L guys, need some help.

[DoctorNick]

I am thinking this for a project car.

94-95L (obd-1 is the key): ~3k for a manual with any mileage?
swap these following items in:

built 9:1 ej25 motor (already have)
link plus ecu (already have)
wrx crossmember (already have)
txs turbo back (already have)
JDM 4pot brakes with slotted rotors (already have)
turbo kit parts (already have)

Full sti 6 speed setup.: ~6k?
AGX struts & prodrive springs: ~1k used more then likely I can find cheaper.

besides the nasty beige and needing a wrx front mount, is there anything else I am missing? what would be good preventive maintence? Assuming it has no rust, decient paint and no accidents.

it will get new shoes, new fuel pump, new full drivetrain...what else do I need to look into?

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[Soon2Bgreat]

rear brake drum to disc swap unless it has discs, make sure cv joints, wheel bearings, stuff like that is all right. You might want a rear lsd, front lsd, i don't know what your tranny will come with, although it seems most of the stuff you'll be swapping in anyway. Also be careful if the car's been in an accident, and that's about it. Have fun.

[linsavy]

The biggest problem would be that the tranny tunnel will have to be "massaged" to fit the 6spd.
You will not likely find one with decent paint, but good luck.
Newer models have better interiors, but if you are going to swap everything, you might as well get the least expensive sound car you can find. Disc brakes and ABS were options in 1995-96 so you would be ahead there if you found 1 with them.

Get the wagon, it's way cooler.

[Homemade WRX]

my 94 has full disks and abs and the paint is in good condition.
still getting it painted though
take it easy, Micah
and I wouldn't recommend the 6 speed although it has cool factor its gears aren't as wide and there for as strong as the 5 speed

[Hawk296]

yeah its going to take alittle work to cram the 6 seed in there but its the route i am going to eventually go. Also ide like to see how you plumb a front mount in there if you get an ABS car with the 4 wheel discs. and im assuming the diffs will come with the trans. I think youve got a pretty good handle on it..

[AKGC8]

Homemade WRX, the 6 speed is so much stronger than the 5. It's not like a lot of other companies where they just make thinner gears to fit 6 into a 5 speed case, the Subaru 6 is all new and much bigger. The 5 is crap compared to it.

DrNick, I've got a WRX swapped L now, but am on the watch for an STI wreck to get a donor for a new L project. Besides the 6 speed supposedly being to large for the GC8 tunnel another slight problem would be the rear halfshafts. Need some halfshafts to work with the R180 diff on the GC8 chassis. Think the later GC8 STI's came with the R180.

[Kostamojen]

I'd save the money on the tranny and just use the stock tranny til it exploded, then decide what to get.

[tbd]

i second the tip to use current tranny until it dies.
the rear diff could be sourced from a turbo legacy allowing you legacy length rear axles & standard hubs. that r180 does'nt come cheap.

if you upgrade brakes to 4 piston you may want to look into swapping out MC for a hi volume one. stimpy has done this. those of us who've swapped w/ stock L MC feel a slightly softer pedal even w/ ss booster.

while you've everything apart, may as well add sti bushings in as many places as possible. pitch link, engine & tranny mounts, strut tops. suspension, if you swap for rear discs. (rear discs came oe only on LX/LS models which were auto)

btw, not all interiors were beige. i have one w/ dark gray interior.

a good example under 3k should be easy to find. if it is high mileage, expect to replace front axles, as the cv joints may be ready to die.

tony

[C17LOAD]

what does it take to swap the rear brakes to disc?

[AKGC8]

Calipers, rotors, pads, brake lines, parking brake cables, complete knuckle assemblies, backing plates, and ABS sensors if you need them. Don't think I forgot anything.

[DoctorNick]

Thanks for the info. I have also contacted ispeed about a sti swap into an rs, but considering how I am going to change everything in the car (new seats, carpet, door cards are in my plan also) I think an L would be a way to go. I am on the lookout right now for a junked sti, I am leaning towards a USDM sti but I might go JDM and since its OBD-1, I will be ok for any "clean air" testing around chicago.

[Soon2Bgreat]

I'd still stick with an rs. The dash is much nicer, and unless you plan on doing a custom interior and exterior it will cost you more to convert an l, since rs's are getting cheaper and cheaper. Tha's just me though, i'm not sure what you want to do with the car.

