Subaru Conversion, Helpful Hints Options

[abnrdo]

Our cooling solution: dual core full aluminum radiator for a Mazda Miata, two 12" electric pulling fans, 20ft+ gates rubber hosing running underneath the floor pan in the factory grooves, and shroud made out of aluminum sheet metal.

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Wow that doesn't look like a good idea at all wouldn't it be better to run the lines in the heat ducts throught the rocker panels?

You can do either. Through the rocker panels is a PIA. Renegade and most of us have used the green or yellow striped hose run along the grooves under the car. Works great and the hose is tougher than you think. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

[brant]

Nice to see a denver guy on here

we have a colorado yahoo group too you may want to join

I'm certainly no subaru expert
but front coolers give better efficiency
and you will be miles ahead (in simplicity, cost, and resale) if you stick with one of the porsche style hubs and wheels (4 bolt or 5 bolt)

your going to have to modify your fenders anyways before you can get much larger of a wheel in there... so you should leave your paint until later and figure out your wheels and tires first.

[Porscharu914]

I'm definitely happy to see I'm not the only one by any means here in Colorado. I haven't searched too hard for the fender flares but all the kits I have found are like $2000. And in comparison to the rest of the plans for this project it's a little absurd. I'm not going to be building crazy amounts of power where I would need 225s. I would like to get a 205 in the rear and a 195 in the front. Or maybe even 195s all the way around.

[brant]

195 or 205 are going to fit fine with stock fenders and either 4 bolt porsche wheels or 5 bolt porsche wheels. adapters to 5bolts are kinda frowned upon and also eat up tire clearance

[Porscharu914]

asdf

[dlo914]

We got our 4x130 to 4x100 bolt pattern conversion adapters from these guys on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wheel-Adapter-4x13...ad9&vxp=mtr

[Gint]

Hey! I didn't see this thread last summer. Spent the entire summer working my a$$ off.

Nice project. There could be a Sub conversion in future at some point. I think about it every now and then. Have you considered trying to do a mid mount rad? Just curious. That's one of the primary reasons I don't want to do a water cooled conversion at this point. I just don't want to lose the entire front trunk.

Who is the shop you referred to for building CVs? Denver Driveline?

[Porscharu914]

I put a little bit of consideration into the mid mount radiator, but I'm trying to save room in the engine bay. I also don't plan on using the car for anything other than having the pure joy of driving it. My plans for the radiator will be to plumb copper tubing through the interior on the floor just right of the shifter. I've seen some people mount the radiator all the way in the front upright and cut out holes behind the bumper. This is the way I'd like to go with a pair of auxiliary fans constantly running to make sure it runs nice and cool. I also have a spare hood so I may hack it up to see if I can come up with an efficient scoop design. We'll see.

Since the car is 98% rust free of course the wiring had been destroyed by mice. I need to rewire the entire car. Anyone know of any good general rewiring kits?

[Porscharu914]

Hey! I didn't see this thread last summer. Spent the entire summer working my a$$ off.

Nice project. There could be a Sub conversion in future at some point. I think about it every now and then. Have you considered trying to do a mid mount rad? Just curious. That's one of the primary reasons I don't want to do a water cooled conversion at this point. I just don't want to lose the entire front trunk.

Who is the shop you referred to for building CVs? Denver Driveline?

The shoo that I went to is called CVJ. They will build absolutely ANY cv you could dream of to hand any amount of horse power. They're very friendly and willing to go the extra mile to satisfy. The built me a custom cv for my JDM B16 Honda build. I called and they were able to build it for me that day. I think it put me out about $250.

[FourBlades]

Great project. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

Keep the pictures coming!

John

[Porscharu914]

Haven't posted in a while....a long while.... Project was put on back burner after deciding to go to real estate school and get my license. I wasn't able to really dedicate any time to the car. I decided back over the summer to paint the car a generic red for now. It was originally red and I did not want to worry about painting the engine compartment, trunk, etc.... didn't get much else done to it the rest of the year. However in the last few weeks I've made some good progress. I've finished spraying the clear coat on the car, wet sanded and buffed 1/3 of the car, reinstalled the read glass, and started working on my cable shifter. I'm using the shifter out of a Ford Focus bolted to a 12"x12" steel plate. My buddy has donated the carpet out of his "Zombiata", zombie Miata, and surprisingly it will fit with very minor modification. It is tan so I now have some motivation to get some of the interior redone in tan as well. Seats are seconds away from being ready to go in. Also going to test to see if the center console out of my 4Runner will work, not entirely optimistic but still hopeful. Almost certain now that I will use the yellow stripe Gates houses to run as coolant lines with some sort of basic skid plate over them. Working with Ian, IM101, of coldwater914.com to get an engine cradle so I can get the heart of the monster installed. I NEED A WINDSHIELD!!!!! Anyone know anyone/anywhere I can get a windshield please PM me. I'll post some pictures of some of the stuff I'm working on soon.

