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2001 Impreza L | WRX swapped | Rust repairs and weight reduction!

189K views 1K replies 66 participants last post by  bue car 
#1 · (Edited)
This is mostly the progress of my srp 2001 L coupe, but also some 98L and 2018 brz stuff.



Backstory:


I got the car in August 2011 with 100,500 miles. It was my first car, and it had lots of problems at the start. Almost sold it a few times, but once I read about all the swap stuff, I decided I had to keep it.

I messed with weight reduction, and fixing/upgrading the suspension while I gathered funds for the swap...lots of maintenance too...although the ej22 ran strong the whole time. It really was bulletproof. I had to have the transmission rebuilt, but was finally was able to start the swap summer 2014 and I got an ej205 in and running.

Fall of 2015 it was totaled (not my fault) and I spent a year slowly fixing the car myself with no collision experience. After tons of spot welds, test fits, wiring, and double checking......I got the car inspected and legal to drive again in November 2016, with a reconstructed title.

2017 and on will be dedicated to rust repairs,weight reduction, and self tuning.




Here are some up to date pictures, regardless of the different seasons:

















The goods:


ENGINE:


-USDM 02/03 ej205 (6/28/14)

-TGV deletes

-Grimmspeed catless uppipe, ceramic coated

-Cobb catted downpipe, ceramic coated

-02-05 wrx, Invidia q300 catback

-STi oil pan

-KillerB oil pick-up tube

-Avo turbo inlet

-lighter crank pulley, and no p/s or a/c pulleys

-Protune by Jermaine @TurboXS

-v3 accessport

-iWire merged harness



TRANSMISSION:


-'01 5mt (3.9) and cable clutch;
AndrewTech rebuild

-custom reinforced clutch fork

-'01 (oem) TOB, and pivot ball

-'06+ wrx clutch

-'06+ wrx pressure plate

-'06+ wrx flywheel

-TiC shifter linkage update and pivot bushings



SUSPENSION / HANDLING


-KYB excel-g struts (2/2/14)

-Eibach pro-kit springs 2/2/14)

-Group N front top hats (2/2/14)

-3/8 saggy butt spacers (2/2/14)

-18mm Outback rear sway bar

-20mm WRX wagon front sway bar (6/28/14)

-JDM GC8 crossmember (6/28/14)

-Whiteline steering rack bushings (6/28/14)

-Whiteline rear endlink bushings

-group N front-of-trailing arm bushings

-power steering delete



WEIGHT REDUCTION&DISTRIBUTION:


-Currently about 2690~ lbs.
-***Was at 2590, but the turbo engine swap and a full-size spare added well over 100 lbs back.

-Aluminum jdm gc8 hood

-USDM front bumper beam cut in half

-deleted a/c

-deleted power steering

-washer fluid tank relocated to trunk

-battery relocated to back seat

-removed hunk of metal from glovebox and under dash

-removed most sound deadening

-stripped trunk besides spare

-lighter wheels

-removed keyless entry system

-random little things. More soon.



----------



Here's the progress from the beginning mostly in order. I'm going to add in some dates/mileage later on. Bear with the potato pictures for the first few pages. I eventually got a digital camera, and now a DSLR, so the pictures get progressively better in quality.







Warning, picture heavy:







-Bought late August of 2011, bone stock.















--some actual wheels to replace the steelies and decent tires too.







16x7 with 205/50-16 Conti DW















--This is the oldest pic I have of my car, and the only pic from the beach driving I have left.























--Rally armors, which get used on a daily basis on PA's crazy roads :unamused:























--Homemade light bar that mounts 2 hella 500's























How it looked last winter:























--Polyurethane rear end link bushings







This is when I learned how hard pressing bushings is.....















--New outer tie rods, ball joints, and front wheel bearings.







This is when I learned to hate wheel bearings and ball joints......















This is a ball joint removal tool......mine were really stuck.















j
 
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#385 ·
Ahhh I see what you mean. That would bug me.


Oem ftw lol

Yea, or oem replacement. I like things that I can buy in store or at a dealership.....that way when I need one quickly I don't have to wait and order it. The LED ones would have to be ordered because I didn't see them in any store nearby.

I found these oem style bulbs at advance. Cheap, readily available, and work just fine.

 
#386 ·
2001 Impreza L | WRX swapped daily | Damage repairs and weight reduction!

The weather this weekend was way too nice to blow the engine up trying to tune, so I did some windows down driving instead.

