw that the 818 class was coming up and there were slots available. I signed up and planned the trip. I decided to drive out and back, which turned out to be a fun time. My plan was to take the class, and if I still wanted to build an 818, I'd stop at Factory Five on the way home to put down a deposit. I flip through the outdated catalog I had from 2018 before the class and priced up what my kit would cost with the options I wanted. I figured the pricing would be out of date. As I'm waiting for class to start Friday morning...

Note: 818 production spots for 2022 are sold out. We are not taking more orders at this time, however, we have a wait list if you'd like to sign-up. Email us at [email protected] to be added to a wait list.

To be continued... (character limit)

[rjp]

The rumors were that the GTM and 818 had been discontinued. Finding this out at the start of the build school was not great. I emailed Factory Five to both get on the wait list and inquire about the kit being discontinued. The reply insisted that the kit had not been discontinued. This was a topic of discussion at the school. Several of us had donors already, but no kit on order. One gentleman in the class attending with his family was the only one that actually had secured a kit, having ordered it in late 2021. Regardless, the class was a lot of fun, and it saved me a side trip on my return journey to put down a deposit.

I joined the 818 builders group on Facebook, and came here, discovering I had previously made an account. Looked for as much info about the fate of the kit as I could, but there wasn't any real information. Some real deep digging revealed some Factory Five Facebook videos that briefly addressed possibly retooling the kit, not a lot of information. I started looking at other options for my donor:

• V-Storm WR3 from the UK, uses a Subaru engine and transmission, but basically everything else is bespoke, making the kit cost tremendous, plus shipping from the UK, plus it didn't actually work with *my* engine and transmission
• K-1 Attack from somewhere in Eastern Europe. Same shipping problem. Also tangentially mentions that they've been built with an EJ25 with modifications but no more info
• Midlana, scratch built mid engine car, similar to the Locost. Technically, I did buy this kit, as the contents of the kit are a spiral bound tome on how to design and build it.
• DF Goblin, didn't use my donor at all, but I could get rid of it if I fixed it up.
• Smythe Ute Conversion. Not really a kit car, but would make the donor interesting.

Anyway, none of those options were compelling enough for me to start making any moves. I kept watching the FB group and here for unstarted kits for sale. I actually joined the FB group a few weeks after a gentleman in Michigan had listed his unstarted coupe kit for sale. By the time I got in touch with him, it was gone.

I towed the donor car up and parked it in the garage, figuring either I use it for a kit or I use it to drive or I sell it, and in any of those cases, there was stuff I could do on it. I went to pop the hood and that turned into a project of it's own, involving vice grips pulling the latch cable, snaking an arm in to punch out the grill, then removing all the bolts on the latch mechanism, hood and chassis side. The hood opens now. I cleaned the acorns out of the engine bay and didn't touch it again. That was a real discouraging start to tasks I really had no motivation to do.

In February and March I took a more earnest look at other options. Dave had given and update at the end of '22 that was not encouraging, though in the comments when I asked, he did tell me I shouldn't get rid of my donor yet. '23 rolled around and the text changed...

Note: The 818 is not currently in production, and we are not taking more orders at this time. We have a wait list if you'd like to sign-up. Email us at [email protected] to be added to a wait list.

Click here to watch a Facebook live update with more info on the 818 and other projects we're working on.

Stay tuned for more updates on the 818.

I knew two people that were interested in the donor for various projects if I decided to get rid of it, and I was at the point of engaging with them, except the car was firmly entombed in ice (I had ejected it from the garage for the winter so that I could have a nice warm car in the morning for my commute). I was still regularly checking here, though it was getting sparse. I had somehow missed a private message from a fellow about an unstarted kit that had been listed, though I had previously seen the listing and wasn't interested (S, old style nose). The thing that had brought me to the forum this time, though, was a notification that my WTB thread had a reply, and with it, a different PM.

