finsta's 2007 specB

[finsta]

Since I've been working from home, the car's been sitting and I've been working on some upgrades:

• VF52 Turbo, rebuilt by TPC. Has upgraded compressor wheel and wastegate actuator. Got that puppy in.
  
• Grimmspeed intercooler will be in. I'm having problems fitting the IC to throttle body coupler hose. It doesn't seem to want to go over the throttle body entry point. I can get it 3/4s of the way through but one side always pops out
  
• Cobb EBCS is installed
  
• Replaced the pitch stop which was a little worn with a Group N one
  
• IAG AOS is going in this weekend
  
• Brembo front left caliper has been fixed and resolved. If I knew in advance, I would have gotten one of those remanufactured calipers from Rockauto. Would have saved a lot of money and just powdercoated it. Trusted mechanic had to fill out the thread and tap new aluminum. Doesn't look pretty but not seen.
  
• Replaced the front lower control arm bushings to Whitelines. They were overdue, car noticeably wanders less, if at all.
  

 

In the works, I have the S402 fenders that are going to go on the car in the spring. Going to do the JDM specB facelift swap. I have the heated folding mirrors too, not sure if I broke the mechanism trying to take out the glass though. Car will need a repaint and I'm going to do it in the spring with all the JDM goodies so I'm debating if I should have sprayed in DGM as is factory or go with another color. As always, opinions and comments are welcome!

[boxkita]

nice build. more pictures

[finsta]

Another update:

Got the intercooler fitted. Tired eyes and hands make fitting it a pain. Going for a dyno tune next week. Put in a VF52 with a few nice upgrades (wastegate actuator, flap, billet wheel, porting), DW65c, IAG AOS (I discovered through the install of this that my PCV was finished), turbo blanket and cylinder 4 cooling mod. Acquired a JDM specB Rev D to F nose cut for the spring as well.

[DoctorDaveLGT]

Repaint the car black. There's enough DGM spec B's out there already.

[finsta]

Update time! I'm due to update the top post with all the stuff I've done. So, as I mentioned previous, I installed a DW65c fuel pump, Cobb EBCS, IAG Street AOS, Cylinder 4 cooling mod, Grimmspeed TMIC and an upgraded VF52. The VF52 was rebuilt by TurboPartsCanada with:

• New billet compressor wheel upgrade
  
• New replacement turbine shaft that has been clipped
  
• Boost creep delete kit (wastegate porting + flapper upgrade)
  
• Upgraded 14psi wastegate actuator
  

 

I just got the car dyno tuned yesterday by the wonderful people at Uptown Autosport and Make Automotive who did the pre-dyno check. Car made 314whp and 323 lb-ft.

 

I also obtained a specB JDM nose cut with a lip. There's some random box with an STI sticker on it. For the life of me, I can't figure out what it is. Had some harness connected to it.

Edited November 13, 2020 by finsta

[finsta]

Recent update:

Max Capacity, you were right. That caliper was bad news. Parked my car to go to work, came back and had no brake pedal pressure. Apparently, that pitted caliper didn't seal well and out went all the fluid over time. Just so happened that what remained oozed out while parked thankfully. Got a Rock Auto reman, made by Nugeon and so far am happy with it. Pedal feel is wonderful and the car brakes hard.

 

That random box with the STI sticker was apparently a radar cruise control unit that came on JDM cars. My headlights were apparently cracked so I had to get new ones. Unfortunately, they're sitting in a container from Buyee because Japan Post suspended air mail. It's been three months with no signs of life. Also ordered some harnesses from our own AW4BYT. I have to decide how to jerryrig them because of certain differences but I'm sure it's not a big deal.

 

Currently tossing the idea of doing the rear end swap too, would like to know what parts I'd need. Thinking of getting a Rock Auto rear bumper shell.

[finsta]

Updated first post in thread with current state of car.

[finsta]

Hey everybody.

So I'm starting to prep for the facelift/JDM swapfest.

I'll be blacking out the headlights and doing a custom wiring set up, using the parking lights as DRLs. I've started to fabricate my own set of harnesses to do so and have it as plug and play as possible.

 

Fellow member AW4BYT makes plug and play harnesses if you don't want to muck with wires, check out his stuff! I used to make harnesses as part of my job so I welcome it.

 

I've also sourced a USDM facelift bumper along with tail lights and so the fun begins. I'm also thinking about possibly updating my exhaust tips. When I had the exhaust fabricated, I went with just 304 and a 5 degree cut but am thinking of maybe doing a double walled tip for a "cleaner" look. Luckily for me, the tips are attached via v-band.

