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Old 08-16-2019, 07:22 PM   #1
Kostamojen
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Member#: 2272
Join Date: Sep 2000
Chapter/Region: BAIC
Location: Fire Caves
Vehicle:
2019 Macan 4cyl
1993 Impreza FWD WRX swap

OMGHi2U Kost's "Camo Wagon" 1999 Outback Sport Safari Build

I've been meaning to start a thread on this build for awhile but haven't gotten around to it...

I purchased a 1999 Outback Sport in 2017 for $2000 (going rate for running cheap N/A Subarus in Norcal) with almost 300,000 miles on it with the intention of really just having something to work on at the time, a project car to build with my knowledge of the Gen-1 Impreza platform having had a 1995 Coupe for almost 10 years. The car I purchased I found had a ton of miles, but the body itself was solid with no rust and no major dents or dings in the metal parts of the body. The interior was pretty good as well, but I had full intention of completely cleaning the car from the inside out as well as fully replacing the suspension components and most of the car in general.

Its hard to go over the whole thought process being almost 2 years after buying the car, so I'll just start by saying I decided to go with a mild-lift, over-land type "Safari" build for the car with the intention of using it for bad weather daily driving and mild off-roading.

For the drivetrain, I decided to stick with the 2.2L N/A motor with the intention of building the most Durable and Reliable Subaru motor possible (IE Non-turbo, non-2.5L headgasket chewing motor). The motor is currently being rebuilt due to finding metal shavings in the oil (Photos of the rod bearings will be in this thread) and is a bit of an experiment, utilizing cylinder heads from a JDM EJ202 SOHC motor that have dual exhaust ports and basically bolt on to the EJ22 block. Should bump up the compression as well like other frankenstein motors. I will be adding an oil cooler, larger oil pump and killer B pan for beefing up the motor for heavier duty use. I also decided to go with upgraded differentials with involved swapping in a VTD 4EAT and Viscous rear LSD after reading a thread or two about the VTD conversion for 4EAT's giving a better power distribution and planetary center differential. Sadly a LSD front diff is not in order for this car, as it was with my '95.

The suspension started off with the goal of a full TSS-Fab setup, which I wound up finding used. Used in conjunction with upgraded bushings all around and STI struts using WRX springs and Group-N tophats (commonly used for Rallyx setups). I used Forester struts before for a lift on the '95, but didn't want to lift it too high this time. I found a used TSS-fab setup for Gen 2 Impreza but the front subframe wasn't compatible with the 4EAT. It was the more "hardcore" option with solid metal bushings all around, which worked OK for awhile but turned out to be too rough for a daily driver and have since swapped to a more traditional control arm setup while keeping the TSS-fab rear subframe and T-bar.

The Camo idea came due to the use of the car and trying to decide what to do about the paint. I didn't want to spend a lot of money repainting parts of the car and experimented with Vinyl on another car and wanted to try a whole car myself. The decision to go with desert camo two-tone was two fold - One, the Camo made it easier to hide my mistakes during the wrapping process, and two, I use the car actually for "Safari's" to local wildlife refugees in Norcal to take photos... The camo is actually functional for a change! The two tone black bottom came because of the bumpers being rather hard to wrap and keeping with the two-tone Outback sport them worked well with some photoshoping.

Anyway, here is the current mod list:

Engine "Frankenstein" Build by M45 Automotive:

EJ22 Shortblock
Bored and decked with New Pistons
King Bearings
EJ20 JDM SOHC Cylinder heads (for dual ports and higher compression)
Valve job and machined heads
10mm Oil Pump
Killer B Oil Pan
OEM Oil cooler

Current Mods:

