Open Light Subaru build

Grant, I don't know the compression ratio. The motor is really blowing oil out the exhaust, so I can't believe it's strong. The COBB guys had a pool on the dyno results that topped out at 113hp.

We're on board with the stamped steel front suspension arms. We're not fanbois that believe that non-attainable JDM STi win's all.

Her goal this year is to chase the Central Division regional class championship. So it's very likely we'll be at Ojibwe.

Weighed the car yesterday. 2670 lbs with half a tank of gas, no spare tire and no driver or passengers.

During the 2011 100 Acre Wood Rally the alternator belt adjuster bracket broke and I caught it at Park Expose. We didn't have a replacement. I bought a handful of shorter belts, some 5-rib and some 4-rib. We lucked out with one of the 4-rib belts. When the alternator was pushed down as far as possible we stretched the belt over the now non-adjustable pulleys by bumping the starter while pushing the belt on with a screwdriver handle. Stuck another bolt in the adjustment slot just in case.

Thats how Subaru does the a/c belts on the new cars now. They got rid of the flimsy bearing. Thats probably a good permanent fix.

The STI has dished pistons compared to the flat tops the NA has. That would defiantly lower compression. You may have head gasket options to help compression.

If the short block was from an 08. They had problems with the ring lands breaking witch could be the oil burning issue.

Buying multiples of the car your planning on rallying is smart I think. Im doing the same thing with my biuld. You can put all those non rally parts on Ebay and help fund the next rally. You will be very surprised on what someone will pay for a Subaru cup holder!

Nice build and good luck at the next rally!

There's no extra bearing or idler pulley on the 2000 adjuster. It's a threaded block that locks in place.

The engine has 2006 RS pistons, not STi pistons. The heads are 2000 RS, the block is 2005 STi, the rods might be 2006 RS and the crank is a mystery. The ancilaries are a combination of STi and 2000 RS/Outback/Forester.

We've actually got a collection of 13 Subarus. Some have been parted out, some have drivetrain issues and are awaiting repair and resale, some are racecar donors or racecars themselves, and the nicest one is a 2005 STi with 14k miles on it.

Here's the original adjuster.

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Reamer
Thats how Subaru does the a/c belts on the new cars now. They got rid of the flimsy bearing. Thats probably a good permanent fix.

The STI has dished pistons compared to the flat tops the NA has. That would defiantly lower compression. You may have head gasket options to help compression.

If the short block was from an 08. They had problems with the ring lands breaking witch could be the oil burning issue.

Buying multiples of the car your planning on rallying is smart I think. Im doing the same thing with my biuld. You can put all those non rally parts on Ebay and help fund the next rally. You will be very surprised on what someone will pay for a Subaru cup holder!

Nice build and good luck at the next rally!

What part actually broke with your alternator adjuster?

i've never seen one break unless it was wrongly installed and someone did not loosen off the bolt which goes into the alt before trying to loosen off (or tighten) the adjustment.

I'm also very surprised you couldn't find one of those parts kicking around the service area...every Subaru since like 1990 has used them...lots of cars in the parking lot.... Regardless nice "in the field" fix.



I would not be too discouraged with the power, as different dynos read different, however power does seem down. My 2.5RS motor (with cams) made 135whp on a pretty "high" reading dyno, and it had close to 200,000 kms on it.

I was talking about the A/C adjuster. Subaru felt good with slipping a belt on with a screw driver and a key for the new cars was my point. The alternator is still the same on 2011.

Funny Im looking at 13 plus Subarus here also. all in about the same shape. Needs head gaskets needs doors needs this that the other.

Looks like OL and 2wd are the current growing classes should be interesting to see how it shapes up the next couple years!

The long bolt broke right at the top of the sliding aluminum block. Two of them were volunteered from service and photog cars, but we were worried about time and started on the alternate fix. We were putting up the tools when one showed up. Plus, we'd rather not strand someones else service crew. Had we been in a service area, I would have gone begging, but this was spotted at the Park Expose on Saturday morning just as the first cars were starting. I had about 20 minutes to find parts and fix it. Luckily, Mooney Napa was two blocks away and open.

We did bring a bucket of bolts that came from parting out Subarus, but didn't have a bolt the right thread and length to work with the stock adjuster.

The cause? We suspect that another crew member tightened it too much, which twisted the sliding aluminum block which broke the bolt, but missed that it had cracked.

And yes, we've got a yard full of Subarus. 13 last time we counted.

Nice! Love the field of cars! Lotso spares there!

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modernbeat

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Mark

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modernbeat
This a buildup of Brianne Corn's Subaru. It's been built for Rally America Open Light class, which is the naturally aspirated AWD class. This car is being built on a VERY tight budget.

apparently your version of VERY tight and mine are different. 3 donor cars, sti tranny, sti rack, some sort of fancy built motor, jvl suspension, 4 pot brakes, etc don't equal VERY tight in my book. hell, sounds damn near opposite of tight.

Stock motor, stock brakes (not stock pads but still drum possibly), stock suspension, stock gearbox, stock rack, stock everything damn near is my version of VERY tight.

Nice build though. Look forward to hopefully competing against you guys sometime in the future.

The three donors:

Original '95 tub was bought for around $400.
2-door RS was bought with no interior, drivetrain in boxes and title issues for $800.
The 4-door RS was bought for more, but the only parts used from it was the STi rear wing. An original RS sedan wing was bought and put on the RS and it was sold to fund the suspension, tires and entry fee.

