Miguelones Australian Delivered RS Turbos

[Miguelone]

This thread will be ctrl+c & ctrl+v from my thread on RSLC to start with so bear with me for a moment..

Started off with this RS a friend of a friend was selling with a blown head gasket, wanted $1500 for it.
Made him an offer for $500 and he went for it so then it was mine.

Here's some pictures of how it looked when I first got it.





Pretty neglected old thing with some poor choice in modifications. Random Mitsubishi alternator was in there too with bodgy wiring and was dead so went to Jollys and managed to get a near new aftermarket Alt out of a GX with stock wiring for $50.
Grabbed some 00 GC8 rims off ebay, sorted the alt, took it for a quick wash and got the first good look at the car I'd just bought.
Cleaned up pretty decent but she was still not a really nice example.



Attempted to get it home (Seaford to Heathcote about 2 hours drive) but we barely got it off the Frankston freeway before it was overheating and carrying on so another half hour and a hire trailer and we were on our way home. Now I could start tearing into it and fixing all the dodgy crap from before.

First was the dodgy aftermarket wiring including a cheap "magicalarm" sure was magic cus it was malfunctioning and wouldn't turn the car off

Started off with this


After ripping out all this(Yes that hektik blueneon was chopped into the boot light, thankfully the original light was still there.)



Ended up with this


Another of the first things to fix was the bootlid, the original spooler had been ripped off but obviously it wasn't the first time, seems the obvious solution was to go to town with black silicone sealant and just sit it over the top so that had to go.



Next I pulled the engine/box out while waiting for my new engine to arrive.
Pulled stock VF12 off to discover exhaust housing was full of cracks and compressor wheel looked like this..


So posted on here and ended up with a pair of very good condition VF8's


Pulled engine and box after having a fun time trying to loosen the driveshaft nuts(Didn't get many pics around this time)


Clutch didn't have much meat left so ordered a new GD Exedy from the US


And discovered I had a lightweight flywheel which was a nice surprise(and pretty terrible for daily driving so won't be a modification I'll be repeating)


New engine arrived


Very clean inside, seller told me it had 105k on it and gaskets timing belt etc were done at 90k and it certainly looked like it. Very happy with this.


Painted cam covers and intake mani in wrinkle black


Couple of split front CV boots so replaced all 4 and painted the shafts



Assessed intake manifold and decided which bits I wanted.


Looking tidy


Will continue on in next post...

[Miguelone]

Replacement spoiler from a member on here arrived so I installed that straight away(Sorry anyone whom I bought parts off if I don't mention your name just trying to write this up quickly, I am still very grateful for your help though )


Nardi Gara, Momo/Nardi hub adapter, worn(but cheap) GC8 gearknob arrived and grabbed a bunch more stock parts to replace damaged stuff including handbrake so replaced all those horrid bits. Looks like I installed my Greddy boost gauge sometime around this time as well.
Interior now looking somewhat more respectable


Pulled out dash to replace heater and AC cores as heater core had been bypass and a previous owner had removed the AC and snapped the fittings in the bay off


Found some eggshell underneath the dashboard which was weird, how did that get there!?


New clutch arrived(and genuine subaru filters next to it)



Had flywheel machined


New spigot bearing installed


All installed and torqued to spec


Engine in!


When I was installing exhaust manifolds I noticed a redback had decided to make its home in an exhaust port, sure he got a shock on first startup


Installed new Walbro I'd bought for my previous R33 but never installed


Engine bay all sorted



Some of you who read my previous thread may recall I spent a week chasing both a no start issue and trying to work out why my dash all stopped working. Dash was my stupid fault, didn't plug main plug back into fuse box as I for some reason thought it was an unused plug for the height adjustable suspension or something, Tested all relays, pored over wiring diagrams, pulled the dash back out, started testing wiring while looking over diagrams again. Looked at plug, looked at diagram then it sunk in, whoops.

One problem solved now why won't it start, checked spark, checked fuel, checked over a bunch of other things, swapped injectors, swapped injectors back again and it started up. Still not sure what the original issue was but never happened again so no worries.

While scratching my head with wiring I grabbed stock headunit plugs from a GX at wreckers and soldered it in to replace the twist and taped nightmare install from before


Then I bought a pair of ISO harnesses and stuck a terminal block in so I could add/remove aftermarket controllers, gauges etc without worrying about hacking up the factory wiring


HKS EVC IV installed in the glovebox


All light up


Very pleased with interior now, Legacy 5 piece floor mats and big DIN pocket out of an LX made it complete


Next going for rwc.

