New SVX owner checking in

[Blenderhead]

Hey there everyone! I figured I'd introduce myself here and maybe get to know a little more about my newest toy. My name is Mike, and I just recently acquired a '95 SVX. The car was actually my dad's, and he bought it back in '01. Ever since then, I made it clear to him that when he was done with it, I wanted the car, and last week he went out and bought a brand new WRX, so he gave the SVX to me! I've been driving the car for the past couple days, and I just love the handling and the driving position! It just needs a little more power.

The car is overall in decent shape, with just a few things that need fixing, and my dad already swapped out the stock wheels for some nice aftermarket ones. It needs some interior work mostly, and it could use a paint job, but that's probably the last thing I'll do to it.

Anyway, this is my first non-american car that I have owned, so I'll have to relearn some stuff. My first goal is to give this car a little more power, cause next to my Lincoln, it feels really slow. Eventually I think I'd like to swap a 5-speed into this car and feed it some boost, but I have too many other major projects going on, so that's going to have to wait. In the meantime, what would be a good place to start to help this car move? Does anyone make a higher stall torque converter for it? Any shift kits? Also, what kind of gains are there to be had from a computer tune, and how does one go about doing that on a subaru? Any pointers as to where to get started would be appreciated! I'm used to modding fords and chevys, so I'm not really sure where to start on this car.

Thanks in advance.

Mike

[ensteele]

Welcome to the site. Many members have changed the gear ratio and that gives it some more zip. I am sure someone will chime in here. They are a great car, but remember it is a Grand Touring car and not a dragster. It is class all the way, but heavy. Good luck and enjoy the SVX.

[Blenderhead]

Oh I know about heavy and class. My other daily driver is a 98 Lincoln MarkVIII. It just feels like the car handles so well, it should be faster. I'm not looking to make an all out drag car out of it either, I just want to be able to beat up on most cars I happen to run into, maybe embarrass a mustang or 2, which I can do fairly easily in my Lincoln, and I can do without even trying in my 91 cougar. The only thing that concerns me with changing the gear ratios, is that wouldn't I have to drop the trans out of it and take it apart to change that diff? I kind of get crazy with "might as well" stuff when I get that far into something, so if I drop the trans out, a 5-speed is going back in. I just got finished putting a 5-speed in my Lincoln because I had to pull the dash out to fix the heat, so while its out, I figured I might as well put a clutch pedal in there. We'll see what other people chime in with.

[subeman90]

welcome. you have really peaked my interest in this lincoln mark 8 with a 5 speed. Tell us a little about it. I have always wanted to do the same to a mark 7 LSC but never found a sutable car to do it to.

Anyhow welcome to the forum!

[Freeman]

I've always wanted a Lincoln MarkVIII... Actually that was going to be my first car but I got an '84 Olds Cutlass Supreme Brougham instead. The Lincoln MarkVIII has a LOT of potential and I'm glad to hear someone is driving it the way it's supposed to be driven. It's not an old lady's car damn it..

[TomsSVX]

+1 for markvIII's!! I loved those cars!

As for making your svx faster, a good exhaust system, and good intake, and a 4.44 swap will definitely make it a bit quicker.

Tom

[RS22b]

Congrats on grabbing a sweet car from your dad!

Any pics? post em up!

You are right in Jersey too. Although i think you are closer to Tom.

_billy

[siceclipse]

welcome to the site!

[Mike621]

yet another nj member! Welcome.

[Blenderhead]

The MarkVIII with the 5-speed was a royal PITA! They mounted the ECM right where the clutch pedal needed to go, so I had to make a harness to extend all the wires for the ECM to locate it in a different spot. Right now, if I ever need to remove the ECM, I need to remove the dash to get at it! I can still get to the chip on the back of the ECM for reprograms though, so it should be OK. I also had to move the wiring harnesses where they come through the firewall because they were right in the way of where the clutch pedal needed to go. If I ever need to change the master cylinder in the car, I have to remove the entire cowl panel to get to it because there are a bunch of connectors that are sitting above it blocking access to it. I had to make a hydraulic system for the clutch because the only trans that bolts to that motor is the mustang one, which uses a cable clutch and there was absolutely no room under the dash to mount the cable style pedal. I also had to make a linkage to move the shifter back about 8" because the mustang shifter (again, the only trans that bolts to this motor) comes up right under the radio, and I had to move it back to come up in the hole where the auto shifter was. All told I have about 50 hours into getting a 5-speed in there. And all of this started because a $4 piece of plastic behind the dash broke, leaving me with no heat, and since I had to pull the whole dash to replace it, I had to put a clutch pedal in at the same time. Doing the swap was an absolute PITA, and you couldn't pay me to do it again, but driving the car makes it all worth it.

For the MarkVII, you are in luck though if you want a 5-speed. The VII is a fox chassis, same as the mustang, and literally EVERYTHING is a bolt in swap on that one, using a T5 out of a mustang and mustang pedals. I could have a MarkVII converted to a 5-speed in one day.

Tom, how's the highway driving with 4.44s? I like to hit the parkway (aka the jersey autobahn) quite a bit, so I'm not sure if I want to go that extreme on gears. Maybe some 4.10s would be better? How bad is swapping gears in the front diff? What needs to come apart to do it?

