ninefourteener Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 Greetings, Name's Matt... long time Subie fanatic... currently own a 2006 VF39 powered, cobb tuned 06 WRX, and a 2007 B9 Tribeca. Long time member of Clubwrx, Nasioc, sbt9, subieclub..... and even a couple of old Porsche 914 forums. Also a 15 year active duty sergeant in the Air Force. Also the site admin for my own website.... slcsubaru.com. Not promoting or anything, but if you are in the salt lake city area, by all means, drop in. Our last meet was one of the largest subie meet in Utah history.... 93 cars. Cobb showed up, Rallisport Direct showed up... Mark Miller Subaru sponsored us.... free T-shirts, prizes..... all good stuff. Just bought a 78 Brat. With the exception of some rusty areas, it's actually in fantastic shape, The interior is almost mint, and the bed and under the engine are rust free..... just rust in the wheelwells.... and thats already being worked. I organize all the slc meets, and I thought it would be cool to show up with a "tuned" antique subaru thats older than most of my members--LOL The interior is absolutely empty.... prepared for dye. The seats/steering wheel/seat belts are mint and on ebay already. I've been turned on to this site, as I've been told this is where all the antique subie gurus are hiding. Nothing is set in stone, but the general direction I'm headed is a WRX motor/tranny swap... and I've done quite a bit of reading already, but more knowledge doesn't hurt. Looking to go LOWER with the car, so I'm researching suspension options, as well as hub alterations/replacements, and wheel/tire combinations as well. Thats all for now..... I'm going to peek around the site... see if I can learn something. Looking forward to chatting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86HatchShelby Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 Welcome to the board Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zefy Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 good luck with your build. nice to see others getting up to the task... the gen1 is an amazingly difficult car to figure stuff out for. i'm currently working on my 79 with ej22, RX trans, 2.5RS brakes and hubs all round. (the list is substantially longer than that but you get the idea) although the parts you want to use are substantially newer the concept is very similar. not sure if you're on carfreeks.net but here is my build thread. http://www.carfreeks.net/showthread.php?t=2686 and my photobucket with most of it. http://s118.photobucket.com/albums/o95/Zefy_88/brat/?start=180 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninefourteener Posted November 23, 2008 Author Share Posted November 23, 2008 Thanks!! ^^^^ Sounds like a similar build. What's an "RX" trans? Also, why the 2.5 rs hubs and brakes? Does it have something to do with different spline patterns? Also.... any direction you've taken with the suspension? I need to get schooled on all the different engine/tranny codes, and figure out what's compatible with what. I've concentrated for so long on "only" the wrx, the Brat is a new venture. I'm hoping to get some decent $$ for the seats... so I can purchase a more modern set..... and then I've got to re-cover my dash..... or just find a new one. Otherwise, the interior is done. Before installing though, I'm doing the bodywork on the doorsills. Not too bad, but they need attention... started on those last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaru360 Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 The WRX engine or any DOHC is too wide to fit between the framerails of a gen 1. The EJ22 phase 1 just barely fits, most people even notch the frame for that. For a wrx engine, you'd be cutting half the framerail out. Just something to think about. An RX is the grandfather of the wrx. But forget the rx transmision or any other EA trans behind a wrx engine, it will break. You would have to use an EJ 5 speed. If I was doing this I would buy a complete older legacy or impreza with an EJ22 and a 5 speed and swap the engine, trans and harness in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninefourteener Posted November 23, 2008 Author Share Posted November 23, 2008 ^^^ Thanks..... thats interesting... because I keep hearing conflicting stories. But that's why I'm here.... to get straight answers. So I need to avoid DOHC motors huh? Well, I really want to go with a turbo motor, otherwise, I'd just assume rebuild the stocker..... that was the whole point of this project. Lemmy do some research on SOHC turbo motors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zefy Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 (edited) from what i have researched there is no actual data backing up the DOHC won't fit story. I actually came across some interesting info that might lead me to believe that the DOHC is actually narrower than the SOHC. if ANYBODY has data to prove me otherwise then please speak up. i don't have access on a regular basis to a dohc motor that i can tinker with and everytime i ask nobody is willing to go check... the theory goes like this. on a SOHC motor the valves are at 60 degrees to each other, but on a DOHC motor the valves are at 90 degrees to each other so in theory, the dohc engines should be narrower at the back of the engine (where it hits the most). i heard this from a guy i never met, over the phone. so who knows!!?!??? take a measurement of your engine and report back and i will measure my ej22. put this question to rest in my mind. the 2.5RS brakes and hubs were chosen because this is the largest brake i could get under there while maintaining OEM 15" wheels for gravel tires and the like. i could spend big bucks on gravel wheels at which point i could go 4pots but that is to much money. 2.5 brakes on a car 700lbs lighter will be fine. the splines are the same on the RX trans, 2.5RS, WRX, etc. standard struts and springs don't fit into the front shock towers. you will have to get coilovers of some kind. i made a big mistake of getting coilovers with external reservoirs (and now remote) and it it's been nothing but trouble. the ONLY ej sohc turbo motor came in the old turbo legacys... exactly the same dimensions as the ej22 found common for these swaps but with a turbo on it. Edited November 23, 2008 by Zefy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaru360 Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 from what i have researched there is no actual data backing up the DOHC won't fit story. I actually came across some interesting info that might lead me to believe that the DOHC is actually narrower than the SOHC. if ANYBODY has data to prove me otherwise then please speak up. i don't have access on a regular basis to a dohc motor that i can tinker with and everytime i ask nobody is willing to go check... the theory goes like this. on a SOHC motor the valves are at 60 degrees to each other, but on a DOHC motor the valves are at 90 degrees to each other so in theory, the dohc engines should be narrower at the back of the engine (where it hits the most). i heard this from a guy i never met, over the phone. so who knows!!?!??? take a measurement of your engine and report back and i will measure my ej22. put this question to rest in my mind. the 2.5RS brakes and hubs were chosen because this is the largest brake i could get under there while maintaining OEM 15" wheels for gravel tires and the like. i could spend big bucks on gravel wheels at which point i could go 4pots but that is to much money. 2.5 brakes on a car 700lbs lighter will be fine. the splines are the same on the RX trans, 2.5RS, WRX, etc. standard struts and springs don't fit into the front shock towers. you will have to get coilovers of some kind. i made a big mistake of getting coilovers with external reservoirs (and now remote) and it it's been nothing but trouble. the ONLY ej sohc turbo motor came in the old turbo legacys... exactly the same dimensions as the ej22 found common for these swaps but with a turbo on it. The DOHC engines are several inches wider, the heads are a lot bigger. I have had them out of the car sitting side by side. I have also seen an EJ22 in a brat and it is tight, no way a dohc will fit without major cutting. I had several of both sohc and dohc, but we did a scrap run yesterday and got rid of all of them, so I can't get exact measurements for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninefourteener Posted November 23, 2008 Author Share Posted November 23, 2008 Thank you^^^ Good info. Suggestions on a turbo, SOHC motor? Still SEVERAL months before I go searching for a motor..... but I'd like to know what my best option is. Also, I've read quite a bit about possibly cutting the driveshaft tunnel to "possibly" fit another tranny? Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstaru Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 i just saw an ej22 sitting in a gen 1 brat last week.LUMPYCAM was the one that did it.he is not on here very often but i am sure he could answer some questions for you as far as fitment issues.cheers, brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 91 to 93 EJ22 Turbo's are SOHC and should fit like a normal EJ22. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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