[Miguelone]

So Book in for RWC, get quite an extensive list back...

-All brake hoses not secure at struts(Grabbed clips from wreckers and job done)
-Engine Misfire(Turns out one of the coilpacks which were fine before had died after putting the new engine in so it was only running on 3)
-Check engine lamp on(One way valve to MAP sensor was the wrong way so it was chucking a hissy)
-Windscreen(New one installed)
-Wiper Blades(Replaced with good silicone blades)
-Fog Lamps not switched(Not sure what he was on about here, think he got confused with the 2 fog switches)
-Flat Battery(Really?)
-Park Lamp L/H Dull(Plastic bit in lense had popped out, popped back in)
-Adjust handbrake(Easy)
-Machine all disc rotors(Took them to same place as fly and did a great job)
-Front Pads(Grabbed a full set of cheap pads off ebay for $40)
-Lube caliper slides(Easy)
-Brake Fluid Flush(Easy)
-Muffler not supported, loud?(Stupid catback which didn't fit the car properly and was just all around horrible, borrowed stock catback)
-F&R Swaybar link bushes(Replaced with Superpro)
-Power steering oil leak(Pressure washed and hoped it didn't show up again quickly )
-RH FR Balljoint(Bought a decent OE replacement pair off ebay)
-RH headlight cracked(Bonnet slammed down on it , wreckers sorted that easily though)
-Tint too dark(Yep, removed. Would like to do some light bronze tint I think)
-Incorrect speed rating on tyres(Grr, had grabbed another set of tyres in a trade for some Skyline hubs but two of them were no good. Ended up buying another pair of used tyres off ebay for $30)


Quite a list, sorted everything easily enough though glad it wasn't anything major. Also installed used Whiteline ALK and new Superpro Rack bushes I bought when I did the balljoints

Don't really have any photos of any of this work except the swaybar bushes. My little baby vice was too small to force them in without flexing off to one side so I made a special tool out of some big sockets and a spring compressor


All done




All ready for RWC



So I had it all sorted, passed the second time no worries. Rego'd enjoyed it immensely for a couple of weeks.


Then on my way to have a new exhaust put together this happened..






Exiting a roundabout doing maybe 40-50 the back end completely came out without warning spun me 180 over keep left sign on the centre divider across 2 lanes of opposite direction traffic 180 back the way I started on the grass on the opposite side of the road.
Quite an experience to say the least, very thankful I wasn't hurt and there wasn't any other vehicles involved especially given(Due to my own procrastination/stupidity) I hadn't yet insured it.
I think a variety of factors(Wet road, heavy exhaust parts all stacked right in the back of the boot, raised tyres pressures that morning in an attempt to improve fuel economy, tired neglected rear end) all probably contributed to it behaving how it did. Certainly learned my lesson about insurance though, sorting a replacement stung a little bit.

Here are some photos taken later in the afternoon after it had dried up, you can see where it slid across the road. I started off in the lh outer lane and ended up near the gumtrees



Next up, finding a replacement.

[Miguelone]

Now finding a replacement car...

I was already on a fairly tight budget getting the first car sorted and now I needed to find another, whilst I'd thought about repairing it to get it to an acceptable standard just wasn't going to be viable no matter how I swung it so I hit FS sections, facebook pages, gumtree & ebay and searched for something that would suit my needs. Enquired about a couple of shells on here interstate which would have been pretty tough to get back down here and looked at a white Ausdel RS wagon with a dead engine which although tidy(and the seller was a super cool guy) had 550,000k's on the clock and was showing wear consistent with such.
Whilst I did want a wagon I wasn't particularly keen on a white car either(Sorry guys but they do look a bit like a fridge)
I looked at a burgundy JDM GT wagon which came in through that dodgy rebirth scheme in the early 00's too. It had lots of very nice fruit(Monsoons, 5 piece mats, black interior, DIgital climate control, remote central locking, bronze glass, mudguard pods, pretty much specced with all the cool Japanese parts) Unfortunately it was an auto and also had front end damage which looked like every hanging panel forward of the firewall would need a decent amount of work or replacement so for the money he was asking I just wasn't interested.

