EastCoastEJ22T Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 (edited) I have owned this old 1995 Legacy L wagon for the past 6 years. It stared out as a base model L, 2.2L 4eat and has over 400,000kms on her now. A few years ago the car was lifted on on 2004 Forester XT suspension, Homemade Teflon rear strut spacers, 215/70R15 Dunlop Graspics, 1999 Forrester 15" steelies. She worked great and handled surprisingly well, but was underpowered. It was about this time I started collecting parts for a rally-x car build. By the fall of 2009 the Legacy had been deregulated to a woods road and snow storm beast, but I really hoped to find a 2dr 5spd GC as a platform for my rally-x car. I had always loved the idea of swapping an EG33 into a non-SVX platform. I had found a local guy with a low mile eg33 sitting in the corner of his garage. We talked about it a few times, but since it came with no ecu or bulkhead harness. I decided to pass on it. The last week of November 2010 I got a surprise phone call, the owner of the eg33 was cleaning out his garage and needed to make space. He offered me the engine for free ..... I counter offered to trade it for a bottle of his favorite booze. The next night I left the house with a 40oz bottle of rum and returned home with an Eg33. I decided to swap the EG33 and all the parts I had been collecting into the Legacy. I purchased a complete 92 SVX LSI with a blown trans from a junkyard, stripped the harness and ecu. Parted out the remaining shell and kept the second complete EG33 as a spare. I basically started this project on the first of December 2010. I have done a WRX-RS harness merge before, so the wiring wasn't really that bad. In total the harness prep and install took about 2 weeks The goal was to have the car completed and ready to compete at a local rally-x on my birthday Mar 13th/2011. The swap was up and running within a month. I daily drove her for a few weeks sorting out the bugs in Jan and Feb. The car pulls like a freight train, and runs smooth with no issues. It builds rev's quick and is surprisingly fast for an old fat wagon. The sound of the H-6 is amazing, the magnaflow is a little to loud for my tastes......but will work for now. - 92 EG33 H-6 swap - 06 STI springs on legacy wagon GR2's (1/2" spacers in the rear) - 98 Legacy GT front sway bar - 92 Turbo Legacy wagon rear sway bar - aluminum sway bar links - 92 Turbo Legacy wagon front brakes - 98 Legacy GT wagon full interior - 06 Impreza rear sub-frame/lateral links - 04 Forester XT Cat Back - Magnaflow 14827 muffler - 0.080" aircraft grade stainless steel skidplate - Hakka 5's on 15" forester steelies - rally mud flaps and reinforced inner fenders - K&N panel filter Here are some action shots from the last rally-x event. Overall the car worked very well, and was dealt minimal damage. If everything comes together over the summer it should be getting a full respray in John Deere Blitz Black and a new set of gravel rally tires. Cheers, Ian Edited April 15, 2011 by EastCoastEJ22T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Nice write up, great action pics. Congrats on doing a great engineering job integrating parts from everywhere to make a super Rally-X Wagon!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chefasaurus Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 If everything comes together over the summer it should be getting a full respray in John Deere Blitz Black and a new set of gravel rally tires. Cheers, Ian I sprayed my '77 Mercury Monarch with JDBB... over the last 2 years, it's had every automotive fluid spilled on it, including a ************ton of gas, and it all just wipes away. Also, not even the slightest bit of fading. It really is nearly indestructible paint. Use a 1.4 or 1.5 tip with an HVLP gun, and overlap 50-75% for even coverage. I did 3 REALLY heavy coats, and it took 5qts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoastEJ22T Posted April 15, 2011 Author Share Posted April 15, 2011 Thanks for the comments and tips. I also have a '02 CB919 that I sprayed over the winter using JDBB. I used two spray cans over top of a dark dupilcolor primer. It turned out really well, it has a great satin finish. It needs a fair amount of work over the summer to the body. I am going this weekend to cut out a set of rear quarters from another legacy wagon. I am also on the look out for a outback front bumper skin to go with the GT rear skin I have in the shed already. I have a guy lined up to spray it for me once I get all the body straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoastEJ22T Posted April 19, 2011 Author Share Posted April 19, 2011 Had her out for the final rally-x of the season. Its was raining like a bastard. I ended up tearing a fender liner and swamping the air filter on one of the early laps. Had to swap MAFS and limp home. Not the best day,but it was still fun. I am going to reinstall my 04 Forester XT suspension with bigger tires over the summer, she is to low on the STI springs and is taking a beating. Also going to put in a diff-lock switch and a welded rear end. Stay tuned in the fall, she will be back bigger and badder then ever. And this is how the day ended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Since you like to run in the wet, I would suggest you add a snorkel system for your engine air intake. You don't want to risk ruining the motor with water intake causing hydra-lock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Abides Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 That motor looks like it belongs in that wagon. I will be looking into this swap in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoastEJ22T Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 I am planning on making some type of snorkel, or at least re-installing the OEM snorkus. I only had the the factory air-box into the fender, so when it tore the fender liner it soaked the filter. Changed the oil and cleaned out the intake and it is running like a top. I decided to pull out the rear interior and check out the rear strut towers. They are a mess, the lower seam is rusted through in a few spots and there are a few holes in the tower also. I will be taking it to a local "frame guy" to box in the rear towers and weld in a strut brace tying the two side together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 That is awesome! Really shoe-horned that thing in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoastEJ22T Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 Yeah the EG33 really takes up some space in the engine bay. Its bascially the same size as a DOHC EJ25 with an extra set of cylinders on the front maiking it 1/3 larger. I had to modify the front upper and lower rad support and ditch the OEM hood latch to fit the rad and fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now