AWD BRO's 22B/S6 "Dream Car" Build

[AWD BRO]

Welcome everyone!

Allow me to introduce myself, My name is Nolan, I live in the Detroit surrounding area of Michigan and I eat, sleep, live and breathe the GC Impreza chassis.

This is the build thread for my "Dream GC"
A collection of all my favorite parts from different Imprezas, WRC cars and other builds before mine.

To start, here's the basics of what I want this car to be:

• GC Impreza Coupe
• 22B/WRC widebody
• EJ207 based engine
• Moderate size rotated turbo setup
• STI 6-Speed drivetrain
• Mostly functional interior (Radio, power windows, etc.)

The goal is to make a fully functional, near perfect looking, amazing performing all around car that I could happily drive everday if I wanted to.
Now of course everything is subject to change as time goes on, but this is the plan as I see it now.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Now for some story time.

I originally started this build on the car that is now my daily driver/beater car. It's a 2000 2.5rs with a V4 EJ20k and 05 STI drivetrain swap.
I ordered the widebody, installed it, started to piece together everything I needed all while being completely oblivious to how rusty the shell was.
I eventually came to a stopping point due to the rust and decided to find a new shell and start over.

Here's how the car looked when I gave up on it:





Here's how it looks as of October 2018:





I wish I never would've bothered putting any money into that shell...
but live and learn blah blah blah

With that out of the way, on to the new shell:








This is my new 1995 Impreza L coupe.
It is (used to be) a 2.2L auto that was owned in California and taken care of wonderfully until it was donated and sold at auction to me.
Shoutout to my good friend Tlek for securing this car from Copart for me.



Going in to winter here in Michigan should give me lots of time to get a good start on prepping this new shell.
Timeline as it looks right now is going to be:

1. Strip the car to a bare shell
2. Cut and build new wheel wells for the rear panels
3. Install the widebody
4. Send the car to the body shop for molding and paint
5. Reassemble all exterior and interior parts
6. .......
7. Install engine, trans suspension etc...

So basically finish all the body work first, then do the fun stuff last.
The beauty in that is once the body work is out of the way I can, for the most part, do everything else myself.


...and finally one last thing before I finish off this first post.

Here is the widebody:




It is ABW Motorsport's 60mm 22B Kit.

It includes front and rear fenders, front and rear bumpers, and side skirts.
The quality is very good and I would say it's worth every penny...
even if it was a lot of pennies



If all goes as planned the entire kit should be on the car and ready to go to the body shop around spring time.


If you're interested, feel free to checkout my YouTube channel.
It has videos on the my previous EJ20k swap and I will be posting content on for this new car as well.



Thanks for reading!

- Nolan

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[Calamarii]

Hey Nolan. Excited to see another GC build on here. Remski's rs to 22b build was a great read. I have an L wagon myself with plans to slowly add JDM GF8 parts and swap the gutless(although reliable) EJ22. The subtle differences between the L and RS designs, especially wagon to sedan/2dr are still really new to me(Audi guy previously) but always drooled over the 90/00s subaru rally cars. Richard Burns is a personal hero and a tribute car is a dream of mine. Subbed and cant wait to see more.

[AWD BRO]

Originally Posted by Calamarii

Hey Nolan. Excited to see another GC build on here. Remski's rs to 22b build was a great read. I have an L wagon myself with plans to slowly add JDM GF8 parts and swap the gutless(although reliable) EJ22. The subtle differences between the L and RS designs, especially wagon to sedan/2dr are still really new to me(Audi guy previously) but always drooled over the 90/00s subaru rally cars. Richard Burns is a personal hero and a tribute car is a dream of mine. Subbed and cant wait to see more.

I've read through just about every GC thread on here, all very impressive, figured I'd finally add to the pool of content.


Honestly you can't ever go wrong with EJ22, they're nearly bullet proof. It's a shame they're just so damn slow.

Really the only difference between the wagon and sedans is the rear body pannels. (Hatch, tail lights etc.) Everything else is completely interchangable if not identical already.



Definitely expect more real soon!

[BlueSTI4Me]

Purple wheels. Nice project you have for yourself.

[99WRXEJ20]

following to see bodywork..Live in columbus ohio and looking for a good body shop to install the same kit. please share how your experience was once its done..Good luck.

[Hawk296]

Neat. I also have a 1995 Impreza L coupe.

[AWD BRO]

Originally Posted by BlueSTI4Me

Purple wheels. Nice project you have for yourself.

I know I know.... they were an impulse buy I regretted pretty soon after I put them on the car.

More money I wish I never spent, oh well.

[Gigs90]

a Tlek special shell !


Some things I would do differently if I were to go through what you are about to do and what I would have changed in 2014 for my own chassis.

I would take the time to source a new EJ207 bottom end from Australia , source EJ207 heads and slowly piece it all together with brand new parts. This is what I would have done if I had not found an S204 engine with 11,000 miles on it.