It's awesome to get some warm weather in the middle of winter to enjoy driving, since I spent all spring/summer/fall fixing the car.



I did install my test mode switch though. Really easy, took about 5 minutes. Used a spare set of 2 pin connectors, so it plugs right into the factory green connectors with no splices. Decided not to put it next to my serial port in the ashtray because it would get bumped too easy there.....and the wiring was much easier/shorter to run.

Dont need all 4 wires, just the 2 grounds need to be switched....atleast in my case. Due to this the switch doesn't light up, but I think it turned out looking decent.

Green test mode connectors = green switch. :lol:





Also was given a nice, old, serial cable with much thicker wires than my current one. Now I can re-do the splice and feel better about it. Hard to tell by the picture but you can kinda tell.

Gonna do that, and make the serial port more recessed into the dash than it currently is....kinda like how it would be on a computer. That way it looks a little better.



I'm also starting to think about a spare engine. Really considering an ej22 shortblock for cheapness....but it would also be nice to basically have a new engine and just order a 2.0 shortblock from Subaru. IAG is also close by (1 hour), but I'm not really a fan of the 2.5 engines.

Decisions, decisions.


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#389 ·
2001 Impreza L | WRX swapped daily | Damage repairs and weight reduction!




I'm really considering it. I'm still kicking myself for getting rid of the original 222 shortblock that came out of this car.

My only real concern is getting one with a good enough condition bottom end to be reliable. Maybe I should just get a complete 2.2 and not just the block so I can compression test it first. Although, even if the bottom needs a little work.....it'll still be cheaper than a new $2000 2.0 shortblock from Subaru.

I would want to stay with phase 2, right?...since the car was phase 2 originally, and has a phase 2 transmission?...or maybe, phase 2 block, with phase 1 pistons and the thicker headgasket?

I have to refresh my memory on ej22 stuff. It's been a while since I needed to know all the differences.


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#390 ·
If possible, you want the phase 1 ej22, it had slightly lower compression ( I think it was 9.5 and the phase two was 9.7). People recommend the phase one block, and the 1999+ ej22 head gasket, since this HG was thicker then previous years. that's the best combo to get compression closer to 9.1:1.

When we did my brothers ej22/ej205 heads build, we used a phase two block and 99 HG. His should be around 9.3:1 CR. He still has a TD04 on his car, but he's put 35k miles on it already.
 
#391 · (Edited)
2001 Impreza L | WRX swapped daily | Damage repairs and weight reduction!

^^^ I've done more reading and talking to people, and it does seem most use phase 1. The main reason I want phase 2 is because I'm lazy and don't want to deal with the whole 'starter not bolting up' issue....and generally, phase 2's are lower mileage than phase 1's at the pick-n-pull.

I might build one though, instead of trying to rely on a used block. I'm pretty sure I can throw some forged pistons in a 2.2, and still have it cost less than a new 2.0 shortblock from Subaru. Not that I need forged pistons....

Then....I had a horrible idea that you guys should talk me out of. :lol:
I take the 80,000 mile ej22 from the '98 sedan I bought, and give that shortblock to the coupe. It's the lowest mileage 2.2 engine I would ever find most likely. It's phase 1....pistons aren't as good as the older phase 1....but that low of mileage would be sweet.

Decisions, decisions.


---------



Also, want to clear up some misinformation I posted last time. The test mode switch DOES need all 4 wires.

I didn't notice at first, since it worked perfectly fine for regular test mode (fans/relays cycle on and off)....but to actually flash a map it wouldn't work. The 2 red wires are the initialization wires needed for flashing.

I couldn't find a decent looking/sized DPST switch, so I kept my SPST switch and wiring for the black wires....and just made a small jumper with one green plug for the red wires. The red/blue and red/white wires can stay connected forever...then switching just the 2 black wires will work.

Nice and simple, with no splices. Those green connectors are a PITA to de-pin for some reason. :lol:







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#392 ·
youll need to make sure you OBD port is wired correctly for flashing. I have a switch on my test wire, it just comes out of ecu to switch and then to ground. Then theres like 4 wires need on the obd port. a 12v+, two grounds, and the SSM wire to the ecu. If you have abs and cruise youe need to leave them intact for future diagnostic if needed
 
#393 · (Edited)
2001 Impreza L | WRX swapped daily | Damage repairs and weight reduction!

The obd port already works to flash, I only had issues the other day when I didn't set up the test mode switch correctly. Now that have the red/white and red/blue wires connected it all works as it should. Tried it out yesterday and changing maps was no problem....and much easier not having to crawl under the dash.

