THE BUILD
PHASE ONE: The Kit + First Assembly
The Kit.
The Factory Five 818 kit arrives with the steel tube chassis pre-welded and powder-coated (as an option). The fiberglass body panels are duct taped to the chassis and there are 15 big boxes of parts. The kit for the 818S (the convertible) is $9,990. In a perfect world, this would make the total cost of the build $16,000. Not a bad price for a sporty, Miata munching, autocross monster. That price is just the tip of the iceberg. There are an infinite amount of ways to build an 818. Oh, have I mentioned it is mid-engine?
Factory Five’s 818.
PERFORMANCE
0-60: 3.8 seconds
0-100: 9.9 seconds
1/4 mile: 12.5 seconds at 112 MPH
60-0 braking: 114 feet
Skid pad lateral G: 1.120
Curb weight: 2012 lbs.
Top speed: 145 MPH, gearing limited
Peak HP tested: 270 HP
Peak torque tested: 300 lb.-ft.
SUSPENSION
Front suspension type: Upper and lower A-arms
Rear suspension type: Multilink
Shock-springs: KONI coil-over with ride height adjustability
Steering: Manual, 16.5:1
Brakes: Vented 11.5/11.3 disc f/r
DIMENSIONS
Weight distribution: F/R 43.7/56.3 (percent)
Wheelbase: 96 inches
Overall length: 155 inches
Front track: 59.5 inches
Rear track: 59.0 inches
Overall height: 52.5 inches
Overall width: 69.5 inches
Fuel capacity: 18 gallons
“Once the kit finally arrived, I was so excited I couldn’t sleep. I had done my research, taken the donor car apart, ordered aftermarket parts, everything I could to prepare. There’s always something exciting about having a project car.”
The first step was to take everything out of their boxes, and check to make sure everything had made it. I instantly started going through the steps of getting the engine, transmission, suspension, and everything else ready for installation. I could hardly wait. The kit uses the OEM wiring from the Subaru. You take the full harness out of the car and strip any unwanted wires or plugs. This took a lot of research on Factory Fives Forums, and about a month of wire mapping. Having a full wiring diagram of an ‘07 WRX helped, as well as a forum page with every plug and what it’s purpose was. I can easily say, this was a very challenging part of the build.
Fully wrapped at Import Alliance Atlanta. An “almost” complete build.
“We made it back from Atlanta and I wanted to get started on Phase 2. The 818 at Import Alliance was a hit, but it could barely hold itself together. The coolant was leaking everywhere, and the engine wasn’t tuned. I was ready for an engine rebuild…”
PHASE TWO pictures coming soon.
THE BUILD
PHASE TWO: Engine Rebuild and Quality of Life Fixes
818 Engine Before.
I had my girlfriend and room-ate help me pull the kit car engine out of the car. The plan was to check and fix the issues and rebuild the engine with new gaskets and put a fresh coat of paint on it.
818 Engine After.
The refreshed engine MOD list:
NEW OEM timing belt and water-pump
NEW OEM head gaskets
ARP 2000 Head Studs
Mishimoto TMIC
COBB BPV
PERRIN Turbo inlet tube
PERRIN Light weight crank pully
COBB SF intake and filter
GRIMMSPEED Up-pipe
ACT Race-Light Flywheel and ACT Clutch
EGR Block off plates
Fresh coat of engine paint
Crinkle Red Valve covers and intake manifold
Pro-Tuned to 250WHP and 275WTQ
The Donor Car.
See the car that got everything started!
What’s Next?
So what is the future of this car? Let us find out.