Supercharged Bugeye...
 

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on what looks like a great (Hopefully friendly!) forum. I thought I'd best get on with telling you what I'm up to and let the ridicule start rolling in!

So in a nut shell, I bought a very cheap but in good condition non-turbo bugeye, nice 2001 model, no silly extra's or fake dump valves, full service history and nearly a years MOT. By no means perfect but a great starting point.

I'd seen what people were/are doing across the pond with superchargers and thought i'd give it a whirl! Not looking for big power, 4-5psi would be the max...I am about to become a Dad after all so perhaps nows not the time for big boost!

So, I did a bucket load of reading then started the buying! So far I have a rising rate fuel pressure regulator, WRX intercooler, a W208(M45) supercharger and have my eyes on a 255 fuel pump and either a E-Manage or Apexi-AFC Neo for fuelling...and may be a set of bigger injectors. The clutch is also a little suspect so it seems like the ideal time to drop a new one of those is as well!

Hopefully the photos will load ok for you guys so you can see the progress I have been able to make from 3-4 solid hours in the workshop! Doesn't seem like a lot but I am pleased with the look and finish of the Supercharger 'manifold' so far, I even had time to start making up the brackets to mount it. It will be going where there airbox/resonators used to be on the car and will be taking drive from a longer aux belt, aided by a tensioner to keep the belt taught!

So there we have it! Be gentle with the "why not just buy a WRX?" comments, variety is the spice of life after all...or is that Chinese 5 Spice?!

Thanks!

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/Impreza1.jpg

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/SC-Template.jpg

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/SC-Template2.jpg

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/SC-Manifold.jpg

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/SC-Manifold2.jpg

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/SC-Manifold3.jpg

Welcome to Scoobynet :-)

I think it's brilliant that your willing to try something different.

I've subscribed to this thread. I think it'll be an interesting read :-)

Why not buy a wrx? ;)

Cool project, shame it wont have that scooby barble

Where are you planning on mounting the supercharger?

Thanks for the welcome and comments so far.

Although the supercharger will make a typical whirring/whining noise, the car does already have a set of unequal headers on it (forgot to mention them!), so it should retain the typical Impreza burble...providing the whine from the supercharger is not too loud :)

I'll be mounting it at the front left (looking front on) of the engine so that it's inline with the aux belts to get drive. I may be (if allowed by the wife) having a workshop session this weekend, but I'll post more progress pics ASAP!

Thanks!

Interesting, it looks like quite a big blower to squeeze into the engine bay - good luck with the project:thumb:

Friend of mine Supercharged his classic Sport.

It melted the pistons.

Shall be watching this with interest, and i only live about 15 mins from Exeter so will be looking forward to seeing this on the road

Thanks for the replies so far!

Regarding melting pistons mentioned by mickywrx, with no disrespect intended at all, if they managed to melt them then something's been missed or not been done right. I've previously boosted N/A motors with great results so am hoping for the same with my Impreza.

The photos make the Supercharger look much bigger than it actually is, it will be tight for room but there is definitely space for it :)

Just to clarify, I'm not one for just bolting on bits like this and wont be cutting any corners with the build.

Not sure if I'll be getting in the garage this weekend (sad times!) but will update with pics/videos ASAP.

Look forward to seeing progress on this, nice to see something different on here for a change. Well done!

cool leftfield project...good luck :)

Welcome... I only joined this year and all members seem very helpful and a great forum

When it's done post a few youtube videos of the monster

Will be sweet chap

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the positive comments, I am hoping that although it will not be the quickest Impreza by a long...long..long way, that it will be something a little different, and something I can be a little proud of!

Anyway, quick update. In the dwindling daylight that remained after I'd got home from work, fed various pets, ordered an iPhone 5s and did a little gym time - I found a spare few minutes to find a suitable mounting place for my new fuel pressure regulator. Its not connected or setup, and additional mount supports will need to be fabricated once the intercooler is added, but its probably going to stay roughly where it is in the long term.

I know it looks like it fouls the induction pipe but this is just an illusion (sorry to get all Derren Brown!), there is in fact about 2" of space between the side outlet and the induction pipe.

