Hi Guys,
Just picked this up last weekend along with a new trailer from Raceking up on the sunshine coast, QLD. I bought the shell quiet a while ago but was waiting for my new trailer to get built so we could drive up and grab both in one go.
The shell was purchased from Rising Sun Subaru up on the sunshine coast and as far as I know it is straight off the production line at Subaru in Japan, never been built into a full car and was used to set up the robots for painting on the production line. That's all I know really, its a full shell including all panels but that's all, no motor, suspension etc.
I had been trying to buy one at pickles auctions for about 6 months but bidding was always going way too high (over $6k) for a bent one. I remembered RSS posting a BRZ shell on their facebook page a long time ago so I contacted Kris to see if he could get another one, turns out he still had that one and a deal was made.
I have been wanting to get back into supersprints for a while but I didn't really want to change my wrx back to a single purpose machine again as I really enjoy my gravel racing and motorkhanas. I thought about building a GC8 shell as a cheap way of starting a new project but when I started looking into aero design the BRZ just seemed like the perfect platform to start with.
This will be a long term project (nothing like my Outback) as my budget is limited, however, I do plan on doing most of the work myself to offset the low budget. I have invested in a bit of fabrication gear including a multipurpose MIG welder that can also do DC TIG and aluminium MIG via a spool gun. A hydraulic tube bender with 1.75" and 1.5" dies, metal cutoff saw and drill press. I'm currently learning to weld.
As usual the plan is to try and go as fast as possible with as little money spent as possible.
This is a discussion thread as much as a build thread so let the discussion begin. I'm happy to hear as much input as possible from subyclub members on how to make this car go fast with a limited budget.
Some rough plans at this stage.
Engine:
Jap Spec STi 2.0L EJ20, factory turbo location is not suitable.
Factory reflashed ECU with stripped back loom by AM Auto.
Turbo:
???
Looking into the possibility of factory fitted front mount MY10+ GT Liberty turbo complete setup? any info appreciated on if this is possible to adapt to a ej20? otherwise I need to fabricate a complete front mounted turbo setup.
Gearbox:
- Stock BRZ 6MT (starter motor is on the wrong side for EJ20, bolt pattern mostly the same, should fit with minor mods) not sure on spline length compatibility, probably not worth the hassle.
- Toyota 5MT, either W-series or R154 (off the shelf bellhousing available to suit EJ20 for both)
Rear Diff:
Stock BRZ
R200
Wheels & Tyres:
Going straight to 295 width
probably Enkei RPF1 18x10.5
Body kit:
Hoping to do this myself with a little help from friends who have played with fibreglass and carbon, another big learning curve but can't afford an off the shelf kit and I don't like the look of those bolt on kits anyway. The body kit will need to be custom to accommodate the 295 tyres with lower ride height and aero.
Other stuff:
Full roll cage integrated into suspension pickup points. Trying to lower COG as much as possible and move things toward the center of the car, having an empty shell as a starting point helps you consider everything you add to the car and where you locate it.
Joel.
