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dfoyl

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Posts posted by dfoyl

  1. Ok, here is the update and plan.

     

    The hubs still require XT6 studs for this batch. Everything else is fine.

     

    Given I no longer can get them shipped from Taiwan to AUS for free, I am going to split the shipment out of Taiwan into a mix of AUS & NZ, US and anywhere else. The AUS/NZ will come to me and I will (optionally) import XT6 studs or the buyer can have them drilled to suit EJ studs which I can supply or they can source and fit themselves. For the US, I would suggest they all go to a central location (somewhere on the west coast) and that person can distribute them accordingly (Scott in Bellingham might be an option as he could fit the studs (not included in price) for those without access to a press). I don't want to have to rely on my ex-colleagues to ship 6 different parcels to different US addresses (and it will be cheaper to have them all shipped together as well). Costs for US assume $200 a pair + shipping which is probably going to end up around $240 USD in hand (plus cost of studs and fitment). Costs for AUS - assuming fully finished - will be around $375 AUD in hand.

     

    Here is the breakdown (note many of this list have not committed (some have just expressed interest), so if you're not on the list please post if you want to commit to a set). For those who have previously committed, if you are no longer interested please post up - I will be sending PM's to all of the below for those who miss this post) :

     

    AUS/NZ :

    nzjoe

    89brumby

    Lecardor

    arbee

    (non-USMB) Adam Roots, Subabits

     

    Total 6

     

    USA :

    bratman18

    patysimcox

    vkbikes

    88SubieSnack

     

    Total : 4

     

    Jamaica :

    suber_Tony

     

    Total : 1

     

    Grand total : 11 (I only have 10 sets, so one of the non-USMB members will miss out assuming all USMB members commit). I also have a few requests for multiple sets, so if you want to drop out that is fine.

     

    I'd like to get numbers confirmed this week so I can get the shipping totals, so please let me know.

  2. You can use any 80-87 "MY" model on your 85 - not sure if a 2wd tank will fit in a 4wd vehicle ok though.

     

    Assuming it's a 4wd version, a hatch has a 45L (11.9 US gallons) tank and the rest has a 55L (14.5 gallon tank)

    For a 2WD, it's 50L (13.2 US gallons) for the hatch, 55L (14.5 US gallons) for a BRAT, 60L (15.9 US gallons) for the sedan/coupe/hatch.

     

    In terms of new I have no idea, but there are plenty of second-hand units out there (try the southern states for less rusty examples!). I'd personally try to find a 4wd wagon as that should be fairly common at a JY.

  3. Here is an unvalidated list of seats that DON'T need welding, from oldest to newest :

     

    GK Sigma (no use for the US guys, though the Scorpion may have used the same seats and was sold as the Dodge Challenger in the early 80s in the USDM)

    KB/KC Laser

    Early WRX (94-95)

    Mazda MX5 (Miata)

    1986 Mazda 626 (not the later models)

    DA9 Honda Integra (recommended if you are > 180cm / 6ft)

    2009 Suzuki Swift

    BRZ / 86 (requires shimming or trimming) - I am running these at the moment and the passenger side is the main culprit. They are also fairly hip-hugging but offer great support. The BRZ has BRZ embroidered on them, the Toyota seats don't so I picked up the Toyota version (which is also a heck of a lot easier to find here).

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  4. Added meat around the center (the hub-centric ring got thinner in V3 instead of thicker as planned due to translation issue), finally back to EJ studs, couple minor corrections I've forgotten (it's been a while since I had them marked up -  supplier didn't give me a revised drawing back, just used my mark-ups so I'm not 100% confident). I was lucky to have an ex-co-worker in Taiwan today who is flying back down under tomorrow 4am so I should see them Monday evening.

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  5. A few guys have started talking about adaptors but I haven't seen any offered for sale. I will have my final set of 10 XT6 rear hubs available in about a month if you want to go down that path but it's a lot more work than spacers (the flip side is you get access to modern disc brakes compared to the factory stock setup, which is barely adequate for an EJ swap).