No cruise or abs.


----------

Edit: nevermind

Thought IDC's were too high but I forgot about latency being part of the %. At half throttle and 13-14 psi it'll hit 90%-100% idc. A few logs showed 102% but I don't remember what the latency was.

Either way, im getting bored of the td04 and might get a 16g or something.










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#394 ·
100% DC is too high. A .7ms latency has very little to do with the IDC when your in the 20-25ms range in boost. Hows your AFR look. I see a lot of tuner noobs log the stock sensor afr and see it read a flat 11.12 or 11.25 afr at wot and think they have it all under control. Meanwhile they're in the 9/10 afr range and cant figure out why its misfiring. The stock sensor only reads down to 11.2ish
 
#396 ·
2001 Impreza L | WRX swapped daily | Damage repairs and weight reduction!

they're in the 9/10 afr range and cant figure out why its misfiring. The stock sensor only reads down to 11.2ish

Checked again last weekend and it's right around 10.5. Really need to log it and compare with the duty cycle and stuff. No misfiring or anything weird though.

Pretty much decided on just getting larger injectors and turbo soon. I've had basically the same engine set up since I swapped the car, so it's time for a change (more powah).


-----


Got some stuff I was working on recently that I'll post sometime this weekend.....but first I had a few questions for you guys:

1. Would it be wise to drill a hole in my gas cap since the EVAP is deleted?

I already have the large vent hose going to atmosphere.....but more places for the fumes to go can't hurt right? I have no issues so far with the EVAP delete, but in the summer with a full tank of gas I feel like there could be pressure issues.

2. Want to cut the trunk floor soon, but don't know what to do with my full size spare wheel. If I replace the floor with aluminum or plexiglass, I don't know if it would be sturdy enough to really secure the wheel.

Ideas? Wheel is 16x7.




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#395 ·
2001 Impreza L | WRX swapped daily | Damage repairs and weight reduction!

Nah I don't really pay attention to the stock sensor in boost. I haven't logged the wideband yet, but when I glance over during a pull it usually in the upper 10's. Can't use Accesstuner to log with the locked protune map. The wideband is new so sometimes I forget it's there to look at.

It's probably a bit on the richer side. TurboXS's tuner is pretty conservative. I wonder if it was hitting 100% on the dyno pulls too.....I've only added an uppipe since then so I doubt that made a big difference. I'd ask the tuner, but he's pretty unresponsive for emails (Which is why I want to tune myself).

I've read that people were hitting 110% and still weren't leaning out.



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#399 · (Edited)
2001 Impreza L | WRX swapped daily | Damage repairs and weight reduction!




Ahh, I didn't even think about putting anchor points on the sides. I like it. My brain was stuck on the factory mounting in the middle.

Though about the backseat and seatbelt too. Possible as a last option, but not as secure as I hoped.


In our rally car we have an aluminum sheet (with some bead rolling for stiffness) that's riveted in place of the old panel. We don't store the spare there, but its definitely strong enough if we wanted to.

Hmm, interesting. I wasn't sure if the bead rolling would be enough to support the wheel. Might have to go that route.

I mentioned the plexiglass because I got a free sheet of 1/8" and 1/4" that I've been trying to find a use for. The 1/4" is heavy as hell and the 1/8" stuff is so flimsy, it would need a brace underneath, like an "x" or something to be strong enough.

Could do that with aluminum strips/angle and lay the 1/8" plexi on top. Might be cheaper than the full aluminum sheet, but I could see a rock popping up and cracking it eventually. And still probably heavier.






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#398 ·
In our rally car we have an aluminum sheet (with some bead rolling for stiffness) that's riveted in place of the old panel. We don't store the spare there, but its definitely strong enough if we wanted to.
 
#401 ·
Yea, it's tin foil. Realized that real quick doing the accident repairs.


-------


Before coupe stuff, here's a quick update for the '98 L sedan. This journal will stay mostly about the coupe, but I wanted to start keeping track of things.

So the overall plan is a swap (obviously), but for now it'll stay n/a and reliable. Exterior will be simple like my coupe, but will have the small sedan/L coupe wing, v1-4 bumper and maybe the v2 hood/grill/lights.

Pretty much like this, but it'll stay white. Not sure who's car this is...and I couldn't find a better quality image...but it looks good:



Anyway, the first thing I did was replace the tiny 13mm rear sway bar. I put a set of swaybars on my friend's WRX for him, and he let me keep the old 17 or 18mm rear bar. Love some free parts.

