adam.pah

Hi,

This is my 2004 Impreza. It's my third Impreza having previously owner a 2003 STi ppp and 2004 WRX, both of these were lightly modified and mostly used as daily drivers. Back in January, my WRX had just hit 104k and I was getting used to the 300bhp. My job role had changed, which meant I didn't need to go to the office everyday, so I decided it was time to get myself something a little more 'raw'.
I had always felt disappointed at selling my original blob STi (this paid for my wedding) and went on the search for a high spec blob STi to replace the tired WRX. I had a very strict criteria; it had to be black or white, preferably a wide track model, low mileage and 350+bhp with top quality mods. The search took around a month before I found a possible car (I should add I missed out on a nice widetrack in Edinburgh and a Spec C in Liverpool because I couldn't get to see them quickly enough).
The car was advertised at 50% more than my original budget and it wasn't a widetrack, but it ticked a lot of boxes; black, 39k miles, extensive history, 2 previous owners and 400+bhp with receipts totaling £15k in parts alone! The spec was fantastic and money had been put in to many supporting mods rather than just pushing the power. I took the plunge and extended my budget. After the 150 mile trip from Essex to Cardiff and some minimal haggling, I was again the proud owner of a UK STi. :-)









I bought the car thinking that everything that I might want to do to it had already been done, but on the 3.5 hour drive back to Essex, I was already thinking of what I wanted to do!
The exhaust was loud, like anti-social loud, the radio didn't work very well and (being an old bugger) I couldn't slide myself in and out of the bucket seats particularly well. All easily sorted. On the first day I swapped over the seats, the previous owner had included the originals in the sale (this also allowed my to recoup some funds for the exhaust and stereo).
Next on the list was a full service and while there I popped in to see Ian at Hayward & Scott. The original exhaust had been made by them and he agreed to build me a custom resonator to make it a little less anti-social. It worked a treat and still allowed me to retain a nice rumble while on boost.



2 jobs down, I set about tackling the stereo. It's been years since I'd spent money on any kind of 'ICE', so I popped down to halfords to see what I could get. The verdict, not a lot for my tiny budget of £500! So I set about trawling the classifieds, FB marketplace was very helpful. I managed to find a nearly new Pioneer head unit, 6.5" infinity front speakers, 5" Alpine rear speakers, an RF Punch amp and sub and another Sony 4ch amp; all for £400! The Alpines ended up being duff, so bought some Pioneers new for the rear, but other than that everything works a treat! I even found some nice MTX speakers in the rear shelf that a previous owner had kindly left behind. Overall, it sounds awesome!






So after driving the car for around 2k miles, I started to get used to the power (411bhp). It runs an APS SR40 at 1.5 bar, which pulls like a train, although does take a bit to get it going with the power coming in around 4300rpm. I decided that I wanted something that would spool up quicker, so got on the phone to Lateral Performance to be enlightened on the benefits of swapping to an MD321 variation. I decided that I would plump for the 'T' model, this would keep the power up while spooling faster than the larger 'V'. I had intended on just replacing the turbo, but you know how it is, as I was looking through the classifieds I happened upon some other goodies too. I found someone breaking up a nice project and he was selling a recently refurbished MD321T. One thing led to another and I ended up buying a Syvecs S6 ECU and nearly new and fully forged, closed deck engine off of him too! After some searching round, I decided to approach Brent at SMD near Brighton to install the new weapon (he has built an amazing wide body, 2 door with 600+ bhp, check out the FB page). The engine has been sent to Andy Williams who will refurbish my existing AVCS heads and install them on the CDB. Once complete, Brent will tidy the engine bay and put it all in. I'm hoping to get the car back for mapping around the end of September.

All in all, I'm expecting to make over 450bhp, which should also be nice and usable with the faster spool up. Updates to follow....

