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Stew's 98RS

144K views 718 replies 81 participants last post by  Combat Chuck 
#1 · (Edited)
The time has finally come for me to organize a members journal! Ive been a member here since I purchased my 98 2.5RS in late December of 2005. My car, not unlike myself, has been through a lot since then and made many changes. And now, upon organizing parts and information for my swap, I though I should get the cars history laid out so I can properly journal its future :D

Current Photos:










Current Mod List 3/13/2023

Engine / Exhaust / Fuel System

Version 9 EJ207
Injector Dynamics 1050X Injectors
IAG Competition series oil pan / baffle / pickup
IAG polyurethane engine mounts
KSTech DBW throttle adapter
2007 2.5i DBW Throttle Body
Roger Clark Motorsports Downpipe
Roger Clark Motorsports Group N turbo-inlet
Roger Clark Motorsports Alloy Cam Gears (Exhaust Side)
IAG V3 competition AOS
HKS Kevlar timing belt
Roger Clark Motorsports timing belt guide
PTP Turbo Blanket
Grimmspeed Turbo Heat Shield
ETS Top Mount Intercooler
Samco intercooler elbow
Tial Q BOV w/Torque Solutions Adapter
Forge BOV
Aluminati Expansion Tank
CSF Oil Cooler (#8119)
RCM Black Series Oil Sandwich Plate
CSF Aluminum Radiator
Spal 12" fan
Samco radiator hoses
iWire radiator shroud
Cobb overflow bottle w/iWire bracket
K&N Filter w/ 3" Vibrant velocity stack & custom inlet adapter
Fuelab low-pressure lift pump
Radium Venturi transfer pump
Radium Surge Tank w/Walbro 255
Radium In-line fuel filter
Continental Flex Fuel Sensor



Drivetrain
Kotouc (KAPS) R4 Sequential Transmission (P2 ratios 3.33 / 2.38 / 1.80 / 1.37 / 1.06 / 0.84 )
Version 9 Sti 6MT transmission TY856WB8KA
Version 9 R180 rear diff
ACT StreetLite flywheel
Exedy Stage 1 Organic HD Clutch
OEM Exedy Clutch
Goodrich Stainless Braided Clutch Line
Torque solutions transmissions mount (poly)
Torque solutions solid carrier bearing bushings (Aluminum)
Kartboy transmission crossmember bushings
Whiteline front and rear shifter bushings
Torque solutions solid shifter u-joint
Whiteline rear diff bushings (rear crossmember)
Whiteline T-frame bushings
IAG Competition pitch stop


Suspension / Steering
V9 STI 5x114 hubs
V9 STi subframes (front/rear)
V9 STi sway bars (front / rear)
Feal 441+ Coilovers w/Swift springs (10k/8k) (9k/8k)
Swift Helper Springs
Professional Awesome 777 Bumpstops
JDM GC8 STi Aluminum control arms
Whiteline ALK
Whiteline roll center kit
Whiteline control arm bushings
Whiteline lateral link bushings
Whiteline trailing arm bushings
Whiteline rear endlinks
Whitleine rear sway-bar mounts
Whiteline 22mm adjustable rear sway bar
Whiteline 22mm adjustable front sway bar
SwayAway front endlinks (for 2015 STi)
2015 STi Steering Rack
L&E Rack steering shaft adapter
Whiteline steering rack bushings
Chasebays power steering reservoir
Mooresport power steering pump adapter
IAG -6an PS high pressure line, custom -6an return line, custom -8an suction line


Brakes
C6 Z06 Corvette 6 piston front calipers w/12.8" STI Rotors
STi Brembo rear calipers
Stoptech Stainless Braided Brake Lines
G-LOC R12 / R10 Brake pads
Centric blank front rotors
Brembo blank rear rotors
CompBrake brake servo
Nameless performance 18" Hydro Handbrake

Wheels/Tires
Enkei PF05 17x8.5 +48
WedsSport TC105X 17x8.5 +43
Falken Azenis RT660 235/40/17
ARP Extended wheel studs