There is plenty of clearance so it doesn't foul the bonnet and its close to the original FPR so there will be no need to excessive fuel/vacuum pipe! I have the correct fuel rail adaptor so am hoping that will make the job a little easier. Am hoping to complete fitment tomorrow evening!

Sorry about the poor picture, all light had gone and the phone flash is not great, and again, tonight was all about just offering it up.

Thanks!

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/RRFPR-1.jpg

To be fair, my mates car was running a standard Ecu. He even ran it at SSO a few years ago.

Good luck with it. :thumb:

Will be an interesting project, keeping an eye on it. I would throw caution on the fuel reg if it's one of the cheaper eBay jobbies. Had one of them and it went wrong in a horrible way with the diaphragm splitting, then had 2 replacements from another more reputable source on here which both failed out the box. Now got a fuel lab one and yes it was more expensive but it worked straight away and there is a very obvious difference in quality with both in front of you

Good luck with the project man

Very interesting project you got going there.
Best of luck with it.

Subscribed.

Thanks again everyone for the positive comments and input.

Chrispy200+, the advice is sound and I'll keep a check on it. I read a lot of reviews regarding the FPR's and feedback seemd to be about 50/50 - I didn't pay a lot for it, which I guess isn't the point but as the car will be coming off the road this weekend, it won't be doing any real road miles which will give me a good chance to see how reliable the FPR is.

Might make it into the workshop this weekend, although it is my 30th birthday and I'm not sure what my wife has planned. Any build pics/videos I get will be straight on here though!

Thanks!

Different and interesting project. Looking forward to updates. :thumb:

Quick Update
 

Hi Everyone,

Thought I would put a quick update on the progress of the build. The car only has this weekend left on the road, then its coming off for the majority of it, so hopefully next time its on the road it will at least have the Supercharger mounted and 'belted' up, and will only be missing the induction piping.

Anyway, I found a little bit of free time so thought I would fit my new fuel pressure regulator. I have fitted them (although not this model) to a couple of cars before so know they do not take a long time to fit...however, this one took a little longer...

So first thing first was to remove the existing FPR. pretty easy, just a little awkward to get to the screws that secure it, and the clips that hold the existing fuel pipe in place. So i got the old one off with no drama.

The the FPR did come with fuel rail adaptors however these were flat faced and I had read about the seals not being good on them, so I took the decision to buy a fuel rail adaptor, not mega money and from my friend and yours eBay.

Here is a shot of the old FPR next to the fuel rail adaptor.

Fuel rail adaptor and old FPR
http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza...0New%20FPR.jpg

The fuel rail adaptor seemed like a good quality item...but people be warned about this type of purchase. The mounting holes were about 3-5mm to narrow which i was very surprised about. I thought if i was going to have an issue it would be with the new FPR and not the rail adaptor! Luckily, one of my neighbours is a ex-engineer and has a pillar drill, so I asked if he could "come out to play" and we got to opening out the mounting holes.

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/Daves%20Amends.jpg

A little bit of fettling later and the rail adaptor was a perfect fit. The actual FPR was an easy fit from then on, just paying close attention to the length of the inlet/outlet fuel hose and the vacuum hose. On that note, it was lucky the new FPR came with a length of vacuum hose as mine was so old and brittle is snapped clean off!

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/Solid%20Vacuum.jpg

So all fuel lines connected, tools cleared from under the bonnet and the fuel pump primed a couple of times to check for leaks - the car fired up no problems. Adjusted the FPR to run at 37psi (Or as close as I could get using the FPR's gauge) - no leaks at idle, took her up the road and back until she was up to temp, put my foot down a little and am pleased to say she did not go up in flames...so I'm happy with that!

Here are a couple more pics:

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/Comp%20FPR%202.jpg

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/Comp%20FPR%201.jpg

I also woke up on Friday (My birthday) to see my friends and wife had also done some exterior modification...

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/30th.jpg


Hopefully in the next weekend or two I will get the Supercharger mounted, when I do you'll be the first to know!

Thanks!

Good luck with this project

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update. Car seems fine after a couple of days driving with the new fuel pressure regulator :)

Dropped her off to my workshop tonight, she'll be off the road now until the supercharger is at least mounted.

