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99RS junkyard beater to 22B rep

358K views 1K replies 153 participants last post by  flyboynextdoor 
#1 · (Edited)
Welcome to my Journal
Purchased in June 2011 for a $400 parking fee, car was free :banana:


Just repainted 22B Sonic Blue (74F), Manley forged pistons, 4.44 trans, and 3” SS exhaust, among a few changes made in 2018 along with a third Dyno run.

2011 the day I brought it home in Northern Alberta, the first and only GC I had ever seen at that point in life
Completely stock Canadian spec 1999 2.5 RS
Canadian Rust
Cracked up windshield
4.10 RS 5spd
Ungo alarm - now working again!
JBL 6.5" coaxial speakers
189,000 kms (115,000 miles)
Beat to hell by its previous owner
Bad head gasket
Bad shocks
Cracked tires
No tunes





Recent Photo





Section 1, Complete repaint begins this page
Followed by a DIY head gasket swap
DIY coilover Springs/shocks install



Section 2, DIY Aerosim 22B/WRC wdebody Install begins page 8
New interior carpet
22B Nardi wheel swap
WRC wing
18” wheels
My Boosted $400 99RSTI - Page 8 - Subaru Impreza GC8 & RS Forum & Community: RS25.com





Section 3, DIY EJ253 Rebuild. page 24
Delta Cams 1500
MLS head gaskets
Nex Exedy KSB04 clutch
Felt nice and peppy
https://www.rs25.com/forums/f145/163463-my-boosted-400-99rsti-24.html



Section 4, Boosting the EJ253 with a TD04
“Knock knock.”
“Who’s there?”
“Detonation.”
?
Subachad up/down pipes
Vortech RRFPR
05-07 WRX IC
Boost worthy Gauges
182WHP 195WTQ @ 7psi (dyno p54)
https://www.rs25.com/forums/f145/163463-my-boosted-400-99rsti-39.html



Section 5, Boost done right, 2nd rebuild, STI bottom end, VF39, Emtron Standalone EMS Starts around page 62
254 WHP @ 11psi



Section 6, Sonic Blue Paint, 22B bumper, Forged Pistons, JDM trans, 3"exhaust, and other upgrades
283 WHP @ 11psi dyno runs P109
Upgrades start Page 87
https://www.rs25.com/forums/f145/163463-99rs-junkyard-beater-22b-rep-87.html P87


Current Mods

Exterior
Aerosim 22B/WRC Widebody
22B Sonic Blue Paint
22B WRC CF Adjustable wing
New Front lights w LED bulbs
Hella 1000 FF Fogs
JDM tails
Rallytech mudflaps
30" LED bumper light bar


Interior
06 STI Seats
22B Nardi Wheel wrapped
New STI floor mats and pedals
Zealous Interiors leather Shift boot
Zealous Interiors armrest cover
Zealous Interiors OEM dark grey mass back carpet
Zealous Interiors Blue Alcantara Door panel inserts
3 Gauge pillar running Wideband O2, Oil Press, Vac/Boost
7" Xtrons DVD head unit
MTX 4244 Amp
12" Kicker in custom spare tire well enclosure
Kicker CAP
4 JBL 6.5" mids
Red LED gauge lights

Engine and Drivetrain
EJ253 Block
EJ253 16V SOHC Heads
99.5mm Manley Forged Pistons 8.7CR
EJ257 Connecting rods
EJ257 Crankshaft
IHI VF39 Turbo
Delta 1500 Cams
Ported and Polished heads
Walbro 255 fuel pump
Injector Dynamics 725cc/min
AEM dryflo shorty intake
04 WRX TMIC
GFB Stealth BOV
UEL tubular SS header
3" SS exhaust
Stage 2 clutch
98 STI 5 speed 4.44 trans
R160 Rear LSD
TB heater bypass
Emtrons SL4 Standalone ECU
Automatic Boost control solenoid
8mm Phenolic Intake manifold spacer
04 WRX intake manifold
Flipped RS TB


Wheels/Suspension
Drag DR-34 18x8" wheels 35 offset
Maxxis Victra Z4S 245/40ZR18 Tires
1" rear spacers to fill in the widebody
98 STI front cross member
98 STI aluminum control arms
Ground control Coilover sleeves
Eibach 325 front 250 rear springs
New KYB GR2 struts
DIY Stiffened Engine and Trans mounts
CF STI front tower brace
22mm rear sway bar
98 STI 4/2 piston brake calipers
New WRX rotors
Braided brake lines


Future plans
Car shows and meets. Track Tires and lightweight rims....?


Long term plan
Basically my long term goal is to turn the car into a LHD 22B/WRC replica and enjoy driving it, travel to the car shows in it and meet other people who appreciate rare and well cared for autos. It may see a drag strip one day or possibly a track day, but just for fun.

