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Sboarderk03's too Little too Late wagon build thread


Sboarderk03

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I almost feel like I would like it better if I remove the lip, leave the jdm bumper and install the spats. Here's some side view pictures to show what I mean.

 

Let me know what you guys think.

 

The JDM bumper looks great with the spats. I don't think it's bulky at all.

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Im going to try and take the lip off and put the spats on later today and take some pictures and hopefully get your guys opinions afterwards. Anyone have any interest in a jdm rear bumper lip if I decide to sell?

 

Figured I'd also post this milestone too:

 

1408990686_2017-11-1912_52_30.thumb.jpg.ccaa913fadfc398da9f7180f68232f45.jpg

 

I forgot to document the rollover from 199, to 200 so 205 is the best I could do. 30k miles in a year and a half. Is that a lot?

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I agree on removing the lip and running the aero mud guards. I've noticed I prefer the lip on dark cars because the shadows aren't noticed as much whereas on the light cars it creates shadows that are painfully noticible

2005 Vader Wagon

Material Tests on Ringland Failure Piston

I should have held off and purchased a wagon instead of the spec.B
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I agree on removing the lip and running the aero mud guards. I've noticed I prefer the lip on dark cars because the shadows aren't noticed as much whereas on the light cars it creates shadows that are painfully noticible

 

 

For sure and I was going to mention this too, on a black car like yours it just suits the car so much better. Another option I have been thinking of doing if I can get it done clean is to cut off the top inch to inch and a half of the lip. I think it should have come that much shorter in the first place as the lip is just too tall. What sucks is I love the way it looks from the back with the exhaust cutouts and if I take it off all together I will lose that. My other solution is to do the spats and either wait around on the forums for someone to sell a diffuser that used to be made for our cars that goes around the tips to give me that same look or spend the money on the damd diffuser which is around 840 shipped and actually comes with skirts for the rear bumper too. So I would have the option of running the spats or the damd rear bumper skirts. Decisions decisions...

 

On a side note I would really like an oem jdm sill plate for my jdm wagon rear bumper so if anyone knows where I can get one please let me know as I've looked everywhere with no luck.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have a few things to update, nothing that has really been done to improve the car overall unfortunately besides a little aesthetics but boy was that an ordeal. I won't be naming the shop that I went to despite everything working out in the end only that they are located in my town of Marlboro. Honestly when all said and done they were extremely professional but I'm just not sure of the rules on mentioning these things on forums. Anyways without further adieu, my latest body shop experience.

 

To kick things off here are a few pictures of the damage done to the car. I was hit by an f350 for a cement company on the drivers rear door and rim. It was really more of a bump when he lightly turned into me with the passenger front of his vehicle but being that it was a huge truck it was almost better because the wheel studs stick out so far those were the only things that hit my car rim besides a dent on the drivers rear door.

 

 

Rim damage:

20170830_103250-3984x2241.thumb.jpg.afccba808ae5e1e7720e4d82bac11f49.jpg

 

Door damage:

20171220_170504-2918x2527.thumb.jpg.e84611fda072ba7e17a6af52fc682ffa.jpg

20170830_103158-3984x2241.thumb.jpg.2c7b5055daf528ccf30df5471b52df04.jpg

 

 

We exchanged information at the scene of the accident. It was 2 kids driving. Conveniently it happened right in front of construction on rt 20 and cops were already there. They took down our info, the kids apologized and we all parted ways, no problems. When I had the damage appraised it came to about $750. Situations like this are always a little nerve wracking when you have a 12 year old car with 200,000 miles because they may potentially total the car. Thankfully that didn't happen!

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I browsed the list of acceptable shops on the insurance information and went for one in my town that has been around for quite a long time and actually had really good reviews. I'll skip all the boring details but long story short I ended up taking it to them to do the work and got myself a rental for a week, also covered by insurance. While already being in the shop I decided to have them fix a tiny rust spot on the passenger side rear quarter panel.

 

 

Rust spot:

20170914_155254-3984x2241.thumb.jpg.3c30a20f8953c02f7e80f88d50c4bf6e.jpg

20170914_155324_crop_597x747.jpg.ad3e12263e0bcdf7c60a4c25c4cf900d.jpg

20170914_155416_crop_1019x747.thumb.jpg.7f1d20a14a57c05274f177873bf57cf6.jpg

 

This rust spot was going to cost me another $500. Not bad but also neither is the rust. The spot was very small and that price only covered repair and paint with Bondo. If the job would've needed cutting and welding in a new piece of metal it would have been more. Before I get an earful from you guys about how the rust is going to come back, I know. Whether I had a piece welded in or not it is going to come back eventually until the whole panel is replaced which I will do at some point but I didn't want to spend all that money at once so I trusted the shop with the work and left my baby in their hands.

