soloracer34

SCCA Rules only require a rollbar for Solo Trials, AutoX only requres it in an open top car. I AutoX an EP Honda and I just have a welded in harness bar for 4 point harness. It sounds like your car fits nicely into SM with the engine swap which was intended for street cars with engine swaps etc. Unlike my Honda which will never see the street again. Now that the lower balljoints and front wheel bearings are all taken care of it's off to RallyX for my Legacy...

Thanks all, I'll try picking up a coolant temp sensor since they're fairly cheap. As to the EJ18 I'm really not sure, I knew the motor had been replaced when I bought it earlier this year but I didn't find out it was a EJ18 until I replaced the power steering pump, on the plus side it gets 27-32 mpg...

My 90 Legacy (with a 1.8L oddly enough) just developed an odd hard start issue which I can't quite decide if it's cold weather related or not since it hasn't really warmed up yet. Occasionally, but getting more frequent it won't want to start and just crank over, but if the gas pedal is held to the floor which is usually FI taboo it fires right up. Any ideas as to what I should be checking? Is there a temp sensor or something that controls a choke function? Plugs and plug wires ar erecently new as well as IAC being recently replaced. Thanks.

That top photo is in fact a late 90's civic HB with an Imp nose grafted on look carefully under the hood, thats a transverse 4 valve cover under there. I'm guessing it's more likely a photochop job than a real car. As for the lower pic, isn't that a Subie concept car from a year or two ago?

I've found alignments at Tire Source in Boulder to be resonably priced and excellent work. Pete does many, many local race cars and is highly recomended on the racing message boards. Probably won't get much of a diagnosis of anything beyond alignment though.

I'm fairly certain that early LS cars did not have ABS as my 90 LS 5spd wagon does not. Don't know about the seats though since mine has newer Outback Leather throughout. What about painted door handles, the blue wagon has painted handles. Mine has three chrome handles and one painted one, what gives?

I don't know if Subaru's are in the same boat but my Chevy Colorado I had with a 3.5L was only rated to tow 3,500lbs and I was told by a reputable source that they are physically capable of towing more but under a heavier load will not meet the current emissions standards. Often the EPA may be the cause of lower ratings not physics and safety. Just a thought...

I don't know what car specifically you're refering to, however if the stock wheel is 7" wide and yours is 17.5" it is not stock legal. If it's a WRX than STX is a likely home under SCCA classing. Or if we're talking about a STI etc. than STU. Bottom line, even if they're "only .5" wider" it's still not legal for stock class.

I've had great experience with County Line Import Automotive near 470 and University. They're not subaru specific but have been great to work with with anything I throw at them. If nothing else they should be able to give you a comparative quote.

my 90 wagon has over 270K miles on the body including being rolled onto it's drivers side once upon a time. it goes down the road without the slightest squeak or rattle, only a bit of wind noise from the passenger side mirror I haven't fixed yet. I only get a very little bit of creak from the windshield area going over the curb onto the driveway. This is with new outbackified KYB GR-2's. In fact my 90 Legacy wagon makes fewer noises then my 99 F250 SD. I like my wagon, still drives like a new car...

It'll stay with the 1.8 likely for a long time, I was just surprised to see that someone put the 1.8 in. My only real disappointment with it is that one of the reasons I bought the car was so I could go and play at the Rallycrosses. I'll be even more of a challenge to keep up with the WRX'es and EVO's. I'll still mop up with them at the ice races though.

So this weekend I swapped in a junkyard power steering pump to replace my failing unit and noticed something very odd. The block in my 90 legacy was stamped EJ18. I knew my car had had the motor replaced before my ownership. The owner prior to me put it on the Dyno at a club dyno day and it registered a whopping 62.2 hp uncorrected at the wheels which seemed low for a 2.2. On the plus side I get 28-30 mpg. Someone must have got a great deal on that 1.8 motor... All the more reason I "need" that EJ22T swap...

I just had to use a little pry bar between the bottom of the strut and the lower arm to get the holes to all line up so I could slip the bolts in. The lower mounts should be Subie standard from pretty much 90-current. If you're using your original tophats and springs and just swaping struts it should fit just fine. In the rear the top hat is directional, if it is not aligned right (mine had an arrow indicating the outside of the car) they will be nearly impossible to get back together, I learned that the hard way. Hope this isn't too late to be useful.

