Bare shell rebuild project with 500 bhp
 

i have just bought a 1998 subaru impreza shell with doors glass etc :)
now the plan is to fit newage sti running gear ,newage dash and loom ,and over 500 bhp of power , i will be stripping out whats left of the car lightening the shell hoping for 1200 kilos as i will be adding 30 kilos in the gearbox (sti 6speed ) gauges etc .

all help will be much appreciated along the way if anyone has any good ideas :thumb: .

i will post some pics of the car tomorrow , and will update every week or so :)

What do you want to know ?? Im doing the same, just planning on a lot more power than you :)

https://www.scoobynet.com/new-car-project-t477700.html

i was having a good nosey at your thread dave :) it should help me out alot , i will be stripping it to a bare shell in the next 2 weeks so help on lightening it a bit, would help :thumb: i dont want to go over the top as it will be used as a family car :) but i dont want stuff on it thats not needed :norty:
few things i had in mind
no
aircon
airbags
add,ra bonnet and boot
spare wheel
all sound proofing
add,lightweight front seats
brakes ,headers ,wheels ,etc etc
i will also strip the newage wiring loom and take out what is not needed .

you would be better off with lightweight fibreglass boot and bonnet :)

Good luck and keep the info/pics coming.:thumb:

Glad im not in your family if this is what you would nip me up to the chippy in!;)

Good Luck with this project Neil....

I shall be keeping a close eye on this one..;)

Did this a couple of months ago.

Takes a week, if you try hard enough ;) Car is 1040KG and 500hp


---john---

dave, where can i get some pics and prices of the fibreglass bonnet and boot .

The first month will be slow as i have to put my newage vehicle back to standard ready for selling so just doing the odd hour each day . hopefully i will have the engine bay stripped by weekend as i have to take the dash out to pull out the wiring loom and brake pipes . :)

any tips :thumb:

you shall neil as you shall be doing the bodywork :thumb: obviously with discount as i shall be showing off your good work on the subaru forums :lol1:

:rolleyes: Discount indeed LOL...:lol1: :lol1: No probs:thumb:

BTW Neil, fibreglass panels, ie: bonnets/ boots and doors are fine if weight is your primary concern,and looks aren't important. But IMHO, they look gash when painted for a road car...

But then again, it's not my car....:rolleyes: ;) :lol1: :lol1:

aliminium it is then, maybe carbon :thumb:

Take a week off work, convince your wife that she can look after your 1 week old baby and get into it................

I'd never do it again !!!!!

i bet it was all well worth it john i seen your car go at totb :notworthy and it was fast :thumb: hoping for similar but having the 6 speed will slow it down :(
i will be going to 2.33 route with a engine capable of over 600bhp but running at low 500,s :) high 400lbs torque i hope :thumb:

Sounds nice ;)

well got all the dash out today ,engine loom, brake/clutch master cylinder ,
got started on cleaning the the engine bay ready for seam welding :)
no pics as ther camera was flat :brickwall i,ll post them monday:)

Who's doing the seam welding??

You dont need to clean much.. what you do need to do is remove all the seam sealer first though.. I can give you a few tips having done mine :)

David

I don't envy you.

It's 60 hours work I would say if you're not caging it. Depends how far you go with the stripping of underseal and paint prep for respray.

You need to sort out a rollover jig (spit) if you want to seem weld it properly. I would get your MIG welder setup with some 0.6mm wire if you can, as it's very easy to blow through some of the very thin panels.

Caging it is another level of complexity and to do a proper job it takes a long time, but I would assume that people that do it all the time can do it in a sensible time frame.

For a road car without a cage, around 1150kg should be acheiveable with steel doors and most of an interior, 1200kg with 6 speed should allow for a comfortable car.

Mine is still relatively heavy at around 1095kg without fuel. But it still has both front seats, standard full size fuel tank, steel bootlid and a few other areas that have room for further weightloss. It does have a full multipoint roll cage though.

Great to see someone straight at it with a clear objective.
Any cage renders the car 'non family' assuming children.(been there)

As to the doors, I feel you can make a good weight saving by roaching-out the steel doors, use plexiglass and fit mechanical window lifts from an RA.
Fit plexiglass rear screen.

Remove the rear spoiler, fit a carbon boot lid and alloy RA front bonnet. That will keep the rippled-look off the car. Remove the boot lid balance springs but keep the boot lock and fit a boot prop.

If you need a cage, fit a 6 point and weld it into the shell with ties to the A & B posts (and fit the door bars if the doors are roached out or fibre glass for safety)

Fit lightest 16 inch wheels and brakes (what ARE the lightest 16's?)

I'm not sure if there is a lot more to be cut off/removed other than sound deadening?

Good luck. If the hardened criminals on this thread (John and Paul) say it is hard work I believe them, and their cars are very extreme cars specifically for NON road use!

David simply likes to work hard...

Graham.

dave
my m8 at work is doing the welding he says he know,s what he,s doing and has done it before so he doing a test patch under the bonnet if he,s no good or its like pigeon s**t he,s sacked lol .
i have been using a wire brush thats fits in electric drill to remove the sealent :) is there an easier way :wonder:
neil

cheers zen i,ll mention the welding wire to him 0.6 :thumb:

how much are the jig spit,s to buy , can you rent them, or can i borrow some of anybody :thumb:
i was just gonna pad the floor well roll it on its side and tie it to the works stairs :lol1:

I would scrape the sealant off, I used a specially ground blade to dig it right out where possible. The trick is with the welding, you need to make a slow start and get the thing hot so it burns the remaining sealer away as you go along each weld. It's difficult to get it pretty everywhere, and it's important to not weld too far in one go, or the weld gets generally too hot and any gas coming from the burning sealer will blow through the weld.

If you can roll the shell over you should/could be okay, but I would see if you can chav a jig from someone.

paul

ive used a plumbers blow torch or a heat gun to warm the sealer enough to dig it out but be careful not to set fire to it or get the hot stuff on your skin as you will remember it for a good while

well i'll be following this thread closely i got my white classic half stripped in the garage now i decided what colour i'm having it but don't know what to do a bout a roll cage would like one but they ain't cheap , can anyone recommend somewhere in the midlands also i taken the hinges off for the boot does anyone have pics of how they gone about attaching a carbon one or something similar, don't want to hijack the thread but we're going down the same lines i think so hopefully any advice will be useful for us both
thanx chris

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...haw/sti023.jpg

stripped the engine bay almost just getting it ready for seam welding. also just ordered my new clocks :norty: picks to follow :thumb:

:norty: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y178/iimiketii/06%20STi%20Cluster/DSC02231.jpg :norty:

Pugs:

Find Flat4's project thread as he put a carbon/'glass lid on his RA with pins etc.

Nas:

That sure is rapid progress! Don't you have a job to go to?? :D

Graham

i have 2 on the go at the moment 1 being rebuilt and the other stripped :eek:

just trying to locate a newage , loom dash , sti gearbox , heater matrix etc :)