Out with the old and in with the brand-new? With the 283 small-block Chevy V-8 task wrapped up, we're rapidly onto our next engine! However we've got a little surprise for you (and Davin) this time around. Davin heads to CoPart outside of Detroit, MI, to get our newest project: a clapped-out 2002 Subaru WRX. With almost 300k miles on the odometer and a bad case of mid-western rust and paint peeling, Davin will have his work cut out for him on this one!
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If you guys plan on making a whole lot of any kind of power with this, I’d highly suggest spending the money on a closed IAG block before you build for some extra reassurance. This car is pretty cool though, gonna be fun to watch you guys handle something so much newer than your usual stuff
@JB A lot of you build them right especially with a billet block
@02honeydew I remember the first time I heard one back in early 2,000s, it had a sports exhaust and at first I thought it was a v8, because of the offbeat timing I guess, but after I realised it was a boxer 4, I still love the note they make. Would 300 HP be reasonable?
@JB Yeah, they do sound cool for sure, I just wish Subaru made them more stout from the factory. For sure, the STI motors are known to handle like 400 to the wheels and I’m sure this generation can handle at least 300 to the wheels or better with some maintenance done before hand like timing/oil pump/water pump. As long as it’s a healthy motor it shouldn’t be an issue.
EDIT: I’m no expert on this cars by any means, I just had an interest for awhile and did a lot of reading. I know some engines had more issues than others and Im pretty sure it’s common to do a budget build on these motors with STI internals from (pretty sure) the EJ205 to have a pretty strong setup for around 350whp or better on E85. Getting sleeves/closed decking these engines helps a ton with reliability because they’re basically open deck blocks with a small amount of support structure around the tops of the cylinders so they end up shifting and coming out-of-round at high boost pressure. If you have an interest in these cars or any Subaru for that matter, make sure you do your research on them. I know the 5 speed trans isn’t the strongest thing in the world and the older rear diff pre ’08 I think it is, isn’t super tough either when you get up there. Getting a car with the 6-speed and I think it’s the V180 rear diff would be your best starting point probably. They do require on point maintenance tho, more so than a lot of cars because of how tight the tolerances as well as the engine desines. Kinda like BMW with rod bearing clearance. Also, my bad for the super long comment.
@02honeydew Not at all, great information, thanks. You reading this Davin? 😋
@JB Glad I could help, good luck on picking one up if you decide on a Subaru.
Those stickers and zip ties add an additional 50 , maybe 60 HP
Davin’s face when it started… any self-respecting car dude has made that face
Awesome!
Always reminds me that a good machine WANTS to run, it just needs a little help sometimes.
Surprised it started and ran at all: usually if the keys are absent, someone doesn’t want you to start it and find out how bad it actually is. Engine, transmission or immobiliser woes mostly.
They’re so much fun to toss around, I have zero idea if that body is salvageable, but I’m happy to see another bugeye wagon on the road!
As much as I like the old stuff, this will be a lot more useful for the type of cars I work on
I’m predicting that once the engine is rebuilt, it will find its way into an old VW of some variety. Hopefully.
Put it in a Porsche Spyder replica.
Honestly, I’m more excited about this than the last few projects. GD Subarus have been my bread butter for a decade. Excited to see this…
Great video! You had me smiling the whole way through! You guys are having fun!!!!!
Thanks for sharing!!
I’m looking forward to this. It will be fun to watch you set valve lash when you rebuild those DOHC cylinder heads. Although the Subaru WRX uses a boxer engine, assembly and disassembly is much different from that of an air cooled VW.
So now that you are working on a metric car, will you keep a score of how many times you forget you 10mm socket or wrench?
The WRX probably would not have made it to the USA if a bunch of gamers did not seen them in Gran Turismo games. Same applies to the Mitsubishi Evo and Nissan GT-R. I actually knew about those cars earlier, thanks to the magazine Sport Compact Car.
Just rebuilt the EJ25 on my old Subaru Legacy wagon. Way different than anything I grew up with but definitely a good time. Excited to see how this rebuild turns out!
ok, this is different. would love to see a start-to-finish restoration, not just engine rebuilding. looks like more than a liitle bodywork in the future due to all that rust. not the most exciting, but the most relevant for sure, and I bet a lot of us would like to see that, as unfortunately most of us have to do the same things on our projects. it runs and the wheels turn, so Davin will need to bring out his B-game of skills for the rest of it, as the hard stuff just needs some maintenance, and the main attention needs to go on, well, everything else. I’d love to see him paint some stuff, too. what a piece of crap! this is gonna be a good one…
Finally I will see the Subaru engine rebuild timelapse. I love watching all of Devin’s timelapses. I also drive a Subaru.
Greetings from Ukraine!
Davin, you will soon enough find out what makes a Subaru a Subaru. The good and the bad.
Seriously, though, it will be fun to see how you bring this wagon back to life.
Love it! Looking forward to whatever you guys do with this. As the quarters are gone already, it would be perfect to graft the sedan factory wide body on, maybe with the 06-07 front end … or you could even just use it as a donor and build a FF 818! Any which way will be awesome, can’t wait! ✌️
Someone once said; “There’s a car for everybody”
You look good in that thing, Davin! LOL
This was such a fun surprise, I love all the old stuff myself, but Different is Better!!
I cant wait to see Davin’s face when he sees the rear shock towers. As an Impreza wagon owner myself, I know I wasnt thrilled when I pulled my carpet lol
I’d like to see its FULL rebuild, to the extent of full re-paint job. That engine purr gets my heart rushing!
Love me some Subie content and from someone with the amount of knowledge as Davin. Truly will appreciate hearing how this Subie compares to the old american muscle. Most people are pleasently surprised when they get a Subie sorted at how capable they really are.