Kostamojen

Fuel tank installed: Still needs more plumbing of course, but that will come later when the drivetrain is in.

Oooh, interesting color. I dig it.

Ya, thats a ground-up project for sure.. A LOT of work. The fenders are cool, as is the spoiler, but they're custom jobs so who knows what they did. I'd say this is a good candidate for an EJ turbo swap. Put on some nice meaty tires, and have yourself a super-fast car.

I know I haven't done enough lately, so here is a photo of the fuel tank I'm currently painting:

For the purposes of this thread, I'll include the information about my lift. Otheres should feel free to include their lifts, photos, and what they did in this thread too. 1995 Impreza L coupe w/ 2.5 swap Lifted with: 04 Forester XT Struts with WRX springs 04 Forester rear tophats, drilled chassis to fit 3/8" front and 1/4" rear Paranoid Fabrication spacers 97-99 Outback Trailing Arm Brackets 97-99 Outback Rear swaybar mounts Kartboy STI rear endlinks on the FRONT (longer than stock) General Grabber AT2 Tires (215/65/16) Modification to fenders/fender liners to fit tires. Eibach rear camber bolts Other suspension/drivetrain goodies not used specifically for lift, already on car: Whiteline Adjustable rear lateral links WRX SPT aluminum front control arms WRX 20mm Rear swaybar Kartboy rear endlinks Superpro rear trailing arm bushings front and rear Superpro front controm arm bushing Group-N trailing link bushings Whiteline differential mount bushings Braile/Beatrush rear diff support GT spec fender braces Group-N transmission/engine mounts Kartboy pitch rod Kartboy shifter bushings all around OEM short shifter kit OBX front Limited slip diff/WRX rear Limited slip diff Skidplates/Armor/Bodymods: OEM Rear diff protector EA81 (GL wagon) front skid pan and brush bar Stock front bumper modified for more front clearance OEM STI rear diffuser (not for protection at all, but it was on the car already, leaving it on) Lights/lightbar: Hella 500 foglights drilled into stock bumper with hidden mount (just a flat bar)

Saved.

Due to lots of questions and such lately about my car, I've decided to start a semi-"official" thread about lifting Imprezas. For the purposes of this thread, I will presume everyone knows how to install everything without instruction. NOTE: This thread will remain incomplete pending more information by other members. Struts: The basic principle behind Impreza lifting is that as it turns out, Forester struts are aprox. 2" longer between the spring perch and hub mount, providing an instant 2" ride-height lift. These struts ALSO allow for taller tires by providing more clearance between the hub and spring perch. Late 90's Outback struts may also provide lift in this manner (need more information). Forester struts come in various varieties, and there are aftermarket options too. Forester XT struts are stiffer than the non-turbo varieties. KYB offers GR-2 Forester struts, which are also stiffer. There are also JDM "STI" struts which offer more stiffness, although will cost more. Comparison photos: Strut Top Spacers/strut lifts: Several companies currently offer strut top spacers (Paranoid Fabrications, Subtle Solutions, Jackson Rally). Anything over 3/8" WILL require new strut top bolts in order for enough thread to fit through the spacer. This is also a way of performing a strut-lift without changing struts... HOWEVER, taller tires will still not clear the spring perch on Impreza's due to clearance issues. Vendors who carry strut top spacers/lifts: Paranoid Fabrications Subtle Solutions Jackson Rally Strut Top Mounts: Front top mounts are the same on all model year Imprezas and Foresters, so front suspensions can be installed without changing tophats. Group-N tophats are available of course for extra stiffness if so desired. Rear top hats are an issue for 93-01 Imprezas (02-07 Imprezas match up with 03-08 Foresters) There are two options: 1) Install your stock 93-01 Impreza rear top hats onto the Forester struts. This MAY require some sort of washer/spacer between the top hat and strut (more information required) 2) Keep the Forester top hats, drill a new 3rd hole into your chassis to fit those mounts. This has a couple of issues, including the fact the center of the top hat runs into the strut top hole as they don't match up, and the Forester top hats DO increase the ride height in the rear some more. (I corrected this with a 1/4" spacer in the rear, and a 3/8" spacer up front) Photo of a 93-01 re-drilled to fit the 03-08 Forester tophat: Springs: Forester springs provide MORE lift over just using Forester shocks, because if you use WRX/STI/etc. springs on a stock Forester, it lowers it quite a bit. Various Foresters have different spring rates (more info required). If you want even MORE lift, King Springs makes lift springs for various Subaru models including Foresters. If you don't wish to do more than 2-3" of lift and wish to maintain good handling, use WRX or STI springs in order to reduce the amount of lift (Aftermarket springs are also an option). Rear spring comparison: Tires: Taller tires can also provide more lift to your vehicle. Forester-height tires (IE 215/60/16) can work with a lifted Impreza, but for more radical tire sizes with off-road tread patterns there are other options such as Grabber AT2's (215/75/15 or 215/65/16) and Superswampers. NOTE: Larger tires can and probably will cause issues with fender clearance. Major modification of fender liners, rolling of fenders, and even trimming of bumpers MAY be required depending on the tires you select, so be warned. Photo of larger diameter tires: Trailing Arm Brackets - When performing a lift, the rear trailing arms start to pull the rear tires closer towards the front of the rear fender wells, as well as causing issues with suspension geometry. To fix this, trailing arm brackets that "move" the pivot point are required. 97-99 Outback trailing arm brackets have a pivot mount that is over 1" lower than an Impreza bracket, which will correct the geometry and keep the tire farther away from the fender. Forester brackets have pivot points that are farther rearward, and move the tire away from the fender, but don't provide as much geometry correction. Adjustable length trailing arms can also partially solve the trailing arm issue (See: Cusco and OBX trailing arms) but should probably also be used with Outback brackets. "Spacers" for the trailing arm bracket. Some people have made custom spacers that lower the trailing arm down, which can be especially useful for cars with quite a bit of suspension lift and need more than the stock brackets can provide. Note: I can't confirm this yet, but apparently some trailing arm brackets from various Impreza and Forester model years have DIFFERENT bolt patterns, I need more information on this. Photo of Outback vs. Forester trailing arm mounts: Swaybars: When performing a lift, Swaybars become an issue because you are increasing the distance between the swaybar and where the suspension rests at. The EASY solution is to remove the swaybars all together, but at the expense of on-road and higher speed handling. Rear Swaybar - 97-99 Outbacks have rear swaybar brackets that sit about 2" lower than stock Impreza brackets, which in turn lowers the swaybar to correct for added lift. Forester brackets may also be compatible (need more information). Front Swaybar - The front swaybar is enclosed by the subframe, so there is no easy way of lowering the swaybar. HOWEVER, longer endlinks will also solve the problem. I recommend running Kartboy STI rear endlinks on the front, since they are longer than stock front endlinks (contact Kartboy for more information, if you have a stock non-sti front control arms, the endlinks may require a different bushing). Other "required" parts: Rear Camber bolts - These are important because without them, you can't properly align the rear suspension when lifted. Body Lift, IE body spacers: (possibly required depending on the amount of lift you are doing) Outbacks and Foresters over the years have used spacers between their subframes and chassis in order to lower the drivetrain to correct for CV angles. IF you are doing a lift of several inches, this may be required to prevent your CV's from constantly dying. There are several items required: Front subframe spacers, Rear subframe spacers, Rear differential support spacers and brackets and bolts, corresponding transmission cross members (MT or AT depending on your application), pitch rod, transverse link bushings, and longer steering joint. This can also be accomplished via custom work of course, which some people have done. Optional parts: Adjustable rear lateral links - These can help with the rear alignment, along with lock bolts, for off-roading purposes. They can also increase the rear track width if so desired. WRX sedan/STI front control arms - These can increase the track width, which can help with fitting taller tires. Adjustable rear trailing arms - Can help move the rear tire toward the center of the wheel well when lifted. Aftermarket subframes - These are starting to show up, and may provide lower mounting points to help with lifts, and perhaps lower drivetrain components as well like a body lift. NOTE: More to be added soon... Also, if anyone wants to be credited for the use of there photos, please PM me personally so I can take the necessary steps to do so.

