HappyFrog's 1992 Legacy Turbo

[HappyFrog]

Since this thread has been going on for a year soon I thought I'd update it with the progress so far:

Engine:
VEMS ecu (MAFless)
Wiseco pistons
Eagle rods
Big K&N filter
2001 WRX recirc. bov
TD05 Big 16G @ 22psi
550cc injectors
Fuelab fuel regulator
Hybrid GT spec front mount intercooler
6 speed 2006 STI DCCD gearbox (no controller though)
3" catless exhaust
95 Impreza Type RA washer bottle
Dynoed 294bhp/293ft.lbs in Aug 2010

Interior:
MOMO steering wheel
Real cheap boost gauge
Bright button

Exterior:
Debadged front
Fog lights removed
Lots of rust, dents and paint peeling off

Suspension:
Genuine STi Carbon Front Strut Brace
16" Impreza GT rims
15" Legacy turbo rims
15" Real ugly Audi rims
Otherwise stock

Currently working on:
STi 7 interior waiting to be fitted
Simply Subie fender braces waiting to be fitted
Steering wheel ordered
Rebadge grill and make new insert
Refit fog lights or make inserts

This is the best pic I have at the moment, will get something sorted soon:


-----------------------------------------------

Original post:

Right, so the financial crisis hit me really hard this year and I sold my beloved impreza during the summer. I mainly used it for trackdays, so it was too expensive to just sit in the garage and even more expensive if I decided to take it to the track.

I'm not done doing trackdays so a new project had to be found. Then this old legacy appeared and I wanted it mostly because of its internals, but after I've been driven it a while I decided to give it an overhauling instead of breaking it.

The project will be divided into a couple of stages and carried out as quickly as I can raise the money for it - nothing new there

Stage 1: Rust and paint job

As can be seen on the fender, the rear door and above the window, it has a couple of problems. Nothing big, but it will need some attention. Luckily my brother is really handy with a welder, so a couple of hours work for him right there.
The color will change, I'm not sure into what yet.


Not much to say about the rear. I've got the missing numberplate light, so all it needs is some attention to the plastic parts. I've replaced the muffler though since this pic was taken. Well, I added a muffler, the one one the pic didn't muffle anything. I had my old oe exhaust from the impreza on the attic, now is says almost nothing unless beaten.



Stage 2: Replacing ecu and mapping, goal at least 300hp.

Aaarh, the heart. Yes every beast has one. It has wisego forged pistons (93mm), eagle rods, walbro, td05 big 16g, 6 speed 06 STI transmission, some homecooked exhaust and otherwise stock.
It doesn't run too good at the moment, it starts knock correcting above 4k rpms and is pulling timing, so at 6k rpm there is no boost left. I'm hoping everything is going away with the new ecu.


It's running on stock injectors at the moment, I bet it'll love these 550cc.


I'll also replace the awic with a wrx tmic. I have borrowed a 99 impreza turbo tmic that I will start with. If it turns out to be a restriction and I can't find the room for a sti tmic, I'll go fmic.

Stage ?: Interior

Except from the steeringwheel and the gear stick the interior is stock and in desperate need of an upgrade. All the electronics work though.


Stage ?: Suspension and brakes

The suspension is not suitable for trackdays, so it'll be replaced too. I think I will start with a stock from a classic impreza and see how it feels.
I'm fairly sure I'll get tired of the brakes really quick, but I'll keep them stock for now.

I couldn't resist to try these slicks, they need a good cleaning but still a lot of rubber left.


That's it for now. I'll be tearing it apart during december and see if there are some hidden rust problems, I'm not looking forward to look at the rear struts. Everything else looks good so far though.

So there it is, now I just need some time and money, then I'll be ready for my next trackday.

[mike-tracy]

Very cool - I'm sure someone here would like to buy your complete AWIC. Good luck with the project

[Mattheww044]

Very nice, thats a sweet color. Will be keeping an eye on this one!

[206er]

what's your location? update it on your user info.
cool project, full slicks are definitely not the norm around this site.

[HappyFrog]

Sorry about the missing info, I'm located in Denmark, profile updated

The car is much uglier in reality, the clear coat is peeling off, so it will be sanded down and completely repainted. No major dents or scratches though, which surprised me a bit when I bought it.
I'm anxious to see how the suspension will handle slicks though, I hope they don't stress the joints too much.

[AWD_addict]

Looks promising. What is the black part bolted on in front of the coolant tank?

[HappyFrog]

Its an ignition coil. Not sure where it is supposed to be, but there is one on the ac pump aswell.
The previous owner changed all off them with aftermarket ones, so perhaps he had to relocate them because they are slightly bigger.

[HappyFrog]

Things are running a bit slow here, my brothers garage was occupied by his Nissan Patrol all month, so I went to help him assemble the rest of it today so that I can move the legacy to his place.

While I was there I decided to dig out my rims for the project to see what state they are in.
Original 15" legacy rims on the left and 16" impreza turbo to the right. They need a good cleaning and the gt rims could do with some paint, but haven't decided on colour yet.


