Today was the day of main project one: Bill Harvey's ACT clutch install, STi tranny and engine mounts, along with braided stainless steel brake lines, new EBC Greenstuff front brake pads, and crossdrilled rotors up front as well. The pile o' parts is diminishing. Wayne and Bill concentrated on the clutch, which took about 8 hours of work and 2 hours of swearing, trying to get the transmission and engine lined back up- much violent rocking of the driveline ensued, but I will not mention any specifics. We got an STi shifter in for Willis, checked on a skidplate install, removed an intake resonator, and rounded the day out with Ken doing a horn install and oil change on the Forester (besides providing the location for us- thanks so very much!). A few pics of insanity in motion follow below. Questions, comments, or rude remarks are always welcome- email me. Click on a thumbnail for a larger image.
This is just a really neat picture (the first thing I was shown when I arrived today actually). It's a 'mudsicle' on Wayne's OBS, due in large part to the TSD rally yesterday... just kind of cool.
This is a just a comparison picture of the STi versus the stock transmission mounts. The stock mount you can actually flex with your hand! It was very surprising: you can stand on the STi mount and you will not get it to deflect. The stock mount is Bill's new toy. One more upgrade on his path to making the "real red" RS completely unstreetable is complete.
   
This is the clutch install. I won't go into great detail as to how difficult this was, but it did involve removing the exhaust, driveshafts, engine, and transmission from the car. We spent about 2 hours trying to get the engine to shake hands and say hi to the transmission again- we were close many times, but not quite there. Turns out the damn thing was binding up, and with a little brute force and some floor jacks, Bill's car was in running order again.
 
This one was all mine... I was given the opportunity, nay, the priviledge of doing Bill's brakes (just giving you hell Bill). Lot of trust this guy has- I've never done them before! At any rate, Bill got new stainless steel brake lines, DOT4 fully synthetic brake fluid, new EBC greenstuff pads up front, and new crossdrilled rotors up front as well. I learned alot about the RS braking system today! Thankfully, it all came out well, and the car could actually stop- I couldn't have done too bad a job I guess.
 
Two of our less time-consuming, less blood-letting mods of the day were Ken's new dual-tone Fiamm horns, much better than stock in my opinion, and Willis' STi short shift lever.
This was just a last minute pic of happy faces (ie: once everything was done). I do wish I could have gotten a pic of everyone's faces after a ride in the Turbo OBS of Wayne's... classic ear to ear grins all around!
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