UNDER CONSTRUCTION

There will always be those cars we “will get around to one day” that end up never really getting the love they deserve. The more of these we can save the better, even if that means selling them to those who have the time and means to make good use of them.

Gavin Thomas was one of those who had the time and the means, wrangling this WRX as a bare shell from Dave at Dtech after it had been lying out the back of the shop under a tarp for some time. Completely stripping it with just the doors attached, Gavin used it as a base for a wrecked ’04 V8 that he already had. The running gear, loom, and dash were switched over, and an STi plate-type front diff, Exedy Hyper six-puck clutch, and four-pot front and two-pot rear calipers were installed. The rotors are Project Mu two-piece units, while suspension comes by way of MCA Suspension gravel-spec examples that have remote canisters.

A 22B-style front bumper is currently fitted. However, Gavin tells us his full carbon-Kevlar WRC-spec wide-body should show up very soon.

“I was once a strict RB guy. I’d built an RB30-powered Cefiro a good 10-plus years ago, but in 2008, when moonlighting at Dtech, I helped build an WRC replica WRX and liked the look. With my business [Precision Workz Engineering Ltd] predominantly involved in rallying, I felt the need to demonstrate what we can do,” explains Gavin. “This was a cheap platform with an iconic look and I knew where to find the bits so it was a no-brainer.”