I also have spanking new brakes for the front, ebc discs and mintex 1155 pads.

It's not the best of discs, but they'll do for now. I'm hoping that choosing 1155 over 1166 will keep them alive a bit longer than when I tried to couple the last set of discs with ferodos.

[HappyFrog]

Found the emblem I was after. I had to buy the entire grill to get it... oh well, not everything has to make sense in this project

[HappyFrog]

Bought a bonnet from at dead gc8 just now. My brother will try to weld the entire scoop area into the legacy bonnet. I sure hope it'll work.

[HappyFrog]

Things are not running too well here. We still got tons of snow and my brothers garage has been damaged by it, so I haven't been able to work on it yet. The guy who is supposed to paint it fell into the pit in his workshop the other day, so he is in the hospital Lets hope he'll get well soon.
Oh well, bought an ic from a bugeye yesterday. If I can get rid of the rust sometime soon and raise the money for the new ecu, I'll have it mapped before painted. I miss trackdays sooooo bad and who says you can't drive an ugly piece of crap around the track. I'd love to beat a couple of evos and skylines in the state it is in now

[HappyFrog]

AWIC is out (what a b*tch btw when you are too lazy to remove the front bumper).


There was absolutely no room for either the bugeye tmic or the 99 gt tmic, so I gave in and ordered a Hybrid GT fmic for a ph1 impreza. Except from a little cutting in the bumper, it should bolt right on... I hope.
Good thing I didn't remove the bumper and saved an hour of finger killing fiddling with the awic

[evolutionmovement]

I saw you wrote something about going through brake rotors. Have you tried cryogenic treated rotors? I've had great success with them.

[HappyFrog]

Okay, who sells them? And are they as expensive as they sound
For starters the ebc discs should do fine though, as long as I don't kill them with racing pads.

[evolutionmovement]

I'm guessing it's like the US—you send a set of rotors to a cryo place or some of them will get the rotors for you, treat them, and ship them to you. I just used a web search to find places.

With OEM rotors, they would pulse within 6 months, but when I had a new set cryo treated, they lasted 4 years and were a hair from being worn through to the vents. Only pulsed moderately even then.

[Legacy777]

I bet you could probably sell that "complete" AWIC to one of US guys....


Regarding the cryo-treated rotors, I'll second Steve's comments. I've had a set on my Legacy for 8 years. While I don't drive the Legacy a lot, that's still a good amount of time. I've just started getting some pulsation when coming to stops at higher speeds. They're pretty much worn out.


Some places will sell already cryo-treated rotors. Or you can do like Steve mentioned and send your rotors to them.

[HappyFrog]

Wow, I'll have to look into that, I killed a set of stock rotors in a week. What kind of pads do you use?
The awic may already be gone, I'm waiting for the buyer to accept the deal

[evolutionmovement]

I've used EBC and Hawk. I like the Hawks a little better, but IIRC, the EBC grabbed better when cold. They both worked well, but that's street driving, so it doesn't compare well to a track car.

[Legacy777]

I've used performance frictions (PFC) carbon metallic pads, Mintex 1155's, and EBC. The PFC pads worked very well in high speed/temp situations. I seem to recall they didn't have as much cold bite as the Mintex or EBC's. But they out performed the others in stopping from high speeds. I'd like to try the EBC yellows. They are a race pad though.

[HappyFrog]

I've tried yellow stuff with stock discs on my impreza and it worked okay, but the discs couldn't handle the heat and broke. I've also tried red stuff with drilled and grooved ebc discs, the pads melted on the first trackday, so don't go there.
After melting the pads I tried Ferodo DS2500 on my ebc discs and it worked fairly well. Not much stopping power when cold, but the ferodos worked very well when hot. They killed the discs though and the pads didn't last very long, so pretty expensive solution.

I think I'll be using red stuff for road use, it's a quiet pad and worked well from cold. (both yellow stuff and ferodo are noisy!).
I know some of the danish trackheads with newage imprezas use PFC with their brembo calipers and speaks highly of them.

[Legacy777]

Based on what you have said, I'd highly recommend trying to find some cryo-treated rotors. I think you will be very surprised at how they improve the longevity.

[HappyFrog]

Don't you just love it when the courier leaves $500 packages in driveway and even more so when you got some less than trustworthy youngsters down the street. Good thing I skipped work before they skipped school

Mmmmh fancy cardboard holding shiny new stuff

[HappyFrog]

Now you see it.


Now you don't.


Measuring for filter, will be using a big ass KN filter.


Had to cut a little to make room for the pipe. Also had to cut the front a little, but overall the left side of the install went well.


The right side on the other hand... will get back to that next week.

[Danny-G]

nice project, gonna be watching this one, it looks like a promising build

[HappyFrog]

Thanks

I've received more silicone joints for the right side and ordered the airfilter. Will hopefully be able to finish the testfit wednesday.