Oh god why do I even what am I doing

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Oct 31, 2015 13:26

OP NOTE - THIS THREAD IS MADE BY AN AUSTRALIAN. IT ALSO HAS OTHER AUSTRALIANS DROP IN. There may or may not be the odd naughty word dropped.

refer https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3926936

So while I'm trying to find the lawnmotor in amongst the Great Wall of tyres...

I think.... hey I havent opened up this door in a while

Oh..... three years and.... well the tail light is back on? The subframes are painted and new Spec-C trailing arms on display?

Hang on the front suspenson is kinda back together again....

And we have some driveshafts to choose from!

Okay, progress has finally been made. Diff is rebuilt, gearbox is being overhauled and the engine actually ready to go back in. Brakes are overhauled as well. The tyres have to move out of the way for the "new" project as well.

But until that project is dragged home, here's the Australian Motoring Museum and bunch of Australian cars of various vintages.

http://alliancemotorsport.org/newgallery/index.php?/category/11

I doubt the "new" project will be that interesting but it is a rotary. Hence -R.

CAT INTERCEPTOR fucked around with this message at 23:49 on Jun 8, 2020

Adbot · # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 02:13

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Nov 1, 2015 10:52

Seat Safety Switch posted:

Man the spiders in Australia fix your car for you if you abandon it long enough?

Possums did it. We now have the third generation living in the garage - Poss Bourne begat GC8, GC8 begat GDA.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Nov 7, 2015 04:58

I'll post RX-7 soon, promise

But more on a project gone wrong - confirmed the subframes were not part numbered WRX, they were STI. The parental unit has been doing some research on it and says there was also a slight difference between WRX and STI as well. That I did not know.

Interior disaster

Wait.... what's this for?

OMG WE HAVE WRX PROGRESS

REPEAT WE HAVE WRX PROGRESS

CATTE

poo poo we might have this POS back on it's wheels this year

CAT INTERCEPTOR fucked around with this message at 05:01 on Nov 7, 2015

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Nov 11, 2015 23:17

Just having soemout loud thoughts about the RX-7's suspension -

As much as the Gen 1's are a even by today's standards a drat nice handling car, they do have problems. Both front and rear ends have issues that 25 years ago I solved in ways I didnt have open to me now -

- the front end can be adjusted for caster very well - the caster rods have a lot of adjustment in them. That makes up fo rthe strut on arm design that Mazda have that otherwise is just not adjustable like a proper McPherson strut hub can be. On a say WRX you can adjust the camber with pins or slotting the struts, but no castor adjustment stock (altho that's easily doable). The camber issue was done on a Gen 1 by bending the struts to get 2.5 degrees neg.

- The rear suffered roll angle related binding. Solved with removing the roll bar of all things.

First things first - work out where the best adjustable control arms are so I can get more caber on the front without resorting to tube bending.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Nov 12, 2015 03:20

the spyder posted:

Have you not learned from my mistakes?

An RX7 is never a mistake

You wouldn't happen to know what the best adjustable front control arms for a Gen 1 RX7 is there days?

CAT INTERCEPTOR fucked around with this message at 03:22 on Nov 12, 2015

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Nov 12, 2015 21:04

88h88 posted:

There's talk of a gen 1 RX7 and no photos? Tease. I adore the way gen 1s look, they're gorgeous.

Best I can do right now is a picture from 1993 - I bought the RX7 in 1991. So ummm.... approaching 25 years it's been in the family?

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Jan 2, 2016 12:13

There is a car cover and it appears to have something under it....

1981 Gen I Series II RX7, 13B Extended port, Series III driveline / brakes etc, 500,000 km(! No that's not BS, that car really has gone that far) and a few other tweaks. Due to be fuel injected in the next week or two. Basically runs like crap under 4000 rpm, then gets up and scooooots Carb is just simply not tuned but gently caress carbs.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Jan 3, 2016 04:13

Powershift posted:

I never really thought about it until now, but how do rotaries react to E85?

Turboed, not bad with the supporting fuel system fixes - Alcohol turbo rotaries go like gently caress. For a NA, you want the lowest octane you can get your hands on - 80(!) octane is actually really bloody good.

Hmmm... now thinking about it, Ethanol isnt as energetic even if the octane is higher and it's well proven less energetic fuels work best.

Edit - Doing a bit of research says it works with NA Bridgeported and even keeps the exhaust a fair bit cooler, a different oil premix is required. I'll have a look further into this.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Jan 10, 2016 22:18

Looks vaguely like a Subaru engine.........!

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Jan 19, 2016 11:02

Rhyno posted:

drat, you are old.

Dad's garage. And he can kick your rear end too

Uhhhhh...... it's off the stands for the first time in 4 years????? And there's a engine back in??????

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Feb 27, 2016 05:56

!!! Almost ready to be started !!! - might even happen tomorrow

CATTE

However, we managed to pick up something wildy different for free....

