modrich

iTrader: (2)

I've decided to go for a black on grey look for the wagon so the starting point was to get the headlamps blacked-out and de-tangoed.


Decided to leave the reflector walls for the main beam unpainted so as not to lose any beam on dark nights!


Used black window seal to re-assemble the headlight units and chrome bulbs for the indicators


Comparison left to right, glad those indicators have finally gone!










Finished job really suits the crystal grey paint, love it!


Also painted the grille surround black and replaced the old badge with a blue version


The original headlights that were professionally polished so are as new are now forsale, PM me if interested.

modrich

iTrader: (2)

20mm rear ARB from a 2003 Sti fitted (same as fitted to GB270) with powerflex bushes.

comparison (17mm top)


Whiteline rear droplinks fitted as well


GB270 wagon side skirts fitted. I beleive these are unique to the Hawk wagon as the GB270 saloon has normal STi twisties without the extension on the leading edge

casasteve

Looks great Is it hard to get the headlights apart?

modrich

iTrader: (2)

As easy as re-heating your tea! 70-80degC for 7mins in the oven is enough to soften the sealant then prise apart

heresharry

I recently did mine - exactly as described

pre heat oven to 75c and leave in for 5-10 mins, best part is that they are heated evenly unlike using a heater or gun

modrich

iTrader: (2)

Zunsport grilles arrived at the weekend thanks to Ved's discount thread:


Finishes off the black-out theme for the front nicely


Rad brackets and battery clamp fresh from the powder coaters






Rust is slowly becoming a thing of the past under the bonnet (tatty looking header tank is still to do at some point)


Also checked the gearbox oil level just to check that the dealer who I bought the car from had done his job, needed a little topping-up


easiest gearbox top-up I've ever done! Dipstick tube is where the fresh oil goes...

casasteve

Is that some sort of pump that comes with the triple QX or something else? Looks like a soap pumper!

Really like how this is coming together, and is giving me some inspiration for my own wagon My engine bay needs a serious clean up.

How does the rear ARB feel? Another upgrade I'm planning

modrich

iTrader: (2)

Thanks mate, yeah it's a little hand pump specifically for topping up transmission fluids, used it loads on previous cars as most fill plugs are on the side of the gear box and you can't just pour the fluid in.

The rear ARB hasn't made a massive difference but you can definitely feel the rear gripping a little more and improving turn-in. Worth it for what it cost!

casasteve

After reading about, I was thinking 22mm rear ARB. Seems to be the common "best of everything" whereas 24mm is possibly a bit skittish etc. It's all new to me anyway

modrich

iTrader: (2)

Went for 20mm as that's what the GB270 wagon has and didn't want to go too aggressive without uprating the front. I'm happy with how it drives so I think I'll stick with this set-up. Going to replace the front drop links when I do the brakes, probably just use 'heavy duty' items as apposed to 'uprated ones'.

RS Grant

This is coming along nicely mate.. I'm currently debating whether to keep hold of my current car or sell it and have something with a wee bit less money tied up in it as a toy.

I loved my Classic Wagons but since they're almost impossible to find in low mileage, rust free condition, I'd been thinking about Newage STi instead and had discounted Newage WRX wagons.. but seeing this thread has possibly thrown a WRX shaped spanner in the works if I decide to return to the fold.


Cheers,
Grant

modrich

iTrader: (2)

Thanks Grant! The Impreza is a tough car to choose as there's so many versions. I decided rather than going for the most powerful/hardcore/expensive (as I normally do) I'd try something that was maybe under powered, softer (and more practical!) and see if it floated by boat, and so far I'm loving the Wagon.

Also, each car I own I learn a new set of skills, this time round being brake calliper rebuilds! More on which later...

modrich

iTrader: (2)

Next job was to get the brakes sorted.

Got hold of some original Subaru 4 pot calipers in good nick, stripped them down and had them powder coated RAL3020 Traffic Red. Ordered stainless pistons/seals/front and rear kevlar pads from Godspeed, and new stainless bleed nipples and pad fitting kit from Brakes International.


Very impressed with the quality of Pentland Powder Coatings work...



They even treated the cast iron casting with corrosion inhibitor before painting so piston bores should be rust free and along with stainless pistons I should never have siezed pistons again!



New seals fitted...


Red rubber grease applied to pistons...


...and bore and seals...


...to help the pistons slide home


Completed! I also hand painted the letting as I was advised the stickers don't really work with raised lettering...



Oh and the new stainless bleed nipples fitted.


Getting these fitted over the weekend.

BTW one of my future jobs will be fitting Prodrive blue lowering springs, I've been in touch with an ex Prodrive engineer who can get these made up, see my post here for details: https://www.scoobynet.com/suspension...l#post11479810

ScottyPPP

Nice work, mine is on the blue prodrive springs, AFAIK they're made by Eibach?

modrich

iTrader: (2)

Correct, but to Prodrive's specs, so very different. How do you find them?

modrich

iTrader: (2)

So on with fitting the brakes.

Fronts are brembo drilled/grooved/heated treated discs so have a matt grey finish instead of bright metal. I wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to end up with rusty disc bells so de-greased the discs (in the bath!) etch primed and finished with high temp black paint.



Did the fronts first...


I used CeraTec anti-squeal lubricant instead of copper slip on the back of the pads.


old brakes...


