legacycentral bbs

I'm with Dave. If the guy wasn't kimmied out in the front seat from an obvious medical condition or something, I'd have pulled him through the window (always keep a crowbar handy). IF that was Duchess. The Mazda, I'd be fine with collecting a check (of course, that car wouldn't be considered totaled either).

But you could probably drill some holes and pull the rocker and quarter into approximate shape and body-filler it smooth. It's not like a bodyshop would do much else even if insurance covered it. Can you get at the back of the quarter panel through the trunk on the sedans?

Damn, sorry to see this man. Your car was so nice when I saw it a few months back... It all looks pretty fixable to me though.

nice white car but sucks what happened man sorry

Well, it turns out that Douchbag's policy was expired. My own uninsured motorist will cover up to $3500. That's close to the amount we would have been talking about anyway.

I know his address and today he is 19. Think I should crash his party?

Looks like the story took a bit of a turn now huh? No playing Mr. Niceguy any longer... Get your money and get it quick!

Well, finally got the motor back from the machine shop.

Very sexy!

They always look so nice when they're not covered in oil and dirt lol.

The intial offering from the insurance company was $2200. It's fair, I suppose, but I can't fix mine or find another SS as clean as mine was for that kind of money. Also, that figure will get reduced when I buy back my car. So I'm debating with myself whether to persue a possibly futile conversation with them, or to just take the money and not deal with any further frustration.


On with the motor pics...even if I'm not sure where the motor will eventually end up.


I was told when I bought these rods a few years ago that they were Pauter rods. They came in Pauter boxes. However, the engine builder said that they are actually Crower rods. He also said it was a good thing, because with Pauter rods "you have to clearance the shit out of the case". Either way, Crower or Pauter, they are lighter than stock, much stronger than stock, and have the good ARP rod bolts.

The crank is a stock EJ25 phase 2 crank from a '01 2.5RS. The EJ22T case was machined for the #5 thrust. The crank was checked, polished and balanced. While it's not the most current nitrated OEM crank design, it's still good for more HP than I can afford to throw at it. Also the "old" non-coated cranks are known to last just as long (if not longer) than the newer ones.

All the block machining was done with the final fasteners and two deck plates installed. The main journals were checked, although I don't think they needed work.



I only noticed the Crower stamping on the bolts when pointed out by the builder. I've had them for years.....



Custom CP pistons for a 8.5:1 compression ratio. The piston dish volume and compression height (pin to crown) was selected after a proper measurement of the actual deck height on the block, actual rod length after reconditioning, and actual chamber volume after valve job. It was specced with a OEM Phase 2 MLS EJ22 headgasket. The deck surface was machined to the proper roughness for a MLS headgasket (smoother than you would do for a composite gasket). Even though you can't see them in the pics, the block does retain the oil squiters, of course.




EJ20K heads. Standard WRX, not STI. So that means shim over bucket valvetrain and regular non-hollow and non-sodium filled valves. But it also means just about the most agressive stock cam Subaru ever used. All the buckets were reshimmed for proper clearance. All springs were checked and reshimmed for proper length, pressure and installed height. HP bronze valve guides were installed and reamed to size. I didn't specifically mention to do it, but it looks like the guides were not installed to full depth into the port. This is a common thing to do when looking for a bit more flow out of the ports. Again, the decks were surfaced properly for MLS gaskets.







And finally, ARP head studs to hold it all together.

Can I make love to your fresh clean parts???????

So does that mean that the solid bucket 20G heads are STi and not WRX?? (yes I'm aware you are using 20K heads)

From everything I have read, if it's a solid bucket early EJ20G head (90 degree turbo inlet) it's an RA head. "Plain" non-RA STI heads still had HLAs. A different, likely stiffer, part number, but still HLAs.

I know little about the late (under manifold turbo inlet) EJ20Gs, but I *believe* all of those were HLA. It might be possible for a few of those near the end of runs to have shim-type buckets though. Subaru seems to have a lot of "exceptions" close to change over.

Well when I purchase the heads they were listed as from a '93 JDM WRX. I was just hoping they might have been from an STi instead.

Just so you know... it will only get reduced by like, $200 forbuying it back.

smh0101 wrote:Just so you know... it will only get reduced by like, $200 forbuying it back.