Ummm.... what the ever living gently caress am I going to do with THAT?????

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Mar 1, 2016 09:54

Well gently caress, a red WRX started tonight......!

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Mar 7, 2016 23:15

25 years ago the access to do things like relocate the panhard rod or convert to Watts linkage / equal length rear control arms / ball joints wasn't available to a kid with about 5 cents for other mods

The big issue of rear suspension bind I can do now, there's also a MazSpeed LSD in it that would have solved the single spinner issues out of corners.

quote:

In the US I know where I'd go to get stuff, but you're not in the US so recommending stuff from over here would be pretty silly

The best and more importantly cheaper stuff is all US sourced. The markups here are fearful. I'd rather buy US direct.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Apr 3, 2016 22:53

WRX Update -

Had loads of check engine codes for what seemed like no good reason and ECU in limp home mode. So after a full wiring check found corroded plug terminals, a split wire and a broken terminal. Which everyone was WTF'ed about because none of that should have been possible.

ECU now happy. Boring bolting on of other poo poo continues.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Apr 6, 2016 12:19

CharlesM posted:

You make the impossible, possible.

Cant argue with that.Altho you should see what Kaptain Ballistik has done on the other side of the garage...... that's a real eye brow raiser. That PWRC 2004 STi has become very VERY different. It's now a 2007 Spec C

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Apr 9, 2016 08:37

Rhyno posted:

Video or it didn't happen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5820gnf9emE

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED????

Yeah okay it's batshit boring. But it's nearly ready to be put back on the ground and actually drive.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Apr 10, 2016 22:46

Rhyno posted:

NOW MAKE IT FLY.

IT'S NOT A RALLY CAR! (That's the WRC2 2007 STI next to it!)

meatpimp posted:

GREAT GOD DAMNED NEWS!

IT MOVED UNDER IT'S OWN POWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

To do : Put the interior back together, front bumper. Move out of the way so the RX7 can come in and I can get stuck into that.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Apr 23, 2016 12:21

Not much more to go

Cattes

Hmmm..... 1500 bucks for a Group C bodykit.

CAT INTERCEPTOR fucked around with this message at 12:38 on Apr 23, 2016

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ May 14, 2016 08:03

Umm.... I think this thread is badly misnamed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2MQ2lTLVms&feature=youtu.be - It moved under it's own power ..... off to get the final pieces put back on and rego.

And in it's place -

Brakes need some work.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ May 14, 2016 12:37

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzdoI_Cdjz4

Just more proof the drat thing actually does move under it's own power. 4 years that took. Stinks like burning plastic or possum poo poo right now.

88h88 posted:

I'm ready for some RX7.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFoaVAjtt68

And you get it!

Oh gawd the steering is TERRIBLE. Worm and ball is just no match for rack and pinion in anyway. Still turns in nicely but holy gently caress is it loose as goose poo poo. And this is a GOOD and well maintained worm and ball steering. When I first owned this car in 1990, it's steering was a mile ahead of anything else but progress has truly marched. That and .... yeah 35 year old car. Rack conversion for sure.

Brakes. Need to be bled. Stops decently even by today's standards but there's really not much weight to stop.

A WRX is not a big car by any stretch. But fuuuuck the RX7 in the garage is stupidly tiny - a good 30 cms shorter beight-wise than anything that has been in this garage. The reality is as well, there's not much forward of the radiatior so you have a 30 cm odd air gap between it and hte front bumper. The WRX you cant see how a repackage could shorten it, the RX7 could have been compressed by 45cms, no sweat.

Interior. Soooo 80's it hurts and a mess right now.

Still rides quite well even for today's standards.

Now... yes it does have the rasp and pulse of a ported motor. 13B "street" port, which means the inlet ports are cleaned up and slightly enlaged to give more intake opening time - like adding more duration on a ICE motor. So on say a cam, this is basically giving 1-2 degrees more duration and a slight lift in profile. You have not changed the cam's timing. In theory with also some mild exhaust cleanup porting, that will give us about 170Kw with a good EFI and mid join exhaust. With 1000kgs, that's enough to start with. Right now it's severly choked with a Nikki carby and a stock exhaust header which are just ridiculously bad.

Now of course the prinicples of exhaust extractors are the same as in any motor, but a fairly big gain can be made by different header lengths. In the case of a rotary, you want the headers to join after the diff if at all possible - also makes it easier to shut them up. In our case, we'll join them at mid-car. The muffler is 25(!) years old but when I got it, I got the top of the line stainless steel street / race edition so it has lasted and still works as intended.

Biggest suprise - the speedo works properly. About 20 years ago I.... umm..... basically drove the thing overnight between Sydney and Melbourne by the coast road (about 1000kms).... after I got past Bega and there was zero traffic and I may or may not have been doing very high speeds for 5 hours. At some point I may or may not have wrapped the speedo on the peg for 20 minutes. And it may or may not have had some issues ever since due to the car being redlined in fifth gear for so long.