New discs/pads/calipers fitted...



New pad fitting kit...


Hose Technik braided hoses...


Did the same with the rear discs, etch primed the centres then a few coats of hi-temp black paint


Old discs pretty ugly but hardly worn...


Gave the handbrake mechanism a clean and spray with copper grease...


I screwed in the new stainless steel bleed nipple for the caliper and realised that the nut wasn't long enough to give proper access with a spanner


So decided to clean-up and refit original nipples, note the extended nut section to clear the caliper bolts


Discs fitted and calipers cleaned and painted with matching hi-temp paint to the fronts. Also have fresh caliper stickers ready to fit once the paint is dry.



At the same time as degreasing and cleaning the rear calipers I took the opportunity to thoroughly jet out the wheel arches and sort-out the flaking underbody sealant which seems a common problem on Imprezas.

New Holts underbody sealant sprayed on, looks so much tidier under there now...





Then spent the rest of the day bleeding the brake lines with all four wheels off the ground. Took quite a while to get all the air out and I still think they need more bleeding as the pedal still feels a bit too soft for my liking. Pedal feel has improved after bedding in the brakes but still not happy with the pedal feel. Hopefully a few days of driving around will have dislodged any air pockets and make bleeding next time around a bit easier.

casasteve

Busy busy!

Was it difficult to refurb the callipers? I'm thinking I should do it at some point, as I have a front that seems to catch a little sometimes.

Carnut

I am subscribed to this thread and always enjoy it when a new post pop's up, could well be the best wagon I've seen, looking forward to seeing what you do next.

SidneySmut

looking good mate
Have you got any geometry settings lined up ?

modrich

iTrader: (2)

The hard part for me was getting the old pistons out. I split the calipers in half and bolted them to the bench then clamped a pair of grips on the pistons and had to use my whole body weight to work them out! Don't know why they were so tough to remove because only one was seized, just very tight/dry on the seals...that x8 almost finished me off!! The rest was a doddle, the powder coaters did the rest of the hard work cleaning them up. Very rewarding re-building them with brand new components and finally getting fitted on the car.

Thanks Chris, good to know my blood sweat and tears are appreciated!

Yes, and my geo is out at the front as I'm getting tyre wear on both inner and outer edges of the front tyres. Hopefully get all this sorted when I fit the Prodrive/PCA Dynamics lowering springs. Peter at PCA Dynamics (ex Prodrive engineer who designed most of the Prodrive kit for Scoobies) told me that Prodrive lowering springs fix the outer wear problem as this is caused by the geometry altering so much when the WRX corners. The inner wear is caused by the toe being out. I normally get the geo set-up fairly soon after getting a new car but have been holding off for the springs.

See my group buy thread here on these springs: https://www.scoobynet.com/suspension...l#post11479810

These springs come with specific Prodrive geo settings.

modrich

iTrader: (2)

Whoever moved my other thread to the group by section has locked me out coz I'm not an SN member...thanks for that!

https://www.scoobynet.com/suspension...l#post11479810

Any chance of moving it back

Carnut

To help get the pistons out, before you disconnect the brake line work the pedal once you have removed pads and caliper.

modrich

iTrader: (2)

Yeah good advice, if only the person that sold them to me had thought of that! I'm sure Godspeed have some sort of rig set-up with compressed air or something to do the same.

MixMan X

iTrader: (7)

This is looking good, I'm currently fixing up a tatty blobeye wagon. I really like the steering wheel, how much did the work set you back, and what have you had done exactly?

taylor85

iTrader: (5)

Nice wagon

modrich

iTrader: (2)

Cheers Mixman, what needs doing on yours?

My wagon has near perfect paint bar some stone chips. I've just ordered a clay cloth to use before I use a sealer to make sure it stays that way! It's interior, engine bay and mechanicals I'm concentrating on. The steering wheel cost £105+£10 return delivery which is an amazing price considering the skills involved. I asked Jack to thicken the steering wheel up (not sure how he does it because it's not just foam padding) and re-covering with perforated leather to your design. You can choose any colour or combination of up to 3 colours for the stitching (I had a steering wheel done on my old M3 with the 'M' tri-colours, looked amazing). If you're not local to Oxford then I recommend getting a spare steering wheel (I still have mine) if he can't supply one as it takes about 2 weeks to complete.

Cheers

MixMan X

iTrader: (7)

£105 plus post? That's a bargain. I'll be getting that done I reckon.

Mine needs a lot of work, picked it up cheap, so I'm not too bothered and new what it needed. Bodywork is battered, needs a visit from a dent fix man, as only one mark on hatck has damaged the paint. The back bumper needs painting, it had damaged wheels, bent suspension faded headlights, all sorts. Only the engine is good, only 86k miles with full history.

I'm going for saloon STI front wings and bumper so I can fit alloy front wishbones, bigger turbo, decat, FMIC and maybe scoopless bonnet, as I picked one up cheap.

modrich

iTrader: (2)

Sounds like you've got your work cutout mate. STi front wings look cool on a wagon, pity the rears can't be done to match, can wide track extensions be made to fit?

I can highly recommend getting the steering wheel done BTW, probably the best mod you can do for £100!

strawberryhead

really nice mods looks really good

modrich

iTrader: (2)

Cheers bud!