Ya, it does work well. I didn't drill the chassis though, just the pan/bar. I might "expand" the pan to the sides with a couple extra pieces too, shouldn't be too hard. Another pic from today:

I've been looking into skid plates, want to do something more "serious" down the line but didn't want to spend the money right now. So I was at Pick'n'pull today and found a '83 GL wagon with a cool little chrome brush bar and an intact skidpan that I figured I'd try on my Impreza... Turns out they worked like a charm Just took drilling some new holes for the front, but the rear holes at the subframe fit just perfect: This is the model of scoob it came off of:

Electronic ignition. Here is a full gasket kit on Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Full-Gasket-Set-Subaru-1-6-EA71-1600-DL-GL-Brat-76-89-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem336278709bQQitemZ220695392411QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories These motors are pretty easy to work on.

E5110ac000

Parts car.

Got my new tires today I had to remove the front fender liners, cut the front bumper a little more, and pound in the front of the rear tire well just a little to get them to fit. They don't rub at all right now, but I would like SOME kind of front fender liner in there... Little comparo I put together, doesn't show much very well though: More pics:

Mine. There is a metal plate under the bumper acting as a support. I havent tested it at freeway speed yet to see if its strong enough, but it doesn't move if you push it.

04 Forester struts/WRX springs. Going to get meaty off-road tires eventually, and my new "off-road" bumper Still no tires yet though, so it will get higher:

Stock one is in post 963. There weren't really any other options, other than other Subaru wheels which aren't any better. I looked at all the Grant wheels I could, this was the best option I found in terms of being all black, not too small and made of a decent material (the cheap ones are a funky foam).

Yes/No?

The adapter just showed up today, FITS PERFECT! Thanks for the help everyone

Is that the one that used to be a hot dog truck?

I don't have access to anything to do custom bumpers, and those are cheap is all, just need new holes drilled.

What do you guys think about using T-bars for bumpers?

Oh man, I should do this to my original motor when the car is done, so awesome (Photo is from the New Years Meeting in Japan)

Just have the cylinders done, put in some plus sized pistons.