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careercadaver’s L wagon...she might just pull through

23K views 140 replies 17 participants last post by  careercadaver 
#1 · (Edited)
Here’s her most recent!








She’s coming along. Lots to finish and bolt on. Then the actual fun begins. Can’t wait to get into the mechanicals on this one...aesthetics will do while I make some decisions.

Up To Date(ish) Mod list:

Exterior:

V5/6 Front Bumper Cover
V5/6 Hood
Crystal Headlights
V6 STi Grille
JDM Smooth Rear Bumper Cover
JDM LW Rear Bumper Beam
JDM Rear Spats
JDM GF8 Tail Lights
JDM GF8 Roof Rails
V7 STi Wheels w/ Dunlop’s
Grimmspeed Antenna Delete
Amazon Front Lip

Interior:

JDM GF8 F&R Seats
JDM GF8 F&R Door Cards
WRX Black Carpet
Pioneer 8200NEX (coming soon)
Focal Utopia FA165w Components
Focal 400/4 Amp

Suspension & Brakes:

GC8 Showa Adjustable Height Suspension
GC8 STi Pink Springs
06 STi Front Subframe
06 STi Steering Rack
06 STi Rear Subframe

L&E GC/GD Steering Knuckle
GD STi Aluminum Front LCA’s
STi Aluminum Rear Trailing Arms
STi F&R Endlinks
GC8 Rear Hubs
Perrin Rear Sway Bar Stout Mounts

Gold STi Brembo Calipers F&R
Rear Caliper Adapters
DBA Rotors F&R
StopTech SS Brake Lines
RA STi Proportioning Valve

Fueling:
03 WRX Gas Tank
AEM340lph


Engine:

JDM ej205 w/ AVCS
Custom Vf48 w/ 11 Fin Billet Wheel
KOYO VH090302
v4 STi Slimline Fans


Driveline:

JDM 4.44 5MT
South Bend HD
GD STi F&R Subframes
TS Rear Subframe Lockdown Kit
GroupN Trans Mount
STi Rear Shifter Bushing
Torque Solutions Front Shifter Bushing
Torque Solutions Pivot Bushing


Not yet installed:

SVX Brake Master Cylinder
GS Master Cylinder Brace
RS Sideskirts
Mid & Upper Wing
Nardi Steering Wheel
Prodrive Shift Knob
20mm F&R Sway Bars
Full RS Dash & Console
Rain Guards
JDM Aero Guards

I’ll update pics as soon as she’s ready to roll out.


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Day 1:

Picked up a 93L. One owner out of FL. It’s a 1.8L autotragic but we’ll get to that later.

Lots of research still going on regarding which direction to take the engine. I’d like an H6 but this may end up boosted depending on how the next year pans out. Planning for a fun reliable DD.

Here’s how she looked the day I bought her.












Here’s the underwhelming bay shot [emoji6]




...and the interior, which will be replaced as i can find bits. I hate the Old Man Tan.



Just under 98k on her.



From here she actually cleaned up pretty well. Paint was chipping near the rear hatch and there were a few bumps and bruises.

Picked up a donor RS to convert the car to a newer look.



Had the interior out of the L instantly. I assumed I could swap the newer dash with the RS but being a phase one engine I don’t have the option of powering the car off the RS ECU. So that will get swapped along with the engine.





Grabbed these to go back in. The Old Man Tan seats had nothing in the area of bolster support. I have a lot of the RS black indoor but this interior is going to drive me batty until it’s uniform.



Trimmed the L front bumper beam to accommodate the V4 bumper but I’ll be watching for the correct support to show up locally.



Picked up a BNIB Bumper Cover from the stealership. This one got me to the paint.

JDM tails and rear bumper...



From there she went straight to paint...and that was July.
 
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#66 ·
Thanks man! Been a bit of a windy road this far but definitely making progress!

Pulled the dash out of my 2000 L Wagon parts car and got the harness out. Ended up getting a deal on a bulk harness from an ej205 today as well...must have been meant to be!



I think I’m painting the reinforcement bar...I know no one will ever see it but I’ll sleep better knowing it’s not covered in rust behind the dash. Lol



Checking out a set of GD STi front LCA’s tomorrow too! Slowly but surely...
 
