Hey fellas, So summer time is rolling around and I will have some free time on my hands before heading off the school. So, what better time to build a car :naughty: Currently I have an 05 STi with most of the bolt on mods that everyone gets nowadays. I love it but I would like to sell as I am nearing the 100k mile mark and I want to get into something that isn't worth so much. That being said, Before buying this car, I wanted to build and RSTi. And, I still do. So, I will you the knowledge base of wrxatl to my advantage here as I start this process. Here is what I am thinking: 1. Find a good canidate for a swap this entails: - 98-01 RS - Running and driving - Decent bodywork, paint can suck as it will be painted - Preferably priced below $4000 2. Buy it 3. Get my current car back to stock, sell it. I'll sell what modifications I won't use on the new car and keep what I will use 4. Buy a wrecked STi (04-07). Preferably rear end damage or light front end damage. 5. Find the time to get everything out of the RS. Engine, tranny, interor, etc. (Can the entire power train from an STI fit in an RS?) 6. Get the RS painted (Metallic grey) 7. Finish up Sounds like a plan to you guys? I expect some of you that have swapped RS' to chime in here. I would like to post what cars I find here and have some of you give me the thumbs up or down. We will see what happens. Anyways. :hug: Take care, Reed
it will cost you close to the value of your STi to do this project. to find a used RS without rust/road worthy you're not gonna pay less than $6000, then a wrecked STi with all drivetrain components intact is going to be at least $4000 plus all the other miscellaneous parts... it can be done cheaper, but it takes a LOT longer to dig and find someone who doesn't know what they have or is desperate to get rid of something. not trying to discourage you, just giving you a heads up
Find an older L without rust for around $1k-$2k, its not impossible to find one if you are patient. Would you want a coupe, sedan or wagon? If you want a wagon, look for an impreza outback sport. Ive seen those go on craigslist for $1.5k sometimes needing minor engine/transmission work which would suit you perfectly. If you plan on swapping the interior, just save your self the trouble and but a wrecked car like youre talking about and dont try to piece everything together like I did. I spent a little less but it was way more of a hassle and not worth it in the long run. The swap is pretty time consuming, but if youre doing the interior too almost everything is plug and play. You will need to cut 2 small holes in your firewall to accommodate the newer heater core but thats not too bad. You will also have a few unused holes in the firewall that you will need to plug somehow. Out of everything, the hardest part for me was/is getting the fuel tank harness merged correctly. The fuel pump is plug and play but the fuel level sensor and evap sensor both need to be merged (which I havent figured out yet). Or better yet, you can swap over the entire gas tank/evap system and not worry about that either. Other than that, I had to merge headlights/taillights/blinkers/wipers/doors which are pretty easy. Im sure Im forgetting something but that feels like the most of it. Just take your time and enjoy it.
like i said, finding an RS for cheap is the hard part. you can find cheap L's for next to nothing, but those aren't RS's
I thought about finding an L but those seem harder to come by clean than an RS. I was checking out this: http://www.rs25.com/forums/showthread.php?t=175077
Get All Pro to do the dash and wiring done for ya. I think they will do it for around $2000 give or take. They do such a good job swapping the interior bits over. That car in your link coming from PA will likely be loaded with rust. I'd stay away from any car north of the Mason Dixon line.
Youre right about that. I think the sunroof and hood/bumper are the only important differences in the L and RS for someone doing a full swap, you might as well save the cash and get the cheaper one. this
If you could do without the electric locks/windows, you could probably get this one for $750-800 http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/2974427644.html
also PM Techlord or LiquidForce, they have a street worthy swapped coupe and a track swapped coupe. between the two of them, they can probably give you a good idea of $$$, options and what's involved in doing the swap
They didn't much that was terribly hard....dropped the engine/trans in, swapped a few parts. The hard part All Pro did for them on both cars.
If you have good connections and can get an STI donor car then do it. Just to warn you, I was looking for one forever when I was thinking about swapping my car. If you don't have access to some kind of auction for wreck cars, then it will take you well more than a summer just to find a donor car let alone all the other stuff you need to do. The swap is pretty straight forward, but it's the wiring that is a PITA. Depending on your mechanical skills, the motor and tranny is pretty straight forward, but its the wiring that will take a LONG time if you don't know what your doing. It took me a long time to just swap in a simple EJ205, granted I had school and work, but it's a lot to tackle by yourself......but let me tell you this....the reward is priceless =) Like I said the easiest approach to this is to find a donor STI...but that is easier said than done unless you have connections. If you have never done a harness merge before....stay away from it LOL. There is a nice vender on RS25.com that does harness merges though, he charges about $600 give or take to do a complete merge. Subaru's are like legos, you'll be surprise at how much can be transferred into the GC from the GD chassis =).
