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Documented: The 1970 FF-1 Project car...


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Alright, here are some ideas for exhaust setups i've had...

 

ff1mufflersetups.jpg

 

#1 is a dual setup, side exit exhaust... Probably would be hard to do and might look ugly, but it was an idea none the less.

 

#2 is what i'm leaning the most towards at this point, using a X over muffler with the dual setup exhaust going along both sides of the car keeping it a true "dual" exhaust still.

 

#3 is using a 4-1 collector going into a 2" pipe and straight back to a regular muffler, the headers would be complicated with this setup but the rest would be very simple.

 

#4 has headers based on the FF-1 1300G Sports exhaust, which apparently has the front and rear ports seperate instead of each side seperate... Don't know why, but they got 95hp out of that setup so there might be a reason for it.

 

Let me know if you have any other ideas, I can post the templete I used for these pictures if anyone wants to have fun :)

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The header pipes from the 1300 are joint diagonally ie; 1-4, and 2- 3 similar as fig 4 then joint the muffler as in figure 2 but one outlet.

Thierry

Correct. Here are the exhaust diagrams from the service manual with some color enhancement to show the major differences...

 

ff1exhaustphotochop.jpg

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Went pick n' pulling today...

 

Got some alternator brackets, a mirror from a ~79 wagon, and a EA81 83+ electric distributor that is supposed an upgrade from what i've read (Its not in that great of condition though, but I did want one for reference when I work on the 1100).

 

Struck out on wheels... No alloy wheels what so ever, despite 3 isles of Subarus :( Pretty picked through, just lots of 13" steelies.

 

 

I did do some work on the FF-1 today. Took out the passanger seat and some lower-dash pieces, and a couple things off the floorboards. The passanger seat had battery acid everywhere in it! Someone left a battery on there at the JY I guess, made it hard to work with... I did remove the seat rails, but the rest is useless so I tossed it. I plan on removing a couple of those little brackets on the floor that I won't re-using for sure (like the button brackets for carpet, things like that).

 

I also found out the sound-deading material is coming off pretty easy, so I think ill try to remove that tommorow :)

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Seen that vid before ;)

 

Whats interesting is that this car doesnt sound like the 78 did... Its got a different tone, more porsche/VW-like, and sounds better at higher rpms despite the hole in the muffler. The dual exhaust ports I think make a big difference.

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Day 9:

 

I spent most of today removing the "sound deadening material" from the driver and passagner footwell... MAN thats some tough work! But I did get most of it off, but theres a bit more that will need to come out once the whole dash is removed. You can also see how bad the rust is on the floorboard in some places... :(

 

I also removed a couple of metal clips and wrap things that were in the driver/passanger wells that were not being used or won't be used (plus, those metal clips welded into the chassis will be a pain in the rump roast when the car gets repainted! Might as well eliminate them)

 

As you can see, I also removed the seats... The driver seat I kept around just in case, but the passager one (other than the rails) is in the trash.

 

I ran the car for the whole day too, trying to burn off as much gas as possible. The oil pan is leaking as is the oil temp sensor and the water pump ever so slightly, but thats not a big deal really as I plan on rebuilding all that anyhow. The engine did run good the whole time though, no problems that I saw/heard which is awesome.

 

Anyway, here are the photos from today... Some interesting things to look at too, including the neat manual vents, and the VERY nice chromed e-brake and the odd shifter:

 

ff1day9interior1.jpg

ff1day9interior2.jpg

ff1day9shifternebrake.jpg

ff1day9floorpan1.jpg

ff1day9driverwell.jpg

ff1day9passangerwell.jpg

ff1day9vents.jpg

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Why did you throw the seat out? Take the fabric off and use it as a template to re-upholster it, or have a shop re-cover it, it's not THAT expensive, especially since you have the driver's seat to go off of, might be easier than trying to fit newer seats into it.

Also, don't trash anything taking it apart that you migth not be able to replace, a lot of parts can be restored without too much effort! (I've got a 68 Dodge Polara convertible that I've been restoring, there are a LOT of parts on it that I will have to refinish or whatever instead of just replacing, since there is not a whole lot of aftermarket parts available for it. (More than for an ff-1 though...)

 

Keep up the good work! I had a chance to get an ff-1 back in the day and the day before I went to the yard to get it, it got crushed :mad: But to him it was just a worthless old worn-out Subaru :mad:

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Why did you throw the seat out? Take the fabric off and use it as a template to re-upholster it, or have a shop re-cover it, it's not THAT expensive, especially since you have the driver's seat to go off of, might be easier than trying to fit newer seats into it.

Also, don't trash anything taking it apart that you migth not be able to replace, a lot of parts can be restored without too much effort! (I've got a 68 Dodge Polara convertible that I've been restoring, there are a LOT of parts on it that I will have to refinish or whatever instead of just replacing, since there is not a whole lot of aftermarket parts available for it. (More than for an ff-1 though...)

