'85 toyota 4x4 pickup ftw. Solid front axle, 4wd, fuel injected 22R. that truck is practically indestructable and cheap. if you can find a 22R-TE model you're a lucky sob. keep it and it'll be a classic. offroaders die for that. =P

 

Yeah actually I tried to find a yota pickup for under a grand but all of them were lifted and stripped and useless. Couldnt find a subaru for that price either. I just said screw it and bought an 89 mazda B2200 to hold me over until I can buy a suby. It gets better milage than a 22r, is bulletproof, and can mob through 3 feet of snow. It will suffice for 6 months. Thanks for the help guys. Hope to be back here with an impreza soon!

 

I must give my 2 cents on here. some people on here are right and some are not. This is the info I needed when I was first shopping!!!
that FWD is great for 3 things: commuting, steering rack, (supposedly the FWD had a shorter steering rack, so keep that in mind), and finally, its always great to have a good running second car.

Do a search for supermoose, unfortunately I have to cringe while plugging his name, for reasons everyone knows about on rs25.com but he did a complete awd ra engine conversion on a FWD here in cali. but I believe he is having one hell of a time selling it or had a hard time selling it...and this is for others reading this posting considering this idea of fWD>awd conversion, some advice, read further down...

and this includes all you OBD1 out there (93-95),
The good: while I feel OBD1 cars are the best for swapping, because the smog testing over here in Cali (if you can pass Cali smog tests, you can pass anywhere), there are loop holes for these cars. One being its awd, no dyno test, and obd1 no plug for the smog equipment to plug in, so that leaves only two test, the sniffer (most proper running engines will run clean) and the visual. well guess what, I watched as my friend passed a JDM engine in a OBD1 car (ej20g in a 95 obd1 two door) at a local smog station in Sacramento, CA no questions ask, (I guess since the smog tester was "testing subarus" all day he just assumed all subarus had turbos and as long as it looked stock he didn't question it. We sure as hell were not going to correct him..ha ha

so this brings me back to the FWD, it will required to be smogged as a FWD car!! so guess what, prepare to make it FWD every smog time or pay someone off which is really expensive these days or don't live in CALI, or don't do it, cuz 900 is a lot for a fwd that no one wants and probably won't be able to resell, there are AWD going for that price.

Another point I want to stress is who exactly are you buying from. a earlier impreza most likely will be owned by some old or young WOMAN (I'd say 8 out of 10 classic subis I see running out locally are owned by women, hmm, how did they get them before us!!), there can be bads and goods to buying a car from a woman, one being it most likely never saw a power shift or saw the redline ever, "driven like a grandma" which equals no accidents and a straight chassis. the other side is it might not have been properly maintained, "pre-maintained" unless this woman had a someone else taking care of this for her. But wanting a engine swap? this is the way to go. the other side of the argument is a RS25, who most likely owns a rs25? who most likely will sell a cheap rs25? you get what I am aiming at? a rs25 most likely was abused like a 2 dollar hooker and kicked to the curb when finished. Plus swapping this car is more expensive, cuz of the obd2 and the lack of inexpensive legal engine options, (engine most definitely will need to be newer than the body, unless you live outside of Cali), in this case. (also the rs25 has only a few options that it has that older models won't have for sure, but can be easily added, the front end, the engine/driveline, fender braces, interior, etc. but it can be the deciding factor, so do your research, cuz I wish I had factory options, all I have is factory fog lamps) So plenty of options just think about what you are going to use it for and stick to that plan.

what did I buy? two years ago a $3500 '95 2 door awd 5 speed. since then I've also own two 93 four doors that costed $1200 and $1400 all over 170,000+ miles. My 2 door has run amazing just one bad main seal leak that I fixed quick, while the other two had little electrical problems that were easy fixes but problems nonetheless. one was owned by a kid who liked 240sx which coincidently the car looked like it was just done drifting and hitting everything in its path (but engine ran so quiet, couldn't tell it was on). The other was owned by some foreigner who was leaving town so it was not taken care of but the body was in great shape.

So I don't regret waiting 5+ years for a two door even tho its the wrong color, but remember the 94-96 WRC car was a four door, the e36 BMW M3 group N race car was a 4 door, I love my two door, hopefully my child will love it just as much when I pass it down to him/her.

p.s. '95 was the first year of the coupe and only year of coupe/obd1, and coincidently its the year Colin Mcrae was World Champion (psst...even tho it was a four door) good luck with search, one last piece of advice, there will always be another deal, just have patience and look for an accident free car.

 

oh and hate to rain on the parade but just read your last posting, and no the mazda is not bulletproof, its a ford in sheep's clothing, (its a ranger, f--- rangers) the Toyota is bulletproof, thats why the yota has such a strong following like the Subaru, you don't see many smart people playing with rangers do you? sell the mazda you know better, as you said yourself, "I dont know as much as you guys but i've grown up with ancient bulletproof Subarus." Practice what you preach, get a subie!! any subie plus the project car you want!!

 

a truck is a workhorse, doesn't really matter what pickup you buy; S10, 1500, taco, F150.. as long as it gets you from point A to point B and gets your job done. gdluck with the mazda, come back with a suby next time

 

Jeese drpsnwbrdr, you're pretty long winded for a 45 poster. Still, you seem to know what you're talking about. My next car will be a 95(ish) brighton coupe, like you said. The RS's are increasingly rare, expensive, and abused. I am ashamed I couldnt afford a subie but they hold their value like a vietnamese hooker. My paycheck came in $300 short and i had to get a vehicle immediately. Subarus are just too $#%@ing expensive in Portland, especially manual imprezas. The mazda only has 185k on it and runs perfectly. Not bad for $700. Great milage. Maybe it is a ranger in disquise, but if it runs for 6 months I dont give a ****. Besides, its a 2.6 and low 4 is a kick in the pants. I know I have discrased i-club by even mentioning an american assembled vehicle, let alone a truck, on its pristine cyberspace. I promise that within a year I will grace this forum and the streets with a 350hp+ ob1 coupe. I pray you all havent forsaken me for my recent blasphemy . Im going to Alaska for basic training for about 5 months in April, so if anybody spots a good deal on an impreza or has one they're trying to get rid of hold onto it and I'll buy it off you in September. Thanks guys.

 

true that, unfortunately they canceled the BAJA!!!

good luck with a purchase Brownie

 

basic training? in the service? maybe if you are stationed overseas you can think about importing something back that everyone in America will be envious of.
must have 5 spd? I heard the fastest impreza in the world was an automatic, "but don't quote me boy I ain't say s--t" also I heard thats a fairly easy conversion, auto>5spd but again, "don't quote me boy I ain't say s--t"

 

No im going into the Alaska Air Guard as an aircraft mechanic. And yes, the fastest DRAG impreza is an automatic becuase the shift times are measured in hundreths of a second. The green machine '05 STI. Thats not the fastest impreza overall though. I judge speed on a combination of cornering and straightline. So yes, if you want to pay 20k for a quick shift system, auto is faster in a straight line. Stock auto's are crap. You cant take either to the track and expect to do well. Anyway, thread jack. Truck. ****. Want. Subie.