'73 Resto & Suby 6 Conversion, or a primer on "How to convert your 914 to a Subaru 3.0" Options

[76-914]

So back to the motor mount. I used some .25" 4" prefab plates ( $1.99ea) as the base plates and drilled them to match the factory mounts. For the stand offs I used some Proto Fab tabs ($3.99ea x 4) radius 1.5" to match the tube. All I had to do was shorten them a bit. I had already tacked the shorter tabs in place before I started with the pics. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif) . They were out of the short rectangular tab so I used the ones with slanted sides which is covered a few pics down. Here the plates are back on the mounts with both short and long tabs tacked in place. The tube is slipped back in place to check flush and square from time to time.

The right bank



Left bank



Another angle of the Left bank



Ditto on the right bank



Front view



A quick double check of the angle



LJYYCM(%VF







I wanted to add a piece to tie in the stand offs so I cut some off this 3/16" piece





But........because I had used the tabs with the angled sides I needed to tweek the end to match. With the piece firmly clamped in the vise a cheater bar clamped to it and...........





These two pic's show that angle beater than I can say it.





The pieces seem to fit well enough











And after a few minutes of welding in the vise





One more quick check and it still level. The cross bar will not get welded in place yet. It is my variable if I've missed something. At least that is what I am telling myself. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sheeplove.gif) Next thing is to position the long side rails and weld the bolt collars in so I can hang them off the car. Then the cross member will be cut/radiused to length (and possibly bent to offset any height issues and/or exhaust issues) and welded in place. Stay tuned as I stumble and bumble my way thru this with an emphasis on embarrassing myself. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bootyshake.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smash.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif)

[76-914]

some more

[BIGKAT_83]

Nice job on the mount.

Bob

[76-914]

[David J]

Nicely done. Do you plan to bolt the trans to the cradle or mount it independently ?

[76-914]

Thx, Bob. I was very careful to not take any pic's with the "really bad" weld joints. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

David, I'll have to figure that out. My original plan was to use the factory mount on the bottom rear of the tranny but...........that part of the tranny is removed because it isn't needed. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) That being said, who knows. DB Coopers cradle design might be the way to go but I haven't finalized that yet. Once that part is worked out some gussets and additional bracing/re-inforcement will be added. It's pretty much a skeleton at this point.

[Chris H.]

Looks really good Kent! I like the way you incorporated the front mount attachment points. For the trans you can just fab up a couple of hangers similar to the coldwater.com setup.

Got my engine out...I'll try to update the thread soon.

[76-914]

Thx Chris. As you can see in the following pic's, I did the same on the tranny pick up points except that I welded those pieces to the cradle. I understand why Ian did his that way but I felt that if I were to need to drop the tranny that I would just drop the entire assm or just remove the tranny from it's factory mount (4 bolts).

Before going any further with the cradle I replaced this little pest.



Then on to the tranny to switch it from AWD to FWD. Thx for the link Chris. After draining the lube it is stood on end and the rear cover bolts are removed.



A few taps with a rubber mallet to separate it



To reveal this





Now it's just a matter of removing a few pieces





Group photo of the pieces that are removed.



Here the locking nut is being removed. Notice the pipe wrench's affixed to the output shafts. Impact makes short work of this.



Next I need to make a cover plate for the rear of the tranny. I'll use the old cover as a template but I need to remove this gear first so I remove the 4 allen head screws holding it first.



Now I can scribe the outline.



Then a quick ride on the bandsaw.



A little shaping on my "washing machine motor turned 12" sander". (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)



A after 10 min's of polishing the piece of junk yard aluminium, viola!

[76-914]

Now, back to the cradle. One piece that ties the tranny support onto the cradle.



The other side (right)



And now it's tied in. I used the factory tranny mount after realizing that this section "was not" removed as I believed it would be earlier. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/chair.gif)



Found my first "gotcha". The clutch fork is contacting the trunk in this pic. It appears that I can trim this piece down. I'll need to drill another hole for the return spring after trimming this.



Hanging from the front mounts.



A view from the lid



And a shot from the rear. The bottle neck jack is there until I shave the clutch fork down enough to connect the rear attach points on the cradle.

[Chris H.]

Awesome!

Now post that center diff on NASIOC! I got $250 for mine no haggling.

[76-914]

Shopping for a clutch and came across this. It appears Exedy is not the way to go.
http://www.rexnet.com.au/forum/index.php?/...8/page__st__150

[Runman07]

I would look into an act clutch and pressure plate, they make awesome clutches

[messix]

It looks like the engine is rubber mounted and the tranny is not.... is that correct?

that will be trouble, both need to be mounted solid or isolated mounts, not mix and match.

[Runman07]

The Trans is on a mount. Its the black thing underneath the rear of the trans

[Chris H.]

