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LSfourwheeler- Thank you. I am hitting the tubes at less than full lock. I pulled them back, so I'm OK now. better to do it now than later.
I can't really speak to the pedal feel yet. I haven't hooked up any vacuum, nor put a seat in. Soon though. Hopefully by the end of March. Maybe even by the end of next week?
HA HA HA HA HA!
Maybe by the end of the month. Maybe.
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Last edited by Ipassgas; 04-09-2019 at 03:39 PM.
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So the wiring has been stuffed under the proverbial bed (out of sight out of mind?)
The car got 3 feet longer, since the radiator bracket was added.
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The radiator was installed. I lost the lower radiator rubber bushings, somehow. So I ordered new ones. I'm still amazed at how cheap factory Subaru parts are. Then, of course, I found them. So I have 2 sets. I put the new ones in, and plumbed the cooling system.
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I did the VCP cooling system mod, and haven't quite decided how to plumb it. The donor overflow tank has since been painted black, and I'm not sure where to mount it. It'll happen soon.
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I also realized that the interior tins that cover the cooling tubes never got installed (thanks for pointing it out, Sgarrett/Mass build!). So that happened on the right, and I realized I bent some of the left aluminum. I haven't dealt with that yet.
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And I put the donor air filter on. It looks super classy. It has a distinct flavor of Autozone Rice.
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So the transmission tunnel doesn't fit on the passenger side. The root problem is that the gas tank isn't square. Either the baffles are too big, or it warped when being welded. So now the tunnel doesn't fit.
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I trimmed the end off and now it fits.
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Last edited by Ipassgas; 03-17-2019 at 08:35 PM.
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Senior Member
I wish I had cut the top of the transmission tunnel so I could remove the top later for repairs & upgrades. Think about doing that while you can.
You proved that the best way to find something, like your radiator spacers, is to buy a new one. Works every time.
And, the blue frame looks bewtaful.
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).
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Thanks, Pete.
I do plan to section the tunnel into 3 pieces. Turbomacandcheese and I already discussed it. I'm hoping to do it this week.
There is a lot of hope happening in this build.
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Originally Posted by
Ipassgas
There is a lot of hope happening in this build.
Wow! That sounds familiar. Your car is looking good! I am jealous that you have been able to move on from the wiring.
I try to peck away at it every week....one wire at a time.
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Originally Posted by
sgarrett
Wow! That sounds familiar. Your car is looking good! I am jealous that you have been able to move on from the wiring.
I try to peck away at it every week....one wire at a time.
Same here. I'm happy if I get 10 or 15 minutes a night to knock out a wire or two. Ipassgass introduced himself by informing me that we were racing, and now he's winning!!!
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It is a "race" car we're building. And I'm not sure I'm winning. The race is long, and things happen. But I'm holding my own!
As a consolation, you're slaughtering me in build thread views here, 3:1.
So, I haven't sectioned the tunnel yet. It's in the works.
Other progress though:
I started on the seats. I got some Kirkey's with the mounting brackets from a roadster guy on this forum. Unfortunately, they sit too low when placed on the x bars. It's hard to see, but the lateral to floor brace is hitting the thigh.
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So to fix this, I decided to elevate the brackets, thus putting peoples legs over the bar. I wasn't sure how high it needed to be.
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2x4s showed me it was right about 2.5". I couldn't figure out how to make the FFR stock seat brackets work.
I know a guy and managed to get a free section of 3" x 3" x 1/4" angle iron. It's thicker than I would have wanted, and 4" might have been better, but I can't beat free. So I started making brackets.
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I also learned when using an angle grinder, with flammable clothing, you should be careful where the sparks are aimed.
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Last edited by Ipassgas; 04-09-2019 at 04:36 PM.
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The brackets turned out well enough, and provided enough elevation to avoid the bar.
I bolted up the brackets and I can't wiggle them, at all. They are almost certainly the strongest thing on the car. 1/4" steel is no joke.
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So the brackets are bolted in, laterally. I'm running 5 point harnesses and I bolted the lower belts in as well.
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Also, I got a fancy new-to-me 5 speed dash with 1 mile on it! Thanks for the assist, Art Quillen!
