Yep - get the body looking good and straight - engines and gearbox setups are easy to sort outtex wrote:... spend the rest on panel paint etc if you like you can put a turbo/bigger engine in later if you like.
Cheers
Bennie
Engines
Alrighty then. Been doing alot more thinking. And this is how its been going...
Plan.
1. Install AWD gearbox and 5 stud pattern brake kit. For sweet rims
2. re-do Interior (any ideas? this car will be a street machine so it wont be used for four wheel driving so.... So it wont be getting mud all over it, so I am thinking a nice carpet interior (black or very dark blue) on floors and dash. Any other ideas tho?
3. Body work.
- The tray is starting to accumulate rust. How can I combat this?
- STi Hood Scoop (boyhood dream... also for when i get engine)
- The previous owner has had a few dings and scratches and the tonneau cover straps have worn away at the body work. How much (from experiance or knowledge) would a full body redo cost to me?
- Might look into a getting a hardtop built as I am not a fan of the tonneau cover.
4. Once satisfied with body, Gearbox, paintjob and Interior.... Then will I look into a bigger engine.
Sound ok?
Ideas?
Drawbacks?
Good, bad or just not a good idea?
All your input has been well valued and would appreciate it even more now I have better direction!!!!
Plan.
1. Install AWD gearbox and 5 stud pattern brake kit. For sweet rims
2. re-do Interior (any ideas? this car will be a street machine so it wont be used for four wheel driving so.... So it wont be getting mud all over it, so I am thinking a nice carpet interior (black or very dark blue) on floors and dash. Any other ideas tho?
3. Body work.
- The tray is starting to accumulate rust. How can I combat this?
- STi Hood Scoop (boyhood dream... also for when i get engine)
- The previous owner has had a few dings and scratches and the tonneau cover straps have worn away at the body work. How much (from experiance or knowledge) would a full body redo cost to me?
- Might look into a getting a hardtop built as I am not a fan of the tonneau cover.
4. Once satisfied with body, Gearbox, paintjob and Interior.... Then will I look into a bigger engine.
Sound ok?
Ideas?
Drawbacks?
Good, bad or just not a good idea?
All your input has been well valued and would appreciate it even more now I have better direction!!!!
Also, I have consulted my dads mate who is very good with Subys about the swap (he is the one who is going to help me with the swap)
- he has informed me that I would be doubling the work if I did the brakes and gearbox before engine....
- all these things have to be changed "drive shafts, tail shaft, cross members, gear change linkages, clutch pedal linkages, wiring looms, brake lines, possible exhaust route from engine to tail pipe" (sound about right to all you?)
- With the EJ engine... is there going to be enough room to have an air con in there? this guy knows someone who did an EJ25 swap and might have had to remove for room! True? or just going to be F****** hard? Haha
- he also said that "You would also need to get the engine management computer that runs the EFI, full engine bay wiring loom".... how much is that going to set me back?
Anyway.... This is all starting to seem very intimidating!!!! FML... alot of work to be done!
I think I will do the paint, interior and body work so my baby looks like a real mean machine... Then I will actually make it mean. Haha.
- he has informed me that I would be doubling the work if I did the brakes and gearbox before engine....
- all these things have to be changed "drive shafts, tail shaft, cross members, gear change linkages, clutch pedal linkages, wiring looms, brake lines, possible exhaust route from engine to tail pipe" (sound about right to all you?)
- With the EJ engine... is there going to be enough room to have an air con in there? this guy knows someone who did an EJ25 swap and might have had to remove for room! True? or just going to be F****** hard? Haha
- he also said that "You would also need to get the engine management computer that runs the EFI, full engine bay wiring loom".... how much is that going to set me back?
Anyway.... This is all starting to seem very intimidating!!!! FML... alot of work to be done!
I think I will do the paint, interior and body work so my baby looks like a real mean machine... Then I will actually make it mean. Haha.
I am bored at work so here goes.
Self build is good. Paying someone to do an engine conversion isn't cheap, can potentially devalue the car (purchase price + conversion = alot less than resale), leaves less money for important stuff like AWD/brakes/5stud conversion (you will want these after you do the engine). Then what if there is a f***-up? You have to pay a mechanic $80 - hour to deal with it.
