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My build thread.. Lots of pics that work (Not Photobucket!)

68K views 449 replies 36 participants last post by  Ricco 
#1 · (Edited)
I've had my 2.5 RS a couple of months now and I've decided to start a build thread, hoping it's going to help me get this thing over the finish line.

This RS is my 4th Subaru


My first was a Catalunya special edition, the car I wish I still had, hence the mid-life crisis build :D


2nd was an 09 STI Hatch


3rd is my current DD, a 2016 BRZ


Picked up the RS for $2600 which I don't think was too bad, it's a sedan which I wanted as I prefer it over the coupe and the body is completely rust free. It has been in Houston for 99% of its life and is as solid as they come.

Car did have a few problems from when I picked it up.. It has a ton of dings in the body and has some parking lot fender bender damage to the hood and core support. The sunroof leaked and I also found water in the rear fender wells.

I've done a few things up to now and ordered a bunch of parts. First thing was to replace the sunroof frame as it was rusted out.. I assume the drain tubes were blocked at some point and allowed water to sit in the frame and rust it out.

I also had to have the boxer rumble so ordered some cheap ass DNA headers from Amazon - $100 and there are worth the price.


The problem however was the stock exhaust was too quiet so I still couldn't hear it.


I had a Blitz NUR Spec R on my Catalunya so I wanted one of those again but I was struggling to find one in GC fitment so I ordered a brand new GD one and adapted it to fit the GC



Then they made an adapter to mate directly to the stock NA cat pipe

It looks pretty ghetto but it is welded on the inside so it works fine.
End result


I'm still not entirely happy with it as the GD fitment makes it come straight out the back, perpendicular to the bumper whereas the GC ones come out at an angle which I prefer.. So if anyone has a GC fitment Blitz for sale, let me know.
 

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#4 · (Edited)
In the meantime, I managed to find my donor. It's a 2 owner, 05 STI with 115k miles which has also spent most of its life in Houston but some in California too.

Brought it home to meet the family

Came with original STI user Manual in the original pouch

Oil smelled good and no milk/cream

Nice green coolant

1000cc Injectors, braided steel fuel lines and E85 sensor

Intercooler spray works

Cobb lightweight pulley was a nice bonus


Car has been well maintained, I got a ton of receipts/history from the PO, including the Dyno sheet and original window sticker!

Other mods include Perrin intake, Cobb turbo back exhaust, a set of Prosport gauges in an ATI pod (not installed) Perrin rear swaybar and a few things I am no doubt forgetting. Car was tuned at Cobb in California and made 338whp.
 
#8 ·
Before I picked up the STI, I had got hold of two sets of Subaru Calipers, the plan was to have a set for the GC and also a set for my BRZ. Instead now I will have a set for the BRZ and I will sell the other set.

Anyway, I stripped all of the calipers down, and sent them to the powder coaters. Just got them back today.





All 8 calipers will all be rebuilt using brand new OEM seals, new bolts, bleeders, all new OEM hardware and also Stainless Steel pistons - this all came from Scoobyworx in the UK.
 
#11 ·
Finally got the front calipers rebuilt.


Worked on my BRZ this weekend, installing the Subaru 4/2 pot calipers, Stainless Steel brake lines and TRD lowering springs.


Car only has 10k Miles on it and found one of the rear struts leaking. #Pissed :mad:


Also found out I have the wrong caliper brackets for the rear. I guess KNS v2 and Kartboy v2 don't mean the same thing. Had to order the KNS ones :facepalm:



Finished the other set of calipers too.. These will be going up for sale soon, complete with brand new Subaru mounting bolts, Stainless Steel banjos, new copper washers and all new installation hardware. Also included are a set of generic rear caliper brackets that fit GC/GD rear uprights and some White Vinyl Subaru Stickers. Just add your own choice of Rotors and pads.


Test fitted cheapo Duralast brake pads. Need to remove them, grease everything up and reinstall.



Also planning on hand carrying this into Subaru and asking them to warranty it. Not holding my breath but if you don't ask you don't get.
 
#12 ·
#15 ·
So despite my body shop telling me that it would be at least two weeks before it gets painted and that they would call me to go in and approve all the body work before it goes to paint, I got a call a few days ago asking me what color I wanted to paint it bc it is sitting in the booth, waiting to have color sprayed on.







I went straight up there and found a few things I wasn't happy with but they promised to take care of it before it got painted.
 
#17 ·
I went up there again this afternoon to check the car out for myself. Most of the things that I asked to be done, were done but there were still a bunch of stupid things left on the car that will cause several areas to require redoing. Stupid stuff, like the door strikers were left on, it would probably have been quicker to remove them than to mask them off.

Anyway, it's hard to be mad when it looked as good as it did in 74F :D

There are still a few flaws in the paint (couple drips) that will be taken care of during the wet sanding stage and a few things that will require some repainting (around the door strikers), but overall I am very pleased with how it looked :puppy_dog













 
#19 ·
Been daily driving this all week while the BRZ is out of action



Also found out last night that the Battery on the BRZ is dead.. Like Dead Dead. Put the battery tender on it and it doesn't even recognize there is a battery attached :letitout:
 
#20 · (Edited)
So the camber plates, KNS caliper adapters and new OEM rear strut all arrived on Friday. Managed to get all of the Brake calipers mounted up on the BRZ, got all the new pads greased up and installed and bled them using one of those 'One man' bleeding pumps.

Guess which caliper is leaking :letitout:






Plenty happy with the camber plates though



Test fitted a wheel to check for caliper clearance, lowering springs haven't done much for the fender gap :biglaugh:



I think they clear OK :blol:

 
#25 ·
Had another great weekend racing last weekend.. This was the TPKC season finale, a Double Header race weekend at SpeedSportz in New Caney, just outside Houston.

My eldest boy runs Micro Swift, he had a disappointing Saturday but brought home 3rd in Sundays final, having only just lost 2nd when he overcooked it into the last corner of the last lap.. Anyway, it was great racing :burnrubber:

Race Face

Video Analysis

Starting P2 in the final

Bumper to Bumper racing

3rd Place on the Podium

Took 2nd place overall for the season

The Teams Trophy haul
 
#27 ·
So tonight, I finally got around to working on the BRZ. I pulled that one caliper, split it, cleaned out the recesses for the seals and reseated everything. Bled that one caliper, and took it for a short (slow) test drive. Had to jump start the BRZ because of the dead battery :mad0259: but the test drive went fine after that. Brake pedal is a little spongy for sure and has more travel than I remember from before so brakes probably need to be bled once more before I call it good.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the result.. I'd like for the front to sit a little lower than it is right now but it is definitely better than before, hope the springs will settle after a little while.







Need to get an alignment and dial in a little negative camber up front.


Also still need to put the White Vinyl stickers on them but I'll give it a few days to check for leaks first. So far so good though.
:thanks:
 
#28 ·
So after sitting for over a month in customs, Fedex finally delivered half of my Japan Parts order.

Let the unboxing begin...

Finally, a brand new Genuine V5 wing!





Whats this?

Fog Light covers - Hope they match!

License Plate bracket

Power Mirror switch
 
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