Can you tell me about the JPS Subaru engine...?

In my opinion a Subi engine is the only way to go. 

What do they use as their preferred engine? Had old '96 Outback with 2.5L DOHC EJ25 (with 196k miles on it).  Turns out it had some issues with heads and being interference engine with a timing belt changing the belt was crucial (and rather a pain).  That old Outback got terrible gas mileage - 18-24 mpg (automatic). I'd love to lay hands on an EJ22. If you drive it hard - I'd definitely look at trannie mods.

 

SAS uses low-mileage EJ2.5 liter engines, either turbo'd or naturally aspirated.  HP for the n/a is about 170, while the turbo's go about 240.  EJ255 and EJ257 are the most popular choices.  There are lots of shops that offer rebuilt engines, as well as Subi tuning shops that will do any mods you like.  My advice is to buy any one of several books on Subi engines and do lots of research.  Don't forget John Steele at JPS as a source of info also.  Good luck and please keep the board informed.

The EJ22's are about 2 1/2" narrower than the 25's if frame space is a concern.

I'll disagree slightly with Wolfgang's warning about Subi trannys.  The manual models (5MT & 6MT) are more than sufficient to handle stock HP engines.  If you go above 300 HP or so, some tuners will suggest race altered gears, which are more cost-effective than the exotic dog box trannys.  However, even the automatic models (4EAT & 5 EAT) can handle up to 300 HP with ease.  Most tranny failures don't come from high HP, they come from poor driving habits.  In the never-ending list of possible upgrades, tranny mods are near the back of the pack.  The 6-speed manual will also give you a second overdrive gear (.971 & .756), so better mileage is a real possibility.

If your car didn't have a torsion bar based rear suspension a 6 speed would be so cool! Al

How much HP does a EJ22 put out?  Is it somewhere around 125?

Stock, around 140hp, easily boosted to over 250 with a mild turbo

"I'll disagree slightly with Wolfgang's warning about Subi trannys."

My warning was attaching Subbie to a 40 year old VW 4spd designed for 50 HP.  A Subbie 5 or 6 spd would be ideal.

The EJ22 may not be the best choice for a replica.  The Impreza EJ22 and Legacy EJ22 are open deck, naturally aspirated engines that make about 140 hp as Gordon said, but are not good choices for turbos, due to the open deck which means little support for cylinder walls under high boost.  The 91-94 Sport Sedan model of EJ22 is a fully closed block with oil squirters.  There were not many of this model built, but they are good candidates for turbos.  However, phase 2 of the EJ22's ceased production in 2001, so a low mileage engine will be tough to find.

 

If space is a consideration, I would think a frame adjustment/rebuild would be cheaper, easier, and cleaner than using the EJ22.  But, you know, the list goes on and on.  At some point, you have to cost out the selling price for what you have, and the build price for what you want.  It's kind of like the ongoing debate of remodel vs. build for a house.  There's no formula for what works for all of us car nuts. 

 

If you can figure out a way to shoehorn it in, the EJ255 and EJ257 are really excellent platforms to modify. 

I would go with a factory engine with no modification to preserve reliability

If reliability was a factor, I would agree with zdouga.  However, you can get 300 hp out of an EJ255 or 257 with bolt-ons.  Remember that our car engines are basically air pumps.  When you get more air in the air filter and out the exhaust, you get more power.  Opening up the air flow with improved filtration, after market up/down pipes, ecu tuning, and you're almost to 300 from 245 in a turbo engine.  Inherent reliability is retained.  This is completely different than boring and stroking an a/c block to make hp gains.  Most experienced tuners will tell you that you can double (yes, double) the rated hp of an EJ25 engine without touching the bottom end.  Pretty remarkable, eh?

Early ej22s are cheap and plentiful. Hard to find with low miles but generally invisible to the racer boys because they all want bigger-better-faster-now. 135 hp as installed in a '94 Legacy. Expect another five or 10 horses just for taking off the AC, PS and other junk weighing it down. A little better exhaust may juice it up a little more. You'll have an honest 150 ft-lbs torque at about 3600 RPM.