What part of the battery-acid-covered, completely erroded vinyl/foam, totally broken frame, missing/rusted/broken springs, non-functional-recliner/adjustment, did you miss?

 

ff1day5seat.jpg

 

I saved the rails, NOTHING else was salvageable from the passanger seat... I should toss the right rail too, the battery acid rusted it far past the point of no-return. I kept the recliner adjuster... i'm them it "just in case" as you mention.

 

But I dont plan on keeping the seat bolts in the same location on the floorboard. Right now they are in "divits" in the floorboard, four of which have turned into rust-infested holes, mostly due to being a low point in the floorboard that collects water. Very bad design...

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All right, I think the big thing to do now is pick the tires so I can figure out what offset I need for the wheels... So the big question is: Go with 14" or 15"?

 

For 14" tires, I will definatly go with the Khumo V700's that are on closeout at Tire Rack (Khumo Ecsta V700 185/55/14, Section width - 7.6", Tread width - N/A, Diameter 21.9", Weight 18lbs). The smaller rotational diameter will make fitament easy, as will the narrower section width. I don't know the tread width though because Khumo doesn't list their tire tread width (although it is a less accurate form of measurement).

 

For 15" though, I've got it narrowed down to 2 choices...

 

1) The Khumo SPT 15" (Khumo Ecsta SPT 195/45/15, Section width - 7.7", Tread width N/A, Diameter - 21.9", Weight 17lbs, Cost - $90.00) It has the lowest weight i've found, plus isnt too expensive, AND has the same diameter as the 14" V700's which will make for a nice lower profile on a 15" wheel.

 

2) The Advan A043 15" (Yokohama Advan A043 185/55/15, Section width - 7.5", Tread width - 6.6", Diameter - 23", Weight 21lbs, Cost - $109.00) This is actually a specialty tire for the MR-S. Its good because its narrow for a 15" tire but not too narrow, probably has a better chance of clearing everything than the Khumo... However, its taller than the Khumo (almost the same diameter as my current tires) so there might be more clearance issues there. Its also the most expensive option.

 

 

I'm still not sure which one I want the most right now, but I think i'm leaning towards the V700 due to the price... Thoughts?

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I do a bit of Auto-x'ing myself, and i've done a couple track days too. V700's are pretty normal in terms of tire size, not like the hoosiers... Hoosiers are obscenely wide for what size they show.

 

But I am trying to go by tread section width the most, which is generally measured accuratly compaired to actual tire classifications (IE 185/195/205/etc.) and seems to be what people recommend to use for figuring out what tire/wheel fits in a specific fender well.

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More news...

 

I think I found where I want to purchase seats from: http://www.classiccarseats.com/

Would you get those made up from stockton? What are they... black steelies with a chrome dog dish and beauty ring?

Pretty much. I'd probably get the dish with some sort of holes/spokes though, probably more like this but definatly the flat center cap:

 

rallydbc.jpg

 

Ill probably take a trip there sometime and see what they have in person to get a better idea of my options.

Keep the rake. Add sidepipes. Those rims fit the bill perfectly. I vote for 14" rim size.
That photoshop is actually exactly the same size as the 15" rims that were on the car, so the scale is pretty close. I tried downsizing them a little to 14" size, and it just changes the charecter more than you would expect... I'm still not sure which direction to go.

 

BTW, the rake is only because of how the car is raked right now, I plan on running a more even rake.

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The only problem I have with the current photochop is the black around the front lenses. I think that it would work better if it could be repeated on back, but it can't.

 

Other than that, I was hoping this thread was years old when I stumbled across it because I can't wait to see how it looks when you're done! Looks like it landed in some very good hands. :)

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Wow! looking through this thread really brings back memories of my first car a 1971 FF-1 station wagon. I cut my car work milk teeth on this car. I owned the car from 1976-79. Getting parts for it was an adventure at that time. There was no real fan powered defrost, just the heat. It relied on car speed for the defrost. That was the big design flaw in my mind...

 

The suspension was great! I used to jack the rear end up with the 8mm Allen wrench for heavy loads. The oil leaked out of the transmission during a long trip and the syncro's died. That was an adventure for an 18 year old Subie newbie. I found a junkyard trannie and some small garage changed it for me. It looked like rocket science to me at the time....I'm now in the middle of a head gasket job on a 96 OBW... That trannie change looks so simple in hind sight.

 

The inboard front brakes were neat... I could tie large diameter short rope lengths on the tires to function as chains . I was almost tunneling through the snow during one blizzard. Well, that is exagerating. The snow was starting to come up over the hood...

 

Finally the throw-out bearing failed and I/we bought the first (and only) new 1979 DL wagon. On to an 81 GL wagon, a 79 DL wagon, 2-84 GL hatchbacks, 89 Justy RS "Dinkie", 87-92-92 Loyale wagons driving as one... and finally somebody gave me a 96 OBW with blown HG (current project)

 

Good luck, This kind of restoration fascinates me...

 

What kind of mileage did the 1100cc engine get. It has been so long....

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