A DOG Posted November 16, 2010 Share Posted November 16, 2010 (edited) I have always loved my subarus and I always wanted an Impreza. Spring of 2010 I got this Impreza L for $200 bucks. It needed a new clutch and the suspension was craped out. Still a great deal at $200. The car is in great overall shape. It has Power windows, locks and A/C which is always nice to have. Only one spot of rust. Interior is in awesome shape. Motor had 228K on it but still runs great. Car all stock except for CD player. I will be swapping in an EJ25 with new timing belt kit, gaskets, water pump and the EJ22 heads on the motor. I have heard they bump up your compression and get a little more power out of it. This project is gonna take a long time to finish as I have a long way to go. I want to make it a super good running NA motor first. Then later on down the road make it all turbo. First things i am doing is the motor swap and suspension. I want to do a lowered suspension set up. Maybe 2in lower. I will worry about the exterior styling once it is running good and strong. Modifications Drivetrain 1999 EJ25 block 1995 EJ22 heads 1993 EJ18 Intake manifold 12lb lightweight flywheel stage 1 clutch cold air intake muffler Exterior Sokudo 17In Gold Rims GOODBYE license plate crappy old tint Interior Pioneer CD/MP3 player Suspension Tanabe GF210 springs KYB GR2 struts front and rear strut bars Videos: Pics stock with the 17in gold rims i scored with tires for $400 Clean Interior See the license plate Taste the rainbow. The girl i bought it from called it her little skittle the one spot of rust the EJ22 motor i was going to use. But EJ25 power will be better. Here is where it has been sitting all summer. Plans: Drive Train Light weight pulleys Bigger injectors Exterior Ver 6 front bumper Crystal or blacked out 97 headlights(cant decide) RS hood STI grill 2.5RS spoiler side skirts rear spats JDM tails Suspension Rear sway Bar Rear disc brakes Interior DVD/CD player xbox 360 WRX seats Kicker KS650 speakers STI carpet Some pics i love 11-07-10 11-8-2010 11-13-2010 Winter tires on Edited November 16, 2010 by A DOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A DOG Posted November 16, 2010 Author Share Posted November 16, 2010 09-19-2010 Installed KYB GR2 with Tanabe GF210 lowering springs. Thanks for the deal from member Knoonz. Onto the pics Still in great condition with 10K on them The suspension was probably a 1.5in drop or more. It sits perfect now. Tires fill the wheel wells very nicely. I will have to find a fender roller for the rear as it does rub a little. Very pleased with the results. The tire rub mark. I'm sure after a little fender rolling it should tuck snugly. Before side shot After I decided to go with the EJ25 block and EJ22 heads for the extra power. I will be ordering up all new seals, gaskets, timing belt kit, water pump and pretty much everything to rebuild an engine. I will be running my stock EJ18 5sp tranny but I know it will blow sooner than later with the kind of power i will be making. When that happens I will throw in an EJ22 tranny. I also have ordered up a good list of parts Light weight flywheel Stage 1 clutch Front and rear strut bars Muffler All new gaskets and seals New water pump I already have ordered up all the parts for the engine rebuild process. So very soon i will have the EJ25 power!!! Stay Tuned for more pics of my build. Stage 1 holds up to 200HP 12lb flywheel Dual tip muffler UPDATE 10-02-2010: Late night motor session. Out with the old 10-03-2010: Getting new EJ25 prepped with EJ22 heads. I had to do a stand in engine bay shot EJ25 block with EJ22 heads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A DOG Posted November 16, 2010 Author Share Posted November 16, 2010 Got the Massive Intake on the stock tube. Fabricated an aluminum shield to prevent splashing through the holes on the fender. Also created wall shielding intake from engine heat. Made a huge difference in power and how the engine ran. Next is a 2.5 header and exhaust. Better injectors. This car is amazing though. I will never sell it ------------------------ 10-7-10: Over 1600 miles on motor and still running better than ever. Winter is coming and this bad boy is ready for it. Got to get sideways on some wet pavement corners. It can power through once you actually break traction and get sideways. Gonna put the smaller winter tires on it and it will have even better better torque Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A DOG Posted November 16, 2010 Author Share Posted November 16, 2010 Engine has over 2K miles on it and still running stronger than ever. Still running EJ18 exhaust and I can tell it really needs to let that air out. I will be finding an EJ25 exhaust pretty soon. Gonna order up a bigger muffler too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A DOG Posted April 27, 2011 Author Share Posted April 27, 2011 (edited) Been a long time since a good update. The car is still running strong. I did the get the newer RS hood on with the newer 99 crystal clear headlights and grill. Looks way better. Just need to paint the hood and grill black and it will look like a purple panda. Front end looks mean I also found a 99 Imprea L with lots of good parts on it. So i took the rear sway bar, headlights, trunk with small spoiler, tail lights, rear bumper, front bumper and some interior pieces. The parts car when we left it nothing left While taking off interior parts i found this. Who knew subaru worked with Nissan Rear end with trunk and nicer tail lights I will be installing the newer L front bumper and the nice black rear bumper soon. ok condition front bumper. Has some cracks I will be putting in some Hellas