I completely deny any knowledge of such youthful shenanigans of course.

I also may or may not need to find a quiet bit of tarmac and do some Italian tyre compound softening.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ May 14, 2016 13:28

Seat Safety Switch posted:

Rotaries sure seem a lot like two strokes to tune to my naive understanding.

This isnt a naive understanding. That's exactly how you tune them - and you even need to think about resonace supercharging on the intake side - getting the return airwave to meet the incoming air wave just right makes a much more noticable difference than on a piston and valve motor. When you have the resonaces right, you get a very noticable tick in power with the much improved scavanging to start with.

Sure, resonance supercharging is a thing in four stroke race motors tuned street cars to some degree but like any two stroke, you can get a real appreciation on how it works day to day.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ May 16, 2016 14:37

mekilljoydammit posted:

For someone on the other side of the planet, who or what are CHU?

The car in his avatar. With what was at the time the worlds first 6 speed conversion in a RX2, custom EFI with a load of home made carbon fibre, power steering and a front end that has to be seen to be believed (like a Galant VR4 strut and a radically different sway bar set up)... tthink it's even got electric windows now so the winders no longer foul the rollcage.

We got plenty of bits left over from the various upgrades.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Jun 4, 2016 10:51

So after talkign about what to do about road cars (Oh gawd I might get an auto. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck no but tow ratings

) I stuck my head under the PWRC STI to think up way to lighten it's considerable bulk (1607kgs...........!) and then took a bunch of pics while thinking about what I am going to do witht he RX7.

First reminder to myself - the RX7 is a Watts linkage, NOT Panhard rod. Second reminder that all the bushings in the rear end are Nolathane.

Annnnd here we go

So it's all straight, no panel work is needed. The wheels are off my old VR4 for any stalkers wondering if they have seen them before. We also have some stock Series III wheels and some wider rims thta I think will be the ones I use

Bit of interior work to do - I'll blank off the center console with carbon fibre and do some rewiring.

Back view with hatch open

13B... and actually it's not quite as stock as I thought. The internals are balanced and the ports are a bit bigger - it's built to rev to 8500rpm reliably all day.So I'm going to need to need a tacho that is marked $$$$ at 9500 rpm. Plus also the parts list KB also said so this is a bit of a trick motor

Twin electric thermo fans.

So here's my first place to attack - a 12A Nikki carb chokes the poo poo out of the motor and it's not jetted even close to right. Als the exhaust is the stock 13B reactor box off a NA RX7 Series V. Yeah. I can make this thing breathe a LOT better.

Tiny chook cooker

Under the rear - Trailing arms are nolathane bushings, Koni shocks and uprated springs (25mm lower, 25% up from stock)

Uhh..... no rear sway bar...? OKay not too much of a bother, the roll centre issue is much blunted with deletion. I have heavier bars front and rear around anyway once I set up longer upper trailing arms.

Stage one fix of the intake issue I will have - EFI loom / computer and injectors off KB's RX2.

Intake plenium, injector seats, throttle bodies and intake runners with heat shield

Now on of the issues with fuelling a rotary is the sheer amount of fuel required the main injectors are big, but they dont handle acceleration requirements without being stupid big and that has it's own problems. So KB had two Volvo injectors that work as accelerator injectors straight down the guts of the throttle bodies - get to full throttle, they open up.

A P-WRC rally car in it's natural enviroment - on stands waiting more fixes.This time the new engine and driveline make the car 1.5 - 2 seconds a km faster leading to total brake failure at the last event. Basically the brakes went beyond the operating temp range big time. The rear brakes have waves on them where thy began to melt.

Plus those brakes are already too small for a WRX, a STI that weighs 1607kgs...... yeah they went gently caress you. The Group N rules say we HAVE to either run this rubbish (we cant even do a aftermarket rotor) or spend a LOT of money for AP Racing / STI big rear end homologated race brakes.

Also note the 60mm rally suspension. Now that is perfectly fine!

Hints about the possible new tow car are somewhere in this post.

CAT INTERCEPTOR fucked around with this message at 11:06 on Jun 4, 2016

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Jun 13, 2016 12:20

mekilljoydammit posted:

Interesting homebrewed throttle setup - some sort of production throttle bodies with an adapter? Curious what all is going on in that plenum, looks like a bunch of stuff in addition to the injectors firing down the throttle bores.

Also, holy poo poo on the Subaru brakes - I always figured the "Group N" spec was back to when the cars were lighter, or was some sort of cruel joke or something. Is there *anything* you're allowed to do with ducting - maybe with some of those fuckoff-powerful electric brake fans and water spray? I know I've seen stuff over here to get air moving at the right place (thought Rooducts were a cool idea) but yikes. Rally may be a bit of a joke over here in the states, but at least the sillier parts of GrN never came to much.