 

The engine will fit anywhere a Type 1 will fit--though you may have to fool with the oil pan if you're running something slammed.

 

The Soob weighs about 30 lbs more than the Type 1, all told. 

 

If 150 ft-lbs torque in a 1800-lb car is weak sauce to you, then by all means, get out the blue prints and the Benjis and get to work. (Or, if work sounds like no fun, I hear Jake Raby can save you all kinds of time and deliver stocker reliability in exchange for airplane money). Much more grunt is possible, and not hard to achieve.

 

Still, whatever numbers they (or their engine builder) may claim, I doubt more that one in five guys on this board sports more than 140 ft-lbs in their Speedster. That kind of power in this kind of car is good for mid-13 second quarter mile times at a trap speed of about 100 mph. That's a pretty fast ride, even today.

All of this info is great but the real acid test is to drive one. Zack, are you in or around LA? Come by and drive the Subaru 2.5 that John Steele put in my car. My guess is you'll drive for about two minutes max before your decision is made. It's like, a pretty simple decision. You can continue buying a less powerful engine once every three years if you really hate money that much and want a car that's out of commission every third summer. Or you can buy the Subaru and be done with it. Voila.

What is the scoop on registering a JPS in CA with a Subie?

Same as registering a JPS (or any VW based vehicle) with an air cooled engine.

That is good to know........I thought maybe the switch from a VW motor would possibly cause problems & it would need to be SB100 registered.

Depending on whether SB100 wants to see the serial number and history of your particular engine (something that our "enlightened" legislators in Massachusetts had the Divine Wisdom to snoop into for replicars) then you should ba all set.  The Suby is still a 4-cylinder engine of about the same displacement, so that's the way to go.

There is no reversed R&P for the 6 speed. 5 is your only choice. The 6 speed is also 80# heaver than the 5 speed.

 

Curt in Arizona...

With all the talk about Subaru engines let me tell you a true story, back in about 1996 my friend who owns an engine shop in Santa Ana, CA called and said that Subaru was closing down their Garden Grove R & D center and they gave him a bunch of Subaru engines to give away.   Well, after re-grinding the cams, installing larger exhaust valves, porting and polishing the heads, adding a turbo and an intercooler, it produced about 250 HP.    That was a single overhead cam 2.2 engine.  Sand Sport Magazine did a 5 page spread on me building and installing the engine.  About 6 months after the article was published, everyone was an expert and building engines for sandrails.

 

 Go forward about 10 years and I swapped the 2.2 for a 2.5 case, forged pistons and crank.  Bolted up the 2.2 heads and it ran great.

 

Just before summer (2013) my friend called with some parts that he wanted me have (well I  did have to purchase them)    Included a set of double overhead cam Turbo heads with larger intake and exhaust valves, new springs, ported and polished intake and exhaust runners, reduced compression,  Crower cams, a new and larger turbo that works great on the bottom end, in the middle and on the top end, Blow off valve and a few other incidentals such as a new intake manifold etc..    After I assembled everything, we took my sand car to the dyno shop and on their chassis dyno,  at 6.300 RPM's, it produced 305 HP and 252 # ft. of torque.   At 5,250 RPM's where HP and Torque meet, I had 240 HP and the same Torque.  

 

 The torque curve that starts at about 3,400 with 142 #'s and tops out 266 #'s at 6,600.  

 

What I'm getting at is it's not difficult to get HP and Torque out of a Subaru engine and for the best  "BANG for the BUCK" it's probably your best decision. 

That 2.2 case--closed deck, oil squirters? Or just the regular NA version?

Both of the engine cases, the 2.2 and the 2.5 are open deck cases and as far as I can tell they don't have piston squirters.     Driving in the sand dunes is brutal work for an engine and in comparison is  far more strenous to the engine than driving totally out of control on the street.

 

A closed deck case is nice but not necessary if the boost is kept in the 10 pound range.   Piston squirters are great especially if you have an air cooled engine as they help to lower the temperature of the pistons (They squirt oil into  the concave back side of the piston)    In a water cooled street engine, it's not a necessity