Pictures and updates to follow when I get in the garage this weekend...hopefully!

Update & Pictures
 

Hi everyone,

its been a few weeks but I managed to get some workshop time in this week end so thought I would give an update on the Supercharger build.
So last time I posted was when I have fitted the new FPR, which I am happy to say works fine still and has so far caused no issues.

This weekend I wanted to get the adaptor plate for the Supercharger finished, as although I had cut the plate out and the steel tube for the inlet/outlet, these still needed welding together, so first thing was to do that. I haven't welded for a year or too but am happy with the results as I am a little rusty!

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/IMG_1626.jpg

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/IMG_1630.jpg

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/IMG_1634.jpg

The next major part of the build for me is to actually get the Supercharger positioned and mounted in what is a limited amount of space. Looking at the engine bay from the front, the Supercharger will be at the front left, where the original air box was. There was one slight issue however. In order to run the Supercharger off the auxiliary belt it needs to be mounted quite far forward, which unfortunately meant it kept on fouling the power steering fluid reservoir...bugger! So I set about a solution to this.

I'm not entirely sure this is going to work, but here goes! I purchased an oil catch tank that has inlets/outlets that are of suitable diameter to get the power steering hoses over them, and I figure that as catch tanks have a drain hole on the bottom, if you were to turn it upside down this could then be the filler on the top with an inlet/outlet for fluid on the bottom?! Helpfully the one I bought also has a level indicator on it...plus its blue...there is kind of a theme here!

The actual tank only needed to be moved forward by 2-3cm's so rather than make a new bracket, I simply modified the existing power steering reservoir bracket to accept a mount for the new one, this then only meant I would need to drill two small holes to bolt the new mount onto the old bracket, below you can see they are marked out:

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/IMG_1638.jpg

So holes drilled and new mounts bolted onto old brackets, I am pleased to say that it seems to have worked, below is the new tank mounted but not connected. Before I bolt it in and leave it, I want to dismantle the tank and seal all the joints/bolt holes with fuel resistant sealant to ensure it is totally fluid tight.

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/IMG_1651.jpg

So there we have it, another few hours and a little closer to finishing! This weekend coming, providing my wife doesn't decide to give birth which would be a little selfish, I'll be back in the workshop to get the Supercharger mounted in place!

Thanks!

Mounted the Supercharger
 

Hi all,

Well I managed to have a mega productive day in the garage this weekend and got the Supercharger all mounted up, and I have to say I am very pleased with the job!

I fabricated all the brackets/mounts myself using mainly bits of metal that were otherwise scrap! In fact all I had to buy on the day was some new nuts and bolts, and they only cost about £6, everything else I had in the garage, apart from some primer and paint which was given to me by a good friend...who had it laying around in his garage!

It did take me most of the day and quite a few coffees. It definitely looks like a home engineering job, but now I have the size/shape of mount I need, I was considering getting a machine shop to make me something nicer looking in the future, but for now i'll stick with my home brewed version! After fitting the Supercharger in and triple checking everything was in and tight, it was time for the drive from my garage to my house, which is about 7-9 miles through bumpy country lanes...I took some tools in case the worse happened and my welds failed...but I'm pleased to say it all seems solid as a rock!

Anyway, below are the pics of the Supercharger in and mounted. The last pic was taken after the mount and Supercharger manifold had been painted. Its dark and grainy as the sun had nearly disappeared, I will take some better shots!

next on the list to do is get the new P/S fluid reservoir plumbed in, then I'll be hunting down a belt long enough to drive the Supercharger and the alternator etc. On that note, I did also change the auxiliary belt as notice it was in shocking condition!

Thanks

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/IMG_0033.jpg

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/IMG_0034.jpg

http://www.clear-media.co.uk/Impreza/IMG_0042.jpg

Looking very good. Nice to see you are making progress with it :thumb:

Will the supercharger belt clear the top hose? Looks like it might be close from the pics.

Certainly a job of function over form, but for £6 you can't complain:thumb:

I hope all the pulleys are dead in line . . . good work

Nice project something a bit different,keep up the good work,subscribed.SJ.