JForand - Atlanta Build

[jforand]

I wanted to take a minute to open up a build thread and introduce myself to the 818 and larger FFR community.

I will start by saying that I am very new to the FFR scene and while fairly competent mechanically speaking this whole Subaru scene is also new to me, so many variations!! So I am very much getting used to the forum and how it works. I have already found so much great discussion and pictures. I am the lucky purchaser of Doowop's kit that was out in Denver. He never actually started the it, but did manage to collect a decent amount of donor parts.

So after a whirlwind trip of flying from Atlanta to Denver in the morning and packing things into a 16' truck, my Dad (road trip companion) and I manage to make it out to Topeka KS by the end of Day 1. We then hit the road again at 8am local and powered all the way home by about midnight of Day 2 to complete the remaining 900 miles. Day 3 was the unloading. My biggest issue off the bat is one of space. It appears I have a bit of a car problem and I was really hoping to build this car in the basement. They are supposed to weigh 1800lbs all in right? So I figured it would not be too bad to get some people to tilt the car through some french doors without the body, engine, and trans.....well, the chassis alone is significantly heavier than I was hoping for. For now, it will be up in the garage. I may resume an effort with the HOA to put a garage door down in the day-light basement wall, but that will be another story.

Because of the heavier chassis weight, I decided to just leave it in the truck and go straight to the powder coater. I took the chance to strip all the suspension links and knuckles, find all the bracketry, and the aluminum panels and threw those in the batch as well. These should be coming back sometime next week. Going gloss white for those that are wondering.

Probably good enough for an intro. I will go ahead an apologize up front for all of the questions I am sure to post that have likely been discussed multiple times. I will do my best to attempt searches prior to posting.

If any of you 818 people are at all close to Atlanta, please let me know. I would love to see your ride and you can never have too many friends!!

[redbudrr]

Congratulations!! Enjoy your build!!

[AZPete]

Welcome! You are starting a grand adventure with a self-fulfilling conclusion, but you probably know that already. Sending stuff out to get powder coated now is smart. Buying a 2nd-hand kit and a decent amount of donor parts was also smart. I will look forward to seeing your progress and feel free to ask questions because the guys here are friendly and helpful.

[jforand]

Going through the stuff getting organized while waiting for powder coating

The donor parts are supposed to be from an '04 STI, but I must say when sourcing new wheel bearings and hubs the parts from a standard '04 WRX seemed to match up better.

Transmission I believe is a 08-09 6MT. I tagged it with what I found

IMG_4792.jpg
IMG_4793.jpg

I am close to being able to button it up with the 2WD conversion. I think I have it understood. As with everything, there seems to be a lot of variation. Here are a couple shots of what it looks like now

IMG_4790.jpg
IMG_4789.jpg

and the parts going in

IMG_4787.jpg

I have made sure the reverse lockout is in and working properly. I am going to try to come up with a cable or something to leave that intact. My current track car is a Mustang with reverse in the top left. Zero chance of hitting it on the track. Here it is top right and could be a mistake when trying for 5th. I just don't think it makes sense to zip tie it out of existence.

I assume that everyone is reinstalling the little banded roller bearings on the shaft prior to reinstalling the tail housing? Certainly seems like the right thing to do to me. All this stuff came disassembled in a box so I have had to figure things out. I reinstalled the little plastic oil routing device in the tail housing before bolting down the bearing and gear into it. This takes oil from the tail housing and routes it into the shaft so those little roller bearings see lubrication. I am also going to only reuse the front half of the plastic oil tray as the second half extends into the area blanked off by the aluminum plug. I see no reason to try to trim it down just to deliver oil to the casing's wall.

The last things I have to consider on the transmission are an oil cooler and a good way to clean up the case.

The plastic plug for the electronic diff wiring was all brittle so I took it out. I was thinking about trying to thread that and have it be the return line for a trans cooler. Any thoughts as the best place to install the return line? I could go somewhere smaller and more in the body of the transmission. There does not seem like a high flow path back up front from the tail housing section. I could just freeze plug the large hole for the center diff wiring.

I guess I should consider a new throw-out bearing as well...

Open to hearing about how to clean the casing well for paint. I need to make sure not to get crud into the box as I do not want to tear it down.

