'13 Subaru BRZ rebuild

[P3tras]

Hello all,

Got my "new" BRZ few days ago. Unlike in most other build threads, this BRZ requires little bit of work to get going. Without further ado, let get started.

Here are photos of BRZ before I started any work:


Vehicle had front right side impact:


Bumper may need little bit of putty


Only steering wheel airbag deployed, but both drivers and passengers seat belt pre-tensioners were deployed:


Previous owner took little souvenir for himself - shift knob


Fuse box is damaged, but seems that only plastic case was cracked. All connections seemed to be fine:


Both radiator and condenser are dead and gone:


Front bumper reinforcement absorbed most of the crash force. As I checked no damage to subframe


Left side headlight is intact


After day of work today, I remove fender, fender mount, front bumper reinforcement, headlight, washer fluid reservoir, intake system (I will reinstall it soon to fire-up engine for first time), AC condenser, lower engine cover and upper rail attaching to radiator/headlight mounts.
Fender with fender mount removed:


Bumper reinforcement:


Bits and pieces removed



That's all for today. By the way, it is highly possible that previous owner is/was this forum member. This car was bought from Portage, Wisconsin. Seems like previous owner did race it a little bit, as there is race-track tech inspection sticker on the window. I just hope that engine was not pushed too hard . But no mods done, except this...

Riddle of the day. Sound generator is full of sunflower and other types of seeds:


Somebody please tell me if that is some kind of redneck mod for better engine sound or that is how sound generators come from factory?


Till next day

[P3tras]

By the way, if someone has any parts that I might need for this rebuild - shoot me some offers. But as you might have understood, I am on budget (why else I would buy crashed one) :P

[alan.chalkley]

The best way is to find another one that has been smashed from the rear and build one good one from the two and keep the leftover parts.
My uncle used to do this with cars and in australia we call it a "cut and shut" build.

[P3tras]

Did some disassembly. Pictures are worth a thousand words


Little rust on pulleys, but should clean itself after starting:








Basically all damaged parts removed:




Started digging into electronics as well. Rear fog light is required here in EU and I wish to use "factory like" setup instead of ugly switch with a light drilled into dash. Unfortunately, there is no wiring for rear fog light in US model. However, pin which is used for rear fog light in JDM/EUDM models (in computer) is unused. I will try to wire it and hope and rear fog LED will light up on the cluster. If not, I am planning to take whole cluster out and hard-wire rear fog light LED if possible



By the way, any tips for straightening end of fender rail are greatly appreciated. At the moment I do not have many ideas about it...


More to come next week (including first start-up of engine - hopefully).

[ayau]

Can you snap a few pics from the front facing the engine? Curious to see how low the engine sits relative to the chassis. Thanks!

[P3tras]

Sure, will do that on Monday. Starting/ending work tomorrow while it is dark, so no good for photos. I hate short days

[kbye]

let that be a warning to the turbo guys who don't think they need a front bumper bar!

good luck with the build, OP. looking forward to seeing your progress.

[EAGLE5]

How much was the car all smashed up?

[Mikeez]

Ouch, I am so keen to see what he will do

[P3tras]

Front bumper bar absorbed crash like a champ. Without it damage would be WAY worse. Everything behind bumper bar is straight, so no frame pulling will be needed Just end of fender rail is bent and I really don't feel like replacing it (a lot of welding would be needed...). In worst case I will ask professional to straighten it.

[P3tras]

Originally Posted by jsimon7777

How much was the car all smashed up?

Not all smashed up, just front has little dent. With all taxes and transportation it was ~$10k . May seem a lot in US, but new BRZ costs $35k here and used ones start at $20k (only couple used ones). And I wanted project like this for a long time

[EAGLE5]

Looks exciting. My Lithuanian ancestry approves.

[P3tras]

Sorry for long delay with no updates, been quite busy

Anyhow, disassembly is over. Already got airbag computer reprogrammed (crash data erased) and reassembled one seat belt. Just need to find where they can change pyrotechnic charge in pre-tensioner mechanism.

Here are few photos of engine (as requested) and couple photos from inside:








Now long hunt of spare part begins. I will probably need to order some of them directly from Subaru/Japan. But that will take ~7 months The only upside is that I might get parts at good price and offer some of them to forum members at lower price than usual (small parts like clear side markers, EU muffler tips or anything else). Wish me luck

P.S. I did start engine and driven ~3 meters forward/back. It started right away, just I did not run it for too long. I hear rumours that running engine without radiator and intake system is not very good

[P3tras]

Short update:

Not much going on repairs side, but little by little I am stocking up the parts