Ajax's Silver BRZ

[ajaxthebetter]

Hello all, thanks for stopping by.

You can visit alexclarkewrites.com for more detailed descriptions of what I've done, to check out some of my writing, and ultimately purchase some of my writing if you feel so inclined. I know you may not think your purchase ($1) will make a difference, but it very much would. I'd appreciate it.

I've been hungering to start a build thread for a good long while now, and on this rainy Washington day it seems fitting. I guess I should start at the beginning. And the beginning, for me, launches from the moment I realized automobiles were more than machines which served a singular purpose. They can be works of art; they can be purpose built.

When I was thirteen, half my life ago, my dad purchased a 1965 Mustang Fastback. White. 289. Dented door. Even still, it was beautiful. The simple yet elegant lines. The sounds it made. A work of art that would shape car culture. Over the next eight years, the Mustang, in the comfort of our shop, would be stripped down and restored. The rust cut out of it. Every nook and cranny treated. Modified. The chassis stiffened, reinforced. Roll Bars. Under-body bracing. Rack and Pinion steering. Coilovers. And then the White Mustang turned Silver, as he painted it the factory Silver of the fifth generation Mustang. This was done in the shop as well. Wet sanded. It was a labor of love for him. We also obtained a 1968 California Special sometime in the middle of this, but it was flipped for profit. Stripped the trunk, painted it. That was all I remember doing to it. Fellow from Oregon came up and purchased it. Gorgeous looking car for a coupe. Great duckbill spoiler.



Shortly after this photo, he would sell it. In an effort to make sure he built the car properly and didn't settle, he sold the factory 289. The intent, to purchase a 302 crate motor stroked out to a 347. It never got that far. It was sold engine-less--I never had the chance to pilot it.

However, I knew I would someday have a sports car. I suppose I thought it would always be a Mustang. I didn't purchase my BRZ until last year (March 7,2015), so I knew full well that the new Mustang was imminent, and that an EcoBoost was affordable enough. I researched it plenty. Thought on it. But what is a Mustang if not something with a V8 stuffed under its nose?

None of it mattered. The moment I saw the twins a couple years ago, I knew that was the one. The color, easy. Silver. The only decision of merit was which flavor of Twin I would purchase, and the new 2014 BRZ Limited I obtained in 2015 was more affordable than any other around. Enter: BRZ

As I'd said above, I've had the car for nearly 16 months. Counting its age like a mother/father does an infant. I purchased the car with the intent of modifying it. I wanted to do that at least one time in my life. I wanted to do it when I was young, while the only person I had to lookout for was me. Most of all, I wanted to try and do most all of it myself, as my Dad did with the 'Stang.

First order of business: Protection.



Wanting to start off right, I purchased some opti-gloss. A long day detailing, but overall it wasn't that difficult. It was supposed to last two years, however I think the constant Washington rain has cut that time down. Either way, the car looked good, and the gloss only put me down $60.


Shortly thereafter I would also install a Perrin air filter.


DE-BADGE:


Mud Guards: As you, constant readers, may be able to see from some of my photos, I live in a small town next to the mountains. I live atop one myself, on one of the acclaimed roads people of western Washington speak of when referring to best driving roads. A winding snake of a road on little more than a glorified yet paved logging road. As such, I deemed the mudguards a solid investment. To help reduce marring, I cut cabinet stoppers and stuck them along the edges. They are still on there. I removed the front mud guards a couple months ago. They left a couple spots bereft of paint. Grieved my soul, those places absent color.


And I suppose this will conclude the first post--the cheap one (aside from purchasing a car, haha). Here is a picture from a nearby road--a great one at that.

[ajaxthebetter]

This is where things start to get a bit more expensive.

For some reason I was bent on personalizing the car. Thus, I came to the decision to purchase myself a shift knob. As a huge film fan and art fan, I think the original ALIEN is a great amalgam of various mediums. Giger's artwork. Scott's direction. The tone and atmosphere.

I opted to purchase a WC Lathewerks shiftknob. Purple, 'cause go UW. It ran me a good amount of green, but the quality is top notch. Knurled. Smooth. Complex engraving which he did not charge me extra for. Great guy, great product.



Wheel gap. It's an eyesore. The solution, RCE Yellows. I went with RCE because of their modest drop and the hope that such a drop would help retain the crispness of the stock car. Stock, the car feels sublime when in its natural environment. Very little body roll. Precise. Precise. Precise. The Yellows are very good. The ride is smoother than stock. Less Body roll yet.

Sidenote: I didn't much like the Royal Purple engine oil. Just didn't seem all that good. Also, when I ordered a three pack of Subaru oil filters, I was sent six. Score.

This was my first spring install, and I found it quite a challenge. I started to despair in the middle of it. Sat there slumped over with sore muscles and greased hands and thought I couldn't go on. I wasn't equal to the task, this I was sure of. But I calmed myself down and set back to it. It was the rears. Upon removing the bolt from the rear shock that holds it to the control arm, the control arm snapped up and clamped down on the shock. A major pain. I stood on the hub. Tapped it with a mallet. After a long spell of wiggling and pulling and yanking, it loosed itself from its shackles and came free. A roar of victory. Then the other side did the exact same thing. Needless to say, I learned a lot from the install, and the (spoiler alert!) next time I did some similar suspension work, I was done in no time.