Then you really want it engineered or atleast notify the road authority of the conversion(if you can get away with just that), other wise you have potential insurance issues. The stress of driving around in a car that may void your insurance is crap, i know. Engineers certificate on engine is $600 minimum. Add $200 for brake test. Add $600 if they want to do stability testing on the vehicle. Have you asked about insurance prices for a p-plater with a Brumby running modified engine + driveline? Could you even get iinsurance coverage? Just Insurance doesn't do old cars. Shannos doesn't do under 25's. How long would the conversion take if you do it yourself? What would you drive in the meantime?
Lots of issues could arise that quickly add lots of $$$. You could easily spend what it might cost you to go out and buy a nice H6 Gen3 Outback, or what it would cost you to do it yourself and buy a sweet turbo half-cut and a shed full of tools.
BTW I paid to have my L series converted. Awesome result, yes, but money wasted. Take the time to do it yourself, even if you have to buy a spare car. Learn lots, save money and a much better chance of still liking your car at the end.
Self build is good. Paying someone to do an engine conversion isn't cheap, can potentially devalue the car (purchase price + conversion = alot less than resale), leaves less money for important stuff like AWD/brakes/5stud conversion (you will want these after you do the engine). Then what if there is a f***-up? You have to pay a mechanic $80 - hour to deal with it.
Then you really want it engineered or atleast notify the road authority of the conversion(if you can get away with just that), other wise you have potential insurance issues. The stress of driving around in a car that may void your insurance is crap, i know. Engineers certificate on engine is $600 minimum. Add $200 for brake test. Add $600 if they want to do stability testing on the vehicle. Have you asked about insurance prices for a p-plater with a Brumby running modified engine + driveline? Could you even get iinsurance coverage? Just Insurance doesn't do old cars. Shannos doesn't do under 25's. How long would the conversion take if you do it yourself? What would you drive in the meantime?
Lots of issues could arise that quickly add lots of $$$. You could easily spend what it might cost you to go out and buy a nice H6 Gen3 Outback, or what it would cost you to do it yourself and buy a sweet turbo half-cut and a shed full of tools.
BTW I paid to have my L series converted. Awesome result, yes, but money wasted. Take the time to do it yourself, even if you have to buy a spare car. Learn lots, save money and a much better chance of still liking your car at the end.
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El_Freddo
- Master Member
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As if you didn't like your L after the conversion! You just didn't have the sentimental value towards your L like I do - which can be a BAD thing!Venom wrote: Learn lots, save money and a much better chance of still liking your car at the end.
As for what you're uncle's said: The crossbred conversion does need some drive shaft mods - as does the gearbox change (25 splines on the output stub of the EJ gearbox, 23 on the EA gearbox), either way the drive shafts have to come out if you do the gearbox conversion with the engine at the same time. I would strongly look at doing the brakes first, then go up to the engine/gearbox combination. This way you've covered the braking issue first thus making your brumby safer on the road when its got the bigger engine in.
You will need the ECU and wiring loom to run the engine in the brumby. When I did my conversion I tried to keep everything tidy - venom can vouch for this as his wiring was routed through the engine bay near the firewall where as mine runs down the side guard and pokes into the engine bay relatively neatly.
I don't see why your brake lines will need to be changed - with the crossbred kit I'm pretty sure (not having done it myself) that the brake lines stay the same in the subi, just the master cylinder and the flexible hose to the calipers change - both are relatively easy to do.
You will have room for the AC gear. The trick will be having the hoses made up to mate the EJ AC compressor to the brumby's factory AC pipework. You don't need to tell the ECU that the AC is on as it will adjust its idle without an issue. The factory AC wiring will take care of the thermo fans unless you re-route the wiring to the ECU to trigger the thermo fans. That said a simple setup can have the ECU and the factory wiring trigger the thermo fans to operate.
As for doubling your work doing the gearbox and brakes first: You'll be creating some work trying to sort out the clutch setup for the EJ gearbox to the EA engine. The rest has to be done anyway so no real doubling up on the work - just a second visit to the shed... The EJ would bolt straight up to the gearbox if you managed to fit it first. It could be easier for you to focus on one aspect of this build at a time if you're learning along the way.
And take what venom's said - he's done the "pay someone else" conversion and knows how it feels to shell out the money and have aspects of the conversion done in a way that you would have done differently. I think he wishes he'd done it himself - but not having a shed is an issue (that I'm dealing with at the moment)
Cheers
Bennie