RCM oil sump kit , RCM goodies and all the good oem parts like the metal water pump will lead you to learning to love Japan Parts.

I would go straight to full race stock location EFR kit which can give you over 400hp easily.

https://www.full-race.com/store/borg...e-turbo-kit-2/

Coat everything in the chassis imaginable , I kinda wish I would have had my entire underside media blasted and redone but oh well.

I always wanted to see a WRC widebody in Java Black pearl or Midnight Purple. If I were to go with a different color those two would be high on the list.

I would not rush either , I jumped the gun and ended up spending $1000s more fixing the mistakes of a novice body shop. Its gonna be a long term project so just enjoy the experience.

If you have any questions or need help sourcing parts I have some hookups , Interested to see how this turns out.

[jvh22a]

Cant wait to see this finshed.

[AWD BRO]

Originally Posted by Gigs90

a Tlek special shell !


Some things I would do differently if I were to go through what you are about to do and what I would have changed in 2014 for my own chassis.

I would take the time to source a new EJ207 bottom end from Australia , source EJ207 heads and slowly piece it all together with brand new parts. This is what I would have done if I had not found an S204 engine with 11,000 miles on it.

RCM oil sump kit , RCM goodies and all the good oem parts like the metal water pump will lead you to learning to love Japan Parts.

I would go straight to full race stock location EFR kit which can give you over 400hp easily.

https://www.full-race.com/store/borg...e-turbo-kit-2/

Coat everything in the chassis imaginable , I kinda wish I would have had my entire underside media blasted and redone but oh well.

I always wanted to see a WRC widebody in Java Black pearl or Midnight Purple. If I were to go with a different color those two would be high on the list.

I would not rush either , I jumped the gun and ended up spending $1000s more fixing the mistakes of a novice body shop. Its gonna be a long term project so just enjoy the experience.

If you have any questions or need help sourcing parts I have some hookups , Interested to see how this turns out.

Tlek special shells are life!


I have something super special in store for the engine, I'll post it once it arrives from Japan in about a week.
Not totally decided on all the details of the engine setup besides what block I'm using... you'll see soon enough!

As for color I want to do a gunmetal grey like R32 GTR esk but that may change, who knows. Next on my list would be black diamond pearl.

Definitely will be completely stripping the underside, wheel wells etc. and having them all re-coated.


I think part of the fun of this will be having a beater I can destroy while I take years to build my nice car. Time will tell how long the strut towers in the silver car last

[AWD BRO]

Not that this thread is really about this car but figured I'd share it here anyways.

Got my new winter set for the daily mounted and on the car.



They're Braid Fullrace A 16x7" +20mm
with 205/55/16 Toyo snow tires.
...and yes they're 16s that clear Brembos!




Had a fun time getting the tires to pop on to the bead, took about 110psi to get it to go






I'm in love with the way they fit and look on the car, can't wait to have this thing all 1 color.


They're a real tight fit on the front calipers but they DO CLEAR!!





A couple bonus pics cause why not:






and the vlog from the install:

YouTube (Short URL)

YouTube (Short URL)

[Gigs90]

I seent them wheels on 15 mile at Rochester last night !

[BDGWRXTR]

Subbed

[AWD BRO]

Originally Posted by Gigs90

I seent them wheels on 15 mile at Rochester last night !

Aren't they HAWT?

Did you have something heavy in your trunk? That rear end looked realllll saggy lol

[Gigs90]

Originally Posted by AWD BRO

Aren't they HAWT?

Did you have something heavy in your trunk? That rear end looked realllll saggy lol

Its just original struts , I have not gotten around to replacing them and its on my list for spring

[AWD BRO]

This is one of those things I didn't even know I wanted until I found out it was possible to get one.

I 100% blame my coworker Nick for sending the listing of this to me and starting the financial burben this block has only just started causing me.

It was listed for sale as bare case halves, but the seller also had listing for the rods, and bare head casings. I'm really curious to know the story behind the components and why the pistons and cams were missing. But I guess it's one of those things no one will ever know.

Once I looked over the Yahoo auctions listing I sent out an email to Jesse Streeter and the process began.
Sent out the money, he purchased the item then shipped it to me from his Japan office.
It took only 2 DAYS to get here from Osaka.

The entire buying process through him was very smooth and I would definitely recommend him to anyone.




Okay... enough blabbering, here's the goods:








mmmmmmm factory closed deck goodness









Notice the lack of oil squirters





Overall I'm impressed with the cleanliness and good condition of everything.
It's definitely in a usable condition.

One of the halves does have some noticeable surface rust on the cylinder walls but it's nothing a hone can't fix.



The beauty of this block is that it's based off the gen 3 EJ20G, meaning it uses a phase 2 crank opposed to the EJ22T being phase 1.
That means drop in a brand new V8/9 EJ207 crank and run it..no pesky #5 thrust machining needed.