Group N means "Stock". As in, if it isnt a variant Option, you dont get to put it on. At all. And you dont get to play around the rules.

The variant options are VERY interesting however. ABS pump just went see ya laterz with a master cylinder part number that doesnt exist. AP Racing 2 way hydralic handbrake. And.... yeah the WRX brakes are leaving as well shortly.

Musing after spending the weenkend unexpectantly NOT replacing the Commodore, fixing a loving sewer, splitting half a ton of wood and generally not doing what I wanted to do and an extremely rare glass of wine.....

I need a list. I like lists. They give me focus what I want to do. I need to make a list of things to do, the first being regaining my race / rally license. I need to do a Supersprint after I sort the soft brake pedal to baseline the car. 25 years ago 2min 10 around a slower Eastern Creek - should be able to go closer to two minutes even in this sad settup. Once I have the baseline, I'll work out what class I want to be in and then the mods list.

Now thinking of classes and racing. I have something worked out why the USA just does suspensions and a few other things so loving badly and being focused on loving poo poo that doesnt matter - what matters is what the gently caress happens beyond the limits of grip, build it fast there, it'll murder grip queens. The reason whyt he Aussies focus on a world of mods the USA doesnt do is the classes are capacity limited, not mods limited. So you get utterly stupid statements like anti roll bars controlling geometry and fixing so called geometry issues - Dont care who you are, you say this, you are a loving moron - while this gets you laughed off the track Down Under. But you lock the poo poo out of the suspensions with ginormous bars in the USA because that's all you get without getting into virtual sports sedans. Here.... well I'm against 2 to 3 litre cars with freedoms immediatly like brakes and suspensions other than mounting points. So if I want I can reset the Watts linkage s long as it attaches to the body in the same location or lengthen the to control arm. Deleting the sway bar is the "You have to stick to rules" solution to the diff binding issues - Type II and III rulesets give me a *lot* of options, even with obeying the original mount points rule. So I can also go to full adjustible front control arms and coil overs immediatly.

Now once the roll binding issues are fixed - or fixed within the performance ennvelope of the car, brakes are the next thought - well there's a godawful amout of options of four pot ideas - KB runs Mazda / NIssan four pots and that car has been tested on road tyres at pulling up at 1.5G. We'll get this thing stopping

Engine - EFI, big exhaust, 150-160Kw, done for the moment. I'd like to dream about an atmo 20B pulling closer to 300Kw for hilarious V8 asskicking but that wont be cheap if I can find a 20B at all. I prefer staying atmo - I've tried out a RX7 with a stonking turbo and.... well.... I felt like while it fired you down the straight like a goddamn cannon, the throttle response didnt match what the chassis was demanding. An RX7 needs finesse, not a brutal belt. Atmo means you can steer with the throttle and hence get that last 10kph cornering speed.

Bodykit. Late Group C. This is where I dont put performance first - I just like the look. I do know however the rear spoiler does work well and the front air dam can be modded to become a proper undertray for proper downforce. I believe it also can work going sideways / all wheel drifiting. On a slight diversion, this is why I dont really like the Commodore - I cant get a feel when all four are on the edge of traction, like I can with a WRX. When all four are past the limit and it's all wheel drifiting is when the chassis gets truly insanely fast and why I love em. A lot of cars are buit to the point of final grip then just break away into a hopeless mess. Cars I do are always explictly done to handle beyond the grip limit.... this same RX7 got into the spooky beyond grip zone really well with the ability to give you the feedback to feel what exactly it was doing. One of the great joys in going fast is going around a high speed sweeper like turn 1 of Eastern Creek, but the wheel is dead centre and you are steering it on the throttle while all four are in the 10-20% slip zone. Also the Commodore is a heavy handed car. I prefer fingertip control.

Oh... I think my wine glass is empty. Bed time.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Jun 14, 2016 23:33

The tri link really is another clever but still nasty kludge to get around rules unfortunatly - I'd rather sit down and fix the Watts linkage issues because a Watt's linkage is simply the best setup for a live axle. It's such a pity Mazda made the fundamental mistake with the location of the Watts linkage and the upper control arms being too short as all in all, it's not a bad idea, just some seriously lousy execution. Let alone the forces on the rear end tend to load up areas you dont expect, prime example being how the upper control arms break when you have urathane bushing in them - the forces all focus on a very specific area and BANG! So that's why I'll go with longer upper control arms by the way of diff housing extensions (rather than cutting into the body shell and inboard mounting).. I'd prefer to get the Watts linkage right.

