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08-18-2015, 12:27 AM | #1 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 278895
Join Date: Apr 2011
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Olympia, WA
Vehicle:2004 GG WRX @s hitwgn (no spaces) |
04 WRX Wagon - a different approach.
Disclaimer: Many of you will find the content in this thread to be sacrilegious in nature.
A bit of history: When I decided to tear this car down and rebuild it from the ground up, I had been having a sour taste in my mouth regarding the Subaru "scene" for some time. The 2004 WRX had been my dream car since I had seen the early commercials for them on TV. For a time after I purchased my WRX, I was enticed by many of the things that are now stereotypical of Subaru owners. This turned into doing the typical "full bolt ons" build. I enjoyed this fully for a short period of time and almost over night became sick of it. I started to fall further and further away from the brand-biased nonsense that unfortunately plagues a lot of this community. Somewhere between the endless photos of Subarus with mud flaps and knock off wheels all over the internet, I felt it was time to push in my own direction with the car. I looked at all of the car makes and models that I liked, and borrowed ideas where appropriate. It made sense to me to strip the car down to its bare bones and start fresh. In retrospect, I should have sold the car and bought a shell to work with. Here's the car when I made the choice to push in the direction I'm headed now. I often look back at photos like this and wonder what the hell I'm doing. The story so far: When people ask me if I'm building a show car, I always respond something like this: "I'm building a car that will hopefully be so well built that I can bring it to and enter it in a show. I want a driving car first." I've tried to keep that attitude foremost in my mind as I go along through this process. I had a vision in my head of the direction I wanted to go. I knew I wanted to build a car that would put me in the 500AWHP-600AWHP range. I also wanted very aggressive body styling with a focus on function as opposed to form. I drew up this sketch once I had made decisions about how I wanted to proceed. It should give you an idea of the direction I'm going. After doing most of the major tear down on the car, I sent it up to Godspeed Fabrication to have the first of the fabrication work completed. I had decided that if I wanted to make the car truly wide body, I should give it big enough wheel wells to take advantage of the new roomier fenders. In addition, I deleted some brackets and had the unnecessary holes in the engine bay, and the firewall welded. None of the off the shelf full wide body kits really caught my eye, so I decided to mix and match parts from two manufactures to get the look that I was after. The front fenders are Chargespeed vented +25mm. The rear fenders are L'aunsport. Here they are, along with a Chargespeed lip mocked up onto the car. The car sits just about 6 feet wide front and rear and has room for a 12" wide wheel inside the wheel wells. At this point I felt confident about the direction I was taking the car and finished tearing the car down to a bare shell. I spent a lot of time cleaning, degreasing and removing excess seam sealer. It's still not where it needs to be, but it is incredibly tedious work, so I do as much as I can in a sitting. Due to some really poor decision making and workmanship somewhere in the car's history, I also had to remove the roof skin that was on it. Most recently the car was mocked up with a mock up EJ257 and V7 STI 6 speed and sent up to Speedfactory Racing to have the exhaust system built. That is where the car is located right now.
