Reubens BC "Blighter"

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Reuben
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Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Reuben »

G'day there, some of you will recognise me from SL-i and lgt.com. I have been putting off signing up here for a long time, but for what reason I have no idea, because I love the good ol first gens muchly. For years I only had BG's, and it was good. Beast, my second BG, a GTB Limited which I STi swapped, which I've had since late 2007 will always sit as No.1 for me, but recently a little rascal has joined the family by force.

Meet Blighter, the BC that shouldn't exsist and makes no sense to those around me.

Back in April 2011, I received a PM from a friend out of town, asking me to take a look at a car for him, a non turb BF. When I contacted the seller, we found it had sold. It got me browsing however, and I found a wee black BC. Here's a quote from the day after
Sent the guy a txt, it was still avail, so i organised a viewing time at around 4pm today. Went over after my flight, had a look, she seems fine, no bad rust anywhere, just those warrant of fitness items. I offered him $500 cash, as is, where is, and it was a deal :D

She's mint, the clear coat is in better condition than the GTB, the shocks are fine, the engine is perfect, the auto is fine, the wheels need swapping, and i might have a rear wheel bearing fucked, but other than that, and the wof items, she's actually in damn nice condition!

Going to be a nice fix'n'flick, or i might even keep it for a runabout, so i stop treating Beastie as a shopping trolly!
"Might even keep it as a runabout" eh...

The car is a BC3, Ti Type-S, a mid range spec. Highest spec 1.8 (SPFI too, not carby), the BC5B Ti Type-S legacy's were blacked out from factory, with the little chrome strips under the window, in the garnish, the door handles etc are blacked out, leaving only the bump strip around the car. They also received all the mod cons of the higher specs like climate control, central locking, power windows, rear speakers, wiper and spoiler etc, that most the other 1.8's didn't get (standard on brightons, VZ's etc).

Image

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa20 ... ypeS03.jpg

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa20 ... ypeS04.jpg

And the state of it when I bought it.

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So fast-forward a couple of years, and I've just finished dropping an EJ20D with STi intake manifold and throttle in, manual converted, turbo loom, running on a possum link fully tunable ECU. Plans are to build a 22G and turbo it, watch this space.

Mod list:
And the mod list, getting ever longer! Half of the work done has been resto stuff!!

Suspension and braking:
BG GTB bilsteins all round, donated from beast.
BG GTB rear sway bar and 'solid' rear lateral arm conversion. Donated from beast.
Rear subframe locking bolts
Rear alloy sway bar links
GTB 19mm sway bars
Front turbo subframe
K-brace
Alloy Arms with balljoin style sway bar links.

Engine:
Converted to EJ20D, HLA from a BG5A
Converted to Manual, 5spd N/A VZ-R BF5C
STi EJ20K Intake manifold and large bore throttle
250T BG9A Intake pipe
BF5B Turbo headers + 250T Up and down pipes.
BF5B GT Turbo engine loom
Possum link G1 ECU

Cosmetic
Full face lift GT black leather interior.
GT momo steering wheel.
GT front bumper

BG5A GT BBS summer wheels, with Bridgestone RE-002's
BP 2.0R stock winter wheels, with Dunlop snow tyres.

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SILINC3R
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Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by SILINC3R »

Dude you always have great pictures. Car looks great too!
Tony
90 LS Spec rio red sold
91 SS rio red R.I.P
90 Mazda Miata
2005 GT SWP
92ss satinsvoice wrote:LOL! that block was like F*** THIS! IM OUT!
mike-tracy wrote:Word. I'd love to get my hands on one of those trannies, but I just can't stomach the cost
Legacy777
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Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Legacy777 »

Welcome to the BBS!

Excellent find and great pictures. Let me know if you'd like to start a build journal thread as you continue to upgrade things and I'll give you access to create a new thread.
Josh

surrealmirage.com/subaru
1990 Legacy (AWD, 6MT, & EJ22T Swap)
2020 Outback Limted XT

If you need to get a hold of me please email me rather then pm
mike-tracy
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Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by mike-tracy »

Hi Reuben, about time you joined the BBS. Wierd question, were your Bilsteins inverted struts in both the fronts and rears, or just the fronts?
1992 Legacy SS 5mt, build in progress
Josh Colombo wrote: Mon Jan 14, 2002 10:23 am Wait....I'm confused now.
BoneIslandScooby
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Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by BoneIslandScooby »

Possum link G1 ECU. As in Possum Bourne? Never heard of it. I'm intrigued. Beautiful car. We're glad you joined.