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Some time was wasted when my bees swarmed, and I decided I needed to capture them and build them a new home. To do this, I modified one of my too many shop vacs into a bee vac. I put a plastic bag over the cage to limit the flow. I only lost a few.
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This one felt so attached she rode my leg into the house
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It hasn't been all fun and games around here though. People got hurt. 3 High school kids. Hummer H2 vs VW sedan. They should all recover fully, eventually.
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Then in the same week, a high school freshman committed suicide. To those with kids out there, make sure they know they're loved, and wanted. And that the bad times will probably pass.
Have fun motoring, because that's what this whole hobby is about.
Last edited by Ipassgas; 04-10-2019 at 08:44 AM.
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Although there has been no progress on the thread in 5 months, there has been real life progress.
I got the harness bar installed. What I thought were spacers were really bushings. They fit inside the bar ends, with another spacer/stand off against the frame.
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When I put the seats in, I can just barely buckle the 5 point harness. I may need longer shoulder straps, or extensions. But that's a problem for another day.
I got the shifter installed, per the manual, and while it works, it is VERY sloppy. And here I thought all of the people working on their own shifter solutions were just over achievers. Now I realize, everyone is trying to solve a real problem. Except AQuillen - he's just an overachiever!
I don't have any interesting pics of my "interesting" solution.
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So the only things that should keep me from running are the parking brake, and main fuse panel. I was hoping to put the fuse panel behind the passenger seat, but couldn't get it to reach. At some point, I'll need to readdress it, but for now it's stuffed into the console, under the parking brake lever.
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The parking brake went OK. nothing interesting to report, and I may move it. I don't currently have an opinion about where it's located, but I may after driving some.
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Speaking of driving, the first start was 5/20/19. There were coolant leaks, and oil leaks, and noise, since it's "no piped". The brakes are soft without the vacuum, and I got some more air out of the lines. I need to give them a lot more attention, as if this is as good as they get, the Metro experiment will be a failure. The alignment is terrible, and needs to be addressed. The tach doesn't work. The speedo isn't hooked to anything. But it starts, stops, runs and drives, and has (some) gears!
Last edited by Ipassgas; 09-06-2019 at 01:13 PM.
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Yes, I love Technology
Except for that tach you seemed to have "achieved" quite a lot...
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After working the parking brake a few times, I noticed the cable was abrading against the cover. I used a bit of the push on trim to cushion it.
At this point, I've moved on to the body. Cutting the hole for the fuel filler was uneventful, but I had some trouble figuring the exact center for the tail lights. When installing the fuel filler, don't forget to attach the grounding strap. A spark with gasoline vapor could ruin your day.
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Next is headlights.Grinding the tabs off of the Hellas was pretty straightforward. Mounting them into the buckets was less so. The adjustment posts have balls on one end that sit in plastic buckets that snap into the holes with tabs, on the headlight buckets. For whatever reason, the holes in the headlight bucket didn't quite align with the adjustment bolts. Whenever I'd insert them, they'd pop out seconds to minutes later. Also, the retention tabs wouldn't engage, because the bucket plastic was too thick, by a tiny amount. Eventually, I carefully ground the plastic down to make it thinner, massaged it together and gave it a generous helping of JB Weld, making sure not to impair the adjustment bolts movement.
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I ran out of allotted pics. More headlights.
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Mounting them was an experience. The buckets and the fenders didn't want to play nice. The hole didn't quite align with the buckets, and the contours were off a bit. Finally, with some fiberglass removal, they fit OK. I screwed them in and moved on to the lenses. The lenses didn't fit well, at all. I ground some of the plexiglass away, and used a heat gun to massage them into better shape. The plexiglass becomes flexible when it becomes opaque, but like steel, it retains some memory. To change the curve, you need to overshoot where you're going with it. Also, be very careful not to bend the center the opposite way. Imagine trying to flatten a bowl. Thumbs on the ridge, fingers on the bottom, applying opposing force. Be careful. Instead of flattening the bowl, you may just dent the bottom. Ask how I know . . . .
Next, I outlined where I wanted my black trim to be, and masked it off. Careful cleaning and some flat black rattle can gave me a good look.
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I then used the best double sided tape Home Depot had to tape the lenses on. Final result is down right respectable.
