keltik's 79 Subaru Hatch

[keltik]

Have this;

Attempting to make it into this;

First task, throw motor away. Replace with something that still knows what a horsepower looks like.

Have purchased an EJ22 out of a 94 Legacy and thrown all of the fuel injection things away...and bolted a dirty weber and a distributor in its place.

Currently awaiting a gearbox out of an Impreza to go in the car before i can start bolting the rest of the new bits in. At the same time im attempting to fix a bit of rust, get it lower, make the heater work, re-trim the interior and upgrade the wheels to 6lug hilux 15x7's

Final goal is a dirty simple go-kart. Minimum electronics and maximum fun.

Discussion: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=23680

[keltik]

Ripped the EA71 and box out. All went smoothly and didnt have a single seized bolt. It seems Subaru really knew how to make a car in the 70's then forgot all about it for the 80's.

Had a bit of spare time so threw the Impreza gearbox into the tunnel to see if it would fit...and im only guessing using the eye-o-meter at the moment but i think the stock shifter linkage and rear mount will fit! Just got to fab up a new center mount which should be a piece of cake and make a longer clutch cable.

Still waiting for a bloody flywheel before i can bolt the motor in. The only place with one in stock was partsworld and they want $120 for it. Not keen but might have to bite the bullet if i cant get one before the weekend.

Pics to follow tonight as ive finally got a camera.

[keltik]

Well it took me 2 months but i finally got there. Now have this;

Pretty tight fit but it does fit with no need for hammertime

Thanks to Strong for Subaru first sending me a 220mm clutch/flywheel when i asked for a 200mm one. They still sent me a 190mm to replace it with and i couldnt be arsed messing around anymore so just fitted that.

Waiting on an ignitor and a carb next. Looking for a weber 32/36DGV or a Holley 350cfm.

After that I just need to get the gearbox mount made up and build an exhaust for it. Then comes time to stick it in the weeds

[keltik]

Finally got the carb mostly hooked up. Have sourced a good 32/36 which ive been assured came off a running car.

Got a few concerns as well - still not entirely sure if the intake manifold is going to seal against the head well enough. The heads are fuel injected ones so have a recess for injectors in each port. The carb manifold only just covers this. Also i had to use quite a thick rubber gasket for the coolant passages on the intake as it sat a few mm away from the block even when bolted down.

So I wont be too surprised when i get massive vacuum leaks - but ill cross that bridge later.

Got a little bit of rust to sort out - but after talking to coldspark at the palmy meet, it cant be as bad as his project! Also need to get the crossmember for the gearbox sorted and then its a lot of small annoying jobs left to do like a custom clutch cable and a pusher radiator fan.

Heres a pic. /wall of text

[keltik]

Update:

Mustve done something right. Quite surprised how well it started and idled considering id never seen the engine run before and the carb came off a dusty shelf covered in shit where it had sat for a few years.

Big thankyou to MadMike for giving the carb a kick in the guts and a thankyou to Joker for....well for stuff.

Now have even more motivation to get more shit finished on the car! Needs an exhaust next.

[keltik]

Been slowly slogging away at bits n pieces the last couple weeks.

Managed to get 90% of the stuff in the engine bay finished. Got the gear linkage hooked up and have a clutch cable coming from Holdaways on Tuesday.

Did a bit of shoddy panelbeating too. Replaced my munted drivers side gaurd and rusted out passenger side door. Then gave it all a sand and a lick of paint to make it look less rediculous. The idea behind this paint job is to make all the panels match and look ok from a distance.

Its a bit shit when you get up close but it accomplishes its purpose. Eventual plans will involve a proper spray job if the car gets back on the road ok.

And no thats not overspray on the window - just dust from sanding.

Going in for an exhaust on wednesday and hopefully will have the gearbox mounts made and fitted this week too. Then all i need is some luck and a temperature gauge and i can take it for a drive.

Still got a bit of rust to fix and a couple spots to tidy up before i can get it registered but this is looking very do-able now.

