StatGSR's 97 Legacy Brighton (engine swap underway)

[StatGSR]

Year: 1997
Make: Subaru
Model: Legacy Brighton

History:
Purchased November 2006 as a winter beater so the teg (94 GSR) could stay out of the snow/salt and such, and so i could enjoying driving driving in the winter a little more.

being a brighton it lacked a tach so the first thing was buy another cluster and toss that in. then made a custom grille for it and painted the steelies.

over the summer of 2007 i removed much of the interior for cleaning. previous owner had a dog in there all the time, so there is more hair in that car than i care to describe.

also had a go with the famous "$50 paint job", i went the route with interlux topside boat paint. im very happy with the results tho it could still use some more time and effort into it to be better. also added an ebay intake at this time.

Winter 07-08, got a set of 94 turbo legacy wheels and Blizzak revo tires. it is now a beast in the snow and on the ice. other recent installs include a GroupA light weight crank pulley and a kartboy short shifter.

Goals:
Finish up my EG33 Swap and enjoy the car even more.

Pics:
day of purchase.

new grille

first winter

summer 07

all work can be found here...
http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/Stat...0Paint/?start=0

Winters 07-09

 

[StatGSR]

Well this is also going to be the build thread for my EG33 (svx) swap.

About the swap... Decided to go a different route than most and stay NA, but i wasn't about to waste my time playing with a 2.2 or even a 2.5 since i knew the 3.3 swap could be done. Mechanically the engine bolts right up, but will require moving the radiator. Options for the radiator include getting a custom one or hacking up the rad support to move it forward. im actually going to try a V mount style rad to see if i can fit it in with out destroying to much of the rad support and if that wont work then i will probably go with a custom aluminum rad.

EG33 is rated at 230 hp 230 lbs tq, thats beyond stock wrx territory if you were wondering.

Costs...
My hope is to keep the total cost under 1500-2000. i got my SVX with 180k and a dead trans for 600 bux. i expect to recoup almost the entire cost of the car after parting it out. the engine is in need of work and needs a new timing and idler set as well as a complete set of timing belt covers. i will also be doing head gaskets and some other seals while i have the chance.

Wiring will be done by my friend Chux at http://www.numbchuxconversions.com . he has done the wiring merge for this several times and i have complete faith in him giving me quality work.

Other items i purchased for the swap include Group N engine mounts and trans mount.


first things first. SVX + Cut exhaust = sex
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW3ZDPyx_JY

And heres the pics of what i have so far...

Grayguys GFs new winter beater impreza. Had a bad trans so that's getting swapped out

The legacy waiting for the new heart...

 

[StatGSR]

Engine in for Mock Up! (exhaust & radiator)

Clearance for Radiator, and this is without the crank pulley and belts on....

other updates....

SVX wiring harness is out of the car and stripped. just waiting for the legacy harness.
Timing belt, pulleys and water pump are here... another big box of eg33 parts is on the way

 

[StatGSR]

We (greyguy and myself) figured out that we could use the stock bosses in the Radiator where the radiator fans are supposed to bolt on to it. This ment adding some tabs to the core support to utilize those bosses. greyguy will be my fab work guru for this project

To get the radiator to fit vertically in front of the support, I had to cut out the pinch weld and front section of the lower support

I had to cut the 3 lower grill mounts, and the inner most headlights off to get them to fit on. The bumper beam is going to need to be trimmed at the pinch weld to get the Rad sitting vertically as well.

The upper radiator hose is almost perfect! I mounted the rad just low enough to easily get the upper hose on.

On the inner side of the core support, we'll have to wrap the hose and trim a little metal so that the hoses doesn't rub.

AS a referance, the bottom mount is going to look a lot like the lower FMIC mount greyguy put in his BD

 

[StatGSR]

And yes, i will get my proof of ownership picture up as soon as a return home from my business trip. it will probably be early next week. Thanks

 

[Posmo]

Props for taking it to the (ice)track, it's a shit ton of fun Get some spikes under it when the swap is done

 

[Bhatman]

Alright! Another SLi member on final gear!

 

[WDWBen]

Dude! That's awesome! Post this up at CTSubie! I bet Jack from EFI Logics (he has an EG33 swapped GC race car, might be able to give you some tips) would LOVE to see this!

 

[fwa2500]

awesome! yay lego wagons! one of these days i would love to do an EG33 swap (or an EZ30R if i can find one for the right price). i will definitely be watching this thread

 

[Jay]

Damn.

I hate to be a stick in the mud, but wouldn't a H6 make your Legacy a bit ah...nose heavy?

Though the torque you would get out of it...oh my.

 

[fwa2500]

not by too much, going with a different suspension set-up would also help....and its so worth it for the extra 100hp over stock, extra torque and of course the sound of an H6

 

[StatGSR]

I hate to be a stick in the mud, but wouldn't a H6 make your Legacy a bit ah...nose heavy?

I think it should only be about 70 lbs more than the 2.2. suby motors are pretty light in general.

not by too much, going with a different suspension set-up would also help....and its so worth it for the extra 100hp over stock, extra torque and of course the sound of an H6

I do have 04 STi struts with STi pink springs. they wont be going on till spring though. i want to see how it goes on the ice this year with only the motor swap.

 

[fwa2500]

I do have 04 STi struts with STi pink springs. they wont be going on till spring though. i want to see how it goes on the ice this year with only the motor swap.

I wish i had the pinks i got a good deal on my '04s but they came with tein s-techs :? sure, the drop looks nice, but they ride terrible (compared to a stock STi). i live close to TiC and hopefully will be able to get a set of Swift springs sooner rather than later...until then i would be happy if i could find a set of stock STi springs locally

 

[WDWBen]

S-Techs are SO bad for ride. The way I remember it is: S = Show, H = Handling. Sure, the drop isn't as great with H-Techs as with S-Techs, but you handle better.

... says the guy with Cobb springs.

Also, once the swap is done, that wagon would be SICK with a Prodrive BBK

 

[StatGSR]

^ Prodrive BBK? lol you buying?

this is a budget build and not a track car (My integra is/will be my track car, might have to post up that soon as well). This is still just a fun winter beater and though it will see some summer time action it will only be because my integra is out of service for one reason or another.

i would like to be able to keep 15s on it as well so that will limit what i can do with the brakes (even Subaru non brembo 4 pots wont clear with 15s). i think the most i can upgrade to is Outback/GT 2 Pot fronts, with decent pads, that should be more than i will ever need for this car.

 

[fwa2500]

why not pick up a set of '02-04 WRX wheels for cheap so then you can put on WRX brakes?

 

[OneStiffGT]

Car looks great. Why the SVX motor and not a WRX motor?

 

[StatGSR]

Just wouldnt be necessary imo, if i was to bother doing that at all i would then want to go with Subaru 4 pots. im planning on getting a set of 16s for summer, but i already have nice 15s with excellent tires on them for winter so i dont see the point in parting with those.

I mean i crap i still have to get the damn rears swapped so i can get rid of those damn drums! (already have the parts for that tho)

 

[fwa2500]

oh man, dont get me started on the rear drums....i have them too (my wagon is also a brighton)....i was hoping they would last until this next summer so i could do a full swap with 2.5RS or WRX bits, but its looking like im going to have to have them replaced this winter, the shoes at the very least.

 

[StatGSR]

Picture Time! Its in, it runs....poorly. its missing hard and wont work well, dies frequently as soon as it gets warm, my guess is a vacuum leak and or a bad coil on one of the cylinders. hoping it shouldnt take much more time to get it working good tho!

oh yea and my new super awesome license plates!!!

and my proof picture?... sorry its still cold out up here....