  6. There isn't much on here for the EJ20, most people will recommend the EJ22 as it is the happy medium in the EJ family - rev-friendly with torque, while the EJ20 is more free-revving and the EJ25 is more a lower-revving torque engine. I am pretty sure you are staying NA rather than adding the complexity of a turbo setup for your first build.

     

    The main reason you would choose the EJ20 is for a turbo application, unless there was a location-specific reason for the choice (which may be the case for you - for me it was simply due to onerous engineering requirements for anything over the 2L capacity). My build is a bit more complex as I have worked around the local engineering requirements by building an EJ22 inside an EJ20 block, but there are some areas that overlap.

     

    The first is the pull-down of your new (used) EJ engine, which I used a NASIOC link : https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1435733. Ensure you get all the bolts per the document, especially the little one inside the block (near the transmission bellhousing face) - I missed this one on my first EJ20 block and ended up throwing out that block (luckily I bought it for the heads only, and it only cost me $10 off eBay). You WILL need extended-length narrow sockets for the bolts that join the two halves of the block together (a couple will come out with standard sockets but there are 2 that simply can't be done unless you happen to have just the right socket OD), and the only other two unusual tools is a Torx TP40 bit for the heads (I bought mine on eBay : http://www.ebay.com/itm/400790684429) and a 14mm allen key (hex bit) for the wrist pin plugs (I went ghetto on this and used an old hex wood bolt/screw which happened to have a 14mm head, and filed two flats on the threaded end of the bolt - not recommended but it did the job). The special tool for the wrist pins I also went ghetto and simply got a length of thin (5mm) acrylic round bar and tapped the wrist pins out (obviously I removed the clips from the end I could reach). Note the EJ205 wrist pins are more difficult to tap out than an EJ202 as they have a dished hole design but both are easy enough to do. For rebuilding, there are several excellent videos on Youtube (I haven't reached that point, my block is still waiting for new high-comp stroker pistons).

     

    On the gearbox, I used the vendor on here of adaptor plates (you could make your own to reduce costs). There are several articles on here for the mods needed for this. And for wiring/ECU I initially went with an early 98 Forester EJ20 which has the ECU mounted off the side of the engine. I haven't yet worked out what I need to do to move to the phase 2 EJ20 in terms of modifying that. As long as you get the ECU to suit the engine (phase 1 ECU with phase 1 EJ20, and phase 2 ECU with phase 2 EJ20) I don't think it will be hugely difficult to strip down. Obviously avoid anything post 2006 with CANBUS to keep it as simple as possible.

  7. I'd expect to see almost all 80s era Japanese cars to start climbing in value, especially the less common variants like the 3 door coupe. BRAT's are already well on their way. Parts are getting harder to find, the "only driven to church on Sunday" examples have all come out of the woodwork, and the few still out in the wild are getting restored instead of towed to the junkyard. I haven't seen an EA81 based vehicle at a yard for at least 6 months, and EA82 based vehicles are sporadic here compared to being a staple in the yards a few years ago.

     

    You can't get cars like this any more. Lightweight, easy to work on, decent fuel economy, reasonable handling. Subaru made a decision to go to wider, heavier vehicles with the Legacy platform along with the rest of the Japanese car-makers in the late 80s/early 90s, and each generation gets bigger and heavier. The early WRX's will be next, although the US missed the first few years.

  8. Pulled both rear rotors off the Brumby, I made the mistake of buying cheaper rotors without the passivated finish for the rears and they ended up with surface rust very quickly. I wire-wheeled them back to bare metal (apart from the pad wiping area obviously) and primed and painted them with caliper paint. Three temperature cycles in the oven and put them back on the Brumby. Hopefully they will stay looking silver instead of rusty as winter comes on down under...

  9. I'll post up when the next set of 10 pairs are ready, I haven't worked out the logistics yet as I no longer get free shipping from Taiwan to Australia, and may end up routing most of them through to the US which will bring the per-unit cost down substantially for the US buyers (waiting on the quote). I can probably get a handful shipped (hand-carried back by ex-co-workers) to Australia for the Australian's who have expressed interest in this second run.

     

    For the drawings, I will publish once the final set are sold from this run. The complexity is the internal splines, the rest could be done by any half-competent machine shop. I had to have tooling made up to make the splines (which was amortised across the first batch of 10 sets).

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