Project update...GT35R, new chassis etc.
Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 2:44 pm
Well after I saw how well my legacy ran at 28 psi on the FP Green I decided we'd put a GT35R on it. We used an Ultimate Racing kit and reworked the downpipe, intake, and charge pipe to fit the Legacy SS engine and chassis.
I used modded STi injectors with NA rails and no other fuel mods besides the in tank walbro. This was made possible by running meth injection.
Still no intercooler. Intake temps are in check as are EGT's. During tuning at 23 psi on the 35R I blew a tranny when boost hit. This was the second day the 35r was in the car. After the first day the doors weren't lining up and the car creaked constantly just going doing the road. I had enough with the floppy chassis and extra weight so I decided it was time to move this party into another chassis.
This may be hard for some of you to hear, but I put everything in an Impreza chassis.
It's a 2 door coupe. We finally tore into it (was bone stock) last Monday night and by Friday morning we had this:

This should give you a basic idea of what we mixed and matched:
Legacy SS front subframe and hubs, impreza rear subframe and hubs.
Legacy SS stock longblock, TB, and manifolds
WRX trans with RA gears, WRX rear end and axles
Legacy SS front and rear brakes
STi rear sway with kartboy WRX rear endlinks using legacy SS mounts.
DMS coilovers from my legacy SS rally car
4 point cage (so far...we intend on 10) with harnesses and Sparcos
Autronic SM4 standalone with AIM digital dash, stock gas gauge, Defi BF Amber EGT, Innovate wideband.
I autoX'd it for testing Saturday and according to the other guys from my shop people were asking what was wrong with the car when they saw all the white smoke...then they realized it was tire smoke. It was smoking all 4 tires on the straights. Kinda novel but not great for performance. UPS screwed up and my wheel spacers didn't show up so I had to run 205 wide Azenis instead of the 245's on 16X8 wheels that I had ready to go.
Then I took 4 drag passes and finally spun a bearing on this engine. After not sleeping for 3 days to get the car done we made the mistake of throwing 20w50 in it and it was pushing past seals and creating dangerously high oil pressure which eventually killed the engine. Not to mention I was banging limiter at 7600 rpm all day on a 15 year old stock engine I've been wailing on for the last year.
Unfortunately we didn't have time to bleed the clutch so it was sticking to the floor on every shift and I had to pick it up with my toes before going in the next gear. Also we didn't have time to wire the clutch switch or VSS so I didn't have launch control or flat shifting and I couldn't get the car out of the hole so the results were poor, but again we just wanted to get the new car out and test it. I was picking up 25 mph on the back eighth despite letting off a couple seconds before the line as I hit the rev limiter in 4th.
We have a lot to do over the next month to get the car done right before we bring it out, mainly things we just didn't have time to get to before this first test. It looks like I'm putting an STi engine and tranny (for the active diff and front LSD) in so more of the legacy parts are coming out, but my new daily driver is all legacy. 93 legacy SS with 98 legacy GT leather interior, all black matching the black dash etc.
If anyone wants a WRX transmission with one day's use on a new RA Gearset, synchros, new bearings and 3/4 and 5th forks that also has low mileage on the rest of the box, diffs, etc. let me know. I've never had one we've sold break. Much like engines, I think it comes down to the builder more than the parts used.
-Mike
I used modded STi injectors with NA rails and no other fuel mods besides the in tank walbro. This was made possible by running meth injection.
Still no intercooler. Intake temps are in check as are EGT's. During tuning at 23 psi on the 35R I blew a tranny when boost hit. This was the second day the 35r was in the car. After the first day the doors weren't lining up and the car creaked constantly just going doing the road. I had enough with the floppy chassis and extra weight so I decided it was time to move this party into another chassis.
This may be hard for some of you to hear, but I put everything in an Impreza chassis.


This should give you a basic idea of what we mixed and matched:
Legacy SS front subframe and hubs, impreza rear subframe and hubs.
Legacy SS stock longblock, TB, and manifolds
WRX trans with RA gears, WRX rear end and axles
Legacy SS front and rear brakes
STi rear sway with kartboy WRX rear endlinks using legacy SS mounts.
DMS coilovers from my legacy SS rally car
4 point cage (so far...we intend on 10) with harnesses and Sparcos
Autronic SM4 standalone with AIM digital dash, stock gas gauge, Defi BF Amber EGT, Innovate wideband.
I autoX'd it for testing Saturday and according to the other guys from my shop people were asking what was wrong with the car when they saw all the white smoke...then they realized it was tire smoke. It was smoking all 4 tires on the straights. Kinda novel but not great for performance. UPS screwed up and my wheel spacers didn't show up so I had to run 205 wide Azenis instead of the 245's on 16X8 wheels that I had ready to go.
Then I took 4 drag passes and finally spun a bearing on this engine. After not sleeping for 3 days to get the car done we made the mistake of throwing 20w50 in it and it was pushing past seals and creating dangerously high oil pressure which eventually killed the engine. Not to mention I was banging limiter at 7600 rpm all day on a 15 year old stock engine I've been wailing on for the last year.

We have a lot to do over the next month to get the car done right before we bring it out, mainly things we just didn't have time to get to before this first test. It looks like I'm putting an STi engine and tranny (for the active diff and front LSD) in so more of the legacy parts are coming out, but my new daily driver is all legacy. 93 legacy SS with 98 legacy GT leather interior, all black matching the black dash etc.
If anyone wants a WRX transmission with one day's use on a new RA Gearset, synchros, new bearings and 3/4 and 5th forks that also has low mileage on the rest of the box, diffs, etc. let me know. I've never had one we've sold break. Much like engines, I think it comes down to the builder more than the parts used.
-Mike