Cobb Intake for MAF cars
STI muffler w/ custom tip
Ebay Header (Borla replica?)
Group-N engine mounts
Group-N Pitch Mount
Rallitek 4EAT Transmission bushing insert
JDM 4.11 4EAT with VTD
4.11 rear VLSD
2015 STI steering rack
Sparco Terra 15x7 +50 in Bronze
Yokohama Geolander A/T G015 205/70r15
2.5RS front brake calipers/Stoptech calipers
WRX rear calipers/Stoptech Rotors
Stoptech Pads
Stoptech Brake lines
STI Struts
WRX springs
Group-N front top hats
Cusco Rear Strut bar
Unknown Front Strut bar
2002 RS front swaybar
Removed rear swaybar & mounts
TSS Fab rear subframe
TSS Fab T-bar
SPC Rear Adjustable Control Links
Manzo (Ebay) rear trailing arms
Superpro Trailing Link bushings (on hub)
Whiteline front control arm bushings
MOOG Ball Joints
2002 RS front subframe
Digital Desert Camo Wrap
3M Gloss Black wrap
Depo Headlights/Orange Corner lights
2.5RS front bumper
New rear bumper
Light weight bumper beams front and rear
CF Foglight covers
Rally Innovations Light Bar
Generic 12" Light bar on bumper
JDM Tail lights
Tow hitch
Front Skidplate from 2000's Outback
Rhino Rack Mesh Roofrack
DIY Wheel Roof Rack Mount
Yakima fairing
EDM black leather wagon seats
Wood trim steering wheel
OEM Compass dash mount w/ Radio moved to upper DIN
OEM Dual Cupholder
Duplicolor Vinyl painted interior panels (lower half)
Black bedliner painted trunk bits
New OEM dark grey carpet
New floor mats (found in my attic lol)
Weathertech Floormats (modified to fit)

Photos as of course this is the Photo gallery...

First off, the car won "Organizers Choice" at B.A.M. last year!



A few photos of the car as it is right now, including the new roof mounted spare:







What the car looked like when I purchased it:




More updates to come!
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Old 08-16-2019, 07:23 PM   #2
Kostamojen
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Member#: 2272
Join Date: Sep 2000
Chapter/Region: BAIC
Location: Fire Caves
Vehicle:
2019 Macan 4cyl
1993 Impreza FWD WRX swap

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Here are some pics from the last couple years showing some minor changes as I went, along with the application of the Camo Vinyl wrap:






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Old 08-16-2019, 07:23 PM   #3
Kostamojen
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Member#: 2272
Join Date: Sep 2000
Chapter/Region: BAIC
Location: Fire Caves
Vehicle:
2019 Macan 4cyl
1993 Impreza FWD WRX swap

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Here are a couple before pics of what the car looked like underneath when I purchased it:




And here are a couple from 2018 after the mods and a lot of cleaning/painting:






The interior required A LOT of cleaning due to the car being used daily on dirt, rock covered roads going up and down the sierras kicking up dust everywhere inside the car... At this point, I've removed and cleaned (or repainted) basically every interior panel minus the roof/pillars and dash:



The new carpet during the install. The leather seats were installed prior, and they took a little repair/restore work too:


Last edited by Kostamojen; 08-16-2019 at 07:34 PM.
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Old 08-16-2019, 07:23 PM   #4
Kostamojen
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Member#: 2272
Join Date: Sep 2000
Chapter/Region: BAIC
Location: Fire Caves
Vehicle:
2019 Macan 4cyl
1993 Impreza FWD WRX swap

Default

Took the car up to M45 Automotive for some major surgery a couple weeks ago...



It failed smog in March due to a bad cat and maybe O2 sensor (had aftermarket cats) and had debris in the oil as I mentioned along with some oil leaks on the engine, transmission, and power steering lines that are getting repaired.

The teardown revealed the damage to the rod bearings, which considering I've put maybe 3000 miles on the car, were from the previous owners:




Last year I picked up this EJ202 from a local JDM place for cheap. Disassembled it myself and had the heads refurbished for going on the EJ22 shortblock, I'll get more photos of the motor build in progress soon:


Last edited by Kostamojen; 08-16-2019 at 07:36 PM.
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Old 08-20-2019, 05:09 PM   #5
Bast
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Member#: 329493
Join Date: Aug 2012
Chapter/Region: RMIC
Location: Denver
Vehicle:
1999 Impreza 2.5RS
Black Diamond Pearl

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I remember seeing your car at BAM last year. Didn't realize it was yours!
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Old 08-21-2019, 03:34 PM   #6
Kostamojen
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Member#: 2272
Join Date: Sep 2000
Chapter/Region: BAIC
Location: Fire Caves
Vehicle:
2019 Macan 4cyl
1993 Impreza FWD WRX swap

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bast View Post
I remember seeing your car at BAM last year. Didn't realize it was yours!
That was the debut of the car, I focused on having the car visually ready for that show.. Worked out pretty good!
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Old 08-21-2019, 03:01 PM   #7
T-top87GN
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Join Date: Aug 2019
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Car looks sweet! I'm digging the theme!
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Old 08-30-2019, 04:49 PM   #8
Kostamojen
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Member#: 2272
Join Date: Sep 2000
Chapter/Region: BAIC
Location: Fire Caves
Vehicle:
2019 Macan 4cyl
1993 Impreza FWD WRX swap

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More photos of the engine build as promised...

