**updated 7/1/17** I'll try and stay organized... Feel free to ask about any part of my build, I'm willing to share any info. Brief build description:(TONS of stuff isn't listed, as I don't have everything yet) Exterior ABW 4-door 22b Widebody kit(fiberglass front fenders, rear door skins, rear quarts and side skirst) Oem facelift 2.5 RS usdm front bumper Fog light covers(ebay) JDM 22b hood vents(replica) JDM v6 front Grille(genuine) JDM red/clear tail lights(genuine) JDM STI front lip(replica) JDM rear smooth bumper(genuine) JDM rear spats(genuine) Smooth, lever controlled fuel cover Black housing headlights/markers/bumper turns and corners(ebay, but surprising quality) Interior (last priority, just enough to get the car working then I'll make it comfy) Mixed GD dash swap 04 STI Cluster 04 STI bulkhead / body harness(awating merge with GC body harnesses) 04 STI Steering wheel Drivetrain/Suspension 04 STI 6 Speed usdm transmission 04 STI R180 rear dif 04 STI axles and hubs 04 STI front crossmember 07 WRX front slotted/drilled rotors(cheap ebays for break in period, I'll upgrade) DBA T2 rear slotted rotors Subaru 4 pot/2 pot red calipers with cheap 06 WRX ceramic pads Goodrich G-Stop SS brake lines Flatout Suspension 5000 series coilovers White Line 22mm front sway bar White Line 22mm rear sway bar White Line heavy duty end links White Line heavy duty rear sway bar mounts White Line rear adjustable lateral links New OEM replacement front lower control arms and bushings Rebuilt ACDelco 01 RS steering rack Moog Gusher outer tie rod ends Engine(currently designing but have some of the guts) 04 STI 701 casting EJ257 case halves(fully closed deck, pinned mains, honed and aligned mains done by Outfront) ARP case bolts 11 STI heat treated crankshaft Manley I beam rods EJ251 SOHC ported heads(hand port/polish by Matt Talatinick) Koyo Aluminum V core radiator Starting point: 2001 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS Sedan Came with late model wheels and a genuine v3 jdm STI spoiler, crappy altezza tails, clear corners and side markers, painted side skirts and some focal door speakers. Also came with zero rust, besides minor surface rust around trunk and hood grommets. Was missing a million clips and was obviously torn apart once before. Paint was in rough shape and overall body dings and damage was minimal. One of the previous owners had installed underglow.... and decided the best way to wire them was by cutting holes in each floor pan with a torch and then JBWelding the hole closed with the wire going through
04 STI Shortblock case halves from Jesse Spackman(Facebook Subaru Impreza GC8 Owners Club) First thing I did when I bought the car was join up with the worldwide GC8 club on Facebook. Found a used 701 casting out of an 04 STI that had minor scratches on one of the cylinder walls. I had the seller ship them directly to Outfront Motorsports in CA. I had them do their V3 closed deck service; pinned the mains, and honed and aligned the main. I also bought a set of ARP case bolts from them. As the block sits now... looks just like it did when I got it from Outfront. Currently waiting for the overbore and valve depth so I can order pistons. Going with custom billet JP pistons and Manley H beam rods with oversized bearings from Outfront. Motor will be high compression on low boost on an e85 tune.
EJ251 heads from another member of the GC8 Facebook page, they were originally supposed to be a dumby set to test their limits when porting but they turned out so nice that we are using them. Limited pictures right now. Matt Talatinick hand porting the first port, pretty cool to watch this in person. What we started with. After 2 hours of watching a genius at work.. Current status of head work... Heads are sitting at the shop waiting to be machined and measured. Then we will be contacting Delta to get some cams and then the rest of the goodies. I will be ordering a 2.5i long plenum intake manifold and custom fuel rails and injectors from Outfront Motorsports. Fuel lines will all be hand made by Matt.
Subaru 4 pot/2 pots (Amazon) Cheap front drilled and slotted rotors for 06-07 WRX(Ebay) DBA rear slotted T2 rotors(DBA USA) Flatout Suspension 5000 Street Series coilovers(GB on Facebook) 04 STI Steering Wheel(TAE Used Auto Parts) Black housing lights(ebay) ABW 22B 4-door widebody kit(ABW Motorsports, UK) GD Dash and bits(Josh @MNSubaru ) 04 STI Cluster(TAE Used Auto Parts) $25 in missing screws and nuts(White Bear Subaru) Other Misc parts from few different people JDM Smooth rear bumper and spats(GC8 Page/Peter Bell, UK) 04 STI drivetrain 80k miles(TAE Used Auto Parts)
I'm building everything to handle a lot more power than it will be tuned for. My engine builder usually does 1000 plus horsepower builds and used to work for NASCAR. I'm curious as to how it will end up too!
