Subaru Transmission into 914, DAMN that turned out good!! Options

[DBCooper]

Some photos of my 914 being fitted with a WRX transmission. I'm sorry, we replaced bushings, adjusted and aligned three times and that 901 never even got close to being acceptable. The WRX motor was such a huge improvement over the VW that it only seemed logical to make the transmission just as modern. And "while we're in there" the air-to-air intercooler is being replaced by a water to air. You just don't get the air flow in the back of the car you'd want to make big power, and the next step with this car will be an STI motor. Power is addictive. Yes, I know better and you've been warned.

Anyway, the WRX five speed with Quaife gets introduced to engine.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i379.photobucket.com-2618-1268145993.1.jpg)

The forest of jackstands as positioning is worked out.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i379.photobucket.com-2618-1268145994.2.jpg)

The WRX transmission axle outlets are a little closer to the flywheel than the 901, which meant the engine had to be moved back to keep the axles aligned with the stubs.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i379.photobucket.com-2618-1268145995.3.jpg)

Flipped manifold. Enough space in there now for an EZ30 six, easy. Nice looking hellhole too, don't you think? Still needs detailing of course, but first things first.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i379.photobucket.com-2618-1268145995.4.jpg)

But moving the engine back meant he had to box a small part of the rear trunk. That's OK, this car isn't for hauling luggage anyway. Or lawn tools. Or groceries.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i379.photobucket.com-2618-1268145996.5.jpg)

Cable shifter at the transmission. Beautiful work.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i379.photobucket.com-2618-1268145997.6.jpg)

And inside the car, the modified MR2 shifter. Feels notchy, accurate, and good, which is what this is all about. That and more strength, especially in first.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i379.photobucket.com-2618-1268145998.7.jpg)

A video of the shifter, still in the prototype stage, showing the action in the front and the rear.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncmaxYd1WNI


Ask Abby what she thinks of Grandpa's car. She likes to show off those pretty new teeth.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i379.photobucket.com-2618-1268145998.8.jpg)

The water-air intercooler. It will go just ahead of the engine on the driver's side.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i379.photobucket.com-2618-1268145999.9.jpg)

In the car, you can see part of the new cradle, just tacked for the moment.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i379.photobucket.com-2618-1268146000.10.jpg)

Axles are aligned.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i379.photobucket.com-2618-1268146001.11.jpg)

Business end, seen from the rear. It looks so good we'll probably go without a valence, it's gotta be seen. I can't wait until in the rearview mirror I see another 914 guy who's pulled up behind and is trying to figure out what all happened back there.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i379.photobucket.com-2618-1268146001.12.jpg)

This work is being done by a wizard at a shop called 40-Thirteen in Modesto, CA. Quality of work is unmatched. If you're curious there are a lot more pictures of this transmission project, the engine cradle, what the car looked like with just the WRX motor before these changes, or more pictures of that beautiful granddaughter in an album at: http://photobucket.com/Corinthiano

More to come later. It was a monster before, but you had to be real gentlemanly with the shifter. To hell with that. I can't wait.

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[DBCooper]

It runs again! Doesn’t roll quite yet, waiting for the axles, pedal assembly, and some last details, but we’re getting pretty close. Here’s a video:

(IMG:http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo234/paulillick/th_polished066.jpg)

Sounds good at idle, doesn’t it? It got dark at the end so it's difficult to see the shifter work, but it’s precise and notchy, exactly what we wanted. This is the view of the engine compartment after powercoating, polishing and assembly:

(IMG:http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo234/paulillick/polished012.jpg)

Still needs to have the rest of the engine compartment detailed so it looks as good as the engine. You can see the little Mazda battery, now hidden down under the air cleaner. And now the ECU is in the passenger compartment inside the car where it'll stay cool and dry:

(IMG:http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo234/paulillick/polished010.jpg)

We'll build an armrest/storage compartment to cover it. But now with everything out of the trunk there's a big open space for the obligatory ‘pretty girl draped on the car’ shot:

(IMG:http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo234/paulillick/polished049.jpg)
(IMG:http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo234/paulillick/polished056.jpg)

Oops.

Engine bay seen from the other side, with the de-bossed and now re-painted manifold. We'll leave the stock overflow tank on the aircleaner side of the manifold, so those bosses are still there.:

(IMG:http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo234/paulillick/polished023.jpg)

This next shot shows the shine on the powdercoated intercooler and polished tubing, but also gives you an idea of the clearance from the engine to the rear firewall:

(IMG:http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo234/paulillick/polished015.jpg)

The engine had to be moved back from where it was with the 901 transmission, to get the axle outputs from the transmission more or less in line with the stubs in the trailing arms, so that clearance is important to anyone thinking about this conversion. The starter and clutch slave also needed clearancing, as seen from below:

(IMG:http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo234/paulillick/polished019.jpg)

If you look at those pretty girl in the trunk photos you can see those new bump outs from the top. You can also see them in the background here, with the new fitting on top of the slave cylinder that gives some help with clearance. Here, this fitting:

(IMG:http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo234/paulillick/engine2018-1.jpg)

The shift cables under the car, plenty of room and as long as they aren’t lying on top of the axles the routing isn’t critical:

(IMG:http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo234/paulillick/polished021.jpg)

And how the muffler fits under the rear, with the new exhaust exit:

(IMG:http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo234/paulillick/polished007.jpg)

It’s all looking really good. Jeff was going to have to make some major changes to the stock pedal cluster to fit in a clutch master cylinder, so we decided just to go with a Tilton pedal set. Very sexy, proven function, no lack of options or spare parts, and lots easier in the long run.

If you want to see more detail, especially more of that pretty girl, there are lots more photos HERE: http://photobucket.com/Corinthiano

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