A new heart for the bride.

Once again after a long wait, progress! This past Saturday we arrived bright and early at Diastar. The tension and excitement was tangible, given the events of the weeks leading up to this day. I had received a couple of teasers as the heart arrived. If you recall from previous blog posts, the end goal was to convert the entire running gear to a JDM MY-05 STI and the donor car had now docked. Needless to say, the clearing process at port of entry was painstakingly slow and torturous. A bitter lesson on choice of a clearing agent. Be wise.

Now comes the sweet part.

The grand arrival:

Cue Soundtrack: Wagner - Das Rheingold, Entry of the gods Into Valhalla. A majestic entry indeed.

First impressions:

The powerplant, an EJ207. Pretty much in stock configuration but that will change. Soon.

Supplied by Kamal over at Panesar Engineering.

Interior package: Dash only

From the interior, we shall be picking up choice components from the donor. That includes the gauge cluster, complete wiring and engine management. I find the stock wheel too bland for my liking, at least for this generation of STIs. I will be going for a more modern look for the wheel. Maybe even throw in one with complete SRS airbag setup.

Cluster: Race bred?

Under the thin veneer of dust lay some signs of the performance pedigree within; complete with a "shift-warning-light" to ensure you catch those optimal shifts when it counts.

Tampering:

It was immediately apparent at first glance that this car had received some special treatment in it's lifetime. Full Cosworth intake on board.

Down to earth:

"What am I looking at?", you ask... well, this is one of a series of grounding kit cables that have been well woven into the wiring of this car. Plan is to carry these over into the GC to ensure the electrical and electronic performance is maintained.

The rest is here, there and everywhere.

More kit.

Advancements:

So the guys over at FHI figured out that they could stabilize the intake charge temps better with an I/C water spray. This advancement is definitely getting carried over into the gc. Welcome to the new age.

Oil Cooler:

The STI Spec C-RA also comes equipped with a liquid to air heat exchanger for the engine oil. I see cooler days ahead.

Quick rack?

In the same spirit, the quick rack receives a rudimentary heat exchanger in the pipe works.

Harnesses:

Plug computer here -> the expectation is that the wiring related tasks will be smoother as everything is available in one place.

Engine bay prep:

Here there are stories of victories and of loss. As we take small steps forward to prepare the chassis and bodywork to take on the new age, we also find harrowing tales from the past. Hopefully, highlighting them here will also provide learning points for what not to do as you build your car.

Reinforcements:

We have come a long way in reinforcing the upright struts. Still WIP, but coming along nicely.

Sanding and brushing required as part of surface prep ahead of painting the bay. RHS.

The other side looking just as good. LHS.

RHS inboard. Previous spot welds have been reinforced and grinding down has begun. These are pre-requisites for the paint preparation.

Rust spots have been cut out from the battery seat area and the seams re-stitched. This is part of the plan to relocate the battery to the trunk and the new tenant here will be the engine bay fusebox.

Now come the tears:

Gremlins. So what we found here was a story of pain. It would appear that one of the bolt points holding the gearbox cross member was cross threaded. A blow torch was then used to cut out a hole and a cheapie nut was welded in place on the inside. No regard for the elements. This had led to corrosion of the area around. Tears. DO NOT do this.

Corroded area was cut out and completely reworked. New metal plate welded over and reinforced and similar treatment to the LHS for good measure.

The work of correction:

Measure thrice, cut once. Results will be posted in the next blog.

Import Performance Parts:

Somewhere in the course of that day, I made a stop at Import Performance Parts (Kenya), an operation run by a buddy; Usama Haji. I was thoroughly bedazzled by the handiwork on this Mitsubishi Evolution. Maranello Red. I mean, look at it! I just had to share that in this blog somewhere.

Parting shot: the build is taking on a faster pace now that all the parts are in one location. I hope to do more frequent updates going forward.