 

AND NOW; RESULTS...

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I dropped off my car on a Monday and got it back the following Tuesday. I was in the middle of a job at the time so I was only available to get the car around their closing time so when I picked up the car it was getting dark and I just ended up taking it home and not really fully Inspecting it. Well the next day I looked it over and found this on the driver rear door edge.

 

 

Clear coat drip:

 

20171002_171504-2241x3984.thumb.jpg.86f56b66728ac3967e4844fd531ac3f0.jpg

 

 

Not a huge deal as I figured it could be brought down but I still wasn't happy. So I called them up and told them I'd bring it by to look at. Brought it back left it with them for a day and had them take care of it. Got it back a second time without really looking it over well enough cause I noticed a little speck but I thought it was dust or something and brushed it off. The next day I wanted to wash and wax the car so I did and when it came to that spot where the clear coat was there was that speck again so I gave it a much closer inspection because the speck was so tiny and this is what I found.

 

 

Paint was pulled up at the spot of the drip:

 

20171020_132110-3984x2241.thumb.jpg.bf40ada7d906e173f06b3eb990f73c84.jpg

 

 

Now here is where I had a serious problem because now it has to be re-painted and would they even own up to it. It's very obvious they did a poor job removing the clear coat drip because if you are looking at the car in real life you can still see the line from where the drip was and the pulled paint is in the shape of a half circle just like a droplet so there's no denying this was what happened as the odds of a chip happening in that exact spot the day after the work are 10 million to 1.

 

Now here's where it gets interesting; yes there's more. I decided to do a thorough inspection after cleaning the car to see if there was anything I missed and boy did I. After looking the car over from certain angles in the sunlight I found this.

 

 

Yikes:

 

20171020_132014-2450x4356.thumb.jpg.861246411ed43e6791726e774c4f3769.jpg

 

 

I may be a bit of a perfectionist but this is ridiculous. This stuck out like a sore thumb in the daylight. Not only was it on the passenger side where the rust was fixed but it was on the driver side door that was done under insurance. I didn't take a picture of the other side cause it wasn't as noticeable but still anyone with 2 eyes could see it a big dark shadowed line going diagonally down the entire middle of the door. I know silver metallic paint is a little harder to blend but it should have been done at the edges and not in a half circle around the fuel door. Anyways I wrote them a not so happy email with pictures included and initially the customer service woman who responded, who i think is maybe the sister of the owner as they have the same last name, told me the chip was probably from a stone and not from them and that they painted the whole panel and door so there was no blending done in the middle of the panels. She said they would need to look at the paint and make a determination. NOT what I wanted to hear at all! I wrote back an even unhappier email and told them I'd bring it by the next morning.

 

Cut to the next morning and I bring it by and I am helped by the same guy ive been dealing with the entire time. First I show him the chip and he explains it couldn't have been from them because when there is initially a problem, like the drip, and they have to do a fix they have 3 or 4 people quality control check it. Obviously they didn't check it well enough but I wasn't harping on it because it honestly didn't matter as they needed to repaint the entire door and quarter panel again due to the very poor blending job which I showed him next and he could very easily see. I explained it needs to be repainted but as I mentioned in my email I was nervous about them doing it now for fear they have another issue. At this point the owner came to look at the car which they explained to me when I got there that he would. I showed him everything and without any hesitation whatsoever he apologized and said "we'll take care of it."

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That's interesting I haven't heard that and I'm not sure how much truth there is to it but I'd like to find out. Especially since both times I got the car back it was washed very well. Not sure if it was waxed by them and I like to do it myself and get real shine but I actually never got around to it after I brought it home the first time. I washed it but I never waxed after I saw the paint job they did so I doubt it was the result of anything to that matter. Not that that's what you are saying but if anyone knows fact on this I'm curious to find out.
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After the owner told me they would take care of it, they did. I got the car back and was happy with the results and they were very apologetic afterward for any inconvenience. Basically they run their business the way every business SHOULD be run. I looked the car over and give it my approval. Everything is almost perfect besides one tiny little shadowed line that I can barely notice, thats how I know it's good because I notice everything so I wasn't even gonna bring it up.

 

 

Shadowed line:

 

20171226_213334-3306x2480.thumb.jpg.9a0108f8eaf02efd60718515777fb3bb.jpg

 

 

Once I got the car back and had it for a few days I figured that was the end of it but then I received something in the mail.

Basically a thank you note with a business card. Cool, nice little touch that any good business should do to bring repeat customers.

