Gjhowe's FR-S Build Thread

[Gjhowe]

Greetings All!

Recently picked up a used Scion FR-S on the weekend, so figured the proper thing to do was to create a thread detailing my progress as I work on the car.

A little background to start:

I live in Calgary AB, and do plan on driving the car year round. The goal is to build a fun, quick, and reliable daily driver. I don't do much commuting to work, as other from Calgary will testify, paying for parking downtown is freaking ridiculous. The car is mainly used for going around town, and I'd like to be able to bring it to meets, and link up with other petrol heads in the area for weekend drives.

I'm a commercial electrician by trade, and enjoy tinkering with all things mechanical. My previous car was a 2011 Mitsubishi lancer DE, and while a good vehicle, it just was not sporty enough for me.

I'm an avid MT fan, and all the vehicles I've owned over the last few years, or have driven regularly have all been MT vehicles.

OK without further ado.....

My 2013 Raven Scion FR-S!




I've decided to name her Betty, I figured it was appropriate as its the first black car I've owned, and I have a soft spot for that certain Ram Jam song.

Shes got 28000 Km's on her and in fairly good shape. Planing on doing a whole swack load of cosmetic and performance mods with it. Ill try and post regular updates as the build progresses. Thanks Guys!

[go_a_way1]

Welcome! I am also in Calgary and yes parking sucks in our city haha!!! Sub for a local guy. If you need any tips/advise on anything let me know. I have done a fair bit to my car, but not as much as some of the guys in this city.

[Gjhowe]

Originally Posted by go_a_way1

Welcome! I am also in Calgary and yes parking sucks in our city haha!!! Sub for a local guy. If you need any tips/advise on anything let me know. I have done a fair bit to my car, but not as much as some of the guys in this city.

Thanks man!

So the car has been in my possession for a whole 2 day's and I've already done my first "mod". Now I say mod, what I mean is necessity. For those unfamiliar with Alberta winters it can get quite cold here, down to -40 some nights.

Since my car did not have a block heater installed in it, I went with what I consider to be, a better alternative. I've installed an oil pan heater in preparation for winter.

So first stop, crappy tire! I looked into a brand name pan heater, such as wolverine, but from what I can tell there is not a huge difference between that one and the Canadian tire special. Here is what the kit looked like:



I also picked up a few garage tools for working on the car, all the work is done in my dad's garage, as I live in a condo and they don't let you work on your own vehicles on the property.

One low profile floor jack (I can confirm this works with the FRS at stock ride height)





Some jack stands (they have a nice little cut in for the pinch weld, fits perfectly):




Also grabbed some proper wheel chucks, some funnels, a power buffer that was on sale, new microfiber cloths, a temperature activated block heater relay and a chocolate bar for nourishment :P

After jacking up the car, and removing the skid plate (10mm and 12mm nuts) I was able to get at the oil pan.



I used a mouse sander (random orbit sander) and some 100grit sandpaper to remove the paint prior to installing the thermal pad.



Next you just peal and stick the heater pad on, and seal the edges with the induced silicon. (automotive grade, rated for 600F temps)



Throw the skid pad back on, route the power cord (AWAY from your headers, lots of zip ties) and betty is ready for some cold morning starts!

Getting her in for snow tires on Monday!

[go_a_way1]

Haha nice write up!! Yes get winter tires asap!!

[Gjhowe]

Another weekend, another mod!

Since i've JUST returned to work and have yet to receive a decent paycheque yet, I'm doing everyone's favourite budget mod.....plasti-dip!

Now I'm not going to do a full write up on this one, I think there are about 20 diffrent video's on youtube if you need a walkthrough. I am going to throw in some tips though!

1) You can use a heat gun on LOW to quickly dry the plasti-dip between coats, cuts drying time down to about 1 min between coats.

2) Make sure the plasti-dip is warm! It flows better and more evenly out of the can. Use that heat gun on it for about 20-30 seconds....DO NOT OVERHEAT IT!

3)If you're planing on colouring in the accents like I did, nail polish works well! Don't try to use the brush that comes with it, its much too large, pick up a fine tip art brush from any craft store.

4) Q-Tips are your friends! If your colouring in the accents and "opps" use a Q-Tip to quickly remove the nail polish before it dries.

A quick note before the pictures, I'm an electrician not an artist, so if my line work seems a tad sloppy I apologize. This is meant as a budget mod, if you're after perfection you may be better off ordering a pre-painted logo from ebay or finding someone with some skill with a brush.









She goes in for detailing, oil and snow tires on monday! Stay tuned!

PS. Yes I know I need a car wash.

[Gjhowe]

So some bad news guys, got in a tangle with a Yaris the other day:



Yikes! Could have been worse, goes into the shop in two weeks to get fixed

On a more positive note: ordered up some parts today! New lights all around and a rear seat delete comming soon!

[Gjhowe]

Im just going to leave this here as a teaser:



Build has been put on hold until the body damage gets fixed, the shops here are slower then molasses on ice. Hopefully come mid December I'm able to get all the lights / seat delete / audio install started!