Interior / Safety
Sparco Sprint seat on custom fabricated mounts
Sparco steering wheel
Snap-off R1000 quick release
Custom roll cage built to SCCA GCR specs (1.5"x0.120" DOM)
Schroth Profi 3x2 FIA Harnesses
Renscott Harness Collars
6OC lightweight door panels
181stleader Carbon fuel tank access covers
Custom central switch panel
6OC Drivers floor plate
iWire DBW pedal adaptor
Flocked Dash
Rennline/Rennscot fire extinguisher mount w/Maxout 2.5lb extinguisher


Exterior
Aerosim Research carbon fiber race roof
V6 / RS front bumper w/Fog light covers
JDM Smooth rear bumper
JDM Lightweight bumper beams
JDM Rear spats
JDM Taillights
JDM Clear Corner Lights
Clear side markers
L'aunsport S5 WRC style Rear wing
Bakemono 22B Hood Vents
Bakemono Carbon S201 Mirrors
Shaved side moldings
Shaved trunk
Custom Pearl Blue paint
30% Ceramic window tint
RPG Carbon WRC Mirrors
RPG Carbon Exhaust Shroud
V5/6 Replica front lip

Electronics
Haltech Nexus R5 VCU
Haltech PD16 Power Distribution Module
Haltech 15 Button CAN Keypad
Haltech 8 Button CAN Keypad
Haltech TCA-8 CAN Thermocouple Module w/Prospeed connector brace
Haltech CAN Hub
Haltech TMS-4
ECU Master Dual H-Bridge module
Plex SDM700 Digital Dash Logger
Custom motorsport wire harness
MAPDCCD Center Diff controller
MSEL Solid state battery isolator
Odyssey PC680 Battery
2006+ WRX DBW Pedal / Throttle Body
KA NTC2 Fast motorsports IAT sensor (Intake Manifold)
RIFE IAT charge cooler temp sensor (Intercooler)
Lowdoller Motorsports oil pressure sensor
Lowdoller Motorsport oil temp sensor
Delphi Flex Fuel Sensor w/Raceart Mount
MAC 3port EBCS w/Raceart Mount
AIM Sport 2k PSI brake pressure sensors
Hella Sharptones Horn




Introduction
My name is Steven and this is my long-standing journal documenting the path of my 1998 2.5RS from purchase, daily driving, to now many years later restoration and transition into a dedicated track car. The most recent phase of this project has taken me roughly 6 years. 5 years, but I'm getting close to having a complete car, with the goal for a running driving car later this summer (2021). I'm at the point now where the car is so nearly road-worthy. I'm making a big push, and the goal now is to have it track ready by July 2022. I've now been using and enjoying the car from the summer of 2022. A project like this is never "complete" but its in some version of done. I'll continue to update this as it continues to evolve.

Original Intro from 2005
Heres my Introduction and story for how I got my car:
My name is Steven Stewart and I'm from lower West Michigan. When I was a freshman in college I was in the market for a new car after crashing my first car, a 95 Nissan Altima, into a telephone pole in the snow. Im not exactly sure what sparked my interest in Subarus but It was pretty quickly that I decided I wanted an impreza.

I browsed Ebay, autotrader, craigs list, news papers and such for a couple weeks looking for a new car. One session on ebay, I clicked on a link for this wrecked blue 98 coupe but just glanced at it and moved on. Later, I returned to that link and realized it was about 40min from my house! So the next day I went and looked at it, drove it around the parking lot (it was salvaged title, thats all I could do :( ) and immediately fell in love. They wanted $5500 for it off the lot and that was way too much so I decided to bid on it on Ebay. I Lost the auction to a sniper and it went for $3600 :( I was pretty sad I didnt get it. Anyways, two days later i found it listed again on Ebay! I called them right away, offered $3600 cash and picked it up the next day!

12-21-2005 Purchase!
Heres two pictures the dealer used on the ebay auction




And here she is at the body shop I worked at the day I brought it home




After this, I began the process of rebuilding my new purchase.
 

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#151 ·
When I did the drivers side quarter I waited until after it was mounted to shave the trim holes. So for the passenger side I decided it might be easier to do before mounting. So that's just what I did...




Slapped on a little filler to be sanded later...


I did a little more grinding and fitting of the QP and got it really close. Still needs a little more work though. It's a slow process...Grind a little at the B-pillar joint then check the fitment, then take it off...Grind a little more at the C pillar joint then check the fitment....then take it off...and so on and so forth.


