Joel's BRZ - Low Budget Time Attack Build

[DIY]

Hi Guys,

Just picked this up recently after many months of searching for a salvage car at auctions to build into a track car.



As far as I know it is straight off the production line at Subaru in Japan, never been built into a full car and was used to set up the robots for painting on the production line. That's all I know really, its a full shell including all panels but that's all, no motor, suspension etc. I've already stripped the panels off and put them in storage for now.

I have been wanting to get back into time attack style racing for a while but I didn't really want to change my current track car which is a wrx back to tarmac spec again as I really enjoy my gravel racing. I thought about building a GC8 wrx shell as a cheap way of starting a new project but when I started looking into aero design the BRZ just seemed like the perfect platform to start with.

I've been modifying cars for almost 20 years now but this is by far my most ambitious project.
It will be a long term project as my budget is limited, however, I do plan on doing most of the work myself to offset the low budget. I have invested in a bit of fabrication gear including a multi-function MIG welder that can also do DC TIG and aluminium MIG via a spool gun. A hydraulic tube bender with 1.75" and 1.5" dies, metal cutoff saw and drill press.

The plan is basically to try and go as fast as possible with as little money spent as possible.

Some rough plans at this stage.

Engine:
Want to run an unopened engine at first, probably a built one in the future.
Will start with a Jap Spec STi 2.0L EJ207, however, factory turbo location is not suitable.
Factory reflashed ECU with stripped back loom.

Turbo:
???
Looking into the possibility of factory fitted front mount MY10+ GT Liberty turbo complete setup? might not be possible so I would need to fabricate a complete front mounted turbo setup.

Gearbox:
Toyota 5MT, either W-series or R154 (off the shelf bellhousing available to suit EJ20)

Rear Diff:
Stock BRZ
R200

Wheels & Tyres:
Going straight to 295 width
probably Enkei RPF1 18x10.5

Body kit:
Hoping to do this myself with a little help from friends who have played with fibreglass and carbon, another big learning curve but can't afford an off the shelf kit and I don't like the look of those bolt on kits anyway. The body kit will need to be custom to accommodate the 295 tyres with lower ride height and aero.

Other stuff:
Full roll cage integrated into suspension pickup points. Trying to lower COG as much as possible and move things toward the center of the car, having an empty shell as a starting point helps you consider everything you add to the car and where you locate it.

This is a discussion thread as much as a build thread so let the discussion begin. I'm happy to hear as much input as possible from you guys on how to make this car go fast with a limited budget and if you think there is a better way of doing things.

Joel.

[mjanmohammad]

Subbed because this is one of the most interesting projects I've seen here

[RallySport]

Looking forward to see this develop!

[gramicci101]

How much power are you looking to push that you need 295 tires?

[ChaosTheSlayer]

Subbed

[DIY]

Originally Posted by gramicci101

How much power are you looking to push that you need 295 tires?

I should have mentioned but I am building the car around world time attack challenge rules, the maximum width allowed is 295 and since the body work will be custom to suit those tyres I figured its best just to go straight to the maximum size and only have to do it once.

I will develop the car with an unopened EJ207, not sure what HP we can make safely with that but it won't be huge power by any means. I hope it will be under 1000kg so it will still be quick.

Later on I can pull the motor out and have it built for more power.

[twdebo42]

Definitely interested to see where this is going. Once the warranty is up on mine and I have another daily I'm kind of looking to go down this route...so 3 years from now haha.

[Jesse36m3]

Pretty ambitious project my dude. Good luck with everything. I'll be sure to pop back in and check out the updates.

[davmandave]

That's gotta be the coolest chassis I've heard about. Can't wait to see how it turns out. How's the paint on it?

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

[DIY]

The shell has no sound proofing tar anywhere inside or that underbody stone guard stuff like my wrx had. There are a fair few dents on the shell so I will have to fill those before making my moulds for the carbon panels.

I am going to have to source the front crossmember including control arms and rear multi-link suspension cradle before I can start doing anything with the shell.

Once I have the suspension parts I plan on working out the maximum amount I can lower the car and then lifting every point in the chassis in which the suspension attaches to by this amount. This will lower the car whilst keeping the suspension geometry completely standard.

In the meantime I am trying to get lots of practice with my welder.

[DIY]

Sorry there have been no updates, I have been over in Japan snowboarding and on return I have been very busy working on my wrx. Here are a few photos of that.









With regards to the BRZ I have been slowly acquiring some parts and thinking long and hard about how to attack the chassis work. Ben from Benny's Custom Works has been a great help in sourcing some of the suspension parts I needed to get started. So far I have got the complete rear multi-link subframe with control arms and the front x-member. There are a few more pieces too that Ben has got for me, I just need to go down and pick them up.

[DIY]

Things are getting underway with the BRZ. I have been designing the rear end which will be a space frame tied into the roll cage but done according to WTAC pro-am rules with the cage following CAMS schedule J. This has taken a lot of research to get to this design I will be using, its about 80% done, the remainder can not be done until I finish making a jig for the factory rear multi-link suspension cradle.

Today I removed some of the floor so I could get some better measurements.





Joel.

[johl]

Nice build mate. Should easily get this under 1000kg

[Kenji Garage]

nice looking forward for the process on the build