Impreza RS DirtyImpreza Project RS (2001 RS)

[409industries]

This thread will be used to document the progress of the DirtyImpreza RS rally car. Sadly, i didn't start a thread on RS25 when i began the build, but i have kept up on documenting everything with pictures, etc. Ill do my best to bring this journal up to speed as i think other Rally / GC enthusiasts might be interested in what has been done and what is in store for the future!

Recent Pic:


Engine:
Stock EJ25

Suspension:
AllWheelsDriven Bilstein/H&R 40mm Gravel Coilovers
RalliTEK Rear Swaybar

Wheels / Tires:
Team Dynamics Pro Rally 1 Gravel Wheels (White) 15x6 +40
Hankook Ventus R201 G51 Rally Tires 195/65x15

Interior:
Jackson Rally FIA Spec Roll Cage
Sparco 6pt HANS compatible harnesses
NRG Innovations Short Hub
NRG Innovations Quick Release
NRG Innovations 350mm Sport 3 Steering Wheel

Exterior:
Jackson Rally Custom Lightbar

Lighting:
Soltek 4" Fuego HID Driving Lights (x4)
Soltek 4" Fuego HID Wide Cornering Lights (x2)

Misc:
Rally Armor 1/8" Front Skidplate
Braille Endurance Series B6034 Battery
RA Roof Vent
JDM RS Roof Skin

[409industries]

Well, i picked up a Black 2001 Subaru Impreza RS tonight for $6800. I bought it off a very nice guy named Kevin that works at SRT Motorsports in Yorba Linda, CA. I was stoked that he was interested in my plans for the car even after he sold it. Way cool. I can tell this is the beginning of a very big project, but i cant wait to document all the steps along the way. So heres my first thoughts:

The Bad

-The car has 120K miles on it
-The clutch is slipping.
-Passenger side front 1/4 panel has a nice dent in it.
-The clear coat is coming off all over the rear of the car.
-CEL is on because of a bad o2 sensor.
-5th gear likes to grind a bit when it goes into gear. (eep)
-The car is still registered in Illinois, so its out of state
-The brakes pads are dead and the brakefluid hasn't been changed in a loonnng time.
-Driver's side window doesn't roll up on the track without help.

The Good

-The car is black. I like black cars.
-The seller gave me a replacement Exedy clutch that he bought, but never installed.
-The Timing Belt was replaced at 94K miles
-The Oil / Diff fluids have been changed recently
-New spark plugs and plug wires
-The interior is in very good shape
-There are Hellas (500's i think) installed
-Not a salvage title


First night in its new home!

Oh yeah, and the original owner sprung for the imitation CF trim... niiiice...

So first things first, i gotta get the damn thing registered in California, thats going to suck, since I have to get it inspected by the DMV since they have to actually SEE the VIN number, and it needs to be smogged. Then once i can legally drive it around, ill go get that clutch replaced...

The adventure begins...

[409industries]

Got home from work today. Shouldnt drive the car on the street since theres a sheriff station literally across the street from me. The car has no plates, no registration and no insurance... yet.

So i took to the spot in my apartments where i could plug in my shop vac and clean it out a bit. Turns out i can subtract about $0.76 off the price of the car... BOOYA!



After cleaning out the trunk I noticed that there is no factory jack in the side. no biggy, ill be getting a different one anyway. i wiped down the insides and things look much better.

I had to get rid of the stickers that were on the car already.



I didnt have any DI stickers on me (doh!) so ill slap some on tomorrow.

[409industries]

So i cant enjoy driving this car around yet... (not registered still... im waiting on an o2 sensor to come in the mail so i can pass smog, etc.)

So what to do? Play with more stickers!









w00t!

[409industries]

I had some time to kill after work today. I was changing the oil on the STi and it was still way to hot to work on. So, i turned to the RS for something to do.

First i throughly documented the inside of the car for comparison purposes in the future, secondly i took a closer look at trunk.

Looks like the carpeting, etc was just thrown back into the car. Who knows why it was out in the first place when i bought it... going for the sweet racer look? i dunno. anyway it was nice not having to deal with the plastic clips to remove everything.


nice stain in the back... something spilled. woops!


Removed all the sh*t you typically find in the trunk of an impreza. turns out i DO have a jack, it was just with the tire. Things removed: tire, jack, carpeting, wood thingy. Ill be weighing these and keeping tabs on the weight reduction, trying to offset the roll cage weight.


everything's out... now to tackle the sound deading... perhaps another day this weekend.


discovered an unplugged hole in the floor of the trunk... "peace!"