A gentleman had a recently delivered kit, coupe, with many options on it. For reasons that are his to share if he wishes, he was considering selling the kit. He saw my thread and from the context thought that maybe I had gone to the same build school class. It turns out he was right. We had both gone to the April 22 class, and he was the gentleman that had actually ordered a kit before the class. In talking with him, he had essentially ordered the exact kit I had specced out before the school. Coupe, all the CF bits except the canards, the upgraded interior panels, wiper kit, pre-build CVs. He had even ordered quite a few third party parts that I also had on my list like the Boyd tank, VCP shifter, and AWIC kit. He was also relatively local. I arranged to visit and check the kit out on a weekend, which turned into me bringing a check and us discussing some of the additional parts, and arranging for a transport company to bring the kit back the following Friday. Bringing things somewhat full circle, I made the trip with the friend that had given me the ride to the Factory Five tour, though my WRX is just a tad less cool than a McLaren.

To follow up on loose ends: The kit has been living in my garage for 4 days now. My sister and family have been living in my house for a few days shy of 2 years. They think it will be about 12 months. I'm not currently doing anything loud. My friend is still convinced, more than ever, that I have already won our race. Inventorying the parts is taking a while as there are a lot of option packages, and things have been unpacked and repacked. You may have seen my post about identifying mystery aluminum. I still have some work in the garage to convert the second bay from a wood shop back into something I can put the donor in, so in the mean time, I will finish up the front suspension and do some of the other steps on the front end that I can do with the parts on hand.

So, there's my autobiographical novella. Once I finish inventory and get things organized I will take some pictures documenting the current state of the build and start things moving.

[driveslikejehu]

Welcome! Quite a few of us are building someone’s changed-my-mind kit. Past builds documented on the forum are a great place to find info and get questions answered, though searching can be a hassle. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I’m retired and actively building so I check the forum daily.
Cheers!

[aquillen]

congrats on getting in to the fun - and have lots of it starting right away!

[anchoright]

I was seriously considering the 818 until I saw they discontinued it.. that’s what I get for sitting on the fence! Now I’m thinking of the Cobra. Still sitting on the fence!

[roadrashrob]

If I had to do it over again, I'd go for the Cobra. "Thought" the 818 would be a LOT less expensive, but.... by the time you upgrade, modify, etc... not much difference in my opinion. If you're wiiling to stay basic with donor parts, then the 818 would cost less to build, but... I'm not good at staying basic! :-)

[aquillen]

I built my 818 coupe for right at $21K ($13000 went to FFR), all in but you have to do it yourself - not pay others for anything - period. (well I did drop a couple hundred having the glass mounted - chickened out on trying it myself). Never built a car, motorcyle, truck, whatever of the sort before, either. And didn't factor going out there to pick up the kit and later a 2nd trip for the hardtop add on ($1000 a trip).

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...rt-s-818-build

[cob427sc]

Sounds like your ready to get started! My most recent build is an 818S which I purchased from someone else who lost interest halfway in. I'd start working in the basement regardless of the noise. There's not a lot of loud noise (other than the radio and occaisonal cursing) and your actions may intice your sister and/or BIL to join in. Good luck! We'll all be watching.

[roadrashrob]

I built my 818 coupe for right at $21K ($13000 went to FFR), all in but you have to do it yourself - not pay others for anything - period. (well I did drop a couple hundred having the glass mounted - chickened out on trying it myself). Never built a car, motorcyle, truck, whatever of the sort before, either. And didn't factor going out there to pick up the kit and later a 2nd trip for the hardtop add on ($1000 a trip).

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...rt-s-818-build

Now, if you need motivation, just read through Art's build thread! Possibly one of the nicest 818's ever built. I only home when ours is finished it has "some" of the nice things Art has incorporated....

[Jetfuel]

I’ll second Rob’s advise to look into Art’s build
Be warned that he had help from the people from the dark side of the moon.
My advice is to have a white board and write your punch list for the day.
It’s a big undertaking and baby steps will get you there
Believe me, you can find yourself jumping from front to back, left to right all day long and very little accomplished and tired as heck.
Good luck, stay motivated

Jet

[rjp]

White board seems like a good idea!

Finished inventory, and I'm working to resolve some missing parts now. Need to figure out how to store the aluminum panels, as right now they're somewhat haphazardly stacked on cardboard from the inventory. I picked up some pallets and made an area under the covered porch to store the body panels. They'll go on the pallets then under a tarp and get strapped down.