[Ajzride]

Welcome aboard!! I’m not from ATL, but travel there frequently for work. What part of the city are you in?

[jforand]

Thanks for the welcomes everyone.

NE, up around the Mall of Georgia area. 25 miles or so outside the perimeter (285) up I-85.

[Ajzride]

Thanks for the welcomes everyone.

NE, up around the Mall of Georgia area. 25 miles or so outside the perimeter (285) up I-85.

Our ATL office is in John's Creek, so maybe I can stop in and visit one day when I'm up there.

[jforand]

Not too far away! Let me know when you are in town and we'll work something out.

Just got my first box of wrong parts from Rockauto. Looks like the front hubs will work, the rears came in with 24 splines not the 27 required. Apparently, there is a Gen 1 and 2 thing going on with the '04 WRX STI. I was struggling with the 04 STI being the source of my donor parts as none of the hubs were looking correct as they came with the bearing and a flange that bolts to the knuckle. Mine are more old school where they press into the bearing that is also pressed into the knuckle. I'll keep working it. Was also looking into CV axles as I don't have any at this time. Looks like those will need to be 25 spline inboard and 27 outboard, which seems to be readily available at Rockauto.

AJZride, do you have a thread out here as well? I did a quick search but did not find anything.

[NetWRX]

Welcome and Congrats on your new adventure.

That transmission looks like mine and doesn't appear to have an oil pump so that makes a transmission cooler more difficult.

I believe the oil for the needle bearings flows through the center of the bolt on gear/bearing shaft that sits over it. There is a white oil control piece that sits under that gear that takes oil from the other shaft (missing from your pictures) and puts it into the center of the bolt on gear shaft where it can flow over the needle bearings. If you remove the bolt on gear you should see it. There is also another white plastic oil control piece and a spring steel washer that sits at the end of the other shaft behind the large plug in your picture. I trimmed the splines off of the other shaft in mine and left the bearings, races, shaft and oil guides intact, then I welded the plugs to the outside of the housing and reinstalled the oil guides so the oil could still flow through the channel to the needle bearings and back into the main case.

If your spacing is the same as mine you will need to remove about a quarter inch from the shaft of the FFR 6mt adapter bolted to the ring gear in img-4787 and use an arbor shim/washer to take out the slop in the fit between the FFR adapter and the bolt on gear (they should touch lightly when assembled). The force that spins the bolt on gear and slings the oil is eliminated by the removal of the center diff so the fit between those two pieces is the only thing that makes the oil return system work besides gravity (at least in my speculation). If you decide not to trim and reinstall the other shaft and oil guides you will want to remove the bearing race I see in img-4790 so it doesn't vibrate out later on as it has in a couple other builds.

Unfortunately I did not take any pics of the assembly or I would post them but you should be able to find a diagram or 2 in the service manual. I haven't run mine yet but your pictures made me think of that so take it for what it is, just some ramblings from fellow garage dweller...

[Rob T]

jforand: I am in Woodruff, SC. Not too far from Atlanta. I have an R (see Chad Plavan's build) and my build for the full story. I'd be happy for you to stop by sometime at your convenience. Welcome aboard.

[jforand]

NetWRX you raise some interesting points. First, I am in totally agreement with you that the oil is supplied to the needle bearing via the inside of the lower shaft that they are on. I surmised as you indicated that there is a plastic cup of sorts that sit behind and is held in place by the gear bolted into the tail housing. I did indeed install that, though not visible in the pics. I was figuring that the bolted tail housing gear would throw enough oil up there that some would find its way into the cup and therefore the center of the shaft. What I did not consider is that the gear is no longer driven. Hmm, I will need to go think on this for a while. If you stare long enough eventually the parts speak to you...(I assume this happens to all of us right?)

So I was thinking that I was happy with the bolted adapter (Center diff part and the FF adapter bolted together) clearance. I spent a pretty decent amount of time contemplating and measuring what that looked like. I believe that it will be free to float back and forth on the splines about an 1/8th of an inch before contacting the shaft on the tail housing (bolted) gear. I was actually a bit worried about binding so was thinking this was perfect. As I mentioned this all came disassembled in a box so at first I was wondering how the adapter was going to stay on the shaft in the first place. I'm thinking out load again, but O suppose you might be able to cutoff the shaft that has the adapter to a proper length, thread the inside, and bolt a retaining washer on the end. This would enable you to completely remove the output shaft you spoke of reinstalling and the bolted in tail housing gear and then really no need for oil back there.....

