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Hawk296's Old Green L

28K views 90 replies 15 participants last post by  Hawk296 
#1 · (Edited)
I have not been on these forums since 2004 or so. I have had my 1995 AWD ej18 Impreza L since 2001. I'm the second owner. It was purchased as an economical awd car to get through college with plans of of swapping an elusive Jdm turbo engine later on (remember this was 2001 and we were just getting the bugeye Wrx). I started gathering parts and soon had an almost new EJ20k from a V4 STI RA.

As a poor college student, when my EJ18 started leaking oil from every possible seal, I decided just to swap the entire engine out. Unfortunately I didn't have the funds or time to swap in the ej20 yet, but I obtained a like new ej25. As far as I can recall I was one of the first few to swap in a SOHC EJ25 and run it off the 1.8 ECU. that swap has been absolutely bulletproof for over a decade with several track days a year.



15 years later, with a lightly modded Baja turbo as a daily driver an established career and home of my own I finally decided to finish the Impreza which was long ago banished to the depths of the garage only to see daylight 2 or 3 times a year for the occasional track flogging.

As it sits today, it's almost where I wanted it over a decade ago.


Engine:
1997 Ej20k (STI type RA)
Factory forged Pistons
Honed for new factory OEM piston rings
EJ257 rods polished for stress relief and balanced
ARP2000 rod bolts
King XPG rod bearings
Polished OEM crank (center thrust)
ACL race main bearings
OEM multilayer steel headgasketa
All new OEM seals.
ARP head studs.
Replaced two damaged intake valves
rebuilt heads and replaced all seals.
Converted to EZ30r shimless buckets.
OEM 11mm oil pump.
Late model EJ25 oil pan
Killer b oil pickup and baffle
STI timing belt.
Act lightweight flywheel
Group N engine mounts
Custom 3" turboback exhaust

JDM Legacy turbo 5mt trans (4.111)
Ver.3-4 Type RA DCCD gearbox (4.44)
Ver.5-6 type RA front LSD
R160 JDM rear LSD
Comp clutch stage 2
02' Wrx hydraulic clutch setup
Goodridge clutch line.
SPT/STI short throw shifter
04' USDM STI pedal box
RS 3 piece trans mount
Group N trans mount
Group N pitch stop
DCCD Pro Spider

Suspension:
KYB AGX
STI pink springs
Forester rear lateral links (no rear sway bar originally)
STI pink lateral links
Spo motorsports heavy duty rear swaybar mounts and adjustable swaybar.
Whiteline adjustable front sway bar
Whiteline adjustable front end links
GC8 aluminum front control arms.
Noltec camber plates (Broken)
Group N Strut tops
Cusco rear strut brace
STI front strut brace

Brakes:
2006 WRX all around
Goodridge lines
Carbotech pads
ATE type 200 fluid

Prodrive P7s with Falken Azeni RT615K (street)
RS 6 spokes with BFG Rivals (track)

Exterior.
Dents
Scratches
Body color grill
2.5RS Grill
OEM JDM aluminum hood
JDM lightweight bumper beam
JDM V1-4 front bumper
JDM Red/clear taillights
Clear corners
Clear markers
OEM JDM V1-4 turn signals
Custom LED Sidemarkers (before you could easily buy them)
JDM mudguards with cooling duct and associated S-ducts.

Interior:
Half of it removed.
Corbeau Forza drivers seat
5 point harness
STI pedal covers
Clarion auto PC (the best 1998 had to offer!)
Kenwood head unit
DIY 3d printed gauge pack with three 45mm pro sport gauges.
JDM 9k tach and DCCD indicators in stock cluster.


More to come....
 

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#56 · (Edited)
Not much progress, been doing alittle bit of tuning. One of this weeks cars and coffee locations was featureing “JDM Legends” So I took it out and ran into this guy:

My two favorite Imprezas in SE Michigan!

Got home and decided to go out and spend $3 on a micro USB to USB OTG cable for my phone. Now I can get the real dash app to work on my android devices and the Link ECU.

It’s kind of gimmicky but it really added a lot of functionality to the car for under $3. If I just want to view a few parameters I can just plug my phone in vs having to haul the laptop around all the time. It’s very configurable and kind of neat to be able to display this info on a 1995 OBD I vehicle.




I have it scheduled for dyno time in about three weeks. Hopefully more good updates then.
 
#57 ·
Baja has been in need of maintenance and the Mustang is in for warranty work so my car wrenching time has been focused on getting the Baja ready to go before winter.

Parking brake stopped working a few months ago. Not only did the cable snap, but the backing plates were so rotted out the shoes were no longer secured either.



So I replaced the backing plates, bearings, hubs, cables, rotors pads, and all the parking brake pieces.





It sucked with all the rust but it’s back on the road.

With that mess out of the way, I had the garage open and my neighbor took a moment away from his BMW E30 project and offered to help me make a mount for my zip tied oil pressure sensor.

