wagonist

I hear you about this stuff. I've got a range of vehicles available to choose from at work. Because I need to tow other cars around with it, I've got to get the biggest one (at the biggest lease rate) a turbo diesel Hyundai Santa Fe. Pretty good vehicle but too big for what I need. I'd prefer the Skoda Octavia wagon. Can still pull 1500kg, but because of the CanBus system, the wiring for the trailer plug is over $1000 The towbar itself is only $600 fitted Just more stuff to go wrong in cars these days. My missus wants a new car, and I've told her that I'm not buying anything less than 10 years old, otherwise I can't fix the damn thing myself if need be.

So you think that job was bad... Now imagine doing it on a right hand drive model with the brake booster in the way & the steering column snaking it's way past also

Good job. I'm guessing because you've said you'll need to modify the fan cover, that your car has air con and has the mechanical fan? If so, you may need to tie the wiring that runs under the radiator slightly lower as it has a chance of fouling on the fan. Usually a problem with 2" drops, not sure about for yours.

I've got a couple of queries: where is the factory distributor on an EJ motor fitted? I'm still trying to see where and haven't found any pics. Which Escort was the dizzy taken from? Cos the US Escorts are called different things in different parts of the world. Some of the FWD ones are called a Laser in Aus. I see that the dizzy was fitted to the RHS camshaft, with is good for LHD models, any reason known why it couldn't be fitted to the LHS camshaft for RHD models? Thinking about clearance for the brakes & steering.

haha awesome work on the progress. I wouldn't use my timeframe as a reference too much. I was trying to keep one car on the road and swap over parts each weekend. Also, I didn't want to just have a big bunch of soldered wires beside the drivers seat so I ended up pulling wires through to the brake pedal, gearbox, etc from my existing loom. Meant I only had 4 wires joined, but it was a bugger of a job. And it took me so long I confused 1 wire only. Pity it was the wire from the coil to the ECU so that it knew when to fire... Why Subaru made that a black wire, which is the same colour as earths... I'm curious to know what you've done about your fuel system. There's no way that the Brumby stuff will keep up with the demands of the EFI. And yes, it's much easier to pull the engine out than the gearbox, even to do a clutch replacement.

As above. I wouldn't bank on a weekend conversion. I did an EA82T half cut converison in my L sries touring wagon & that took me almost 1 year. 6 months was figuring out that I'd plugged one wire in wrong As Bennie said, get the wiring sorted with it out of the car & get it running that way first. Fitting the stuff into the car is the easy part...

There is a globe inside the wiper switch, and later ones do line up also. This is not the same for the mirror switch, where the later ones don't light up. You need to pull out everything from the back. There are some tabs on the sides which you need to lift (VERY GENTLY) and be simultaneously wiggly the wires to pull it through. Post up some pics & I can highlight where if my description is confusing.

Have you checked whether the fuel lines are blocked?

If its an 85, then you've got shocks & springs under the back, not torsion bars like the previous posts have been referring to. I'm assuming you've got lift blocks on top of the front struts. Unfortunately, you've either got to get longer front springs, or shorter rears. If its got a lot of rake, maybe you have FWD rear springs fitted, they are longer the 4wd versions.

A lot of parts? Be thankful then you don't have dual range, full time 4wd box then There's another set of gears in that space above the front diff, the input shaft is in 2 pieces, then there's a diff hanging off the back with a locking mech inside...

Have a look on the back of the tranny where the shifter linkages go in, there should be a spring laying across the car front the linkage to a fixed bracket. If this has fallen off, it won't be helping your cause, as this is part of what makes the shifter want to go across into the middle 3rd/4th plane.

Apparently, the later model NA MPFI trans have 25 spline stubs. Still not believing of this. The stub axle is removable. Do a search to confirm (as I've never had to do this), but the part around the stub is removable from the trans so this should be fixable relatively easily.

Can you tell how you've held up the engine? And I'm also curious what rear suspension you're using.

I hears ya.

Wow, super clean. I might have to ask to visit for a personal inspection the next time I'm in Germany That's the standard for everywhere outside the US. And it's still missing the A/C button in the middle of the fan speed switch. The US spec setup confuses me

Are you sure it's the compressor pulley? I've had the idler pulley bearing seize before, which gave me the same result & wore out the belt so it couldn't be tightened enough, and also caused the belt to drag

Saw your vid from the drags. As others have said, such a shock to find out the drivetrain. Definitely in awe. I've always wanted to put a WRX engine & FWD trans (with LSD) in the tray of a Brumby/Brat. Have you had any understeer issues with the weight gone from the front? I know some proper converted manufacturers have had this issue (Renault Clio V6 ) If you have some engine bay cooling issues, a pair of side intakes from the first model Toyota MR2 grafted between the doors & rear wheels would suit the square shape.

Been searching for a build thread or something on this vehicle. Is there anything? Because I was really shocked (and in awe) at the driveline when I found out.

Ok, so it's a little off topic, but you never know what newbie is reading stuff and looking for info or ideas

That could be anything. The joint in the gearbox you can see has no seal, just maybe a smear of gasket "goo". I wouldn't be too concerned about it, that just looks like 20+ years of build up. If it was really leaking bad enough to worry about, there'd be a lot more dust clinging to the oil on a lot more parts.

The factory turbo manifold wraps around the front of the engine also, but its double skinned. I'd be installing a heat shield between the pipe & the filter. The biggest problem with the factory pipes is squashing them when running off-road. The turbo's don't have this issue cos the ipe is higher & then goes over the engine crossmember, not under it.

EFI fuel pumps do not pull, that's why the EFI pump on the EA82 engine is below the level of the tank, so it is gravity fed. However, the carb pump in the EA82 will self prime (I've used one to empty a tank before), which does mean it will pull. The EA81 pump is in the engine bay near the top of the firewall, so your statement about electric pumps not pulling is incorrect. There's always been some debate whether a carb pump is sufficient to prime an EFI pump. Because a carb pump is normally pushing against the pressure of the fuel lines & restrictor needles in the carb, whereas if its priming another more powerful pump, it's pushing against a "vacuum" created by the EFI pump pushing the fuel through and leaving "space" behind. As the output restriction is less, the flow rate of the carb pump actually goes up. However, the debate is about whether this goes up enough to cope with the flow rate of the EFI pump without letting it go dry. Not saying you're wrong in doing something to this awesome project, as you weren't comfortable with the setup. And you'll definitely have piece of mind now

When was the last time you gave it (and particularly the top bracket it slides through) a clean? Oil from skin builds up on them & they jam. Get some detergent and rub it right in. If that doesn't work, say so, because I know a way that the spring can be made to be higher tension.

The mounting screws are in correctly? I think 1 of them is the earth. I'm guessing here, but if not in, the circuit might be "flowing" backwards.

You sure? The normal MPFI TPS is on the right side of the engine with the cable on the left pulling from the rear & down. The spider manifold TPS is on the left with the cable pulling from the front and up. So in my mind they're both turning the same way, just confusing with the different orientation of the throttle body. My spider manifold engine was previously running a 3 pin TPS (cos a "black" ECU was being used), so it doesn't have the 4 pin version. I'm planning on using one of these 5 pins on it instead.