Change of Pace: First AWD Turbo Car- Subaru WRX

[grenade]

Hello wonderful people of RR! Today, or this evening rather- I'm having delivered a quick little project that I've wanted for quite some time.

I might use it for a winter driver, I might use it for a resale flip or who knows really.  It's got brand new performance wheels & tires and it's done about 170k on the clock. I might put the stock wheels back on it and add some off road tires for the winter. (we get tons of snow in another 45-60 days)

 It's got a little exhaust leak and oh yeah- one more thing...

A nice big hole in the block. I've never owned a turbo car before but I know many of you have, so I may ask for help occasionally. I have a build deadline for this one, I'd like it running and driving in 3 weeks or less. If it took longer than that, I wouldn't be horribly upset but you know me- I don't muck about.

I've always wanted one of these and now is my chance. I've had a 4x4 Subaru wagon before in the distant past and I loved it in the snow. Great fun. This is a bit of a different animal however. Might go for cheap power upgrades, different exhaust and clutching, don't really know yet.

The one thing I do know, is that this engine is coming OUT of this car, post haste

I'll do some updates as they happen and by all means, share your knowledge and experiences with these things!

[cdwood2010]

Please tell me it's getting an International Harvester body plopped on top.

[johnthesparky]

That was 9 hours ago.... I assume it's finished and sold by now!!

[welshpug]

which engine did you guys get in the WRX?

i do recall theres quite a difference to uk and japanese cars sometimes.

[grenade]

This one is the turbo 2.0L AWD 5spd manual. It's here.

I snapped some pics- I'll get them up

(and no, it's not sold yet lol)

[grenade]

I have to re-size and host the images first, I'll get to it before work tomorrow, maybe. I'm buying a JDM engine off Fleabay, I just don't know which one I'll buy. The 2.0L or the 2.5. I have to do a bunch of reading on these things, I don't know what the hell I'm doing yet

[demechanik]

If you want decent durability whilst romping it sometimes, I'd take the 2.0. The pistons on the 2.5 have a tendency to break when knock occurs, so when you start upgrading that could become a problem (search for 'ringland failure' on google, you'll see what I mean )

I'll be following this one!

[cdwood2010]

I've had a 2.0 bug eye WRX, the father in law had a later 2.5 which I drove until he banned me from it.

I had no trouble in two years despite much hooning, but the father in law's really seemed to like being at the dealers.

Find a nice low mileage lump from a wrecker to match the one that's blown, and plop that in as is.

You will be laughing your ass off in no time, these cars turn you into a child.

C.

[mrchappers]

Ah man! Paul it's like you are reading my mind.
Nice Impreza, I wanted one of those before I bought my Audi.. I just think they are pretty expensive stateside. I used to have a really clean Turbo 2000 wagon in the UK



I'd love another one, it's true the noises are childish and fun! haha

[skozra]

Excellent purchase , best cars ever

[grenade]

So after work today, I had a quick look around this thing. I threw a bucket of water over it and used compressed air to dust out the interior. That's it.

No real rust, anywhere. Tiny spots around the windshield and a little bit on the exhaust heat shields. Overall, MUCH cleaner than I thought. 168k miles. They say the engine is blown, I believe them, friends of the family. It's an EJ205 engine. I see the JDM ones on ebay for around 1,000 usd. I'll get one ordered up soon. We are having a family outdoor party this weekend, the wife says I have to wait until after Saturday before I crack this thing open. You know what, I'll just take a few days off of engine work and drink some beer.

[grenade]

My first thought is to put off road tires on the stock rims. Anybody know how big I can go on these 16" rims? I want the tallest, widest mud tires I can find. (yeeHAW)

[sciclone]

You can do anything with enough fool-hardiness.. I recently put 28" All terrains on my Nissan Dualis when it's only meant to have 26".. Looks meaty though.

[Morris63]

As a long time Impreza owner and fan of your other work, this is definitely getting bookmarked.

Are 2.0 turbo engines really 1000 bucks? I'd be amazed if you can't find one way cheaper than that from one of the US forums or a breaker's yard.

[grenade]

Yep, 1000 to 1500 and up. I have an engine on the way for a little under a grand, shipped. I'll use all my parts from the current engine, intake etc, and swap it all over to this one. Should be fine. They have a bunch of different engines & valve timing systems, plug wires etc; and deciphering the thousands of pages of US forums, took hours before I actually clicked the "Buy it now" button. I'm confident that I have it right. We'll see in about a week or so. If this works out, this car will be a very nice example of a stock, unmolested WRX.

I did get to drive this car before it exploded. My son's buddy owned it and I ran it up to the store this past summer. It made no indication of impending doom when I drove it and when they said it was blown up and for sale, I jumped on it. I never really looked at it up close until the day it arrived on the tow truck. It's a nice little car, now let's see if we can get it to run and make boost!

[village]

this would be nice with the Scooby diesel engine in it......

[welshpug]

and lose 100 bhp? naaah.

[grenade]

Diesels just aren't popular in the USA unless you're talking big trucks. Personally, I'd like to see a supercharged 2GR engine in one of these, it would be insane. But, what I ordered is just more of the same motor that came in this thing originally. I'll clean and paint any rusty or corroded bits under the bonnet, make sure it runs tip top and then decide what to do with it. I might drive it for a while, not sure yet.

Because I have car dealer friends, I somehow ended up with a daily driver that I say, is the ugliest car in the world. It runs perfect and when you're inside the thing, you don't hate it, but when you see it on the outside, it's just hideous. It's a front wheel drive GM product (not a fan of anything GM)that looks like a minivan or a people carrier but it only seats four, maybe 5. It's this thing;
Shield your eyes from the hokey, gimmicky, UGLY and containing one of the worst, most unreliable GM engines ever built, the 3400 transverse mounted V6:





It's a Pontiac Aztek, 2005 model. I hate it, no idea how I ended up with it, well- I do, I needed a driver for a few weeks and this was SO CHEAP from my buddies car lot that I just had him bring it to me, sight unseen. Since driving it for about 1,000 miles, it really isn't bad at all, makes decent power and you forget that you're in a PontiSuck, I mean PontiCrack, I mean a Pontiac Ugly. The helper kid at work really likes it, I may give it to him super cheap. My almost 17yr old son wants nothing to do with it, even though the aftermarket radio will play songs from his ipod.

[daslandroverman]

That is truly hideous, it makes some of the really bad stuff from 1970's British Leyland look pretty.

[elmotheewokking]

Walter. White.
The only reason for anyone to want an Aztec...