Also a real pity when you have a really good look at the front end and see just how wonderfully it works and how easily it can be turned into something that can be adjusted much more than just about anything else - the torsion bars allow for huge castor and such beautiful geometry, let alone the control arm replacements for even more adjustment to camber, ackermann angles, kingpin angles, rate of camber changes and :getin:

One thing that did kinda surprise me is the diff looks like it has angel wing reinforcement.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Jul 9, 2016 12:21

I might point out the WRX is about to regain number plates. This thread is completely misnamed, it's a project gone right. Mainly due to Vogon Engineer wanting the WRX to drive about in in his retirement. No complaints from me on that one.

Kaptain Ballistik has added a very VERY interesting vehicle to his stable

Why yes, it is a lovely LS1. A worked LS1 it turns out.

Annnnd..... yeah that's not expected, is it? A lifted wagon is fairly unique to say the least.

It's a VY Holden Commodore Adventra - A long wheelbase Commodore wagon, lifted to 200mm ground clearence, LS1 AWD (Yes, you read that right, it's a V8 AWD!) pushing something like 270 Kw - it's big, it's also bloody heavy at 1900 kgs so it drinks fuel like whole sucks cock, it's an auto so that makes it worse. However leather everything, every luxury option availible at the time it cruises like hardly anything else. It's one of the most competent tow vehicles known, it handles off road resonably well and even with the weight it does go quite hard.

They arent a popualt second hand car due to the insane fuel economy tho. Stock, 19 litres per 100. With a tune however they imprive to the point this one cruises on the freeway at 11l per 100km.

So now the family stable has -

1 * VE Commodre SS-V in Pontiac trim
1 * VY Adventra
2 * WRX
2 * Forester
1 * RX7
1 * RX-CHU
1 * VS Ute to be burnt or blown up
1 * WRC tank
1 * Eunos .... uhhh.... not sure what the hell it is
1 * Hyandai Accent
1 * Galant VR4

But the sad thing is NONE of them are worth more than this.....

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Jul 17, 2016 08:42

No, not a stock inlet at all. Nor a stock tune. Even with 1.9 ton, this thing has WRX style straight line speed. Hate to try and stop it tho.

So a VY Series II with all the trim possible and a AWD. Oddly doesnt feel as utterly huge as the VE tho. KB got a bargain.

.... gently caress WHAT HAVE WE DONE?????

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Jul 21, 2016 22:47

Oh the WRX passed inspection so it's back on the road. Job this weekend - clean up the garage and pay attention tot he RX-7.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Jul 23, 2016 12:51

I know the weird as gently caress VIN number's been bought up before with the "WRX", it got weirder and maybe even some clarity.

So I wander over to the Father Parental Unit's house when the 2006 WRX now lives, to sign the paperwork to obtain plates on Monday. So while I'm having a look over the finishing bits n pieces, the FPU asks me if I know how much power the car has.

"About 170Kw"

The FPU says "Not according to the RTA" (RTA = Our local DMV)

I'm a bit puzzled "Engine hasnt been run in, how did you dyno it??"

FPU - "The RTA has all the stock power levels according to VIN numbers and the vehicle manufacturers, wanna see?"

I did not know this. "So how much do they claim?"

"206KW"

Now if you know JDM, you know what that is - it's the JDM gentlems agreement power limit they used to have for performance cars. Which given this is definatly a ADM car, I'm rather surprised to say the least. "Uhhh... That's the JDM power limit. WTF?"

So the FPU tells me that according to the RTA AND the insurance companies, the VIN does not match to a WRX, it is a STI. Which I knew Subaru Australia has it as, despit all my sale paperork saying WRX. Did not know the RTA also had it listed as a STI and certainly didnt know the insurance companies were insisting it's an STI. So anyway, look at the vehile record and there it is in black and white... 206Kw. Which is even weirder as the ADM STI's had more than 206Kw. We know it was a press ringer and we know it has some perplexing array of STI and Spec C through it. It's certainly got a TD04, the original engine was EJ255, the heads tho just were not the right part numbers, the water / oil pumps were SpecC parts, the sway bars are 20mm, the suspension was always pink......

So anyway, looking over the RTA numbers I see the weight. "Hang on.... that's 40 kgs lighter than what a WRX is supposed to be, what the hell?"

This car is more and more curious the more we explore where the hell it came from. So now we know it has a JDM performance car VIN, it was at some point mixed and matched to an odd array of STI and Spec C parts and it's lighter than a STI should be as well. At the least this "WRX" is a JDM STI rebuilt as a quasi WRX... or what is now on the top of our suspicions, a Spec C badged as a WRX. Oh I might add an ODB II look at the ECU reveals it's got a different base map that what either an STI or a WRX. The part number matches Spec C.

(My Holden is a similarly WTF car. It's actually is a G8 Pontiac. How it ended up as a SSV, hosed if I know)

:shrug:

Annyway, we're following up with someone we know to try and find out if it's JDM STI or Spec C. Both are interesting as hell, given the lighter weight, I'm now going with Spec C. I have no goddamn idea how or why a Spec C would end up in Australia like this.