[Kostamojen]

Originally posted by tbd
if you upgrade brakes to 4 piston you may want to look into swapping out MC for a hi volume one. stimpy has done this. those of us who've swapped w/ stock L MC feel a slightly softer pedal even w/ ss booster.

tony

Really? My brake feel is excellent, better than any subie ive driven in fact (havent driven an STI yet though, but that doesnt count )

[DoctorNick]

The reason why I am staying away from the RS is strictly the OBD-2 problem. In Illinois you fail clean air testing if you fail your plug and play test. So by getting and OBD-1 car, I could pass via sniffer test.

Its not like the car is going to be dirty, it just won't have the OBD stuff if I go with a full engine management unit.

[tbd]

let me edit my comment on the brakes. the L MC for non-abs models pumps less fluid, so if you go to wrx or 4pots the change in volume requirement is noticeable. while the feel is'nt terrible, the pedal travel is disconcerting at first. my non-abs MC resulted in pedal travel increase of more than double after the swap. braking is superb, but pedal feel is'nt as good as stock to me and pedal resistance/feedback is reduced. abs might be different.
tony

btw: if you buy me an STI i'll let you test the brake feel all you want.

[ciper]

Ive got a legacy turbo I purchased solely for the underhood items. It has a 3.9 LSD and rear VENTED disc brakes. Would you be interested in purchasing any of it?

[AKGC8]

I've got a non ABS L with WRX brakes all around and the pedal feel is great. Much better than most cars out there with the single stage booster. The travel is roughly the same as it was before.

[stimpy]

I'm with tbd on the brakes. I resorted to a 1 1/16" SVX MC and my brake feel couldn't be better.

-Jon

[yebokmj]

You really need seats. My L has lots of power and handling and stopping but I get thrown all over the car, the bucket seats have no bucket. Though I want to spend more money on power mods, IE bigger turbo, I will be getting seats. Driving with your leg agaist the door and using the steering wheel for support is no fun.
Joshua

[dwx]

In my search I haven't found too many 94-95L's with a manual for under $3k. You'll probably find more wagons than you will coupes/sedans. From my searches there are quite a few automatics out there as well. And you'll have to sort out the 2WD/AWD ones as well. I'm hopefully going to pick up a cheap automatic one in a few weeks. It's an LX so it has the swaybar and rear disc brakes already, as well as ABS. I've talked to Ver. III before and I guess the transmission tunnel isn't the problem with the 6MT, but there is something else that needs to be modified to get the shifter linkage to fit? I plan on converting the one I'm getting to manual using my old WRX 5 speed transmission. Anyone have a spare WRX R160 laying around?

[EddyRS]

I just completed my Automatic 93 L wagon to 00 RS Manual. All mounting locations are there to do the swap....all you need is the hardware.

I can say with a smile that the 2.5L and manual is vastly funner then the old 1.8 & slushbox. Of course it's still way underpowered for me as I am used to what my RS/WRX conversion provides me......But, the wagon is my beater....but a great beater it is.

EddyL.

[Kostamojen]

Originally posted by tbd
let me edit my comment on the brakes. the L MC for non-abs models pumps less fluid, so if you go to wrx or 4pots the change in volume requirement is noticeable. while the feel is'nt terrible, the pedal travel is disconcerting at first. my non-abs MC resulted in pedal travel increase of more than double after the swap. braking is superb, but pedal feel is'nt as good as stock to me and pedal resistance/feedback is reduced. abs might be different.
tony

btw: if you buy me an STI i'll let you test the brake feel all you want.

I think you might have some air in the system... Mine didnt change at all when I got the RS front brakes in terms of feel, exept it stoped a ton faster, and in fact the feel firmed up a bit.

What brakes did your car come with stock? Drums or discs in the rear?

[tbd]

drum rears, one pot tiny rotor fronts, no abs. system has been bled a dozen times. the calipers just seem to want more fluid displacement. something that my MC does'nt offer. the feel is't terrible, it just engages further in the stroke. wrx fronts now, LX discs rear.

[AKGC8]

Did you bleed the master cylinder itself?

It's weird because I know stimpy couldn't ever get his to work either. Like I said though, my car was non abs and it also had drums in the rear. With WRX brakes front and rear it engages about like normal and it's nice and firm.

Course the WRX pedals wouldn't go into Stimpy's '96 but they fit fine in my '94, so who knows maybe the MC's changed after '94 too.

[Scoobyslack1]

my car has Legacy turbo front calipers & rotors (same as RS) and the rear are '02 WRX disks, w/original MC....pedal feel is solid, no problems ever