hardhatz Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 I know I am running the risk of being shot at sunrise.. I beg your indulgence. I have an old Saab I wish to re-power. I have decided Subaru power would be the best, but I have little knowledge of the various models, so I humbly ask you Gurus to help me with some advice about which year & model motors are best picks, which to avoid, and pitfalls to watch out for. I'd like about 100 HP. A pushrod motor would fall right in, an OHC would take a bit of cutting. Carbureted, EFI, or Turbo all considered, pros & cons sought. I will look for a used motor. Great horsepower is not a priority, just economy & reliability. I want tall gearing, as I have just 1800 lbs to move, and I drive a lot of freeway. I will want A/C. I will need gearbox advice too. I would consider 5 speed or auto, but I have very little room for the transmission. I would like to have the option of adding Rwd later. Are there Subaru transmissions that will let me drive without the rear driveline in place? Thanks in advance, can't wait to do this thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s'ko Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 I know I am running the risk of being shot at sunrise.. I beg your indulgence. I have an old Saab I wish to re-power. I have decided Subaru power would be the best, but I have little knowledge of the various models, so I humbly ask you Gurus to help me with some advice about which year & model motors are best picks, which to avoid, and pitfalls to watch out for. Nahh.. there are soob powered bugs, soob powered boats, soob powered hovercrafts, soob powered VW buses why not a soob powered Saab. I would suggest the name saabaru, but that’s already taken for the 9-2x. I'd like about 100 HP. A pushrod motor would fall right in, an OHC would take a bit of cutting. Carbureted, EFI, or Turbo all considered, pros & cons sought. I will look for a used motor. Great horsepower is not a priority, just economy & reliability. I want tall gearing, as I have just 1800 lbs to move, and I drive a lot of freeway. I will want A/C. EA81 pushrod motor will probably get you about 80 HP or so. The didn’t come in EFI, but you can bolt on a SPFI system from a EA82. Turbo ones are uber-rare and hard to get parts for. EA82 SOHC. Just under 100 HP. Came carbed, SPFI, MPFI and turbo. Some say it’s a good motor, others say garbage. EFI and turbo need to have electrical harness work so you might get an EJ motor. EJ18 SOHC. 110 HP. MPFI. Requires harness work. Since you are local I can probably lend a hand. Not very powerful and not very powerful but can be had for cheap to free if you look around. Has a same dual port exhaust so exhaust from a EJ25 will work. Good stepping stone b/c an early EJ22 will bolt right up to the intake EJ22 SOHC, 140 HP. MPFI. Requires harness work. Prior to 1995 they were OBD1 and had less sensors to work with. Plentiful at the PAP in Legacys. Stout engine also earlier EJ22s were non-interference. I will need gearbox advice too. I would consider 5 speed or auto, but I have very little room for the transmission. I would like to have the option of adding Rwd later. Are there Subaru transmissions that will let me drive without the rear driveline in place?[\quote] As a general rule all EA auto trannys were crap. EA81 4 spd dual range. Good tranny. Very large. Bolts right up to EA81 and EA82s EA82 5 speed dual range. Better tranny. Shorter in length. Bolts right up to ea81s and EA82s. can bolt to an EJ w/an adapter plate EJ tranny are all pretty good. The difference is that they do not have a locking center differential like the EA’s do. They have open viscous center differentials. All EJ trannys will bolt to EJ engines. Can bolt to EA’s w/an adapter plate. You might as well use matching engines and trannys. EA w/EA or EJ w/EJ. You can run most soob trannys w/o the rear drive shaft, but you will have to plug up the rear shaft output hole to gear oil doesn't leak out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardhatz Posted May 23, 2008 Author Share Posted May 23, 2008 Nahh.. there are soob powered bugs, soob powered boats, soob powered hovercrafts, soob powered VW buses why not a soob powered Saab. I would suggest the name saabaru, but that’s already taken for the 9-2x. Cool useful info! Thx. Looks like the EA81 will be my choice on this car, a SAAB 96. 80 HP will do. And a good 5-speed to go with that. Now, I have read about solid/hydraulic lifters, & I'm sure there are other factors... Should I just get the newest model year I can find? Anybody got a good source? Also, I remember reading in an airplane magazine about an HO pushrod motor used in JDM trucks which has more power and dual intake ports.. Anybody know about those? If this works out, I'll try another one: I also have a Sonett which I visualize with a WRX running gear... Prolly work OK in a 1700 lb car, ya think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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