ScottyS 1991 SS back from the brink

[ScottyS]

This is the story of a 91 SS that almost went to the Happy Subaru Land in the Sky.

I've been working on my own Subies for many years, and always wanted to play with a 1st Gen Legacy Turbo. I was looking for a cheap, fun commuter back in early 2008, when a White 1991 SS 5MT happened along on Craigslist for a sweet price. It was a little worn inside and out, but straight for the large part. Noisy too, but only under load. I bought it expecting to do an immediate tranny change and then the plan was to slowly upgrade it while I used it for daily driving.

As soon as I had put in a new cable-clutch tranny (thinking cheap swaps in the future), the crankshaft separated, revealing at last the true problem with the car. Being somewhat frustrated with myself for getting suckered into a bad deal and spending so much time on it, I let the car sit for a couple months while I decided what to do.

Then, a member of our local club who lives in Sacramento posted up his White 1991 SS 5MT for cheap, as both sides had been killed by guardrails. We put temporary wheels and suspension on the car, and I drove it over the Sierra to my place, noting that the drivetrain felt perfect.

I swapped over the whole motor, exhaust, and other mods, keeping my tranny and diff. Since then, I have been slowly upgrading and fixing all the little problems that nearly 20 years of use (and abuse) will give a car.

The end goal is a reliable, fun car that works smoothly and is a pleasure to drive. And a lot of mechanical education. As of 2013, these objectives have been finally realized. Once I installed a Robtune ECU, the driveability became fantastic.

The mod list as it currently stands:

Engine

EJ22T long block refreshed with rings/bearings/hone
JDM 440 injectors (tested 440cc and 444cc by Witchhunter) in stock rails
JECS MAF
Robtune EJ20G ECU and spark adapter
Cheap ball/spring MBC @ 16psi
Custom in-fender cone filter intake (made out of two AEM/generic intake parts)
'02 WRX TD-04 turbo
'06 WRX TMIC with stock BPV
STi coolant tank
Diamond Coil Pack
6ga ground wires to coil, alt, MAF, batt, and both strut tower points
New and re-routed hoses all around
STi engine mounts
Kartboy battery tie-down
3" catless bellmouth DP
OEM '05 STi catback, length and hangers modified
Walbro 255 fuel pump and anti-slosh in-tank mod completed


Suspension/Steering/Brakes

STi steering rack modified for GC chassis
Poly steering rack bushings
V.5 STi front hubs (ABS disabled)
GC8 suspension assembly, KYB AGX and Prodrive P1 springs
Poly RSB link bushings
'03 WRX wagon FSB
'03 WRX front brakes/brackets/rotors
'01 RS 16x7 six-spokes
225/45/16 Hankook Ventus


Drivetrain

'95 Impreza 1.8 5MT 4.11 transmission
Redline Lightweight Shockproof gear oil
OEM Cable clutch, pressure plate, flywheel
4.11 rear diff with LSD carrier swap


Interior

'03 WRX front seats with lowered driver brackets
Canadian manual seat belts
JDM Momo early Legacy wheel
Momo shift knob
Rear poly shifter bushing
LC-1 Wideband AFR (gage stolen, LC-1 still installed)
Boost/Vac gauge (now mounted on steering column)
35% tint all-around


Still-to-do list:

Spec and assemble a backup motor
Fix the sunroof motor (or remove the whole heavy thing!)
Replace all stereo wiring
Finish clearing headlights or find right-side EDM glass
Install performance brake pads/rotors/fluid
Replace rear seat with STi or WRX
Paint exterior
FIX WIND NOISE or replace worn driver's doorseal

[ScottyS]

Old pics first:

[jdmellor28]

where are the new pics ? lets see some updates

[ScottyS]

Yeah yeah, I've been slacking.

In my defense, last fall while I was out of town my bro was borrowing it, hit a deer, and then overheated it and blew headgaskets/trashed a cam bearing. This happened right before I had to move, all in the middle of grad school.

