Dash swap and insurance

taza

taza

Forum Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2010
Messages
3,820
Location
Perth, Western Australia
Anyone know if a whole dash swap is legal?
When I swap the entire drivetrain from an SG foz into my SF I want to swap the interior. The SF interior is very dated...

The biggest issue I see is the airbags. While I can still use my standard SF airbag system, I wonder if I could use an SG airbag thats in the dash (passenger side) and have it hooked upto the airbag system....

Thoughts?
 
I have no idea, mate.

I guess the best place to start is your insurer.

Will it fit?
I know that the SF and SG models are nearly identical in size, but the internal shape might be quite different. Or it could be identical.

The SG has a "weighbridge" built into the P/S seat that weighs the passenger (apparently it has four tensor sensors, one at each corner of the squab). Their weight determines how fast and hard the two stage P/S air bag in the SG deploys, and also how hard and fast the pre-tensioner seatbelt pulls the passenger back into the seat before it does the fireworks thing that locks it completely.

Obviously, the programming and rates will be different for a 40 Kg child and a 110 Kg adult.

I don't know if the SF had these control mechanisms and circuits, or not.
 
My thoughts? Just get an SG Forester. Not as fun as swapping all the bits over to your SF, but basically you are going to end up with an SF shell and everything else SG. I'm sure you can pick up a nice looking SG with a crappy drive drain for not too much money then swap what you already have in to it. Then you don't have to engineer the motor. I do however understand the attachment to your vehicle and I have done the same thing to another vehicle I had.
 
Well I would like to upgrade to an SG, while it would be alot easier, I am not getting rid of the SF. Too many attachments. Plus it's had sooo much done to it.

If I did upgrade to an SG I would go turbo. At the present time that just isn't an option.

I'm fairly sure it would fit, hell most other things do. Suspension, seats, door cards, engine, drivetrain, fenders,etc...

The biggest issue is the airbags. This car is only my main car for the next 2years, then it'll be a second car. I should probably just leave it as is...
 
^ I think that would be a wise course of action, Taza.

Keep it legal, keep it nice, but don't pour huge amounts of cash into a car that's becoming long in the tooth. That's the decision I had to face with my Impreza. No matter what I did to it, it was an 18 y.o. car, worth around $2,000. It's all too easy to lose sight of that very basic economic fact.

OTOH, Roo2 is still insured for an agreed value that is about what I paid for it 2.5 years ago. It is now about 8 y.o., with 110,000 Kms on it. This gives it an economic life of about another 10-12 years (longer than my life expectancy!) or 200,000 Kms, whichever comes first.

The exact opposite appears to be the case with my trailer. It was basically worthless. By the time the tent goes on it, I will have spent around $4,000 on rebuilding it, including adding the tent and 'sun room' (including a whole lot of other miscellaneous bits and pieces). The RACV have informed me that they will happily insure it for $6,500 once the tent is fitted! AND for the same premium as I currently pay for the trailer alone at around 40% of that value. Go figure! Apparently, camper trailers are less likely to be in accidents than box trailers.
 
Insurer wont care, legally last i checked you can't change the showing odo no. new cluster has to be matched or (in vic) certified with vicroads to reflect date/change in no. so it can still be tracked. Best just giving WA roads a call.

I'd imagine most of the dash should fit, sfa of the chassis was changed for the sg. But i've only put whole dashboards from other models in falcons and toyotas, not a subaru. besides a couple new holes for trim plugs most fitted. Only thing you might get in trouble with is the distance the dash ends to the inside of the door card sometimes companys change the ratio from year to year, so the sf door card might be fatter than the sg, while the sg dash is fatter than their door cards (did that make sense?)
 
Last edited:
As long as the odo matches the chassis it should be fine, but you should call with the wa road authority just to make certain. I haven't changed the reading on electronic odo, but matching the old mechanical ones is a crappy job, gotta take them apart lots of parts hope it works when its all back together.

Another option is checking how its put together sometimes you can remove the old odo and put it in the new cluster, done this between an el an au falcon.
 
Last edited:
I know a bloke who installed a GD dash into a GC8. I don't about how he did the airbags or if they worked, or if the GC8 originally had airbags. Wasn't the best installation, probably best described when I saw it as "Work in Progress".
 
SF dash is the same as GC8. I reckon the SG one would fit. I can retain the standard SF steering wheel. Itdjust be the passenger airbag.
Ive got a spare SF one I can try and bolt in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top