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08-18-2015, 12:27 AM | #2 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 278895
Join Date: Apr 2011
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Olympia, WA
Vehicle:2004 GG WRX @s hitwgn (no spaces) |
UPDATED MOD-LIST AUG 2016
Anything with a[*] next to it still needs to be sourced/purchased. Exterior JDM rain guards JDM fog light bezels JDM multi-color fog lights JDM GD roof vent[*] USDM 04/05 STI front bumper cover USDM Saab 9-2x roof rail deletes USDM Saab 9-2x rear bumper cover USDM Saab 9-2x hatch USDM Saab 9-2x tail lights Morette 04/05 STI headlights[*] APR Front under-tray[*] Chargespeed front lip Chargespeed vented 20mm front fenders Kaminari reverse cowl hood Singular Motorsports hood louvers Aerocatch locking hood latches L'aunsport 25mm GG rear wide body Shine Auto Project side skirts Liberal grille[*] SAA turn signal mirrors ABW passenger headlight dummy with NACA duct Voltex Type H2S II hatchback GT wing Voltex GD diffuser Interior 02-07 WRX/STI dash - trimmed and electrostatically flocked 05-07 WRX/STI center console - trimmed and electrostatically flocked 02-07 JDM red hazard button Sparco Pro2000 seat Flossy super heavy griptape knob Aerosim Research Carbon fiber front door panels Electronics Link G4 ECU[*] RacePak digital cluster[*] Mojave box windshield defroster[*] Iwire milspec harness[*] Motor Benson Machine sleeved and o-ringed EJ257 short block Headgames motorworks pocket ported EJ257 heads[*] ARP case bolts Outfront Motorsports 1/2 inch head studs Killer B Oil pan Killer B baffle Killer B pick up JDM STI 11mm Oil Pump[*] GSC S2 cams[*] GSC beehive springs/retainers[*] Supertech valves[*] Pauter X-beam connecting rods CP pistons OEM STI nitrated crank[*] ACL bearings[*] LIC motorsports adjustable idler[*] Tomei timing belt guide[*] Fluidampr harmonic balancing crank pulley[*] Accusump[*] Fuel Radium FCST 15 gallon fuel cell with internal surge tank Radium FCST external fill neck ATL Dry break female fill receptacle[*] Injector Dynamics 2000cc top feed injectors[*] Radium Fuel Pressure Regulator[*] Radium top feed fuel rails[*] -6AN PFTE E85 safe soft fuel line[*] -8AN PFTE E85 safe soft fuel line[*] Radium y block[*] Radium inline fuel filter[*] Radium fuel filter cooling block[*] Turbo/Cold/Hot Side Garrett 3582r (106ar) (T4/V-band) Tial 38mm EWG (V-band) Tial 38mm EWG (V-band) Speedfactory custom rotated downpipe (V-band) Speedfactory custom rotated up-pipe (T4-V-band) Speedfactory custom equal length header (V-band) Speedfactory dump tubes (V-band) Blitz Nur-Spec (V-band converted) Engine/Power Misc. Cosworth reverse manifold IAG billet TGVs[*] AEM Map sensor Grimmspeed 3 port EBCS Tial Q BOV[*] Drivetrain JDM Version 7 STI 6 speed transmission (non-DCCD) Cusco tarmac front differential OEM Subaru Legacy Spec B 5th gear OEM Subaru Legacy Spec B 6th gear OEM Subaru Legacy Spec B Carbon Synchros Cobb double adjustable short throw shifter JDM Version 7 STI R180 rear differential Cusco 1.5 way rear LSD Driveshaft shop front axles[*] Driveshaft shop rear axles[*] OEM STI 5x114.3 hubs[*] OEM STI 5x114.3 knuckles[*] Safety Godspeed Fabrication custom (welded) roll cage Godspeed Fabrication (welded) harness bar Godspeed Fabrication (welded) rear tubular bumper beam Lexan rear door windows Lexan rear quarter windows Harnesses[*] Fire suppression[*] Misc. Fabrication Front fender tubs Rear fender tubs Rear wheel arches Smoothed firewall Rear quarters trimmed Rear doors gutted and trimmed Spare tire well deleted Trunk panel Fuel cell mount Quick-release core support[*] Semi-tubular front end[*] Rear tow hook[*] Front tow hook[*] Battery box/mounts/brackets[*] Brakes Rooducts brake ducts Chargespeed brake duct fog light covers[*] Wilwood proportioning valve[*] Chasebays Brake Booster Eliminator[*] Stoptech stainless brake lines Custom routed brake lines[*] Suspension/Handling/Bracing 2016 STI 13:1 steering rack TSS front subframe TSS rear subframe TSS T bar TSS adjustable control arms[*] Cusco steering rack brace[*] Custom aluminum fender braces Custom integrated front strut tower bar Whiteline bump-steer kit Whiteline rear differential outrigger bushing set Whiteline front swaybar Whiteline rear swaybar Kartboy Endlinks Kartboy rear subframe lockdown bolts Tigwerks solid transmission mounts Fortune Auto air piston lift coilovers Swift springs Viair compressor Viair 3 gallon air tank Undecided Brake Calipers/Rotors Surgetank fuel pumps Turbo cold-side (VMIC vs Shrouded/stacked FMIC/Radiator) Air box Throttle body (3") Peddle box E-Brake Gauges Switches/Kill-switch Driveshaft AOS/Catch-can Roll cage padding Interior lighting Battery Power steering pump Wheels Rear-view mirror Last edited by Recoil; 08-22-2016 at 12:52 PM. |
