Thoughts on 95 Impreza Coupe for Challenge Car

Today on CL I found a 95 impreza awd coupe for 1200, at a used car dealership. It seems like the people don't really know that much about the car (it's "4wd" and they put no details other than 4 cylinder and that it has a/c, cd player, p/s, and cruise) so I think I may be able to get away with it for far cheaper than it should be. Its a 5 speed car and al I've been able to find other than this are autos, and its in decent shape. about 150k miles.
Do you think it would be feasible to do a ej turbo swap and stay within the budget of the challenge? I've never owned a subie before, nor have I done the challenge before, but we are looking to do well and have a ton of fun in our first outing (def not a 10 second mg though LOL, that car is mind boggling, along with many others that were there)
I'm assuming it is the 1.8 but will find out for sure tomorrow bc it could be the 2.2
with either of these engines, would it be more money-smart to do a turbo build or swap in a turbo subie motor from ebay (between 300 and 900 from what I've found)
Thank you, looking forward to any advice!

I had a '98 2.2L 5MT Impreza coupe for a little while. It was a pretty reliable car and handled alright but was rather slow on anything other than a loose surface and there are almost no off-the-shelf engine tuning options for the 1.8L or N/A 2.2L. Subarus from 1990ish-2007 were built like Lego so it's pretty easy to do turbo engine swaps and many suspension/brake components swap between Imprezas, Legacys, and Foresters. The 5MTs are slightly fragile and the shifts are rubbery. Use synthetic MTX fluid if you can budget for it.

The cheapest turbo engine swap would be a 2.2T from a 91-92 Legacy Turbo (Subie equivalent of the Mitsu Galant VR-4. The engine is different from the later N/A 2.2L). GRM has an N/A 2.2L Impreza wagon project car they will be bolting a homebrew turbo setup onto, so you may want to look for that in upcoming issues. Watch out for rust- many of these cars are from the snow belt. Rust was what ultimately doomed my plans of making a widebody WRX clone out of my coupe. And finally, resist the urge to buy a scooped hood from an Outback or 2.5RS. They are HEAVY! The JDM scooped hoods are aluminum and much lighter, but also out of the range of a Challenge budget.

Gut the living hell out of it, buy my crappy but uber stiff coilovers from my 03 WRX, put GIANT cheap R-comps on it, find or fab a big rear bar, Install race seat, paint it to look like a real race car, and NOS for the drags. Do all that well and you have a top 20 car without trying to build a car that will win and fail to show. I say build it simple year one then go nutso year two. (unless you are a master fabricator just toying with us )

RexSeven wrote: Use synthetic MTX fluid if you can budget for it.

Fill another car's gearbox with synthetic 75W-90... drive around the block.

Drain.

Establish FMV for used gearoil.

Put in Subie.

Ta-da!

In response to several above posts:
I thought fluid's didn't need to be budgeted? or is that just gasoline for the actual challenges?
and I'm hoping we will be able to budget in the $20 synth mobil 1 will require but if not we'll use the genius fmv technique! LOL
I'm going to definitely begin searching for the 2.2 turbo, are they pretty widely available?
I plan on using this car for awhile afterwards to kind of get into racing (and have fun on dirt roads and winter weather, honestly) lol

another question about the challenge, if you don't mind: does your number have to be a whole number? We want to paint the number on there just to make it look cooler lol. maybe 33 1/3 or something. Wanted 666 but team mate is worried about bad luck Thanks for the feedback, I'm getting very excited about this project! lol

Forget the swap, EJ18s have forged internals and take to boost well; 250hp should be easy if it's somewhat tuned. Megasquirt/wideband, junkyard turbo, WRX downpipe/manifold/injectors, used suspension/wheels/tires/brakes... It can be done if you're budget-savvy.

If you are serious about doing a swap, I've got a low mileage WRX 2.0T (complete with turbo, computer, and all accessories) $500 needs a couple of valves.

Look for a WRX that's been front ended. The cam pulleys are plastic, and rarely survive a crash. Yes, it is an interference motor, but it's just the valves that collide, and not at much force if the timing belt is disconnected. Almost always considered a wrecked motor, almost always needs a couple of valves.

Re: paint schemes...