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Looks like the two of us are at the same point in our builds! I am going to spend a little time fitting all of the aluminum around the nose before tackling the body panels.
And I had the same issue with the e-brake. I ended up cutting away the interfering metal and will need to go back and make a cover for it.
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And I thought I was only racing Turbomacncheese.
If you drop a gauntlet like that, I have to pick it up . . .
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Oh boy....definitely not a race on my end. I seem to only be able to work on it these days when I pretend that it takes a really long time to take the trash out to the garage.
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Where does the time go? 6 months between updates? I should be ashamed. Rest easy fellow soldiers; though the pace has slackened, our resolve has never been stronger! (Ok, not really. I'll admit to letting some other stuff get in the way. Family obligations, video games, global pandemics . . .) I have been making ever more progress. To try to get the thread closer to real time:
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While the gelcoat was sold as a "no paint solution" I heard no body work. As you can see, between the seams on various panels, the voids in this quarter, the hump in the bumper, there is a lot of body work needed to make this look good. Not a complaint, per se, but I really was hoping when I placed my order, that this wouldn't be in my future.
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Bending the struts for the fender mounting bracket went well. I followed the books instructions and succeeding in twisting the bars, and not wrecking the powder coat. Win.
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The brackets mounted up nicely.
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The fenders went as well as could be expected. There is a lot of adjust-ability in the brackets, and I'm glad it's there. I got them level and thought I was in good shape.
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Resting the hood in place, made me sigh again. The hood lip is long. Very long. On the left, the hood is 1/4" proud of the fender. I can raise the fender some. It may be OK. On the right, it's proud by 1/2". I can't raise the fenders nearly that much. I'm going to have to grind off the lip. Not the worst of fates, but something to tackle in the future. Also, I'm supposed to cut out the holes in the hood, apply the mesh, and use the trim pieces to fix the cosmetics. I, for the life of me, can't find those darned trim rings. I don't see them on the packing list either. I called FFR. They told me to look again. I've been looking for a couple of months. I still can't find them. I'll either need to go with the zero decibel solution or order new ones.
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And I put vacuum on the Metro booster. I still had no brakes.
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If the PO included the trim rings in the stuff he gave me you can have mine. Do you have a picture of what I’ll be looking for?
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Senior Member
Before you cut the hood- I have a set of new 0dB small hood louvers that I'll send you for $25 shipped- I'll throw in the stock trim rings too if you want them (not needed)!
818S #332, EZ30R H6, California licensed 01/2019
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I also have a set of trim rings and grills powder coated black that you can have. Keep in mind that the reason I have them is I decided I wanted to get more hot air from behind the radiator and went to the larger 0dB louvers.
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Hello all. I'd like to beg your indulgence. This page has not been a priority lately. I'll get it up to date, eventually. I got the Zero dB louvers from DSR-3 and cut the hood holes. Then I got distracted.
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I bought her with a known blown head gasket, and replaced it, with all manner of other parts, "since I'm in here . . ." It isn't as cheap as I first envisioned. And as of today, it still doesn't run.
Then, last week, lightning struck and I committed to being very distracted for the forseeable future.
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It doesn't run either.
Then, my wife said I don't want to finish the 818. Which of course was taken as a challenge (like she intended). So. I have 3 cars to juggle now. The 818 isn't abandoned. I swear.
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If you decided 3 is too much you can drop the AM off here.
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Your generous offer is noted!
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Even if it never runs, you can just wax it and look at it all day . . . its sooooo pretty.
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Yes, I love Technology
Maybe I should send you my latest t-shirt, grandkids gave me... it says "just one more car, I promise"
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The WRX has been working great for a year now. The Aston Martin damage has all been repaired (I omitted those pics. It ran over a parking stop and a lot of stuff was mangled underneath. It now has a computer problem and I put it on a flat bed to the nearest dealer, 200 miles away. It sits there still, undiagnosed, and having never moved under it's own power in my ownership.)
I planned to be done 18 months ago. I'm defiantly not done. In fact, yesterday is the first time I've worked on it in a year. I did the hinges for the hatch. It isn't much, but it's progress. All progress is good progress.
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Last edited by Ipassgas; 08-12-2021 at 08:24 PM.
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Man, fitting up the body already..... You just might win this yet!