Word from someone not so wise: If you ever think you may want to go lower than what RCE's offter, and still want your car to handle well--comfortably, smooth transitions, etc--just cut the foreplay and purchase a decent set of Coilovers. This is my biggest regret yet with the car. Then again, the Coils I would end up buying were not yet released, and I couldn't imagine having another set. Think about it. The RCE's are perfect as advertised, but the stock dampers are really challenged beyond their means when inboard of some stickier tires and a more aggressive offset wheel.

Enter: Offset. Enter: 720Form GTF1.

My overall philosophy on real modifications (performance vs. aesthetics) is that the new part must exceed the old part in some way. Preferably every way. As it stands, when looking for new wheels to replace the gaudy stockers, I had a few criteria. Namely, they had to be exceedingly lighter than the stock wheels. At 15.8 pounds, the 720Form GTF1's immediately claimed my interest. They have an aesthetically pleasing offset and an elegant design. To differentiate my car from the rest, after much researching on the ills of Powder Coating, I decided to go onward with coating the wheels. I ended up choosing blue. Misty Midnight from Prismatic Powders. To me, a guy who wears more tones than colors, this was a radical step/decision. I love how it turned out.




I guess at this point, as I'm rather tired of sitting here typing a book, when I have a real book I'm writing, I'll call it a day and continue with more updates later on. But before I depart, I'll dispense a few more current photos.




Instagram: @worldsofthemind

[D_Thissen]

GTF1s look great when they are in one colour!

[ajaxthebetter]

I find jacking up the BRZ to perform an oil change to be a bit of a chore, so every time I've done it, I've made it worth my while by adding something to the car. Lame excuse, but an excuse to add small bits here and there all the same. Plus, seeing as how they come at oil change intervals, I get somewhat excited researching and planning what small bit to add next. A small birthday present to the car each day it spills it guts.

The first time, I added Perrin Steering rack lockdowns. These were a great little mod. Added some vibrations to the steering wheel. Just aided the car in feeling that much more precise. Its strange how challenging 50-60 lbs. of torque can be when you are flat on your back.

MG]

For the second oil change, I installed a transmission mount. I also enjoy this little mod--just helps settle the transmission, especially if I don't quite rev-match properly, etc. A bit more whine noise permeates the cabin at low RPM, but this is no bother to me.



I think the next time I raise the car up for maintenance, I will either do a differential insert, or some sort of chassis bracing. Haven't decided, though I suspect I will just go with the cheaper option and shore up the differential.

Another eyesore, amber side markers. I replaced those with some clear ones. An install that requires more bravery than skill, as it really feels like something is on the verge of breaking. If I don't have to do that ever again, I won't be upset.



Backing into my shop is not easy. I ought to devote some hours to adding more stones so I don't have back up with perfection. Between backing down the driveway into the shop and jacking up the car cautiously, routine maintenance ends up being a fairly lengthy endeavor. Now that I'm on coils, I don't get out of there without scraping. Grieves my soul.

Next oil change in about 1k miles (1 month). Time to research what to buy.



Picture my buddy took on our first road trip in the car--parked on that side of the road just 'cause. Just happened to look over at the last minute on our way up to Chuckanut Drive and spot a winding road. The road was amazing. Thankfully, not ten miles before, the car had wound over 1k miles, so I felt confident in opening her up.

[Agent 86]

Interesting build. Looking at the entry/exit to you garage it looks like that in itself would be a challenge getting in and out.

Regarding your spring install... did you remove the rear sway bar before attempting to remove the shock? Did you undo the shock shaft nut before lifting your car?

I installed RCE Yellows on my car (my first time ever installing any suspension components), and did not experience any difficulty until I was trying to get the rear suspension arm back in place. If I had a second pair of hands it would have been easier. Trying to lift the spring/shock/arm back into place was a challenge. In the end, I used a trolly jack to help lift the arm in place as I guided the shock shaft through the hole.

BTW, which coilovers did you get?

I love how easy this car has been to work on.

[ajaxthebetter]

Originally Posted by Agent 86

Interesting build. Looking at the entry/exit to you garage it looks like that in itself would be a challenge getting in and out.

Regarding your spring install... did you remove the rear sway bar before attempting to remove the shock? Did you undo the shock shaft nut before lifting your car?

I installed RCE Yellows on my car (my first time ever installing any suspension components), and did not experience any difficulty until I was trying to get the rear suspension arm back in place. If I had a second pair of hands it would have been easier. Trying to lift the spring/shock/arm back into place was a challenge. In the end, I used a trolly jack to help lift the arm in place as I guided the shock shaft through the hole.

BTW, which coilovers did you get?

I love how easy this car has been to work on.

I didn't remove any bolts until it was lifted. I know it was the sway bar that was snapping up, even moreso the second time when going from springs to my Tein Flex Z coils, which are well worth the money. For second install I did everything the same except I completely undid the sway bar end links and loosened the bolt where the control arm attaches to chassis. The passenger side ended up snapping up again, but I just dropped the whole control arm this time, then used the scissor jack from the trunk as my helper. Worked great.

[Agent 86]

Originally Posted by ajaxthebetter

I didn't remove any bolts until it was lifted. I know it was the sway bar that was snapping up, even moreso the second time when going from springs to my Tein Flex Z coils, which are well worth the money. For second install I did everything the same except I completely undid the sway bar end links and loosened the bolt where the control arm attaches to chassis. The passenger side ended up snapping up again, but I just dropped the whole control arm this time, then used the scissor jack from the trunk as my helper. Worked great.

Ok. Yeah, I followed the path outlined by other threads found here. I removed the shock shaft nuts on all four shocks, then lifted the car.

Look forward to following your build.