Actually, Josh is this the same ECU you have?
Reuben
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Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Reuben »

mike-tracy wrote:Hi Reuben, about time you joined the BBS. Wierd question, were your Bilsteins inverted struts in both the fronts and rears, or just the fronts?
BG Bilsteins are inverted front and rear.
BoneIslandScooby wrote:Possum link G1 ECU. As in Possum Bourne? Never heard of it. I'm intrigued. Beautiful car. We're glad you joined.

Actually, Josh is this the same ECU you have?
Correct, in the late 90's link engine management teamed up with Possum Bourne Motorsports and made some nice base maps to suit standard RS's and WRX's, the possum links are a plug an play link G1, very nifty, especially for the day. The only downside is you lose a bit of the tunability, i.e. you can't change the maps to suit non turbo aplications (you cant shift the whole table in vacuum, it's stuck half vacuum, half positive pressure). Here's a snip from the manual.
The default (factory) programme in the PossumLink is the result
of extensive testing on a engine dyno meter, on the road and
from data gathered from the Possum Bourne Motor Sport rally
cars (Legacy / Liberty and WRX). For vehicles in standard trim
additional tuning should not be necessary.
The programme is preset to a performance level offering
optimum performance while aiming for engine longevity. The
programme is also set for optimum economy while under “cruise”
conditions.
Reuben
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Location: Queenstown, New Zealand

Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Reuben »

Installed a Cusco rear strut brace today too... w00p! one step closer to stiff like a GC handling.
SILINC3R
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Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by SILINC3R »

I need that bumper. Need to get one shipped some day.
Tony
90 LS Spec rio red sold
91 SS rio red R.I.P
90 Mazda Miata
2005 GT SWP
92ss satinsvoice wrote:LOL! that block was like F*** THIS! IM OUT!
mike-tracy wrote:Word. I'd love to get my hands on one of those trannies, but I just can't stomach the cost
Legacy777
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Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Legacy777 »

BoneIslandScooby wrote:Actually, Josh is this the same ECU you have?

As Reubens pointed out, it was a special version of the Link ECU. I have different generation Link ECU, but same company.
Josh

surrealmirage.com/subaru
1990 Legacy (AWD, 6MT, & EJ22T Swap)
2020 Outback Limted XT

If you need to get a hold of me please email me rather then pm
Reuben
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Posts: 99
Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2014 12:47 pm
Location: Queenstown, New Zealand

Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Reuben »

Well, I put the summer tyres on yesterday, and I went for a drive after work today. Hooned out to windy point, making good use of the 7000 indicated redline (set limit to 7300), pulled over, and it didn't get above bloody 96deg. during the driving it was sitting nicely at 80-82deg. A sharp contrast from the 118deg i saw the other day after pulling up the drive after doing the crown and seeing the temp shoot up almost to the stops on the factory needle. No boiling over, no oil in the coolant today. Strangest fucking behavior I ever did see... One week it's oil in the coolant and boiling over. Next week oils gone, but one random overheat and boil over. Week after, bollocking it out towards Glenorchy, and it takes it on the chin like Beast and Shale do... WTF.

Oh, handles GREAT now! I'm torn about the billies though... weight transfer is nice and immediate, but I can't help but feel it would be nicer, and more immediate on KYB's... I'm fine with KYB's for daily duty... Hmmmmm. Biggest issue that needs resolving is the 260mm fronts need to go in the bin asap. Gotta get me some 294's! Heck, I'd like to see 290's in the rear over the 266's too lets be honest.
czei
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Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by czei »

Amazing resoration. I can't get over how great the body looks!
Reuben
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Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Reuben »

Yeah, that body is the reason I went down the keep it and mod the fuck out of it route. More fun than just buying a GT or RS. And the way I see it, I get to build my own GT, adding all the features a GT got, like ignition barrel light and puddle lights etc, every time I add a feature, I feel like I'm in the show room in Japan ordering my car, and ticking every optional box :D I'll get there, next on the list is the heated wing mirrors that only rev-D's got.
Reuben
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Location: Queenstown, New Zealand

Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Reuben »

So, much has been happening as spring has hit with force nice and early down here in the south. Nigh on a whole month of continuous, uninterrupted sunny days, most of those being still and calm as shown...

Pic 1

Pic 2

I have been enjoying raving my BBS's and RE002's many good feels... And the engine issues have pretty much levelled out, nothing left but oil consumption and blue smoke out the exhaust. If anything's clear, this engine and box are old and tired. It's on magnatec at the moment, I can't help but feel something a bit thincker will be appropriate, the oil light continues to flicker after startup, despite oil sitting on the full mark, so a bit of thickening agent wont go astray I think. If I fuck it, oh well, I'll build that 22 I want.