Do people do anything special for insurance while building the kit? I'm assuming it would be covered under home insurance in the event of fire, etc.

[aquillen]

Unless you have an "umbrella policy" of some sort that covers what you own end-to-end a homeowner policy is not likely to cover any vehicle in parts or assembled. I went without but sometimes thought it might not be the best plan. But I also considered it a hobby item and could live with the risk of loss in my personal situation (wouldn't be happy and I'm not rich though).

Insurance companies to my knowledge like to keep vehicles and home policies separate so you "can" buy both, not get away under just one.

Guys have stored panels under beds, in attics, mine hung in my garage rafters, everything but the dog house - unless you end up living in there for some reason.

[Ajzride]

I have my speciality insurance with AMIG and they have a "project car, in progress" category that I keep mine insured under. I think it's about $300/year. Not free, but pretty cheap compared to what you spend on the car every year to have it covered in event of a disaster.

[rjp]

Nothing too exciting to report. I hid the body under the deck, wrapped in a tarp. Please don't call the police.

Cleared out a lot of the second garage bay and pulled my WRX into it. Unfortunately, it's the wrong WRX. Gotta put new pads and rotors on my daily, plus the summer tires, then the donor will fill that spot. As a part of this, I started setting up my Quick Jack that has been boxed for like 9 months. Should be handy for the donor. Next weekend will hopefully result in some solid time tearing it down, though if there's still any snow, I might get one last day of skiing in for the season.

E: expecting a quote for in progress kit car coverage from my agent, and powder coating on the aluminum panels and wheels.

[rjp]

I have been remiss in updating this thread. I need to get on my PC to post any progress pictures. Finished organizing the kit, and began donor teardown. 3/4 doors removed, hood removed, cooling system removed. Ridiculous amounts of rust, but so far everything has come off without too much trouble. The most stubborn screws were on the sun visors (sending to a friend).

[rjp]

Catching up on some photos.

The donor as it sat this past winter.
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Everything loaded up to make the journey to NH
PXL_20230331_133729632.MP.jpg

Snow has melted, so time to move it into the garage.
PXL_20230413_121921211.MP.jpg

Loaded into the garage, but still organizing to better fit things.
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This looks fine, right? I'm sure it's fine.
PXL_20230425_015045358.MP.jpg

[rjp]

Rust gore shots, and why I thought this was a good donor.

PXL_20230426_034854029.MP.jpgPXL_20230426_034939476.MP.jpgPXL_20230426_035003316.MP.jpg

[Shawn818c]

about as "nice" as my donor

[lance corsi]

Mine was wrecked, the front pushed back into the engine. Also, when I pulled the drain plug from the transmission, out came gear teeth!

[mikeb75]

SPT CAI intake is actually a nice part, I used one on my 818 build. Technically, installing this doesn't require an ECU remap (... technically...), so there is less danger of the previous owner having damaged the engine because of wonky MAF readings.
Also, though of no use to your build, looks like there are coil-overs on the donor. If they aren't crap, might be something you can sell for a few dollars.

[rjp]

SPT CAI intake is actually a nice part, I used one on my 818 build. Technically, installing this doesn't require an ECU remap (... technically...), so there is less danger of the previous owner having damaged the engine because of wonky MAF readings.
Also, though of no use to your build, looks like there are coil-overs on the donor. If they aren't crap, might be something you can sell for a few dollars.

I was actually surprised it was an SPT part because everything else is ebay special. Coilovers are Raceland, the installed exhaust is a 3" straight pipe turbo back, and they had a generic ebay intercooler ready to be installed. I have the stock suspension, stock exhaust, and upgraded cat back all in the trunk.

There is an AccessPort with the car. I assume the car never got an actual tune, but it did drive when I bought it, and I didn't notice anything hesitations or anything like that on the drive home.

I suspect the car was probably owned by someone who took reasonable care of it and did a few upgrades (including the AccessPort), and then the kid I bought it from threw an "Enthusiasts | Not Criminals" sticker on the windshield and trashed the thing. (The sticker is a real thing)

[cob427sc]

Those rust spots are known as "beauty marks" in New Hampshire or Vermont.