Once we have the engine pretty much put together or at least all the parts sourced, then I will be contacting either outfront Motorsports or iwire services to put together the engine harness to a stand-alone ECU and I haven't decided what brand to use yet
Motor and drivetrain are out. Decided to upgrade the front and rear sway bars, end links and new bushings all around. Also need to decide on a new steering rack or hopefully just replace the boots and tie rods for the one I have. I'll have another update in 2 weeks when all the new bits are installed. Went with White line 22mm front and rears with all white line bushings. Everything in the middle picture(minus the LCAs and rack) will be for sale after I clean it all up. Hit me up with any interest before I put a sale thread together! **Update 2/6**.... Mighta gone a bit overboard but might as well do it right the first time... New front lower control arms, ball joints and bushings, rear lateral links, SS brake lines and a rebuilt steering rack with new inner and outer tie rods are all on the way.... Guna need to start working more overtime.
I'm going to need to decide soon... Blue Steel Mica? Or.... Phantom Grey Mettalic? I dislike some of the pictures I see with the blue steel looking too baby blueish... And I already own a dark metallic grey car... But I love the look. Thinking bronze(not gold) wheels for either color I go with. What say you?
They are both great colors! I am leaning towards the Steel Blue, man it looks good with gold! Not sure how good it will look with the darker bronze wheels tho
Close. Steel blue Mica is 86f and steel grey metallic is 26d code. I'm probably going to post a request thread to see if anyone local has a blue steel Mica to look at in person. Still need to hit up the Cadillac dealership too.
I won't do black or white as they're too hard to take care of, won't do blue because everyone has a blue Subaru, I've already owned a Sedona Red Pearl and to be honest don't want to pay for a three stage paint job. I've been going back and forth on collar for almost a year now. Josh do you know anyone with a steel blue Mica Subaru in the Twin Cities area that might be willing to let me take a look at it?
I'm not sure of the exact color code that he is rocking, but @DoughtCom has a similar color(if not the same one that you're looking at). His build thread... https://mnsubaru.com/threads/another-swap-project-starbuck-aka-kara.47015/page-4 Pics...
*Pics taken from my old phone that's why they are crappy, new phone with 4k for future photos and videos of the engine* Overall the drivetrain, suspension and brakes all went in very smoothly, proper research before buying stuff for a swapped car really does help The only issue we really ran into, which oddly I never saw in forums or talking with people that did swaps, was the rear end bolts on the R180 weren't long enough to make it through the crossmember. Easy enough fix, took the studs out of my R160 and swapped them in. Missing a few bolts at the time of the picture, the 04 STI front crossmember didnt come with bolts for the brace, really beefy compared to the RS member. Pass side rear door skin sitting on the roof, just getting started on the body work now, lines have been drawn and cutting soon. Trans went in with, well 3 of us, sucker is heavy.(it kept sliding off the jack) Front setup for now... Have a strong feeling I'll be upgrading coils(or going agx and springs) after the first year and actually spending money on a proper setup. Hopefully the 4/2 pots will be able to suffice, if not, all ready for brembos if I need em. May have gone a little overboard on the rear... oh well it's on there now! Finally.... the frustrating part. There she sits... 701 cast ej257 all cleaned up and... empty. I won't go into detail, but the progress on this is out of my control. Decided to go with I beams for the added comfort level. You get what you pay for, try finding a set of these that have broken, I couldn't.
Also found exactly what I wanted for my oil pump setup. Dailey makes a dry sump kit with pan, etc. Just need to contact them for a price, judging by google searches, I may faint. (picture credit to Ryan Jones of Torque)
Finally found what's been in my head for over a year. Going to try and duplicate this in metallic, will have to play with the clear a bit to get the effect I'm going for.
Well, I'm well aware not all builds go smoothly, but this one has been a major pain. No longer going wide body, my body guy came down with some major health problems and I can't afford to pay a shop to do the extensive work. Still no progress on body work. Now the fun part, which I will need some advice on. My engine builder decided to leave the state, without telling anyone, even his family. So I have had no contact with him in over 2 months, and picked up all of my parts from his parent's house yesterday. Really crappy part is he was halfway through building my buddies 700 horsepower Trailblazer and neglected to tell him that someone stole his entire system out of his truck. So yeah, not a fun time for anyone involved in this. So, since my entire build was designed around and extremely knowledgeable engine builder, at a well discounted price is now out of the picture, I am in the market for someone to take over. Who is the best engine builder, as far as most reliable, knowledgeable and easy to work with? I am pretty much starting from Ground Zero, besides the case halves crank rods that I already have. No longer thing going single overhead cam is viable, so I'm thinking more along the lines of a lighter build no more than 400 horsepower, I can always upgrade later. Post some suggestions below for reputable shops or Builders you would suggest, any info is much appreciated!
I actually sent them a message late last night! Originally they were just going to do the tune, now they might be doing the whole thing! If they're up to it. Thank you sir
I second JMA! They are great! I 100% would take it to them if it was my build. Matt built my motor at RS, but he has since left. I'm sure his replacement is capable, but alot of people have been having issues with RS.
I'll be going with JM. Just have to find the time to schedule a sit down with them to go over everything. Ordering wheels and tires this weekend and dare I say might even get to do some body work finally. Also got these bad boys on the way, probably the last thing I'll install after the dirty work is done. On a call list for matching rears but they are extremely rare. Customer service so far is too notch with J-Spec Auto in Virginia.
Super old bump on this project but how is the 22b coming along? I'm curious on how you got the rear door handles to work.
