Stitch and Tuck

You guessed it! Finally there is some considerable progress to report. The past couple of weeks have been a real test in patience. A demonstration that even the best laid plans sometimes do not go exactly according to plan and need a contingency. The initial plan was quite simple:

1. Drop car at Diastar

2. Strip car down

3. Prep body for paint

4. Paint

5. Drop in parts

6. Happiness!

We have been at number 2 for a while and I am going to get you up to speed on this.

So the front end has finally been stripped bare. This has allowed us to get some insights into the vehicle history and incorporate this in the future plans. Focus is on reinforcement especially given the great community forums support for this model.

Seam stitch welding has been executed on and around the engine bay. The idea here is to introduce just enough rigidity while still allowing for a minimal amount of flexing so the car does not tear itself apart under stress. This has covered the strut towers and select areas around the engine bay.

Here's another view of the strut tower top. These spots will eventually be filed down and smoothened out before getting some licks of paint.

Another angle.

The left hand side strut tower also received it's fair share of the stitch treatment.

Original plaque from FHI showing the GC1 roots. All this will soon be irrelevant as this platform will be a melting pot for several generations of STI goodness.

This is what remains of the stock location battery seat. In a previous post, I highlighted how this had suffered rust damage. The battery will get relocated to the trunk and this area will get a cover plate to reinforce the base. There is a good chance that the new-age fuse box will be the new tenant here.

This is the RHS Control arm rear mount location. Apparently this is a known weak area on this platform. We were not so lucky as the corrossion had gone straight through. However, on the bright side, this means that both mounting points (L & R) will have to be cut, reinforced and welded for good measure.

Here is a small bit of irony. Somewhere in the engine bay lies a quality control sticker indicating status "OK" in relaton to the paint. This expired many years ago.

Isn't that a pet peeve? Mismatched nut & bolt combinations. It is interesting to find some of the minor details missing; these shall definitely be addressed as we put this rig back together.

Part of the bright side is finding some gems that can be reused in this build. This stainless steel JDM RSR exhaust was in pretty good nick. Just needs a thorough clean and polish and it should be good to go. I remain concerned about the noise levels but the decision to keep this is a problem for future Chris.

Some Carbon packed away in the trunk. Awaiting installation.

Looking forward to Step 3. More updates coming soon.