Three years ago, Dana Stokes came across an old 1973 Porsche abandoned in the middle of a field. “Sure enough, this poor little 914 had been sitting out in the middle of nowhere since 1982, and I knew that I had to save it,” he thought. With a lot of hard work, he swapped the engine with a 2004 Subaru WRX boxer engine and managed to turn the old car into an astounding beast.
The project involved a lot of modifications to the original car. First, he had to stiffen up the chassis. Next, he sewed the entire interior. Then, before performing the engine swap, he had to upgrade the car’s suspension, replacing it by a Bilstein 911 Carrera suspension. Working at Renegade Hybrids in Las Vegas, a shop that specializes in engine swap in various models of Porsche, it made it easier to perform the swap. He was ready to replace the Porsche’s stock 72 hp flat-four boxer engine by the 227 hp Subaru boxer engine.
The engine swap was a success. The power of a 227 hp Subaru engine is pretty impressive in a 3000 pounds Subaru Impreza WRX car: imagine what it can do to a 1973 Porsche 914 that weights only 2200 pounds. Plus, the car is a rear-wheel drive: remove all the drivetrain power loss of Subaru’s AWD system, the Porsche is a little demon on the road. From 0 to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds.
The Porsche with the Subaru engine is Dana Strokes’ daily driver. He’s not done with the mods yet, in fact he’s just getting started. He wants to turn the Porsche into a full-on track car. For pictures and videos of the car, visit turbo914.
Here’s the list of modifications Dana has made to the old Porsche 914:
Engine / Transmission
- 2004 Subaru EJ20
- Custom up-pipe
- Custom exhaust 2.5-inch
- Custom auger style muffler
- Custom intercooler mount
- Custom Renegade Hybrids radiator
- Custom stage 2 pressure plate
- Custom 9-inch Kevlar clutch disk
- Custom billet aluminum adapter plate
Suspension
- Renegade Hybrids high power axles
- 911 Carrera front suspension
- Bilstein adjustable rear struts, 200-pound springs
Wheels
- 2002 Porsche 911 rims 17 x 7-inch front 17 x 9-inch rear
- Kumho 712 tires 205/50/17zr front, 255/40/17zr rear
- Steel 914GT fender flares
Interior
- Custom roll cage
- Custom interior
- Custom tachometer with integrated boost gauge
Audio
- Pioneer DEH-P9600MP head unit
- Alpine 6.5-inch type S front speakers
- Alpine 6 x 9-inch type S rear speakers
- Arc audio 8-inch sub
- Helix B4 600 watt amp
Source: Subie speed, Porsche style
For those of us lucky ones who had a lot of snow this winter and thus have enjoyed a lot of “snowbaru” fun, CarJunky reminds us of some basic driving safety tips for the coming of the warmer spring season, to which I added one my own.
1. Do basic windshield maintenance. Cleaning your windshield and applying a special coating such as Rain-X will help your visibility tremendously.
2. Replace wiper blades. Winter can be pretty hard on wiper blades with all the ice and snow. If your wiper blades are not as effective as they were, they might be due for a replacement.
3. Replace worn tires. It can be upsetting having to spend money on tires since replacing four 16″ or 17″ tires can be pretty expensive, but it’s what keeps your car on the road, and as Subaru WRX drivers we should be concerned about getting the most out of those sharp corners.
4. Beware of water. The melting of the snow and the spring showers often leaves huge ponds of water in the streets, which can cause vehicles to hydroplane and even flood engines. Also, water lifts oils and other fluids which can create a slick layer on the road.
5. Check your lights. Make sure your taillights, headlights, turn signals, etc. are in order.
And to these, I would add:
6. Beware of potholes. If you live up north, warmer weather and the freezing and thawing of the streets also create a lot of potholes. But then, if you live up there you probably already know.
This is all pretty basic information but it is always good to be reminded.
According to Winding Road, an artist by the name of Benedict Radcliffe made a wire outline of a Subaru WRX car and set it on display in London, England on Albemarle Street.
Modern Japanese Classic by Benedict Radcliffe. Picture from Winding Road.While the frame may appear to be computer generated, I can tell you this is just the way these pieces of art end up looking on photographs. Apparently, the car, parked on the sideway, was even issued a few parking tickets!
Benedict Radcliffe entitled the piece “Modern Japanese Classic”.
The new Subaru diesel boxer engine was unveiled this month at the Geneva Motor Show. While no official power figures were release in Geneva, some speculate that the 2.0 litre turbo engine will produce 163hp and 251lb-ft of torque. The first Subaru cars which will be equipped with the new diesel engine will be the Legacy and Outback and they are expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2008. The Impreza and Forester models will follow on, but the dates have not yet been confirmed.
With the new diesel engine, Subaru wishes to increase its sales in Europe by up to 40 percent over the next three years. No words of a Subaru diesel engine in North America yet.
Fuji Heavy Industries, Subaru’s parent company, has missed its 5-year sales goal they had set in 2002. To reach a bigger part of the market, Subaru aims at being more present in the U.S. market. This means the following:
- Opening of a new headquarter in Los Angeles
- 24 more Subaru dealers in the United States by 2010
- Possible opening of a new production facility
- New CEO appointed for Subaru of America: Tomohiko Ikeda
Let’s help spread the Subaru all-wheel drive fun!
Source: Autoblog
The Consumer Reports magazine features the list of the best and worst used vehicles for 10 years, 1997 through 2006, in their annual April Auto Issue.
The Subaru Impreza and the Subaru Impreza WRX have both performed well in Consumer Reports road tests and have had several years of better-than-average reliability according to the survey respondents.
Other Subaru cars that have performed well are the Forester, Outback and Legacy.
Subaru will unveil its new boxer turbo diesel engine next month at the Geneva International Motor Show. The new Subaru diesel engine will be on display at the Subaru stand.
The new diesel engine is supposed to make its debut in production cars next year. This new engine will probably help Subaru reach its target of 100000 units sold in the European market by the end of 2010.
Source: easier Motoring
Subaru unveiled STI concepts of existing models such as the Outback and the new Stella at the 2007 Tokyo Auto Salon.
We can expect to see more STI concepts cars in the coming years, and who knows, maybe some of these prototypes will hit the street.
For pictures, visit Straightline
