Picked this beauty up for $3500. 5MT swap with EJ22T, Exedy Stage 1 clutch kit, Tanabe camber/ride height adjustable suspension kit, Walboro 255, and plenty of other mods that I can't remember. I'm so glad the deal worked out, and she knows how to go! I'll have more photos tomorrow including an engine bay shot. She's built for autocrossing, and hopefully I have a chance to try her out soon.
Currently have some problems (assuming it's the ignition switch) starting it up. I'll have more information tomorrow. All I know is that the normal lights that turn on when you normally start it up turn on and off randomly when you're driving. Otherwise, it runs better than I was expecting. The other worrying thing is a small amount of compressor surge when we let off the gas. I'll have to look into that as well.
Last edited by Fkyx on Wed Jan 16, 2008 4:22 am, edited 9 times in total.
Midnight in a Perfect World on Amazon or order anywhere. The first book in a quartet chronicling the rise of a man from angry criminal to philanthropist. Midnight... is a distopic noirish novel featuring 'Duchess', a modified 1990 Subaru Legacy wagon.
Naw. I started it three times in a row just now. My dad sprayed some contact cleaner into the ignition switch after it started the first time. Hopefully it was just a film built up over the contacts from the car sitting for so long. I'll update tomorrow on whether it starts again.
I meant the random dash lights while you're driving. Could be a sign of a dying diode pack.
Midnight in a Perfect World on Amazon or order anywhere. The first book in a quartet chronicling the rise of a man from angry criminal to philanthropist. Midnight... is a distopic noirish novel featuring 'Duchess', a modified 1990 Subaru Legacy wagon.
Ah. I'll look into that. I'm going to bring it into the dealer in the near future anyway. There are hints, according to my electrician dad, that the starting problem may even be the solenoid (it clicks when it doesn't start). Any other ideas?
Sounds like the solenoid or possibly a dead spot in the starter.
I don't usually trust mechanics' diagnosis of alternators - most seem unable to use the equipment properly and call it fine when it's not. Also, a diode pack can be work on and off for a while before fully crapping out (you have 3 of them as well - one for each phase of alternating current). I'd get a used alternator and hang on to it for when you need it. Don't buy one of those overpriced car-part chain rebuilds (starter or alternator) - they're almost guaranteed to fail (probably even the replacement they'll give you) even with a lifetime warranty and they don't warranty labor, of course (not that it's an issue so much with the Subaru as it's an easy job to replace either yourself). For replacements, I'd recommend getting a cheap used OEM from Blackbart or a junk yard or spending the money on new OEM (but I'd still probably rather buy several cheap used ones as the new ones are damn expensive, even if not any more so than other cars).
Unfortunately, rebuilding it yourself is not really an option. My alternator lasted a quarter million miles so I wanted to rebuild it, but the only place I could find replacement parts was the dealer and the rebuild parts cost more than twice a whole new alternator. So I bought a used one for $20 and it was fine until I took the car off the road (might still be OK for all I know).
Midnight in a Perfect World on Amazon or order anywhere. The first book in a quartet chronicling the rise of a man from angry criminal to philanthropist. Midnight... is a distopic noirish novel featuring 'Duchess', a modified 1990 Subaru Legacy wagon.
I'll keep that in mind. I need to do some budgeting before I make any more purchases. Thanks. The car has started some 5 times without a hitch tonight... hopefully it does tomorrow as well. I look forward to posting more photos!
Matthew aka F[b][color=red]k[/color][/b]yx
1991 Legacy Sport Sedan "Jillian" - [url=http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=39548]EJ20G swap[/url]
You can try whacking the solenoid (the small cylinder on the starter) with a hammer to get it going as well.
And the car looks nice. I like the red and gold.
Midnight in a Perfect World on Amazon or order anywhere. The first book in a quartet chronicling the rise of a man from angry criminal to philanthropist. Midnight... is a distopic noirish novel featuring 'Duchess', a modified 1990 Subaru Legacy wagon.
Hehe. The wheels aren't quite gold... I'll go grab some new photos of it now.
Matthew aka F[b][color=red]k[/color][/b]yx
1991 Legacy Sport Sedan "Jillian" - [url=http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=39548]EJ20G swap[/url]
Don't ask why the STi badge is there... Even I don't know.
Yes, it's dirty. Hopefully not for long.
Ford Motorsport?
Any idea what BOV this is? My thoughts are it's creating a lot of compressor surge. I need to consider an upgrade.
Gauge setup and aftermarket shifter.
The horn doesn't work. Going to have to tear into this to find out why.
"420... haha"
Minimal clearance.... nice.
