ZMAN24250

Started gutting the WRX harness today. https://www.rs25.com/threads/brydon-teaches-you-to-merge-a-harness.141937/ ^^ Fantastic tutorial. Turns out you only need very little out of a whole doner harness. By the time I was done, this is all you need. And this is what is left over. Next step is to gut the legacy and get the wiring out. Then splice in the wrx wiring. Once that is done swap in the engine... or swap the engine at the same time... Just need to find a wiring diagram of my legacy now...

Well, heres the donor... 99% sure its a EJ205 someone swapped into a RS at some point. It runs and drives and seems to be running well. So begins the process of documenting wires and disassembling everything.

Well.. I took the leap to a turbo swap... I just bought a wrecked '05 wrx. Also, DONT use ridesafely.com for auction buying. They are just a 3rd party auction house and they hit you with their fees on top of the original auction house fees. So I got ripped off of $350... Anywho... It looks like its a ej205. Going to pick it up tomorrow so ill find out more. Stay tuned everyone, this is about to be a big project... Edit: So it looks like ridesafely has a place in this world. They can take cars in auctions that are for dealer sale only and sell them to general public. In my particular case, I didnt need it anyhow so I still got ripped off $350+

Alright, after my trip to CO and renting a forester XT, im convinced I need to turbo swap my legacy. Anyone know any good threads on a turbo swap with a legacy? Additionally, im undecided if i should go with a ej205 or a ej255. I plan on getting a whole doner vehicle so I can get everything I need. I'm thinking i should go with a ej205 just because I'm thinking the older doner (closer to a '99) will be easier on the wiring. However, a ej255 has more potential for upgrades in the future. Anyone have thoughts on this?

As promised

Not yet. I dont have anything on the car pulling any crazy current yet; everything else electrical is still stock. When i go to put the subwoofer in and require more load out of the system, Ill upgrade the wiring.

Haven't made an update in awhile but i haven't been up too a whole lot with the legacy as Ive been sinking my money in an engine rebuild for my '74 Duster. Recently had to replace the alternator on the legacy and i ended up replacing it with higher output one from an '05 outback. I now have a 110 amp alternator instead of a 85 amp unit. It required a new connector to be wired in but so far everything seems to be working well. I wanted to upgrade my alternator since i had to replace it anyway. This will make sure i have more than enough juice for my stereo i plan to install, my normal accessories, or any lights i plan to install. I wanted to be sure to document this could be done as in my searching I couldn't find anyone that confirmed this could be done. I also plan on attaching the wire diagrams to do this that the guys from oreillys fortunately helped out with.

Finished my report! I don't think it came out too bad for cramming it in last minute. Its cool to see how close all the calculations were to the actual values using the dimensionless equations and performance calculations. If you want the TL;DR, heres the conclusion... "The results of the performance calculation can be compared to known values found by reputable journals as well as personal collected data. The Legacy L wagon analyzed in this report was taken to Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio and raced on the quarter mile track. The time slips received from the two runs can be seen in Figure 3 in Appendix I. It shows a ¼ mile E/T of 17.460 and 17.154 seconds with a respective trap speed of 79.41 and 79.53 mph for the first and second run. Compared to the calculated E/T of 18.4 seconds and 77.27 mph, the error is only 6.7% for E/T and 2.9% for trap speed using the faster time slip." There's other graphs and such in there if you're so inclined. But the rest just walks you through the process. 1999 Legacy L Wagon Performance Report.pdf

Finally made a decision on tires. GOing to go with the Sumitomo HTR III. I think its a tire within my price range and will have all the performance Im looking for. Also, I kinda spiraled downhill and ended up doing some body work. Was getting a little bubbling in the rear quarters and wanted to attack it before it got too bad. Well.. I found a hole.. sh*t... I did the best I could with the crappy flux core welder I have. Ill see if I cant do better when my buddy gets his garage built and I can use his better tools. For now its just coated in rust converter stuff to keep it at bay. In other news... I have to do a project in my Vehicle Dynamics class that is about performance calculations of a car of my choosing. Well, I decided to do it on my own legacy. I feel like it might be something cool to post on here so when its finished Ill be sure to post It here. Stay tuned for more!

Unfortunately, I'm stuck trying to pick out what tires I want. In the mean time Ive been busy fixing all the little stuff here and there.. like a window switch three times.... Oh, also this happened. Found an Outback in the local pull-a-part and decided to get the hood scoop hood. Its not perfect but I plan on repainting it at some point. Gotta learn how to do body work at some point anyway.... But right now I'm stuck between a few tires Continental DWS 06 Continental Extremecontact ct sport General AS-05 General G-max RS Falken Azenis FK510 Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 Sumitomo HTR III They will be just summer tires. I planning on getting a set of seperate snow tires. Also, do I stick with a 235 tire or do I move to a 245 tire. The 235 is factory for a wrx but it does have a slight bit of stretch to it. Which might be good for making sure the wheels tuck better when there's weight in the car. Not sure.. leaning towards 235. So any input would be greatly appreciated.

Came across a set of WRX rims for a decent price. Two of the tires were bad so I have to get a new set of tires. I'm thinking about getting some Continental DWS extreme contacts but I'm open to opinions. But for now, here's a teaser...

Also, started working on the audio. Found a secondhand set of JL coaxials, components, and tweeters with crossovers that were barely used. Ive only got around to installing the components but I gotta work on the rest. I have a Denon amp and a 12" hifonics sub that are gunna go in at some point to. Plan is to make a removable box that will sit on the right side of the cargo area. But thats later..