I do also have that other circular whit plastic oil control ring which seemed useless without oil flowing through the second plastic channel. As you can tell I opted to put the plugs in the way FF suggested. There is another gentleman out here that cut the case a lot shorter and welded it up from the outside (Looks like a little chicken, they joked about that). I actually really like that approach and cutting the shaft, threading and securing the adapter might enable that a better. I will roominate some more and report back. Thanks for the additional thoughts, it really helps.

Rob T - awesome, thanks for the invite. I actually spend quite a decent amount of time at Lake Hartwell there on the boarder. I'll have to let you know the next time I go up there and maybe we can look at your ride. Very nice to know there are some footsteps ahead of me.

[jforand]

NetWRX - Ok, I roominated a bit on the tail of the trans.

So introducing the tail shaft back into the mix in any fashion puts another couple bearings in there that will need lubricated. I think I am going to struggle to get oil to flow in the stock manner to serve those bearings. I really like the idea of pulling all of it out. This is where the below pics come in. I am proposing to remove everything from the tail housing, cut the shaft down, thread the inside, and utilize a fine thread bolt and washer to secure the 2WD adapter in position. This solution seems to remove everything that needs oil from the rear of the transmission and would also be the minimal weight route. See pics

OK, so before people get excited about my choice of hardware, these pics are for demonstration only!!! This is not the washer and fastener that I would intend to use.

IMG_4799.jpg

I may have found a pretty big challenge to the simple solution though. I just did a quick experiment to see how it might go as I have ample shift that will be cut out. I grabbed the appropriate size drill and was planning to do a bit of sizing and tapping to see how it went and determine if I could get comfortable with the operation. I believe the shaft is hardened, which is not really surprising but I was unable to get a HSS drill bit or a tap in a close size tot he existing hole to bite at all. I'm not sure I can get this done. It might involve taking the shaft out and having someone temper the end and machine it. Starting to seem not worth it. Another alternative to the screw and washer would be to cut a grove around the outside of the shaft and use a snap ring of sorts (some sort of washer would still be required). There is not axial thrust so it should be just fine. A small grinding disc or two should overcome the hardened metal....

Any ideas?

Since I do not have a great way to get lubrication into the shaft for those needle/roller bearings I am wondering about just leaving them out barring the above solution. Without a set of gears putting a side load on the shaft it will likely just spin inside the over sized bore of the gear/shaft bolted into the tail housing without issue. The tail housing gear's bearing no longer needs positive lubrication as it is no longer driven.

Also wondering if there are any great ideas as to how to get that tail shaft race out of there. It never occured to me that it might fall out, but apparently there have been reports of that. Really nothing to get a grab on and slide hammer. I think I have heard about people welding on them resulting in a net shrinkage allowing it to fall out. Has anyone tried this?

[NetWRX]

Hi J,

Your links aren't working but I think I get the idea. You could drill and tap a couple holes in the adapter shaft and install set screws with locktite or something similar to prevent it from backing off the splines. If you grind a couple flats on the adapter shaft it should give you enough purchase to drill holes.

One of the thoughts I had when "listening" to the mechanism was that the needle bearings help set the lash for the gears in the main part of the housing (I think AeroSTI mentioned that in a thread somewhere), but I don't know how critical that is. There is only a tiny amount of side to side play in that shaft so theoretically you should be able to keep it in the center with set screws. The amount of abuse the transmission takes though worries me that it might work its way back off. A snap ring would be great for that, but wouldn't address the lash. Another thought is to use the return from your transmission cooler setup to dump oil in the right spot to lubricate the bearings. I'm with you on the simplicity of removing the whole works from the tail housing though. I left it because it was the easiest thing I could think of at the time. I may change it still. With the shafts installed the bolt on gear wont be spinning at the same rate it was when driven by the center diff so leaving the shafts in there will move oil marginally at best.

Couple ideas for the race: You could try freezing the it with some locktite freeze and release and heating the metal surrounding it, or cut the heads off a couple nails and weld them to the race then tap it out with the slide hammer.

