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Ditch '84 for '93 for Offroading?


Rallywagon
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What do you guys think...I have the opportunity to get a pretty good '93 Impreza for less than $1000?

 

My '84 has been a blast but it is so rusted it is beyond saving, I think. The '93 has no rust, and of course, no locking center differential.

 

- Could I put in a dual range tranny from an EA? (I have a good 4-spd dual range.)

- Anyone have gear ratios and final drive for the '93 Impreza?

- Gearing is super important here...lots of rocks, narrow trails and climbs.

 

I'd appreciate some meaty comments. (Sorry for the cross post, but I got no specific responses in the retro fit forum.)

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The Impreza has a spent center diff and some dents...that is why I am considering how I could off road it.

 

It also needs some good, new front axles. I have e-mailed cvaxles.com for a quote of their best. Any other recommendations for axles...I don't want to fool with any more cheap rebuilds that last only a year at best?

 

Thanks for the thoughts so far.

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I think you need to take a look at what kind of offroading you are going to do here. An Impreza can go 'offroad' but you wont see any on this trail:

http://www.mnchopshop.org/images/offroad/jul04_craw4cure/morganm_rock_gorge_01.AVI

http://www.mnchopshop.org/images/offroad/jul04_craw4cure/morganm_rock_gorge_02.AVI

 

Really comes down to what you needs are for the trails you will be on.

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I think you need to take a look at what kind of offroading you are going to do here. An Impreza can go 'offroad' but you wont see any on this trail:

An impreza could take that.. it just depends on what you want it to look like when you're done with it.. :rolleyes:

maybe with a 4" lift, and some good tires :banana:

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Morgan,

 

Your videos are very similar to the tough sections of the trails I am doing now with my '84...I just need lower gearing to push my 205/75R14 MT's. I just hate to continue putting a lot of effort into the mechanicals of my '84 when the body is close to literally cracking in half from rust. (And all the '80-'84 wagons around here are that rusted.)

 

If I put a dual range tranny and a lift on the Impreza, do you think it could ever hang with the older models? Unfortunately, I have read that the EJ18 has peak torque at a much higher RPM. But wouldn't it be great to have that smooth, solid, quiet Impreza unibody as a platform to build on?

 

What we all really need is a way to put 4.44 diffs in the old EA dual range 5 speed and then beefier axles to take the abuse.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

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If I put a dual range tranny and a lift on the Impreza, do you think it could ever hang with the older models? Unfortunately, I have read that the EJ18 has peak torque at a much higher RPM. But wouldn't it be great to have that smooth, solid, quiet Impreza unibody as a platform to build on?

 

Max lift i've seen so far is what; 2" lift? What's the max tire size with a 2" lift? Dual range will help but you also need clearance. It's not that it wont ever do what an old EA could do; it's that they arent quite there yet. People are moving in the right direction and I hope we do see some EJ's doing some seriouse offroading that the EA's have traversed.

 

I think any EJ series with a 4" lift, 29" tires, and a dual range tranny would equal an old EA series with the same equipment. Just that we havent seen any built like that yet and taken on really rough trails. Even with said equipment you'd have to be willing to 'roll with the punches' and take a lot of body damage; that's a tougher decision when it's a more expensive platform.

 

I've looked under a lot of EJ series Subarus also. The control arms and other suspension parts that connect to the knuckles and such are not as beefy as old EA components. Even on the Forester the front control arms and such were way more beefed up than say an Impreza but the rear was not beefed up. Another concern to consider... are those components a liability? Only one way to find out :drunk:

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