 

 

Note:

 

20171226_215431_crop_710x423.jpg.8a5530b3b4d1a76a5c58f0a4d3e1f548.jpg

 

 

Then I saw another envelope with my name on it from the same shop. Wondering what it could be I sort of nervously opened the letter. Not really sure why I was nervous but anyways much to my surprise I found this:

 

 

20171226_215518_crop_1008x453.thumb.jpg.85803edf88b1c8b0699f6829cf02e679.jpg

 

 

I have to say I was not expecting this. They basically gave me money back on the job they had to do twice.

 

 

20171226_215543_crop_1007x179.thumb.jpg.88cdb3dff6fad25442289d23c15c180d.jpg

 

 

So really all of this boils down to one overall thing; a good experience. I ended being happy with their work and very happy with their customer service. I tried my best not to bring up the name of the shop in my posts and pictures. If any of you are able to figure it out I'd prefer you not mention the name cause again I'm not sure how appropriate that is. Maybe I'm just being silly. If you are from my area and are interested in finding out the shops name through PM shoot me a message and I will let you know. I hope everyone has as good of a final experience as I was able to have, thanks!

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Thanks man, the one damaged wheel and tire did get replaced through the insurance of the guys that hit me though cause they were brand new so it’s all good. I actually got enough to almost cover 2 rims cause they were on sale at the time so I got 2 and covered the difference just in case anything else happens to another wheel.
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Thank God for garages.

 

20180104_231007-3024x2268.thumb.jpg.797bb3ce0cb552699d97c3c18529a69e.jpg

 

It's hard to get any work done on a car when you just get almost 14 inches of snow dropped on you.

 

20180104_231045-3024x2268.thumb.jpg.8653874ffaea402406d4541ec324e5a4.jpg

 

I am an avid snowboarder and enjoy the snow but with all the toys I'm stacking up for the car, this summer cannot come soon enough so I can get the real good stuff going on this build. Picked up this Rallispec block for a decent price and if it wasn't for the -10 degree days we have been having around here lately I would probably already have this thing in the car. I think I will be patient though and get every last piece I need for powertrain parts so that when the first 60 degree day of 2018 rolls around I'll be ready to get to work on it.

 

20180104_230929-3024x2268.thumb.jpg.a32cca1fe75fa46648c3c6c83cb8f42f.jpg

20180104_230752-3024x2268.thumb.jpg.7339b1348450125ceedbb5fae239ebcf.jpg

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Thank God for garages.

 

It's hard to get any work done on a car when you just get almost 14 inches of snow dropped on you.

 

 

I am an avid snowboarder and enjoy the snow but with all the toys I'm stacking up for the car, this summer cannot come soon enough so I can get the real good stuff going on this build. Picked up this Rallispec block for a decent price and if it wasn't for the -10 degree days we have been having around here lately I would probably already have this thing in the car. I think I will be patient though and get every last piece I need for powertrain parts so that when the first 60 degree day of 2018 rolls around I'll be ready to get to work on it.

 

 

Well this is moving along quickly, do you have a turbo in mind? Power goals?

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Well this is moving along quickly, do you have a turbo in mind? Power goals?

 

Not sure, what do you think? I picked one up about 8 to 12 months ago off a reputable member but now I can't remember who it was. I haven't used it yet but it's supposed to be similar to a 16g but now I'm thinking that wont take as much advantage of the built block as I would like. Maybe I will sell that one and go with a blouch dom most likely. With the sti manifold I may go with an sti fitment turbo even with the front mount going in the car.

Let me know what you guys recommend for a turbo for good low rev range power but still pulls all the way to redlines.

I won't be exceeding factory red line by any more than 500 rpm so I prefer early boost.

 

On another note, I had some time to get my steering wheel install done last night.

 

Old:

 

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Size difference:

 

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New:

 

20180111_003616-3024x2268.thumb.jpg.b2141e0d2842692a5700525fdf63bd1f.jpg

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Been mulling a steering wheel for a long time, at my height knees hit the steering wheel when I heel/toe. Which did you pick up? Looks nice.

 

Edit: Nvm, saw Zerosports.

 

DAMD D-shaped wheel might give you more room.

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DAMD D-shaped wheel might give you more room.

 

Agreed. At 5' 9" however, I don't have that issue and am thrilled with the semi stock look of the zerosports wheel. Its around 350mm and much thicker than the oem momo and the red stitch is a nice touch. I tossed around the idea of the d shaped as it's very "race car" and awesome but went a different route obviously. Both come highly recommended.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Steering wheel looks great. Seeing it mounted motivated me to put my new one on. I picked up a black stitched Zero Sports one. Subtle but engaging difference in driving experience. Love the feel so far. I'm personally not a fan of the grooves on Damd wheels. OP, lmk in a pm if you're interested in a color complimentary STI airbag. Red lettering would look sick with the red stitching, it was my original plan before I was aware of a black stitched wheel.
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