Either way you go we are in uncharted territory here. I am not aware of anyone else using a splash lubricated 6mt, but they are a more readily available than the pump models so we probably wont be the last.

Cheers

[jforand]

I figured a little grove would not hurt on a shaft that has essentially been de-purposed. So this is what the experimentation yielded. This proved WAY easier than trying to drill out and cut internal threads in the hardened shaft. I also won't have to worry about a bolt backing out on me, um except for the six holding the coupling together that is.

IMG_4801.jpg
IMG_4802.jpg

I can easily tailor the depth and width of the grove for the closest snap ring I find. I could also very the width of the washer. It think this is pretty efficient and allows for the shaft to be chopped and nothing left to lubricate, just an empty tail housing. I could actually trim down the tail housing further by almost an inch if I so chose. I think for now I'll let it ride. I have yet to add a TIG to the inventory. I have an Eastwood 220V MIG and it does have an aluminum spoon gun, but I have never tried that and do not have the appropriate gas bottle.

Let me know what you guys think.

[NetWRX]

Ahh now I understand, cut off and tap the inner shaft that the needle bearings sit on. Great idea, if you know someone with a lathe you could step the washer to maintain the shaft in the center of the adapter. Probably wouldn't require much machining.

[NetWRX]

That should work. You could still use a stepped washer that fits the ID of the adapter if lash is a concern.

[Hobby Racer]

Wow, its amazing how we come up with very similar ideas!

You might want to read thru this thread to see how I accomplished the same task.

How to convert any Subaru 6 Speed (6MT) to Front Wheel Drive (FWD)

[jforand]

I actually have seen your thread Hobby Racer. Man, you have some great stuff. I will admit that I have read a lot fo stuff and I might be blending a few things, but I believe you are the one with the 'baby chick' looking welded plugs right? Also the totally awesome shift linkage. When the time comes I might have to see if you want to sell another set of those cams, totally awesome looking!

So no issues in cutting that shaft off with any type of gear lash or spacing internal? I have been looking at the diagrams and trying to determine this very ting that NetWRX has mentioned. I personally do not have ANY lateral play in this shaft (Pinion shaft) at all. There is a large thrust bearing right behind the pinion way at the front (not shown well in the pic for some reason, but it is in the text following), there is the a needle bearing #7 and then I think further down the shaft you have #20 and #21 bushing and another needle bearing. These work to support both side of the shaft just outside gears 1 and 2 so they are in double shear and there is nothing unsupported. I think this situation plays out again further down the shaft. Once you exit the main case into the tail housing the shaft has another large gear the drives the final output shaft, not to mention has to hold the clunky center diff. It would be very unwise to have that unsupported without a bearing on the end to provide that positive double shear. I think that is what those additional needle bearings are for with the inner shaft and then you of course have the final large bearing in the tail house.

By cutting all of this out I you are just taking out the second section of the shafts purpose. What is still transmitting force inside the case is framed by bearings. At least that is the way I am interpreting things.

The step on the washer is a good idea as a bit of an insurance policy, but I started thinking about the adapter itself it has 6 bolts precisely securing and centering the FF component on the smaller splines. In order for the smaller splines to laterally or rotationally move independently the 6 bolts on the coupler would need to fail. The coupler in effect IS the stepped washer concept!

Drive pinion shaft diagram.jpg

Thanks for the help guys. I think I like this a lot and am going to see about sourcing a snap ring today. Gotta and some Home Depot parts in the car right? One final think I will take into account is I want a bit of axial play to make room for thermal expansion. I would have to have the expansion shear off the snap ring, that would be very bad.

[Hobby Racer]

Your thinking is right on. You don't need a stepped washer, only a good fitting snap ring and a normal washer. Then you can cut the shaft off like I did and get rid of all that extra (heavy) stuff.

BTW, how did you groove the shaft?

[jforand]

Oooh, just got a video from the powder coater. The chassis looks good in gloss white!!! Hopefully I will get that by the end of the week.

Well, I just wrote up a detailed reply and yet again had it wiped out by the forum signing me off....they are pretty aggressive with that time table imo.

I used a dremel style orientation pneumatic grinding wheel. I made the mark and braced very carefully against the inside of the case. I then took a small allen wrench and stuck it in one of the shaft's oiling holes and used that very effectively to rotate the shaft under the cutting wheel. It really worked well.

