With the car mechanically complete, the final stage of this project was to get the ECU programmed and the engine running.  We built the engine to "race" standards in the hope that it would serve us well in our "lower demand" application.  There are a few "experimental" aspects to the build however (dry sump conversion for one)... 

We did have some problems to solve along the way that required a fair bit of research and engineering.  As noted above, the entire "dry sump" oiling system was our own design and construction.  We initially had problems with the system feeding oil to the engine faster than it would "scavenge" at high RPM's.  That could lead to eventual "oil starvation" if we were to run it too long above about 4000 rpm.  Knowing that this engine was going to make it's best power between 3500 and 5500 rpm, that was a big problem.  We began by taking the oil pump apart to check that it was in good condition - we discovered that it was missing seals and hadn't been assembled correctly by whomever had it before us.  After re-assembling the pump with all the correct parts, the problem persisted.  After much research, we finally solved the problem with the fabrication and installation of a custom "windage tray" and re-purposing the stock oil pump to function as an additional scavenge pump.  Now, the oil level in the tank remains essentially constant throughout the entire rpm range. 

An additional issue was premature camshaft and lifter failures.  Within the first few hours of running, several cam lobes failed, destroying their associated lifters as well.  We believe this was the result of improperly heat treated "overhauled" camshafts.  We had sent cores out to be reconditioned and were not happy with the initial results; we returned them to be reworked and were still not happy with the results the second time.  Nevertheless, we relied on the assurances of the vendor and installed them only to have them fail quickly.  That was a painful and expensive lesson.  We ultimately purchased new manufacture "billet" camshafts from a European vendor - no U.S. vendors were found for these.  The new cams were "manufactured to order" items so there was a several week wait for them to arrive.  Once they did arrive, we were very happy with the quality.  Fortunately, the EG33 engine is an "overhead cam" design so cam replacement doesn't require total disassembly of the engine; we were able to install them with the engine still mounted in the car. 

Our new "billet" camshafts
These camshafts were beautiful works of art and were close to, but not exactly the same grind we wanted.  They were produced by a vendor in Austria, I believe, with a 6-week wait for manufacturing/delivery.  We used that delay to finish up some small details on the car and to resolve the dry sump oil transfer issue.  Still, we had to wait several weeks with nothing to do on the car.  Once we finally received the camshafts, we went right to work transferring the drive gears from the original cams, then installing them in the engine.  That was complicated by a bit of "mislabeling" - the right side cams were labeled as if for the left side...  We figured it out but it cost us a little time and frustration!

With those "speed bumps" resolved, it was time to head back to DanZio Performance Engineering to complete the tuning of our engine!

 
Our Pre-Runner on DanZio's Dynamometer for final tuning
Chris at DanZio Performance Engineering spent a day getting our EG33 engine tuned for best performance.  There were a couple of minor issues to resolve (a couple of "iffy" ignition leads and a leaking fuel rail) but it was a pleasure working with him and we're very pleased with the results.  We highly recommend DanZio!
 

Power curve analysis after a "pull"
 

Final "Power Evaluation Sheet"

Subaru claims 230 horsepower at the flywheel for a "stock" EG33 (1990's Subaru SVX) engine.  Our Power Evaluation Sheet shows peak "at the wheels" numbers of 231.5 horsepower and 217.9 ft-lbs of torque, both in the vicinity of 5600 RPM.  That's right in the "ballpark" of what we expected from our "built" EG33 on 91 octane "pump gas".  Chris at DanZio estimated a 25% loss between the flywheel and the rear wheels due to drive axle angle, etc..  Assuming he's correct, that translates to an "at the flywheel" number of about 309 horsepower - a 79 horsepower (34%) gain over stock while still running "pump gas".  We could probably find a few more horsepower if we ran "race gas" but that stuff is expensive and not available at regular gas stations - that'd complicate our ability to do long range pre-runs...
 

Documentation

We've worked hard to document the pre-runner systems along the way; we created a comprehensive "manual" that includes wiring diagrams, plumbing diagrams, component installation manuals, etc..  Hopefully, if we ever need to work on any of the systems, it'll make things easier to sort out for us or whomever owns the car later.

Anderson/Lothringer "Desert Slayer" Systems Manual
This manual contains diagrams of all the individual electrical system circuits, power requirement calculations, wire sizes, bus bar layouts and installation manuals for the lights, switch units and instruments.  Also included are diagrams for the installation of the fuel system, cooling and power steering systems.  It should be useful if we ever need to work on any of the systems.

This has been another enjoyable and challenging family project that has kept us busy for the last several years.  We'll cherish the memories and hope to enjoy the fruits of our efforts with family and friends for many years to come! 

A huge thank you to our understanding, supportive and patient wives!