Well the car is more Spec C now anyway. The rebuild basically was a EJ258 (Nitrided crank shot block), the strange heads, Spec C / STI everything else other than the turbo, which is TD04 for now. We put in a baffled sump, Killer B pickup, and tried to use a STI intercolle,r it wasnt happy with that for some reason, we'll revisit soon once the car is run in. Diff / Gearbox / brakes / suspension all new, bigger stainless steel exhaust so it drives just like a brand new car all over again. New interior as well.

Neext week - I go buy a real WRX, I always wanted to have one.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Jul 28, 2016 12:51

Seat Safety Switch posted:

You should call Subaru's records department and pull the build sheet for the VIN.

I bet if you found someone who was handy with Japanese you could probably get it right from FHI.

We have contacts. We are asking

Sunday - prepare for another WRX!

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Jul 30, 2016 13:25

It's been nice knowing ya all, my SO is going to kill me

Lets start at the beginning.

Have you ever heard of the Forester GT? It's a first Gen Forester that has had WRX tunning gear shoved under it, with a smaller turbo (TF035) and 130Kw, so a bit less than the US 2.5 litre NA. Except it has more torque and the potential for easy upping the boost. It's not exactly a blazing supercar but it gets up and goes nicely and does tune indecently well so they become a really neat little pocket rocket. My father doesnt have one, his Forester is a Limited with the NA 2 litre annd 92Kw. That Forester is now in my possession and he has my MY06 so called "WRX" for as long as he wishes or can drive - basically tho he always had this idea of turning the Forester into a sleeper but never really got going with it and now he has the WRX to drive, why would he spend time on the Forester? He also has a third Gen Forester for the step family's grandchildren so doesnt need a wagon either. I on the other hand didnt really have a lot of time to resurrect the WRX after the motor exploded so he did most of the work and we swapped cars as I need to cart bikes around.

So.... the Forester. It's a bit shabby, it's got 345,000ms on it but the body is perfect and will go far further. So it's worth putting some work into it, even if plenty of it is getting up to the used by date. The suspension is soft, the diff howls, the stereo sucks and it's basically a station and back car. We dont want that, we want something that will do long distance driving like the Commodore excels at. Except throwing a few bikes in the Commodore isnt a great idea.

I've been car shopping for a fast as gently caress wagon but they are stupid expensive (Clubsport LSA) or just not quite right (Libetty Spec B) and we've always come back to well the Forester does honestly need work and it iss a good car and dumping WRX drivelines into them is fairly common and holy gently caress does it work so why not?

I posted earlier a pic of a WRX we found for dirt cheap with a few things wrong. That really got this kicked off as we joined the buy sell group and found out something very interesting - GC8's and Forester GT's are going for stupidly low prices with blown engines. Below what we always had as a rule of thumb - any car with a good bodyshell is worth 2 grand. So that's our baseline and we found a WRX that didnt start for 2 grand. Hmmmmmm....... but one of the Alliance Motorsport team grabbed it first and gently caress me we got it running and it;s 1700 bucks for a working 1996 WRX.

Then we got tipped off this was up for sale at 1200(!!!!) dollars

Uhhhhhhh... okay a few small parts missing but nothing basically worng. And from a person we know - reason for sale is he got married and cant spend the time to make it run. Well.... we could. And if not, hey parts donor for the Forester! And whats the worst that can happen here, we get a pool of parts and have to scrap the shell ourselves? We might end up fixin it easily and we have a running WRX we can either sell or simply use. No problem there. Cutting to today, we have a look booked tomorrow for the red wagon but we also knew of IChibarn having a garage sale - you know Ichibarn from one of the co-owners named Mechanical Stig. We personally know him as Ben Neal and we've known him for about a decade. Ayway so we went to the sale and I think we got a bunch of very good poo poo for gently caress all

Eh, a bit of STI rcier poo poo, why not?

Okkkaaaay, I like where this is going. A front brace is always a good thing as well as kitty dinner

Yep really like where this is going. Underbody brace for cheap. Wont argue.

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.............

Whut?????????

Oh yeah okay even if the shocks are hosed that's worth the bucks alone. Thank you!

Can anyone translate?

The shocks are not hosed at all, will need a rebuild but we have MCA and Murray Coote who works magic on oldish suspension. Not exactly ricer poo poo either, might be a bit too drift spec to work long term but we can salvage the top plates for better shocks. 300 bucks for the lot? I'll take that!

