96 subaru impreza, I'm about to tackle an SVX swap. The swap becomes much easier if you cut out the upper radiator support and use hood pins. I'm curious what you guys think of this...
The reason for cutting the upper radiator support is twofold...
Here's a picture of the front of the impreza
A car with the support cut, and no visible additional bracing
while I doubt there as need much to protect against twisting the chassis ahead of the front suspension, I am pretty sure you might want to keep that support.
Though, I do know on the 3 series BMW, it simply unbolts.
For the most part, no. I've never been roped into taking apart anyone's Sube, but every other remotely modern car ties the front frame stubs together with a crossmember and the front bumper bar. The core support is flimsy by comparison and exists to hang a radiator and some headlights.
Shouldn't be a problem. I'm missing the core support in my gd impreza race car. If using hood pins on what is left of the upper radiator support, it will bear any stress that remains. It's done quite a bit to fit slant mount style intercoolers in subies that are taking rally stress.
Well, that settles it then. The radiator support is coming out!
How common is an svx swap?
Didn't really learn much more about the svx itself after I realized they were so heavy, and laden with automatics.
it's a shame the SVX only came as an auto.. I would love to have one
At this point the 5 speed swap in an SVX is very common place. I've been a few SVX gatherings where the manual's have outnumbered the auto's.
what transmission do they use?
^Last I knew, any five or six speed originally positioned behind an EJ engine will bolt up to the SVX EG33, since the flat six is just an EJ22 with two more cylinders and a fancy intake tacked on.
Any 5 speed or 6 speed from a Legacy, Impreza or Forester will bolt right up.
The motor drops right into any EJ based subaru. The only modifications required are electrical, and moving the radiator forward.
It is not common, and my belief is that it is not common because there are so many misconceptions about the swap being spread online. I will be making a plethora of videos proving or disproving these myths.
One of them is going to be the 'cutting the upper radiator support sacrifices chassis strength' but I don't have enough hard evidence yet to actually prove that either way.
And yes, hood pins are used. I will be using locking Aerocatch flush mount hood pins.
Also it's not really fair to call it an EJ22 with two more cylinders. It's nearly identical, the bottom end parts are totally interchangeable, but it has gear driven dual overhead cams.
The importance is that many parts swap over. This includes the lower compression pistons from the ej22t. :)
and finally, yes, the svx was ~3500 pounds and autotragic only. The SVX motor bolts to any transmission that was ever behind an EJ series motor. (Pretty much anything from 93 to mid 2000s)
But the impreza is ~2700 and often not autotragic! 
Kept us posted on the progress.
I like the flat-6 swap rather than the more common turbo four.
So far I have made a shopping list for the eg33 and the impreza, will be hitting up the junkyard on Tuesday to pick up the bits and bobs.
I have completely separated the engine harness from the bulkhead harness, likely the hardest part of the swap. I wish someone could explain to me why Subaru decided to integrate the lower engine harness into the bulkhead harness. And why it's even called a bulkhead harness to begin with!
Supposedly the SVX ecu can plug right into the OBD1 impreza harnesses, but since mine is OBD2 I will leave the Subaru ECU in to handle all the bits and pieces and install the SVX ecu somewhat like a non-tunable standalone ECU. I also tackled it in this manner so I could provide directions for stripping the harness down for installation into any vehicle or.. golf cart?! 
http://www.youtube.com/user/taiden#p/c/590E76123FC1CA88/0/e8mowRi2GEI
I'll be updating this playlist pretty regularly.
Am I understanding the swap you are doing- putting an SVX motor into an Impreza? You're not doing an SVX manual trans swap are you?
I have a manual SVX I built and have put an EG33 into an XT-6. Also have an Impreza and a Forester.
Sounds like an interesting project.
Rad support should be a non- issue.
What trans are you using? This could be an issue with the added power of the EG33. I used a 5 speed from an '01 RS. The bonus was I also got a 4:11 final drive ration. 
Yes, SVX motor into an impreza.
I think that I will have a 5mt on standby at all times. 
I plan on using a very light duty clutch, and to not do holeshots on tarmac with this swap.
All the fun roads near school are dirt, so that should aid in transmission longevity!
Also, until I break a transmission, I think that the idea of the eg33 making "too much torque" for the 5mt in an Impreza swap is a bit of a myth. It's only make 230 torque. There are myriads of turbo swaps in early imprezas making far more torque without much issue. One must remember that the Impreza is effectively 800 pounds lighter than an SVX, and transmission shock load is a combination of vehicle weight, clutch slip/give, tire slip/give (practically none in AWD), engine torque, motor/transmission mounts, and aggressiveness of the driver.
Most of those things will be working in my favor as compared to other Impreza owners who have experienced transmission longevity with high power setups.
Nice videos.
How much weight is added to the front end? My wife's Impreza is already pretty front heavy, adding more weight to the front would not be helpful to handling imo.
not only is it weight added to the front.. it's weight added IN FRONT of the front wheels
I didn't actually say it makes "too much torque"- I asked what trans you were using. I was just curious. I think the Impreza trans can handle it in many situations.
"Practically no tire slippage in AWD" might not help you.
Not all SVXii weigh 800 lbs more than an Impreza. Mine weighs 200 lbs LESS.
SVreX: That comment was more directed to the Subaru community at large. AND WHAT my friend did you DO? Put it on Jenny Craig?
Yes there is a lot of weight added up front. And not just up front, WAY up front. Unless someone can tell me where to find a cheap hanging scale that will weigh items that heavy, I will not be able to weigh the motor to make a comparison. I do plan on getting the weight of the vehicle after, and if I can find a local with counter-balance scales, I will gladly post up the total weight and resulting distribution. 
Luckily though, the weight is LOW, not high, thanks to the horizontally opposed nature of the mill.
Jenny Craig is a light weight!
Where are you located?
I've got a set of scales, and so do a lot of people. I'd be REALLY interested in the actual weights of the motors/ drivetrains/ transmissions/ and distribution.
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