|
![]() |
|
|
![]() |
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
![]() |
#1 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 519118
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: United Kingdom
Vehicle:2004 Impreza WRX Yellow! |
![]() How's it going everyone,
Whenever you go online now, bloody and broken from that bolt that just won't come out, looking for some inspiration from a poor soul who has suffered the same as you, all of the forum posts are getting to be 10+ years old full of dead photo links, And well.. that just makes me sad as I love a good build thread to scroll through, So rather than being sad about it, I figure why not start my own! I've never done this before so will need to figure out hosting photos, I figure I'll introduce the car in this post, and then trawl through old photos of messages sent to friends etc.. to put together threads of all of the poor (amazing) decisions I have made and will continue to.. SO! The car. It's a 2004 UK WRX, when I bought it a few years ago, it was o2c blue, and totally standard apart from a disgusting classic-style sti spoiler, an asbo exhaust and questionably dark tints. It had also been in a few battles with shopping trolleys, the front and rear bumpers were 90% touch up paint, smashed fog light, and a few other bits that needed tlc. ![]() ![]() First things first was to clean it up, and get it ready for a few more years on the road, cambelt was done, fluids, broken bits changed etc.. Then it was onto the first mods, and straight away to the first mistake.. doing 18" wheels before suspension, and putting replica wheels on (not proud of it but I'm past that now) Learn from my mistakes, you can get real wheels cheaply, and always do suspension before doing a larger wheel size ![]() Lol Nevertheless, coilovers shortly followed, BC racing BR coilovers were fitted, nearly all of the bolts were seized and the rears had to be cut off, if you find yourself in this situation, ICP carries brand new bolts that you can replace them with At the same time, I took my headlights apart, detangoed and sprayed the bezels satin black. I did it all with a heatgun and not an oven, so you don't need to p**s your wives off baking your headlights in the oven if needed ***55358;***56611; ![]() Much better. Next up was to address the rear spoiler, so a blast over the peak District up to a fellow enthusiast acquired a newage style wing, over the weeks I also fettled with the suspension to get it sitting a bit lower ![]() Around this time I started to get into photography, here is my first attempt at a light painting ![]() Next up was a roof rack so I could get my bicycles around, this involved a lot of trial and error to get a rack that I liked the look of, the OEM Subaru one sits around 6ft off the top of the roof and leaves permanent hooks exposed so that wouldn't do, and I initially didn't like the idea of the Thule solution that hooks onto the plastic trim above the windows, I therefore used shorter bars than should be used on an Impreza, took some BMW 'uprights' mangled them with an angle grinder, made some steel inserts put it all together, and had a nice neat roof rack solution, I also added a spoiler to the front of it, partially for looks, but it also makes a remarkable difference to wind noise, howling at 30mph turns to silence at 80mph ![]() Snowy skids and bike rides always a lot of fun ![]() Next up a vltd style lip was added for the lows, and a bride fixed back bucket seat added, the standard WRX seats made my back hurt almost instantly, the bucket supports me perfectly, my longest non stop trip so far of 6 hours to Scotland presented no back fatigue, so great success there. ![]() Then, it was time for one of my favourite changes yet. To be wrapped yellow, I did this myself, it was my first exposure to vinyl wrap, and was done in evenings and weekends after work on the drive, super pleased with how it came out ![]()
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
Last edited by JakeHarvey97; 10-04-2020 at 06:28 PM. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#2 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 243697
Join Date: Apr 2010
Chapter/Region:
MAIC
Location: Virginia
Vehicle:2002 TOPSCOOB031 HighwaystarGarage |
![]() Imgur has unfortunately also basically stopped hotlinking. I have found that linking to your FB gallery, even if you have a private account, still works.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#3 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 519118
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: United Kingdom
Vehicle:2004 Impreza WRX Yellow! |
![]() Full red tail lights because they are the vibe