The Dogs B******s

Looks well

jaygsi

iTrader: (46)

Well played looks amazing. So you selling the WRX

adam.pah

I ended up selling it. I didn’t advertise it but someone approached me and made a reasonable offer. I am still in touch with the chap that bought it and have sold him a few extra parts too. It’s a really nice car and not a spot of rust! He seems very happy with it. 😁

jaygsi

iTrader: (46)

Ah pants been looking for a clean one.

adam.pah

So a quick update, The engine is now built and waiting to be put in the car.

Here is the spec:
EJ20 Closed Deck Block
V8 AVCS Heads
Mahle 2618 Pistons
Williams Rods
Nitride Crank
ACL Bearings
11mm ARP Head Studs
Cosworth Gaskets & Belts
11mm Oil Pump
Greddy Oil Cooler
Koyo Fast Radiator
Perrin Crank Pulley
RCM Baffled Sump

I've also added a Toucan controller that I picked up off of another member on here to make the most of the new Syvecs ECU.
When it is all in and mapped, I'll post up some dyno's.

jaygsi

iTrader: (46)

Sounds impressive, love to see dyno print.

lockheed

iTrader: (1)

It does look great, you caught the very first pic just right . Out of interest what made you use SMD in Newhaven when you are in Essex .

adam.pah

thanks Lockheed. I can’t take any credit for that picture though, it was a pro shot.
So why did I choose SMD? Although I’ve had imprezas for a while now, I’m new to the modifying scene and don’t know anyone local. I have always used Perfect Touch to look after the cars, they are very good but are expensive and tend to be slow.
SMD were recommended by the guy I bought the engine from. Once I had seen the projects they have worked on, it just felt right, the workmanship is top class. I’ve had some issues along the way and Brent has always been very helpful and honest. same with Andy Williams who built the engine. i would use both of them again.

RickyP

iTrader: (1)

Lovely motor Adam. Did you dynomat the door cards when you put the speakers in I need new front components and I'm thinking it might help out with the sound and rattles got to love a Jap interior especially when you add some bass in the mix

RickyP

iTrader: (1)

I took my BMW M3 to Perfect Touch they did a free inspection (about 2 hours worth all free of charge) - not much they don't know about M3's not sure about Scoobys may be slow because they are thorough not a bad thing but never actually had any work done there.

adam.pah

Thanks Ricky. I used a cheap ebay sound deadening. I think it was called silent mat or something similar. I did the door skins, boot lid and boot floor/spare wheel well. I didn't have enough to do the door cards at the time so left them. I'll be going back to do them in the summer and probably replace the front components again at the same time (they're a bit tinny).

adam.pah

They are very good! Very thorough and know their stuff. They are mega expensive though. When I recently sold my daily WRX I had over £10k of receipts from them in 7 years! only changed the cambelt once in that time and had no major component failures so that was pretty much all servicing! I remember paying £360 for a basic oil change service once.

I guess you get what you pay for though. I would always recommend them for servicing if cost isn't an issue.

adam.pah

Update - The car fired back up for the first time in over 3 months today!

This has not been an easy build. It happened that my mechanic and engine builder had overlapping holidays, which added around 5-6 weeks. Engine was back around a month ago, I already posted the spec.



engine is back!


Baffled sump added


My precious....

So while the engine was being built, there was a few other things to take care of.
The Syvecs ECU was shipped off the Syvecs to have the plugs changed for the newage loom.
It was put in a standard ECU housing which was then cut to fit.





I also installed a Toucan to make easy use of the new ECU's functionality. I'll see how it works being down low, I may move it up to the centre vent if I don't get on with it..




So the turbo caused us the biggest headache!! I researched for a while before plumping for an MD321T, throughout all the research I never once heard that these were not a direct fit! In order to make it fit we would need to modify the intake manifold, gearbox bell housing and grind off a lug from the block. My mechanic was dead against this as he likes to do things properly (not just lashed up!), something that I am grateful for. We looked at the possibility of fabricating a new up pipe but it would have required a lot of work (=expense) so we decided to look at other options. We sent the original S/R 40 off to see what could be done. These use a Garrett core so we could swap out the compressor wheel for a newer billet version to increase spool and mid-range for a modest price. They put the turbo on the jig and decided that there was minimal play in the shaft, however, once the turbo was open then it could reveal damage to the bearings. This would mean the whole core may needed to be changed but we'd have no way of knowing until it was apart and then there's no going back. A new core would cost more than double the price! I felt it would be a false economy to pump another grand into this turbo.
Finally, we decided that we would just go with a new unit so we contacted AET turbos to discuss our needs. They were super helpful and told us they could build something designed specifically for the car. Within 3 days they had built and dispatched a bespoke hybrid that should provide the dynamics I'm looking for.