Kept the 13mm for future rally shenanigans this time instead of throwing it away.



Started getting rid of the disgusting brown/tan interior. Just couldn't take it anymore and had to swap the dash out atleast. Got all the stuff from a forester at a pick-n-pull for cheap....pretty much perfect condition too.

It'll be a long process getting all the interior swapped out, but the dash makes it look soooo much better already.





Also started to remove some useless stuff to start dropping the weight on this car, as well as simplifying things. Haven't weighed it yet, but so far I've removed atleast 70-80 lbs, with most being from the frond end.

It almost felt wrong removing/cutting these 80,000 mile parts....but oh well, it was gonna happen eventually:

-a/c deleted
-power steering deleted
-front bumper beam cut in half
-trunk carpet stuff removed
-dash metal pieces removed
-other random & small things







Gonna remove sound deadening soon, starting in the trunk. For now I just removed the carpet stuff and added a full size spare.

Full size spare, or nothing! Space savers are lame.





Took a gravel road run and one of the hubcaps fell off somewhere. So I took the other 3 off and the car went full beater mode.

Needs wheels, wing, and v1-4 bumper.



And last is just a before and after of the engine bay so far. Just removing those few things makes so much room.

I'll be pulling the engine in a couple months to fix some noisy clutch bearings, and also fix some leaks. Might slap in a cheap 25d block for a 2.2/2.5 high compression thing.









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#404 · (Edited)
2001 Impreza L | WRX swapped daily | Damage repairs and weight reduction!





Oh yea...forgot about that. Still undecided, and it really depends how long the clutch bearings last, and how lazy I am at the time. :lol:

The more I think about it...it sounds worse and worse to remove an 80,000 mile ej22 for a 25d....but then my coupe could get the 2.2 block.....

I hate decisions



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#407 · (Edited)
2001 Impreza L | WRX swapped daily | Damage repairs and weight reduction!

DIY turbo for the 22e is a definite possibility because I could do it cheap once I remove the td04 from the coupe.

But yea, keeping the 2.2 will save money for the coupe. Want to get my spare engine ready by summer, and long term keep saving for a place with a damn garage.



---------



With the front of the car almost rust free after the accident repairs, it's time to shift my focus on the rear of the car before things get any worse.

Finally disassembled the other rear disc knuckle so I could de-rust it completely....only took me 1.5 years after the first knuckle. :lol: As usual, the electrolysis worked amazingly to remove any rust. The first tank picture is after 8-10 hours, the second is another 10-12 hours.....so 20+ hours total. Not necessary to go that long, but it doesn't hurt.

The last picture is before paint, right out of the tank and rinsed with wd40, to Disperse the Water.










Here it is painted with the other knuckle. Its nice to have them both finished. The rusty knuckles for the rear disc conversion were the reason I wanted to try the de-rusting in the first place.




Also dunked the hubs from those knuckles for a few hours, just because. Not sure if they are good yet, but I'm hoping so to save a few bucks.

This kinda shows how it looks during the process underwater:




Also grabbed a set of 2 pots for the front, from the forester I got the sedan's dash from. Most likely trading them in as cores like I did for the rear calipers. It's almost not worth the time to clean up and rebuild them, when the prices for reman units are pretty cheap.




Here's all the parts so far. Main things left to order are the wheel bearings and subframe. Might throw on the aluminum front arms too....that really depends on laziness. Need to order the parking brake cable because I keep forgetting it's different.

Can't wait to take those drum parts off and throw them right into the trash.




Besides that I've just been driving it. Crossed over 180,000 the other day.




Had a passenger let me know there was no rear seat belt on the drivers side, so I replaced that. Not sure when I took that out, or where it even is. Also found these cool rear strut covers on the car I got a replacement seatbelt from. Didn't know these things existed.

Of course I forgot to put them on when I had the seat out to install the seatbelt.




Last thing is something I've been trying to figure out for a little while now. It would probably be easier if I had any clue what I was doing.

Using the EGT wiring, I added a post-TMIC IAT sensor, just for curiosity....no speed density (yet). I plan to stay TMIC for a while so it'll be nice to get an idea of the temps.

With the EVAP gone, I pulled the 1/8" npt plug out of the manifold, and installed an 1/8" npt IAT sensor. Wiring plugs right into the EGT harness......more on that below.

1/8" AEM IAT sensor, open element






Since my EGT wiring is unused, I wanted to repurpose it for a different temp sensor. My goal was a sensor that plugged right into the EGT harness, required no further wiring, no gauge install, and able to log/live view.