[keltik]

Ok the latest. Video explains most of what im about to type so worth a watch if you're following this project. Engine was stone cold when pulling out of my driveway with no choke so dont read too much into that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4Q2RnDVB-o

Starts fine. Idle seems to hunt between about 600rpm and 1100rpm. The idle mixture screw doesnt really have much effect. It farts and fecks around on certain throttle positions but will run just fine on others. Getting onto the secondaries elicits more farting and popping through the carb and exhaust but once the carbs fully open - she usually takes off like a cut cat.

Still got to sort out my gearbox mount (but i think ive found a solution) and get a new radiator fitted after my current one did its best water fountain impersonation. Then i can worry more about tuning and all that jazz.

I've a feeling that the leads and plugs are rather shot, i know the cap is pretty worn out. Will replace with new units before i start stressing about this crappy running issue.

[keltik]

I think i might have tracked down some of my crappy running issue which has recently developed into a "running like a 2stroke at quarter throttle" issue.

The car was running ludicrously rich so i figured the best place to start would be by checking the fuel pressure. I didnt have a gauge and couldnt find anyone willing to loan me one - so i bought a gauge, and got a good deal on a regulator at the same time.

After setting my fuel pressure at a nice 2psi, the car runs even worse. So i popped the top off the carb and had a lookie at the jets. They were all close to the specs for a 2L so i set the float level and reassembled the carb.

Im now fairly certain that the float needle valve is nakkered. The fuel pump doesnt come up to pressure and then shut off - it keeps ticking very slowly. In fact i just today noticed what appears to be raw fuel leaking out from the PCV valve at the back of the manifold.

So will throw a new valve in it and see what happens. Maybe then i can finally be done with this gay rich running problem.

On the bright side - i did manage to wire up my Push button engine start and ignition switch. Also managed to get my air filter installed nicely - so things are still getting done.

Alas - car still runs crap

[keltik]

Pictures and small update:

Bought $10 carb from wreckers. Stole bits out of it. Combined these bits with bits from 2 other carbs i have lying around and created one which is almost good. Just need one new seal and im sorted.

Car runs mint, idles good, drives well. Opened it up to full noise through 2nd and 3rd, it makes good power to about 6,000rpm then starts running out of breath. Quite happy with that. Apologies to any people in Ashhurst that were harmed in the making of that discovery.

[keltik]

Have stuck it in storage/parents back yard for a couple months. Since the gearbox in my wagon has decided to die and ive run out of clothes/food/soap - i have come to the conclusion i should start spending money on things other than car parts.

Please stand by for a wee while. We will resume normal frivolous spending shortly

[keltik]

The hatch is back!! And theres activity happening!

Im trying to get it ready for ClubSUB nats in the middle of April, which will be the proving ground for OS nats in May.

Things to do before OS nats:

* Slam it somehow

* Build/Re-core radiator (not crucial but would be nice as current one is held together with stop leak)

* New Brake pads

* New seats (again, not crucial but the current drivers one is just not doing its job anymore)

* Dyno run to check AFR's

* New sway bar bushes up front and fit rear sway bar

* Wheel alignment

Things to do on top of that list before re-registration;

* Fix rust

* Make exhaust a legally acceptable volume

* Squirt some paint at it

* New passenger side door

Things accomplished since last update:

* Gearbox mount fabricated and fitted, should be strong enough and im 90% happy with it. Im rarely 100% happy so this is good.

* Start/Ignition/Fan switches are all mounted and looking sexy

* Whiteline 16mm rear sway bar acquired

* Spare set of front struts acquired

* Spare set of 4x140mm 13x5.5 mag wheels acquired

Quite excited at how this is coming along. Will post up some new pics when i get around to it. For now you will have to make do with the thousand words that the picture is worth.

[keltik]

Things to do before OS nats:

* Slam it somehow

Seemed to go well. Was a wee fire but was swiftly extinguished. Only casualty was a bit of leg hair.

Things to do before OS nats:

* Build/Re-core radiator (not crucial but would be nice as current one is held together with stop leak)

* New Brake pads

* New seats (again, not crucial but the current drivers one is just not doing its job anymore)

* New sway bar bushes up front and fit rear sway bar

New seats courtesy of pick-a-part trip.

