legacycentral bbs

Hey there guys! Been involved in driving and modifying DSMs for nearly 15 years but I've always daily driven Subarus(much more reliable). Recently my wife motivated me to start looking for a turbo Subaru for her!
After hearing horror stories about newer models I started searching for an older closed deck Legacy wagon turbo, I had a hard time finding one in decent shape. Frustrated, we ended up buying a 93' Sedan L for $200, only thing it needed was the clutch job to be finished(previous owner lost motivation).
Easy enough and it bought me a little time to search around for a decent turbo wagon.

7 months later searching our local classifieds I stumbled upon a 94' with 140k miles, I scheduled a meeting the next morning and picked it up for $1,800. He was the second owner(first being his parents), nearly every record was in the glove box and the interior was almost spotless. It was exactly what my wife has been looking for.

For my own piece of mind I replaced a few parts and would like to know if you had any recommendations.
So far I've replaced..
-Spark plugs with NGK Platinums(Should I be using a copper core? I run Br7es in my DSMs)
-Cheapo wires from O'riellys(Would NGKs be better?)
-Wix fuel filter
-New Fram air filter
-Changed oil with Rotella 20w50 and wix filter
-44k Fuel system cleaner
-Replaced a couple cracked vacuum lines

I also noticed the snorkle from the maf to turbo is cracked and needs to be replaced, is there an aftermarket intake system or where can I purchase a new piece?
I would like to upgrade the turbo, exhaust, fuel system and ecu. Are these ECUs open source? Where is a good source for head flanges and turbo flanges? Do they make triple pod pillar gauge pods?
I use only OEM parts for my DSMs, should I do the same for my wifes Subaru?
I was told the EJ22t heads are puny compared to the non turbo heads, I was thinking of tackling head gaskets this summer. Should I snag some non turbo heads to put on?


Thanks in advance guys, sorry about the newb questions. The DSM community is spoiled and there is a wealth of parts and knowledge, I've had a hard time finding similar things for my wifes project.
This will be my first Subaru I modify and I want to make sure it's done correctly. For now it will stay auto until I convince her manual is the way to go.....
I'll post up a few pictures tomorrow, we just finished up a 3.5hr drive!

You'll find plenty of info and sources here and lots of nice ppl wanting to help... For starters yes I'd stick with subaru oem as much as possible for the long term reliability turbo, ecu, and all other upgrades can be found throughout the discussion boards.

Fairly manageable upgrade for the turbo would be a td04 and wrx intercooler. If you wanna go bigger then Sti turbo with some bigger injectors, supporting mods, and a robtune will be beastly.

A good source for parts/upgrades would be ANY Subaru forum especially this one or if you have a local one, craigslist, eBay.

Yes I've seen triple a pillar gauge pods but you may have to slightly modify a wrx or impreza one. Also the I'm no expert on the non turbo heads but I believe the ej20g heads and the ej25d na heads all have better flow than our stock ones, someone chime in if I have it mixed.

Best option for upgrading the ecu would be to go full standalone if you know what your diving into there, I hear they're the best thing you can do for our cars/ecu/control of what you want to do.

For your cracked intake mess, lookup the coffee cup mod on this forum and it will shed some light on a cheap/better fix for those shitty plastic pieces.

Idk about emissions in your home town but I'd recommend a full catless tbe for a good free flowing exhaust after the turbo, if you have emissions then you may just want to get a catted dq with a nice cbe. Leave your stock up pipe, its a better part than aftermarket ones, technically its the same part number as the 93+ jdm sti

Welcome to the BBS.

As mentioned, there is a lot of info on this forum. Check out the sticky compilation threads and the stuff you need to know forum. That's a good starting point.

Here are some sites for OEM subaru parts at a much better price than local dealers, www.subarugenuineparts.com www.subaruparts.com www.1stsubaruparts.com

As for your specific questions, I personally like the copper plugs in these cars, but the platinums I'm sure will work.
Same goes for the wires, the NGK wires will probably last longer and be of better quality, but I'm sure the o'reily wires will work.

Check out the robtuned thread in the electrical forum. That is really your best option unless you go stand alone, which can be a huge investment in time and money.