I think Troy's point is the fact that one end of the cradle might have a soft mount and one end might be directly bolted to the chassis. Keep in mind we also have engine mounts in the middle attached to the engine.

Kent what are you doing for cradle mounts? Front, back, or both? I'm actually worried about the opposite. I have 911 mounts at the front and rear as well as the stock mounts on the engine. Might be too soft. If so I can remove the front cradle mounts I guess.

[76-914]

I think Troy's point is the fact that one end of the cradle might have a soft mount and one end might be directly bolted to the chassis. Keep in mind we also have engine mounts in the middle attached to the engine.

Kent what are you doing for cradle mounts? Front, back, or both? I'm actually worried about the opposite. I have 911 mounts at the front and rear as well as the stock mounts on the engine. Might be too soft. If so I can remove the front cradle mounts I guess.

I'm running front and rear factory rubber mounts in their original position i.e. the bottom of the engine and tranny. I don't know why your cradle has those front extensions unless Ian discovered a weakness in that design or maybe it's a material difference. They certainly won't hurt anything. I used 4130 1.5" .095"wall which I felt was substantial. My motor mount receivers are different from his also so he may have transferred some of that load to those front mounts. Time will tell. Maybe mine will fall off someday. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) Chris, does your clutch disc have 4 lg springs only or 4 lg spg's with small spgs inside the lg ones for a total of 8?

[Chris H.]

Chris, does your clutch disc have 4 lg springs only or 4 lg spg's with small spgs inside the lg ones for a total of 8?

I'm sure your mount is fine. Ian designed his mount so it could be used with any Subie engine...maybe that's why it's different. Fits great I must say.

I don't know on the clutch...already installed it about 3 months ago. It's a different kit than yours with a thicker pressure plate. I'm not gonna worry about it though...if it rattles I'll buy one from Subaru I guess. Seems like the worst that could happen is the disk gets chewed up. If I happen to separate the engine and trans anytime soon I'll check for you.

Edit:

This is the kit I bought. If you look REALLY close you can see 2 sets of springs for a total of 8...whew! Good news there. Gripforce on e-bay seems like a good outfit.

Clutch kit

[Zaney]

Everything looks great and very familiar!

A little bird dropped me a question about this time in my build regarding the trans mount clearance. If this part of the cradle is not the lowest point then, disregard my nosiness.

Feel free to ask about any details that were not listed in any of the Suby builds here, especially Strawman! Geoff is very helpful!

Cheers!

Nate (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

[76-914]

Chris, does your clutch disc have 4 lg springs only or 4 lg spg's with small spgs inside the lg ones for a total of 8?

I'm sure your mount is fine. Ian designed his mount so it could be used with any Subie engine...maybe that's why it's different. Fits great I must say.

I don't know on the clutch...already installed it about 3 months ago. It's a different kit than yours with a thicker pressure plate. I'm not gonna worry about it though...if it rattles I'll buy one from Subaru I guess. Seems like the worst that could happen is the disk gets chewed up. If I happen to separate the engine and trans anytime soon I'll check for you.

Edit:

This is the kit I bought. If you look REALLY close you can see 2 sets of springs for a total of 8...whew! Good news there. Gripforce on e-bay seems like a good outfit.

Clutch kit

I finally quit obsessing over it and took your advice. Ordered a KB03 this AM. I'll let you know when it gets here. BTW, all those chatter posts are on AWD systems. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

Everything looks great and very familiar!

A little bird dropped me a question about this time in my build regarding the trans mount clearance. If this part of the cradle is not the lowest point then, disregard my nosiness.

Feel free to ask about any details that were not listed in any of the Suby builds here, especially Strawman! Geoff is very helpful!

Cheers!

Nate (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

Nate, I think I can speak for Chris (and others) as well when I say thanks to you, Geoff, Bob and et al for looking over our projects. We need all the help we can get. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) I'm confused though. Were you pointing out that my cradle needs to attached to the firewall also or that I run the risk of tearing my trans mount off? As things sit presently, my oil pan is about 1.5" lower than the cradle. I may have to attach a skid plate to the cradle to rectify but that will be addressed later.

[Chris H.]

Kent, on the clutches I think the issue was definitely related to 4WD HARD DRIVING and also some cheap kits that were probably not supposed to be used with a Subie. EXEDY makes clutches for other cars and they might just need 4 springs.

Definitely appreciate all the help from everyone. Every time I need an answer from certain Subaru sites I am reminded of how genuinely helpful this community is. I would not be able to do my swap without you guys.

Nate, your trans mounts are thicker at the top than mine, which would solve my clearance problem. Thanks for the example. I will shim them for now but will probably weld some more steel on the top of the plate to lower the cradle a bit (winter project).