Soob Conversion progress

Got the engine up and running this morning after fiddeling with the crank trigger and figuring out how to make a Ford coil spark the Soob plugs at the right time. Tomorrow we'll get the exhaust header tweaked and firm up the rad mounts. Then figure out what to do for a muffler. Luckily we've got a top notch exhaust fab shop in town that's sympathetic to custom builds.

Good idea about the custom muffler David. Like a stroker Type I engine, the subi can be pretty loud. There won't be a lot of room left from the your heads to a muffler to run any appreciable length of piping. Tell your guy you want a quiet muffler and you'll still get a gutsy roar when you step on it. I vaguely remember exhaust pipe that looked like it was squashed every few inches that help baffle the exhaust before hitting the muffler.

Thanks for that, Nolan. I've now moved the rad to the front of the car fed by long aluminum tubes on each side freeing up plenty of space for the header and a nice muffler. Thanks Larry for the tip on the Lexus stat housing. If that works out I'll be able to run the aluminum tube directly to the housing and further simplify things.

Waaaahhoooo !! Had the little bugger out for a short spin today with the new engine. I'll have to do some minor jetting and install the Megajolt module which should arrive any day. It pulls quite well in it's current state. Moving the rad up to the front was a good move, leaving plenty of room for the headers and a nice muffler to be installed soon. Still have to put the coolant gauge in it's right place and install the heater and coolant fan switches but things are looking pretty rosy right now.

David---man, you are just amazing. I'm mortified that when your Speedster with it's old Type I had a malfunction on I 81 on the way to Carlisle and I stopped with you to help figure it out and loan some tools or parts from my stash ---I didn't have a clue that I was helping "THE man".

You are setting the pace with your Suby transplant--just amazing to see your steady progress.

Next time I stop to help you just tell me to go play with my friggin' Tinker Toys!

I would sure love a ride in your Speedster when we are in arlisle next.

Great work---congrats!

David, just wanted to follow up....everything went ok with just hanging the motor from the trans, yes?

~WB

Thanks for that, Jack. If you hadn't found that little detail on the highway I would have likely dug for deeper things and really buggered things up. You sure got me off the hook that time, Amigo. Bill, nothing fell off. If you look at YouTube, there are plenty of examples of Type 1 VW's with much more power than mine and it seems to work just fine. If you contact Kennedy Engineered Products, they may be able to give you a list of examples that have hung off those
bellhousings. I'm not saying a rear mount is not a good thing, just saying it may not be necessary in my application.

I like Sooby's!

David,

I've been lurking on your thread here for a while, just amazed at your engenuity (?). I've really had nothing to offer (besides praise). The Subie transplant is the one that seems to make the most sense to me, and looks like you have figured it out. Good show!!

Been tooting around the neighborhood sans muffler, have you? going to attract a lot of attention that way . . .

What did you pay for that motor? And how old is it?

Giday, Kelly. Thanks for the encouragement. The engine came from a 1995 Legacy wagon with about 70,000 miles on it...from Connecticut of all places. I even had a chat with the service tech that worked on it contacted from info in the glove box. $300 and we pulled it out ourselves. I bought a spare for $300 from another place in town and it's again an EJ22 but 1998. Only the 22's fit inbetween my frame rails. The 25's are too wide. The local Upull lot has specials now and then and anything you can carry over a marked 10' distance you can have for $49. If I had longer legs and could walk bow-legged for 10', I'd go for a third engine. With all the unnecessary parts off it, it's pretty light. :-)

Now where did I see that lifting strap that I saw on TV? A guy picked up a refrigerator and move it across the room.

You know, David, last year everyone was really impressed with your long distance drive to Carlisle. This year they will be even more impressed when you install a Suby engine in a Speedster each day of the event. What a guy!

A picture for the Wild One...Bill take a look at the attached photo. You can see the EJ22 engine mounted on a Bug and if you look carefully up front towards the tranny mounted Kennedy Adapter, you'll see the only two transverse mounts on this type of engine and not much on the Bug's rear end to hook some mount up to. Not to say that others couldn't be fabbed up for a Speedster, but this is what it comes with.

The site where I hijacked the Bug pic above from shows a very good idea what's involved in removing the wiring from a donor Subaru if you want to keep the original wiring harness to start with, then sort out and keep what's necessary to make a basic engine run.
http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=136053

"a very good idea what's involved in removing the wiring"...I guess so!

Hey, that bug looks great. Not much up on this process, but I'm finding it most interesting. Get a load of the oil pan on that thing!
I just asked about the rear mount because that's all I have ever seen, but not really needing one really simplifies things. Ah-sooo! I like simple!
I imagine if you run a carb., there is much less wiring headaches without the fuel injection and wiring to a computer to deal with.
Where did you source the alum. tubes to run to the radiator? What diameter and thickness tube?

~WB

Congrats on getting it on the road David!

