Figured I would update the build thread with where the car is at now. My current goal is to have the car road-registered by early May. This means that I've pretty much got to get it into a road-legal state by the end of March (2020). I've currently got some of the body install, doors, wipers, glass and dash left to do in order for it to be roadworthy. So...I've got a busy month ahead. I've got more pictures and posts of the progress on my blog www.818coupe.com
Mechanical:
The JDM EJ207 engine is running well! No codes, leaks, noises, or other issues. I have not driven the car a whole ton since the AVCS and everything was working but I have driven it enough to tell that it should be plenty fast!
Exhaust was modified to fit the new turbo using the factory Subaru EJ207 downpipe mouth.
ABS brakes installed and functioning.
My brake setup has now been changed to a Infiniti G37 1" master cylinder paired with the NC Miata brake booster. I've barely driven with this setup because my first Infiniti master cylinder leaked and I've seen been working on other things since. Based on the 7/8" NC Miata master cylinder though, this should be a decent setup.
Interior:
Lots of interior aluminum has been installed. The rear firewall is fully installed and the center tunnel aluminum is in. I have also installed the e-brake lever.
Vintage Air AC Mini Gen II has been installed. I used AZPete's write-up to guide it and that was basically perfect. He used their older unit so the only necessary change was that I had to buy an H-fitting from Vintage Air to serve as the coolant bypass when the heat is not on. Everything seems to work, but I have not charged the A/C yet to confirm that that is functional.
I've got my Pumpkin 7" Android head unit setup on a bench power source so I can play around with it before installing. This unit runs full Android so I can use Torque, BTSSM, GPS, music, track apps, etc. I like to mess around with the tech stuff so I plan to have a functioning reverse cam, dash cam, digital track guages, phone connectivity, etc.
Body
I'm currently working hard on getting the body installed on the car. Besides the doors and rear hatch, all the panels have at a minimum been roughly fitted to the car. I plan to fit the body and get everything mounted as required for getting it road legal and then do the sanding and finishing touches later.
Headlights are mostly installed and taillights are fully installed.
Looks very good. This is the exciting part when it begins to look and act like a car!
818S/C : Chassis #25 with 06 WRX 2.5 turbo, ABS, cruise, PS, A/C, Apple CarPlay, rear camera, power windows & locks, leather & other complexities. Sold 10/19 with 5,800 miles.
Mk3 Roadster #6228 4.6L, T45, IRS, PS, PB, ABS, Cruise, Koni's, 17" Halibrands, red w/ silver - 9K miles then sold @ Barrett-Jackson Jan 2011 (got back cash spent).
Your to-do list is pretty long. Very ambitious to think all that can be completed by May. Every time I look at my car, I see another thing I’d like to do to it. Completing what I’ve already started is my first priority. Seems like my car would be finished by now, but I can see another full year of work before calling it finished.
I guess everyone is different, there is a guy who just started an SLC build (literally took delivery last week) and he has a Microsoft Projects Gantt Chart of his entire project, on a week-by-week basis. To me that takes all of the fun out of it. I understand settings some goals to keep yourself moving, but if I make them too aggressive I wind up getting frustrated and depressed. I hope you can accomplish all that you want on that schedule, but I would be prepared to miss it so that you don't get overwhelmed.
To me that takes all of the fun out of it. I understand settings some goals to keep yourself moving, but if I make them too aggressive I wind up getting frustrated and depressed. I hope you can accomplish all that you want on that schedule, but I would be prepared to miss it so that you don't get overwhelmed.
I totally get both sides to the argument. I like to set completion dates for things to keep me motivated getting items done. The reason why I want to get it roadworthy by May is that I move to Michigan for the Summer and if the car can't come with me then I won't get to work on it or drive it until August. College schedule keeps me bouncing between locations frequently. If I miss it though it's obviously not the end of the world so there's no major pressure.
I do get an entire week of Spring break to work on it though so some serious progress can be made then and I can recruit some friends to help. Last time I had an entire week with the car I completely pulled the first engine, installed the second, and got it back to a fully driving state.
Last edited by lsfourwheeler; 03-02-2020 at 01:59 PM.
Spring break is huge. I took off work last year and managed to reboot work and resorts my mustang in prep for getting it out of the garage for the 818.
818S/C : Chassis #25 with 06 WRX 2.5 turbo, ABS, cruise, PS, A/C, Apple CarPlay, rear camera, power windows & locks, leather & other complexities. Sold 10/19 with 5,800 miles.
Mk3 Roadster #6228 4.6L, T45, IRS, PS, PB, ABS, Cruise, Koni's, 17" Halibrands, red w/ silver - 9K miles then sold @ Barrett-Jackson Jan 2011 (got back cash spent).
Timelapse video of me working on the door sill gel coat issues and lining the front fenders.
