Club 80-90 Forums

So - thanks to Lance on here - I'm now the proud owner of a WRX.
Going to get the engine running sweetly - then hoik her out to drop into my bus.
Is there anyone near me that's done this work before?
Was thinking of taking a week off work to drop it in - or do you think it'll take longer?
Would be cool to have someone experienced to show me the light
Has anyone used VW evolution in Westbury?
Nice blokes when ever I go there - was wondering if they did this kind of work.....
I see they've got a Porsche conversion on the go...

hello, not done wrx into t3 but done a few n/a ej22's. turbo is alot moe work and may need the angle grinder getting out to modify rear engine bay panel. Also may have lid height probs as intercooler sits on top so will need lid lifting up. easy do able in 7 days but gather everything, do loads of research and don't stop til it starts. have a look at rjes website and give him a call for special bits. very knowledgable and nice chap. top stuff he sells as well. good luck

It's going in a pickup so I've got a little more height than usual.
Should be great for a bit of tail happy fun
Thanks for the Advice, I think I'll gather parts like you said - also scouring the bay for a lift for my garage

I was thinking twin Naca ducts in the rear wings to feed the intercooler

How easy and feasible would it be to relocate the intercooler to make use of side vent cooling?

The side vent's wouldn't give enough air feed into the little intercooler - I don't think.
I've also noticed that on the Scooby scoop it has a feed that flows directly onto the Turbo - I guess to help cool it at higher speeds.
So I was thinking of scooping air into custom made ducts with four feeder tubes that curve round and flow air - three to the intercooler and one above the turbo.
I'd like to pu a whopping great scoop on the truck bed but that'd make it a pain in the a*** when I want to use it for carrying bikes

Mate you've got a single turbo so use a chargecooler instead. Water is 4 x more efficient at cooling than air. also you can mount the pre-rad where ever you want and as an added bonus you could retain the original VW engine lid.
Also my van is lowered 60mm and I get over speed bumps with a standard Scooby sump.
check out my pix on "subaru legacy the story so far"

I was going to get it running - as stock as possible and see how I go - I am rather tempted by the Small car short sump kit though

Latest piccys

Like jimmypatch said - chargecooling is the way to go. Don't be afraid to move the turbo as these engines are known to overheat and damage the cylinder nearest the turbo anyway. Ok so it's costly to remake the exhaust headers but then it will work properly , be reliable and you don't end up butchering the structure of the T3 (Apologies to jimmy but that GTB swap could have been so much more with proper pipework)
Why is the Impreza not running right? If there's coolant down any of the spark plug wells then that head is scrap (it'll be cracked, possibly with a burnt exhaust valve) WRX's don't tend to last more than 90-100k before going pop, so if it's up there on mileage you may have a dead motor anyway. Sorry!

It's off the road because the clutch was slipping and it was missing a top coolant hose the woman that had it before me knew nothing about cars and her Ex left her with it in bits.
It runs lovely, had it purring like a kitten, restored coolant and had it well up to temp. re-bled the clutch and it went into gear.
Took it for a spin and the motor pulls like a bloody train - by the looks of the engine it's had a fair amount spent on it in the past - was rolling roaded at 64000 making 260bhp. Then the clutch finally gave up when I took it out it was down to the rivets with a big chunk missing oooops.

Yeh it's a bit longer in the tooth than I was hoping for - but I'm just looking for some fast fun really, and it's easier to roast a few old scooby motors than keep thrashing VW ones.
Once the conversion is in and I've learned a bit more about the scoob - I may put a newer block in there, looks like it's had a turbo fairly recently.
Where should I move the turbo to? can I just extend the stock outlets to move it away from the block a bit? was going to use a combo of the heat shielding off the exhaust and some posh gold foil - (got a mate who is mad into the stuff, don't ask) to further shield the engine from the turbo heat.
Would aiding airflow around the turbo help?
I've got a fair idea of what I'm going to do, was going to keep it pretty stock - to get her running, I don't plan on spending a fortune to start with - the missus would kill me
I think I'm going to change the intercooler position, placing it upright in the pickup bay with large air feeds direct to it, should be much easier to achive with the pickup I've got another 12inches or so of space over a regular Van.
Exaust is gonna be stock from the down pipe keeping all the lambda's as Rjes reccommends, then I'll just sweep her round to the left at the first junction and straight out the side in front of the Rear wheels. Should be good for some fire spitting fun. Might even see if I have room to exit through the body just between the locker door and the rear wheel.
I think charge cooler - uprated G box with longer gearing and bits will come later down the line as I learn and develop her.
I did once have a very fast Golf Rallye with a side exit - she was pumping out around 220bhp when I sold her - it is still doing the rounds she's turned into a bit of a garage queen now though

Airflow is the key to making them live, at least the pickup has more free volume than in the Impreza. If you move the turbo too far, lag will start to show but I reckon you'd have to move it a long way to upset the cart. You'd probably get away with a 100mm stand-off but remember to make it thick-walled/flanged.
Heat shielding is always a good thing and turbo jackets keep the gases hot and reduce lag too.
NACA ducts on the sides might be hard to place in the correct position. Airflow over the rear wheelarch area could give you reverse flow or worse, stalled air. Hard to say without getting all technical and conducting experiments with manometers and tubes taped to the side of the truck...more work, but may be time well spent before you go hacking the bodywork.
Getting air to exit the back of the engine bay, into the low-pressure zone behind the truck will be important with your vertical intercooler but sounds promising.
Get a copy of this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Forced-Inductio ... 1859606911" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and read it several times. It's the bible for the subject.

Nice Thanks

OK think I've figured the better cooling.
I'm going to build a big collector under the vehicle, and have ducting following the slope of the engine bay pulling cold air mammals and leaves up off the road way like a big hoover should flow plenty of air up and over the engine into the intercooler.
I may have to customise the rear panel a little - I was thinking of copying the rear lid in a thick steel mesh to allow warm air to pass through.

It will also pull in the hot air coming out of the back of the radiator and under the truck, as well as hot air off the road surface on a hot day, straight back into the engine bay...intercoolers need cold air feed, that's why they are always in front of the coolant radiators.
Get down the bookshop! It's about 450 pages but don't let that put you off, knowledge is power!