Another update. Been busy with my summer Co-op but still working on Gramps a bit Well, in a incident with the tinter, they damaged my rear center tail light garnish. Accidentally melted it a bit. You can see a little white circle underneath my windshield wiper a few posts back when I was talking about my wing. The tinter went back on the security cam and found that the tech did it. However, the tech denies it but the manager said that they can clearly see he did it. The tinter said they would definitely replace it. However I wanted the JDM anyway so we agreed that the tinter would fund whatever a USDM garnish would cost and I would pay the difference to get the JDM one. This meant I need the matching tail light ends. Shoutout to @PingPong for hooking me up with some tail lamps. Here's the whole setup Had to do some repair on the centerpiece as the corner was a bit damaged but some epoxy and its good now. Before: After: MMMMM that booty. Looks sooo much better. Cant wait to get the front of the car looking this good.

I have some H&R lowering springs for I believe a GC8. I can get more details if you’re interested. I also have some 04 sti springs as well. If you’re curious how the H&R would sit, I have some pictures on my build thread. No idea on the STI springs though. I think you got a pretty good stance though. The slight rake is what I’m looking for as well.

[Tint] so dark, they won’t even know your name. I think I might be going a different direction. I found a set of JL components (with tweeters and crossovers) with JL co-axiales. I’m thinking about getting my speakers setup for when I put a head unit/sub in down the road. And if anyone knows where to find Ekm3’s or wrx rims for cheep, let me know

Well, funny enough, this is one of my favorite cassettes in my car.

New tint!!!!!!!!! Oh my god I couldn’t be happier. It looks so much better and is staying cooler. Very happy with my choice.

Warning: long update TL;DR: I installed my wing, EBC redstuffs, and a hitch. Also, she’s currently at the tinter’s and I’m concocting ideas for what to do next. I haven’t been able to sit down long enough to make a post so here’s the many updates I have. Well to start, I finally got my wing installed. I’m really happy with it and I think it makes the back end look soo much better! It was all pretty strait forward. Now I just have to find the trim price that deletes the US high mount stop light. Next on my list was the horrendous brakes. I could put my foot into her good and not even lock up a tire. Unacceptable. After the fact we found out that the front rotors were an inch smaller in diameter than my roommates rear rotors on his saab. Decided on EBC Redstuff 3000 series accompanied by Rebestos coated rotors. Holy sh*t the difference. About went through the windshield the first time I hit the brakes. I was using it with the same force as the old brakes before I quickly recalibrated. Still have to put the new dust shields on but everything is so rusted on... Also, apperently I didn’t talk about the fact that I installed a hitch! Found a brand new one on CL and loved the idea of being able to do this! It was all pretty strait forward to mechanically install. Problem came when I had to go wire it. Because I don’t have an Outback, there’s no trailer wire harness for me to plug a plug n play trailer wire kit right into. I didn’t like the idea of splicing into the wire harness so I decided to compromise. I found a wire pigtail for the trailer harness out of a Forrester at pull a part and spliced that into my existing wire harness in the same location as an outback. Then just used the same wire harness you can buy at uhaul for an Outback. Simple as that! Up to bat: window tint As I type this she’s currently at the tinter’s. Decided on 20% in the back and 35% in the front. I’m super excited. I’ll try to update tonight after I pick her up. . On deck: I have a few options here. I’m thinking about sourcing some ‘10-‘13 wrx rims or some 17” Enkie EKM3 rims next. Other option is the JDM double L grille. And another would be JDM headlights/tailights. I’m also open to opinions so if there are better thoughts shout them out! Sorry for the long winded update...

Good to hear all is well. I think that's way darker than I plan on going so hopefully I should be good. Thanks for the intell!

Going a step better and putting on some WRX calipers. Cool! I hope to hear soon!

I'm definitely not replacing with stock type pads. I want something a bit better. Right now its between Akebonos, Hawk Performance, and EBC Red stuffs. I just cant decide. Ive run Hawks before so I'm leaning to that but I've also been told EBC's are good but have never tried....

Just got the rotors in the mail, Still not sure about what pad to run though. Kinda want to hear your guy’s opinions; especially about ceramics as I’ve never run them before. Hopefully I’ll have some time this week to finish electrolysis dipping the caliper and brackets and paint them. Goal is to get everything on and the wing on before this weekend.

I think Ive decided on 20% I the rear and 35% in the front. Gunna go talk to a tinter and see when I can book an appt. Now that finals are done I can start doing things again. Ive noticed that the brakes are absolutely woeful;complete trash... I can hardly lock up the brakes when trying to. The most im able to do is make the rear tires only just lock up at just the last second before I come to a full stop. Unacceptable. Luckily, I have those ~'04 WRX brake calipers to go on. I just ordered the rotors for it but i'm undecided about the pads. I think I might go with Akebonos because I'm told they're pretty good and I like the price. I thought about EBC but they want alot for those... Im curious what the peanut gallery thinks so I want to hear your guy's thoughts on brake pads!! I have hawk performance on my truck right now and I love them; they're nice and affirmative braking and when they warm up I can feel the added brake power. They do dust a bit so Im thinking ceramics for Gramps. Really looking for something that is great at daily driving but can handle some spirited driving too. Ive already found the fade point of the existing pads so if that's any indication...

Seconded. Also, what tint is that. Looking to get tint soon; not sure what percents to get. Im thinking like 20% in the rear and like 35% in the front. I say 20% because I believe that is what a factory car's rear tint and 35% because... I dont know. Problem Is, 50% is the max legal limit.

Thanks! I cant wait to work on her more... I ordered some whiteline camber bolts that just came in to correct the camber in the rear from the JDM springs and I have to install my wing. Also picked up some stuff for another project Im working on. Ill be sure to show it all shortly. I just have to get through finals first... DMC, Thermodynamics, and Intro to Basic EE finals all in one day... back to back this will be fun...