Acquiring the car
This little RS used to belong to a guy I work with. It developed a bad head gasket and he couldnt make his monthly commute to and from Edmonton 800km so he “sold” it to his Dad, who traded it in on a new Ford truck. The dealership just left it at the tire shop where it was parked, worthless to them. A year later it was still there, my buddy the last registered owner wanted nothing to do with it and feeling guilty about abandoning it. The owner of the tire shop told me it wouldn't pass an inspection and he had called a junk yard to come pick it up but they hadn't showed yet. I looked it over and made him an offer to to buy the keys, We settled on $400 cash after I offered $500. lol He wanted it off his property. I got it though an inspection, insured, and registered it. I've since done everything myself with the exception of the ECU install.



I always wanted a Subaru for a little get around DD to save the mileage and gas on my Truck. We never saw these little cars in Northern Alberta till after 2002 when the USDM WRX came out. Till then I'd never seen one. I like the two door RSs alot. I paid the Tire shop $400 for parking it there for a year and drove it home. It fired right up, there were friggin' cats living under the hood when I opened it up to look at the engine!




It had been abused, hit by a bus on the drivers door, driven off the road across a ditch, bumped, and not washed enough. I didn’t want to drive such a POS so I decided to put some work into the car. It became a long term project.

It needed a lot of TLC but I saw a great little car under all the rust and dents.



First Repaint
First thing was to bring it in the garage and strip the car. there was alot of cancer all over in the usual areas, the wheel wells, the sunroof, under the side molding. The drivers door closed fine and the window even worked after it was hit by a bus with the door open. But the door had to go.

After finding one at a junk yard and having it shipped up the price of the car went up 200% that hurt. But I could still see that great little Impreza sitting there. Ripped off the old door and replaced the window and motor assembley.



I had to get the car a new windshield to pass inspection and the tires almost failed as well but the mechanic took pity on me I think lol.

The rear struts are shot and the front L bumper was Fubared too so I bought a new RS bumper cover direct from Subaru. My plan is too paint the car a metallic white and see how it turns out, get some feedback from other Impreza guys and then some new brakes, shocks, and tires. Rims for next spring. I'm almost done the painting process, just the bumper covers and fog light covers to go but need to take the pics off my Iphone and upload them. More posts and pics to go! This is a fun little car, what a wicked project but **** this is alot of work, good thing I have a wicked joba nd alot of free time with the woman and kids gone for a month during the summer.
 

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#56 ·
coilovers are way better for handling yeah. But for three times the cost? This isnt going to be a track car and I dont drive like that anymore anyway, my street driving has reaslly matured. I think if anything I'm just going to go with the stock KYB GR2 struts. I like the ride height as it is.
 
#61 ·
Its an Elcheapo, Xtrons TD601G. I payed $190 shipped from ebay. I have a $1200 retail Pioneer AVIC N3 in my truck but honestly I like the Xtrons better. The Pioneer wont play discs that are only a little scratched, every time I have to unhook the battery I have to re-install the GPS program and all the settings. All the extra functions like GPS, bluetooth, ipod, and DVD needed extra "boxes" during the install. And the picture just isnt as good.

Maybe because the Xtrons is way newer but so far I like it. I cant justify paying another $800 and up for a "Brand name" deck that only I know I paid way too much for. Besides the only woman I know that could tell the difference from an Alpine and a Audiovox is my sister. And shes a true gearhead.
 
#69 ·
I'm done the Head gasket and Timing belt repairs. Pulled the car in the shop two weeks ago and got it done in my free time. All the DIY write ups on ths forum helped so much. Got the car in the garage tonight after a shakedown cruise and it runs great still. |No pressure in the coolant system or overheating issues now! I painted the rims Gold right before the engine work. Im happy to say this has turned out a great car
 
#72 ·
Some pics of the Timing Belt and Head gasket change.

I pulled the engine according to the DIY engine removal thread http://www.rs25.com/forums/f105/t63237-diy-engine-removal.html which worked out great, while I think I could have done the repairs while the engine was in the bay it still would have been alot of work and harder to work in that small space.

Drove it in the shop on blocks and under the roof hoist, Got some buds to help me remove the hood, from there its basically a one guy job.

Following the instructions on the engine removal threead with my laptop beside me step by step proved very easy, I took pictures along the way incase I hit a point where I couldnt figure out how to re-install the engine later, but that didnt happen ;)

I left the header attached mainly because I couldnt remove the bolts at the Cat but it didnt prove a big obstacle, mostly at the engine mounts but after the manifold side bolts were taken out it moves freely enough.