The plan for the engine build right now:

• Have this block fully reconditioned
• V8/9 207 crank
• Forged pistons/rods
• V8 207 heads (not sure on cams yet)
• V8 207 for the rest of the exterior accesories
• Some bigger turbo setup

..and we'll see what happens from there.


If I can actually discipline myself this will be the last non-boby work related thing I buy until the all the body work is complete.

Hopfully body work updates soon...

[AWD BRO]

Even though I had all winter to start on this, it didn't end up working out until now, the first week of March... lol

Pulled the car out of the garage, loaded it on a trailer and took it out to my friend Matt's house. He will be doing almost all the fabrication work.


https://i.imgur.com/daAvh3Q.jpg


We finished stripping the rear end of the car. Tail lights, rear bumper, interior, window trim etc...

https://i.imgur.com/qI5eg2f.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/UCGHVhM.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/OVylkvd.jpg


You can really see just how clean this car is, it still blows my mind.

https://i.imgur.com/6u0E3O0.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/5rXOduB.jpg



We got to work on pulling the UGLY USDM side trims and filling the holes in with weld. The welds on the door will be smoothed out with filler once the car goes to the body shop.

https://i.imgur.com/psyYvTk.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/vOIhS2Z.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/t4Dy3ev.jpg





Hit my picture limit... see next post:

[AWD BRO]

After that was mostly done we started to fit up the kit on the driver side. This was pretty easy as I had already trimmed and drilled holes where needed when I put this on the previous car.

https://i.imgur.com/SmzQ8tv.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/C5fxBxB.jpg

I almost forgot how wide these fenders are, you can't really tell until it's on a car.
They sure are beautiful!


Using clecos to secure the rear panels this time...I don't wanna talk about how I did it the first time.
https://i.imgur.com/3X9o5El.jpg


That's pretty much all we did this weekend, we only really had Sunday afternoon to work so I'd say we did pretty good for the limited time.

We'll be continuing this week on getting everything fitted and lined up good, then onto cutting the quarters and building the new rear wheel wells.

[Turpid Porpoise]

Very nice, keep em coming.

[duhbrr]

Looking good, just sub'd to your YouTube channel

[AWD BRO]

I've always wanted one of these, but was accepting of the fact i'd probably never find one.

I was poking around on ebay the other day and found one from a seller in the United Arab Emirates. I sent him a message and he confirmed they did have ONE LEFT in stock, brand new in the box.

I did't hesitate, ordered it immediately.


It shipped and arrived about 3 weeks after ordering:

https://i.imgur.com/tfC6v4t.png

Have to make sure my rare oem parts are good quality..lol

https://i.imgur.com/EVIOlVJ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Hhbvvvx.jpg

and here it is!

https://i.imgur.com/GK24VXw.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/26WhkgH.jpg

(please ignore my sad excuse for a clean bedroom)


I paid about $100 shipped and couldn't be happier.
Super excited to have this in the car.


We did start cutting the quarter panels for the widebody last night..
Updates soon!

[Calamarii]

So that's like a special edition center cubby thing?

[AWD BRO]

It's been about a month..

I've been out of town on and off on tour just about all winter so it's been hard to get things done on the car.
I'm back now for a while so I can fill you in on the bits that we have gotten done.

We cut the quarter panels
This really hurt to destroy something so clean, but oh well, had to be done.

https://i.imgur.com/QogBiDi.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/eNA6SA6.jpg


Next we made a CAD template for the new tubs

https://i.imgur.com/vG5pkWY.jpg


We cut the piece out perfectly, then bent the flange the wrong way
Still not sure how that happened...

https://i.imgur.com/JaRu34E.jpg



Remade the piece and it ended up fitting pretty good the first go around

https://i.imgur.com/PaHCfdY.jpg



From there we went on to do the same for the passenger side and got the other quarter panel mocked up

https://i.imgur.com/Q2YKofN.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/TVC79tK.jpg


Driver side welded up

https://i.imgur.com/P2SVJMD.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/kX6Mvx9.jpg


andddd panel back on for test fit

https://i.imgur.com/aJTlAS5.jpg

[AWD BRO]

Somewhere during all of that we also did a few smaller things


Installed the roof vent

https://i.imgur.com/wbSJHOW.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/leN71ml.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ARac1Hb.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/EjDnTP5.jpg

Test fitted a roof scoop
Makes me want to put one on the car sooooo bad, but I'm still on the fence

https://i.imgur.com/6ixhTmo.jpg


We also modifed the firewall a bit to make the facelift dash HVAC fit

https://i.imgur.com/HsPe4Zs.jpg

and pulled the windshield to modify the 2 rear dash mounts

https://i.imgur.com/yywc3HK.jpg



I'd say it's coming along pretty nice.

We're planning on being done with this stage of the build in about 2 weeks. Then I'll have it back home where it will sit until I decide on a body shop to take it to for paint.

[BlueSTI4Me]

Wow, quite the project.