My 1992 Subaru SVX Project Car (Miki)

Transmission Removal:

Removing the transmission went relatively smoothly. It was here where I discovered where the transmission had failed. The flexplate connecting the engine to the transmission had broken at the bolt holes, causing loud noises and poor power delivery. I could have replaced it to get the car running again, but I was already committed to the swap, so I carried on...

Clutch Preparation:

With the pedals finished, I proceeded with installation of the clutch/flywheel assembly on the engine, as well as mounting the clutch master cylinder to the firewall. This process involved rerouting some of the wires that went into the engine bay and relocating brake lines. The clutch master cylinder was mounted on a hole where the electronics run though and I'm currently working on a solution to remedy the hole in the firewall (the extra heat is welcome in the winter though). Currently, the clutch is mounted with a series of standoffs and 3D printed spacers!

First Start!

While I waited on my modified shifter assembly to arrive, I finished everything else! The modified driveshaft went in, along with the interior. Late on an April fools night, Miki started for the first time after being parked in the garage just one month prior! 

2 weeks later, Miki was on the road again, with a new (to me) transmission and a knobless stick out of the center console!

Disassembly snowball:

I first started by removing the radiator and timing covers to reveal the damage I mentioned above. I was pretty worried about the internals at this point, but I collected myself and pushed on. At this point, I decided to go all out and replace or restore anything I could easily get my hands on. I had a set of hard fuel lines off another SVX that was not rusted, so I decided to swap that. That involved taking off the intake manifold which I also decided to replace because of a dent on the mating surface of the throttle body causing a vacuum leak. That meant transferring all the sensors and hoses to the new intake manifold along with the new fuel rail. Since I had access, I also removed all the accessory mounts for wire brushing and a fresh coat of spray paint. One interesting thing that needed to happen was removing one of the cam pullies, as the timing belt had destroyed one of the flanges. Because I didn't have any vice grips, I ended up improvising with a bunch of weaker clamps. It worked like a charm!

Bushings:

The first step for these sets of mods is the bushings. The 30+ year old rubber bushings have defiantly seen better days, and they are quite worn. I removed the lower control arms (after grinding down a few bolts that didn't want to come out) and added them to a bonfire my roommates were having at the time. The worn bushings slowly burned away leaving me with the steel sleeves surrounding them. I cut the sleeves out with my roommates pneumatic saw and had the control arms powder coated to prevent any rust in the future. After getting them back from powder coating, I pressed in the blue polyurethane bushings from DRW Bushings. They fit nicely, and the control arm went in fairly easily.

Rear Control Arms:

The rear control arms was a little more difficult, mostly because of the old hardware. The nut decided to round itself, so I resorted to grinding it out of existence. This also meant I ground down the eccentric bolt in charge of the rear alignment. Because the Moog arms are adjustable, I stacked two washers and ground them down to fit in the bolt slot in the subframe. This ensured both arms were bolted in the same position to aid in alignment. With those in, I reassembled the rear end and took Miki to an alignment shop. Unfortunately for me, because of the way the fenders sit, my rear wheels are a little tucked, causing many alignment shops to turn me away. Fortunately, I found one, and now everything is nice and straight.