The compressor blades are much longer than on the S/R 40


MD321T, S/R 40 & AET. The 3 amigos!


So now everything is in and running! I collect the car on Tuesday and head over to SRR in the afternoon for Duncan to do the mapping. I'm hoping for around 450bhp with a snappy spool up. Will post updates and dyno's when I get a chance. Will also be collect all the parts that we didn't use or removed so will have some bits for sale too.

the shreksta

iTrader: (20)

looking good fella, how much was the aet turbo?

adam.pah

Thanks. I think it was around £1700 for the turbo. I thought that was fairly reasonable but I guess the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Great service from AET who rushed it through so we didn’t have to cancel the trailer to get it to mapping.

adam.pah

So, I finally collected the car this week. Brent at SMD has done a fantastic job of putting everything back together and its looking fresh!
We added the catch can/breather but I haven't got a good picture of it yet. Unfortunately we didn't change the map sensor (school boy error i guess) so weren't able to get the most out of the turbo on the dyno. I ordered a 4 bar sensor from ICP today though and will get it back down for another session before the end of the year. Duncan said the engine and turbo have both got more to give so should easily see 450+. He also mentioned that the compression is really high and I could see big gains with a little meth. Not sure if I fancy playing around with meth though, would be good to see how others have this set up. I'm now selling off a load of parts too, all listed on a free to advertise popular social media platform. Feel free to get in touch if there is anything you need...







Quick stop off to fill the tank!




at 1.6 bar... more to come...

Kaosone

Hi, that impreza is definitely black!

I got the impression it had a built engine when you bought it (with it being 50% over the original budget with supporting mods). Did it have standard internals then?

I’d be interested in a full spec list (mines the same model), is that monster intercooler a Perrin item?

Sound deadening should sort the tinnyness of the front speakers. Lay it over the metal of the doors, sealing all the holes to enclose the speaker (stops your doors sounding so cheap & tinny when you shut them too

sivo

iTrader: (30)

Good work Adam.

Siv

adam.pah

The engine was still on standard internals. These are apparently good for 450hp and 1.6 bar but I wouldn't have wanted to push it any further as it was.
The supporting mods were more the suspension and brakes, etc. The intercooler is an APS item.
Here's the full spec as it is now (I think ) although I just got the 4 bar map sensor and have it booked in with Duncan on Thursday to turn the boost up:

Engine:
EJ20 Closed Deck Block
Version 8 AVCS Heads
Mahle 2618 Pistons
Williams Con Rods with ARP Bolts
Nitride Crank
ACL Bearings
11mm ARP Head Studs
Cosworth Gaskets & Belts
11mm Oil Pump
Greddy Oil Cooler
Bespoke Catch Can/Breather (from SMD)
Koyo Fast Radiator
Perrin Crank Pulley
RCM Baffled Sump

Transmission:
6 speed STi non-DCCD
ACT SB10-XTSS Organic Clutch
ACT Billet Fly Wheel

ECU & Fuelling:
Syvecs S6 ECU
Toucan ECU Controller
APS D/R Series FRP/03 Race Fuel System
Pierburg 3 Port Boost Controller
Perrin 720cc Injectors
Walbro 255 Fuel Pump

Intake & Exhaust:
AET Hybrid Turbo
APS D/R 725 Front Mount Intercooler
APS 65mm Hard Pipe
APS 65mm Inner Wing Air Filter Kit
K&N Typhoon Induction Kit
RCM Unequal Headers (wrapped)
Harvey Smith Trick Up Pipe
3” Hayward & Scott Exhaust