I should have a good chunk of time this Saturday to work on it, so hopefully the passenger side QP can get permanently affixed!
 
#152 ·
Finally finished my fender liner. This was a complicated part so I broke it down into 3 parts.

This is basically the final form


Test fit with the quarter...The fit is good!


Ground smooth and coated with Rust Bullet...


Now I can move onto doing the final fitting on the quarter. So last night I did a bit of test fitting with the trunk and tail-light.


The car is coming together really well! just more slowly than I had hoped. I've got another great part coming next week I can't wait to share!
 
#157 ·
Thanks All! I got sick this weekend and couldn't get any work done unfortunately. Should have a little pick-me-up arriving tomorrow though :D



Yeah dude, glad I found you on IG also. MIG welding is pretty easy...watch a few youtube vids and you'll be ready to go pretty quickly. I gotta say, this Eastwood welder I got works pretty damn good and is half the price of the bigger name machines. It might be a Chinese knock off but with a 3 year warranty you can't really go wrong.
 
#158 ·
I splurged. I think this will add a little spice to my build...





This thing is beautiful and should shave 30+ pounds off the tippy top of the car. I think I might miss the sunroof at times. But its always been my vision that I would enjoy most extreme expression of this car most, and this fits that theme a bit better.

BTW, for anyone who's wondering, Steve at Aerosim does wonderful work and is extremely helpful and friendly. He answered a ton of my questions pre-purchase. A+ for Aerosim Research.
 
#162 ·
Made a bunch of progress over the long weekend...

Started to tack the passenger QP into place...


Did one final fit check with a door. All looked really good...


Got the whole panel fully welded into place and started working on filler. started at the C pillar since this joint is the most important to get right. After a couple of rounds of filling and blocking it was already looking pretty good.


And this was about where I left it. Lots more filling and blocking to do.
 
#166 ·
As always, thanks for the support dudes!

Finished welding up the rocker. Started filling and blocking.




Blocked some more on trim holes and C pillar too. Hope to get this primed soon, its been crazy humid! I'm afraid its gonna rust up real quick if its exposed.
 
#167 ·
Finished filling and blocking all of the joints tonight. It's been super humid and rainy in my part of Michigan this week, so I made it a priority to get all the exposed metal covered. Primed everything in Eastwood 2k Epoxy primer.






Super stoked on this. Could have a new wing here tomorrow too :banana:
 
#170 ·
Well, thanks to Brian's finely tuned packing skill, my new wing arrived in one piece last week.

Unlike the last wing I bought, this one actually fits!





Super stoked on this part. I really wanted an S6 style wing, but this is a really nice quality part and the price was right. Thanks again Brian!

There's a couple little things to finish up on the quarters (seam sealing and etc.) otherwise hoping to move onto the A-pillars and window frame rust next. That or floors. ugh.
 
#173 · (Edited)
Yay Tapatalk is back!

Haven't posted in a while because the last 3 months or so I've been overwhelmed with life changes. At the end of September I quit my job with Hyundai to take a new position with Kawasaki. This meant selling our house in Ann Arbor and moving back to Grand Rapids, where both my wife and I are from. Now that we've officially closed on the new house I figured I'd give a small update. Hopefully more RS updates in the near future.

As you can imagine, moving in the middle of a big project like mine was/is a pain in the ass. I had parts for the RS all over the place including all the glass - in my basement, shed, attic...so I gathered everything up, packed what I could into the car and put the rest in a box truck. Of course moving in the winter adds an extra element of stress. I moved the glass and some of my more valuable parts separately.

My wife actually had a really good idea to keep the road salt and spray off the car - plastic wrap!



It actually did a wonderful job of keeping the car dry.

Just yesterday we closed on our new place in Grand Rapids. I got a bit of an upgrade in garage space. 22x32 detached with two doors and an 11' attic space for storage.



The whole side with the extra space will be for the coupe while my wife gets to use the other side for regular parking. I'll need to work on getting heat installed and finishing / insulating the walls.

The garage was relatively recently built and hadn't had door openers installed, so I just installed these two guys yesterday. Will keep the ceiling free for lighting or storage.


That's all for now! Hopefully life settles down and I can get back to work on the coupe.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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