Bit of an update...

Was on the way to the last WAW of the 2013/2014 season and noticed some steam rolling out the grill when I stopped at a set of lights. Temp gauges were still reading normal. Had recently installed a radiator hose water temp sensor adapter and a pinhole leak had developed in the top hose. Towed it home, replaced hose, did some preliminary checks, babied it around for a while and all seemed to be okay. Did 2 evenings at the motorplex the next season, and all was well until a mate of mine pointed out a small amount of coolant in my still fitted radiator overflow-overflow bottle. Not good. Other symptoms of a stuffed head gasket began to surface and the car mostly stayed off the road since.

Started piecing together a bit of a party pack for its rebuild, have plans for a new motor setup but with uni fees and travel ideas I've decided to fix the 2L for now. Will be getting the heads serviced, new metal head gaskets, new head studs (just OEM spec), and a rear main seal as it looks like the current one is a bit leaky. At the same time I've pulled out the STI 5 speed and R160 and have sourced a 6 speed, R180 casing, 2010 STI helical front and plated rear centres , 2003 STi rear subframe, GD WRX 2 pot rear brakes, DBA 656S rear conversion rotors, '03 STI shifter with TIC/Kartboy bushes, and all the other small bits and pieces for the conversion.

Sad to see the car in such a state but it'll be good to have it up and running again, tired of driving my buzz box daily around. Will be doing some tidy-up work while its all apart too, and replacing the leaky brake booster and A/C compressor which shat itself.



(ignore the 1 pots hanging off the lateral links, haven't changed the brake lines over yet!)