Hobby - do you have a trans cooler? I wanted to utilize that 26mm hole on the back right where the center diff wiring goes in, but I don't think that large of a (metric) hole is going to translate into the AN world very well. I think I am going to have to default to the return line going to the fill plug up on the left main case. I basically did this on my Mustang's differential which operates great, it just makes draining and filling a really big pain.

[jforand]

Hobby - forgot to ask. Since you do not utilize the output shaft did you leave that race in the back of the trans (forward one, not the tail housing). I spent some time on it last night and made no headway (MAP torch and ice). I think the only way I am going to be able to get it out is to weld around the race. That seems to shrink them to the point they basically fall out. The welder is in the garage and the tranny is in the basement.....not sure which is harder to move to the other???? They both weigh a ton.

[jforand]

The final product of the 2WD conversion

IMG_4805.jpgIMG_4804.jpg

[Hobby Racer]

I used a dremel style orientation pneumatic grinding wheel. I made the mark and braced very carefully against the inside of the case. I then took a small allen wrench and stuck it in one of the shaft's oiling holes and used that very effectively to rotate the shaft under the cutting wheel. It really worked well.

Great idea, I'll have to remember that.

Hobby - do you have a trans cooler? I wanted to utilize that 26mm hole on the back right where the center diff wiring goes in, but I don't think that large of a (metric) hole is going to translate into the AN world very well. I think I am going to have to default to the return line going to the fill plug up on the left main case. I basically did this on my Mustang's differential which operates great, it just makes draining and filling a really big pain.

Funny you should mention that. I just finished my cooler today and will be posting about it later. Since the 08 and newer transmissions do not have internal oil pumps it is much more involved to add a cooler. I did it on my 5 speed and routed the return directly into the rear of the case. You could do a similar setup.

5MT Transaxle Cooler

5MT Updated the trans cooler setup

[Hobby Racer]

Hobby - forgot to ask. Since you do not utilize the output shaft did you leave that race in the back of the trans (forward one, not the tail housing). I spent some time on it last night and made no headway (MAP torch and ice). I think the only way I am going to be able to get it out is to weld around the race. That seems to shrink them to the point they basically fall out. The welder is in the garage and the tranny is in the basement.....not sure which is harder to move to the other???? They both weigh a ton.

There is a plastic oil diverter that goes in there on the 07 and older transmissions that have a pressurized oiling systems and its important that it be in place. On the 08 and newer transmissions I am not sure if it is needed and therefore the race can be eliminated IMO.

[Hobby Racer]

If you stare long enough eventually the parts speak to you...(I assume this happens to all of us right?)

Husband: "My car parts are talking to me"

Wife: "They have pills for that"

[jforand]

Funny.

I am not thinking that there is anything behind the race in this 08-09. There is an oil hole in the middle, but without the output shaft it sure isn't going to get anything anyway, unless the oil comes from the main case into the tail via this hole.....Again, no longer necessary if that was the case as there is no output shaft bearing there to be lubed.

IMG_4804.jpg

I also have a hard time thinking it will come out on its own, but apparently it has happened.

Picking up all the powder coating tomorrow! Should be fun.

Oh, I did not take a picture, but in your cooler thread you spoke about a transmission dip stick. I don't have one, but there is another 'fill plug' on the top right, toward the front end of the main case (looking forward over the tail housing rear to front. I looks pretty cavernous in there and I can see part of the ring gear. It would be where I would put a dip stick if you had me X the spot. I think I will take the cooler return line to the fill port on the left side and this top one will be the new fill location. Really easy in an 818, major pain in a WRX

[Hobby Racer]

I am not thinking that there is anything behind the race in this 08-09. There is an oil hole in the middle, but without the output shaft it sure isn't going to get anything anyway, unless the oil comes from the main case into the tail via this hole.....Again, no longer necessary if that was the case as there is no output shaft bearing there to be lubed.

IMG_4804.jpg

I also have a hard time thinking it will come out on its own, but apparently it has happened.

After a closer look at your pics, I think your ok to leave the race in place. Since the race and what its pressed into are both steel (cast) the rate of thermal expansion will be the same and the race should not "fall out" during heating and cooling cycles.