But it got better. We're having a chat about doing a WRX swap to the Forester and Ben tells us a few things we need to know, the big one being the recommendation to find a Forester GT and grab the loom. That gives you all the wiring required with no splicing - okay sounds good to me. We mention we have heard of a guy selling two GT's (one being a parts car) and a few minutes later Ben pointed us out to someone .... the same guy says hi, you want to buy a parts car? Well....drat! Yes we do! But we warned him we know what WRX prices are with blown motors, dont expect us to pay much. He said yep, he;s well aware that the older cars are presently going thorugh an extinction event. Like us, he;s seen half a dozen this week being offered as parts cars, the engines are popping quite regularly now. His theory is that the oil Subaru recommends is just simply too light for an older motor and the younger drivers with them just cant afford to get the engines fixed.

I agree with the oil thing, 5-30W is too loving light. I at the least put in 5-40W, or 10-50W.

But anyway, I agree to go have a look

- Shown, Vogon Engineer and a MY00 Forester GT auto

It has an engine and a fairly complete one too

So, has this thing really spun a bearing? Lets find out....

What the..... did an idler pulley explode??? That's ball bearings and shards of metal. Everything else seems okay tho and the engine wasnt seized. We got two revolutions turning it by hand before we felt resistance - we are guessing one single bent valve. Hard to say with no timing belt but apparently the belt was NOT broken with the idler failed. Hmmm. Maybe this is a working motor after all?

A detuned WRX engine in a Forester

Brakes are just stock size for a Forester. Dont matter, WRX brakes are easy to fit

Dirty but stock and straight.

First swap target - the stereo. Looks better than waht I have right now

poo poo, thats actually really straight

I offer 500 and... he takes it????

500 bucks for a Forester GT??????

Okay, I've won big time today. This car might be only a day off working if the valves arent bent. If they are, eh, not the hardest of things to fix and even then, wont matter. We have a closed deck 2.5 litre motor. I have the donor for what I need for the Cat Sleeper

Oh and that red WRX wagon? Guess what I'm doing tomorrow?

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Jul 31, 2016 12:15

Annnnd... round two, ten years ot the day I bought the MY06 WRX.....

RATSHIT EVERYWHERE

Hasnt moved in 10 months, brakes has seized so we couldnt push it, one firm yank via snatching strap and a rally car unlocked it and got it rolling.

The smell......

270ish KW of LS1 powered AWD Commodore wagon does tow rather well..... and about there I start thinking hey wait that wagon looks a lot better than we expected and it does look rather mean and wide....

So after some effort to roll the car onto the trailer, some discussion as to what could be stopping the car from running (We think it's the wrong crank angle sensor, turns out the short block and maybe the heads are off a Liberty B4 and there's some dodgy cut n shut wiring to change it to coil over plug) and money change we roll out to clean the engine bay and drag it back to the House of Subaru and Cats

The bad -

Paint is shocking
Stinks
Doesnt run
Gearbox linkages are like stirring a cock in custard
Most interior is gone.

The mediocre -

Brakes work

The good -

It's straight and rust free
It looks like someone changed the suspension from wagon to sedan with alloy arms.
Those wheels look amazing
It.... honestly is too good to cut up. In the flesh it's an agressive looking tough as gently caress wagon. Okay, the Forester GT was supposed to be the wrecking target......

And we go pick that up with Kapatain Ballistik and V-Rod, I tell them that we'll decide which car gets parted out when they see the GT.

Both of them are gently caress HOW MUCH WAS THAT?????? 500??? You cant scrap this! Even with the blown motor we find not a thing mechaically otherwise wrong, The body is only got parking dents, the paint is in great condition and it's only missing the rear seat for the interior. There is simply nothing we cant fix fast and all the electricals even fire up perfectly.

So.. the plan

1) Get the GC8's engine going. We have enough parts to get it kicked over.
2) Motor out of the GT. We think it's a bent valve as well as the destroyed idler. Not the hardest things to fix if the pistons arent damaged and even then, not like a piston change is that difficult.
3) Work out if the GC8 gets scrapped
4) GT gets remotored, re-registered and a TD04 turbo installed as well as a WRX series II ECU so we can reflash it. Still might be an auto but ehhhhhhhhhhh no biggie right now.
5) Work out ways we can save the GC8? Test my luck and see if I can get another GC8 that turns out too good to scrap?
6) Somehow get the Cat Sleeper back on track from this unexpected detour

So what started on Saturday as thinking the cheap as gently caress GT could be the car we use to begin the Cat Sleeper and get the GC8 up and going, the cheap as gently caress GT turns into the bloody bargain of the year and that's going to become at the least the recce car for the Aust WRC round later this year. What we do with it afterwards I dont know but we're NOT scrapping this one. I'm genuinely pleased with myself on this one as under 2 grand, I pick up two turbo Subarus that at least one I can get going as a superb road car. And if I do scrap the GC8, well I have all the poo poo to get the Cat Sleeper moving forward - driveline / suspension swap out first then sort the wiring, then motor.

Oh and the SO took one look at the GT and said "Hey that looks really nice, can I drive that aorund when it runs?".

I live, I die, I live again!