RS22b, yes I'm in jersey, and it looks like I'm right in the middle of you and Tom.

[TomsSVX]

Originally Posted by Blenderhead

The MarkVIII with the 5-speed was a royal PITA! They mounted the ECM right where the clutch pedal needed to go, so I had to make a harness to extend all the wires for the ECM to locate it in a different spot. Right now, if I ever need to remove the ECM, I need to remove the dash to get at it! I can still get to the chip on the back of the ECM for reprograms though, so it should be OK. I also had to move the wiring harnesses where they come through the firewall because they were right in the way of where the clutch pedal needed to go. If I ever need to change the master cylinder in the car, I have to remove the entire cowl panel to get to it because there are a bunch of connectors that are sitting above it blocking access to it. I had to make a hydraulic system for the clutch because the only trans that bolts to that motor is the mustang one, which uses a cable clutch and there was absolutely no room under the dash to mount the cable style pedal. I also had to make a linkage to move the shifter back about 8" because the mustang shifter (again, the only trans that bolts to this motor) comes up right under the radio, and I had to move it back to come up in the hole where the auto shifter was. All told I have about 50 hours into getting a 5-speed in there. And all of this started because a $4 piece of plastic behind the dash broke, leaving me with no heat, and since I had to pull the whole dash to replace it, I had to put a clutch pedal in at the same time. Doing the swap was an absolute PITA, and you couldn't pay me to do it again, but driving the car makes it all worth it.

For the MarkVII, you are in luck though if you want a 5-speed. The VII is a fox chassis, same as the mustang, and literally EVERYTHING is a bolt in swap on that one, using a T5 out of a mustang and mustang pedals. I could have a MarkVII converted to a 5-speed in one day.

Tom, how's the highway driving with 4.44s? I like to hit the parkway (aka the jersey autobahn) quite a bit, so I'm not sure if I want to go that extreme on gears. Maybe some 4.10s would be better? How bad is swapping gears in the front diff? What needs to come apart to do it?

RS22b, yes I'm in jersey, and it looks like I'm right in the middle of you and Tom.

The 4.44's are not as bad as they may seem

@75mph the engine revs at 3krpms. Its gives the car some more punch that most new owners are looking for. Not to mention they tend to last longer due to their build dates coinciding with all the updates and upgrades Subaru has issued over the years

Tom

[Hondasucks]

5 speeds in cars that only came automatic FTW! I've always wanted to put a 5 or a 6 speed in a Lexus LS400, among other things. I know a guy with a 94 Town Car, are those a PITA to swap to 5 speed? He's like me, hates automatics... Welcome to the board! Sounds like you know your way around a car pretty well, Japanese cars tend to be easier to work on than american cars, in my opinion. I had to do a tranny flush on a Ford Contour the other day, took me like, a half hour just to figure out where the stupid cooler lines hooked up to the tranny, since Ford decided that the airbox, battery, and a bunch of other crap needed to go right on top of the transmission.. (I think I will stick to my Subarus and Toyotas).

Yes, to swap gear ratios you need to remove the trans, so you might as well swap it to a 5 speed. The conversion in the SVX sounds a lot simpler than what you had to do in your Lincoln.

[subbieatnz]

welcomes along dude

[Blenderhead]

Yeah, I'd say I know my way around a car. I'm an ASE master certified tech, and I've built my share of crazy cars too. The thing about american cars is they know how to build things that are big and RWD. American wrong-wheel drive cars are just complete garbage though.

As for the town-car, I've never personally done a swap in one of those, so I'm not 100% sure. I did talk to a guy who did the swap in a crown vic, and he said that he had to modify a set of mustang pedals and have his driveshaft shortened, and everything else bolted right in. One easy thing you can do to the towncar though is what's called the "j-mod". It basically involves dropping out the valve body and drilling out a few holes in the separator plate to be larger, and also removing the bottom 1-2 accumulator spring, and the 2-3 accumulator spring. Doing this will get that 4000lb luxobarge to bark the tires shifting into second, and it is designed by the ford engineer who designed that trans, so it will actually increase the life of the trans at the same time. I know it isn't the same as shifting yourself, but it does make the car a lot more fun.

One thing concerns me about the 5-speed swap in the subaru; from what I've been reading, it says that the reason subaru didn't offer it with a 5-speed to begin with was that they didn't have one that was strong enough. If I put in a trans out of a legacy, will it last, or is it going to grenade in 10K miles? I know I could use the WRX trans, but then the project all of a sudden becomes expensive instead of something I can do on the cheap.

[subbieatnz]

Originally Posted by Blenderhead

One thing concerns me about the 5-speed swap in the subaru; from what I've been reading, it says that the reason subaru didn't offer it with a 5-speed to begin with was that they didn't have one that was strong enough. If I put in a trans out of a legacy, will it last, or is it going to grenade in 10K miles? I know I could use the WRX trans, but then the project all of a sudden becomes expensive instead of something I can do on the cheap.

5 speed should last if you dont rev it and drop the clutch...
I know guys here that blow there legacy / wrx trannys alot because they do that.
Some thing has to give. seen quite an few with striped 1st and 2nd gears and synchros all from launching.