The rules technically say you have to wear the GRM number placard, but painted numbers as part of a scheme have been done (without wearing the placard). There probably needs to be a compelling journalistic reason to skip the placard (like, your car looks waay too cool without it).

or find an ej33 from an svx on the cheap. 6cylinders of fun.

$1,200 is an awefully high starting point for a challenger, IMO.

You could build a fun Challenge car for sure. A competitive Challenge car might be a different story, but it's not like you're missing out on a huge cash prize.

Build what you like to drive, make it cool, get your picture taken.

1200 is a high price for a 95 as well

PS: Looks like you're close to Greensboro. There's an IAA auction up there. THAT'S where you want to look for your Challenge combo:

https://www.iaai.com/Auctions/BranchListingView.aspx?branchCode=715&aucDate=01062011#SalesList

Recent sub-$300 scores at the GA auction:

Running Festiva

Running Escort GT

Running Mazda 323 GT

If you don't have a truck and trailer, they'll ship the mother berkeleyer to you for less than $100.

RexSeven wrote: The 5MTs are slightly fragile and the shifts are rubbery. Use synthetic MTX fluid if you can budget for it.

Not a canoe!

I used amsoil synthetic 75/90 in my AWD '97 Brighton and it seemed a bit "too slick", like it wasn't properly interacting with the syncros.

When I picked up the '93 FWD L for the wife the first thing I did, knowing the FWD gearbox's reputation for fragility, was dump in some Redline 75/90 Synthetic but it seemed to get a bit "notchy" after a few months. I then switched the L to Redline Lightweight Shockproof and it is now shifting beautifully! Also due to the light viscosity the fuel mileage has improved slightly. I would recommend lwsp to any Subaru owner.

I've never heard of MTX, who makes it?

edit, nevermind I searched and have to say Castrol makes some great engine oil! I would assume that their gear oil would be top shelf as well.

I fully support anyone who brings/ has brought a Subaru to the challenge!

We need more of them out there!

SVreX wrote: If you are serious about doing a swap, I've got a low mileage WRX 2.0T (complete with turbo, computer, and all accessories) $500 needs a couple of valves.

Every time you post that I open my wallet to see if the moths have been replaced with any dead presidents. The Wartburg craves turbo goodness.

SVreX wrote: Re: paint schemes... .... (like, your car looks waay too cool without it).

lol I hope this becomes the case! I've also located a 92 240sx for 700 (I would try 500) that needs a starter supposedly. Have a friend who knows 240's inside and out, and we have pieced together a turbo kit for the ka single cam online for about 1100

100 dollar racing seat, a ton of weight reduction in an already lightweight car, turn up the boost, coated pistons for ~100 and we may just be able to squeak by. I may go for the subie and I may go for the nissan, not sure yet. Still have a couple weeks til the tax money will be in so I've got some time to think on it

another option if the motor in the subie actually does need work is to get that 2.0t (sounds like a steal) I've got a couple options now and I thank you all for writing back with your advice and ideas I'll keep you updated and will be starting the build thread as soon as I get a car
another question: do I not have to count vehicles from an auction like that at FMV?

Turbo, schmerbo. S13s will swallow Chevy V-8s.

sachilles wrote: or find an ej33 from an svx on the cheap. 6cylinders of fun.

I've got one of those too, if you'd prefer.

The_Jed wrote: I fully support anyone who brings/ has brought a Subaru to the challenge! We need more of them out there!

IIRC, there have only been 4.

JThw8 wrote:

SVreX wrote: If you are serious about doing a swap, I've got a low mileage WRX 2.0T (complete with turbo, computer, and all accessories) $500 needs a couple of valves.

Every time you post that I open my wallet to see if the moths have been replaced with any dead presidents. The Wartburg craves turbo goodness.

Bring it on!

SVreX wrote:

JThw8 wrote:

SVreX wrote: If you are serious about doing a swap, I've got a low mileage WRX 2.0T (complete with turbo, computer, and all accessories) $500 needs a couple of valves.

Every time you post that I open my wallet to see if the moths have been replaced with any dead presidents. The Wartburg craves turbo goodness.

Bring it on!

It's still on my list, just quite cash poor right now. Come bonus time in March though I may give ya a call. Might have to wait awhile for me to come get it though, not like Im passing through GA alot ;)