08-18-2015, 10:36 AM | #3 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 278895
Join Date: Apr 2011
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Olympia, WA
Vehicle:2004 GG WRX @s hitwgn (no spaces) |
A better photo of the rear widebody
Early on I knew I wanted to have a GT style wing on the car. A friend of mine had recently come in possession of a Big Country Labs wing. Although I wouldn't personally buy one, it gave me a good idea of how the car would look with one behind it. I have since seen a few wagons with GT wings mounted with the risers coming off of the bottom of the hatch. They all looked tacky and poorly put together. I opted to go with the Voltex HS2 II because it was specifically designed to sit on top of the hatch. I'll need to come up with a bracketing solution for it, but in the scheme of things, that's an easy job. As of right now, I don't have a definitive timeline on finishing the car. I've been taking it one piece at a time and trying to do it "right" rather than doing it quickly. Upcoming modifications include: 2015 STI 13:1 steering rack conversion Hydraulic hand brake WRC style quick release radiator support VMIC or shrouded FMIC set up Clipping out unnecessary connectors and routing the 06 STI harness Converting parts of the harness over to mil spec cannon connectors Lately, I seem to spend more time reading about the modifications I want to do than I do actually doing them. I'll try and keep this updated as I go a long, but just like this build, it kind of goes in spurts. I keep trying to tell myself "It's a marathon, not a sprint." |
08-19-2015, 08:53 PM | #4 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 306719
Join Date: Jan 2012
Chapter/Region:
MWSOC
Location: Troy ,Michigan
Vehicle:2003 Sti Wagon @jn_garage |
Subscribed , A more crazy version of what I am doing lol
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08-19-2015, 08:55 PM | #5 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 243697
Join Date: Apr 2010
Chapter/Region:
MAIC
Location: Virginia
Vehicle:2002 TOPSCOOB031 HighwaystarGarage |
I was not expecting this when I clicked on the thread... but definitely IN FOR MORE!!!!
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08-19-2015, 09:23 PM | #6 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 334105
Join Date: Oct 2012
Chapter/Region:
MWSOC
Location: South East Michigan
Vehicle:2005 WRX Wagon Ver8 EJ207, 6MT, Red |
Interesting :P
I'm subscribed too. Gonna be real interesting. Another thing I'm real interested in is the 2015 STI Steering rack conversion.
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08-19-2015, 09:32 PM | #7 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 427231
Join Date: Aug 2015
Chapter/Region:
VIC
Location: Abbotsford
Vehicle:98 Subaru Forester White |
props! jog don't run lol
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08-19-2015, 09:41 PM | #8 | ||
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 278895
Join Date: Apr 2011
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Olympia, WA
Vehicle:2004 GG WRX @s hitwgn (no spaces) |
Quote:
Quote:
I'll do my best to keep this updated as I go. The car is out of my possession right now for fabrication work, so once I get it back, you guys will get photos. |
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08-20-2015, 10:35 AM | #9 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 328326
Join Date: Aug 2012
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: Putnam County, NY
Vehicle:2018 WRX Lapis Blue |
I've been following your build for awhile on Instagram. Can't wait to see the final product!
