Hi all.

My name is Kevin. Kind of new here on the forums. Some of you guys, I met at the Davis meet. I am the guy with the white '97 Subaru Impreza L (EJ22).

I was wondering if anyone has an idea how much a conversion would run me. I want to start saving up. I am looking for something on the line of a USDM EJ20 swap. Nothing fancy. Just something along the line of stock WRX performance. It is currently an A/T, so I don't know if I want to convert it to an M/T or keep it A/T.

So, my questions are pretty much:

1. How much it will cost?
2. Who do you think does the best conversions (or best bang for the buck)?
3. Who does the cheapest conversion?
4. Would it be worth the effort to buy all the parts seperately and have the shop put it together or get one of their packages?

Thanks for your help.

 

try L.I.C. Motorsports

licmotorsports.com

 

Yeah. I saw that on their website. Their example quoted $8900 or something. I was wondering if there was anywhere cheaper to do it. I am a poor college student. I am going to try to do some small jobs over the summer to make some money.

 

honestly, i think youde be better off just getting a WRX. but ide probably be better off getting a STi instead of doing the 6 speed swap so dont listen to me.

 

Yeah. I thought about the WRX. Personally, I really like the "classic" Impreza look. The topic of WRX's becoming mainstream came up during the meet. Kind of like Honda Civics. My sister told me a lot of people at my high school at home now have WRX's and there are a ton here in Davis. Subaru's have really gone mainstream in the last few years. I don't really want to be another person owning WRX. I think it'd be pretty cool to have an EJ20 in L body. Stealth Suby!!

I totally get where you are coming from though. '02's and '03's are being listed on Craigslist as low as 12 or 13K.

I was parked by kuleinc's Suby. I thought it was awesome. I loved what he did with exterior. Pretty nifty.

 

1. sky's the limit
2. LIC - Carb legal conversions that are pretty much flawless, i dont think ive heard of any problems with people having their cars swapped by adam.
3. Cheapest doesnt mean the best....you could hunt down the parts for yourself and may make it cheaper, but there's aloooot of parts to look for aside from the engine and tranny. Remember...you get what you pay for IMO its worth it to have LIC do it if u really want to swap
4. Generally its easier to let the shop gather the parts for you since they know what to get if theyre a competant shop and know what their doing.

personally for me i wanted to swap my car to STi status...but that would cost way too much, so im not doing it...i kinda wanted a wrx setup, but i wanted something faster..ultimately its up to you, but IMO go with LIC and you wont be disapointed

 

hey i have a '99 L with an ej22 as well.

i would check out garage tuning. they offer a usdm wrx 2.0 swap for $5400. the new 2.5 wrx for $6300. usdm sti for $8400. these are all smog legal. you can get a jdm ej20g (jdm v1-2 STi motor) for $4400 but it is NOT smog legal.

they are located in lake forest, ca. kind of far away...but considering LIC is charging $8300 for a usdm 2.0 wrx swap...

the best 'deal' is the ej20g for sure, but if you are worried about it being smog legal you cant go that route. a 2.0 wrx swap is a decent option. give it an accessport and exhaust and you are at ~285 hp. thats a pretty quick little car considering the L only weights like 2700 lbs. if you are looking for hp more than 300 i dont recomend the wrx. its not that strong of an engine and an sti setup would be needed to have it last a long time.

good luck with your choice and if you have any questions feel free to ask
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Chrysler sebring history

 

Hmmm. That's probably why FineLine Imports charges more for a USDM (labor portion) than the JDM swap. It must be the "making it smog legal part."

I guess I better start saving up.

I might as well get a JDM swap. I want to leave the exterior stock. Stealth Suby project. The thing is that you can find used WRX's on Craigslists as low as 12 or 13K.

 

if you are mechancially inclined and think you are able to do it yourself i can get you an entire front clip for pretty cheap (~$2500). you will be able to sell parts that you dont use as well.
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ECIGARETTES

 

Yeah. I read something about that. Something on the line that the WRX sacrificed some more weight in exchange for a more rigid body.

I think the ej20g might be the way to go. Since I'll be leaving the exterior body stock, I don't think I'll be harassed by the cops. ~285 hp isn't bad. That'll be twice as much than I have right now. I think my Suby was advertised at 137hp.

I want to stay with a 2.0 liter engine. Gas prices are a b****. I am filling up on unleaded gas and it eats a chunk of my paycheck. I work part-time and my paycheck barely covers the cost of food and gas.

 

I got another quick question:

Since my Suby is an A/T, how much will it run me to get a tranny swap to a M/T? Can I leave it A/T and then swap in a M/T later down the line?

 

Yeah. I am not mechanically inclined. I would like to be, but the conversion from a front clip would be nice, and cheaper, but I don't have that experience. I still have a s***-load of stuff to learn before I get to that point.

 

ah yes, i have the same thing. from what i hear its not THAT bad of a swap. i know you need a m/t ECU or have the ability to solder some wires correctly on your a/t ECU.

wrx also has a wider track (look into sti aluminum control arms ). the little gc body is nice and light though. check out some fender braces to stiffen up the front end. i got mine for $90 and had a friend help me install it. install was pretty easy.

if you can barely cover the cost of food and gas then it looks like your swap might be pretty far off...i think having about $1000 in an account is a great thing to have in case something happens to the car. you dont want to end up spending every last cent of your money for a swap and then have something break making you stuck without a working car.

something to think about: ej25 swap. or ej25 shortblock swap. if you swap the whole engine that will put you at 165 hp. which isnt too bad. i know someone who is itching to get rid of full ej25 headerback exhaust for very cheap so that would add some hp as well. an ej25 swap is no where near as complex as a wrx or sti swap. the ej25 shortblock swap would utilize all of the ej22 parts except pistons/rods/crank/block. this in turn would bump up the compression ratio in theory giving you more n/a power. i cannot say how much more but it would be an interesting project. you would have to run 89 octane with this. (91+ with wrx/sti swap)
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I thought about an EJ25 swap. That isn't a bad way to go. I came across a website called FakeWRX.com or something. They swapped in a 2.5L into an old '95 or '96 L. They mentioned most of it bolted in pretty easily. The only thing they needed to modify was something they fixed by getting a metal plate that they drilled holes in.

I have a chunk of change somewhere that I take $10 or $20 from each of my paycheck and put it in a seperate account. Pretty much money for leasure and luxury items. Haha.

 

as far as 1/4 miles, the regular ej25 swap and a/t you should run around 15.7 - 15.8. somewhere around there. with a ej25 and m/t swap like 15.2-15.3 if you launch it right. still not fast but better than our 17+ timeslips now

with the 2.0 wrx expect mid to high 14s with a/t and with m/t low 14s...maybe high 13s if you can drive

keep in mind with a wrx engine your tranny isnt going to like you...with an sti swap the tranny wont last long at all unless you baby it.
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