Not quite a WRX, but I guess it still counts. I've been working on it since September 2014. When finished it will weigh 1,800 to 2,000lbs. Stock turbo with a good intake, exhaust, fuel system and an AccessPort with a Stage2 tune on it now. After it's finished and licensed I'll add some more performance upgrades, shooting for around 400whp, maybe more. The kit comes complete enough so that if you buy a wrecked WRX, between the WRX and the kit you'll have everything you need to finish it but a lot of stuff is sub-par. Examples include pre-made sections of straight brake line with SAE fittings on the end that you then have to use a bunch of adapters on, the shifter and shift mechanism sucks, the exhaust is a joke, and quite a number of other things. But the best part about the kit is that it's a perfect base for whatever you want to do. Very few people are building these 100% to the manual and the platform lends itself very well do all kinds of different mods. One guys is putting a 13B rotary in one, another guy a Turbo VW VR6, a couple guys have already completed all-electric powered builds, a school in PA build one with a TDI that got 99mpg if I recall correctly, a guy in Alabama put a Subie H6 turbo in one. The list goes on and on. Here is what the donor car started as: A rollover 2007 WRX from Texas with 61k miles. It actually ran and drove fine. Stripped it clean Turned it into a war chariot Put this pile on the curb for the scrap metal guys (was gone by sunrise) Kit showed up Started getting to work Put a Quaife in Suspension and engine in place Added an oil cooler Fuel system Modified the brackets on a Crawford AOS to make it fit Added ABS and an air-water intercooler Started work on the wiring harness ECU and Race Logic Traction Control Fabricated a coolant degas tank so it could sit higher than the AOS and be larger than the OEM unit and have all the ports I needed
Fabricated a shifter based on a Toyota MR2 And fabricated the shifter linkage Fabricated a stainless steel collector and exhaust 6-point harness mounts Here she is at Caffeine and Octane last weekend where I met a number of you folks It runs and drives great. Now I just need to loom the wiring harness, do a little work on my bypass valve, and then I can fit the body. Hoping to have it licensed and on the road late spring of this year.
Thanks Matto. Yes B-reel, I removed the funky angled base and the factory oil to water heat exchanger, then added a mocal sandwich plate with thermostat and then used AN fittings and hose. Setrab oil cooler and SPAL fan on an oil temp thermoswitch. I'll make a little duct under the oil cooler to scoop air from under the car at some point but it likely won't be an issue until I start doing track days. Removed: Added the Mocal sandwich plate: I did have to use a spacer for it - same as they use on the BRZ, and a different length tube nut:
Over the weekend I punched the last remaining items off the checklist before starting on the body mounting. Only one issue: I'm having problems with noisy wheel speed sensor signals into the traction control system. I will need to figure that out and resolve it before starting on the body. I swapped out the TiAL blowoff valve with a TiAL QR bypass valve. Due to the AOS hoses, I wasn't able to connect the BPV to the normal fitting for it on the APS turbo inlet pipe so I had to add my own new fitting toward the front of the pipe. I used a 1" stainless steel pipe, cut at an angle, and then welded it to the front of the inlet pipe as shown in pic below. Then connected a 1" silicone elbow followed by 1" silicone heater hose to the BPV. Hoping to start mounting the body this weekend.
Been a while since I posted an update here. All the mechanical stuff is complete and the car was dyno tuned at Top Speed by Taylor. He did a fantastic job and got me 268hp and 321 ft/lbs on the stock turbo and stock exhaust manifold. In a 2,000lb car, this should be very fast. I will upgrade turbo later... right now leaning Dom 1.5 or EFR 7163. I have been working on the body and a little of the interior. The body is 95% mounted. I added customized hinges for the hood and engine cover and used Quik-latches instead of the lame FFR provided $5 auto-parts store chrome hood pins. If anyone is interested in a write-up of all the issues with the FFR kit as it is provided, I'd be happy to write something up. To get this car where I wanted it, I ended up throwing away much of what was provided in the kit and making my own parts. I have just a few things left to do on the body - mostly finish cutting out all the vents, adding the custom vent louvers, and adding an engine cover strut so it can remain open at shows. I need to fabricate windshield wipers so I can pass inspection, and also fab up a new exhaust with a catalytic converter so I can pass emission testing. After that I will focus on the interior and finally put the wiring harness in some loom. Once the wipers and exhaust are done, I can send my registration forms in and around two months later, I will have a license plate and can drive on the street so probably looking at late August or early September I guess. Seems so far away but time is flying this year. I can't wait to attend some local Subaru gatherings once I am street legal.... that is, if you'll accept this half-subaru frankenstein! Traction control working: Video of dyno tune: https://www.instagram.com/p/BERgGxyo...-by=flatpoint_
Holy hell does that look amazing! The wiring harnesses on Subarus would piss me the fuck off if I was dealing with that lol.