Possible Wagon conversion?
 

My friend has a paid for 2002 impreza Ts wagon A/T. We were thinking about doing an engine/tranny conversion and then wheels and suspension. Before we get all excited and start looking for parts.
Is it possible and is it worth the cost? I know there is a huge conversion forum on nasioc but before I devote the next 2 years of my life to reading it I just wanted to ask some of you (scott) who have done such things.

From my understanding it is all possible. I have heard that the AT to 5mt or 6mt is not cakewalk. Everything is possible when the price is right though... ;)

Yeah, it's certainly possible, but depending on what you plan on putting it, it would probably make more sense to just buy a used WRX Wagon.

It would be *far* cheaper to buy an STi, than to do a swap. However, since there's no such thing as an STi wagon, starting w/ a TS would be the right way to do it. If it were a 5MT, the swap would go easier and a bit cheaper, but since you're looking at probably $15k for the swap as it is, what's a couple hundred more, right?

The best part is that the car would still be insured as a TS wagon, so hello low rates! Just don't crash it, 'cause you'd only get paid out for an '02 TS wagon.

You could buy a complete swap donor car for significantly less than $15k. 2004-6 WRXs go for $4-6k all the time at auction with salvage titles. 06s are not particularly more expensive than EJ205 model years, just a little more expensive because they are newer and usually lower mileage.

anything is possible with the mula.

STi wagon ftw.

Swapping in a WRX motor would be retarded. 2.5L, AVCS, 6MT or don't waste your money.

Buy an Sti and weld the wagon rear end on it. :p

This actually isn't that bad of an idea... You get all the wide body and other good things from an STI and a wagon.

You really need someone who knows how to do this sort of chassis stuff, and still a boat load of work though.

the idea has officially been flushed. thanks for all the input.

For a dedicated track car, I agree. But it's perfectly valid to swap a WRX drivetrain into a car for other purposes.

There is ZERO reason to swap a WRX drivetrain into a TS. Just go buy a damn WRX wagon and save yourself tens of thousands of dollars.

Agreed.

A quote I read somewhere: "Anything is possible if the check clears"

There are plenty of justifications for swapping any car. Just because you spent tens of thousands of wasted dollars on yours doesn't mean everyone else's project is a financial disaster waiting to happen.

Swapping my car or your car makes sense, but I really can't see even ONE reason to swap a car that you can go and buy in a factory turbo homologation...

IIRC I've seen sti swaps, 6speed included are in the sub 10k range now. However it would be cool to have an sti wagon, just not that cool. Like everyone else said, just trade it in for a wrx wagon.

The big reason is because you have one, and you like it. Or maybe you did like Scott and spent about a hundred hours or more doing little custom mods to it that can't really be parted out or moved to a new chassis, and that make your investment in a car more than just financial. In short, if you have a Subaru you really really like, and it's not a WRX or STi, I think it's justified to swap it if you don't mind spending the money. Especially if it will be a DIY swap like this thread was about.

well said..

But ultimately... It's to each their own.

Put away the crack pipe.

It's way cheaper, less work, and you get a much better build to sell the TS and buy a WRX wagon.

Sell used TS: +$9,000
Buy 5MT WRX Wagon: -$11,000 (financeable!)

or Swap WRX motor and 5MT into TS: $5,000 (on a good day, without any expensive roadblocks)

Why waste $3000 to end up with a car with zero resale value that's a frankensuby version of a WRX wagon. Again, the *only* reason to go for that swap is if you're going STi.

And even then, I regret spending all the money and time on my car with the STi swap. Sure it's fast as hell now, but it would have been that fast for a whole lot cheaper, and a whole lot more reliable if I had sold it and bought an STi and built that up.

How is deciding to buy a car with ridiculously more power than it actually takes to drive from one place to another in any way financially justified? Anything beyond an off-lease/used 2.5i is a waste of money, it's just a matter of degree.

...we'll let the seaguls at the dump figure it out.

The amount of power has nothing to do with it. The point is, for the same end-result (a WRX wagon) you can either spend $5000+ to get a home-made one, or you can spend $2000 to get a factory one.

Or best yet, for $5000 you can get a factory one, and mod it to be $3000 faster than the home-made one.

:lol: good one

Any of those options is a waste of money when you get down to it. So now you're in the realm of totally subjective value for the return on the investment. If someone says that spending $5000 to swap his car, whatever it may be, is worth it to him, how can you argue by saying that he could have saved money by doing something completely different? Yes, swapping is almost inevitably going to cost more than trading his car in. But, trading his car in to get an STi or even WRX doesn't make financial sense either.

Are you listening to yourself?

Let's make this simple.

The goal: start with a TS 4EAT, end up with a 5MT WRX wagon.

The options:
- spend $5000+ to get a frankensuby WRX wagon
- spend $2000 to get a real WRX wagon

There's not a lot of room for subjective analysis there. Either spend $3000 too much for a lower quality product, or not. If it's "worth it to him" then he's dumb... I know from experience... it's not worth it. Like I said, go STi on the swap or don't do it... and even then, homey better have a huge wagon mafia hard-on for STi wagons in order for the swap to be "worth it to him" because 99% of people would be satisfied going with an STi sedan or something like a used S4 Avant, as both would be about the same price as doing a TS -> STi Wagon swap properly.

Either way, trading in the car makes excellent financial sense, it's the cheaper way to meet the goal. If you want to argue the merits of the goal itself, that's something completely different.