The main problem here, is the EGT monitor won't read below 392*F. So the next best way I could think to live view the temps, was to just add 1,000*F to the scaling. This way when it says 1,080*F, I'll know it means 80*F.

At first I couldn't get it to work. The temp would get stuck at the lowest scaled value, and not move up or down.....but I forgot the pick up resistor. With the 2.2k ohm resistor in place, the values will go up/down with the temps. It's currently off 15*F-24*F.....that's based off the factory IAT, coolant temp, and fuel temp on a stone cold engine. Not bad for a first attempt at the scaling. Accuracy will just take some messing around.

I said 15*-24* because the lower end of this scale moves in groups of 9*. I think once it get a bit higher in the scale it moves by smaller numbers...like 5*-6*. Might even try to bump it up 2,000* to see if that makes it more or less accurate. Again, getting any accuracy will just take some tinkering.

The second picture below has the accessport showing the temps on a stone cold engine. 1004*F would equal 4*F.






I haven't messed with it much further than that. I only feel confident enough to idle and lightly cruise on my own maps right now, so I can't see how it does under boost. Just doing more research on tuning so I don't blow the engine up yet.

Once I get the rear subframe and brake stuff finished up...I'm ordering the injectors and turbo.



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#410 ·
2001 Impreza L | WRX swapped daily | Damage repairs and weight reduction!




Main reason I put it there was so i didn't have to drill/tap anything to install...but yea, I agree it should be more accurate in the manifold than in the TMIC or something.

I don't like the ones that go in between the throttle body and TMIC with the special silicone coupler, like this one below. Seems like it would be prone to leaking:








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#413 · (Edited)
2001 Impreza L | WRX swapped daily | Damage repairs and weight reduction!

Started planning the trunk floor. Took the rest of the fabric stuff out and marked out where I want to cut. Hoping to do that this weekend depending on weather.



Quickly realized there's no place nearby that sells aluminum sheets the right size and gauge I wanted.....or a place that could add ribs for me. I'd have to go about an hour away to find what I need. So the best option nearby (for now) was a thin 3x8 sheet of aluminum....and some add some DIY ribbing.

DIY ribs were pretty simple....I'm sure there's a much better way though. Hammer, rod, and small "c" channel. Tried it on a small piece first and seemed to work well. Was a bit tougher on the 3x4 sheet, but turned out decent.



So I cut the 3x8 alum sheet in half and added my ridges. With both sheets together it's about the same thickness as 20 gauge. If I didn't want to hold a spare wheel, it would be plenty stiff to cover the floor.....even with a spare on top it could possibly be strong enough.

It's not 100% to size yet. I have more to trim on the sides before it actually goes on. It'll be almost square so it shouldn't matter which way the ribs are going.





I'm most likely adding some aluminum angle underneath as a brace. It won't add much of any extra weight, and will help support the tire a lot. Total, the bathroom scale says 5 lbs for the alum sheet and braces.

Not sure which way I want the bracing to go. What do you guys think? Picture below shows the ideas. Terrible drawings from my iPhone, but you get the idea. Green = brace







Also changed the rear diff fluid because I couldn't remember the last time I did it. Was a waste of time because the fluid I drained was still clean.....and.....I forgot I'll be removing the diff shortly when I do the subframe/rear discs so yea.....waste of time. :lol:






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#414 ·
Brilliant idea on the Rib-rig.

I'd bet you'll find you wont need any support for the trunk floor once you attach your panel. So long as you use something decently sturdy like rivets or self tappers, I think it will be fine.
 
#416 ·
2001 Impreza L | WRX swapped daily | Damage repairs and weight reduction!



I should probably buy some of these specialty tools I've needed, instead of trying to make them. It's just hard to spend money on tools I might only use 1 or 2 times.

You're right, I keep forgetting the weight isn't going to be dead center of the sheet...and it'll be supported on all 4 edges by the remaining trunk steel. Just wanted to make a plan incase the sheet wasn't enough by itself.

Still undecided on rivets or rivnuts.

i say rivets and sealant would the job just fine.

and in the event that you need support ribbing i'd say the first one would give even support for the full size spare.
Yea definitely using some sealant. Maybe silicone....maybe seam sealer if I have any left.

The first bracing idea would work the best and be the easiest. My only concern with that, is the bracing being pushed forward if there was a rear end accident....but I'm probably overthinking it.

Hopefully I don't need any bracing







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