I'm still setting up my shop in the new place, and I have not touched the car. I expect to get the motor swapped with a temp EJ20G within a couple months.

[ScottyS]

Here you go, these are from last year before some rally stickers and some further intake mods. Oh, and the pinstriping is gone now too.

[ScottyS]

The update is that, once again, this car has been brought back from the brink.

After sitting more or less in the garage for a couple years, I got a local Subaru shop to refresh the lower end and heads. So, new rings, bearings, and rebuild heads. I decided to stick with the stock configuration, because in the end, all I want is a fun/classic daily driver. After putting it all back together on a pair of rare days off, it runs pretty decently. It started throwing Code 22, so I am going to mess with the knock sensor and it's associated wiring and ECU grounds. The motor itself feels very good.

The mod list as it currently stands in 2012:

Engine

EJ22T long block with 190,000mi (20k since I swapped it), just refreshed with new hone, rings, and bearings.
Rebuilt stock heads.
JDM 440 injectors (tested 440cc and 444cc by Witchhunter) in stock rails
JECS MAF
Revtronix Stage 2 v.1 ECU chip (thinking about the Rob Tune solution)
Custom in-fender cone filter intake (made out of two AEM/generic intake parts)
'02 WRX TD-04 turbo
'06 WRX TMIC with stock BPV
STi coolant tank
Diamond Coil Pack
6ga ground wires to coil, alt, MAF, batt, and both strut tower points
New and re-routed hoses all around
STi engine mounts
Kartboy battery tie-down
3" catless bellmouth DP
OEM '05 STi catback, length and hangers modified


Suspension/Steering/Brakes

STi steering rack modified for GC chassis
Poly steering rack bushings
V.5 STi front hubs (ABS disabled)
GC8 suspension assembly, KYB AGX and Prodrive P1 springs
Poly RSB link bushings
'03 WRX wagon FSB
'03 WRX front brakes/brackets/rotors
'01 RS 16x7 six-spokes
225/45/16 Hankook Ventus
Fresh 4 wheel alignment


Drivetrain

'95 Impreza 1.8 5MT 4.11 transmission
Redline Lightweight Shockproof gear oil
OEM Cable clutch, pressure plate, flywheel
4.11 rear diff with LSD carrier swap
(I am thinking about putting a 3.9 hydro setup back in, since I have an extra)


Interior

'03 WRX front seats (driver brackets cut and welded 1" lower)
Canadian manual seat belts and trim
JDM Momo early Legacy wheel
Momo shift knob
Rear poly shifter bushing
Steering column mounted LC-1 Wideband AFR
35% tint all-around
New windshield

[keithmoilanen]

Can u get a pic of the inside and the seats I want to put new seats in mine bad, I side around way to much

[ScottyS]

New pics up in first post!

[SILINC3R]

Those wheels look so good on that car. For some reason they usually don't but you have the perfect amount of gap. And I want that sterring wheel.

[ScottyS]

Those wheels look so good on that car. For some reason they usually don't but you have the perfect amount of gap. And I want that sterring wheel.

The secret is the tire size - the stock 205/55's suck visually, but these don't.

[93Leg-c]

Those wheels look so good on that car. For some reason they usually don't but you have the perfect amount of gap. And I want that sterring wheel.

The secret is the tire size - the stock 205/55's suck visually, but these don't.

So, what tire size are you running on the car?

(And, your ss looks GREAT!)

[ScottyS]

I'm running 225/45's, on the 16x7 rims they are perfect.

[93Leg-c]

Thanks!

I went back to see what suspension setup you're running and just realized that you already had posted the tire size and brand. Thanks for being a gentleman about it in your reply!

[ScottyS]

Oh noes, did I pass up a flame opportunity?

Thanks for the compliments too, the car would be even more awesome with an exterior makeover (mostly paint).

[93Leg-c]

Oh noes, did I pass up a flame opportunity?

Yup!