He everyone, I thought I'd start a thread on my build in case anyone wants to check it out. I guess I'll start with a little bit of background on this build. I originally had a 2011 wrx hatch and was running stage 2+e85 on the stock turbo. I decided it was time for a turbo upgrade and had already purchased all the parts for a complete motor build with a gtx3076r, when this happened... Two broken ribs and a lacerated spleen later... I was left with a totaled car, a ton of parts and an insurance check for around $26k. So, I bought this... Soon after I got the 2012 sti sedan, the motor was pulled and the gtx3076r build was underway. It ended up making 438hp on DB's dyno on e98. I drove it for a couple months and took it up to BIR to see what it would do in the 1/4. I made around 6-7 passes and was running in the mid 11's in the low 120's. I was loving the new power, but decided to take it further. I picked up a PTE 6466, and started planning my next build for the following winter. Once I started making plans to take it further, I decided to dedicate it as a drag car and contacted Fobia about a roll cage. Soon after that, I found out Richwrx was selling his 2004 sti build with a bw s374 turbo and built 4eat transmission. I decided to scrap the 6466 idea, and bought Rich's car. I sold the motor and transmission out of my 2012, and started pulling parts off the 04 to swap over to the 12. I have already pulled most of the parts off the 04 that I will either be using or selling. This thread will just be pictures and updates on rebuilding the 2012, with fabrication from Fobia, and help from Matt, Derek and Ron at RS Motors.
Good to see you made a thread! I'm lucky enough to be able to say I was the last person to drive your car with the old setup
Thanks man! Yeah I was kind of jealous about that lol. If I would've known it was the last time I was going to drive it when I dropped it off at Fobia's to get caged, I would've drove it around the block a few extra times!
That front mount looks familiar... Glad to see you made a thread. Looking forward to watching the progress!
Thanks man! I almost gave you a call last weekend, I could've definitely used a hand dropping the fuel tank...
Ok, here's a few more pictures of some of the things I've done so far. After I pulled the motor out of the 04, I ended up finding out that it needed new cylinder sleeves, so the block is currently at L.A. Sleeve having that done. I spoke with them today and it sounds like they'll be shipping that back to RS Motors some time next week. Here's what the engine will consist of so far- EJ22t closed deck block L.A. pro cool sleeves 100mm CP pistons Pauter x beam rods Manley turbo tuff billet crank CNC ported version 8 heads Supertech inconal exaust valves +1 mm Supertech intake valves +1 Custom made Kelford cams Once I had the BW s374 turbo out, I shipped it down to Forced Inductions for a billet 76mm etr-ho upgrade. They replaced the 74mm compressor wheel with a billet 76mm, and put a race cover on it. The first picture shows the 76 etr-ho next to the original BW s374 compressor cover, and the other 2 pictures show it next to my gtx3076r. And for managing the desired boost level of those turbos... an AMS 2000 pro boost controller. Since I won't be needing that 3rd pedal anymore with the auto transmission, I found an auto brake pedal assembly on ebay. I think it came off an 09 Forester or something like that. This would've been a much easier install before the roll cage... lol Removing the stock fuel system. And here are a few more pictures of the transmission and other drivetrain parts I'll be reinstalling soon. That's all I got for right now. Thanks for checking out my thread, I'll try to update this occasionally with any new progress!
Awesome build! Random question, but does Rich's 04 still have the lock cylinder in the wrx trunk? I own Rich's wife's old car and was supposed to be swapping the wrx trunk back for the sti one and would REALLY like to at least get the lock cylinder back
Thanks Rich, I hope so too! Shhhhhh.... I still have to get the roll cage certified! Yeah, I was going to try to meet up with you on my way back from Rich's house. PM me, we'll figure something out before I sell the chassis.
