[flyboynextdoor]

damn nice work my friend, im in the same boat here, except i paid 800 for my rs and im attempting to do the engine and drivetrain work before i start on the body... and im in BC, once again, the only impreza in this neck of the woods hahaha. keep it up bud!

Yeah Ive got the only GC impreza within 500 kms.
Let me know what your doing to the engine. I could sure use the ideas.
Where in BC are ya? I'm hoping to move to Penticton within the next couple years.

 

[flyboynextdoor]

find a wrecked wrx. take both engine harness out of their respective cars. send them to iwire, he'll make it plug and play. then the hard part is pulling both engine and dropping the turbo engine into your car.

I'm looking more for a rebuilt WRX engine plus the harness. I dont want some engine somebody rat bagged and lets face it thats what happens alot to these cars. Whatever I get has to be long term reliable.
I cant really get an entire car because of my location. and the fact there are no WRXs anywhere around here. I live in truck country.

 

[George.of.the.Jungle]

LSx swap? :lol:

 

[flyboynextdoor]

LSx swap? :lol:

Hahahaha those damn RX-7 guys have all the fun.

 

[sooch]

I'm looking more for a rebuilt WRX engine plus the harness. I dont want some engine somebody rat bagged and lets face it thats what happens alot to these cars. Whatever I get has to be long term reliable.
I cant really get an entire car because of my location. and the fact there are no WRXs anywhere around here. I live in truck country.

then rebuild it yourself. I bought a jdm STi swap and didn't rebuild it. Completely regret it, never buy a used motor without cracking it open and checking it out. Don't rule out a running wrx motor for a good price, thats just stupid

 

[flyboynextdoor]

Got some pieces painted last night. Left the car outside overnight so I could paint and keep the heat going in the shop. Glad it didnt rain

Today came back to move the car back inside, my boy came along to inspect the work. I think he approved.

Tomorrow gonna go install the pieces. I ran out of paint so I got a couple days to wait before the doors front bumper skin and moonroof can get done.

 

[flyboynextdoor]

then rebuild it yourself. I bought a jdm STi swap and didn't rebuild it. Completely regret it, never buy a used motor without cracking it open and checking it out. Don't rule out a running wrx motor for a good price, thats just stupid

I did a head gasket change and timing belt last year. Used the DIY threads on here alot to help me through those. = ) But I dont know about any of the parts needed or the fine details in a swap that could mean the difference between a purring engine and a bomb. I cant hurt much by rebuilding my current engine. But a 2.5 NA??? is that worth the time?? I want a fresh motor. Rebuilts are cool, heck in airplanes thats all we use. I've found a few rebuilt 2.5s for less than $3000 but Id love to find a rebuilt EJ20T is what I'm really after.

 

[Aussieroo]

Yeah Ive got the only GC impreza within 500 kms.
Let me know what your doing to the engine. I could sure use the ideas.
Where in BC are ya? I'm hoping to move to Penticton within the next couple years.

im up about 6 hours north of prince george, where the closest parts car would be.
i just picked up a 91 legacy turbo with an ej22 and a 5speed that runs and drives but leaks oil errywhere for 500$ from the ford dealership where i work.
so far , since i just redid head gaskets and ended up spinning a bearing the next day:curse:, my plans are to redo the 25d shortblock, possibly find some rods and pistons and maybe order an sti crank. slap on the 2.2 sohc heads with all the oil lines in em so i aint drilling holes in the 2.5 heads, stick the tranny outta the legacy behind it cause my rs tranny has no 2nd or 5th :facepalm:, and rig up all the rest of the turbo system in the rs body.
of course this means i may well have to take the ecu and wiring harness outta the legacy to make it run, which is going to be the most fun part, but once that's done, i sit back, turn the key and pray.
if all works well, i just have to try not to get drunk n stick the garrett outta my dads blown 6leaker diesel in there. hahah.
then comes the body work just a few dings n scratches, replaced a fender already, n it still needs a front bumper.

jesus, reading what i wrote, this is almost starting to become a project :S

 

[bue car]

looking good!

 

[flyboynextdoor]

Put on the hood, trunk, spoiler and fenders.

The bad thing about the rear bumper cover is it lines up fine along the top to attach it but along the bottom if you use the stock RS bumper like I did theres a large gap between the bottom of the steel bumper and the bottom of the cover. thankfully this gap lines up pretty well with the trunk line so the cover wont catch alot of mud and snow ect but the strength of the mounting points is reduced compared to the stock cover.

Alsthe gap between the tail light bottom trim and the bumper is bigger than I care for but the bumper/quarter line doesn't even have a gap!:banana:

the hood fender line on the passenger side is good, on the drivers side not as good close to the front. I can hopefully align this better later.