Then John(Snowball) posted in my EOI for sale thread about Blackcitydiamonds car. I went and had a look and it seemed like a pretty good buy. Had a couple of bits of fruit(4 pots, wrx 5 spokes, 3" stainless turbo back) Put down a deposit and had it delivered to my mates a couple weeks later so we could start sorting which bits I wanted)
Here's a couple of pics of the condition it was in(They're not very good sorry)






While I was waiting for my tax return to come through to pay for the remainder I did some things to occupy my spare time.
Painted grille insert black like factory


Picked up some 98 GC8 wagon front seats for $120



Very dirty but oh so much more supportive than the stock RS seats. Wrapt with em, the shoulder support in the stock seats was lacking(i.e. nonexistent) so they became quite uncomfortable on longer trips. These are brilliant!

Also picked up a Syms strut brace from an ebay seller in Malaysia, it's designed for a BD but fit no worries. Will restore the end plates soon.


So now have both cars together


Originally I was planning on pulling my still very fresh engine from the other car along with my new clutch etc but decided to do a compression test on both engines first.

Results
Old car 160/140/150/150PSI. Good and strong
New car came up 150PSI all around so it seemed a logical decision to save the hassle and keep going with everything else

After spending the first day doing two fifths of bugger all decided to write up a bit of a list to get things rolling properly.


With some mucking around(and quite a few beers) on the way..


Given we weren't swapping the engine and drivetrain this left suspension components(I wrote coilovers but well it was just easier than writing springs and struts, they're just 99 GC8 suspension nothing fancy yet) and interior/exterior parts that needed swapping over.

As blackcitydiamond car was unfortunately stolen and the locks damaged I replaced all the locks and the entire drivers door with those off the old car.
I also had a windscreen bloke come out and replace the broken rear quarter window with the one off the old car. He did an excellent job so if you're in South East Melbourne and need windows installed I definitely recommend Top Class windscreens.

Now Blackdiamondcity had had the roof lining re trimmed in charcoal and all the roof plastics were sprayed in vinyl paint. It wasn't really my cup of tea so pulled the filthy old bits out of the old car and set to work cleaning them up.

This is the headlining, you can see where it looks like someone spat something at the driver, gross.


Everything cleaned up and drying in the sun


All bare


Clean! Almost looks brand new



Cleaned out the whole rear interior before refitting too.


I'd thought I took more pictures during but apparently not. It's great having 2 of the same car in the same spec though. Picked the best bits out of both interiors and ended up with a nice tidy setup. This is the only photo I have of the finished interior, I'll try to take some reasonable quality shots sometime soon.


Spotted this gem at the carwash too, I think that's a late model Falcon spoiler :S


People on the Facebook page will have seen these already but for those who haven't here are a couple of photos of the end result. Took us 5 days to finish it all up but I am very pleased.(Before anyone asks I made sure this time to have the car insured before I even had it back home )



Full Spec list at current

MY1992(1991 Build) Charcoal Grey RS Turbo Sedan
Exterior: Stock
Wheels: MY00 GC8 6 Spokes
Interior: 98 GC8 Wagon front seats, Nardi Steering wheel, WRX gearknob, Greddy boost gauge, Legacy floor mats, Broadway rearview mirror
Engine: Bog stock, 3" Turbo back exhaust
Handling: WRX 4 pot front brakes with slotted rotors, Whiteline Anti Lift Kit, 99 GC8 springs & shocks, Syms front strut brace, unknown rear strut brace, Superpro swaybar endlink bushes

[Miguelone]

Now after all of that plans are really just to fix minor things I'm unhappy with and keep it cheap and cheerfull till my bank balance has recuperated a bit

Firstly set about repairing one of the foam mudguards that was damaged. Will paint up the rest of them and install on the car soon.



I used a 2 part superglue which has formed a really strong bond and still has some flex in it.




Then painted satin black, I'll be sanding a bit more and repainting before I'm done as the colourmatched paint they'd previously been painted on was cracked and it still shows through.



Next up I removed the black that had been painted over the chrome on the bodymouldings, The moulding on the bumper will need to be replaced(But really the whole bumper needs repainting so will worry about that then) and I grabbed another moulding from the wreckers for the drivers door as it had been colourmatched with the rest of the old car.

Some time, acetone and a lot of cotton balls later I had this..




Much better.

I also painted the front calipers black, I really like the sleeper aspect of these cars and the red brakes stood out a bit too much.


Next I will be FINALLY sorting out the exhaust I set out to have put together on the old car, the system currently on the car will be up for sale.

