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The Project

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The Project

The Project designs/supply performance parts for Subaru GC8 Road and Rally cars - specialising in S5 WRC Carbon Panels that are class leading and unrivalled.
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27/08/2026

Another small job off the ever decreasing list!

Rear boots springs! 💪

#555

25/08/2026

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A word to the wise! If you are planning on placing an order to get parts from us… Please do so soon!

Another reason for the lack of updates, has been down to how insanely busy we have been of late.

As each week passes, our lead-times are extending with the new orders. We are currently booked up for the next few months.

Here’s some pics of recent parts made - and one of the orders that was shipped to the UK.

Several more in the pipeline at the minute - so get in touch with us soon if you’re keen to start the ultimate S5 WRC build 😉

#555

24/08/2026

Wow… Just realized it’s been nearly 2 months since I last posted anything. My apologies. 🥴

I have been doing a few little small jobs in the background, but I’ve definitely taken my foot off the gas over the last couple of months. Just needed a little bit of downtime, and the thoughts of working in a rather hot garage over the last couple of months, has not been that appealing.

Anyway, I’ll try and get back up to speed and throw up a few posts over the next while to show you the small jobs that have been done.

In short, I’m trying to dry fit everything in place to check clearance issues, and just ensure that everything that needs to be drilled is done so before the prospect of being painted, etc. (not that I’m even close to that yet 😜)

Beginning with bonnet pins…

#555

26/06/2026

So I decided to put a post up on the fitment of our S5 WRC tarmac splitter… Not the most interesting content I know, but for my customers that have bought them or if you are a future customer, I figured this would be a good fitting guide that may help.

When we developed the front splitter I was careful to mark on the pattern part, the hole locations that will mount it to the front bumper.

What’s absolutely crucial is to ensure you put the splitter the right way up… Yes, I’ve seen them fitted upside down 🙃

Picture 2 & 3 show the top face of the splitter. You can see the dimple marks that indicate where the 6mm holes need to be drilled. These holes are for an M6 bolt that will pass through it, and then bolt into the underside of the bumper.

Pictures 4 & 5 show the underside face of the splitter… This has larger dimples to indicate the position of the 12mm holes. These holes are to gain access with an Allen key to tighten up the M6 bolts.

Once all the 6mm and 12mm holes were drilled, the splitter was then carefully aligned with the bumper and clamped in place.

I was then able to drill down through the 6mm holes in the splitter to drill pilot holes for the M6 rivnuts that would be mounted into the bumper.

All the rivnuts were then fitted, and the splitter bolted up to the front bumper!

As easy as that… just make sure it’s the right way round 😜

#555

19/06/2026

Last few S5 specific mods done on the grill and front end.

This included some last mods to the centre stay including a reinforcement at the bottom and an M6 weld tab in the lower rad support to bolt it to.

Then some mods to the bumper bar, including some swaged holes to stiffen it and a small section on the rear lip removed to create some clearance with the grill.

Finally with the bumper back on I was able to create an S5 part that is rarely seen on any ex-works cars… the two small brackets that hold the bumper grill corners in place.

I’ve only seen these on R14 WRC, now in the STI headquarters in Tokyo. I have been told by a very reliable source that although these are shown on the official S5 parts list, they only ended up on a handful of cars… R14 being one as it’s a showroom piece.

Anyhoo, that’s enough obsessive nerdiness for one post 🥴

#555

17/06/2026

Following on from my last post, were I’d made the 4 parts to the frame… next up was to place it around the grill and get it all aligned for welding. Have to admit I was pretty pleased with how it all fitted up.

Then I’d the tedious job of welding in all the corner infills on the rear face… and final alignment and weld the 4 corners of the individual parts.

Initial mock up on the car with the 4 upper weld tabs in place, looked spot on 😁

More to come…

#555

16/06/2026

Another important S5 specific part ticked off the list. If I’m honest. This front grill has tormented me for years… 6 to be exact 😖

I only just realized that Nick from kindly passed on dimensions of an original to me back in 2020 (many thanks again!!)

Soon after, I managed to source the stainless welded mesh needed, which is a 1.6mm wire with a 10mm spacing.

But it was literally only last year, that I figured out how I was going to create the frame, to be as close to the original as possible.

In the end, I chose to use 0.5mm stainless steel as it was easier to fold.

The frame was made in four main sections, clamped carefully to a 2.5mm steel former, and then folded and hammered over the steel former to create the U-channel on all sections.

I have to say… It worked a treat. All the countless hours of planning, CAD work, testing sample materials, really paid off!

The following photos show the initial folding and making of the frame and initial cutting off the mesh… at the crucial 45 degrees!

More to come shortly…

#555

11/06/2026

Here’s a photo dump from over the last few weeks, after I finished dry-fitting all the panels.

When I began building this car back in 2010, there were very few options out there with regard to suppliers of S5 WRC panels. At the time I ended up having to source poor quality, GRP or Kevlar panels from multiple suppliers, with nothing matching or fitting correctly.

The level of frustration and the amount of money spent trying to get the best of a bad bunch, was what led me to the decision to develop an offering unlike anything else that had come prior.

In total, there was well over 1000 hours spent by me fitting and fettling poor quality panels, before I could consider getting them molded.

What I ended up with after they were meticulously molded by my partners , was the best fitting and highest quality carbon S5 parts out there.

It’s taken a long time since the release of the panels back in 2017, to get the fabrication and S5 specific mods done to my shell. I’m so delighted to now have the panels finally dry fitted to the car and to see how all the effort ensuring that the fit and fitment was 110% perfect, has paid off.

If you’re thinking… or longing… to build an S5 WRC replica, we have the best quality panels available on the market to make your build as easy as possible.

Please contact us, as we’d be more than happy to advise and help build your dream car.

#555

09/06/2026

Doesn’t look like much, but a good bit done over the last few nights with final fitment of the headlamps… followed by the side lights and bumper indicators.

I also managed drill and fit the M6 rivnuts in the front bumper for the bolts that holds the fog light covers in place.

Oh yeah, and the new rear lights fitted too 😉

#555

05/06/2026

Loads of little jobs done over the last few weeks…

First off… Re-routing and securing of the boot release cable. I’ve no longer got a key barrel in the boot lid, but I still want to ensure the boot is not solely reliant on boot springs to keep it secure.

I also begin drilling the front fenders to fit the headlamps. This was much easier with the little tool I made for ‘blindly’ finding the holes behind the fenders.

I then modified the headlamps by removing the obsolete OEM grill locating tabs. This is an actual S5 mod required to make them fit with an S5 bumper.

Finally I mounted the badge holder which has two M6 rivnuts mounted in to the bumper bar underneath the bumper…

Loads more to come!

#555

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Wicklow

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Monday	8am - 6pm
Tuesday	8am - 6pm
Wednesday	8am - 6pm
Thursday	8am - 6pm
Friday	8am - 6pm

Website

http://theproject.ie/

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