Ill be leaving the back seats and everything in, until i pay a visit to the DMV. I dont want them giving me any BS for not having rear seats, seatbelts, etc.

[409industries]

So heres what i accomplished over the weekend. Sure enough there was a CEL for one of the o2 sensors. This is a problem because to register a car in the state of california you have to have a smog check if the title is being transfered. They check for functioning O2 sensors during the smog check, Doh! Just to be sure i bought an Actron CEL code scanner. I figure that this wont be the only time i get a CEL in this car. A good investment for the future.



P0136 - O2 Sensor Circuit Malfunction (Bank 1 Sensor 2)
oh and for fun it decided to drop another code on me, but ill worry about this one later...
P0328 - Knock Sensor 1 Circuit High Input Bank 1 or 1 sensor

The replacement dohickey


The old bastard (the after cat one)


disconnect the harness and spray it with some liquid wrench... i drove the car around in the parking lot by my house for a bit to get it warmed up, i heard they come out easier this way. It came out, piece of cake.


the new guy in


Reconnected the harness, cleared the codes and so far so good. I need to drive the car around a bit to make sure the CEL doesn't come back. I hope it doesnt! The sooner i can get this car smogged the better.... *crosses fingers*

[409industries]

UPS man is more like santa claus in August. He was nice enough to bring me my $92 knock sensor. grrrr more money on stupid sensors!

Can you guess what brand i bought?


Theres the little bastard down there.


Hes no match for some liquid wrench!


These look suprisingly similar...perhaps replaced before, or do the OEM ones look the same?


Hooked the new one up. Torqued it to spec with my torque wrench. I read that over tightening these things can cause problems.


The other day after i replaced the o2 sensor, the knock code came on after about 30 seconds of holding 3K rpm sitting still. It didn't do it this time! I even checked the ECU for codes and there were none. (notice the lack of CEL under the brake light!) yay!


Looks like im ready to pass Smog! W00t! :P

[409industries]

So Pepboys sucks and their "master technician" is out for ANOTHER week and they cant do smog checks. I went in there this morning before work expecting my car to be registration ready by the end of the day but nooooo. They need a "master technician" to put an effing probe in the exhaust pipe. LAME. Its around the corner from me, but screw em.. ill go somewhere else.

So anyway on to bigger and better things. I bought a couple pounds of dry ice for $10 at Ralphs and decided to give the sound dampening goo in the trunk the freeze treatment. It worked remarkably well. Once i got the hang of how long to hold the ice on and spread it over, the stuff was breaking off all over the place. I barely even had to use the flathead screwdriver as a chisel. Just freeze and hit with the hammer... LOL

The first section was pretty much a test run...


Best thing about working with dry ice is that it keeps your drinks really cold!


Once i got the hang of it, the stuff was coming off in huge chunks


Center of the trunk behind the backseat


Driver's side trunk


Passenger side trunk


The finished product... mmm shiny.. well sortof.


Just the trunk filled a ziplock gallon bag to the top. Id say theres probably about 4 lbs of material in there, not a huge weight savings but every bit helps right?... Once i get into the cabin of the car and remove all of the dampening in there i will weigh it all and see! stay tuned!

[409industries]

Going to get the car registered (hopefully) tomorrow. Itll be a happy day if i have plates on this car by noon tomorrow.

Anyway, so heres whats up. Nothing big, I was bored and decided to ditch the stupid metal covers on the underside of the kickass RS hood vents. On a side note, i really wish they would have incorporated these vents into the GD chassis imprezas... but they didnt. I think they look sick. So let that heat out!

Closed configuration


Both closed


Cover removed


Now hot air can escape! What a concept!


Both open


I guess this is a dirtyimpreza because of all the dust that has been collecting on it since i cant drive it very far. LOL So yeah you can save the dusty car jokes. Something dawned on me as i removed the vent covers. I may want to relocate my battery since the driver side vent is directly over the battery. What puzzled me though is that the covers have holes in them to let the water that collects in there to drain into the engine bay anyway... silly.

[409industries]

Heres the latest round of removing things to prep the car for the roll cage. I have updated the totals in the beginning on the thread for a quick summary of our overall progress. You can check it out here

Rear Seat Support Beam


Rear Side Impact Support Beam


Rear Speakers


Rear Side Panels (x2)


Rear Dash and Hardware


Rear Seat Foam Backing


Rear Seat Bench Foam


Spare Tire


Trunk Carpet


Trunk Carpet Siding


Jack and Spare Hardware


Trunk Floor


B and C Pillar Molding


Rear Seatbelts


Total Weight Reduction: 87.40