CAT INTERCEPTOR fucked around with this message at 12:46 on Jul 31, 2016

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Jul 31, 2016 13:08

88h88 posted:

GT is dope to turn into a sleeper but that WRX is too pretty to scrap!! Love that shape.

The GT wont be the sleeper, that's going to be the red Forester. The GT will be that nice boxy wagon that ..... yeah okay that'll be a bit of a sleeper too with a bigger turbo and a reflash.

The GC8..... hard choice now with the GT turning out to be such a remarkably decent car. I guess maaaaaybe we find a true wreck to so we can save it too? Knowing the way things are running right now, that'll tun out to be too good to part out as well. Anyway, the GT will live, the GC8 WRX ... I really dont know now.

Bugger it, was not expecting this at all - really thought the GT would be just rubbish and the WRX be obvious rebuild target.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Jul 31, 2016 21:04

Cat Interceptors home for lost Subarus

The GT has a full fuel tank.... ! And I found five cents in it.

The not so good.. smells of old person. First owner wasnt a smoker but still has this haze of old lady pants.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Jul 31, 2016 23:07

88h88 posted:

Time to strip the interior!

We're hunting for new carpet and seats as I type. Bit of airing and cleaning as well and it'll be fine.

Wanna take a few days off work to get stuck into the motor.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Aug 1, 2016 11:57

Day 1.

First things first - getting some ID ont he WRX's motor so we can work out why it wont fire up. We think it's a B4 motor so... who else to call to get an opinion on if it is a B4 motor than Literally A Fish?

So after a bit of to and froing about poo poo to look at, I open up the ECU panel....

Oh. OOOOOOOOOOH. That's not a good start if thats really a WRX auto ECU and also a five plug one to boot. We need a four plug ECU for a B4 so this is off to a poo poo be hosed start

So. Here's our inlet that should be the best guide - it's no WRX one. LAF is a bit puzzled, doesnt seem right. So we move onto the turbo and it's weird as gently caress 90 degree inlet...

[timg]http://alliancemotorsport.org/newgallery/i.php?/upload/2016/08/01/20160801030949-1a2170d5-xx.jpg[/img] = Note to self, check steering shaft, that looks loose to me

That inlet cant be good for power and it's no WRX one either.

Yellow injectors

LAF is cringing at the wiring to say the least

So the engine numbers are found and some more discussion about the horror of the wiring merges, LAF concludes it's a A-C revision B4 motor, which gives us basically a WRX motor with forged internals.

And I conclude poo poo be hosed oval office

.... that sounds like a good name for a WRX we need to unfuck. I dub thee poo poo be hosed oval office or SFC

Right. That's enoguh of that car for today, now onto the Graceful Grey Lady

Radiator out... poo poo I forgot oil lines for the transmission go into the radiator in autos. Bit of a bitch to get them off

One thing I'm careful of around here with possums and housecats about is to wash everything down to get rid of any hint of glycol. That poo poo be bad news for any stray animals.

Okay so the SFC and the GGL. Seems like fair names, one is going to be turned over to the Vogon Engineer to get going now we know the wiring horror and what we are up agaisnt, the other is just a bunch of grunt work to get the engine out.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Aug 2, 2016 11:20

http://www.rs25.com/forums/f105/t86304-diy-auto-manual-swap.html

Saving for future use - Also gives me ideas about the wiring mess of the SFC. Which my father is now trying to talk me into keeping permantly and using as a track car..... GG am I the sensible one in this family???

Well research tonight as it's too goddamn wet to even think about working on either car. So putting into the filing cabinet that almost certainly will need a genuine wreck to salavge a lot of parts... which as I have said, that was the point of at least the Forester in the first place.

That and a wiring loom for a manual turbo WRX / Forester GT. So... yeah time to go to the wrecking yards and go parts hunting. Or roll for sale groups and try my luck.. there is a 98 LX for 800 bucks unregistered, wonder if I can lowball that one and see if I luck out again....

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Aug 3, 2016 12:23

http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f145/05-xt-into-sf5-swap-question-570714/

More notes for later... having a baaaaaad idea.

Day 3

Okay so tonight's job is to get the air cleaner off and drain the oil so we can check if the Grey Lady has spun a bearing.

Future reference for the emissions tubing.

Annnnd gone

Undertray and air box out

Oil out and lets check the drain plug....... hmmm. No sign of metal. The oil itself was dirty but clear of metal too.

Cant find my oil filter removal tool so a loving big set of grips will do. Cut the filter open and.... no metal in there either!

Okay so the previous owner was wrong, this hasnt spun a bearing. If anything I'm betting the bottom end is in good order. So our thoughts of a bent valve are looking better and better, and this engine more and more looking like a going concern.

CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Aug 5, 2016 13:00

I cant help myself

There goes any money in the account for a month.

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CAT INTERCEPTOR · # ¿ Aug 6, 2016 07:42

How was your Saturday? I did this