[Miguelone]

A not so exciting update, did turbo gaskets and resealed cat(Was leaking from both flanges cus someone had only sealed it up with selleys all clear :S)

Bought same permaseal gasket kit as I did for the other engine from same seller, different packaging though?


Also found out dump I was hoping was bellouth is a split dump Doesn't look too badly designed though but I might see if I can rip that divider out.


Turbo came off pretty easily, except for this bastard clamp, who decided to install it facing that way!?!?


Yay not munted!


Old gaskets


Car seems a teensy bit more responsive now which is good. Is quieter too since fixing leak.

[Miguelone]

Cheers guys,

BlackDiamondCity you wouldn't happen to have the Varex remote would you?

Some minor updates, been driving a fair bit, working out where to go wth things.

Replaced the GF8 seats with 99 GC8(Black with red inserts), would really like a pair of the very early GC8 seats with the red tiger stripe pattern though.

Grabbed a resonator delete and pair of front shocks with unknown red lowering springs on them. Chucked em both on the car pretty much straight away, definitely enjoying the subtle bit of additional intake noise and improvement in throttle response the resonator delete has provided and the springs bought the front down almost perfect to match the height of the GC8 rear bits.


Also bought a pair of new steering rack bushes, I'd replaced them in the other car but couldn't be bothered pulling them out as they're only $30 but steering was starting to feel pretty hairy so they definitely had to be done.



Whilst I was under there I noticed ATF comeing from both bellows so plans are STi 2.7 rack, rebuild power steering pump and new tie ods/tie rod ends, should feel nice and tight after.

[Miguelone]

Well I haven't updated my thread in here in a little while. Big change went down as well as some minor stuff. So now copypasta from Subyclub thread.

First off I grabbed a really cheap MX5 Momo Cobra/Monte Carlo(Which is the same wheel fitted to early JDM RS' & RS RA's) and wow does this wheel feel good in the hand. Neither the stock ausdel Momo nor the Nardi Gara even come close to how good this feels in the hand so I'll definitely be on the lookout for a mint one of these(and a horn pad without a Mazda logo )



Then week before last I went to my visit my dad when on the way home going through stop start traffic the temp guage is rising :S. I pull over have a look and there's coolant sitting on top of the engine so I nursed it back to my dads, let it cool down still not entirely sure where the leaks coming from(and sorta deep down hoping it's a bhg cus an sti engine sure would be nice ) got it the hour and a half home without the temp needle moving and spent the weekend ripping the intake apart to find out what the problem is.

Turned out it was just the O ring on the coolant bypass so $2 for a pair of new O rings and it's happy as anything again. Of course as is the case with old cars I managed to break a couple of things, fittings on that blue pressure exchange solenoid? both snapped off so I just bypassed it. then I managed to break the the nipple off the BOV. went to pull the BOV out and the 90deg on the shitty plastic intercooler snapped off :dash2: (luckily I had a spare) so epoxied a brass nipple onto the bov for the time being(Will either buy a new OEM or a Forge Motorsports billet OE replacement unit down the line)

Whilst the intake was all off gave everything a proper clean. SHINY!

Before



During





After
[/IMG]http://i.imgur.com/x3uTTaR.jpg[/IMG]

Replaced all the vacuum lines and bypassed the coolant flow through the TB and IACV whilst I was at it. Save the hassle when inevitably more 20 year old rubbers decide to fail.

Also picked up some alloy rear C links for $30 from a DOBC member and chucked them in.

[Miguelone]

So a few weeks back I parked the car, came back to find this.

No note or anything, pretty annoyed. Figured it would've cost me less to repair it myself than I'd pay in insurance excess. Started talking to people in NZ looking for a Jap spec Legacy bumper and garnish. Getting close to pulling the trigger when an RS for sale in Sydney pops up on my FB newsfeed. Burgundy, sunroof, whiteline swaybars, looked nice and tidy from the photos.
Thought about it a few minutes, made an offer minus a couple of other bits of fruit and the owner accepted it so within a couple of hours I'd transferred a deposit, booked a flight and endured a few seemingly endless days whilst I waited till I could pick it up.
Left my place at about 3:30 on Saturday, Taxi to the station, Train to Southern Cross, Bus to the Airport, Plane to Sydney, Train from the Airport to Wolli Creek then another train to Sutherland and FINALLY I got to see the car I'd commited to for the first time. Gave it a quick look over, took a quick test drive then handed over the cash and set off back home.