Don't do it Reed..... lol If you do go through with it, you know I'll be down to help out and offer what I can, when I can. It'd be alot of fun, but like everybody else said, its alot of time and effort and money. I know you're going away for school and I doubt you can track down everything and get it together before the summer is over, but if you think you can, let's get the ball rolling and get it done
Rust is really the only thing I would like to avoid. The paint can suck because it is going to re-sprayed and small dents can come out but rust seems a little more involved. Thanks for the research but I am looking for a coupe Probably should have mentioned that bit. I'll keep L's in mind during the search. As far as the wiring goes, I would assume that the great majority of the sti harness will be used with the hvac, cluster, engine and tranny. With everything else, I noticed the guide for merging harnesses on Rs25.com and would use that. I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron
I will keep that in mind. Once I buy a swap candidate and swapee, I will see where the money sits and go from there. Also, I'm not to worried about finding a donor STi. I have a pretty good connection with an auction that sees wrecked out ones often, it's just finding the right one. Oh, you know I think I can. And if not, I'll just push the car up to Tennessee and finish it at school! :rofl:
Yea if you plan on doing it yourself, start doing alot of research now. I must have like 20+ bookmarks that I've saved and did TONS of reseach before I even started my swap. One thing that I've leared is, there is just not enough information to accomidate some of the issues you run into HAHA. You will run into things that will set back your progress and will make you scratch your head and wish you could light up and burn your car =). I would also suggest getting an older L. If I could do it over again, I would get the L, lighter and no sunroof =), also gonna be alot cheaper. Like you stated above, rust is a HUGE problem with these older chassis. It might be hard to find a coupe with no rust. Just keep searching, you'll probably find a STI donor car before you find your GC. Make sure your pockets are deep =), this will not be a cheap project....idk why subaru stuff are so expensive =(. Donor cars are still going for like 8k, you can buy a perfectly running WRX for that much lol.
Soldering in itself is not the proper way to merge harnesses if you ask my honest opinion. Solders over time tend to loosen and get poor connections.
Soldering the way that most people do it is incorrect. I've got books about milspec wiring that demonstrate the proper techniques. Don't right its the only way to do it properly, mechanical connections will fail over time.
just bring over the entire harness. actually, for the price you can pick up one already swapped, I would just do that.
Are you planning on swapping the gas tank/evap stuff? If you do (and I would recommend it if you need emissions testing to avoid CELs), the only things youll need to merge are the: Doors Headlights Tail lights fogs (if you have them) Blinkers Wipers Horn(maybe?) All of these minor merges can be done at their individual plugs, which is even easier. You are swapping dashes, interior, and everything under the hood so this should be a 95% plug and play project.
Thats what I was thinking. As long as the as tank is ruptured I'll swap it. UPDATE: I have been eyeing over these two beauties. http://www.rs25.com/forums/showthread.php?t=175765 This one runs and drives fine, but has 1/4 panel rust. That makes me nervous because if it has gotten there, where else is it underneath? I'll text the owner and see what I can get out of him. He appears to be getting desperate to sell. http://www.rs25.com/forums/showthread.php?t=177384 Doesn't run well. Owners is looking to get 2500ish he says. No reported rust. ABSOULTLY ugly but that will change anyways. Take care, Reed
Im looking for a GC myself but possibly Sedan. Found these local http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/2983348862.html http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/2953922892.html
Thanks for the nudge. And yes. Won this wrecked STI at auction today. It's a 2006 STI with 107k on the clock and it should get here next week. I'll follow up with better pics/make a build thread
If you don't mind sharing how much did you pay for it? I paid $5k for one a few years ago to do a swap and they someone offered me $7k.....no brainer and let it go...lol
I'm guessing it doesn't have brembos. Looks like somebody pulled some parts before the insurance company got it.
LOL it's on doughnuts on all 4's it looks like. What a clean looking donor. You can probably sell a lot out of it and make your money back.
Report says front end/mechanical damage. I guess I will just have to see exactly what is up when it gets here. I autochecked it and it came up with this timeline: -June of 2011, wrecked -Feburary 2012, rebuilt title issued -Present day, Sold at insurance auction So, what stirhino and I came up with is that the car was being re-built and the guy stopped paying for it. Then the shop turned it over to the insurance co. Either way, it's mine now and I will get into more detail when I see it in person. As far as the engine goes, it is tempting to build the short block while it is apart. Just for the added insurance and a brand new engine in what will be a brand newish car. Assuming the block does have 107K miles on it. I payed $6K I doubt someone didn't go to such trouble. Like it said, the car was being rebuilt so I doubt they would remove brakes. We'll just have to see. Fingers crossed!
Thanks much. I might give you guys a call if I run into any snags! The swapped blue coupe you guys did pretty much got me off my butt to do this. That's the plan! I will end up posting up the parts I wont be using so be on the lookout if you are in need of any STi goodies.
Got the car dropped off today. It's fun going through and seeing it for the first time. Body looks pretty darn good and the frame is perfect. No rust so bolts should be easy to get off (knock on wood). Overall I'm pretty happy. Now here is the rub. No calipers (you were right), rear diff, driveshaft, front axles are wrong, no downpipe, no injectors, no oil pan, no clutch, no starter and a different looking transmission. I really hope it isn't a 5 speed. I'll check the numbers when I go back tonight but here is the under side of it and by the engine:
Let me know what you want for the shell, I need a backup chassis for the shops new racecar. I would be interested in the shell, doors, fenders, and bumpers if you have them. Matt
Why take the 6spd and leave the built block? Unless of coarse the block is toast, which would be my guess.