Years ago I started the blog WadeProject as a place to publish about projects and other interests I was pursuing. Sadly enough I haven't posted on it since 2011 because I haven't been doing projects.
I am happy to announce that I and starting to fulfill a lifelong dream to build a kit car. I've thought about restoring a classic and that doesn't really fit my skill set or interests. In my heart I'm a builder and a fabricator.
I choose the Factory Five 818c for a few reasons. #1 is my love affair with Subaru. I have owned many different makes and models over the years but Subaru has always been my secret lover. I love the simplicity of the boxer engines. I love the design and how easy they are to work on (to me at least) So in 2013 when Factory Five announced that they were coming out with a kit that used a Subaru donor vehicle it caught my attention. The first models introduced were a race version the 818r and a street version the 818s. The race version didn't interest me because it wasn't meant to be for the street. It was the original 818s that I fell in love with. It was a topless sports car. Amazing curves and design. A mid engine RWD sports car with a Subaru drive train. At the time I didn't have the resources to start such a project. This turned out to be a good thing because in August 2015 Factory Five released the 818c. A removable hard top coupe. I had found my soul mate. It was always meant to be. I immediately started looking for a donor vehicle. It had to be a manual transmission and fall into a somewhat limited selection of models and model years. Fate had a plan for me. I found a 2007 Subaru Impreza for sale in my price range 4 miles down the road from me. I snatched it up and started the plans to use it as a donor. About 2 days later I got an email notification from eBay about a vehicle I had been watching that was going to end soon. It had 15 minutes left. I opened the email and it was the same year, make, model, trim, and even color of the Subaru that I had just bought. Identical twins.
This Subaru had been wrecked slightly in the front end. At first I dismissed it and deleted the email thinking that I already had my donor. Then the wheels started turning and I thought about how I didn't need the body panels from my donor and the parts could all be used to resurrect this identical twin. One vehicle could use its organ not just to build one car but to save the life of another! I quickly went back to eBay and put in a bid. I was the highest bidder at a price that I was very happy with. 4 minutes left on the bid and I couldn't watch. I turned my phone off and went to bed. The next morning when I turned my phone on I had a notification that I was the winning bidder. Once again fate had a hand in the events that took place. It took a few weeks but finally here we are. The twins are in the garage and this dream is starting to become a reality.
The build will have 3 phases to it.
Phase 1: Resurrect car A.
Phase 2: Harvest needed parts from car B.
Phase 3: Build the 818c
I'm in no hurry and this is my hobby so I'll take as long as I want doing it but if you want to follow me along while I make this dream come true just stay posted here at WadeProject.blogspot.com
Enjoy!