Well, if true, that would be good news. I was expecting a call back this afternoon but that didn't happen. So I will see tomorrow. If I could get $2500, and keep the car, I'd be happy. So we are close at least.


And just for posterities sake, here are a few shots of EJ20G ports compared to EJ20K ports. Not much, if any, difference. Port openings on both heads match the gasket exactly, though there might be minor differences in the actual port shape and volume.

I have an untested theory that EJ20G HLA heads can be converted to EJ20K heads with EJ20K cams and EJ25D buckets and shims. I have heard that the HLA/bucket bores might be different diameters...so we'll see. I have all the stuff needed to test that theory on hand, just need some time--so keep tuned.


EJ20G...'93 WRX wagon automatic. Car had a TD04.


EJ20K, unspecified year WRX, manual trans. Literally the same exact gasket.

Yes, you can purchase the car back for very cheap. I had the option to purchase my '85 Chevy C-10 back from an engine fire. They only want what current scrap value is by weight. So the insurance company will only require a few hundred dollars.

As for the 20K versus the 20G heads, wouldn't you want solid bucket valve train instead of the shimmed? From what I understand, during high revs the shims could come detatched or come apart.

dropdfocus wrote: As for the 20K versus the 20G heads, wouldn't you want solid bucket valve train instead of the shimmed? From what I understand, during high revs the shims could come detatched or come apart.

True... However the solid ones suck if you have to adjust the valves....

Hydraulic are the worst for revving... theoretically the solid shimless ones are best for revving but I've never seen subaru shimmed buckets come apart.

Just settled for $2233 and keep the car. You guys were right, $200 was the salvage value.

If I can get the rocker and the 3/4 panel repaired for cheap, I will do the doors and fender myself and keep the car. If not, I will be looking for a '96-'99 GT wagon.

See...told ya so!!! Please don't scrap the SS in favor of a 2nd Gen. Keep her alive!!!!!!

You should always try to negotiate with insurance. Their first "offer" (check) is always a low-ball.

Not always. State Farm would not budge one once when I tried that. They said that is their only offer and there was no moving on the price. My truck was in excellent condition (inside & out) and it had only 86,000 miles on it. None of that really mattered much to them. Vehicle age is the biggest part when getting a payout from an insurance company. Any vehicle that passes 10yrs old doesn't have much resale value to them so it depreciates quite a bit.

I didn't say you'd definitely get more, just to negotiate. I think he probably got a fair price considering what these cars are worth to those dirt bags. On the Mazda, I had to get a revised quote on damage when they tried to short-change. The second time someone hit the car, the body shop negotiated for more.

The intial offer was before buyback. So I "negotiated" about $250 extra. He seemed most receptive when I told him that turbo 5-speeds commanded moe money than the autos. In "the books" auto always are worth more, regardless of real world value.

The truth is that our market is depressed. We can hardly sell $2000 SSs and TWs in our own classifieds. Unless they already know what a "Legacy turbo" is, and it's history, most prospective buyers are either looking for a "cheap AWD car" or just the closed deck block. Neither type of buyer really cares much for the actual car or it's value.

I am happy with $2233 and keeping my car, considering the current market.

Recieved the check. It's all done with until I recieve the police report in a week or so and see why the idiot was driving that way.

I've been scrounging the local U-Pull-It type of yards and got lucky today.

'93 Pure White doors. , The fender was already jacked.

I will need to swap out the Turbo spec color-matched door handles and interior door cards. Possibly the rear glass because the doors were from a wagon.





Also, I picked up from Ebay a pair of adjustable rear sway bars. I'm not sure how they will compare to the Whiteline one I already have, but for $1 winning bid ($35 shipping) I couldn't lose. My Whiteline one is not adjustable, and is technically a pre-facelift model I modified the bushings to make work.

The seller listed them as for a BG wagon, but as you can see in the pics, it perfectly matches the stock post-facelift BC sedan rear bar. And while advertized for a wagon by Cusco, that only means it's not as aggressive as the snap-oversteer inducing bars they try to sell for the sedans. This one starts at 19mm and goes stiffer from there. IIRC, a stock SS sedan bar is 18mm.

AWESOME!!! So the rebuilding begins!!! Excellent snag on the sway bars as well.

What a steal! The welding on that cusco bar looks like crap. I'm sure it's strong but usually it looks a lot more professional than that. That looks like my welding lol.