Project aussie 818c

[aus818]

Hello from downunder. Im a good year off ordering my 818c kit, however i thought id start a build thread to go through the strip and prep of my donor parts and to ask question i may have.

Car is an 03 wrx with 166xxxkm's and full service history, half of which is with stechnics (subi specialist shop) so off to a good start. Started ripping into it and found it has aluminium front control arms which is a welcomed surprise as they will be going onto the new project car. Another thing to note is the ADM spec 03 wrx have single avcs, however im stuck with the poxy ej205 shortblock still like everywhere else. I dont plan on pushing past 300whp (for dyno comparison my 07 sti was 260whp and ran a 12.8 quarter) so the ej205 open deck casings shouldnt be a problem. Compression test came up with all cylinders around the 140-145 psi mark. Dont even know why i bothered as the block will be getting a mild rebuild.

Plan of attack is to strip the motor down, have the heads rebuilt at oem spec maybe adding in set of spec C cams if i can find some, rebuild the bottom end adding in some decent bearing oem sti forged rods and forged pistons. Rebuild the stock brakes, depower the steering rack and put the stock loom on a diet.

The TD04 will be replaced with a VF36 twinscroll supplied by Burke. Its a long way away but at this stage i plan on building my own headers to match but we will see.

Anyway pics

Minor front damage, rad support was pushed in



Rear end is a write off

Managed to get the motor and gearbox out last night. I removed the rad support as i have no intentions of getting the car back on the road.



And last but not least, the apple of my eye.

[ben1272]

The extra time you will have waiting to order the 818 will give you plenty of time to get all your parts cleaned up and painted. The cars look so much nicer when the donor parts get refurbed. By far I have spent the most time to date with old part restoration.

[DodgyTim]

Welcome, where abouts in Aust are you?

[aus818]

Yeh thats the plan Ben.

Im in Perth, Western australia.

Question? I have bought a copy of the build manual on factory five and it doesnt go over the parts needed for the 818c doors. Do i need to keep any of the electrical loom in the door, electric window switch etc?

[mikeb75]

no door wiring needed. You'll get materials in the kit to make the connection from the window motor to a switch that you will tie into the power dist. you could try saving the OEM switches, but you get replacements in the kit.

[aus818]

So i need to keep the donor window motor?

[Frank818]

Welcome to another Mike Weber build! You wish you were him, right. lolll

Follow Mike's (our Mikeb75, not your Mike Weber) advices on the doors, he knows all the hidden secrets! And he's got a great muffler.

Your donor car looks AWESOME! Perfect paint on the picture. Nice wheels, suspension, upgraded headlights (unless you had those OEM in 2003 down south), well maintained, was it totaled for such an accident?

And lastly, you say half of those kms are with a Subie specialist, are those the last half or first half? That could make a difference.

I see you're not planing on fitting a Commodore V8 in your build. loll But I'm sure you'll have plenty of fun with your twin "drool".

[aus818]

Second half of the servicing was at stechnics. The other half was at the subi stealership. The car was a stat write off, to much damage to the rear end and rad/crash beam was bent in abit.

The old thongslapper project did cross my mind and there was a point when i was planning on chucking an LS3 in a nissan 350z but i want to live the street gokart life.

[AZPete]

So i need to keep the donor window motor?

No, the power window kit includes the 2 motors. Sell the donor window motors. The 1P revision to the manual includes the power windows, hard top, and other stuff if your manual is earlier than "P".

[Mwc_86]

hi guys im new to all this, im looking at building an 818 myself is there any other guys from oz who have built an 818.