anothernord's '97 OBW, 12/8 - Fab projects, rally wheels

[Muse]

That is pretty sweet, man... 330 HP would be more than enough to get me in trouble!

Also, really diggin' the bumper. Did you use a GT bumper or an Outback bumper, or does it matter at all?

[Oc7ane]

Sweet build, Im basically doing the same thing but with a stroked 22t block, wrx heads with harness merge and what not. Sweet deal with merging yourself, I wont touch that part

[anothernord]

That is pretty sweet, man... 330 HP would be more than enough to get me in trouble!

Also, really diggin' the bumper. Did you use a GT bumper or an Outback bumper, or does it matter at all?

I used an outback bumper cover, and fabbed up my own beam for the JDM fog lights. I wanted those things so bad that I built the entire bumper just so I could have them!

[anothernord]

That is pretty sweet, man... 330 HP would be more than enough to get me in trouble!

Also, really diggin' the bumper. Did you use a GT bumper or an Outback bumper, or does it matter at all?

Oh, and pics here:

http://www.sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=28487

[prodriver1]

I want a strut brace like that. Hell, you could probably sell 'em if you had the inclination.

ya! I'll buy one!

[65pontiac]

Wow very clean

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[anothernord]

Big update: DUAL RANGE!!

So I finally finished college and got my degree in Mechanical Engineering (phew). It was about time to give the wagon a well-deserved upgrade: an AUDM dual range 5MT pulled from an 03' Forester. I found it on eBay through one of the JDM importers.

Over a long weekend, I installed along with a matching 4.11:1 LSD from an RS.

It turns out that making a linkage to operate the low range shifter arm is quite a task. The OEM cable was chopped part way, and some old throttle cables I had around were not nearly stiff enough to move the lever. I found a B&M racing 4' auto tranny shifter cable through O'reilly's and made some brackets for it.

Here's the tranny side arrangement:



Ever wondered what that little circular rubber bump in your shifter seal is for?

Dual range cable!


I ghetto-fabbed a lever using an old stock shifter cut down to size.



All that's left is a little trimming and making a cover for the hole.


This tranny gives the overall ratio a bump by 1.447:1. It will absolutely chug up steep rocky hills; little to no clutch slipping. You can't crawl as slowly as a true 4x4 rig, but if you're on terrain where you need to go that slow, you're probably going to have other issues.

[dynonacht]

Awesome! Hey, probably somewhere in this thread but I suck at skimming pages, what center console is that?

[anothernord]

Awesome! Hey, probably somewhere in this thread but I suck at skimming pages, what center console is that?

It's a WRX center console. See the link in my signature.

[anothernord]

Some more updates:

Nokian WRG2 tires (225/65R17) on Sparco Terra 17x7.5's.

These things required rolling of the fenders, trimming of the unibody, and some pounding of the wheel wells with a hammer. These are 28" wheels. Same a stock XJ Cherokee! I managed to get away without using wheel spacers on all four corners. Even with fender rolling, there is still some rubbing in the rear. I plan to fix this with King springs.







I made a quick master cylinder brace out of some 1/4" plate and and angle iron. It really stiffens the pedal under hard braking. Before, you could actually watch the master cylinder move when the pedal was pressed.


Since the unibody is slowly falling apart, I decided to build a real rear strut brace. Bolt-on rear strut braces really don't do a whole lot; you've got to remove the extra degree of freedom that allows the strut towers to move vertically relative to each other.

First, I welded a bar to the floor, with some 1/4" uprights for bolting the brace in. (Excuse diarrhea welding)




Then, the stringer between the two braces, and the triangular braces. (Finished product was painted)

Results? Not sure on handling or anything like that, but it sure quiets down all the creaking. Maybe it will help with rear passenger safety?


Oh, and here's the trailer hitch I made. I thought that the bolt-on ones suck.

It's welded into the stock bumper beam, bolts into the tow hooks, and to the unibody frame rails with 6" long bolts that go all the way into the inside of the trunk.








APS TMIC, Kinugawa TD05H 20g, 8cm, STS 9 blade turbine




Some random pictures from the summer's adventures around CO and WY.





"4WD High Clearance Only"

[KNaph]

Wow. I never knew I needed this, but I need this.

The cut bumpers for clearance gives it a sort of rock crawler look and the Sparcos and beefier tires really help bring that look together too. Looks like you're clearing the struts by just a few hairs haha.

Definitely subbed.

[Alphius]

This is a great swap and I really like seeing what you've done to the car over the years. The documentation is excellent and I can tell you really intend to keep this car for a long time.

I'm about to start my own harness merge for my '99 Legacy GT, so your pictures and documentation have helped me immensely. I'm no stranger to engine harnesses having built many MegaSquirt harnesses for different swaps and LS1 ECU standalone harnesses, but the Subaru integration of the body harness with the engine harness leaves things a little more complicated. I do have an entire donor '02 WRX, so at least all my wiring will come from the same car!

I'm curious on a couple aspects of your swap: What have you done for the clutch and for the radiator/fans? I'm keeping a push style clutch (like your DR trans) and have been debating between doing the 06+ WRX flywheel and clutch or shelling out for the ACT HDSS. As far as the radiator goes, I was planning on using my stock radiator and gutting the cap to use the overflow connection as the connection to the coolant tank, but I also have the WRX radiator and fans available to me if they would be of any help. Thanks in advance for any input you may have.

[anothernord]

Whoa, haven't updated this for a while, I've been busy with my other thread for the twin charge build.

This is a great swap and I really like seeing what you've done to the car over the years. The documentation is excellent and I can tell you really intend to keep this car for a long time.

I'm about to start my own harness merge for my '99 Legacy GT, so your pictures and documentation have helped me immensely. I'm no stranger to engine harnesses having built many MegaSquirt harnesses for different swaps and LS1 ECU standalone harnesses, but the Subaru integration of the body harness with the engine harness leaves things a little more complicated. I do have an entire donor '02 WRX, so at least all my wiring will come from the same car!

I'm curious on a couple aspects of your swap: What have you done for the clutch and for the radiator/fans? I'm keeping a push style clutch (like your DR trans) and have been debating between doing the 06+ WRX flywheel and clutch or shelling out for the ACT HDSS. As far as the radiator goes, I was planning on using my stock radiator and gutting the cap to use the overflow connection as the connection to the coolant tank, but I also have the WRX radiator and fans available to me if they would be of any help. Thanks in advance for any input you may have.

Figured a late reply is better than never! For the clutch , I used an 06/07 WRX Clutch and flywheel, with the stock push-style fork and slave cylinder. My TOB is from the TSK snout repair kit, so it's a little bigger in diameter than the stock one and pushes on the teeth nicely. For fans I had to use an aftermarket one mounted on the front of the A/C condenser. And thanks for the kind words!



And for the update, here's the current state of the engine bay:

[anothernord]

This thread needs some updates and more pictures.

I have been daily-driving with the twin-charge system, which is now drinking E85 for more power.

Engine bay shot:

[Muse]

Err... The lower two pictures aren't showing up.

[dynonacht]

Err... The lower two pictures aren't showing up.

same

[subieadam]

Cool ass ride man!

[dynonacht]

updates?