So I recently got my hands on a skid plate meant for a 96-99? legacy GT. (SubieGal's old one, thanks for letting me have it Ed ) Thinking it would bolt right up, I grabbed it. In the past, I tried to fit a ea81/82 skid plate, but it didn't seem long enough.

Well. The Leg GT plate is virtually the same size as the older one. The holes are drilled in different places, but it's the same skid plate.

The Leg GT plate wound up having the holes in the wrong place too. I had to grind them out quite a bit to fit it.

 

It fits to the same holes in the core support, (although my imp's core support only has two holes) and to the front two bolts on the little plate that sits under the engine crossmember. The older style ones mount to the rear bolts on that little plate, hence why I thought the old skid plates were too small.

 

So yeah, the "hard to find" skid plate for the impreza has been under our noses the whole time. ea81/82 will work fine with a little drilling.

 

I imagine the legacy 90-94 will be the same as the impreza, but someone will have to experiment to find out for sure.

 

EZ

thats awesome! now you can put it through more punishment then ever before!:-p

 

got any pics?

Zefy, if what I understand from Zap's post is true, then the skid plate hes using is a factory peice and looks an awful lot like an EA81 or EA71 skid plate. Imagine what that would look like under a Imp. Not a lot of protection for the exhaust system, but at least the oil pan gets a break!

ya i am super glad my skid plate has been on the car... i'd have a bashed up oil pan by now!

 

actually after my last oil change i don't bother putting it back on because it was so bent... it practically sprang off the car when i took off the bolts... so its bent now and they aren't easy to bend back into shape...(of course)

Yeah, when I saw the picture, I immediately thought it was an EA skid plate.

 

Good to know some simple work to an EA one can make it fit.

 

Did any Imps come with skid plates? or are they all naked?

My OBS came naked :-\

i need to work on getting my 1/8" plate bolted under there....

Since when have skid plates been hard to find for impreza's???

 

http://www.writerguy.com/primitive/skid.htm

Since when have skid plates been hard to find for impreza's???

 

http://www.writerguy.com/primitive/skid.htm

 

Yeah yeah, and how much do those cost? I'm talking about a factory skid plate to protect the oil pan.

Zefy, if what I understand from Zap's post is true, then the skid plate hes using is a factory peice and looks an awful lot like an EA81 or EA71 skid plate. Imagine what that would look like under a Imp. Not a lot of protection for the exhaust system, but at least the oil pan gets a break!

You hit the nail on the head. If the exaust gets taken out, the car gets a little louder, you heli-coil the holes, replace the exaust, go on.

If the oil pan gets taken out, you lose oil fast and probably over heat your engine before you even know it.

Did any Imps come with skid plates? or are they all naked?

I've never seen one. Nor on a legacy either. Jamie said she took her legacy to a dealership to get work and when she picked it up the skid plate was mounted.

Since when have skid plates been hard to find for impreza's???

 

http://www.writerguy.com/primitive/skid.htm

 

It doesn't look like there's a whole lot of engineering or metalwork there. You could make your own with a sawzall and a drill for a lot less.

Yeah I did the same on my 97 Imp with an EA82 skidplate a few weeks back.

 

I was at a junkyard looking for a Forester for some struts/springs because I was inspired by all the bad Soobs on this board. No luck with the Forester, but I found the skidplate and it looked like it would bolt right on. As mentioned above, that is not the case.

 

I drilled the front holes a little wider and added a piece of metal to extend the back holes a few inches to bolt onto the empty holes on the crossmember. Good to know I won't smash my oilpan. Haven't bent it yet!

It doesn't look like there's a whole lot of engineering or metalwork there. You could make your own with a sawzall and a drill for a lot less.

 

 

agreed

I've seen a couple Legacy's with skid plates. One was a '94 I think the other a '97 or '98 OB. And the holes hadn't been modified, so they are out there, just not a lot of them.

It doesn't look like there's a whole lot of engineering or metalwork there. You could make your own with a sawzall and a drill for a lot less.

I for one don't have a way of bending 3/16" aluminum... So I would have to have a shop do it for me. I'd rather support Primitive though.

Back from the dead. Anyone have any pictures of the EA82 skidplate on the bottom of a GC Impreza? Mine is GD.

 

I'm not looking to do any off-roading with my Impreza, I just want protection from road debris and bad Portland roads.