Just after I picked her up.

And 6am Sunday morning after a couple of hours nap. Ended up driving straight the whole morning, stoppng every couple of hours. Drove along to the Subyclub BBQ and then home after that.
Got it back home and got to take a proper look over everything.



Paint and bodywork are awesome. Unfortunately sunroof had apparently been leaking and previous owner had pulled the seal up above the roof and sikaflexed it to both the roof and peeled around the glass. I'd put a seal on order through Amayama but later found out that the seal I'd selected was different to my car and mine came with the glass. which Subaru wanted $1500 for D: Luckily I found a guy wrecking an NA with a sunroof so will be buying the glass off him.


Boot looks almost like new and OEM jack and full toolkit were cool to see.

Even cooler to see though was a full set of original RS decals in a dealership envelope sitting in the service books folder!

Interior on the otherhand, although in good condition. Was pretty dirty. Was also a smokers car at some point in its life so there was browny nicotine/tar gunk on all the vinyls/plastics and some cigarette burns in the back seat and shifter surround trim. The interior was the first thing I set about fixing.

Pulled out the carpet and Karhered it till it came up nice and clean then let it dry in the sun for a couple of days. Chucked in my GC8 front and better condition rear seats when I reinstalled the carpet.

Noticed a JDM flare holder as well which was an interesting find. Accidentally installed or respecced whilst it was on the production line perhaps?

Cleaned this type of gunk off of the vinyl, yuck!

Wasn't happy with this messy chopped up headunit wiring either so like any sane person would do I pulled the entire dashboard assembly out of both cars and swapped the entire loom over. Much better

And because I suck at remembering to grab all the right photos off my phone I'll post the after photos in the next post but it looks and feels a lot better than before. Couple more bits and pieces to sort out till I'm completely happy but that's cars

Had been sorting out some bits and pieces in the last month or so so all of these will now be making their way onto the red car instead of the grey one.


JDM RS cams.

V1/V2 WRX coilpacks with apparently only 23k km's on them so should be much better than the failing 2 bolt coils.

Power steering system upgrade. New tie rod ends, rack ends & rack boots. Legacy PS cooler, WRX 2.7 turn rack and WRX pump and lines(Not pictured)


Also picked up a used Koyorad for a great price so that'll be another nice addition.

[Miguelone]

Pics missing from last post.

Carpet in


Dash out.


Both out.


yuck


Better.


Only difference between MY92 and MY93 looms was I had to depin these connectors and swap them over.



Cleaned out the HVAC while I was at it.


Back in


All back together


Now for some actual updates.

Removed the shitty aftermarket aerial, had to cut it off as it had been crossthreaded(was actually loose in the hole)


Pinched the OEM aerial off the grey car(Need to get around to cleaning the boot jam too :S


Swapped out the fuel pump for my Walbro too. Previous owner said he'd had an OE replacement pump installed not long ago but, well, hmmm...

Feed line clamp was completely loose


Pump is a random Nissan pump


And pickup fitting is cracked


Seemed like a disaster waiting to happen.

Must've been monkeys working at whatever workshop he'd taken it to though cus I also noticed this


Wasn't like that when I last looked so must've been working itself loose, other side was loose as well, both with completely random bolts and when I chucked in the bolts from the grey car I found out both the captive nuts are crossthreaded too. chucked a couple of nuts on the ends for now but not sure if I should helicoil, swap in another subframe or just leave it.

Chucked in the strut bars, swaybar endlinks, GC8 shocks and random red lowering springs I had in the other car and handling is far better than either car was prior. Those bits coupled with the Whiteline swaybars have made a huge difference. Turn in is great, both swaybars are set at their stiffest setting so now the car feels very neutral and predictable. Still need to swap over 4 Pots, Whiteline ALK and do the GC8 rack swap so I'm looking forward to how it's going to feel with all those on as well.

Chucked in the GC8 coils I grabbed as it was losing spark under boost as well as removing the turbosmart BOV and installing the stocker and installing my resonator delete. Power delivery is much improved now as well.

Finally, the shifter was super sloppy. When I had the interior out I notced the bush in the top of the shifter was completely falling apart and allowing huge amounts of movement.
So I pulled the shifter assemblies out of both cars, grabbed the best set of the blue plastic bushes and I now have an excellent feeling shifter. Whole car just seems to be getting better and better with minimal spending, I'm wrapt with how it's all turning out

As it stands now I think I'll finish swapping my nice bits off the grey car so I can sell it more or less stock, sort out the sunroof. Then I just need to decide if I want to go further into handling upgrades or start looking to a slight power increase, decisions, decisions.

