I have an opportunity to pick up one of these for pretty cheap. If I want to pay someone to do a turbo/engine swap for me what am I looking at $$ ? Any bay area recos? I want somewhere that I can drop it off and pick it up a couple of weeks later ready to roll without issue. Thanks

 

Could end up being pretty expensive. Check the vendors section for shops that may be able to handle the swap. You may find you're better off picking up an 02-03 WRX instead. They can be had for less than 8k and in decent shape these days.

 

Better off buying a WRX, the cost offset isn't worth it.

 

That's what I'm trying to sort out. Say $8k is my budget , am I better off buying a +100k mile WRX or the Impreza for $3500 and dropping a turbo motor in it? The 8k WRX could have any number of problems pop up after the sale.

 

It might be just as expensive going the swap route as buying a wrx, assuming you're going to a shop to do it; the labor is going to be a lot. You also realize the TS has an open rear diff and drum brakes right?

 

Didn't know that about the TS diff and brakes. I could do the engine R+I , diff, and brakes, it's electrical issues / harness / sensor incompatibilities that I do not do well with. : ) If it's plug and play drop a motor in and go that's ok, otherwise I'm out and will keep watching craigslist for a cheap wrx to pop up.

 

At that price you can get an 04 STI. Why go through the trouble?

 

sh*t really? where ?

 

not sure how much 04's are right now, but i got mine for 11k with 110k miles on it.

 

you have to do wiring

 

just get a wrx, a swap on a good day will run u around 8k not including the dif and the brakes the other problem will be finding a shop with time to do a swap right now

 

there is a 04 sti on craigslist in santa rosa that has 120K miles on the car and 50K on the engine. they are asking $12,000

you get better brakes, suspension, engine power, interior, etc etc etc all for less than what you would pay for a full swap.

and as someone said a shop taking on a full swap is going to charge a pretty penny. They will lose out on regular short services which make them living.

My suggestion get a old sti and just budget for maintenance with in 10K miles.

 

years ago i swapped a 2003 wrx motor into a 2002 2.5rs. its pretty straightforward, the wiring harness doesnt need any modification, since the interior and everything is the same, you just install the wrx harness and remove the existing harness. the only thing is the wrx has a fuel pump controller or something in the trunk that the rs doesnt have, so you have to run the wiring for that and splice it in.

I kept the RS transmission and just upgraded the clutch. the RS has much shorter gearing, which allows for a faster acceleration, but at freeway speeds you are running a good 1000+ rpm higher than a wrx would. which of course kills fuel economy. there is also a difference in the gear ratio on the diff (center and rear) between the wrx and rs. i dont remember the whole story on this, but i think you have to keep wrx transmission with wrx rear diff, and vice versa. the rs has an open rear, where the wrx has a limited slip, from what i have heard though the wrx limited slip might as well be open.. its not very good.

That being said, i would recommend getting a wrx or sti to begin with. i got lucky and found an entire wrecked wrx for cheap, to use as my donor car. if i tried to piece together parts to do the swap it would have been pretty expensive (and a pain in the a$$), and i dont know how much it would cost to have a shop do it.

your concern about a $8k wrx having problems after sale is somewhat valid, but if you did a swap its not like you would be putting in a brand new engine either. if anything i think the risks are equal, if not safer buying a wrx to start with.

 

what

 

buyer a WRX would be the choice, swapping motor on the TS will get you trouble every 2 year when smog comes in...unless you bar'd it.