tweedbean's RS Green BRZ Build

[tweedbean]

Its on the road

Well I'm glad to say the BRZ flew through the MOT, with one advisory for a nail in the rear tyre, meh I have new wheels going on soon. So glad to get it to where it is, but this is just stage 1. Stage 2 involves modding it, plenty to come. Therefore its now taxed and insured. Heres a picture as it sits now:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

[tweedbean]

Thanks, modding has now begun. I have a pile of parts ready to go.

Grimmspeed Intake:

Firstly I fitted the Grimmspeed intake, a nice and easy install. Out of the intakes for this platform this one seemed to get good reviews and picked up a used on cheap. It has a black wrinkle finish so subtle in the engine bay and makes a nice noise:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Grimmspeed Pulley Cover and STi Flexible Strut Brace:


Not the best picture, as it all needs a clean due to polish dust from the final polish the bodyshop did but while in the engine bay I also fitted a Grimmspeed pulley cover, again another used bargain and changes up the look of the engine bay in a subtle way. Also features a little tool tray while working on the engine. You can also the see the STI flexible strut brace which came as a package from Japan with my STi exterior parts:

P1120709 by James Baker, on Flickr

Coilovers, drop links and new wheels:

Next up I wanted to fit the Tein Flex Z coilovers and Whiteline adjustable drop links. Great bit of kit, super easy to fit excluding the seized stock drop links which I end up just cutting off as I had the Whiteline to go on anyway. I know is a common issue, easily sorted with an angle grinder and lots of sparks.

Out with the old:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

I did touch up the painted calipers which the previous owner had done, not a big fan of painted stock calipers but didnt have any other colours to hand so atleast they were tidy as I touched up the chips etc:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

In with the new, dont worry about the wet looking components, it was all getting a wash while I was under there:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

I now need to give it time to settle before I adjust anything else. I threw on my Rota Grids, I have new black lug nuts coming in the post as well as black centre caps, so excuse the missing items, tyre fitting grease etc. Once settled I will play with the ride height and may even space out the rear wheels slight, lets see

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Looking forward to finding some time to fit the STi front lips etc in between the day job and DIY which seems to be endless.

[tweedbean]

My black lug nuts arrived today, internal drive ones so I chucked them on this afternoon alongside the centre caps:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

I also gave the car a quick wash so I could coat it in Meguiars ceramic hybrid ceramic wax to give it some protection as I haven't had chance to give it a proper coating of wax just yet:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

It was nice seeing BRZ alongside my other Porsche RS green car, my R53 Mini:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

[tehShirt]

Time to find a used set of Brembos off a '17+ BRZ and paint them yellow to match the mini. The cars look great!

[tweedbean]

Originally Posted by tehShirt

Time to find a used set of Brembos off a '17+ BRZ and paint them yellow to match the mini. The cars look great!

I plan on some bigger brakes for sure in the future, stuck between red or yellow although I dont need to decide right now

[tweedbean]

This week I managed to find time to fit my STi front lip that came from Japan. It was a bit nerve-racking drilling my freshly painted, brand new front bumper, but needs must. I have to say I am glad I went for the genuine product over the replica pieces as the fit and finish was perfect. No need to paint/refinish the item, all the holes lined up perfectly with the existing holes and the stick on templates made it so easy to line up where to drill the new holes. It uses a couple of clips and rubber well nuts along the bumper to fit, I was really pleased how secure it is. I have the STi sideskirts and rear lips to go on in the next couple of weeks:

STi lip by James Baker, on Flickr

STi lip by James Baker, on Flickr

[MrSkubi]

After seeing this last post I'm afraid that my wallet is going to get lighter once again. Love the build/rebuild !

[tweedbean]

Originally Posted by MrSkubi

After seeing this last post I'm afraid that my wallet is going to get lighter once again. Love the build/rebuild !

Ha I have the rest of the STi kit to go on too.

Today I have been busy sorting out the interior. I had a load of carbon bits to fit such as door sills, window control surrounds, seat heater button surrounds etc. I also fitted my JDM alcantara type material binnacle cover, super easy swap, takes 30 seconds:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr



I also fitted the JDM door tops again in alcantara type material, really please with both these items, this was a door car off job as they are held in with around 7 screws from the back:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr



Next up was my custom steering wheel that I had done, again easy fit. Battery off, screwdriver in 3 holes to release the airbag, disconnect that, 17mm bolt to remove the steering wheel, then reverse it all. Really pleased with it and makes the interior feel so much more modern with these little touches:



Alcantara steering wheel by James Baker, on Flickr

Alcantara steering wheel by James Baker, on Flickr

[tweedbean]

Next up I fitted the STi side skirts, super easy to fit, only one hole needs to be drilled on each side, the rest uses existing fixings. Again as they are OEM parts they slotted right on without any fuss, the templates they provide helps you line them up perfectly. I'm really impressed with them, I think they really make the side profile of my car.

STi kit fitted alongside the wing by James Baker, on Flickr

You can also see I fitted the STi rear bumper corner trims as well, again super easy to fit, no drilling this time, all existing fittings. I then fitted a rear diffuser lip that I had picked up ages ago, again a few clips and one new bolt to get that to fit perfectly. I fancy changing the rear diffuser at somepoint, but more than happy with this look for now:

STi kit fitted alongside the wing by James Baker, on Flickr

Then to balance out all that aggression at the bottom edge of the car, I fitted my SARD style carbon wing. Really pleased how this came out, the bodyshop did an amazing job on the clear coat, it looks better than new. Also a nice fella on facebook sent me some new brackets as the ones I had were the extended ones to work with a ducktail spoiler,which I dont have and it looked weird sitting half way along the boot lid just to get the wing to line up with the back of the car, thanks again, the new brackets made such a difference:

Sard style wing by James Baker, on Flickr

STi kit fitted alongside the wing by James Baker, on Flickr

STi kit fitted alongside the wing by James Baker, on Flickr

Really pleased with how the car is turning out, I need to get some miles on it now. Driving it yesterday I noticed a couple of knocks, so going to check the drop links as they may be a little play that just needs tightening. But little niggles are expected with changing so much and will be a simple issue to sort. Still cant believe it looked like this only a few months ago:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

And now:

STi kit fitted alongside the wing by James Baker, on Flickr

STi kit fitted alongside the wing by James Baker, on Flickr

STi kit fitted alongside the wing by James Baker, on Flickr

[beltax90]

amazing!

[ripper]

Congrats on an amazing build. Absolutely love it......, but c'mon man all this work and no BBK? This project is begging for some proper stop bling! Seriously, beautiful car and well done!!!

[tweedbean]

Originally Posted by beltax90

amazing!

Thanks, really pleased with it

Originally Posted by ripper

Congrats on an amazing build. Absolutely love it......, but c'mon man all this work and no BBK? This project is begging for some proper stop bling! Seriously, beautiful car and well done!!!

Cheers, dont worry they are on the list of things, including some sort of forced induction. Spent plenty over the last few months so going to chill for a few months and just enjoy it before I start looking at some more additional items.

[ripper]

Which route are you looking for FI; super charger or turbo?

[StraightOuttaCanadaEh]

Gorgeous car and what a transformation