i can also take off one of my spark plug wires and it sounds just like a wrx.

the point is a light powerful engine with a rwd tranny.

sure would confuse wrx drivers though since few other things sound like that.

It would certainly be a sleeper! Hec if you have the cash and time, i say go for it. Its uncharted territory so you would be a pioneer. I done have the guts to try something that ambitious, so if you go with it, make sure you keep us all updated!

Having both a 97 Legacy with the EJ22 engine and a 1200 sedan I've thought about this more than a few times. It would be an involved swap in a 1200 as you would need to widen the engine compartment to get the Suby engine in.

The EJ22 is a nice torquey engine that breathes pretty well in stock form. In a light car like the 1200 it would be a lot of fun to drive. The late model Suby 3 litre 6 banger is barley longer than the EJ22 for some real fun.

The EJ22 engine is ~28.5" wide across the valve covers and 17" long from tranny to crank pully. It looks like the 1200 engine compartment is 28" wide at best.

Some fancy sheet metal work just above the frame rails shouldn't be too hard to do to give clearance for the valve covers. You would need to include removable covers to be able to adjust the valves without pulling the engine...

I didn't think it was going to be narrrow enough to fit in a 1200 but if your putting it in a sunny it might fit. at least now you have a measurement to check.
As far as gearboxes, i would say a RWD Nissan box (rb/ca/sr) would be your best bet as its already been mentioned both nissans and subarus use parts made from fuji industries (diffs for example)
I'm not sure where the boxes for both are made but i wouldn't be surprised if the nissan box worked with minimal fuss.
Anyway thats what box i would be looking at first

maybe a spiffy adapter plate would enable a nissan tranny to be hooked up to a subaru engine. Having enough space to change timing belts without pulling the radiator would be nice.

I know! wouldn't a forrester engine H6 3 liter be wicked!

I'm going to go out and measure the frame rails.

A subaru tranny wouldn't be a bad thing if you had to use one.

foresters over here didn't get the H6, we only got the EJ20 EJ20T EJ25 EJ25T in our foz's I was contemplating putting a supercharged H6 in my forester but after i smashed the gearbox launching anyways... too expensive. It should be good if one of you guys does this conversion, the subaru engines are sooo easy to modify, it's just great. and they are an awesome engine to start with so i don't think getting a datto into the tens would be an issue!

While doing some mid-winter maintenance on the Suby this afternoon I was looking for issues putting the boxer in a Datto. Other than the width the only thing that stands out is the intake manifold.

In the Suby, the engine is way forward. The engine/transmission junction is 11 inches forward of the firewall. The whole engine is ahead of the front wheel centerline. Subaru uses the space above the transmission for part of the air intake plumbing. The throttle body inlet is almost flush with the back of the engine.

In a Datto where the engine is close to the firewall some custom manifold work would be needed. The intake system has the same issues that a lot of the front wheel drive engines have.

bigest problem would be changing the spark plugs in a 1200, hard enough to change in the Gt forester that came with the ej20a sthe front chasis rails are narrower than a wrx.

MRT in australia make a rwd conversion for the transfer case, cheap and reliable for a conversion.

In fact there seem to be less issue when rwd then awd as the wheels can break traction to release the power instead of stripping gear teeth.

i have an auto in the forester which although not fun, is alot stronger than the manual.. but only if you abuse them.

Would be better left to the vw beetles and kombis... they are an easier conversion for this engine.

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ever thought of a hayabusa v8? probably fit in easier only wiehgs 90kgs minus gearbox makes about 300-400hp at the flywheel on street cams and is n/a. but the price of the motor is what makes it not worth it :(

If you were going to all this trouble one "out of the box" idea for inlet manifold and airbox might be to plumb it into the waterbox infront of the windscreen? or even do away with your heater box and place it there!