YASC : Yet another Subie Conversion, She's off and, uh, stalled... Options

[jsteele22]

Two weeks ago I drove up to Denver to look at an engine. An EJ25 SOHC in a wrecked 2000 Legacy w/ 70k miles. Listed as a "parts engine" b/c the front end was smushed and the T-belt broken. Price was $400. Not fantastic, but pretty good, IMHO.

(I paid $500 + $300 shipping for a DOHC EJ25 with only 30k mi last fall, but that turned out to be an EBay scam. I ended up getting $175 back through Ebay.)

Anyway, when I looked at the engine, I bumped my head on the hood. The wheels were off the car, and the hood rumpled in some, so it wasn't where it was "supposed" to be. I checked out a few other engines, then asked to look at this one again. Once again, I bashed my head, only this time I caught a sharp edge. Man, head wounds do some serious bleeding ! This one was a pumper. Didn't get a drop of blood on me, but everything a few feet in front of me got squirted. Righteous, as Hammer would have said.

Fast forward a week. I bought a pair of SOHC heads w/ low miles off Ebay for $150. Scored a batch of goodies (Water pump, t-belt, tensioner, gasket set) for $185 off NASIOC. So obviously, I've cast the die. Borrowed a friends truck, drove up to Denver, and picked up the engine. Got back to the Springs, and went straight to the tool store to pick up an engine stand. I ask the guy if there's one of the cheapest ones set up on display somewhere. Not real clear what he replied. Then I kind of remember the EMT asking me what kind of car i drive. Then the ER nurse is unhooking the EKG electrodes from my chest. Holy Crap ! No, it wasn't a heart attack. Some kind of seizure, but I won't know how/why it happened for at least a month and a half, if at all. Right now, all I know is that after asking about the engine stand, my face went blank, I turned to jello, fell to the floor, started twitching, and turned sorta blue.

So, in its own peculiar way, the project has begun. I've got a builder engine and parts, I've picked out an engine stand. And doctors orders : no driving ! I'm still pretty swamped w/ my day job + consulting job, so I really won't be able to start work until April or so anyways. But I can still ruminate (kind of like barfing up grass, but not really) about what I'm gonna do :

* Replace "questionable" heads w/ good ones.
* Maybe/probably get cams reground by Delta.
* All new gaskets, timing belt, pump, tensioner
* Brew up my own MegaSquirt-II + EDIS system.
* All the other stuff that goes along with an engine swap !

All this should put me on track to have my teener torn apart and undriveable in time for summer. Stay tuned.