Come to think about it, mine is still in also since it holds my plastic diverter in place!

I think I will take the cooler return line to the fill port on the left side and this top one will be the new fill location. Really easy in an 818, major pain in a WRX

Sounds like you have a plan. What are you going to for an external pump?

[jforand]

Well, that is a good question. I bought something very similar to this for the Mustang rear end and have been very happy with it.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...240_em_1p_0_ti

It is a lot quieter than the Tilton or Tipton that we put on my brother's C5 vette. One for the diff and one for the trans and HOLY COW are they loud. No fear of leaving those babies running. I saw your mention of an oil scavenger pump. If you have something you like please forward and I'll take a look.

Got the chassis today!

IMG_4808.jpg
IMG_4812.jpg
FYFE7021.jpg

Man working with new stuff is so much more fun. Now I find all the missing stuff such as hardware. Oh, and the "Master Bushing Kit" that apparently does not have rear lower control link bushings????

[Hobby Racer]

Well, that is a good question. I bought something very similar to this for the Mustang rear end and have been very happy with it.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...240_em_1p_0_ti

That looks perfect. I used a cheapo eBay pump
like this. It worked well after I slowed it down from 3.7 GPM to about 1 GPM.

Chassis looks nice. Too bad you didn't mod the frame for the 6 speed before you had it powder coated

[jforand]

Oh wow, 3.7GPM is a ton of flow. I can see how that would be a big problem, especially if you were returning to the tail housing section as you described.

Yes, I noticed the threads on the 6 speed interference fits right after going to the coater. I'll have to make it work. I'm sure there will be other stuff as well. I don't think I have the time or willingness to full construct and test the car only to blow it all apart again for paint. In the end this thing is being built for the track and they just don't stay pretty for all that long.

[jforand]

Hobby, I would like to see if you would be kind enough to engage on another topic. I am looking at the sheet metal for the front fire wall and things just seem a little weird imo.

IMG_4824.jpgIMG_4825.JPGIMG_4826.jpgIMG_4827.JPGIMG_4828.JPG

So I found your post asking about a few panels back in 2017 that no one seemed to respond too. I have all the main front panels identified and in the right locations but I am wondering about a couple things.

First, the large angular gap by the steering column. In the book there is metal structure there and you line up the holes. This structure fills this angular gap and also serves to tell you that you have positioned the panel properly. In the R there is no structure there, just some bracketry you can see on the inside the cockpit view. It there something I should be bolting in here prior to the panels to make sure things line up?

Second, below that angular gap it appears that driver's side center piece that is full height seems to overlap the very first little bottom panel that you put in. It is an odd overlap which is going to make the rivet holes in non regular spots. Should I position all the panels and just drill through the top one and the bottom (first panel) will be whatever it is? The last odd thing about this area is the panel with the steering column hole and I guess that is the brake master cylinder does not actually come left enough to vertically line up. I guess I can trim a little off the car center side on the angles tab so that the driver's side center piece can hang plumb and putt up nicely at the top and overlap on the bottom.

Hopefully that all made sense. It just seems bizzaar. It is supposed to be a firewall of sorts, thought there is really nothing up front. Why the gaps and then the overlaps??? It is also confusing as the manual is for an S and looks different than the R by a lot in this area.

Thanks in advance.

[Hobby Racer]

I used the Wilwood pedal setup which changes that area of the front firewall. I am in for the evening, I will look at my front firewall tomorrow and get back to you.

Have you seen the 818R supplemental instruction set? It and some other stuff is available from FFR on their parts site here.

http://www.factoryfiveparts.com/instructions/

[jforand]

No, I hadn’t but was thinking that something must exist. I was just skipping around in the manual and not finding a bunch. The idea of goi out to FFR was beginning to cross my mind. I’ll check it out.

Are you liking your Wilwood pedal box? I think I ran across that and was a bit shocked by the price. I’m sure it is awesome though. I just got hit pretty hard today at the Subaru dealership sourcing rear hubs and bearings. I then decided all of my suspension hardware was pretty crappy and a high percentage is missing. I just ordered new hardware all around for the suspension. Other areas I will be able to go a cheaper route.

[Hobby Racer]

Are you liking your Wilwood pedal box? I think I ran across that and was a bit shocked by the price. I’m sure it is awesome though.