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08-20-2015, 11:24 AM | #10 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 364238
Join Date: Aug 2013
Chapter/Region:
NESIC
Location: Connecticut
Vehicle:2003 WRX MBP |
Looks great man. I'm really interested in the '15 STI steering rack conversion. Subbed
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08-21-2015, 09:36 AM | #11 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 278895
Join Date: Apr 2011
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Olympia, WA
Vehicle:2004 GG WRX @s hitwgn (no spaces) |
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09-19-2015, 01:41 PM | #12 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 278895
Join Date: Apr 2011
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Olympia, WA
Vehicle:2004 GG WRX @s hitwgn (no spaces) |
Here are some updates on the exhaust
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09-19-2015, 04:56 PM | #13 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 18440
Join Date: May 2002
Chapter/Region:
SCIC
Location: DFW
Vehicle:2004 WRX Wagon Always need moar grip! |
I APPROVE THIS BUILD!
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09-19-2015, 06:41 PM | #14 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 274252
Join Date: Feb 2011
Chapter/Region:
W. Canada
Location: Vancouver Island, BC
Vehicle:2002 WRX Sedan PSM EJ207 & 6 speed |
Danggg speedfactory is doing a nice job on those headers! Subscribed!
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09-20-2015, 05:58 AM | #15 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 307270
Join Date: Jan 2012
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Tri-Cities, WA
Vehicle:2002 WRX WRB |
Sub'd for sure, nice to see someone else going their own direction instead of following fanboi trends. Sounds like this should be a very quality build.
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09-20-2015, 08:09 AM | #16 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 265754
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Australia
Vehicle:2003 STI White |
Subscribed
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09-20-2015, 07:55 PM | #17 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 205186
Join Date: Mar 2009
Chapter/Region:
NESIC
Location: Lowell, MA
Vehicle:2000 FR 2.5 RS COUPE SRP/BLACK/GREY/DOOKIE |
I like where this is going, especially with the rear tubs, genius really, the way wagons are setup in the back vs sedans practically says why not do it?
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09-21-2015, 01:43 AM | #18 | ||
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 278895
Join Date: Apr 2011
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Olympia, WA
Vehicle:2004 GG WRX @s hitwgn (no spaces) |
Thanks!
Quote:
Quote:
Thanks! I had never seen it done before, so I figured why the hell not? |
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09-21-2015, 01:54 AM | #19 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 171412
Join Date: Feb 2008
Chapter/Region:
SCIC
Location: SQC-NY
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How are you getting the steering rack to fit? I keep reading that you have to trim the tie rod? or some other part? For a wagon its confusing but for the sedans its much easier
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09-21-2015, 02:08 AM | #20 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 278895
Join Date: Apr 2011
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Olympia, WA
Vehicle:2004 GG WRX @s hitwgn (no spaces) |
That's the general plan of attack. I'll make a final determination on how to go about it once I get the parts in front of me and start messing around with it.
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09-21-2015, 10:08 AM | #21 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 343218
Join Date: Jan 2013
Chapter/Region:
MAIC
Location: Virginia
Vehicle:2004 WRX wagon Blue |
Such yes. Much wow. Please post more pictures.
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09-21-2015, 12:03 PM | #22 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 278895
Join Date: Apr 2011
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Olympia, WA
Vehicle:2004 GG WRX @s hitwgn (no spaces) |
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09-21-2015, 12:11 PM | #23 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 407050
Join Date: Nov 2014
Chapter/Region:
South East
Location: Pinehurst, NC
Vehicle:04 WRX WRB |
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09-21-2015, 12:15 PM | #24 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 278895
Join Date: Apr 2011
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Olympia, WA
Vehicle:2004 GG WRX @s hitwgn (no spaces) |
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09-21-2015, 12:30 PM | #25 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 306719
Join Date: Jan 2012
Chapter/Region:
MWSOC
Location: Troy ,Michigan
Vehicle:2003 Sti Wagon @jn_garage |
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