#67 ·
Put her away for winter...hoped to have moar momentum on this project but we’ll have a new year soon enough.



Lots of little things to keep me busy over the winter. Need to decide if I’m going JDM ej205 or ej207. I’ve decided against DCCD, trying to keep her as purely mechanical as I can. No ABS, etc. Decision decisions.
 
#72 · (Edited)
I’m drawing back some plans to get moving on this project. Started out I had decided to swap the front crossmember and steering rack for a GD set-up. Instead I’ve gotten carried away...pics to come. Turning this into a bit more of a progressive build vs slapping all the parts on her at once.

Should have parts arriving most of the week. I’ll update once I have most of it here. :)

For now, all I got is this...haha







Made a before and after shot to encourage me to spend moar money.

 
#73 · (Edited)
So far this is what I’ve picked up for the swap!

L&E GC to GD Steering knuckle
07 STi Front Subframe
06 STi Steering Rack (15:1)
GD STi Front LCA’s
GD STi Alum Lateral Links
02/03 WRX 5MT
02/03 WRX Rear Diff
02/03 WRX F&R Sways
GD WRX Trans Mount
GD WRX Knuckles
GD WRX Axles
GD WRX Driveshaft

JDM Black Trunk Panels
Matching GF8 Door Cards

The Showa Suspension is going on at the same time. Still need to pull the rear suspension off the donor but I have enough to start tearing into her!

I’ll post some pics. Power washed the STi crossmember and fitted the steering rack. Had to reinstall TREs too as they had been removed for shipping.

Here’s what I have ready!



 
#75 ·
Thank you! Had high hopes of starting off with a 6MT but I'm ready to be back in a turbo car and this is my route! At this point, I'll likely throw a JDM ej205 in it within a year and maybe work toward a twin scroll down the road. I have a billet wheel vf48 collecting dust that would flow very nicely on a 2.0. We'll see...

Either way, I have quite a bit to get wrenching on.
 
#78 ·
Beautiful pics, one could always use more wang.

That’s understandable! I have an OBS upper and JDM midpoiler. Hoping to find someone locally that I can take a few measurements off of before drilling holes.



I bought the EDM Black trunk plastics and v4 Door Cards to match my interior. Ripped all the tan out of the hatch, including headliner, to install the JDM roof rack I had powder coated. While the headliner is out I think I’ll wrap it in suede. I’ll have to leave the dash and door cards till I swap. Needed something to tear into while I piece the rest of the suspension.



Grabbed a Nardi steering wheel too.



Front STi Aluminum LCA’s and lateral links. Just need a rear sway and endlinks all around and I should be set to start tearing into her. Hoping the rear subframe isn’t garbage on my donor. It’s hard to put rusty parts on this car. Lol
 
#79 ·
Picked up a black Prodrive Shift Knob and some rain guards on the cheap. Need to get motivated for this headliner and 5MT swap. I still need F&R Sway bars. Debating on running aftermarket if I cant find a clean GD STi Set-up locally. I've also considered replacing some of the shifter and subframe bushings while everything is apart. I'm between that or buying some rear 2 pots and corresponding hubs.

Hopefully I'll get some momentum on this soon. Posting for accountability. Haha
 
#82 · (Edited)
Decided to stop looking at a pile of parts this week. Here’s my progress thus far!



Trading one pile for another...





Dropped the pump and subframe together. Seemed to save a little in the mess.



This Phase 1 ATX is likely worth absolutely nothing. I’ll be posting the axles and what not soon enough.



So bare...



Front subframe and trans installed!



Got the rear diff in too...wish some of these parts were a little cleaner. Such is life in the rust belt.
 
#83 ·
Still playing with these lateral link bolts on the rear hubs...what a joke. Looking like I’ll be drilling them out.

Decided to trade in the v4 (4/1 pot) set-up for Brembos. Deciding if they’re getting painted or not...