![]() Japanese performance show with blobsquad, met some lifelong friends through this club, 1 piece of advice to any enthusiast, get out there and meet car clubs, you'll find great like minded people and just boosts the joy of car ownership immeasurably ![]() Then the most expensive change to date came, the addition of airlift performance air suspension, Honestly love this setup, it handles better than the BC coilovers due to far better dampers, and the ability to adjust spring rates on the fly, and stunt out on people dumping it on the ground is a big plus ***128513;***128513; to anyone curious about doing it, spend the extra cash and buy brand new, the lifetime no questions warranty from airlift is a massive plus, at this point has saved me approximately £1500 in spare parts, and their customer support are a pleasure to deal with ![]() ![]() Next I got off the rep wheels in favour of a set of rays gramlights and also came the addition of a Hawkeye front lip, for anyone looking to do this, get a polyurethane one not a hard plastic one, they take some flex to fit. I started at each edge by the wheel, and worked to the middle, this ensures I didn't have any overhang into the wheel well like you see some people have when they have started in the middle and worked out. ![]() Next, for japfest Silverstone came an Apr carbon diffuser, and I made my own side skirts, they got the side of the car as low as the front and began to tie it together a bit. ![]() ![]() I then managed to get a set of genuine varis front wings, and rear spats, really starting to send the car in the direction I wanted. All put on just in time for my favourite ever car show, players classic! I even won top 10, which I am still super proud of ![]() ![]() ![]() And that brings us up to date with the last photos I have of my car in a good state August 2019, since then, the car has been through some of the biggest changes yet, these will follow in more detail in subsequent posts, hopefully some of you will follow along and we can get something that represents threads of old. You can also follow my instagram, currently it is regurgetating the same few photos from the end of 2019, I have also been dabbling with drawing cars too so follow along for that @jakeharvey97 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#4 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 519118
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: United Kingdom
Vehicle:2004 Impreza WRX Yellow! |
![]() Thank you, weird Imgur works fine on the couple other forums I am on, got it sorted with Flickr so guess I will that from now on ***128517;
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#5 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 519166
Join Date: Oct 2020
Vehicle:2019 GTI Black |
![]() Extremely impressive result for doing it yourself. Do you see yourself ever doing it again?
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#6 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 519147
Join Date: Oct 2020
Chapter/Region:
SWIC
Location: Hades, AZ
Vehicle:2005 WRX STI Aspen Silver |
![]() Killer wrap man very good job, and on the first go even.
/slowclap |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#7 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 519118
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: United Kingdom
Vehicle:2004 Impreza WRX Yellow! |
![]() Quote:
![]() I think i will always do as much of it as i can myself as i think that's one of my biggest draws to cars and modifying ![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#8 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 519118
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: United Kingdom
Vehicle:2004 Impreza WRX Yellow! |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#9 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 519118
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: United Kingdom
Vehicle:2004 Impreza WRX Yellow! |
![]() I then used fibreglass to make the inserts and test fitted them into the lamp units to make sure they followed the right profiles;
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2jR1MK3] ![]() Once that was sorted, I formed polypropelene to make the lenses for the modules, and a test was in order for the LED lighting; [url=https://flic.kr/p/2jR1MFR] ![]() [url=https://flic.kr/p/2jR5jVr] ![]() Next, with lots of trimming to get the modules in, both to the bezels and the housings, they eventually fitted properly. [url=https://flic.kr/p/2jR6eJi] ![]() [url=https://flic.kr/p/2jR1MUS] ![]() Then, it was time to get the bi-xenon projectors pointed up properly in the headlights so they would be functional; [url=https://flic.kr/p/2jR1MPB] ![]() Full assembly and a bench test was in order, showcasing the Demon Eyes in the projectors and the LED Sidelights; [url=https://flic.kr/p/2jR6ezR] ![]() Finally they could be installed in the car and tested out, I apologise for the poor quality of the test photos, they are screenshots from a video.. but you get the idea, led sidelights with switchback sequential DRL's; [url=https://flic.kr/p/2jR6eME] ![]() [url=https://flic.kr/p/2jR1MF5] ![]() [url=https://flic.kr/p/2jR6edD] ![]() I'm chuffed with how they have come out, the projectors make such a massive difference to night driving, and they are the only set of headlights like them in the world, Let me know what you think and Stay tuned for more to come! |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#10 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 519118
