zyewdall Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I just bought a 1999 Legacy wagon, brighton edition... I like it because it's got the 2.2 engine instead of the 2.5 that the outback's got in 99. But... no tach? Really?? How hard is it to swap the instrument cluster with a normal legacy/outback that has a tach? Is it just a matter of removing the old one and plugging a new one in, or is the wiring also missing? The engine is so quiet that having a tach would be nice. Maybe I'll get an aftermarket one and just add it, like I did with my 1976 pickup (which does not have a quiet engine by any stretch, so it really doesn't need it...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Should be simple enough to swap in a cluster with a tach. And no the base model "brighton" doesn't generally come with a tach. You just get that big empty panel that says "Subaru". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 You can swap the whole cluster, but then you have the wrong odometer reading. If you pull the clusters apart by springing the clips on the sides, you can take the clear cover and the black bezel off. Then pull 3 screws out of the back, drop the tach out of one and bolt it into yours. Snap the face back on and reinstall the cluster. You can also put in rear speakers, the wiring is there. You need the speaker and the door card, or if your careful, just the speaker grille and cut/drill your door card to fit it. The tweeters replace the sail panels on the front doors, just clip in, and the wiring is there for them too. Map lights swap in, it's easier to run a wire from the dome light to them behind the headliner than run the factory wiring down the a-pillar. Outback fm/weatherband radio/cd package bolts and plugs right in. There's also a later style of cupholder that comes out at a diagonal and has one big hole and one medium, which is better than the 2 medium hole ones that pull straight out of most Brighton dashes. Outbacks also have a higher center console cover/armrest that swaps right on. Rear wiper motor bolts in, the wiring, relay, and hose are already installed. You need the dual pump washer fluid resevoir for the front, the hoses and plugs are already there. Then you need to take off the steering wheel and replace the wiper switch with a rear wiper one. If you get one from a GT wagon, you also get variable delay wipers for the front. While you have the wheel off, you might as well swap in the cruise control switch, module, actuator, pump, and piping. That all bolts/plugs in as well. Outback struts and wheel/tire packages bolt right on too. Gives you higher ground clearance than an outback. Heated seats bolt in and are easy to wire to the power feed for the cigar lighter. Just strip the harness that runs to the seats under the carpet in the donor car, and run the blue power wire up to a vampire tap on the cigar lighter power. Fog lights have to be wired in, and it's hard to find the 95 only foglight assemblies. They are not plug and play at all. I've got them but have been putting off messing with the install. It's called de-Brightonization, and it's a fun project. My dad's brighton is now better equipped than a lot of Outbacks, done one upgrade at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted March 20, 2011 Author Share Posted March 20, 2011 Cool. I was wondering why a brighton goes for at least $1000 less than a regular outback ($3200, with less than 100k on it... and I was seeing similar outbacks with 220k needing work, for the same price). On the ground clearance, I was noticing that it seems to sit higher than most legacies I see -- closer to an outback already... maybe just because it's new and detailed and clean, instead of full of junk like most of them ? But if I can swap in outback struts for even more clearance, that would be great (snow....you know...). Rear wiper would be really nice. Someone has swapped in a really nice radio, and the cruise control already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted March 20, 2011 Author Share Posted March 20, 2011 Also, odd thing... the spark plugs go through holes in the valve covers, instead of into the heads directly, like EJ22's I'm used to seeing. But... I've had mostly early 90's ones, and one 1997.... never had a 1999 before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Also, odd thing... the spark plugs go through holes in the valve covers, instead of into the heads directly, like EJ22's I'm used to seeing. your 99 is a phase 2 ej22. its design is more like the ej25s 96 - 99 than the ej22s of earlier years. and the intake manifolds are interchange able with the phase 2 ej25s which were put in outbacks in '00. they discontinued the ej22 in 00 in the legacys and 01 in the imprezas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 In this case, a lack of options means less things to go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 Okay... this is a kind of odd one. It has a rear wiper, and intermittent wipers that are either stock, or someone did a good job of swapping them in. And cruise control (though that looks somewhat aftermarket). But no tach, and all manual windows/locks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Some brightons didn't even come with passenger side view mirrors. Since it's a 99 you need to swap in a cluster from a 99. It's really easy to change the mileage, just snap out the retainer, change the mileage, snap it back in and make sure it's all lined up. I've done it a few times swapping clusters around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 The story gets weirder.... This one is lifted -- there's strut blocks on top of the struts. I guess that explains why it rides as high as an outback instead of a regular legacy... The seller didn't say anything about that. I wonder if he even knew. He said that it came from the NW originally. I was talking to ShawnW yesterday about options to put a DR in it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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