Shot of the motor with the intake assembley taken off. Make sure you remember how many wires you dissconnected and where. Makes it way easier to re-install later, also cover up those internal holes to prevent a loose screw or something falling into the heads or block.

I did one head gasket at a time instead of removing both at the same time, it only took a few hours to do the actual "work" that had to be done. The write ups on the head gasket replacement and the Timing belt replacement in the DIY forums were done really well and helped me tons. This saved me 14 quoted hours of labor at the nearest Subaru dealer and $2200 in costs, The gasket and timing kit were sent from 420Motorsportrs and everything fit perfectly.

Engine goes back in the bay, after having some trouble I figured out the clutch cover was jammed between the engine and tranny. after that it went slick.


Fired it up and what do ya know? it runs! Its below -20 C up here now even in the day and there have been no issues with the motor (once its running) Getting it started while its this cold has been harder but thats normal for most older vehicles up here. The Rad doesnt pressure up now and the engine runs great. Props to all the guys who helped me on here.
Bdog.
 
#75 ·
nice nice job! wish i had someone to help me with mine... pretty sure i have a few gaskets out right now leak oil and use a small amout of coolant have 267,xxx on a original engine had the timing belt last changed at 87,000 i just checked it and it looks horrible but i have never done timing or head gaskets on a boxer yet my car needs body work and inteior also she is worn out needs to be brought back to life : )
 
#76 ·
Just thought Id post an update on my car. 6 months after the paint job done and it still loks great. Rust has started coming up and out inside the rear wheel wells at the very edges. Its made me think of getting a 22B body kit and going the full deal on this car. I think I'll wait till spring and warm weather to see how the rest of the paint job made the winter. The roads up here are covered in so much salt all winter.

The engine is running great all winter after the head gasket changes and the new belt. I just did a 2500 mile road trip and no issues! But the engine burns more oil than BP!!! WTF!? almost half a gallon of oil went in the filler on my road trip and I dont know where it went. It doesnt leave a trail of blue smoke going down the road, it doesnt smell and it doesnt leak. I'm confused where its all going.
 
#78 · (Edited)
- better check the oil for fuel smell. Just open the oil cap or dip stick and give it a sniff. Fuel could be leaking into the oil pan.

Also check the timing belt covers, it could be a bad seal and leaking into a closed area.

....mind blowing restoration btw!
-Dash
Thanks man, appreciate the advise. I'll give the oil a sniff and pull it into the hangar to check the timing cover once there is some room in there! were repainting my work ride in there. :banana:


 
#80 ·
Here We go!!
Got the Aerosim 22B WRC widebody kit. Steve from aerosim is an awesome guy to deal with. Shipping was a PITA but here it is. Everything minus the front bumper. I'm gonna see how Iike it with the RS bumper first since I spent alot on this bumper already.


The kit is definately a high quality kit. my first impression was how solid the panels felt. Not heavy or bulky just beefy and stiff.
 
#81 · (Edited)
I painted my car in the same hangar last year. I was happy the way it turned out but its only my second attempt at a DIY paint job and there were problems. I basically wanted to get the car on the road in a way that it didnt look like a complete POS. The rear quarters were starting to rust to a point where there was as much RUST around the fender wells as steel. I counldnt get it all out and as one poster on my thread pointed out it would come back under the paint. And he was right.

The driver side was worse than the passenger side. the rsut coming back from under the paint. There were bubbles forming under as well but they are hard to see in these pics.



Either way this is what I wanted to do last summer but didnt have the time for. It was a big project but I think the widebody kit will be much bigger
 
#82 ·


there was a gap in the bumper/fender line that I couldnt repair. Frame damage thanks to the previous owner.

You can see some of the lines dont match up perfectly up front either damage from the same airborne adventure. I dont know if I'll be able to reapir this damage since its way beyond my experience and tools. but i think it gives the car a bit of character. Battle scars.
 
#87 ·
This is what I wanted to do last year but with a brand new son it was hard to find the time, and the funds. This year I'm taking my time and not worrying about getting it on the road asap.



Got the other side cut out and sanded down to bare metal. the arches are gonna be massive. I had a difficult time deciding how to replace the stiffness that was lost by cutting out the wheel wells.





I though about fitting a single peice of new steel to fill the gap but after thinking about how impossible it would be to find a perfect fit I decided to cut the steel into 1" wide strips and fill the gaps piece by piece. it took a long time but the new wheel wells started to take shape.


For eace piece I drilled a hole in the inner fender and used a cleco to hold it in place then fit and bent the next one, it was a pretty long process but it was pretty simple to do. You just have to make sure the fingers fit good. Thankfully My hanger has a huge sheet metal bender and a shelf full of celcos
 
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