On that note, I'll leave you all with a pretty poor artsy night shot

[Miguelone]

Minor up update. Swapped the 4 pots over from the grey car and a wheel swap ménage à trois ended up with me trading my MY00 GC8 stockies for some GD 5 spokes with meaty Pirelli P7s on em.

I still think 16s are the perfect size for a first gen but these are growing on me. I'll probably just move onto something else after the tyres have worn out though

[Miguelone]

*Exhales*

And now thread is up to date, for now.

[SILINC3R]

You lucky bastard. Wish we could just pick up nice turbo sedans all day long. Awesome build thread though. Just jealous so dont mind me. If you feel like shipping one you just let me know.

[bcmaxx]

You lucky bastard. Wish we could just pick up nice turbo sedans all day long. Awesome build thread though. Just jealous so dont mind me. If you feel like shipping one you just let me know.

There must be a lot of clean cars down there! we have to "make" ours clean around here! Nice projects! how do you restore your paint so well? looks like showroom shine!

[Miguelone]

Haha cheers guys, I guess there is quite a few tidy examples but there's also a lot of neglected cars around. I've been lucky with the cars I've had all having had extensive aint work at some point although the first car was very much a poorly looked after car by previous owners. I guess lack of snow and car eating salty roads helps to keep them looking tidy also due to their being less than 1000 Ausdel Turbos I gues they've in lots of cases been well looked after from new. Not to say my cars haven't been without their work needed though as the thread demonstrates.

As for paint condition, to be honest I haven't done anything apart from keeping them clean, they just photograh well I guess?

[allnines']

Greetings-with a pic of my '91 with a reproduction of the plate on our car from the time my family lived down under from '70-'72! Bummer about your accident-love your MOMO steering wheel! And jealous!

[kimokalihi]

Man I'm jealous of both your cars. Why do you guys get better versions than us! Not fair. You did a great job turning that around and what a steal for $500.

[Miguelone]

Wow you must get a lot of comments abut your repro NSW plate?

Only the first car was $500, the other 2 cost more than that

Small update, new gearknob arrived.

[allnines']

Wow you must get a lot of comments abut your repro NSW plate?

Only the first car was $500, the other 2 cost more than that

Small update, new gearknob arrived.

I wish! With my long work week/hours my car is parked away from people would see me and be able comment on it

[allnines']

Got this plate on my '99 after I had to "decommission" my favorite '91 wagon due to rot

[Alphius]

Wow, I love seeing the work you've done on all those cars! You've ended up with a pretty tidy car it looks like.

I used to own an American version of your red car...
I even had RS Turbo decals custom made just like the ones in your dealer booklet.


Sold it to a friend a couple years back and it's now at a little higher spec than factory.
'95 WRX EJ20G
TD05-16g
Aftermarket tuned ECU @ 18psi
4.44 5-speed gearbox

[Miguelone]

Long time since I updated on here again. So bulk copypasta.

Bits from the first car moved onto the second and now all the best bits of all 3 are on the red one.
 
With which I guess I should update this thread, been busy over the last month or so.
 
As much as I'd been enjoying the new RS there was a couple of things I wasn't happy with. Gearbox was slightly crunchy in 4th and engine although the original for the car  was very dirty had some leaks and was slightly low on compression in cyl 3.
So I decided after some uhmming and ahhing to yank the engine/box out of the grey car and chuck them in the red one as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHp7e8ASohw
Cool GoPro timelapse video my mate put together.
 

 
Whilst I was at it I fitted the V5/6 power steering setup, Koyorad and LCA's with Whiteline ALK and near new balljoints. I also rebuilt the power steering pump with new seals & O rings before chucking it in.
 

Fresh pump, had actually been badly sprayed black for some reason so took a bit of effort to get it as clean as it now is.
 

 
Which meant sorting a different solution for powering my aftermarket bits. Chopped up my ISO loom, cut a pair of stock plugs out of a car at pickapart and now my boost gauge works again.

 
Finally for this update had a bit of spare time this arvo to sort some little bits and pieces.
 
Installed a Jason M pipe to replace my previous resonator delete for a bit of a cleaner look.