A collegue of mine also scored a 96 GTB auto for $700, leaking so bad it left a trail of oil on the road behind it! We got it into the garage and popped a cambelt cover off to see it drop half a litre of oil on the garage floor, so ahead we went and did a cambelt on it. Sure enough, the usual suspects, the oil pump had it's bolts coming off, and that mixed with the copious amounts of stop leak added (seriously, that oil must have been as thick as gear oil), had pushed a cam seal. Ooooooo. Nasty...

Image
IMG_9502 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr

I've also made a start on my gauges, splicing a plug into the ignition loom that I made for the turbo timer... Shits TIDY. one 4-pin plug that does constant 12v, acc, ignition, and ground, with a loom I've made coming off to supply power to all accessories needing it. Any issies, just unplug it, no mess of wires, just on common loom for all aftermarket additions. Slick. The gauge mounting on the other hand... Now THAT is my finest work yet. Behold the brilliance:

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IMG_9578 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr

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IMG_9580 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr


Don't worry, it's temporary, the gauge cost me $12... just a quick guide as to what AFR's are doing until I get my wideband.
Legacy777
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Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Legacy777 »

Nice scenic pictures!

I don't know if I've ever seen a cam seal pushed out like that, wow!
Josh

surrealmirage.com/subaru
1990 Legacy (AWD, 6MT, & EJ22T Swap)
2020 Outback Limted XT

If you need to get a hold of me please email me rather then pm
Reuben
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Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2014 12:47 pm
Location: Queenstown, New Zealand

Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Reuben »

Thought I'd take some more pics. The scene that greeted me at home after work...

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IMG_9587 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr

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IMG_9582 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr


summer wheels on

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IMG_9583 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr

The beast and his new rubber!
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IMG_9586 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr
Legacy777
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Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Legacy777 »

I want to come live there :)
Josh

surrealmirage.com/subaru
1990 Legacy (AWD, 6MT, & EJ22T Swap)
2020 Outback Limted XT

If you need to get a hold of me please email me rather then pm
Reuben
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Posts: 99
Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2014 12:47 pm
Location: Queenstown, New Zealand

Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Reuben »

It's just a few hours of flying away :P

And why wouldn't you, when you could wake up in the morning to see this:

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IMG_9588 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr

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IMG_9589 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr



And the astute viewers yesterday may have noticed my missing BBS centre cap on the front right wheel... Well, the centre cap was there, the bloody BBS logo had delaminated, luckily I saw it half way through falling off before I went for a drive the other day and saved it! Today after work, I got out the epoxy...

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IMG_9592 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr

Epoxy mixed

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IMG_9593 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr

And applied, with pressure from a willing and handy axle stand. Should do the trick!

Image
IMG_9594 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr
Reuben
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Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Reuben »

So today after work I was going to start up the head-gasketed 250T I had bought a few weeks ago and get it up the drive to pull the motor. Was going to time myself too, see If I could do it in an hour, already has the rad out anyway.

So we hooked up a battery, the mechanics that had it had already pulled the plugs, so I cranked it with the plugs out to make sure it wouldn't hydrolock. popped the plugs in and tried to start it... It barely had compression in one cylinder.. Must have cranked for a full minute total over a few attempts before calling it fucked (took my dads BH almost a minute before it started to get that car into the garage when that thing popped). Got out, and found it had barfed probably 2 litres of oil out of the rad hose onto the fucking road. Ran upstairs and grabbed the kittey litter, and managed to stop it trickling down the hill... Mitch is out at the moment to the warehouse to get a couple more bags to fully clean up the spill...

What a fucking nightmare... And that engine must be proper toast. Man.

Still, $50 car, can't complain!
Legacy777
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Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Legacy777 »

Yeah, if you're having that much oil coming out the radiator hose there's probably something pretty massively wrong with it.
Josh

surrealmirage.com/subaru
1990 Legacy (AWD, 6MT, & EJ22T Swap)
2020 Outback Limted XT

If you need to get a hold of me please email me rather then pm
Reuben
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Location: Queenstown, New Zealand

Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Reuben »

Will start this post with a quote from my SLi build thread before I started this thread here:
Reuben wrote:So, if i am to turbo blighter, I have a problem. Intercooling.

I refuse to install a WAIC setup on a car that didn't have it from factory. Sure it'd slot in nicely and bolt on up, but it's just extra plumbing I don't want, I hate working with it. At least a FMIC pipe can be unclamped and taken out of the way, but the stock WAIC pipes are rather persistant.
I don't want to get a turbo bonnet, and run a wrx angled intercooler, they don't do it for me, only thing I'd want to run is a V3-6 setup... but a BC scoop is not large enough to cool a beast like that, let alone the WRX angled ones.

