Lilchopshop’s Subaru Conversion Project, Making it up as I go Options

[Lilchopshop]

Hi All,
My name is Aaron. I've been lurking on this site for years, learning from all of you who are kind enough to share your projects and the challenges that go along with them. In an attempt to keep me motivated on my project and as a way to create a place for me to ask questions as they come up (which they will, frequently), I decided it was time to start a proper build thread. I’m not a novice when it comes to tools, fabricating and most things automotive, but I’ve never attempted an engine swap before, and most things electrical tend to stress me out. That being said, I love a good challenge and I’m not afraid to fail.

I purchased this car in February of 2020, just before Covid lockdown. I got off to a pretty good start repairing the rust and trying to make a solid chassis for what I thought was going to be a stock-ish restoration (some of that work documented here: http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...ty+jack+points). Then, after watching all the great engine-swap builds on this site, I changed my mind. I knew I wanted more horsepower, but I couldn’t justify the cost of an air-cooled Porsche 6-cyl and I didn’t want to lose the trunk to a big V8. For a while, I was considering keeping the original engine from the car and using a tunable fuel injection package, but for the total cost, the bang for the buck just didn’t seem there. So, I settled on the Suby engine. After some research and some purchasing mistakes, I ended up buying a 2002 legacy outback donor vehicle with an EG25 engine. I harvested the engine, the ECU and whatever else seemed valuable. After selling off the old Porsche engine, transmission, all of the FI components and the saleable parts from the donor Subaru, I probably ended up in the black, financially.

Since buying the car in 2020, I’ve gotten pulled away by many other, more important projects, so I’ve only been able to do little stints of work on the car. I’m optimistic this time, that I will be able to finally dedicate some quality time this winter and hopefully make some real headway. I haven’t been great at documenting the little things I’ve done on the car in the last 2 years, so I’ll start this thread off with some of the things I did actually get pictures of and a summary of where I’m at now.

The day we met:
The first attempt at a Suby Engine (EJ22):
The second attempt (complete donor vehicle):
My crazy, home-built cable shift linkage:
My home-built engine cradle:
Shifter from a boxter (slightly modified):
Some suspension ear reinforcement:

[Lilchopshop]

April '25 update:

I've been able to spend several hours a week on the project. Progress feels slow, but I'm moving forward, (I think?).

I'm still working in the frunk trying to figure out all of the details for radiator mounting, hose routing, ducting, wire routing, spare tire mounting, etc. I feel like I've been spending a lot more time staring at the car and trying to make decisions on all of this stuff as opposed to actually doing the work. This part of the project definitely has me questioning my choice to convert to a water-cooled engine. Anyway... here's where I'm at:

After removing both structural panels between the front cross panel and the wheel wells, I welded some new metal to them and straightened them out as best as I could to better repair the previous collision damage repair. Shot these with some self-etch primer and welded them back in place.



I then made a cross-member to support the bottom of the radiator. I went round and round on the design of this part and the best way to attach this to the chassis. I don't want the final product to look like a cloogey conversion so I'm trying to make the modifications look like they belong in the car to the best of my ability. Not sure I totally hit the mark on this, but I'm satisfied enough.



It's a little tricky to tell what you're looking at here, but this is the underside of the radiator support cross member. Since this piece gets in the way of the wires that route from the fuse panel to the headlights/turn-signals/horns, I decided to keep the bottom open so that I can route the wires through this over to the passenger side headlight/turn-signal/horn. I will make some sort of flat cover that attaches to the underside of this so that I can access this area from below the car but still keep the road grime and water out of here. The mounting tabs in the center and welded nuts on either end are for the attachment of this future cover. The sheet-metal tabs are retainers for the wire bundle that will run from drivers side to passenger side (trying to duplicate the factory sheet-metal wire retainers).


Finally, the cross-member is welded in (not the prettiest welding, my gaps were too big) and I filled in the hole in the front of the frunk floor. I was feeling pretty good about my progress at this point so I invited my wife out the garage so that she could marvel at my work. Her only comment... "when are you going to get to the pretty stuff?" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)


Lastly, the progress on the hose routing... I'm pretty sure I'm going to get some negative feedback on this, but I've chosen to route BOTH coolant hoses through the driver's side longitudinal. Various factors contributed to this decision. I don't like the idea of going under the car (too much chance for damage, IMO) and based on the radiator configuration/location I have, I think this path makes the most sense. Plus, the driver's side longitudinal is currently wide open because of my rust repairs, so this makes it easy to remove the heater ducting and install two individual conduits in there to protect/insulate the hoses and make it easier to fish the hoses through during final assembly or if I ever need to replace them in the future. I plan to make a removable cover that will conceal/protect the exposed hoses in the driver's foot well. I know that having two big, hot hoses right near the driver's seat might make the ride a little warm. I'm really hoping it won't be unbearable!


Here is a picture looking down into the area below the gas tank. The two coolant hoses will run in the little cavity that sits right under the torsion bar. The cavity wasn't quite big enough, so I cut it open and flared out the one side so that the hoses could exit next to each other in the frunk. The oval-shaped hole has since been filled in with a domed piece of metal that gives the hoses just a little more room at the bend. I made sure none of this stuff will interfere with the gas tank or the torsion bar.


And the holes in the frunk where the hoses will exit. I'll use rubber grommets at all the holes where the hoses pass through.


That's it for now. Thanks for looking!