Next is the doors:
I pulled off the trim and sanded down to bare steel so I could weld some pieces behind the holes.
Then grind down the welds and filled with some bondo.
I thought I would have to remove the window glass to do the doors so I first removed the fenders to install the doors so I could safely remove the glass. BUT after that as I found out during the welding If I had rolled the windows halfway up I could have bypassed all that work. Oh well, at least I wont worry about painting the glass When I go back on Monday I'll sand down the bondo and the rest of the doors to prep for paint.

Still have to prep and paint the moonroof, mirrors, and front bumper. Then put it all back together. Only a few days of work left. Still waiting for the new rubber and rims to get here..........

 

[Whipple97]

Biblicaly jealous! Great looking GC you got there!

 

[Matty G]

That build is looking so nice! I wish I had the facilities and tools you have at your disposal to do that kind of work! I would like to do the same kit on mine one day. I have heard (and don't know if it is true) that to get your wheels flush to the fenders you are going to have to get new control arms and longer axels. Basically move your hubs farther out. If anyone knows different please say so! I have been wondering ho to get them flush myself!

 

[flyboynextdoor]

That build is looking so nice! I wish I had the facilities and tools you have at your disposal to do that kind of work! I would like to do the same kit on mine one day. I have heard (and don't know if it is true) that to get your wheels flush to the fenders you are going to have to get new control arms and longer axels. Basically move your hubs farther out. If anyone knows different please say so! I have been wondering ho to get them flush myself!

Thanks man, Getting a wider track is what some guys have done but not all. If you want the wheels to be flush then wider rims and smaller offset can go a long ways, depending on the kit you can tuck 10" rims. On the aerosim kit (the one I bought) the rear arches have a much wider gap so the rear wheels look alot more sunk in the rear. I got some 8" rims with a 35 offset so that will push my wheels out 31mm thats an inch and a quarter alone. Im debating getting some spacers for the rear maybe another inch. This should make the rims look almost flush. My car is a street car so I'm not overly concerned about "performance" as long as the car is driveable and reliable so I'm not going to go with a wider suspension. The RS suspension with my Coilovers should work just fine.

I know Firewarrior added a custom wide track but I bet it cost a mint.

The front fenders dont overhang nearly as much as the rears on the aerosim kit.

I'll post some pics with the new wheels to let you have a look once they are installed.

 

[flyboynextdoor]

Update.
Got the doors primed and painted, then sanded and painted again, now the car is 90% back together and guess what? The doors need to be at least sanded and cleared again! :bonk:

This is why you should wear long sleeves while painting.

My arm hair was so crusty with paint I had to shave it off. It was that bad.


After welding the door holes in and filling I cam back sanded and primed with more Zinc Chromate Epoxy. This stage turned out fine.

Got the hinges too

Then some sanding and then base coat

I somehow lost the pics of repairing the large holes in the front bumper skin but the end result got saved. I used a piece on aluminum and bonded the remaining edge piece to the rest of the bumper then riveted it on to hold it there. Kind of a shit job really but I ran out of ideas and it had to me somewhat flexible since the bumper has to stretch to fit the wider fenders.
But heres how it turned out

 

[flyboynextdoor]

I've been having nothing but issues painting the doors. The car is back in my garage waiting for them. Ive attempted three times to finish them. First coat the base color didnt match so I bought new paint and resprayed the base. The second time the met and the clear went on fine but when I came back the next day the clear coat had produced millions of tiny bubbles and ruined the finish. So today I went back sanded down the clear then I cleaned with isopropyl and cleaned it again but the clear came out all fish eyed so I said F this!. I'm going to call the body shop tomorrow and see what they want to spray them. If the body shop doesnt try to rip me off I'll get them to do it otherwise I'll have to try again in a couple days ............

The rims are here but no tires yet. I'll update pics when something positive happens with the project.

 

[BackWoodsBob]

clear getting bubbles?
underlaying coats not dry enough and outgassing or coats are too thick?

 

[flyboynextdoor]

clear getting bubbles?
underlaying coats not dry enough and outgassing or coats are too thick?

That was my guess, I think the clear went on too early. This time IDK WTF happened.

 

[BackWoodsBob]

small paint jobs I'll tackle, large ones, nope. I have not the patience nor skill.

 

[skyline4me]

clear getting bubbles?
underlaying coats not dry enough and outgassing or coats are too thick?

I believe you are correct. I let my base coat sit for a week before I even think about sanding or adding any clear, then another week before touching the clear.

Since you have a heated place to work, I'd let them sit for at least 2-3 days to let them completely out gas.


Great progress! I'll definitely refer back to this thread when my widebody day comes.

 

[flyboynextdoor]

Anyone Know what this bar across the back seat is for? It doesnt seem to be used for anything structural since its not attached at the ends just across four bolts. It just seems un-necessary. I keep sitting on it while Im re-installing the interior.