I bought the brakes from an importer for $300 after they tried to sell them for months.
The transmission was bought from another enthusiast for a similar price.
The VLSD rear diff was bought off craigslist for around $100.

We tried a cheap suspension. The 40mm Bilsteins were chosen as it was likely the cheapest suspension that would survive.

The motor was assembled from cast off and used parts. The block was given to us after it was replaced under Subaru warranty. The pistons, rings and rods came out of the discards box at AWD Tuning. The throttle body, airbox and intake piping came off a daily driver Forester - and will have to go back on it. We ran it on the COBB Austin dyno yesterday. It made 84hp and 114 ft/lbs of torque. We did run a stock radiator because we didn't have time or money to replace it, but it will likely get replaced before the next National event.

Brianne isn't racing for giggles. She's in it to win. Some stock parts just won't cut it, and the performance replacements were bought with an eye to the budget. Things like stock suspension won't do the job.

All told, there's less than $6000 in the car including the JVAB bits and the new tires (the first NEW rally tires we've bought). We still have a pile of parts from the '95 tub, the RS coupe and two wrecked wagons we bought for $100 and $200. The flip side it that it took three years to collect the pile of parts even though it only took a few months to build the car.

Just a/some small correction(s).

Original '95 was bought for $400 delivered. It was a running car but it was autotragic. We sold the motor out of it for $350. Which almost covered the cost of the STI transmission.

The 2000 2-door RS which donated it wiring, fuel system, hubs, etc.. was bought with no carpet, a WRX transmission in the trunk and title issues for $750. This is destined to be a rally cross car.

The 2001 4-door RS was bought for $800. The only parts used from it were the STi rear wing and the motor with a hole in the block. An original RS sedan wing was bought of of craigslist and put on the RS along with the good motor from the coupe and the OEM 6 spoke RS Wheels (also from the Coupe) and it was sold to fund the suspension, tires and entry fee.

FYI. The STI rack was $50.

We ran the brake pads that were on the brakes when it came out of the container from Japan? We don't know what they are but they work.

It took 3 years to hunt down all the parts and get them at bargain prices.

I live in the cheapest apartment I could find. I have been a bicycle commuter for just over 4 years (to save money on fuel and parking permits). And am desperately in need of some new clothes. All expressly so that I could go rallying.

That is what he means by tight budget.

LOTS of work. Very little money.

The final push to get it all together over the last 2 weeks before 100 Acre including all the money needed to actually get to and enter the rally cost nearly 4 times my monthly salary. This would not have been possible without the sale of the 2001 sedan.

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Mark
Stock motor, stock brakes (not stock pads but still drum possibly), stock suspension, stock gearbox, stock rack, stock everything damn near is my version of VERY tight.

With exception for the suspension and tires I think we came in at about the same "cost" as someone would have if they just bought a clean running stock Impreza L. Just a lot more work.

Now going back to sit quietly in the corner and wait for my next driving assignment.
Brianne

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bcorn
[Just a lot more work.

Now going back to sit quietly in the corner and wait for my next driving assignment.
Brianne

No! Raise hell, Brianne! Gawddam you're from Texas, let's have some yippin' and some Ah-yayin!

Or a rousing round of I'm an Old Cowhand!

(Teaching my girls music from everywhere so....)
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bcorn
And am desperately in need of some new clothes.

I feel ya there! I'm down to two pairs of jeans and they are getting ragged. Thankfully my work is casual and I don't interact with people so no one notices...

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NoCoast

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bcorn
And am desperately in need of some new clothes.

I feel ya there! I'm down to two pairs of jeans and they are getting ragged. Thankfully my work is casual and I don't interact with people so no one notices...

I rarely have had more than 2 pairs of jeans and maybe 3 pairs of shorts in the last 40 years.. How many you need?

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NoCoast

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modernbeat
The motor was assembled from cast off and used parts. The block was given to us after it was replaced under Subaru warranty. The pistons, rings and rods came out of the discards box at AWD Tuning. The throttle body, airbox and intake piping came off a daily driver Forester - and will have to go back on it. We ran it on the COBB Austin dyno yesterday. It made 84hp and 114 ft/lbs of torque. We did run a stock radiator because we didn't have time or money to replace it, but it will likely get replaced before the next National event.

What'd you end up with compression ratio? Seems quite low on power and was kinda wondering that since you said it was an STI block.
Is the car running hot? It's not turbocharged so probably no need for any fancy radiator.

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modernbeat
Brianne isn't racing for giggles. She's in it to win. Some stock parts just won't cut it, and the performance replacements were bought with an eye to the budget. Things like stock suspension won't do the job.

Well good luck to her. She'll have to make sure and show up to Ojibwe where the roads are tight and technical and where we're trying to get a bunch of OL cars to come out to.
Agreed and good choice on suspension! Though not all stock parts are inferior. For example, the aluminum control arms may be lighter but they also break instead of bend and thus are less likely to be able to limp you back to service.

Keep the pics coming!!!

The motor started out much stronger than it ended up. I think that my comfort with the car and the notes were improving at the same rate as the engine was dying. The constant overheating and oil loss problems were chipping away at the power throughout the weekend.

I like tight and technical. We will have to see what we can do. My eyes are already too big for my wallet. It all depends on how fast we can sell of the collection of subys we gathered up during the build.

P.S. I like winning but giggles are good too.

Looks like alot of fun, you guys really pulled parts from every direction to put this thing together best of luck in the future!