I can't say enough good things about the pedal setup. Being able to adjust the front to rear bias on the fly and the ability to run different sized master cylinders front and rear make a huge difference in the ability to tune the braking system.

I pieced my Wilwood pedal system together from non FFR sources and it was way cheaper. The components are all the same as they are not specific to FFR, just off the shelf Wilwood stuff.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

I can't say enough good things about the pedal setup. Being able to adjust the front to rear bias on the fly and the ability to run different sized master cylinders front and rear make a huge difference in the ability to tune the braking system.
I pieced my Wilwood pedal system together from non FFR sources and it was way cheaper. The components are all the same as they are not specific to FFR, just off the shelf Wilwood stuff.

A good starting point is equivalent braking on all 4 wheels.
I went with the Subaru master cylinder. If I upgrade, it will be to the Wilwood pedals with adjustable front-rear balance bar.
Bob

[lance corsi]

As to your aluminum panel fitment, remember that the chassis is a weldment and as such, a certain amount of warping will be induced, thus negating any precision relative to the panels, which were no doubt laser cut to a proportion generous enough to cover for the discrepancy. You may need to trim some pieces. It’s a kit car.
As for the previously drilled holes, not much you can do there without a lot of hassle unless you simply overlap. Check around someone may have some pieces they decided not to use. Might find one undrilled. I gave all mine to BobnCincy. He may still have one. Otherwise, McMaster Carr sells aluminum sheet.

[Hobby Racer]

Unfortunately I am not going to be of much help with this one. Since I use the Wilwood pedals my front firewall is completely flat.

IMG_20200314_091726189.jpg

[jforand]

Another day or two and some more progress accompanied by some answers and some new questions. I did go get the R supplemental printed out. I put together the Koni shocks and it very clearly (in bold in fact) says to have the body side up when installing the shock. So I oriented the spring so the writing was up. Well, it is pretty obvious when you get tot the car they need to be shaft side up as the body does not clear the bottom of the mounting tabs. The are also shown inverted in the pics. Now the spring are upside down not that this matters at all

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Ok, so now the question. Did anyone else have fitment issues? I have interference fits on the driver's side with the front arm and the upper rear shock. The tabs are simply too close to the chassis tube. I saw the mention of the casting boss in the manual and have already ground those off. I really do not want to remove any of the cylinder metal holding the bushings as that goes into tension under braking. You can see the passenger side is pretty much perfect.

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I have not determined a best course of action here yet. I really don't like enlarging holes, but that might be the play here. Most all the forces will work to pull the LCA away from the chassis tube. Still pondering and open to ideas.

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Same deal on the upper rear shocks. The Driver's side hits the chassis tube. I had to go bigger on the hole just to get the bolt to go in. It still needs spaced out and unlike the LCA the forces here work to push the shock up into the chassis tube, so a larger hole is not a great solution imo. The holes really need to move outboard a bit. Maybe add a little metal on the inside edge with the mig and redrill....thoguhts?

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Finally I really like the flat fire wall and the Wilwood pedal idea. I am going to yank out the OEM pedals and brake stuff and take a good look at it, but and thinking that the mental commitment is already moving to Wilwood.

[Mitch Wright]

I have a extra new Wilwood pedal box and one 3/4 master I will be happy to sell. I bought to use on my Ecoboost Falcon swap project but ended up having to put the masters under the dash.

[jforand]

I could be interested Mitch. I will be honest in saying that I am ground zero on this topic. I have no idea what works with 818R setup. I need to get an education of sorts going. In 5 minutes on Wilwood's site there are tons of options from swing configurations to mechanical advantages. Also that of master cylinders (single, dual, piston size, etc.). I think that the idea is you want single master cylinders that the balance bar spans so that you can adjust bias correct? There would be no way to do that with a dual master other than picking the correct ratios up front or placing some sort of valve in one of the lines to dial out some pressure. I'm pretty sure I know what I want from a track, feel, and adjustability perspective, I just don't know what the 818 requires and the part numbers to get there. At the current time I plan on installing the Cadillac breaks on all four corners.

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Please let me know what you have and opinions as to what works well for the 818 from a tracking perspective. I am positive that there are a bunch of brake discussion out here, but I have yet to move that to front burner.

Thanks,