One of my neighbors is selling a Blob-eye WRX. One of the lower control arms has snapped, so it's immobile. If I think i can buy it and fix it for a challenge-friendly price, I'm buying it. The interior is nice, the head gasket & timing belt have been done, etc. Ideally, it's an ugly daily driver that I could rally-x, etc. The car is rusty (mainly rear fenders and around the gas door), but I could always wrap or do rust repair and respray. I definitely want to hear a run for a while to make sure it's not overheating, etc.
I'm going to look at it tomorrow to figure out if I can/should save it. Let me know if there are any key thing I should be looking for.
The lower control arms connect the subframe cross-member, so I'll need to make sure the mounting points are still solid.
The picture below is of the front-passenger side control-arm. From what I can tell online, the longitudinal subframe component is for bracing, and doesn't have any suspension mounting points. They're $600 new from Subaru, but it looks like they're only attached by a handful of (very rusty) bolts.
Either way, I'm thinking to budget to replace both front control arms. Likely hubs & other associated parts?
I'll want to double-check to make sure the rear subframe is in OK shape...if that's rusted through (like the rest of the rear-half of the car) that may be more than it's worth.
Any recommendations on dragging/moving this thing 1/2 mile as-is? Not sure how I could even get it up my driveway as-is.
I would also check the top strut tower. I'm not sure what the front suspension setup is but the strut could've done some good damage.
F-dat rust repair. $40 gets you E-bay Nissan Z knock off flairs.
Appleseed said:
F-dat rust repair. $40 gets you E-bay Nissan Z knock off flairs.
A little pricey...but I did think this as well.
IIRC lower control arms had a recall a long time ago for rust issues...so if one failed, definitely replace both. Then go through it and make sure nothing else is broken/about to break; I remember hearing something about a particular section of rear brake line that's super rust prone. And like somebody else said, depending on how/when the arm broke, make sure that strut/mount/strut tower/axle/tie rod are all okay. The rest of it is probably tolerable as a street car but things with significant chassis rust like that usually have a pretty finite lifetime when exposed to rallycross.
Side note, your profile suggests you're in FL...I thought the whole point of putting up with living in the deep south was that you didn't have to deal with rust like this?
In reply to dps214 :
Ahhh, brake lines...i forgot about that. Good point. I also didn't think about tie rods, etc.
Buying a rusty car in FL is silly...yet SWMBO has bought a bronco & a TJ wrangler with rust.
I buying a rusty car is in FL is silly. The car is very close to my house. I suppose if it's cheap enough, it might be fun.
Well, it's worse than I thought. Hard pass. The rear quarterpanels consist of mostly of fill-a-foam. That shell is toast. PM me and i'll send you a link if interested. The seller didn't state a price.. but i'd say it's only worth selling the engine and the really nice interior.
I was already going to suggest that it's only worth the part out value.
That EJ and an air cooled beetle shell and you'd be back on your way to the challenge
Yah these cars are really prone to rust. That front subframe photo had me worried. I was looking for a WRX that was rust free and mostly stock for a long time, which is how I ended up with a blob eye RS instead.
In reply to Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
I wish I had thought about this yesterday. Decent Beetles are still plentiful in FL. Also, SWMBO would probably be excited with a bay window Bus.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Ha, is this really a thing?
JAdams
Reader
3/4/22 10:33 a.m.
Oooo, I'd have to agree with your decision to pass just based on the rust.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:
In reply to Hoondavan :
Working on it
I'm impressed. I'm now following this build thread.