Additionally, I'm working on revamping my website documentation to have better section-by-section documentation of the build. Not finished with it yet, but hoping it makes the build easier to read retroactively or for people looking for very specific information. Right now I've just got the blog that I have written as I've gone along which is nice for following along but less so for reading it after the fact.
Also, a much older timelapse video of me taking apart the two Subaru transmissions I combined to make my current one. Unfortunately my aftermarket GoPro batteries somehow fried my old GoPro before I could film the reassembly. So taking them apart is all I've got.
The car is road legal! Titled, registered, and insured . Such a relief to have all the paperwork items done and I can just worry about building the car.
Been busy working on the body and the interior. Tons of hours put in since my last update on here, but seemingly small amounts of meaningful progress...seems the bodywork just goes that way. I've done the door windows, begun removing the seam lines, fixed and modified tons of little fitment issues here and there. Plenty more for me to do.
Also working on the interior. Just installed my power locks controller and modified some of the A/C controls wiring. Working next on the center console and stereo installation before I start carpeting and insulation.
Congrats on reaching the street legal milestone! I checked out your web site and enjoyed reliving the 818 build. Thanks for the AC mention.
818S/C : Chassis #25 with 06 WRX 2.5 turbo, ABS, cruise, PS, A/C, Apple CarPlay, rear camera, power windows & locks, leather & other complexities. Sold 10/19 with 5,800 miles.
Mk3 Roadster #6228 4.6L, T45, IRS, PS, PB, ABS, Cruise, Koni's, 17" Halibrands, red w/ silver - 9K miles then sold @ Barrett-Jackson Jan 2011 (got back cash spent).
Congrats on reaching the street legal milestone! I checked out your web site and enjoyed reliving the 818 build. Thanks for the AC mention.
It's always crazy looking back at the earlier parts of the build and remembering all the things that have gone into the build - good and bad.
The A/C install was probably the smoothest-going part of my build thanks to the instructions you made. I think I even needed to use the extra fitting you had in your order list haha.
Installed the dashboard, A/C plumbing, and my entire stereo setup.
Also took the car for its first real drive! 50 miles round trip on some backroads around where I live. Really enjoyed driving it for once and surprisingly no new issues appeared.
Made a video showing all the radio features and some footage of me taking the car out for a drive.
Great vid - liking your build a lot. I skipped out on doing A/C - you're making me jealous!
I have not charged my AC yet, but it's definitely up soon on the to-do list. It gets toasty in there after driving! I also haven't done any insulation or finished sealing off the rear firewall area which would certainly help keep the engine bay heat down.
818S/C : Chassis #25 with 06 WRX 2.5 turbo, ABS, cruise, PS, A/C, Apple CarPlay, rear camera, power windows & locks, leather & other complexities. Sold 10/19 with 5,800 miles.
Mk3 Roadster #6228 4.6L, T45, IRS, PS, PB, ABS, Cruise, Koni's, 17" Halibrands, red w/ silver - 9K miles then sold @ Barrett-Jackson Jan 2011 (got back cash spent).
Made it through two weeks as a "daily driver". I don't really have to drive much daily while near Georgia Tech's campus, but nonetheless it has encountered highways, interstates, drive thrus, parking decks, and most importantly rain without any major catastrophes! Something like 500 miles of driving now?
The vent trim did come off the first day I drove it...but I'll fix that soon. Planning to finish sealing the interior and carpeting this weekend. Lots of little nuisance things to work on as well. After that, just needs some body work to make it look pretty.
Took the car out for it's first autocross this past weekend. It did pretty great! Still enjoying driving it around, but trying to keep the motivation to work through the things that still need improvement on it. Designing an intercooler plenum right now and hoping to have it completed by the end of next week.
Last edited by lsfourwheeler; 11-11-2020 at 11:19 PM.
This is my plenum design. I tried to keep it short (4in) to maximize rearward visibility still. I will waterjet all the sheet aluminum out and then bend the flanges and rivet it together. It'll bolt to the intercooler through the flanges on the left and right side. Planning to coat it with black wrinkle paint once it's done.
I took the car out on track this past weekend. It was a blast! My driver's interior door handle somehow disconnected itself but otherwise everything held up. Temperatures all seemed good, although it was nice and cool out (60F). It's a quick car for sure, and with some alignment, braking, and shifter improvements it'll be awesome.
Brand new build website! Decide I had outgrown the old one and wanted to add new features. The new setup costs me the same, $12/yr for the domain name, but requires I host the web server myself. Lots more tinkering required to set this one up and there's definitely some bugs in places, but I should be able to keep improving it.
Also working on designing a trunk for the car and fixing some of the issues. It'll probably be slow progress for the next little while because I'm co-founding a new company, but hoping to make a little progress here and there.