my T 45 torx head bit sheared off, is that a size that's required for air bag torx head bolts?

T30 if memory serves.

As an update the 1997 Legacy GT air bag control module had two sets of security torx screws you could remove. One set is the larger ones (T40 or T45) that hold the bracket w/ module in place. The second set was a smaller head and only held the module to the bracket.

 

Those smaller ones were very easy to remove, where the larger ones are real beasts. They require some serious torque and sheared off one of my Torx bits. If you have access to those smaller ones, that's the way to go. They're easier to get too and don't take much to loosen.

 

Minus the fact that the SRS plugs are insanely complicated to remove, the Legacy controller could easily have been removed by just removing the radio and stuff just below it, that's it.

 

The 1997 Impreza only has the larger ones holding the brackets in place, so you're stuck in that case. I see the bottom of some screws, like they are facing down into the floor, inaccessible.