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I decided today that seeing as its the first day without rain during my holidays, id have a go at installing the EJ20 and the 4sp AWD auto into my 83 Leone.

For a start, i dropped the engine and gearbox crossmembers so i could lift the engine/gearbox into place. BTW, that gearbox is bloody heavy to haul about by oneself. I had to drag both the engine and gearbox about 18m across my lawn from my shed, to where i have the car propped up on old tyres. (cos i have the hubs off ready for a 5 stud conversion)

I got the engine and gearbox bolted together and then proceeded to try to move them both to underneath the car. Not easy so i tried to pick them up with the engine crane, bad move, the soil was soft and those dicky little wheels just sunk into the ground.

After i eventually got it manoeuvred under the car, lifted them up only to find that the gearbox is nowhere near going to fit in the transmission tunnel. Im not impressed. I knew that it was gonna be tight, but i'll have to take about 2" out of each side of the tranny tunnel. Add that to all the rust that needs to be removed. I feel like ringing up the scrappy to take it away

ughh, thats terrible. Wen we pick up the lib, u'll b able to make an assessment. Ever thought of putting in a manual trans and building it into a track car?

Yeah the auto is the catch thats why i decided on the 3 inch lift for the brumby! but i must confess I haven't finnished of the auto conversion yet! so apart from the rear transmission crossmember im not sure what else you need although with the lift seems to make it much simpler!

From memory the 4EAT is a bit bigger than the 3 speeed 4WD auto of the early L Series around the guts, like how else do you explain the fact it weighs about 110 kg with converter and fluids?!

This project is for someones one legged sister* isn't it? so has to be auto , so i guess you can get her a step to jump 3" higher to get in

*Sorry, thirty year old joke I never got the source of, (movie?). One asks another how his sisters ballet lessons are going. The reply is something like "You halfwit, my sisters only got one leg" ??????

steptoe wrote:From memory the 4EAT is a bit bigger than the 3 speeed 4WD auto of the early L Series around the guts, like how else do you explain the fact it weighs about 110 kg with converter and fluids?!

This project is for someones one legged sister* isn't it? so has to be auto , so i guess you can get her a step to jump 3" higher to get in

*Sorry, thirty year old joke I never got the source of, (movie?). One asks another how his sisters ballet lessons are going. The reply is something like "You halfwit, my sisters only got one leg" ??????

Yeah i remember you mentioning the extra size, i just didnt think it would be THAT big. I spose i should have measured it first.

The reason i went auto is cos i figured it would be easier than converting to manual,... and cos i wanted to do something different.

Dunno what im gonna do now, im kinda over it!

can a lift kit be put in but then the suspension is revised so that it sits back at the height it originally was (eg low rider suspension on a lift kit)

either that or cut the tunnel out of the sedan and weld in a tunnel that fits the transmission

lots of work I know

TOONGA

WATCH THIS SPACE

See determination conquer

Gannon has only just started his holidays

I say Japanese steel cuts real nice with a jigsaw blade or two. Cut the tunnel out so you can continue with your project and worry about the new wider tunnel when it comes to getting it blue slipped.

Is it too fat just at the rear, the front or overall?

My trick with fitting these long heavy boxes is now to leave gearbox xmember in place, no oil in box and drop it down in place at an angle to clear the member and support its weight at the rear.

Too late, ive had a better idea.

I sold the engine and ECU to my brother in law who is gonna put it in his L series
(look out for Subaroosters EJ conversion in the coming weeks)

I had a change of heart because i wanted a car that i could fang at the local race track.
A mate has just bought a VW Bug that is decked out for hill climbs. CAMS ticket and all.

He asked if i wanna go halves, and i think im gonna.

Id still like to have my own Subaru project car in the future, but where we are living at them moment, i dont have a shed to work on it.

More later