The 1st step was just after I moved to Arizona.



I picked up a set of Rotas for the car super cheap.
I also had a MagnaFlo Ti system and a B&B downpipe. But later swapped it out for the APS 3.0 turbo back system pictured. I'd later go on to hate that APS system. Very heavy leaked a lot. And I was hooked on the Ti sound.
I also found the carbon trunk off a friend. And tracked down the carbon STi wing down in LA. But I had to drive to LA to get it.
Lowering was on some STi pink springs and full limo window tint.
And Yes I used to take my car in the dirt and mud all the time!

This was stage 1 for me.

• Ecutek $1000 325hp 345tq
• Rotas $400
• MagnaFlo Ti catback $800
• B&B downpipe $350
• APS 3.0 turboback $700
• Carbon trunk $350
• Carbon wing $300
• Springs $100
• Tint $200

The car stayed like this for a long time. Maybe a year and a half or so.

The next set of mods to be done was to add some sway bars,rear brace, coil overs and the front strut bar.

• Cusco front strut bar $175
• Cusco rear sway bar $200
• Cusco rear lower sub brace $175
• OEM STi defuser with mount kit $75
• Tein Flex coil overs $500 (jdm spec)

I had the alignment done and the car handled really well. Neutral unless I input throttle then it went to a controlled over-steer. This was happy times.. for a few months anyways.
I was able to sell my pink springs to make $100 back. And I used that to buy my Defi gnome boost gauge. I also headed back out to LA to swap my APS turboback for the big APS system 3.5 turboback. Trade was straight across.

• Pink springs +$100
• Gnome Boost Gauge $350

 

Now that I had the car under better control. I added some power back into it.

This came the way of a few parts.

• Turbo PE1820 $1200
• CAI APS 70mm $150
• Turbo Inlet APS $200
• TMIC APS $500
• TMIC Y pipe APS $100
• BOV 50/50% APS $100
• Injectors PE800 $400
• Fuel pump Wally 255 $85

I had heard good things about the PE1820 turbo. It used the IHI housing and was a ball bearing turbo. The spool I was told was very quick.

And I had pieced the APS stuff together over the last 3 months. Quality used parts and you can build a quick car cheap. About this time the car had a turn for the bad. I had taken to a shop and basically the car was not put back together very well and a series of problems took place. The end results was damaged parts, fire, then a blown motor. All from one place. The car was down for months. I had let them fix their mistakes each time. But it just got worse. They ended up putting a new short block in the car, "fixing my heads" and sent me on my way with the same bad tune. That motor would go on to last less then 2000 miles.

So with what I thought at the time was a new motor.



I ordered up a new turbo, downpipe and a few different FMIC's. I also found some new fuel rails, injectors and replaced the older 17's rotas with some new 18's rotas. Some point I picked up the APR front splitter and STi side skirts. I had swapped the APS TMIC for a INJEN FMIC

• Wheels Rotas $1200
• Grills Grillcraft $200
• Splitter APR $300
• Perrin Stiffys $75
• STi side skirts $150
• Seibon hood $400
• JDM marker lights $80
• STi roof diffuser $150

I did the most I could do on my own installing it. But I had a oil leak. So I pushed it onto the trailer and took it to shop #2 I liked shop #2 These guys were a night and day from shop #1. They did very good work and always kept their customers up to date on their progress. They ended up finding that the turbo oil feed line was not sealed at the back of the head. My fault..... Learning curve.

• Turbo ATP 3076R $1800
• EX wastegate Tial $400
• Downpipe HKS $200
• FMIC #1 $550
• FMIC APS $1250
• Perrin Fuel Rails $300

So with this new found power and a temp tune on the car. I needed to add some stronger drivetrain parts. I ended up finding a local selling a 05STi swap.
I drove up and bought the swap. This was a complete swap from flywheel to hubs.
Also at this time I sent the Tein Flexs out for rebuild and valving. My OEM heater core and radiator started leaking as well.





I installed the heater core and the radiator. Heater core was worse then the APS turbo inlet

• Koyo Radiator $350 or so
• Heater core $100 or so

I then took the car back to shop #2 for the swap or Big Build #1
The swap was putting the car on the lift and pulling all the drivetrain out.


I had from the swap:

• 05 STi gearbox
• shifter assembly
• clutch/flywheel
• clutch slave cylinder
• driveshaft
• r180 3.9 rear end
• 4 axles
• hubs
• brembo brake calipers
• brake rotors

Not bad for or so I thought.
When shop #2 looked over the transmission it had some bad parts. So I had to send it out to get fixed.

• 6spd swap $3000
• 6spd repair $850

So at this stage, it was time to upgrade the drivetrain parts. I swapped every bushing that was out there. And upgraded everything else.