[rjp]

Just been slogging through the teardown. Switched from drivetrain to interior for a bit. I think I've decided to make a bench out of the rear seats. Printed out the wiring diagram and put it in a binder. The dash teardown is in progress.

[rjp]

Got someone out with a machine to evacuate the refrigerant and he informed me that it was totally empty already. I guess I probably could have checked that first somehow.

Finished bulk of interior stripping. Pictured in the attachment is the "keep unscrewing and unbolting until it comes out" mess that I'll be sorting through tonight.

Picking up the late arrival parts from the kit's prior owner at the end of this week.

Bonus picture of the glove box find that is not at all surprising for a WRX.

PXL_20230718_014111261.MP.jpgPXL_20230718_005740612.MP.jpg

There was a big delay in there from the last post due to not doing much work on things. Garage is musty, hot, humid. Not the funnest place to be. Once I get a new dehumidifier for the basement, I can move that one into the garage.

[rjp]

8/29: (multi-day update because I forgot to click send) Pulled all the front end bodywork. Didn't realize I was going to need to do that to liberate the harness. Got the chassis harness all the way back to the fuse box. Started working on the front suspension and realized I needed an axle nut socket (32mm hopefully, because that's what is arriving tomorrow). My sister & co are on vacation this week so I can make all the brrt brrt noise in the garage (under the family room) without anyone getting annoyed.

8/30: 32mm impact socket made quick work of the nuts even without undoing the detents. Liberated the front hubs. Liberated the ebrake cables back to the shoes (which are pretty well rusted solid). Pulled the "cat" back (it was a straight pipe) for access. I was looking at the driveshaft and it looks like the only way to release it is to undo the bolts? That will probably be a pita. I'm hitting a wall undoing bolts on the arms at the rear because the whole assembly is moving (like it's supposed to). Impact wrench isn't doing anything. I keep dowsing the bolts in PB Blaster. Might be time for a torch. If I free the driveshaft, I'll drop the whole rear subframe, though I am slightly concerned the car will want to tip forward on the Quickjacks (more like off the Quickjacks), which essentially no weight left on the rear aside from the chassis. I could hook up the hoist to the engine which should prevent that, I suppose.

[rjp]

Lost my post when I restarted. No pictures that you all haven't seen during your donor teardown. Finished getting the harness out and greatly underestimated the size of box I should put it all in. I upgraded my impact wrench to the Dewalt High Torque 1/2" which takes me from 400ftlb of breakaway torque to 1400 ftlb and I tested it on some of those bolts and they didn't stand a chance. I have all new hardware for the build, since the previous owner wasn't using a donor. I think all that's left on the engine is power steering, fuel, and vacuum lines. I think I'm pretty close to being able to drop the front and rear subframes. Steering column and shifter are probably the last big non-engine things that need to get removed first. I'm planning on removing the pump from the engine and just leaving the PS system intact on the chassis.

I'd really like to get the chassis out of the garage. I put it at an angle so there would be more room around it, but that means there has been little room for other things. My bicycles live in the other bay in a small space behind the 818 chassis, and generally the open space has filled with donor parts. There's not quite enough room to sort through and organize the parts so it just gets more and more cluttered. Getting real close, though. I'm thinking about building a little dolly about the length of the quick jack with big wheels to roll the chassis out on. I can probably use scrap wood I already have, and just need to get some beefy casters from HF to be able to maneuver it. Probably 6 wheels would cover it the weight fine. I need to use pneumatic wheels since it's rolling out onto gravel.

I'm gonna click post before I forget again and lose this all for a second time.

[rjp]

Driveshaft is out. Unbolted the steering column while I was under there. Broke free about half the bolts on the suspension brace. Tomorrow night I'll probably work on getting the the engine disconnected from vacuum, fuel, and PS system.

[rjp]

PXL_20231001_223625700.jpg

Please excuse the mess. Finally got around to dropping the front subframe, after dragging my feet. As I feared, the CG of the husk without all that weight at the front shifted to the back and the car is now resting on jackstands at the rear axle. I'll need to figure out a better way to support it so I can drop the rear subframe, too. I'll need to cut the front of the frame to slide this all out, but I'm not in much of a rush to do that at the moment. I have some 10" pneumatic casters I'll bolt to the frame to be able to roll the husk into the driveway.