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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

.

[DBCooper]

I think rear springs are 140, Koni adjustables on full soft, no sway bar. Front struts are stock Carrera Boge inserts, stock 914 torsion bars, Tarrett sway on softest. Falken Azenis, I think 205-50-16, 7 inch rear, 6 inch front. I don't know tire pressures. They just got the car running, so I think they just drove it up without time to look at much. They didn't bring an air tank, and even forgot to bring the Koni adjuster.

There are videos of all five runs HERE.

This is the fastest of the day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yor2_4Acqlo


They were playing with brake balance during the day, and the first runs locked the front up some. The last runs (smooth and fastest in the videos) looked better. You can hear wheelspin down some straights on all runs, but the big sticker is the way they're just skating, limping around low-speed corners. My son said it was enormously frustrating, that it was so slow in corners, but just a touch more throttle and it would come unbalanced and plow straight. Really difficult to drive.

We suspect the front is too low and may be bottoming. They'll zip-tie the tops of the front before the next time out to see what suspension travel they have left, if any. The sway bar's adjustable, so we'll try that too, but I think the biggest improvement will probably be better rubber on the front with the 7 inch rims. Then it'll be 7 front and back, with full suspension travel and a little stiffer on the front sway bar.

They found out that the car's solid, which is what we were most interested in, now we just need to get it set up. This is the fun part, I think.