Zaney's Suby Rustoration Adventure, Updated 12/4/2014: Fall 2014 Update! Posted FOR SALE! Thanks for all the fun! Options

[Zaney]

Well, I finally have found the time to put down some of the ideas and pictures that have been going on for about a year now.

It all started last April when I found out that hitting the curb in a round-about is not the best thing for your suspension. Needless to say that it definitely put my '74 out of service. The passenger A-Arm broke, bent the tie rod, ruined the ball joint, bottomed out the shock, and blew a tire. The only thing that I damaged was my pride. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

So, thanks to my Dad's AAA the teener was towed 3 blocks back to his house and waited to be brought back to Redmond from Tacoma (40 miles or so). I took it home and put it on jack stands to check out the damage.

I decided that this is as good a time as any to upgrade and refurbish my front end. However, like any project that begins around here it usually ends up in a major rustoration. Let me list out the plans for the teener:

Engine: 2002 Subaru 2.5 N/A using stock ECU and stock trimmed harness
Transmission: 2002 Subaru 5-Speed with DIY style Bremar conversion to 2wd
Intake: Aftermarket Ricer 3"
Exhaust: Stock trimmed WRX header to a Dynomax SS Ultraflo muffler

Suspension: Tarret sway bar on Engman mounts
Koni Yellow adjustable shocks with rear Ground Control adjustable perches and springs
Elephant racing monoballs, low friction control arm mounts, polybronze control arm bearings, polybronze trailing arm bearings
Turbo tie rods w/ bump steering spacer
New ball joints
Five-lug conversion with new bearings, 911 front M calipers on vented rotors, 914 rear calipers on 914-6 rotors with Porterfield Pads
19mm New master cylinder & new hard lines
911 16 x 7 inch Fuchs on Falken 205/50/ZR16

Body Mods: Engman stiffening kit
Stock seats (for now)
Momo Prototipo steering wheel
Rennline Perforated REV 2 Adjustable Aluminum Pedal Set (someday)
Racing "minimal" look for interior
Stereo TBD or omit
John Kelly styled rear fenders (hand hammered)

Paint scheme: Silversickle Body all silver with Phoenix Red wheels, bumpers, and rockers

Ambitious but, not out of reach!

Now for some pics...
Pictures when I bought it as a roller



My Dusty '74

A bit crowded

[Zaney]

I should clarify the condition of the car at the time of the some of the 'cleaned up' pictures of the front end. I spent many hours on my back with a grinder/wire wheel taking the pan and wheel wells down to bare metal. Then, prepped the surface with Marine Clean and Metal Ready. Instead of POR-15 on the exterior surfaces I used Zero Rust sold in rattle cans (2 coats) and, finally in the wheel wells I sprayed an even layer of undercoat. So, this kind of scrutiny is being used on the rest of the car (minor OCD/ perfectionist tendencies). However, by doing so I unearthed what everyone finds in a 914; RUST! Some of the pictures to follow will show the extent of the cancer and rebuilding.

Dlo - I am going down the path blazed by Porscharu (Steve) since my mechanical skills are still in the novice range. I think I will be using this Shifter after Steve tweeks with it.

Tony - I have read about your journey into Suby Land in your thread about 3x to glean as much info as possible. You, Fiid, Steve Thatcher, and others have inspired me to do this conversion! Thanks for the kind words!

Charlie - I used a thin piece of pipe foam insulation to cover the swaybar to keep it from banging on the bottom of the gas tank. rTowle (Rich) has posted using a piece of garden hose but, I am going to try this and see how it goes. As for running the coolant lines, I am debating making a semi-removable panel for the center tunnel like Carreraguy had made for his Suby conversion. I probably would cut out the heater cable tubes and eventually make an access panel in the engine bay like Amenson did: (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-4154-1215898433.jpg)

More pics to come...