The story of the driveline going through two shells is well known, I covered it recently in this post. There are basics like engine mounts and positioning, but its all the little things like engine management, wiring, neatness and even air conditioning that turn it from a 'toy' into a proper usable car. There's an art to getting an engine to fit into a car it was never designed to accept. It also manages to fit 3.6L of displacement into an block that isn't a great deal bigger than their 4cyls, meaning it would drop into most Subaru engine bays.ĪM Auto have a reputation of doing all kinds of weird and wonderful engine conversions. Turns out the EZ36 is one of Subaru's most advanced engines. Subaru Tribeca, a strange looking large SUV that looked like it was made for the American market as it didn't fit the usual mould of what Aus delivered cars are. I had to look up what the engine was from. 'Build a 2.5l!' 'Build a high revving 2L' 'Throw a stock block in and boost it till it blows'. We threw around the usual ideas that people who are into Subaru's do. Nothing I own stays stock for long, soon after I was talking to Al ( Turbo Yoda) about creating the ultimate Grandpa wagon. It was clean, straight and perfect for a build. They'd put it together from a collection of spare parts from front cuts after they've come across the shell. I'd picked up the first and original ' Gramps' from the guys at Ichiban. I've owned a few Subaru wagons and know them back to front so it seemed like the logical choice. It's got a flat engine, which in reality does limit achievable power - but it's also got all wheel drive, meaning that whatever power you do make, you can put that power to use. Rally wins proved it was a formidable car with good performance and reliability. Toyotas were mostly front wheel drive and Hondas were. Toyota has wagons, Nissan have wagons although not many locally delivered. Then there's euro wagons, they are more advanced but also expensive for parts in Australia. but the suspension and engine were fairly old tech. A rear wheel drive Falcon Wagon, it's big, parts are cheap and common. Years ago I thought about other cars that might achieve this. For me, a wagon was the best compromise of a car I could live with but also drive. It seems to be a common theme that people, for whatever reason, find a make or model of car that suits what they do and who they are. The Gramps and Supergramps builds have been an epic journey, one that now feels a bit more finished as the car is painted, looks mad, drives well and is an awesome all rounder daily.įor me this has definitely been a car that's used the best of what i've learned over the years about Subaru's.

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