Radiator done, new brake pads done courtesy of tardme and sway bar done.

Also scored these mint guards from my weekend trip to pick-a-part.

Will be saving these until it comes time to paint the car properly. For now - might as well keep the semi good ones on the car.

[keltik]

Guess what i did this morning

[keltik]

And im back home!! Woohoo. What a mint fun weekend. Heres the official write up and findings from my test day at the track....only read it if you enjoy anoraks, technical bollocks or french cars:

Hatch ran good, am waiting for the videos and photos to be uploaded by other people as i didnt get much exciting footage of myself.

Had an interesting cooling issue;

There are 2 coolant temp sensors. The one in the main coolant outlet to the rad powers the dashboard gauge. Theres also a Jaycar digital one reading the temp from the coolant bypass circuit. This circuit comes out the top of the block (hottest point) and feeds back to the thermostat.

During road driving, the main dash gauge sits just under the half way mark and the bypass gauge shows about 80*C. After driving on the road, the dash gauge gets up to half way. The bypass gauge gets up to about 88*C then returns to 75-80* once the load is off.

During track work, the main gauge gets up to about 3/4 and the bypass gauge sits at about 95* with peaks up to 100*C but seemed to sit consistently around the 95-98 mark no matter how hard i thrashed it. This higher than usual temp alarmed me at first, but the car never boiled its coolant or got hotter than 100* on the digital gauge.

So basically, im thinking that the cooling system isnt stressed on the street and only opens the thermostat decently on the track.

Also its running rather rich. A comment from a following driver was that it looked like i had a turbo boost leak once the secondaries opened as it was throwing black smog out the back. This leads me to believe theres some more power to be had with correct jetting and timing.

Handling was surprisingly good. I definately need to get my rear sway bar sorted as it likes to lift a back wheel on turn-in. The one i have doesnt fit due to exhaust clearance issues so will get that sorted asap. The brakes did a fine job considering what they were and the clutch was suprisingly good. So i think this thing is nearly mechanically complete. Only a couple small things left to do before i can focus on bodywork and road legalness.

Bring on OS nats

[keltik]

OK. Everything mechanical thats going to get done to this car is pretty much done now. Only thing missing is the rear discs and vented fronts but thats an easy bolt on mod.

So now its time to strip it apart and do the bodywork/rust. Am holding off on that until i have figured out if im moving back up north or not. In the meantime, its pink stickered and ive lost my licence. Put 2+2 together there.

Come September I'll start ripping it to bits. Then i can start building it properly instead of just slapping it together to make sure shit works. Stay tuned.

[keltik]

Fuck this car.

For sale, in parts or whole.

[keltik]

To expand on previous post. The handling in this thing is SHIT!!! Needs some serious work. Maybe im just too used to throwing a big heavy wagon around - but it just did not impress on Fridays track day.

Heres the issues;

* On any kind of lift off during turn-in, it spins

* Putting any power down on corner exit results in wheelspin

* Have to coast through right hand corners due to all the fuel running away from the jets in the float bowl

* Not quick enough in the straights to make up for misgivings in the corners

Now that ive finished sulking ive started giving thoughts on how to fix these problems. Very tempted to just rip the whole car to pieces and do what i shouldve done the first time. Put a rear subframe in it (requires a new fuel tank), run a AWD gearbox (requires widening the tunnel) and put fuel injection turbo on the 2.2.

Penny for your thoughts?

[keltik]

Engine and gearbox for sale on Trademe http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =401058794

Other bits on the car are also for sale. Will be keeping the shell unless someone pays for it. I wont scrap it.

Plan is to sell the running gear to fund rust repairs - then put in a rear subframe and EFI tank. Basically starting again - but at least now i know what works and what doesnt.

[keltik]

So it has been ended. Basically i was never going to get around to doing anything with it. J5 had a moment of sensibleness and agreed were too lazy to make it go.

Nobody on trademe wanted it for a dollar, so it has been broken into parts and the body shall be scrapped.

The End, thankyou for playing.