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: United Kingdom
Vehicle:2004 Impreza WRX Yellow! |
![]() Next up on the list was a new front bumper,
I didn't have any real plans to do a bumper, but this m-sports popped up for a price too good to say no to, and it has always been my favourite bumper. There's a reason it was cheap though. It was trashed. Full of cracks and holes drilled everywhere, it had been scraped along just about every kerb in england (and possibly japan too) and when it was put on the final car it was fitted to before mine, the previous owner brush painted it in what i can only assume to be black fencing paint! But that wasn't going to stop me. First order of business was to seperate the lip from the bumper so I could get into the nooks and crannies to do a proper job. ![]() Then the painstaking process of sanding it down, the little garage my friend graciously lets me use has no power, water or heating, so all processes are hand done, and sanding through this extremely thick durable coat of black paint by hand took forever! ( I have recently purchased an orbital sander and used it on a project that you'll read about soon, what an absolute life saver ![]() ![]() ![]() Once it was back to gelcoat, it was time to repair all of the physical damage, and then remove some more material in preparation for the impending front mount intercooler... ![]() A lick of primer to bring everything back to uniform colour and a test fit to the car was in order. Around this time, whilst on a journey to the shops, an unplanned meeting with a local deer damaged my bonnet and obliterated my oem grille, and so feeling sorry for myself I started looking at options. I've never personally been a fan of any car de-badged, so I was all for getting another oem one, but then I came across a brand new orciari for the right price so had to have it. As we all know, aftermarket + oem never fits right, so aftermarket+aftermarket you have no chance, so while the bumper was flexed to its final shape was the perfect time to start test fitting the new grille (I might make another post dedicated to the grille as I put my own flare on it too) ![]() I wasnt happy with the slight recession of the bumper under the headlights at the corner, I'm not sure if all M-sports fit up, or the hard life this one has had has caused fitment issues, or the fact it was attaching to varis fibreglass wings (see aftermarket+aftermarket) but it wouldn't do, so I taped the headlights up, and used fibreglass filler followed by regular body filler to build up those extra coulple mm and get the fit spot on. ![]() Enjoy a pikachu face on my bonnet, not sure if i mentioned earlier, but while i am catching up with everything a lot of these photos are being pulled from chats with friends.. ![]() Once it all fit up right, it was time to wrap it, put the lip back on and enjoy it! I used push button fasteners on the sides and retained just 2 of the oem trim clips under the bonnet, so the bumper is held on with a total of 4 fasteners, The grille is also permanently attached to the bumper and does not fix directly to the car, As a result removal takes only around 30 seconds, which is sooo handy. When on the bumper braces against a lot of contact points such as the top brace for my front mount and has been sturdy for the last 9 months of abuse ![]() ![]() Love how it came out, and extra bonus of satisfaction saving something like this from being junked, As a side note, just becuase it shocked me, fibreglass bumpers represent a massive weight saving compared to the oem urethane and they are at the extremes of the car to make the effect even greater, defninitely something worth considering for anyone looking to drop a few pounds! |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#11 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 516808
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: Northern Nevada
Vehicle:2005 Impreza wrx Silver |
![]() Simply amazing man! Love the detail you put into this write up. Only skimmed through sipping coffee before work but plan to go back and read it thoroughly this weekend.
Definitely don’t have your skill set but looking to do all my own work to my 05 wagon. So far so good. I may have missed it but curious about your engine mods. Maybe I’ll find that upon another read through. Thanks for the write up! |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#12 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 519118
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: United Kingdom
Vehicle:2004 Impreza WRX Yellow! |
![]() Quote:
![]() I haven't written anything about my engine here, it's fairly mild Stock unopened ej205 VF34 Turbo FMIC STI pink injectors 3" decat exhaust Intake And Dyno Tuned maffless on Carberry with some extra goodies such as antilag Gets down the road well enough, hopefully will be going a bit more crazy with it for when the car comes back out to play again this year/next year |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|