Brake system upgrades:

• Swap Brembo brake calipers
• Front brake rotors DBA 5000 $750
• Rear brake rotors OEM resurface $100
• Stainless steel brake lines $100
• Upgraded brake pads $forgot
• Brand new 3.9 lsd diff $300
• Enkie NT03 wheels $forgot

Drivetrain:

• New CV boots on front axles $forgot
• ACT flywheel $350
• RPS clutch and Pressure plate $forgot
• Throw out bearing kit $75
• Goodridge Clutch line $30
• Whiteline Rear diff lock kit $50
• Kartboy shift bushing kit $40
• Kartboy rear shifter bushing $40
• OEM STi shift **** $75
• STi gpN motor mounts $150
• DccD pro Dccd computer $450

Suspension:

• Whiteline Adjustable Endlinks $200
• Whiteline Rear Lateral Link Kit $490
• Whiteline Anti Lift Kit $310
• Whiteline Camber Bolts $150
• Whiteline Steering Rack Bushings $75
• Whiteline Rear Inner Lower Control Arm Bushing $120
• Whiteline Front Roll Center Adjustment Kit $235
• Whiteline Subframe Locking Bolts $40
• RPM Sub Frame Brace $500
• Cusco Front Sway Bar 22mm $200
• Cusco Adjustable Rear Trailing Arms $550
• 6 gun spindles $750 (-2* camber machined)
• STi front control arms (added caster)

Also added:

• Sparco Evo seat $800 or so with brackets
• Sparco steering wheel $250

At some point I picked up the Voltex rear difuser and a spare set of STi gold BBS wheels

• Voltex $750
• BBS wheels $350

The biggest upset of this set up was the tire dragging on the APS 70mm cold air intake. I am sure that even the 60mm would hit. Every time you turned it would hit. This was mostly caused by the caster kit. It really moved the front wheels forward. We 1st had 255/45/18 tires installed. Then later moved down to 255/40/18's That helped but it still hit and I was going to have it redone down the road.

 

So with all this done I needed to get a tune done on the car. Shop#3 comes in.
The car went on the dyno and it never really ran right. a little while later after email tunes with said shop it was

I only asked for a refund on the tune as was told to **** off.

So the car was dead and parked at that point 2nd Blown motor!

It sat like that for around two years.

I started buying parts up yet again for a big build.

About the only thing that was used in that picture was the Cosworth intake and the Cosworth catalog. I had bought a brand new short block from Subaru and was going to run it with just dropping in a set of Mahle pistons. I later decided not to use that motor and sold it off with all the other parts I had bought for it.

• OEM short block $1800
• Mahle pistons $650
• APR rod bolts $75
• APR head studs $150
• APR case bolts $450
• Head Gaskets $100
• Main and rod bearings $200
• Used STi Heads $forgot

I ended up selling the whole motor in long block form for $2800.


It was a great deal for the new owner. The block had 10 min of run time.
So the next step was to tow the car back down to Arizona.



I had picked up a Zero/sports bumper set on the way down as well as the Zero/sports vortex generator, shift boot and gauge pod
The guys at EDO were very helpful and had even opened their doors on their day off when I just happened to be stopping by.

• Zero/sports Bumper set $1900
• Zero/sports Vortex gen $300
• Zero/sports gauge pod $300
• Zero/sports shift boot $65

With the car in the shop there was a lot of work to be done. The car really went to crap when it sat for 2 years. But since I knew Joe and John since 2005 and I knew how good they are. I had no worries about my car being in good hands or not. At this point some big cash was going to be tossed down and I was going to be 800 miles away. That is a lot of trust!

The Goal? I wanted to build a car that made a good 350whp and would last. I was on my 3rd motor and wanted it to be my last. Do it right this time so I do not add more cost later. I mean if this thing blows, Its going to get parted and the shell is going to see the big end of my .50 bmg...... As you can see I have over the years spent some money. Sometimes more then once for the same part. This was going to be a one shot deal. After talking with Joe I thought Cosworth is the best way to go. Cosworth has the best track record with motors. Everyone uses them in racing.
So with that we ordered up a long block. With the waiting game on the motor. I also was on the fence on turbo's. I wanted to stay stock location for California. But with the ATP 3076R it really wasn't stock looking add to the fact that this car is not also going to look stock. Joe called me up and said that FullRace or Perrin were good options. Just in time too as I was able to get the last FullRace kit at the lower price point. This was going to be a monster. Twinscroll and a gt35r turbo. This is a spot where I should have rethought a bit. Its hard to build a car when you are 800 miles away from it.


The next and really only bottle neck at this point now was the TGV's I was still running the stock ones. I heard Cosworth was making a set and wanted to get my hands on them. But they were sold out. :-(
As parts started to come together Joe called and told me one of his customers build were not going to be needing the Cosworth TGV's I jumped at the chance. This was my last bottle neck and it was just fixed.