I have a similar metal bracket mount for my Ford Superduty for my Starmate Replay. I like it for two primary reasons, if I remove it there are no holes, and secondly it's very rigid and stable meaning no wobbling and no second hand needed just to push a button. Yes it is $35 for $.75 worth of metal, but think of it as buying someones engineering and design expertise! I would avoid the cigarette lighter mount like the plague.

Yes, Legacy Outback, the Sport is not what you want.

They will work, they're just CYA'n things. Just go online pretend you own a 99 Outback and place your order, it's not worth the brain damage trying to convince someone that something non-standard will work. If those struts fit my 90 they'll certainly work on yours. I've had them tell my brother we couldn't fit 17x8 BBS RK's on a 96 Eagle Talon TSi AWD though we had very carefully measured everything and knew through message board research they'd fit. You've done your homework here, it's all good.

Yea, it was a decent 1/2 day project with a good spring compressor and a little WD-40 and a breaker bar. Surprisingly the undercariage was amazingly free of rust and scale for over 270K on the chassis. Send me a PM I'd be more than happy to share what I know and help you out.

FWIW as a guy who grew up on old mopars (how cool was is being picked up from school in first grade in a 69 GTX in Bahama blue with blackout hood , the body color stripe down the middle and the orange air grabber intakes) I Say go with the high impact colors, the Panther Pink would be very cool on a Brat as would Lime green with the black stripe and for grins blackout the center of the hood too. I'm currently on an orange kick as my lifted wagon may one day become Land Rover G4 orange with a black or dark blue stripe on the side and a blackout hood. Whatever you decide - Post Pics!

That'd be mine! Had the lift done for about 3 weeks now and really like it. 98 Outback KYB GR-2's on stock springs and tophats. Now I just need some taller tires, Hella's etc... You're more than welcome to come by take a ride, check it out etc. I live in Parker around Jordan and Main. PM me for more contact info. Since you said great 1st gen I'll assume you only saw the passenger side

Don't know how price compares but TireRack.com sells top mounts in their suspension section.

or here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=60225&highlight=outback+strut+swap (the good stuff is on page 2) Or here for another option: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=40339&highlight=outback+strut+swap I spent roughly 3 hours resarching this fully on USMB, Legacy Central and NASIOC before I made my purchase, yes I had lots of time on my hands sitting in a hotel room in Dallas...

Or if you want more info as to what fits what go to: http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=2153

I guess the point I was trying to make was ANY 96-99 Outback strut will indeed fit, as in it should bolt up with no modifications. The spring perches and lower mounting brackets are the same as first gen. The main difference is the distance between them which yields the lift. The main difference between the 89-91's and the 92-94's is the position the spring perch is welded on the strut, it reportedly varies by 1/2"-3/4" between the two. I did my home work and measured my 90 before ordering. I'll give you the dimensions of the 98 Outback KYB GR-2's I bought and put on my car. You can then measure the same on your existing struts and should be able to determine the amount of lift you'll get in your application. The most consistent place to measure is from the bottom of the spring perch where the perch is welded to the body of the strut putting the end of the tape measure against the semi-circular drain opening then measuring down to the top of the flange of the lower mounting points, see crude diagram below. | _ || \_/____ || Measure here, ||____ to Here. I I:] On my 90 the front was 4" and the rear was 5 7/8" (Subaru factory struts) The 98 Outback Struts currently on the car are 5 1/4" in the front and 7 3/4" in the rear (KYB GR-2's), compare these measurements to what is on the car now and you'll then know how much lift you'll get using stock springs and tophats. From what I understand the fronts you could bolt in the entire Outback assembly springs tophats and all but the rear is the one that is more difficult if you don't want to use your springs and tophats. Disclaimer: Some assembly required, batteries not included, void where prohibited, if rash or irritation persists see your doctor.

98 Outback struts will fit on a 90 yeilding 1.25" in front and 1.75" in the rear. The Post facelift cars (92-94) the spring perches are in a slightly different location and springs are different in the rear so your results may vary. On my 90 I used my original springs and hardware. Check Legacycentral.org there is some detailed info in the suspension section. If you need I can get the measurements of the 98 outback struts measured from the top of the lower mount flange to the weld at the bottom of the spring perch for comparison.

Depending on how much you're after a simple strut swap to later model Ouback struts yield a moderate lift. In my case putting 98 Outback struts on a 90 Legacy wagon with stock springs and tophats resulted in 1.25" lift in front and 1.75" in the rear. Going to a taller tire adds to the increase. 26"-27" diameter tires should be possible. This is the poor man's way to lift as KYB GR-2 struts can be had for around $335 shipped from the Tire Rack.