Okay... so I realize the paint isn't in great shape. My plan is to have it repainted in something similar to Winestone Pearl or white. I also need to repaint the rims... I'm going to try painting them white as well. We'll see how my plastic modeling experience helps out with that.
If you repaint it anything except Rio Red it will be a disgrace.
The horn doesn't work because the Torino wheels use a non-cruise control style horn circuit. Turbos have cruise control horn circuit, which is different.
The bov is a Go Fast Bits Stealth FX...which is actually a very spendy and good unit...the whole surge thing is probably because the bov simply needs to be adjusted a bit looser.
(It also allows you to proportion how much bov you want and how much bpv)
Nick
1987 Audi 4000CS quattro...soon to be 20VT
1994 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 CTD, #11 plate, 30 psi, Scotty II intake, 4" exhaust
The intercooler looks like one off a 2.3 turbo mustang or t-bird.
Both these cars used a bar & plate TMIC, that is very nice quality now that I think about it. It may possibly be an OEM upgrade.
Why is there a carb fuel filter on your car?
That thing is plastic & is not meant to handle more than carb fuel pressure (3-5psi).
It is probably resticting fuel flow as well.
Was the car off when the picture of the gauges was taken, as I see the Autometer gauge reading 1.5 psi of boost?
Looks sweet. Pretty big intercooler though LOL. Why did the guy use a carb fuel filter after the good fuel filter? This guy you bought the car from must have liked his Ford muscle car's.
1993 Subaru Legacy L AWD Wagon R.I.P
1994 Subaru Legacy SS R.I.P :(
2004 Nissan Titan LE 4X4
2007 Subaru Legacy GT :)
I kinda wondered that too... Why would you want/need to double filter the fuel? The stock unit works just fine or they would have redesigned it (which they haven't for years upon years...).
Thanks for the comments guys. Right now I'm in Klamath Falls. The car survived the drive from Albany, and I'm happy. The only problem is it's dogging hard at this elevation. I need to make some adjustments. If anyone has any ideas on what adjustments to make, I'm sure I can save myself a call to the former owner...
As for why there's a carb fuel filter in there... I have no idea.
Thanks for the information on the BOV. I knew that it's adjustable, but I figured it was already "adjusted" to its "full potential" since the previous owner took pretty good care of the mechanics.
Also, yes, the car was on when I took the photo of the boost gauge.
Another couple of things I'm a tad concerned about is the fact that the battery, brake, abs, etc lights turn on and off randomly while we're driving. Could this be connected to the steering wheel problem? Also, the air/fuel ratio gauge jumps around a LOT when driving. Is it supposed to do this?
Matthew aka F[b][color=red]k[/color][/b]yx
1991 Legacy Sport Sedan "Jillian" - [url=http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=39548]EJ20G swap[/url]
Haha... yeah. Looks like I chose the right school for a Legacy fan. I'm attending OIT as well. The problem with my SS is it's "popping" as my buddy calls it. I don't know if he means it's backfiring... But the turbo is also lagging pretty bad. It's still a fast car, though. ;P
My friend in his stock Volvo S70 wants to race it. The story is pretty funny. He's only seen photos, and none of the engine bay. So he challenges me to a race and when my friend says "you will lose" he's like "I have a turbo!". I'm keeping my mouth shut about mine until the day comes (if it does).
Anyway, I can't wait to get around to some meets in my area or further north. I just need to stay in the loop.
Maybe you should start by replacing the fuel filter, and getting the fuel line so you an get rid of the carb filter. Maybe do a tune up as well(new plugs, wires, check/replace the filter with a different intake)
Just wonder, why isn't there a boot on the top towers in the engine bay? lol.
1993 Subaru Legacy L AWD Wagon R.I.P
1994 Subaru Legacy SS R.I.P :(
2004 Nissan Titan LE 4X4
2007 Subaru Legacy GT :)
greg donovan wrote:how much boost are you running?
i would swap that fuel filter as soon as possible. i would call and find out why he did it first. it could be a bandaid to a more serious problem.
you have some wiring gremlins it sounds like. or an alternator that is about to die. alternators do wierd things when they are on their last legs.
I'm running 9lbs of boost right now. I hope the alternator isn't about to go... it looks pretty new. lol
BXSS wrote:The person who adapted the Ford intercooler, did a pretty good job adapting it to fit & work on the SS.
These intercoolers are bigger than saab I/Cs.
That would be RalliTEK in Portland, I believe. They had a lot to do with the mods made on the car, as far as I know. I'll call the previous owner about the carb fuel filter today and look into getting a tune-up some time this week.
The car has started some 5 times without a hitch tonight... hopefully it does tomorrow as well. I look forward to posting more photos!
lol