Tony's Subaru Conversion Thread Options

[TonyAKAVW]

Well, I figured since there has been some pickup in momentum on this project that I would start a thread on my progress. Not to mention its a good way to share whatever ideas I pick up along the way.

The project started in January 2003 when I picked up the silver roller pictured below. Its a '74 and was pretty much stripped. It had a suspension and a few other parts but was missing a lot of major things like and engine, transmission, glass, hoods, gas tank, interior, wheels, etc. etc.

The story of my acquisition of this roller is in this thread:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?act=...&f=2&t=7991&hl=

After arriving at home:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?act=...&f=2&t=8963&hl=

This project got a bit of a slow start. I had to first part and chop up my first 914 and dispose of it. It was badly rusted and where itwasn't rusted it was bondo'd. This was going to be a replacement body for that car.

Then last summer I picked up the yellow '70 roller that is now my daily driver. Since then I've spent most of my 914 time fixing it up and getting it ready for WCC. Now that its in a pretty much stable state and WCC is over I can concentrate on this car.

The current plan is that it will get a Subaru 2.5L naturally aspirated engine in a conversion very similar to Scott Thacher's. The basic timeline is like this:

1. Fix up the body enough to make it roadworthy.
2. Put together the drivetrain (engine, adapter, transmission)
3. Install drivetrain and remaining parts
4. Install an exhaust system and wire up the engine, make it ready to drive
5. Install enough interior to drive it.
6. Drive it around a bit, fix whatever things don't work right
7. Flare the fenders (GT flares)
8. body and paint
9. Finish the interior
10.Performance mods - cams, etc.

I'm hoping that I get it at least roadworthy within a year, and the rest of the stuff within a year after that. Its possible I could get it done faster but we'll see. This is a big project.

Here's the car as it was when I brought it home:

[TonyAKAVW]

And now for the description of "the box." The "box" is going to be a weatherproof aluminum box that will tentatively go in the engine bay, though it could easily go in the passenger compartment if I find it gets too hot.

Anyway, the box will be the main wiring hub for the car. In essence it will replace the relay board and the 914 ECU. It will contain the Subaru ECU, and one or possibly two custom printed circuit boards (PCBs). One will act as an in-between to the engine harness and the ECU and wil contain mostly resistors and other components which simulate the function of elements I'm not using. These include the rear O2 sensor, fuel tank pressure, fuel temp, etc. etc. It will be fairly generic in that it will allow any wiring harness to be used. I will end up making 3 or so of these boards initially. If there is interest from others I can put in orders for more of them later on. The second board will hold the relays, and fuses for the rear part of the car. It too will be somewhat generic. In fact I may end up just buying one of these since there are places that make them already...

"The Box" will also have some status indicators on it for quick troubleshooting. I may also have a second OBD-II connector on the box for easier access while working in the engine bay.

-Tony