Wheels & Tyres:
PPF7 Prodrive Speedline 18”
Yokohama Advan Neova AD08R

Suspension:
KW Coilovers Version 3
CDF Racing 24mm Anti Roll Bars
CDF Racing Anti-Lift Kit
CDF Racing Drop Links
Whiteline Engine Mounts
Whiteline Bump Steer Correction
Whiteline control arms
Whiteline Anti Roll Bar Mounts
PowerFlex Poly Bush Kit

Brakes:
Front: K-Sport 8 Pot with 356mm Grooved Rotors
Rear: Standard Brembo STI with 316mm Grooved Rotors
Ferodo Pads
CDF Racing Brake Stopper
Fully Braided Lines

adam.pah

Finally gave her a clean and took her out for a blast today! Love how the new turbo is spooling!

Kaosone

I like those front bumper intake fog light replacement thingy’s.

They make the car look mean

sivo

iTrader: (30)

Chargespeed ducts....... had them on one of my old blob sti's









Siv

adam.pah

sparkly headlights! Wish I could get mine like that again. Doesn’t matter what I do they always end up oxidised within a month or so...☹️

stonejedi

iTrader: (51)

Ceramic coat them when you have finished polishing them up,will last for years afterwards.SJ.

adam.pah

So since I got the car back, I've been in 2 minds about the placement of the Toucan.

Pros: It's not obviously visible to thieving scumbags..
Cons: I can't see it either!

I have a solid mount for it but didn't want to drill holes in the dash, so I contacted JTI and purchased a vent mount. Let me know what you think...


I couldn't see the gauges clearly and it was a ball ache to change cals






I had to remove 2 blades from inside the vent so I could feed through the cable and attach the mount


Slight modification to the vent to feed the cable through. I had to route the cable over the passenger vent (not pictured) because the cup holder wouldn't go back in.







All back together. If I slide it closer to the driver side then the steering wheel obscures it; hence the fairly central position.


So the mount moves with the vent which obviously has the ability to angle up/down. I can already tell that this would create an annoying knocking against the plastic below so I've use a small strip of double side number plate tape on the bottom of the mount to stop it moving (hopefully!). if it doesn't stay put then I'll be looking at mounting it to the dash at some point. For £18 though, I thought this would be worth a punt first.

E_KEL95

Car looks real good chap, not usually a fan of black cars with black wheels etc but yours manages to pull of it brilliantly!

Recently picked up one myself (jdm blobeye) it's currently tucked away for the winter time while I underseal it and decide what else to do with it.

Where did you get the wee sti badge that's on the grill ? Would like one myself.

adam.pah

Thanks. I bought the car with this colour scheme, I have some photos of it with white wheels from a few years ago too; it looks better now. The wheels are a satin black and I think that helps.
All of the badges and decals came from scoobyparts.co.uk
You get some pics up of yours. I'd be interested to see how you go about the undersealing as I may do mine next year.

E_KEL95

Thanks for that, I'll maybe order a few bits from there once pay day comes around again.

Yeah I will do, as far as I know its partially sealed already but a little more wouldn't go amiss I think try keep it good an solid underneath since i managed to find a good one!

adam.pah

So, the car still isn't running right. It is stalling at junctions, especially when cold, and I sometimes have to slip the clutch when trying to pull away. My previous mapper came out to check the car and said he had fixed the issue but it still does it, just now it idles at around 1500-1800 rpm.
I have now decided to get a second opinion so the car is booked in with a different mapper in 2 weeks time. I have already sent him the spec for some feedback and he suggested replacing the fuel pump with something better as the walbro 255 was just about at its limit. I ordered an RCM 340 unit and took it to my mechanic for fitting today. We'll check the fuel pressure regulator when mapping, if that's fine and the car is still misbehaving then the next step will be replacing the idle control valve. If anybody else has had an issue like this in the past then please let me know what you think.


Shiny!


out with the old...


in with the new!