86 3door Runabout:FWD<FT4WD, 4 lug<5lug, EA82 carb<EJ22 or ER27 swap, rust removal

[alexinvancouver]

yea, that's an EA81. DOHC engine won't fit without notching the frame rails.

 

 

Although I don't know what turbo DOHC '96 legacy you might be looking at. They didn't sell 'em like that....not in North America, anyway.

that legacy was no go. it had an auto transmission anyway

i wonder if the whole subframe from a donor (with suspension and steering, brakes and rotors etc.) could be swapped?

then i wouldn't have to shorten drive axles, only the drive shaft

though i guess i'd have to roll the fenders

Edited June 16, 2011 by alexinvancouver

[MilesFox]

All of the parts in my car were originally going to go in a brat.

 

There is a subframe modification you can do to use ea82/xt6 control arms on the ea81 body, and this will allow you to use a whole ea82/xt6/impreza/legacy strut/knuckle/axle.

 

You can use ej18 axles to fit your current trans, or replace the trans with one with 25 splines to use the legacy or xt axles. This mod will not require hybrid axle.

 

Otherwise, you can make a 5 lug fit if you disassemble the donor axlesm and ehte ea81 axles, and out the outer ends of the axles on the ea81 shaft, mix and match with the right boots, etc. I do not know the exact recipe for this.

 

There is a thread about a 2.5 brat on this forum, where shows the crossmember modifications this would be the way i would recommend

 

Now that i answered your question in my thread, now you owe me a compliment on my car!

[MilesFox]

Read into this for the crossmember mod

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=118612&highlight=project+success

[mike221lee]

hello friend,

i am very new to this site and wondered if you can put me in the right direction to a ea81 expert

 

regards

[MilesFox]

You are already here.

[alexinvancouver]

 

Now that i answered your question in my thread, now you owe me a compliment on my car!

thanks for the usefull info.

but my initial thought was not to take parts from a few cars and try them to fit

but rather take a donor's car body and throw it away leaving two subframes complete

with engine, transmission, axles, wiring etc. on the ground and put my stripped car body on a top of it (sort of =o)))

i realize of course that donor car will have a wider body ond i got to widen my e81

i've been working on cars for a looong time and no stranger to fabrications

and modifications

just want to avoid hassles trying to fit parts from a few different cars

 

now

i already said i admire Your work =o)

Your patience and deducation amazes me.

 

i myself was looking for 25 y.o. impreza or audi quattro for almost two years

and the car i was looking for had to be in really good shape. and as soon as i saw one on craigslist

i was the first there early in the morning with cash in hand.

and what do ya know - week later '84 quattro side damaged poped up at the insurance company auction.

i bid on it of course but was overbid (it was a closed auction)- she went for $3800

[subyfreak]

Great build thread! I would be happy to have my 3 door look half this good some day. The spoiler on mine is all sun baked and cracked. Any advice on what to use to fix it?

[MilesFox]

Great build thread! I would be happy to have my 3 door look half this good some day. The spoiler on mine is all sun baked and cracked. Any advice on what to use to fix it?

 

Is it warped? they can warp if stored on a non-flat surface. I Would sand it down and use a light body filler in the cracks to fill them, do this a few times till it is smooth.

 

Maybe not so much a body filler, by a glazing compound. That and high build primer. Is there big chunks f paint flaked off, or just stress cracks?

 

If you go back in this thread and look at the front bumper being painted, this will give you an idea. The bumper's paint had stress cracks that i tried to hide. Some are still visible, but only because i worked too hastily to be finished with the project overall.

[saturn]

this is amazing. I want to do a similar swap into my STD.

[MilesFox]

Fwd<4wd ftw!

[saturn]

yeah 4WD + turbo? FI engine in my little STD would be amazing.

[zukiru]

I always think of like syphilis or HIV when people use the term STD.

[LPGsuperchargedBrumby]

I always think of like syphilis or HIV when people use the term STD.

 

......and i was being a good boy and not making jokes about people that have STD's

[TheLoyale]

Is there any update on the 3-Door?

[MilesFox]

I am continuing to swap my 3door. I have decided to get the best value out of this monsterwedge xt and swap between the 2 cars, leaving the XT with stock xt6 components, while the 3door is receiving the following:

 

KYB GR2 rear struts with eibach ground gontrol springs. I had to rebuild the struts and insert a bushing in the top spring perch as it was hogging out due to being larger than the strut shaft. These parts are swapped in already.

 

Rear trailing arm, as the one on the 3door has a bad bearing.

 

XT6 rear swaybar, as the 3door did not have the bushings or the mounting tabs present.

 

KYB AGXII daping adjustable struts with eibach ground control springs. I may swap out the calipers if the rubber is in better shape.

 

Front and rear braided steel brake lines

 

Dual range transmission 3.700 with LSD rear. I will e using a regualr ea82 trans crossmember to clear the exhaust pipe, as i cannot use the hybrid xt6 member due to the '86 trans tunnel being too narrow. The driveshaft is being swapped as well, as the existing one is rusty, and the donor has new bu-joints with grease zerks.

 

Maybe the front ales. Both are in equal condition, but the existing axles have scaly rust on the shafts. This all depends on how much labor i want to make of it.

 

I the 3door already has an xt6 front swaybar, but the donor car has urethane bushings.

 

So far i have the xt ready to drop the trans, and i have yet to unbolt the trans in the 3door. I am doing the trans while leaving the motor in the car because i don't want to be swimming in fluids.

 

The xt will likely be for sale soon as a complete running car. My motivation to do the swap now is to get out of the garage and not have to pay for it, ans i may be forced out of it anyway in the near future(i moved out of the house, but negotiated 6 months to remain in the garage)

 

I am trying to decide if i want to keep the 15" turbo legacy wheels and get new rubber, or use the 14" 94 legacy gt snowflakes which need new rubber, or 14" steels twith new rubber already on the xt. Or go balls out and get oem wrx or rs or gt gold rims 16" or 17" once i can pay for them.

[rpholz]

http://img2.netcarshow.com/Volkswagen-Golf_GTI_25th_Anniversary_2001_800x600_wallpaper_14.jpg

 

You should run those, simply because I want to see what they look like on a 3dr

 

Good work so far!

[6 Star]

http://img2.netcarshow.com/Volkswagen-Golf_GTI_25th_Anniversary_2001_800x600_wallpaper_14.jpg

 

You should run those, simply because I want to see what they look like on a 3dr

 

 

 

Ewww...

 

Lol they might look good on a golf, but not an '80s Subaru.

Fox if you decide to not go with Subaru wheels and do aftermarket, look at some Panasport 8 spokes or replicas.

[MilesFox]

I would like to keep with OEM stuff wherever I can. This car is put together in a way that you could have built it with off-the-shelf parts for 1989, excluding the ej222 engine, but it would be true with an ej22e.

[rpholz]

Ewww...

 

Meh, to each his own

[l75eya]

EJ IT!!! wait..n/m.

[MilesFox]

So far i have the trans out of the 3door, both driveshaft/diff/exhausts off ov both cars, and the tt is ready to drop the trans.

 

I will probably combine parts between the front struts.

[MilesFox]

I forgot to update and say that i have already swapped in the dual range RX trans and the eibach ground control springs with agx2 struts up front. Mechanically, the build is complete, but i still have to wire in the gauges and VSS. 

 

i made a slideshow video, see the build from start to finish in one sitting.

 

[rrgrr]

Brown is Beautiful!

[MilesFox]

I drove my car for the first time in months. I made my plate legal and it will now be my daily driver until i get my motorcycle out. This year she will get a little more put together with bells and whistles.