Picked up an STi rear sway bar too. Hopefully this will start coming together a little easier from here. :)
 
#85 · (Edited)
I’ve got one on its way out. The other I’ve just started cutting. The rear backing plates are toast, the ebrake pads are too. Debating on rebuilding these with new bearings, one might be shot anyways. Hate to fix what’s not broken but I really don’t want to be back in this corner of the car any time soon.

In other news the 1.8L I had planned to slap back in is leaking from the head gasket. Now I’m forced to slap it back in and go till the gasket finally gives, or spend money on an engine worth about $100 on a good day. Yea!

 
#86 · (Edited)
Still on the fence as the whether I will be doing the headgasket on the old engine. Leaning toward throwing it back together as is. The gaskets cost $35/side. Even though I don’t want her to smoke I’ll likely just drop the old engine back in till swap time.

Bought some lower mile hubs. I’ll play with getting the others apart over winter.





Certainly a lot better than this...



Lots more cutting to go and the axle is stuck in the hub. But that’s for another day. I have the hubs on the car and everything connected but the brake lines as I had to grab them off the old hubs. Pics to come of Brembos, Show Struts and STi Aluminum bits.

Also picked up and SVX Master Cylinder and I’m trying to source a JDM non-ABS proportioning valve from a v1-3 STi to dual in the brake bias. Possibly a MCB if I can verify the ones for the early Imprezas will fit with the SVX MC.
 
#88 ·
It’s on the 1.8L that came in the car. I imagine that block is worth about $100-150 on a good day.

Planning engine and harness merge next and the car is not likely to be driven more than a handful of times in between. Timing was done on the engine before I got it but the only purpose of this engine would probably be to move it in and out of the garage and to a show or two within 40min. Just feels like throwing away money and time to do gaskets on an engine that is seeping and will probably only see another 200 miles in my possession.

It’s going to bother me that it smokes but I’m hoping to use that to motivate me to keep moving on the swap.
 
#91 ·
Thanks man! It’s just amping up! Stoked to see what the end product looks like. Probably a garage queen. Speaking of coupes, I picked one up recently. It’s not likely to stick around as It doesn’t work well with the kiddos.



Here’s a link to that build thread...kinda short and sweet but I’m still fixing little things.

 
#93 ·
Decided since the 1.8L is not going back in I might as well part out what I can. Pulled the bulk harness and ECM. I’m hopeful I can sell enough to do a harness merge.



Pulled the body harness out of the donor wagon so I’m going to start on the full obd2 conversion. Looks like I’ll for sure be replacing the front door harnesses, possibly more. I’ll take the time while I have it.

I also threw the Brembos on.

 
#95 ·
Door harnesses are done front and rear. I may have to run something for the rear wiper motor as mine has it’s own reservoir in the trunk. I also ran wires for components. Thinking Under the drivers seat will be the cleanest spot for an install.



Made speaker baffles for the components and got them fitted with with door cards on. Need to mount the tweeters next as they didn’t plan for any of the in 1993. I’ll update with some pics once I have more light.
 
#96 ·
Here’s everything mocked up. Wires are plumbed. Will need a fair amount of dynamat once I can roll the window up. Lol



Had to do my own mounting holes for the tweeters as there was no thought of those until 99 or so. My 98 has the spot for them in the door card but no brackets.

Ordered a Grimmspeed Antenna Delete palate and Master Cylinder Brave. Hoping to get started on bleeding the Brembos and getting the SVX Master Cylinder installed.

I’ve decided to swap the rank too. Still sourcing one and a clean rear subframe. Sucks to put it all together the. Rear it apart again but it’ll be worth it to avoid fuel cut issues with this old school 12 gallon tank.

Now to decide on fuel pumps...I‘m tempted to go flex fuel on this one...
 
#98 ·
Got the main fuse panel in today! Hoping to throw the fender on later.



And she looks pretty much the same as when I started.



Going around the bay with compound. I have this really old weatherproofing that’s stained the finish. Might power wash it once she’s mobile to see if I can’t get a bit more off.

She’s pretty dirty...I doubt she’s ever been washed down.



(Looking into a slave cylinder set-up)







Hopefully cleaner pics from here...I did get around to installing my GS Antenna delete plate in a moment of frustration.



Picked up a MCB from them too. Hopefully I can get back to bleeding everything soon.
 
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