Welcome to Part 4 of the Project TrackWhore build.  With the holidays coming up, as well as, being swamped with work, I haven’t had the time to update this project as fast as I would have liked.  Nevertheless, let’s see the car fresh out of paint:

Color of choice: Evo MR Grey.

After seeing the finished product, Project Phoenix created by John2.5RS and coming from the Evo world with EvolutionM, I thought the color was appropriate.

A week prior to  paint day, I decided to order a few body parts to thrown in with the car in the paint booth:

1. Version 5 Rear Wing

2. Rear Spats

3. 99 RS Front Bumper (replaces the older 98 front bumper)

4. Aluminum Hood

5. 22B Front Fenders (Replica)

Overall I’m very happy with the paint job from A&D (they don’t have a website, but you can call them at (301) 279-9900).  The color came out very nicely and I couldn’t be happier with the color choice.  I’m also very happy that the fenders in the rear were rolled prior to paint, since I have a notorious habit of chipping paint when I try to roll them myself.

Next item on the list of to-do’s is to get the car back to DPS Tuning and start the chassis prep for the new parts going into the car.

Just a hint: removal of sound deadening, painting tub, installing new wiring harness, and more.  Check back here soon for the next article.

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The UPS man was kind enough to stop by this week and drop off some new parts for the project build.  Some items are new and some are used.  Here’s a list of what came in:

1. JDM Subaru Imreza STI Motor – Version 8:  Came With a JDM ECU and Twin Scroll Turbo.
2. Subaru Impreza STI Top Mount Intercooler With Stock Blow off Valve.
3. Subaru Impreza STI 6 Speed Transmission
4. Stance AL Pro Suspension
5. Subaru Impreza STI Brembo Brakes
6. ARP Wheel Studs
7. Lugnuts
8. Subaru Impreza Air Intake Box
9. Subaru Impreza STI Intake Manifold
10. TGV’s
11. JDM Subaru Impreza STI Wiring Harness and RS Merge
12. Version 4 Gauge Cluster with DCCD
13. Enkei RPF1 17 inch Wheels
14. Bridgestone Potenza RE01R (235 tire width)

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Part 2 is all about body repair and paint.  My Impreza RS was originally painted black, which is okay but if I’m going through the trouble of stripping the car, might as well go for the color I really want.  The color of choice, Evo 9 MR grey.  Definitely not a common color on RS’s and after seeing a great example online of one already painted in the same color, I couldn’t resist.

The RS originally had some rust issues and dents.  Thanks to my autobody master of a friend (thanks Chris!), the car has all of its blemishes cleared up.  I also took the time to roll the rear fenders as far out as I could in preparation for 235 tire widths.   The front fenders will be replaced with 22b style fenders for the front, so I should be fine for tire clearance.

With all the prep work done, it was time to send off the car to paint. In the meantime, I will start ordering the items needed for the swap and I will update with pics as soon as I have them.

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A new beginning with a new project car.  Why a Subaru Impreza 2.5rs?  It mostly has to do with this article: Old School Rules – Subaru Impreza vs Mitsubishi Evolution .   I was completely shocked at what this car was capable of within a budget.  So I decided to pull the trigger and build myself a “TrackWhore”.  Definition of a “TrackWhore” :  A car used/beaten on a race track on a consistent basis.  My goal for this car is to put it on track but also have an ultra responsive daily driver that doesn’t need much to serve double duty.  I also wanted to keep this entire project build under $14,000 (including the price of the car).   In order to get the job done I needed to find a completely stock 98 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS at a really good price, which I did thankfully.  After a few months of searching I was able to find a 1998 2.5RS with 115,000 miles with a clean carfax report.

As you can see, there were a few minor issues with the paint/body, but overall not a bad car for $3,400.

Now that I have the car, the next step is to develop a list of parts to get for the car.  Here’s version 1 of the master list:

Engine

• Version 8 JDM STI 2 liter motor with twinscroll turbo:  Having a high redline stock and a ultra responsive turbo would be perferct for the street and track
• JDM Stock ECU: Great for emissions and easy to flash
• Top Mount Intercooler
• Radiator
• Exhaust

DriveTrain

• 6 Speed Transmission
• STI Differential (Rear, Center, Front) with DCCD
• STI Hubs with New Wheel Studs

Suspension & Brakes

• KW Coilovers : Not Sure Which Ones.
• 4 Pot Front Brake and 2 Pot Rear Brakes
• STI Aluminum Suspension Arms and Lateral Links

Wheels & Tires

• Stock STI Wheels
• BridgeStone RE-01R

Interior/Exterior & Other Misc Items

• Depo Exterior Head Lights and Corner Lights
• JDM Rear Tail Lights
• JDM Rear Spats
• 22B Front Fenders
• Aluminum Hood
• Version 5 Rear Wing
• JDM Crash Beams
• Steering with Quick Release
• STI Shift Knob and E-Brake
• Alpine Stereo System
• JDM Gauge Cluster With 10,000 RPM Redline
• Defi Gauges
• Gauge Pod
• Evo Recaro Front Seats

That should be it.  Next step is to strip the car and get it into paint.  Check back soon for next update.

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