on the front bumper of course. hahaha some pics I had to order up some 1/2in rear spacers because with the Tanabe GF210 springs with KYB-GR2 struts my tires hit the top of the wheel well in a hard turn. So i ordered up a set of these.http://www.paranoidfabrications.com/shop/subaru-impreza-gc8-hdpe/ Also ordered the longer stud kit so I can install the rear strut bar.http://www.paranoidfabrications.com/shop/subaru-impreza-95-07-longer-stud-kit/ I also got lots of cool stickers from ihatestickers.com going on the rear window soon. I am installing these parts this week: Rear sway bar rear strut spacers rear strut bar Also attending a suby meet this sunday in here in Bozeman. Should be some sweet pics from that coming. I will leave you with this picture of my two rigs one for the streets one for the woods. Edited April 27, 2011 by A DOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Really nice build you have going here! Reading through it just got better and better. Glad to see that engine is treating you well, I'm going to be building the same thing with some delta cams! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Have you put on the larger diameter pipe exhaust yet? The EJ18 pipe is seriously tiny, EJ22's and 25's use the same pipe and cat sizes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballitch Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Screw the stock stuff and go straight to an aftermarket header. Equal length or un-equal length, it's your choice. Don't you just love the low end grunt the frankenstein puts out? ~Josh~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A DOG Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 Have you put on the larger diameter pipe exhaust yet? The EJ18 pipe is seriously tiny, EJ22's and 25's use the same pipe and cat sizes. Yes I did put on the bigger EJ22 exhaust pipe. I am looking for the right header as well. Screw the stock stuff and go straight to an aftermarket header. Equal length or un-equal length, it's your choice. Don't you just love the low end grunt the frankenstein puts out? ~Josh~ Yes this thing has some torque to say the least. I spanked a stock 2.5RS last week. He followed me to the gas station to ask how i beat him. Hahahahah I got in my 1/2in spacers with the longer stud kit. Looks like quality product. From paranoid fabrications http://www.paranoidfabrications.com/shop/subaru-impreza-gc8-hdpe/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A DOG Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 Really nice build you have going here! Reading through it just got better and better.Glad to see that engine is treating you well, I'm going to be building the same thing with some delta cams! Well thank You man! With Delta cams that motor will scream through the gears. I want to do a cam eventually. Money Money Money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rverdoold Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 Did you install the spacers on all struts? It indicates that for 1/2 spacers you need longer struts, however this thing mounts between the strut and the car so you only have less thread to mount the strut tower to the car or am i wrong. What struts would you put then, forester? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A DOG Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 Did you install the spacers on all struts? It indicates that for 1/2 spacers you need longer struts, however this thing mounts between the strut and the car so you only have less thread to mount the strut tower to the car or am i wrong.What struts would you put then, forester? I installed the 1/2in spacers in the rear only. Thats where i needed it. Yes because the spacer takes up room you need longer studs to still be able to mount it up correctly. I will be putting forester struts on my car next winter. Lifted for the winter and lowered for the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 Lifted for the winter and lowered for the summer. Lifted in winter and lowered in summer is nice!! I just have two cars though... A lifted one, and a low ones. heh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rverdoold Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 ah, studs and struts. Should read better I put special springs which become stiffer when more load is on the car (due to 52 liter propane tank at the spare tire place) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A DOG Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 Lifted in winter and lowered in summer is nice!! I just have two cars though... A lifted one, and a low ones. heh Yeah thats the beauty of having an early edition impreza. You can do anything with them. Lifted or lowered they still look amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A DOG Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 I got my stickers on and they look good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A DOG Posted April 30, 2011 Author Share Posted April 30, 2011 Band Aid for the scratch in the fender They always loose.....well mostly Did the rear sway bar install. Went pretty easy actually. Getting it ready 1/2in spacers on KYB-GR2 with Tanabe GF210 springs Putting it back together Finished!! Car handles way better!! The rear end is much stiffer overall. Now I just need to stiffen up the front end with one of those fancy braces hahahaa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A DOG Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 Painted up the center armrest today gloss black. Was a perfect afternoon for it. I need sti seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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