This is what we came up with. I’ll just have to shoot some spray paint on it when it is a little less humid outside.

 
#58 · (Edited)
FINALLY! Big, big updates! Dyno Day!

Instead of working on the car this past weekend I took the Mustang to the track. It was wet, it was a handful and a little scary, but it was an absolute blast!

Two days ago I put the mustang back into street mode and I finally got an alignment on the Impreza after the lateral link swap. Nothing crazy but it’s a lot better to drive.

Yesterday I prepped the car for it’s longest journey yet. Topped off all the fluids and pressures and double checked everything I could think of. Drove it carefully two and a half hours in hard, driving rain to Kalamazoo to spend the night with the inlaws. Drove over on a modified base map and was careful not to get too aggressive. I was paranoid. Every noise, vibration, hiccup made me question it’s reliability and question the project as a whole. I worried my once completely reliable car had been ruined.

We made it, but I was exhausted from the loud exhaust and worrying about every detail as well as the extremely rainy conditions.

I woke this morning excited yet nervous. I know every detail of this car and knew it wasn’t 100%. I started second guessing every vac line routing, every wire connection, everything that I have plans to tidy up but didn’t have time to.

I called earlier in the week to confirm my appointment and had asked if I would be able to watch the car get tuned. I was told they normally do not but it should only take 4 hours if everything went well. I Left Kalamazoo for Paw Paw where Whalen speed R&D is with my father in law in chase to give me a ride. I chose this company because of their familiarity with the Link G4+ depspite the fact they are heavy on the Mitsubushi side.

I arrived early and the doors opened at 9am. The car was strapped to the dyno before I even finished paperwork.We went over my goals and the cars current setup, next thing I know things were rolling and it was making noise.





I asked what time I should head back and they invited me to stay and watch...and learn, so I did!

All said and done things went really, really, smoothly. For a stock setup, stock turbo, injectors etc. i was very happy with the results. The injectors topped out at around 20 PSI in the little VF24.



Then the launch control feature was turned on and dialed in. About 3 hours after rolling onto the dyno it was rolled off and ready to go.

WOW! What an improvement. The car is wonderful. I kept on expecting a hiccup, a misfire, an overboost or something to fail on the drive back to Kalamazoo. Nothing, It ran flawlessly and pulls really, really good! The powerband is so smooth and it revs so freely. The idle is much improved as well.

Loaded up the car and headed 2.5 hours back home, almost all highway. It was fantastic the whole way home. It reminds me of how it used to be a long long time ago. All my fears and doubts were discarded and I trust the car again. It was longest/farthest I have driven the car in past two years and it handled it problem free. I can’t wait to drive it more and more and more!

Over the winter I will focus on getting it track ready. Catch can, oil cooler etc. I’ll relearn the car with the new found power, limited slip diffs etc. and then maybe look at larger injectors and E85. It looks like there is still a good amount of power to be unlocked potentially.

Also, the new headunit is awesome with the hands free and Bluetooth capability.

I LOVE this car!
 
#62 ·
I have been driving the car purely for the fun of it. The shifter/trans still had some resistance and feedback when trying to shift and I started to suspect a bit of clutch drag. The only common part is the used jdm slave cylinder that I got with the legacy turbo trans. It appeared to be working fine but its really,really old. I put a new slave cylinder from an 02 wrx on and the clutch is smoother and the resistance in the shifter is gone. It drives even better now!
 
#64 ·
Honestly, I have no idea these days which ones have or don’t have delay valves, but I do not believe this one does. I believe this is the early 02 WRX/04 FXT part. The new one looks almost identical to the one I pulled off except for a few casting marks. The fitting is on top for a Banjo bolt and the bleeder slightly offset and angled behind it.

The one I removed:


The other 02 WRX part number has the fitting in the rear for the hard line and the boss on the top to mount the delay valve orifice (like my Baja turbo has) this new one does not have that or the removable fitting/valve in the rear like the STI 6 speed slave cylinders.
 
#65 ·
Car is parked inside for the winter. It’s waaay too cold to do any substantial work out in the garage and I don’t have the space to do so.

But I need something to tinker with over the winter so I started this I/C water spray project this evening.

I have been unable to find a Type RA shroud and I have been unable to order one from Japan because they are supposedly all gone and no longer in production. I removed my non spray shroud and made it spray.

Measured, marked and centerpunched for the nozzle holes.


Drilled holes


Used a small needle file to shape the tangs for the nozzles


Snapped the GC8 spray nozzles in place


Reinstalled the scoop backing plate and shroud


Water spray nozzles!



Over the winter I’ll route the lines, make a harness to wire everything up and gather/install the rest of the parts. I still need the auto switch so I can wire in the output from the ECU and figure out which tank I want to use for mounting in the rear since the OEM one I have goes where my ABS is. It will be fun.
 
