Subaru powered Outlaw coupe

I'll give it a start. I'm no engine expert but I do have about 30 , maybe 40,000 miles just frigging and sorting out my own Soob conversion in an older IM Speedster. 

Your engine / frame vibes are not typical in my experience. What would make it vibrate while standing still ? I ran a 2.2l  Soob for thousands of miles with  a bone stock VW tranny where many said I should not go. What ever tranny mounts were in my existing runner, I just went with.

I finally built up a very nice Frankenmotor and then upgraded to Genuine German front and rear HD tranny mounts for the tranny and supplemented that with an "aux" rear end ( back of the engine compartment ) mount made up of
"Small Car"  Soob engine mount cradle parts . Aft of that, a very rear end shock mounted transverse bar designed, built and installed by this kid. It works. I don't know what doesn't work. I don't know what others have done. 

I'm not aware of what pro shops do for Soob engine mounting  and give no advice herewith other than stating what works for me. The vibes you are describing could just be an ignition or fuel issue. Ask the seller to get a Soob tech give it a looksee. Probably quite minor. 

David did you ever post pictures of that work .. sound interesting

IaM-Ray posted:

David did you ever post pictures of that work .. sound interesting

Just a few pics here and there, Ray. No idea where they are now.

That vibration seems serious. I wouldn't touch that car and run no matter how enticing it is.  It could be something as simple as the alternator out of balance but vibration breaks things and are certainly warnings of things to come.  Nix to the person trying to sell it too.........Bruve

Would they not allow a test drive? If so that would concern me....Did you take any pictures of this fine looking coupe?

Find a reputable subie shop and have the engine examined as part of the pre purchase agreement 

compression .. leak down etc 

a race shop would be able to tell you is you should bother with the car

test drive is absolutely needed 

Finally a motor mount might be deffective or the wrong motor mount used ... subie has different stock motor mounts

I own a JPS coupe with Subaru power and have had no such vibration issues. Not sure why that particular one does. And I agree with you on the excellent fit and finish on the car- inside and out. 

I have no vibration issues with my JPS Subaru EJ25.  Of course, there is a fair amount of vibration that goes with the territory.  As you know, these are not Accords and Camrys.  Additionally, I previously owned a 1600cc VW Speedster, and it vibrated SIGNIFICANTLY more than the EJ25.

That said, I did have a 3rd party mechanic remove and replace the trans mount.  Not sure I noticed a difference, but they swore there was some questionable fabrication underneath the car.  Paid $85 to have that mount redone.  Further down the line, we completely re-engineered the motor mount, but that was for clearance rather than vibration issues.

I would echo the comments from Bruce, Ray, David, Bill, and PBH:

1.  Insist on taking it to an independent shop to look it over (preferably someone who knows both Subarus AND VWs, and a race shop is all the better).

2.  Insist on a test drive.

You won't save any money buying from a reseller -- only time.  Last bit of advice is to be patient, and either wait for the right car to come along or spec/build your car with one of the reputable coach builders.

Good luck!

I also have a subie not much vibration  

Bill Prout posted:

Would they not allow a test drive? If so that would concern me....Did you take any pictures of this fine looking coupe?

 Despite driving about 80 miles, no test drive, unless they could be certain I was "serious".    Rather disappointing.

To drive 80 mikes is not called serious. Walk away. 

I agree that the car looks good.  JPS has never had a problem with that.  Hopefully the vibration problem is not major.  I have always felt that a place that wouldn’t allow test drives was hiding something.  I wonder what constitutes “serious” in their eyes.

It is a striking creation.  I saw a few things that need attention, but easily corrected.  Some poor wiring crimps, one door latch that drags the striker as it is closing before it latches (the other door is perfect), one window won't roll up fully with the door closed but will with the door open,  larger than necessary hole in the firewall for plumbing, etc.   I know these things happen, but for the money I have high expectations.  Wish they'd put me in charge of detail quality control.  There is a simplicity to these cars,  and I don't see why attention to detail has to be omitted.

Also, I'm not sure I'd drive it in the rain,  i saw too many ways for water to get into the interior.

I agree with @calmotion -- I'd walk away based on questioning your level of interest. It isn't a matter of ego, either. Rather, I think it portends poorly for their sense of right and wrong later on (such as any issues with the car, etc). 

As an aside, that exhaust just made me throw up in my mouth. Somebody put a Sebring exhaust on that thing, sheesh.  

Anand

I agree with Tom Murtaugh.  I rode around for the Carlisle weekend last year in Tom Marantz' JPS Suby coupe and didn't notice any abnormal vibration from the right seat. Felt a little 2'nd and 3'rd gear growl but that could be a lot of things and not especially pronounced.

Tom also mentioned that he had personally fixed a lot of questionable stuff "under the covers" on the mechanical side of his car.  The fit and finish of the body and interior was first rate.  The pan-related drive-train?  Not so much first rate, there.  Typical JPS in that regard.

The more I look at it, Im wondering if the exhaust is touching the body,  where the tailpipe exits....?

arajani posted:

As an aside, that exhaust just made me throw up in my mouth. Somebody put a Sebring exhaust on that thing, sheesh.  

Anand

Lol,  what would be a proper exhaust ?

Here's what I would get!