did subaru do a RWD car?

richbaker78 · Teacher of Padawans Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 1298

Not quite VW related but.....as some of you know I have another car, a morris minor in my garage (a standard resto i did a few years ago) I dont use it much so have been thinking about engine swops to make it more usable for a while - im not going for major power - more usable power - i was going to do a Rover K series on a ford type 9 box which is a well trodden path however it involves some cutting and messing with stuff like th steering rack....

Morris has a very short engine bay and was originally designed to have a flat 4 engine so it seems obvious to use my subaru knowledge from my van project to build the car that morris decided not to.....and put a subaru engine in it.

Im thinking a 2l twin cam will be more than enough power....defo not a turbo this time!!!!

What i need to know is can I use the subaru 4wd box but only have a rear take off (i know the opposite has been done) to drive the rear axle (probably volvo axle or maybe subaru axle I will use)

alternatively did subaru ever make a 2wd rear wheel drive car I could raid for the complete drive train?

just thoughts for now but I dont know why it took me so long to think of this when it seems such an obvious solution!

Bigbadbugga · Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 1:45 pm Post subject:

Can't you buy/make an adapter plate to fit the moggy gearbox?

or can you use the box and rear axle from another rear wheel drive car that an adapter is already available for.

I'm thinking Rover v8, ford escort I/II, sierra (irs rear) or Cortina (live rear), jag, etc etc
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ricola · Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 4:36 pm Post subject:

I've seen videos of a subaru modified to RWD only, pretty sure it was on youtube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiQLDcSBNyw
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richbaker78 · Teacher of Padawans Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 1298

cheers Ricola i shall be researching more then...ive been racking my brains trying to think how it would matter if the box only had a rear output.

Bigbad....morris box is useless so I could go for the tried and tested ford type 9 (i already have one in the garden) but i thought it would be much easier and neater if I can use scooby. Chances are ill use either an escort or preferably a volvo rear axle - however if i end up buying a donor car then I will try and use as much of it as i can so it could end up as a subaru axle.

Bigbadbugga · Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2009 12:06 am Post subject:

or a AWD moggie

now that would be cool Surfing

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ElusiveStranger · Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2009 1:03 am Post subject:

72panelvan · Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2009 2:35 am Post subject:

richbaker78 · Teacher of Padawans Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 1298

4wd would be good - and if I was starting over with a moggy I would be game for it and would prob go turbo then too to make it really worth it and get thoroughly carried away....however

my morris is all nicely restored to original spec and one of the big attractions of the subaru is i can do a lot of the work without major cutting and shutting (hopefully) - IM hoping to make it usable ratehr than insane....so a mild 120-140bhp ish and some basic brake /suspension mods should make a nice drivable classic.

that said - faced with a donoru in my garden....who knows what might happen Grin

btw elusive - did you get my PM?

ttriebler · Padawan Joined: 03 Jan 2010 Posts: 62

Hey Rich, yes you can use the Subie 4wd box just as a RWD box. You can either take out the front crownwheel and pinion or not install the front CV's. That will sort out having no drive to the front wheels.

In order to get drive to the rear wheels you also need to either weld up the centre differential or replace the centre differential with a locking shaft available from Saker cars in Australia or other suppliers. This locking shaft links the gearbox driven shaft to the gearbox output shaft for rear drive.

Hope this helps.
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richbaker78 · Teacher of Padawans Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 1298

cheers - music to my ears! I just left a message for you on the other thread....but you already answered it here!!! Cheers

rjes · Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 2:48 pm Post subject:

People convert Subaru boxes to rwd for drifting. It involves locking the centre diff. See http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/powertrain/27532-converting-awd-2wd-rwd-w-pics.html for a detailed write up of what's involved. I believe the rear output alone with a locked diff is not that strong (not surprisingly) for drifting applications, but it probably is good enough for a moggy!

A Sunaru / Morris minor project appeared in Practical Performance Car magazine ages ago, with a description of how the owner was going to use the entire Impreza front subframe and suspension, and I think the rear too for 4wd. Something about it (can't remember exactly what) made me think 'there's no way this is a peoject which is actually going to get done'. It was on eBay about 6 months later, in the same state as the pics in PPC - i.e. a collection of parts.
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richbaker78 · Teacher of Padawans Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 1298

cheers rich - lol to that moggy - im gona keep it simple and do RWD only as my morris is too nice for major surgery...ill have a read of that thread...and keep an eye open for a nice cheap legacy ;-) best finsih the van first tho otherwise itll be going th same way as that 4wd moggy!!