#66 ·
I think I have the ECU figured out so it can control water spray on it’s own. With the auto switch “ON” it is set to start a 5 sec spray timer when boost exceeds 15 PSI. I can add IAT limits or whatever else I want to that later if I choose. The manual switch is set to start a 5 sec timer whenever it is pushed even if the auto mode is already engaged. Just need to hook up all the hardware, and still source the proper auto switch. I don’t think much more will get done for awhile as it’s a busy time of year.
 
#68 ·
The winter water spray project continues. In my quest to keep everything as clean and professional looking as possible, I really wanted to use the OEM switches. Finding a GC8 “water spray auto” switch proved to be alittle more difficult than planned. I ended up ordering a new one from Japan. Not cheap but really not bad for $47 shipped from Japan to my doorstep in MI.







Love the way it looks and matches the other existing switches perfectly! Next up, wiring them.
 
#70 · (Edited)
Cold weather and with a new kid as of a few weeks ago, not much has been done. But parts keep trickling in.

Decided on a tank for the intercooler spray. Mocking it up. Who else has installed the Spec C tank in a GC? How is it mounted? Trying to decide if I keep it as forward as possible or further back behind the strut bar. Forward means I’ll have to fill it from inside the car (a pain with a fixed back seat and harness bar.) and also means it will have to come out if I need to swap fuel pumps. Rearward would make the pump access easy and fillable from the trunk. Weight more rearward probably won’t hurt with the forward weight bias as is and its only about 6”. It would also mean alittle more involved mounting solution.


 
#72 ·
I think I remember seeing that. Last time I looked the pics were gone though. Also, I don’t recall if he had a rear strut bar or not. I know it doesnt really do anything, but it’s staying. It’s part of the car now, you know?

Weather has been above freezing so I’ve spend a few min in the garage.

Ordered some materials to fab up a mount for the water tank. Hopefully I can get to that in the next few weeks. I’m going to push it rearward a bit so I can access the filler from the trunk.

Switches are wired up and installed. I tapped illumination from the factory fog light switch. I took power for the switch and the relay from the cig light circuit. I still have to mount the relay in the trunk, run two wires back to it and the water line. I also have to connect both inputs and an output to the ecu but my garage is so tiny I cant open the passenger door inside to gain access to the ecu.

Then I still have to install the trunk full of parts waiting to go on from last year.
Also, some top feed conversion fuel rails and fuel line kit arrived. Flex fuel is in my future, I just don’t know how far down the road yet.

Also, was at my parents house over the weekend and my dad had these hanging on the basement wall.

Almost perfect condition fog covers. I think I might source the hardware and get them painted to match. Then I can just swap fogs for covers for track days to save the lights from getting damaged and drop a few lbs as well.
 
#73 · (Edited)
It’s back on the road for the season.


This water spray thing has been more involved than I envisioned. Almost there though. I am fighting with trying to get the spray timer to work correctly. I’m missing something in the settings.

For now, The manual button is a true momentary switch so it sprays as long as it’s held down. The auto button works with Throttle position, IAT and MAP currently and works pretty well. When I figure the timers out a bit better I’ll add that in.



Tank is currently zip tied into position about where I want it until I get some time to fab up the mount. That’s still looking like it’s a few weeks out. :(


Other than those issues it’s working out really well.




 
#74 · (Edited)
Had some garage time today. Went to my neighbors house and he helped me fab up what I wanted for the tank. Access to fuel tank remains clear, filler neck is clear behind the strut brace and accessible from the trunk and the whole thing can be unbolted and removed.

Replaced the seat siffener


Made some plates to mount to the tank with 1/8” plate.


Mounted them to the tank


Made some uprights to replace the mounts that came with the tank.


Put it all together




Still have to add some support, finish the welds and then clean it up and paint it. Then tidy up the wiring in the trunk. This has been quite a bit more involved than I initially planned for!
 
#76 ·
Honestly, I expect zero gain. I only hope to maintain more stable intake temps and therefor rated HP for alittle longer in sustained high speed, high temperature operations (summertime at the track)

One would hope it would do something since it was factory fitted and still is on some models today. I wanted to integrate this feature to my 24 year old L for a fun project and “cool” factor and admittedly went alittle overkill on it.

I will however be able to log IAT differences with and without it as it warms up to see what kind of effect it has. On temps and things like ignition timing and knock.
 
#77 ·
It should help for sure. My V4 TMIC heat-soaks pretty good in the summer. It's not uncommon for me to see 50C + in the intake manifold, especially after sitting in traffic.

Looking really good man! +1 for ignition map..."I'll show you mine if you show me yours" ??
 
#80 ·
Clean looking car and sweet build. Reminds me of my first green L ej20k swap, but all I did was disassemble the block and heads, inspect and clean and replace all gaskets. My ej20k ran great on US 93, never a problem. I took the same route, just adding wires for the boost solenoid and a few other wire mods. Then just repinned and swapped some wires at the ecu. The jdm ecu ran superb, but I eventually got a apexi powerfc so I could get it tuned after building a hybrid 2.5 later on. Seeing your pics made me remember mine, it really wasn't that horrible to do.
 
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