 
Made a quick fire extinguisher bracket.

 
and installed my boost controller. In the first RS I had the solenoid mounted where the AC receiver drier goes as it didn't have AC. This meant in order to keep my AC I had to think about a good spot for it to mount fairly easily. Took a while but thanks to something I saw on the DOBC forums I ended up with this solution.
 

Bracket mounted off one of the igniter bolts.
 

Tight fit down there but it keeps everything neat and as a bonus is even closer to the turbo than the stock solenoid.

Tiny update time.
 
Since I've had this car the AC clutch bearing has been squealing with the AC turned on which has been pretty irritating especially seeing as it's summer. Had swapped the bearing section with one off a space compressor I have but it wasn't really a whole lot better so I decided this evening to fix it properly.

It would've cost $300-400 for a new clutch assy, total spend for the bearings and belt was about $50. Definitely worthwhile.
 
New bearings for the clutch and tensioner as well as a new correctly sized belt as the one fitted was undersized and incredibly difficult to remove and refit.

For anyone with an early Denso compressor interested in doing this themselves part numbers are as follows.
Clutch bearing - Nachi 30BG05S2G-2DS
Tensioner Bearing - UBC 6301-2RSC3EMQ5
Belt - 4PK890
 
Clutch disassembly is pretty easy.
Remove the 10mm nut on the front, wiggle the front section off(Be careful not to lose the shim that sits between it and the compressor shaft) Then remove the circlip retaining the pulley section and slide it off the housing.
 
Use a punch to smack the old bearing out and a suitably sized socket or an actual drift to smack the new one in and re peen over the edge. Tensioner is pretty much the same process.
 

 
Put it all back together and enjoy your now quiet AC.

Another quick evening project. Rebuilt WAIC pump.
 
Only replaced the centre bearing as the bearing at the end was perfectly smooth and felt almost brand new. Cleaned everything up, replaced O rings and the centre bearing. $10 total cost.
Couldn't get the seal between the pump and the electric motor either so am hoping it is alright. Seemed nice and supple still.

Was interesting to find out as well that the bearings used in the pump are the exact same dimensions as skateboard bearings.

Is a lot quieter now, can barely hear it.


Well guess I should update this thread. Been a few changes to the RS lately.
 
For now I'll just leave you with this. Grey RS is gone and I have a new addition to the stable.
 


Anyway guess I'll update going on with the RS. Been a lot of ups and downs with it lately. Trying my patience that's for sure. I'll try to keep it relatively in order.
 
Flew through roadworthy after all the work I'd done over the last couple of months. Wiper blades and clutch fluid bleed. Now rid of those awful yellow plates! Spent the extra for black plates too. Looks a lot neater imo.

 
The single bolt coils I'd bought started crapping out too unfortunately. Contemplated buying a new set but since the AUD's gone to shit they're a lot more expensive than they were when I'd previously looked at them. This led to searching for the best product to reseal them effectively. Pack of JB weld, left overnight and they've been perfect ever since. Great $12 fix.

 
Installed a V2 STi 6K ECU. Feels stronger and smoother throughout the rev range and loves to pop and crackle on decell now. A lot more fun.

 
Hit a milestone!

 
Installed the door decals from Seans sticker pack. Awesome pack.

 
Picked up another sunroof glass with a better seal. Still not perfect though.

 
Said goodbye to the grey RS

 
Bought a VF24 for cheap.. too cheap. Got it in. Felt awesome for about an hour then seized back running the VF12 for now.

 
Now since installing the ECU my clutch had been slipping some. It got worse during the short time the new turbo still worked then really bad in the couple of weeks following. Once I got it out could see how bad it really was. Started chewing on the rivets :S


 
Got bits and pieces together. Near new Exedy Heavy duty organic, Flywheel out of the grey car machined, HEL braided line(This ended up being no good so has been sent back. Looks like the threads on the hard line end weren't tapped far enough down into the fitting so it wouldn't seal) Spigot bearing, fluid etc.

 
Old vs New

 
Glad I had the spare flywheel too. Noticed after pulling the old clutch that whoever machined the fly last didn't think dowels were important o.O

 
New clutch feels awesome. Engages pretty much right off the floor. Heavier pedal as to be expected which is nice. Definitely a more positive feel all around.
 
Picked up some coilovers off ebay. Tanabe Sustec Pros. Still waiting for rears(Have been sitting in a mail centre in QLD almost 2 weeks  ) But fronts are in the car. 10KG swift springs which I thought would be damn harsh though they actually feel reasonable. I may end up going a softer spring depending on how it feels with the rears in.
 