[CptTripps]

There was a thread not too long ago where a guy was selling windshields pretty cheap. I got mine for under $200 iirc.

[76-914]

Wondered where you went. Glad your back at it.

[stimpyvan]

<snip> ...started working on my cable shifter. I'm using the shifter out of a Ford Focus bolted to a 12"x12" steel plate. <snip>

Have you begun working out the geometry of this yet? I'm curious to see what you come up with as we are considering going with a cable shifter set up.

Van

[JRust]

Don't worry about a skid plate for the Gates hose. The beauty of using it is it's tough. Running it under the car works great despite many who don't like it. If you happen to scrape it just flexes. Adding a skid plate that may just bend/dent. You'll just crush the hose & restrict your flow. Just attach the hose good in the recess & forget about it.

[Porscharu914]

Finally getting into this project. In the last 2 weeks I've been getting together a lot of stuff. Waiting on several parts right now. Ian over at coldwater914.com is sending an engine cradle to me. I have an American Autowire kit that should be here tomorrow afternoon. Ordered pads and rotors from Pelican Parts. My radiator fans should be here Wednesday/Thursday. Also waiting to find out if I will have the winning bid on an RCI 12 gallon fuel cell. I also picked up a new alternator and radiator.

I'm working on resealing the motor and replacing the timing belt. Motor also got a fresh water pump, plugs and wires. Hopefully I can get the brand new fly wheel and clutch on once I finish the reseal. I'm going to use one of the hoods that I have to make an extractor to help pull air through the radiator. I'm really learning a lot through this experience. Like the carpet out of a 99 Miata fits decently in the 914. Needs a little trimming but for $free.00 I won't complain.

My buddy and I are starting to play around with fiber glass in hopes of eventually moving into pulling carbon fiber. Who wouldn't love a set of carbon fiber head light covers? Instead of the white, which gets terribly painted black. I will try to keep anyone posted on how all of this comes along. PM with something you may like to see made out of carbon fiber and maybe in the future we can make it happen.

When I get the engine cradle and can put the motor/trans in the car I will begin working on the cable shifter a little more. I'm using the shifter out of an 02? Ford Focus. Took a small amount of modding to get the cables attached, nothing major. Cables came out of a boat and are about 8 feet too long but I can use them for now.

Still a lot coming up in the next few weeks. I'll try to get some pictures up soon.
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[CptTripps]

That's great progress. Once you get all the major pieces done, it starts coming together real quickly.

Tip: Don't under-estimate the amount of time you'll spend on replacing the wiring, especially with a kit like that. I thought it'd make things easier, but it's proving to be a BIG undertaking. On top of that, you'll have a lot of work to do on the wiring harness for the motor as well. I wish I'd just gone with the Stinger conversion and bought his harness to match it up. I'd likely be on the road by now. I went with the Hydra and a custom harness that I made myself. I'm SURE I did something wrong, and only hope I don't fry something.

[Porscharu914]

Yesterday I picked up a new windshield. I paid $110 dollars for the brand new piece of glass! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif) I also finished the reseal of the motor and replaced the timing belt. Brake rotors and radiator fans should be here Thursday/Friday. New flywheel and clutch to be installed by the weekend? Talked to a local custom axle builder and I will have a pair of axles built for around $650.

For Colorado guys interested in the Subaru conversions these guys really will help you with what you need. CVJ off I-70 and Brighton Blvd. in Denver. CVJ Axle (303)-297-2448 ASK FOR SEAN.

My overall knowledge of these cars is still incredibly small. Someone please help me with a decent suspension set up that may lower the car about and inch. (I do not want to spend the $2500 for a full coil over system) I would like to take the car to the track. Should I go with a Bilstein strut with some heavier springs? I would like to stay within a $600-$800 range. Pelican Parts only sells springs for the rear in different spring rates as far as I can tell. I plan on using 1" wheel adapters to change the bolt pattern to 4X100. I would like to get wheels that are 16X7 and run a 205/50/16R. I don't know what offset/back spacing to run. Any information will help.

As always thank you for any and all info. Love being a part of this community!
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[malaga_red75]

For the rear suspension, I would recommend Koni Yellows with threaded collars. They are expensive brand new, but they come up in the classifieds here or craigslist or ebay from time to time. (I think I got the struts and collars for ~$500 for the pair)

Adjustable damping and adjustable ride height. I run 16x7 Fuchs on my subie conversion with slightly pulled rear fenders and was able to adjust the ride height to perfection.


IIRC the front ride height can only be adjusted a little without re-indexing the adjustment screws (can't remember the technical term for the front adjustments). I basically lowered it within the stock adjustments and don't have any problems with bump-steer.

Hope this helps. PM or ask me any questions about the subie conversion. It can be a real headache sometimes, but it is totally worth it! ~200hp in a 914 with proper suspension/brakes is always a good time. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

[rnellums]

Is there a reason that you don't want to get the axles form Ian too? I think his are under 400 for the pair, and Kent (76-914) has a guy in CA that will do the pair for 160. 650 seems like a lot.