Thanks TWF. We're having fun. Bill, the tubes are hang glider parts, 1.5" od 6061 T6 aluminum, about .050" snatched from the rafters of a buddy's hangar. He flys hang gliders and was the recipient of my stock 1600 which first came with the car last year and is now installed in his dune buggy heading for his house in Satellite Beach, Fl. That's how our world goes round, eh?

Dave: stupid questions maybe, but:

What is the width of the 2.2, and how does that compare to a Type 1?

What is the depth of your oil pan? How much lower does it hang compared to a Type 1, and what sort of fix are you using to keep it reasonably well tucked up?

David, that's very cool. I'm anxiously awaiting the 'road test' videos.

Thanks for that, Cory. I'm trying to upload a video of the engine running in the garage but it's slower than the second coming. Ed...I don't know how wide the Type 1 engine is. My EJ22 is 28 1/2" wide and the frame rails are 29" inside. The valve covers are the widest part and they are just below the rails anyway. I have 5 1/4" clearance under my oil pan..no sweat there but my aftermarket headers give me less than 4" so we'll look to do something there.

Heh heh . . . excellent . . . (rubs tips of fingers together)

Right -- I'm thinking that oil pan has got to go. Must be another way to do this and not use up all that clearance. so the real question is: what is the relative weights of the Type 1 and the Subie? that gives me an idea how the thing is likely to handle. or, I can just wait until Carlisle, and have a drive in this one.

Kelly, if there's 5 1/4" clearance under the pan, why do you say it has to go ?

5 1/4 is more than ample. You shouldn't have a problem with that clearance. I just went through the clearance battles and have a good feel for this issue. I'd say you are good to go, David.


But yoy already knew this --right?

Well, it looks like it might drag on the ground in this picture. if you say 5+", and that suits, then OK. it just looks like it's sitting under there: "Oh, you are a rock, hit me!!" probably the perspective of the photo . . .

And, OK, I'll just say it: aesthetically, it looks stupid. maybe in the Speedy, it will not show 'cause of the snake pit you will create w/ the headers, and all will be fine. Just sayin' . . .

Jack..I read your info on the quest for good clearance last year sometime and use that for guidance on what I'm trying to do now. Thanks for the good input. Kelly....I'm just not sure what you're getting at.

Hell David,I just measured my lowest point under my SAS Subie and I have 4 inch clearance from the my exhaust header pipes. Unless you plan on doing some off-roading or curb jumping you've got plenty of clearance.

In addition to clearance you need to consider bounce in the suspension. If your suspension is to soft or the shocks don

Contact with the ground is definitely a no-no.

Do any of you remember seeing Ricardo Berga's [post from Puerto Rico about the results of his deep sump meeting the top of a manhole cover
and the really grotesque damage that resulted? The pictures Ricardo posted scared the bejesus out of me and I have been paranoid about sufficient clearance ever since.

A real low Speedster is cool but that kind of damage definitely is not cool.

Y'all be careful out there.

I need advice on a better starter if anyone has direct experience, please. My stock VW starter will start the Soob when cold but not when up to 180deg F operating temp. I bought a new Autostick starter and it is no better. I've researched the high torque geared starters and some listers highly recommend the IMI-101 model. On line info says it'll provide 1.3hp as a performance basis. I found another starter from CIP1, pn ACC-C-5757 which claims 2.7 hp. Anyone have facts....best bets ect. Thanks.

There may be something inbetween. Anyone had experience with a "hard start relay kit" ? Thanks

David,

All I'm sayin' is that I'm used to seeing finned aluminum under there, not a big ol' black steel pot. If it works, then OK, good to go. Only the worms will see it. You might consider if there is any benefit to applying a skid plate to the bottom of that thing, as insurance. the last thing you want to do is knick that puppy, and run along for a bit unawares.

and I have no clue about starters here. Others may know how to get more oomph than what you have going. Obviously, the Soob starter is not useful here, I take it. And perhaps if you get more power/torque in a new starter, you may need bigger wire and a beefier relay for the increase in amps. Just sayin' . . .

I have a Subaru in my sandrail. It's hooked up to a Type II VW transaxle and I use an IMI starter. It works absolutely great

I'm using the high torque starter from Kennedy. I had trouble cranking the rebuilt engine over with the VW starter but thinking back I was just using a battery charger so I

The high torque starter that kennedy sells is the same as an IMI

Thanks for that, Lads. I just ordered the IMI_101N model direct. $248 but apparently 40% more power than the straight 101. Don't need any skid plate with over 5" clearance but thanks for the offer.

I think Kelly may be commenting on the Baja bug pic you posted. Kelly?

I would agree Bill, that pix of the Baja Bug is a rather unflattering angle. I think in reality you're really never going to see that angle on the Speedster and their certainly is plenty of room for exhaust pipes.

I have a shorter oil pan in mine,,, can just make it it in this pic