my Subaru will beat with a Buick heart!

Cant wait to see the end results!

how did you select the 3.8

how did you select the 3.8

 

ihad this same 3.8 in my sunbird for years before. wicked tough cheap parts easy to work on. and FAST!

Haha yea!

If I worked at Subaru I would make the 5 eat rwd with clutch packs for fwd

Build the car with 3.6 h6 turbo and a big one !!

Off switch for awd

Off switch for stability management

 

Even the manual one be rwd with clutch packs for the fwd. The opposite of the old subarus that were 4wd

 

6 mt tranny with a wicked over drive

 

And make sure who ever designed the 5 th gen gets his ass canned!

Bring back the legacy wagon!!

And maybe even make a spec b wagon:)

 

Make it into a fun kick ass car

 

Several things:

 

This is the best mod thread I have read in a long long time - possibly ever. This swap goes to the core of what a car guy is - overcoming the engineering to produce a practical superior product - much respect.

 

I think the 3.8 as others have said is an unlauded hero engine - I spent several years trying to destroy the one in my fathers hand me down 76 Buick Skylark. It survived over 300k miles at his and my hands and was parked in the back yard for a couple of years when I got my 200SX turbo. A fresh battery and an interested passerby and it drove to its new home - it may still be out there somewhere today.

 

I do not currently own a Subaru for much of the reasons you have listed above. The 05 Legacy GT wagon with the manual was that car I (and I think others) were waiting for Subaru to sell. I guess they didn't sell enough and I didn't have the funds to buy one new when they were. I scan the classifieds looking for one and maybe I'll find it but this thread gives I think a lot of people hope outside that box. There is a lot great about Subarus but you iron out all the bugs in your swap and you have built the better mousetrap. A Subaru with an engine that matches the chassis and I'd put long odds that engine is not gonna be the weak spot moving forward. Were this a 3.8l in a manual(that could engage the driver and survive too) 05-09 Legacy wagon - you'd have built the ultimate mousetrap IMO.

 

One question: what do I need to do to view the vids? They come up as private even though I am logged in.

 

ss

^ thanks for the Nice responce!

videos well, after hearing on the news more and more how police and other persons tipping off police about infractions and video owners/ makers getting fines and or other legal attacks. I have decided to boycott youtube. its only a matter of time before some one will recieve a letter from the authorities ,recieving a fine for letting your car idle more than 3 min or excessive reving at you own home, let alone an illeagle k&n airfilter up grade. or prehaps some thing in the background of a video that is offensive to someone. you tube has reluctantly released the identity of some persons to authorities. Who says they will not do that to me? what do i have to gain from posting videos and what could i loose? untill there is some comfortable way for me to protect me self i have removed my videos.

Very true, that's why I never post any.

 

Plus I don't want to hurt my chances if I ever run for office.

 

I will miss your videos though.

Well I understand, just keep the pics coming. Lol

This is an awesome build an I applaud the level of thought you have put into it. The 3.8 is one of my all time favorite engines and I have pushed one in Bonneville to almost 300k. I am going a similar route but will be converting to rwd in order to fit a V8. Your thread has provided much inspiration

then just put a v8 into a brz and don't rid this world of an amazing go anywhere car !

Why anyone would switch to RWD on an AWD car... completely beyond me... needless to say there are better RWD cars to start with...

Why anyone would switch to RWD on an AWD car... completely beyond me... needless to say there are better RWD cars to start with...

 

I agree whole heartedly. If it were selectable on the fly I could see but doing a rwd conversion is beyond me. Buy a 240, add an ls1, do huge smokey drifts.

so turned 188 000 kms on it.

 

stll playing with tuning fr best possible driveability. the cam that i have in there is a no overlap cam ( means the intake and exhaust arn't open at the same time ) as pretty much most engines are not like. the use cam overlap to help with the torque curve. however on turbo charged this can cause problems. ie wht the lgt and many others have variable timming.

 

but this caused the ignition advance table to be actually very flat. only running 23-30 deg timming and down to about 19 deg in boost.

where the subie boxer engines and how the 3.8 was before. as much as 46 deg in cruise and down to about 22 in boost.

this threw me a bit of a curve ball on my tuning theory. but now as i lower the timming more and more its getting better and better on gas! so i'm very happy about that.

 

one issue i am having is a rattle, it almost sounds like the flex plate is cracked but i checked it out twice, prehaps it could be the cat ratteling around in the exhaust.

 

it only makes the noise when I lug at mid rpm range. but regardless i dive it everyday and pulling a trailer a good 30% of the time.

God bless utility.

I just ran across this thread. Pretty amazing build. I always appreciate creative automotive engineering, venturing into obscure mechanical territory, and fabrication.

 

Having said that, if you ever decide to move onto another project and leave this project to a new home, give me a hollar. Better yet, I look forward to your mass-produced, easy-to-install conversion kit.... haha

 

Congrats on the creativity, time, effort, and impressive fruits of your labor.

 

Just curious..... do you have any future projects in your thoughts or do you still have your hands full with polishing this venture?

I just ran across this thread. Pretty amazing build. I always appreciate creative automotive engineering, venturing into obscure mechanical territory, and fabrication.

 

Having said that, if you ever decide to move onto another project and leave this project to a new home, give me a hollar. Better yet, I look forward to your mass-produced, easy-to-install conversion kit.... haha

 

Congrats on the creativity, time, effort, and impressive fruits of your labor.

 

Just curious..... do you have any future projects in your thoughts or do you still have your hands full with polishing this venture?

 

 

i have cad files for all the custom parts i made for the buckaru.

but there realy isn't that much to it. depending if you use the same year engine or go with series3 or 3500 the headders would be different.

and this could also be done with mt if it was so desired.

 

next major project to to build my kit plane of a sd-1.

 

and to get my pilots licence. ia already have all the licences for road vehicles as well as comercial drivers licence. That only leaves pilots.

 

i also have a small turbine engine that i'm working on a drive system to take its 10 000 rpm shaft speed into useable power for a lawnmower or jetski or small boat.

Man you love that turbine...

took out and examined sparkplugs because i was bored. and just because it takes 2 min without anything in the way bcause v6

You suck. Mine the pass side it's a 10 sec job. Driver's, in pretty sure I have to pull the engine.

took out and examined sparkplugs because i was bored. and just because it takes 2 min without anything in the way bcause v6

 

 

OK, your just bragging now.

took out and examined sparkplugs because i was bored. and just because it takes 2 min without anything in the way bcause v6

 

Only time ever posted on a Subaru forum...ever...

took out and examined sparkplugs because i was bored. and just because it takes 2 min without anything in the way bcause v6

 

Try that trick on a Mercury Sable with V6... That will make our Subies seem easy.

Try that trick on an Aerostar with a 4.0l... That will make you murder children.

Try that trick on a Mercury Sable with V6... That will make our Subies seem easy.

 

Pop the plastic upper off. Cake work

Pop the plastic upper off. Cake work

 

The back 3 are still tight, and getting the plastic off both sides is a bit of a job by itself.

i use to have a SC3800 in my 98 GTP with practice i was able to do full plug job in under an hour,