Bit of a difference in droop.

 
Just after fitting, have bought it up a little since and may need to bring it up a bit more. It's rubbing on the guard lip under anything more than very slow cornering and I've lent my guard roller to a mate.

 
Picked up some alloy front LCA's too. Just GC8 STi/B4 arms so no extra castor or track. Will freshen up with Superpro bushes and new endlinks before they go in.

 
Lastly for this update. Had one of those "OH SHIT" brain farts the other day before leaving to go to the meet at docklands. Checking over a few things in the bay whilst the car was running, noticed the turbo oil feed looked like it was weeping a tiny bit so I decided to nip it up a little.
Not thinking about what I'm doing, grabbed my big 1/2" breaker tightened it a little and the bolt snapped  :dash2:


 
Luckily I had a spare and could get the snapped off thread out of the turbo without a hassle.
 
That's it for now, thanks for reading.

[Legacy777]

That's definitely quite the update! Keep up the good work.

[silver03]

What a great story. I love the endless supply of cars, parts and best of all your ingenuity in making it all work.

[Miguelone]

Hookay update time.
 
First off  couple of minor upgrades.
 
Picked up a couple of bits and pieces. Whiteline H brace, Apexi cast alloy intake elbow and gen2 airbox.

 
And straight from the UAE soft brand new 90deg turbo inlet
 

 
A mate of mine powdercoated my Syms strut brace mounts in a yellow very close to the original too. Very pleased with my bay as it its now.
 

 
Now for the srs bsns updates.
 
Queens birthday weekend + limiter launch = wheel spin then no more first

 
Picked up another stock RS box/diff/spare shafts off a mate for $50
 

 
Cleaned up the box and smashed it in. Broke on Friday back on the road Sunday so good bit of luck there.
 

 
Everythings all sweet till a couple of weeks ago then I booted it off the line, about to grab second and clunk clak clak clak . Luckily only around the corner from home so limped back in second. Eventually got around to pulling it out and inspecting the damage.
 

 
Not as bad as the first time but yep she's fucked too.
 
Bid on a MY99/00 box on ebay with more or less the same shitty ratios  and a potentially bad 2nd. Outbid at $190 and didn't feel like going any higher.
Went to Jollys with a mate to check out a MY97 wrx they had which would've been similar with ratios as well and just as unkown. ended up leaving with a TY754 4.44 box and suretrac rearend out of an 05 WRX with 130k on the clock and severe front end damage for $350! Cheering!!
 

 
Didn't really want to grab the shafts off the car as I wasn't sure on the condition of the front RH CV's given the damage sustained. Most of the time removing the box was actually spent removing bits, like the airbox, power steering lines, brake master etc to remove the dump pipe to remove the box as the corner had been pushed so far across everything was fouling.
 


 
This left me looking into a.) buying shafts from elsewhere or b.) adapting the female box and diff to my female inner CV's
 
As luck would have it... I didn't need luck cus Subarus are made of lego
 
Rear end was easy. the LH stub axle from the Gen1 viscous pops straight in to the Suretrac center. Only issue was I only had 1. Message to the mate I gave spare diff and first broken box to and extra stubs were on their way to me express post.
 

 
Mmmm, suretrac

 
Resealed the rear cover, cleaned up housing, replaced side seals/o rings and BAM!
 

 
Front diff on the other hand was a little more involved. Due to the RS box having circlips rather than snap rings on the inside of the stub axles splitting the box was necessary to install them into the later box. sundials for front diff also have a smaller ID on the seal and a different design due to CV dust cover design so I also had to resetup the front final drive backlash & tooth contact. after it was all done box copped a reseal and a helicoil in the lower starter bolt hole for the 4 bolt box stud and it was ready to throw under the car.
 
Fresh products for assembly

 
Stub axle installed in front diff.
 

 
CLEAN!
 

 
First cluster gear is 5mm wider than the RS boxes and 2nd & 3rd both 1mm wider.
 

 
Reasonable tooth pattern.
 

 
So how does it all feel now? WOW. Gearing is hnnng, gears mesh soooo sweetly with no synchro issues to speak of and the new shifter assembly is just marvelous to row through. Totally transformed the car, just that much more enjoyable to drive. Wrapt.
 
To end on just another very minor upgrade. JDM 7.5k redline/9k Taco, becase REVVVVS
 

 
Thank you for reading.