The parts used:

• Cosworth Long Block (built to spec) $ $$$$$
• Cosworth CNC Big Port Heads
• Cosworth 1mm Larger Valves, Ti retainers, Valve springs, S2 cams, Built to a 10,000 rpm max
• Cosworth High volume intake manifold $1100
• Cosworth TGV delete kit $599
• Cosworth Timing belt guides $88
• Cosworth High psi High volume oil pump $566
• Cosworth oil pan baffle $342
• Cosworth oil cap $66
• KillerBee oil pan $450
• Killerbee oil pick up $200
• Cusco Motor mounts $350
• FullRace Twinscroll kit $4000
• Gt35R 1.06 hot side $500 (1.06 hotside option)
• 2000* Ti coating $400 (coating up-pipe, down pipe, headers, turbo hotside)
• Air/oil Seperator $450
• Cold air intake $400
• Sparco Quick release steering wheel kit $140
• Brakes $3500
• Springs $450
• EDFC motors $125
• Battery $150
• Powder coating $200
• Timing belt $200
• Timing pulleys
• Water pump and other stuff $200

Everything was coming together really well.



Few shots of the motor. After everything was finished up with all the placement. We then sent all the parts out for powder coat. I went with the black texture type look. Its not very flashy as most. But it gets the job done.


The dyno is a Maha, its a great dyno.

They really have the cats meow for dyno rooms. Cooling fans and they can turn on 50,000 cfm fans and get some real wind blowing across the cars for real world tuning...

Big Build #2 I had left out a few things from the 1st big build. And so this time I wanted to just touch up a few things that I felt really needed to be done.

The first was to roll the inner fenders a bit, and I added the inner fender braces from GTspec. This was a flex point that I have felt while driving the car. So since we were replacing the front fenders, This was the time to do it.


Next was bolting on the new fenders. I was really stuck on what I like and I didnt like the widebodys that were out on the market for sale. Yes that voltex widebody was sick. But you can't get it. And I like the APR rear panels, But hate the bumpers. Also there is a limited amount of front fenders for the 06-07 front ends. So I went with the Seibon front fenders. I knew there would work with my Zero/sport front bumper, The fitment was good. Though I heard rumors that they do not fit very well. Mine worked out great. They do not come out as far as I like, They are only 10mm wider then stock. But I can adjust that later. Next was the brakes. With my new motor set up I knew the brakes were going to need some help. So we upgraded them. 8 piston calipers on 356mm two piece rotors up front and 4 piston calipers with 335 two piece rotors in the back. Let me tell you.... These things are boat anchors. I scared a track instructor at Willow late braking into turn one. He kept thinking.... Ahh you going to brake soon...lol


This was the 1st night out in the car after I picked it up with the new motor/turbo in. And it was still a tank full of 109. Oh the good times..

 

Willow springs:
So with the car having 1400 miles on it we added an Oil Cooler to the mix. Then I installed the Autopower roll cage.
Oil Cooler $800
Roll cage $400

The trip to the track was a long weekend. I had just picked the car up from the shop and needed to pull all the seats out to install the cage. I had to drill the floor and run to home dept to get grade 8 bolts, nuts and washers. This is key to installing these. Use grade 8 hardware on the whole cage. I tossed the stuff that came with it and bought new. My life was hanging on it. And my car was not going to be slow. I finished up everything at 2am in the morning Friday night. I loaded the car up on the trailer and headed to Willow Springs on now sleep. I figured I'd get there and take a quick nap. But soon as I got into California 55mph... And that sucked. Arizona was all about 75mph. I got to the track in time for the drivers meeting. Nap was not going to happen. So after the meeting. I unload the car off the trailer. Most everyone noticed the "ricer car" with the huge wing and "fart can" muffler. The event was a time attack event on the big track. Oh I was nervous to say the least. 1st time on the track with this set up. New power, New brakes, lack of sleep... The 1st session I took a nap. I had all day so I was good. I rechecked my wheel lug nuts. I wanted to make sure that was all good to go. I took the button out of my e-brake. This stopped me from using the e-brake after being on the track. I was tired and didn't want to forget. That 99% of the time destroys brake systems.




The car ran flawless all day. I was really happy and on the 1st lap out when I passed the pit wall I had glanced over and almost the whole pit area was watching my car go by. I guess all the noise had most of them surprised, Flat out 6th gear both wastegates open and what little exhaust left was going out the Ti JIC system. I recorded a top speed on 168mph down the front straight and was doing 155mph most laps. I was trying to figure my lines out around the track. Riding motorcycles around there is little different my lines where off a bit. But at the end of the day I had it enough together to get a 1st place in the unlimited class. Not bad for the 1st time out. I had my DCCD set up with just a tad more power going to the rear of the car, and the EDFC was dialed in as well. I could get the car to rotate under throttle if needed, but it was neutral pretty much all around the track. By late afternoon my 6spd was more like a 4 speed. 4th and 5th were not happy and 4th wasn't working. I saved my track notes and loaded the car up on the trailer for the trip down to disneyland for the night. I didnt make it into the park. I put my head down and was out till 10am the next morning.