I have one other guy who was interested in the shell when I first bought the car, but I'll definitely keep you in mind. Yeah he's been a huge part of this project so far. I don't really do anything anymore without talking to him, Shaffer or Derek first. I'm just trying to learn as much as I can so I can keep up! Lol
It's been pretty slow going lately. There's a couple things I'm waiting on with the motor, and I'm trying to find 3.54 front gear set for the transmission so I can start putting stuff back together. Ive been working on a few things lately though, I'll try to post an update this weekend maybe.
I'm not giving up now, that search is getting personal! I already bought one 3.54 front gear set from a guy on Ebay, and the ring and pinion weren't even a matching set. One says 14, and the other says 47... If I change my mind, you'll be the first to know though.
Great build! Happy to see Rich's car will (sort of) live on If you want to sell the 04 bbs wheels, lmk. I was trying to get these from Rich before he sold the car
Thank man! You'll have to contact Rich about the BBS wheels though, I have them at my house but they still belong to him. I have a set of my own I'm selling, but they're 5x114 and come with a set of slicks
Here's a little update of a few things I've been working on, I'll start with the motor. I got the block back from LA, with the new sleeves and coated CP pistons I bought through them. After getting the block back, it went in for some o-ring grooves, which just got finished up a few days ago. Now it's just waiting to get CNC'd for pinned mains, and get tapped for larger 1/2" head studs. I still have to order the new crank and oil pump, and then it should be ready to go back together.
I'm switching from a drive by wire to drive by cable throttle body setup, so I swapped the gas pedal from 04 to the 12. The mounting hole locations were different, so I had to drill some new holes into the mounting plate, and drill a hole through the firewall for the cable to go through.
Some of the weight reduction stuff I've been working on. I really liked the quality and fitment of the Seibon carbon fiber hood I already had on the car, so I bought one of their trunk lids to go with it. I still have to shim it a bit to get everything lined up perfectly, but fitment was great. I don't really like the look of the silver trim with it, I'll probably plasti dip that, or have my buddy Vinnie wrap it in vinyl for me.
I wanted to get rid of the sunroof weight so I found a company called Ultra Carbon Fiber that makes custom sunroof delete plugs at www.lighterfaster.com. I had to remove the sunroof and trace a template of the hole and take measurements to send them before they could start making it. It'll probably be a month or two before I actually get it, but I'll post install pics when I do. Unfortunately with the roll cage in the way, a little bit of destruction was required to get it out but I was able to salvage the motor, if anyone needs a sunroof motor. The weight of all the sunroof stuff was around 29 lbs, not as much as I thought it would be, but it was still a good amount of weight up top. I also removed the side curtain airbags while I was at it, and the rest of the airbag system.
I sold the stock Brembo brake system and bought a P&L/Wilwood lightweight brake set. I have the fronts installed, but I'm waiting for them to make a mounting bracket for the rears. The kit includes rotors, calipers, pads and brake lines. Weight loss in the fronts alone was around 42lbs. By the way, the wheel setup in these pics will be for sale this Spring. Mach V 18x9.5 wicked awesome wheels with Direzza ZII 275/35r18 with only around 2-3k miles on them.
Not that I have any idea as to what disposable income even means anymore. But if I had it, this is exactly what I would do with it. Great job so far! Looking forward to watching the progress!
Thanks Josh! Brake Man makes something similar to that brake kit for our cars, but it's more expensive and I think the P&L/Wilwood one might actually be a little lighter
Haha all money is disposable until your 3 year old decides to wake up before you to play evil knieval and test his balancing abilities on the seat of his 4-wheel power wheel in full motion. Then the emergency dental bill laughs in the face of disposable funds . And I've checked out your parts for sale to make a future wish list lol.
Lol that's completely understandable! You need to wrap that power wheel in some bubble wrap and hit me up for some car parts. Either that, or start charging admission for his evil knieval stunts
Looks awesome! Bummed MDOT was to busy watching NFL games then plowing roads. I would have loved to help
Thanks Ben! I was a little surprised about the weight difference in the front brakes. The rears require removing the e-brake, I'm curious what that stuff will weigh too. Lol it's all good man, my garage was colder than any sane human being should be working in anyway...