Leaving me with one option, FMIC. And inspired by the recent fabrication seen on the MCM EZ36, I'd love to have a dab at making my own piping, I could cut, and tac it, mock it up, and get it all ready for one of the local guys to weld, I've already asked if I could do this and have tracked down a tig I can use.

Now, I also have a 20K manifold, meaning I can use the under manifold method. here's what I'm thinking.

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IMG_9492 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr

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IMG_9493 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr

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IMG_9494 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr

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IMG_9495 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr

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IMG_9497 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr

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IMG_9498 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr



Few things will need to be done. Will have to cut the front face of the car under the headlights exactly how MCM did it to route the pipe under there, and likewise, the foglight mounts and bumper beam will need a trim. The intecooler should ft behind the bumper plastic, under the bumper beam, meaning I don't need to cut the bumber or beam at all which is desired. I will have to go with a BC/BF turbo overflow so there's enough room to route the pipe up by the battery, and the air con line will need to be pushed and bent to make room, and the battery cable to the starter also needs to be shoved around a fair bit, but the rest of the way is spacious and straight forward.

The other issue is having to make a custom up-pipe, and mod a downpipe. One option is to actually use the 250T downpipe, as it has an upward facing flange, meaning the downpipe fab will literally be an elbow with two flanges. Handy. Otherwise it's just mod a rage down pipe or something.

Thoughts?


And to address the FMIC piping ideas I've been having, a member on DOBC just posted this pic up of a custom rotated TD-05 housing he's done today... I like this idea for piping much better, seems way less tricky, and means I can run with a standard up pipe and down pipe which pleases me...

Image

And for those 20G aficionado's on here, that is a stock 20G intake manifold with a pipe under it. Solution was simple, phenolic spacers, custom pipe, EJ20K powersteering pump and hoses. the "and hoses" part will be the biggest hurdle over there in MURCA.

And timely given the musing above about turboing... I bought a working EJ22 today out of a BG7A, for $100. Fuck yeah bickhes. Now to tear it down and make it an unworking EJ22.
Reuben
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Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Reuben »

EJ22 Acquired

Image
IMG_2919 by Reuben Horsley, on Flickr
Reuben
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Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Reuben »

Also, some thoughts on the current handling (ooh, squirrels!), it's got to be one of the most bizarre rides I've ever experienced. I've been pushing it more and more into the corners, and I'm finding out it's actual grip levels are phenomenal, right up there with Beast and Shale, but it does NOT inspire confidence, the weight transfer is still shoddy as fuck. It leaves me with a couple of conclusions, given Blighter currently has more steffening than beast (rear strut brace and subframe lock bolts), and is a sedan. Either the chassis (even with the same milage as beast) is just looser, or, the Bilsteins are no match for the the KYB's, or even, the Bilsteins just might not be up to the task any longer... The other option is maybe the rose joints in the rear lateral arms of beast make THAT much of a difference.

Either way, I think ditching the Bilsteins in favour of some KYB's, and getting some rose joints in the rear end, and some larger sway bars are def in Blighters future, I really really really want that weight transfer snappy, and in keeping with the amount of grip he has, at the moment going into a corner is a chore, and I constantly get the feeling that once the weight is transferred, I'm only going half as quick as I could. Balance is key (this is also why I look at people who only do coil overs with a funny stare, there's so so so much more to it than stiffness and ride height)!
Legacy777
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Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Legacy777 »

Reuben,

What are you calling "rose joints"?
Josh

surrealmirage.com/subaru
1990 Legacy (AWD, 6MT, & EJ22T Swap)
2020 Outback Limted XT

If you need to get a hold of me please email me rather then pm
Reuben
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Posts: 99
Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2014 12:47 pm
Location: Queenstown, New Zealand

Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by Reuben »

This is what Beast has, and what I want Blighter to have. I think more correctly, they are pillowball joints.
Doesn't have to be STi, but the STi ones seem common enough, and are preferred.

Image
Image
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mike-tracy
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Re: Reubens BC "Blighter"

Post by mike-tracy »

Owning both an 00 GC and a 92 BC, I agree the newer car feels radically different and (IMO), better. The BC with all the handling mods is no match for my RS (that's all stock except for rear sway!) In turn in speed, weight transfer, recovering from a f*uckup, and inspiring confidence. Still love my BC though.
1992 Legacy SS 5mt, build in progress
Josh Colombo wrote: Mon Jan 14, 2002 10:23 am Wait....I'm confused now.
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