[finsta]

So, it's been a while but here's some updates:

Whiteline 24mm sway bar up front. Rear's coming soon enough. Redid all the suspension bushings up front. Had a nasty amount of play on the front left. JDM facelift swap is starting soon as well.

[finsta]

Alrighty, so here's the long-awaited post about the AC/Double DIN Controls for LHD cars. Unfortunately, I lost all the photos I took so I wrote this to the best of my ability.

1. What you will need
   
   • Double DIN Faceplate from eBay
     
   • i88 and associated wire harnesses, available from svxDC, Tight Fit Fabrication or Auto Harness House
     
   • Metra 40-SB-10-18 Antenna Adapter
     
   • Subaru Euro Radio P/N: 86201AG460
     
   • Factory Radio
     
   • Superglue
     
   • X-Acto Knife or thin blade
     
   • A bit of patience
     
   • 20-40 minutes of time
     

[*] Getting Started

To get started, make sure you have all the necessary parts readily available. Remove the factory stereo from your car as well. You may remove the hazard lights button from the factory radio, as you will be attaching it to the eBay faceplate just before installing. Keep track of screws and where they came from, you will be reusing many of them!

[*] Gutting the Euro Radio

At this point, we can start gutting the radio. Start by removing the back circuit board of the climate control board. It is held in by a few screws. When the screws are removed, you will be left with a circuit board that has a black plastic back and a connector on the front and back. Set this aside for now, we will come back to it after. Now, we must remove the actual climate control front-facing circuit board. There is a thin ribbon cable that attaches the radio to the climate controls. Just disconnect it. I don't know what the cable does but it seemingly has worked fine for months without it connected. Once the circuit board is removed, we can take out the button caps, grey rubber button membrane and trim rings. Transplant these onto the new faceplate.

 

Finally, we're at the part where patience is required. We need to get the VFD filter. To get good access to it, we need to remove the whole faceplate of the Euro radio. Unscrew everything and remove the faceplate. There will be a lot of screws that are going to not have any purpose going forward, set them aside so your dogs/cats/small children don't eat them. The filter is held in by clips and adhesive. To remove it, you have to release the clips and press the filter out towards the back of the faceplate. Take your time with the process as you're breaking the adhesion and it will eventually come loose then pop out. Once obtained, pop it into the new faceplate.

[*] Putting it Together

We can now put it all together. Wipe the back of the VFD filter and the display with a microfiber cloth, making sure there's no dust. Screw in the front facing circuit board. Once attached, connect the back circuit board with the black plastic back and screw it in.

 

Now, the climate control portion is done. Take the mounting brackets from the Euro radio and attach them to the new faceplate. With these attached, you can install your double DIN. Screw in your hazard lights button. Now what's left is the the Temp stickers. For this, I used a thin blade and peeled them off then glued them back on with some superglue.

[NORULZleggy]

These are nice numbers for the car. I wish I had that 6 speed. That is what is holding back my power due to my 5MT.

[finsta]

Since it's allowed, for those who wanted to know about where I sourced the double din fascia, here's the eBay link: https://www.ebay.com/usr/subaru2din

[lagwagon]

Is there any reason I couldn't swap my JDM double din radio onto the Euro faceplate? The benefit I would get is not having to move the hazard button and cutting the upper left plastic to make it fit. I see the seller has both LHD and RHD plates that only appear to differ in the location of the hazard button. I have all the wiring taken care of as this was previously installed in another local's car.

[rhino6303]

Is there any reason I couldn't swap my JDM double din radio onto the Euro faceplate? The benefit I would get is not having to move the hazard button and cutting the upper left plastic to make it fit. I see the seller has both LHD and RHD plates that only appear to differ in the location of the hazard button. I have all the wiring taken care of as this was previously installed in another local's car.

The buttons on the jdm climate control are opposite of the euro climate control. I found out the hard way. You need a Euro climate control or the RHD bezel.

[Febreze Mee]

Finsta, or Rhino, do we know if the buttons from a USDM climate control panel can be swapped on to the JDM panel?

 

I'm retarded.

Edited December 24, 2021 by Febreze Mee

[rhino6303]

Finsta, or Rhino, do we know if the buttons from a USDM climate control panel can be swapped on to the JDM panel?

You still need the pcb for the buttons which only come from either a jdm unit or the euro unit. The physical pcb can't be flipped to make the buttons work.

 

If you have a jdm climate control and you want a full fascia, buy the rhd version from the seller.

 

A euro climate control isn't cost effective to find, buy and then buy a separate fascia (at least it isn't cost effective yet as the euro radio is hard to find and then get shipped overseas).