Kostamojen

AWD won't help. You have a higher top end speed due to the RWD, and the AWD launch won't help that much. How do I know? Well your 2.2l Brat is only .2 seconds slower than my 2.5l AWD Impreza, which runs a 15.1 and thats including almost every bolt on mod (including a lightweight flywheel/sticky clutch)! I say stick with RWD, get some REAL tires, and run lower tire pressure and you should be fine

I kind of wanted to keep the sides of the car flat, since well, the whole side of the car is basically flat... but if I do need to go with significantly wider fenders, there is always the option fender flares. BTW, my Impreza has "bulges" to fit the 225's I have on it, so I know what you are getting at.

This is true. However, I still have X amount of space between the suspension and the fender... And I'm still not sure what we will about modifying the rear fender yet for more tire clearance, or at least not until tomorrow when we test fit everything on the car and take a closer look.

So I'm borrowing a set of 13" enkeis with 185/75/R13 tires from Subarujunkie (supposedly they are actually Jibs wheels/Tires? No big deal though, i'm just borrowing 2 of them for a couple weeks ) for the test fit of the wheels on the suspension at the shop, and decided to check and see how they fit on the suspension... I was surprised to find out that they BARELY cleared the suspension! Here are a few pics: I was pretty shocked how close these were... The offset is actually lower than stock (+38 vs. +51) but the width of the wheels are indeed wider (5.5" vs. 4.5") and the tires are 185's instead of the stock 155's, but the Pugeot 15" wheels with 205 tires had about the same inside clearance than these did (Probably due to the very low Pugeot +24 offset). So it looks like 205's are out of the question, as are stock wheel offsets... I'll probably have to go with custom made wheels, or run narrower tires/smaller wheels than I want to (although the 15" superlites might work with a 185 tire?)

Progress from this vacation-shorted week

Although you have to admit, they are rather pretty for drums The wheel options I have all pretty much block out whats behind there. So a silver or black color (whether being polished or painted) wouldnt show. I also need to paint the backing plates, and i'm not sure if I should match the drum or just paint it black as well... (that goes for the rear AND the front brakes, I plan on keeping the front/rear backing plates and drums the same since they will be worked on at the same time)

They aren't really visible behind the wheels, but the front drums will be visible in the engine bay.

So just to let you guys know, i'm not sitting around doing nothing while the car is at the shop. Here is the rear suspension that i've been working on for little while now. Now its not 100% done... The bolts still need restoration, the bushings still need some major help, and the Koni shocks need some touch-up paint. But it does give you a better idea of where i'm going with this. Oh, and I'm still not sure what I should do with the brake drums... Should I polish them, or paint them with caliper paint (silver)? BTW, it looks like Aspen White won the poll.

I should get more photos of the shop, the cars in there are insane! Its by far the cleanest, nicest shop i've ever seen, and those pics I have are from the "dirty work area" :-p Oh, I just dropped off the door hinges and window frames they are going to use for aligning pieces and such.

LOL! Ya, they said they are way ahead of schedule for the bodywork, might even be done in a couple weeks! That won't give me enough time to save up for the roll cage though I might have to take it back later for that.

I only got the first issue because I ordered it extra, but no haven't received the 2nd issue yet...

Well I ran through a couple hundred part numbers the past couple days looking to see what part numbers are still valid and such, and just put in an order in the stock order for next week to see what happens... My guess is that most of the numbers will end up being canceled on the packing list, but who knows, maybe a few will actually work.

Vote!!! FINAL ROUND!!! Vote here: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1583645

Woot! I was just digging through a pile of old parts catalogs my boss gave me yesterday, and I found the COMPLETE original parts catalog for my car

The white on other-color two tones would still have a white interior/engine bay/etc., but the exterior colors WOULD dictate what the color accents would be in the engine bay (although I can't change the color of some of the components I have, like the coilpack and MSD ignition).

Round 2 of Voting has started!!! Finalists: Vote here: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1578312

Its not going to be cheap. But this isn't an "on the cheap" project either.

I'm thinking just a standard 4-point cage with a harness bar, but it all depends on how the bodywork goes. Speaking of that, I just got back from talking to the bodyshop... I have to say, i'm even more excited now Their process is exactly what I was looking for, and EVERY idea I had they basically thought of too and were on the same page I was! I didn't expect that. Plus, their process is basically one step at a time, IE we are going to start with the rocker panels and rebuild those, but instead of doing the whole car, we will stop and re-asses at that point and basically its a pay-as-we go deal, which means if it starts to get too expensive labor wise I could stop if need be. I can't wait to see the initial results, and i'll be meeting with them about every week to discuss progress and i'll take pictures too of course

Just had some guy from Japan contact me over on NASIOC... Looks like he's restored some FF-1's over there, here is his homepage: http://www.drawninthesea.sakura.ne.jp/

Here is something to give you an idea of what i'm working on while the car is at the bodyshop...

Picked up the car from American Stripping Co.!!! They did really good work, the car could be painted right now if it didnt need body work :-p I dropped it off at the bodyshop, also known as Roseville Rod and Custom. They are making an estimate for me that should be ready next week. Indeed, it probably will be higher than expected :unamused: but they did say they could do some of the extra cosmetic touches and even the rollcage, so thats good I do have to say, its the nicest shop i've ever seen bar none. I could spend hours in there just looking around! Anyway, here are a couple pics from picking the car up. I'm going to take some photos at the bodyshop this next week:

For reference, that is just supposed to be Rally Blue.

How do you start a poll here? I didn't see an option when I tried to start a thread...

If you guys don't mind wandering over to another forum, I started a poll for the colors using this photo... Here is the link: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1571886