themixtoo Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 (edited) I started this project in 2002, when something went haywire in the computer system of my 83.5 Turbo Brat (and no one in Cleveland had the testing equipment anymore). Didn't want to junk the car (super rare here in northeast Ohio) so I set it aside. In 2004, my daughter was involved in an accident with a huge semi-dump truck, she wasn't hurt, but the '95 Impreza wagon was 'totaled' by the insurance co. I bought it back from them for $350 and then decided to make a Impreza/Brat. The Impreza had been damaged on the passenger front corner. I parted most of the car out but kept the engine/trans, rear diff and suspension engine cradle and the left side front suspension and the complete wiring harness with the combo meter too. After researching ideas here on USMB I started the transformation. It seemed to me that doing a lift would allow me to bolt a 3x3 steel tube to the factory cradle bolts and then I could relocate the Impreza cradle about one inch forward so I could put some nice 32" tires on 15" rims under it. All was well and good till I had to custom make the front/rear lower control arm mounting brackets. Any way, it all worked out ok till I inspected the EJ22 engine. The accident snapped the threaded bosses off the engine block where the power steering pump mounted and I was at a stand still. Fast forward to last year and once again, my daughter had destroyed another '95 Subaru.... this time a Legacy..she calls and says "dad I'm sending the Legacy to the recycle yard, do you want anything off it?" WELL.... I'll take the whole thing.... at least this one she didn't hurt the engine Edited December 11, 2015 by themixtoo 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themixtoo Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 (edited) Before I set everything aside 10 years ago, I did the same mods to the rear Impreza diff/cradle and struts. Now that I look at it today, I think I might redo it and move it back about 1 inch, to center the rear wheels in the original Brat opening (thought I had it set back in the day). I modified the instrument cluster to accept the Impreza combo meter(if you didn't know it you couldn't tell it's been modified) I installed the Impreza steering column and pedal cluster with the Impreza master cylinder and brake booster. Made new longer steel brake lines and replaced all the rubber hoses, new rotors, rebuilt calipers and pads and rear brake shoes. Now its out of the mothballs and I pulled the 2.2 EJ engine from the Legacy and tried to mate it to the old(er) Impreza transaxle. The dam torque convertor slipped out too far (I even wired it in just in case) and it wouldn't go back in all the way (tried 4 times) and then the engine wouldn't rotate for me to put the flexplate bolts back in So now I'm trying the Legacy trans, but some things are just not the same. I will add pix as I proceed. Edited December 10, 2015 by themixtoo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themixtoo Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 (edited) Legacy trans and engine are now in the Brat. The Legacy trans oil pan was rusted beyond repair so I swapped it with the Impreza trans pan and at the same time changed the filter. Changed the engine oil filter and fresh oil for the engine too. No new ATF at this time because I also swapped the trans cooler lines from the Impreza and the lower (front) banjo fitting is now leaking...I'll go to my local Subby dealer tonight and order the correct copper gaskets for that, then the ATF will stay in the tranny and not on my garage floor. Edited December 15, 2015 by themixtoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Do you have any of the original BRAT turbo parts still taking up space? I'm ALWAYS on the lookout for spares. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themixtoo Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 I still have the complete 1.8 Engine, turbo and all. I think I still have the auto trans someplace around here. Front engine cradle with the power steering rack too. $200 takes engine and trans.. $50 for the rest of it....... but I can't ship..... sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themixtoo Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 Started to install the Impreza wiring harness under the dash.. it's like stuffing 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound sack. Got the fuse box mounted, but had to cut into the engine compartment to get the main harness past the heater box and over to the passenger side so I could mount the ECU in the footwell. There were so many wires that I had to remove the A/C unit and take out the cooling coil. Its back together now, but the A/C will never work again. LOL...Also started the modification of the Automatic shifter lever.... the old Brat one had the little orange button to activate the 4WD solenoid on the old automatic trans and the shift pattern was missing a '3' in the selector...and the lever part below the chassis is on the drivers side. The Impreza unit has the lever on the passenger side and will not fit in the 'factory' spot so I completely modified the original unit to fix all the 'problems. If you didn't know better you would think is came from the factory 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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