New plus sized pistons installed with bore & decked 2.2L block:



Herea are the N/A EJ20 SOHC phase II heads. EJ203 I think, might be EJ202, I forgot which is which:



10mm pump, added OEM oil cooler, and Killer B oil pan:




Extra picks M45 just sent me showing the work in progress:


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Old 10-12-2019, 12:49 AM   #9
Kostamojen
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Member#: 2272
Join Date: Sep 2000
Chapter/Region: BAIC
Location: Fire Caves
Vehicle:
2019 Macan 4cyl
1993 Impreza FWD WRX swap

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Few updates.

Car is running great with the new motor. Did have a small snafu with the brand new timing belt failing, had to take it back to the shop.

Wound up swapping the STI struts for Forester struts to get a better ride. Was having issues with the STI strut "pogo" effect that people mention when they are paired with different springs. Car rides MUCH better with the Forester struts now. Surprisingly though, it didn't lift the car any higher...??? Even though the STI struts do technically sit lower, the fact they were a stiffer strut I guess kept the car at a higher height:




Also swapped out the Leather seats for JDM WRX cloth seats (from Peter on Facebook, the dude who ships GC/GF parts from the UK for damn cheap). They sit about an inch or more lower than the leather seat did, plus they have way better bolstering. I like the cloth quality too.

Took the opportunity to add some Dynamat to the car while waiting for the seats, something I've always wanted to try in a car and this car could use it as it was quite loud. Definitely a noticeable change right off the bat starting the car, dropped quite a few decibels at cruising speeds too. Was SUPER easy to do and probably a good idea for older cars.



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Old 10-13-2019, 06:11 PM   #10
RippinRoo
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Member#: 105310
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Really nice look! The front bumper and light bar give it a real 'business' look, like it's built for a purpose not just to be flashy. Also like the spare tire mount approach... simple and not permanent.
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Old 10-13-2019, 09:09 PM   #11
Kostamojen
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Member#: 2272
Join Date: Sep 2000
Chapter/Region: BAIC
Location: Fire Caves
Vehicle:
2019 Macan 4cyl
1993 Impreza FWD WRX swap

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Quote:
Originally Posted by RippinRoo View Post
Really nice look! The front bumper and light bar give it a real 'business' look, like it's built for a purpose not just to be flashy. Also like the spare tire mount approach... simple and not permanent.
I'm actually trying to figure out a way to maybe get the spare to sit lower on the roof and be more aerodynamic and have a more permanent roof rack... This rack is basically just held on by clamps, and they can get loose.
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Old 10-16-2019, 05:42 PM   #12
Kostamojen
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Member#: 2272
Join Date: Sep 2000
Chapter/Region: BAIC
Location: Fire Caves
Vehicle:
2019 Macan 4cyl
1993 Impreza FWD WRX swap

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Went out to Folsom Lake to do some dirt driving and take some pics... ALMOST got stuck in a couple feet of sand, but the VTD center and viscous rear diff did its job and pulled through at about half throttle.




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Old 10-16-2019, 07:44 PM   #13
Kostamojen
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Member#: 2272
Join Date: Sep 2000
Chapter/Region: BAIC
Location: Fire Caves
Vehicle:
2019 Macan 4cyl
1993 Impreza FWD WRX swap

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Its interesting how different the color of this camo shows up with different cameras... Those were with my DSLR, this one here was with my phone and the color looks more accurate to real life with the phone:

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Old 10-18-2019, 01:20 PM   #14
96accord
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Member#: 145105
Join Date: Apr 2007
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Middle River, Maryland
Vehicle:
2015 Honda Accord

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Nice! Subscribed.
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Old 11-09-2019, 06:02 PM   #15
Kostamojen
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Member#: 2272
Join Date: Sep 2000
Chapter/Region: BAIC
Location: Fire Caves
Vehicle:
2019 Macan 4cyl
1993 Impreza FWD WRX swap

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Photo the Camo Wagon out in its natural environment today...



I have a new roof box coming to add to the roof rack. Should be interesting.
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Old 11-22-2019, 05:53 PM   #16
Kostamojen
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Member#: 2272
Join Date: Sep 2000
Chapter/Region: BAIC
Location: Fire Caves
Vehicle:
2019 Macan 4cyl
1993 Impreza FWD WRX swap

Default

Finally got my "rolling blind" setup. Folds right into the cargo box I found...



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