Widebody work
The widebody was something I have always wanted to do. I had a widebody kit at one time. Sold it because the offer was good enough to part with it. So I had a set of Kakumei Motorsports rear widebody panels. I liked them. But was given a chance to get the APR rear quarters. So I jumped on them. So at this point the car was back down in AZ. So I loaded up a friend and we drove down too AZ to shoot guns and pick up my car. After spending the day out shooting we loaded up the car to head north. The guy that did the rear quarters was up north. So far I could hit a Canadian with a rock. We went from Phx AZ to Bellingham Washington. From 110* heat to 28* and snow.


So we had dropped the car off late friday night. And headed to the hotel. The next morning Johann had the car all marked out for drilling, welding and cutting.

By 12pm we had one side chopped up and the other side on the way.

Johann is a true craftsman. He has built 10+ subaru widebodies, The toyota celica with the subaru AWD motor and drivetrain swap. And well he made this all look very easy.


We cut the wheel wells open. Then bent the metal up and rewelded.



Brackets were welded in to support the new panels. Once these were all done the panels were bonded on and screwed down to the car. It was really cold and took the two part bond a few days to cure. So the screws were left in for a while.


Here is the panels all bonded and ready for the trailer to head home.





It took me a few weeks to get the bodywork all sanded down and ready for paint. Lots of sanding..... Prime then sand more. Each time sanding it almost paper thin to keep the weight down and only use enough to get the panel straight.


Carbon Roof
What a pain in the ****..... I think this was the hardest mod yet I have done. Hell I will install APS turbo inlet pipes all day long over doing this mod. Reason behind it? Hail damage when it was in Phx, and drop some weight at the highest point in the car.












Getting paint done

 

hold more

 

Some local shots of the car.







Few photos from Subiefest








Few photos from Battle of the Brands.

 

In for more progress pics!

 

So I went to my 2nd track event of the year. Wish I was able to do more. But building a car and driving a car do not always go hand and hand.

This last event was Willow Springs on the big track. The track that claims many who try and tame it. Most the time you go off at this track and your being towed home. In turns 8,9 and 1 if you go off there you are going to total your car. Turn #1 is the worst as its at the end of a long straight. Your on the brakes hard! I have seen 165+mph down this straight. If my brake system fails me.. Well that's a roll cage tester.. I don't want to be any part of that.

The fun of pulling into the track by yourself is work. 1st you have to find a spot to park. This in itself can be a pain. Who do you really want to park next to? Is the group going to be loud? What kind of car do they have? Are you going to have enough room? Does it look like a bomb went off in their pit?

I tend to pit a little bit away. I have found its quieter to relax, little bit extra cool down time. And I can leave things out without being worried it would be borrowed while I was out on the track. And the big plus is I do not have to hear the cars zipping down the front straight. Which after a bit all this adds up and zaps your energy. At the end of a two day weekend by myself.... I'm going to need all my energy to get the car loaded back up on the trailer. Making sure its secured and all the trailer lights work. Last thing you want is to spend all weekend having fun only to total the car on the way home.


Work on this more tonight.

 

Nice write up and amazing car bud!

 

Total cost of the build thus far?!?!

 

what kind of fenders are those..?

 

HOLY SUBARU BATMAN!! beautiful build

 

Oh snap. Nice build. Do you bring it out to the meets?

 

Cool car, why put price to everything lol money does not matter its about being happy with you car! Cause I love your car and I know it makes out happy! Keep up the good work man!

 

Thanks... Its been a hell of a road....

I'm not 100% of it yet. But I know I could have bought a few Subarus by now.

Front is Seibon, Rear is APR

Thank you.

I used to. Its getting the tranny upgraded and the front and rear LSD's are being swapped out to Carbonetic units, Axles,studs and driveshaft. And the dash overhauled. It won't be done till the end of the month. Then I might ... drive it out to the Kohls meet once. I have AZ plates on the car now.

The big reason to price things. I had thought about it. I want it to be kind of a guide for people. What works, what costs are involved, what the out come was. There is not many built cars like mine floating around. And if I can help someone from making a mistake and saving them from x2 the cost of their build. Then its worth it. I mean even with myself. I am looking to replace my turbo and FMIC to get the lag down and the power up. So that is yet more parts that I bought that didn't work. That dyno chart was on brake in and a stock STi makes 210 whp. Its a nice gain but I want more under the curve.

I am far from being finished with my build thread. I want to finish up all the details on the parts. Then go back and add my thoughts on what worked, failed and what didn't. I hope this helps people see the light. Stage 2 is a great way to live.