I looking at buying an old Subaru, say 92 and up. I looked in my local tradi'n times and they are all cheap as hell. Albeit they are just as slow as a Honda with a big fart can. So I came here to look at the info on the swaps it looks and sounds easy but your guy's faq doesn't talk prices here.

Swap what am I going to be looking at for either a wrx swap or a sti swap in to a 92 up :justy, impreza, or legacy(that is price wise), and does it matter which of these models I buy?


Thanks for those who can help a new guy to Subarus. All I know is they are fast, get good MPG, and are cheap when used.

It's gonna be much easier swapping into an Impreza or Legacy than a Justy.

Think along the lines of about $3,000 for a complete turbo engine, JDM STi spec, closed deck, 280hp/280tq, ready to make over 300 with minor mods. For comparison, you can get a complete Honda engine (GSR) for around the same price that's around 180hp and 140 torque, then spend another $2,000 for a bolt on turbo kit and still not make 280hp.

Well i guess it looks like the old v8archie swap is still the cheapest quickness and MPG for my buck.

Fiero $1500
v8 kit $950
engine 1965 396ci v8 (made 325-425hp at crank) $400
MPG with four barel carb 25 hwy/18 city (when i don't beat on it)
weight of car 2600lb.

Thanks for the info so ididn't fuck myself.

And how much more are reliability, ease of use, all weather/road condition capability, passenger capacity, cargo capacity, (I could go on and on), worth?

If you're talking about making this a daily driver I'd say the you're gonna "fuck yourself" going the Fiero route...

He's bein a noob Jason, let it go :(

Sorry, I did not mean to insult you in any way. In fact so far to date the Subaru impreza wrx swap is the cheapest next to the feiro. It’s off by about 600 to 1500 bucks so when I say "fuck myself" I guess I may have been exaggerating. I hope you don't keep this on my record.

And I value the info you gave and what you have done here. I have been reading allot of the threads on the subys here and you always have the first and correct information, plus allot to give in information wise.

Again sorry for the over exaggeration on my part.

You sure aint' gonna fit any sort of boxer engine into a Justy without some serious nasty modification, so if you're on a budget you can forget that one already.

Not really insulted, I'm just saying the Fiero might be quicker in the numbers but you can't compare a 40 year old carbureted engine straped in a chassis it was never meant to go in to a modern fuel injected turbo car. Or a 2 seat rattle trap chassis to a WRC proven AWD design. The Fiero idea does sound like a fun car, but I wouldn't even want to try to mess with driving that on a daily basis.

Well if I though in a decent rear sway bar and a good tires it handles well.

To the engine its a new edelbrock four barrel carb the engine was rebuilt by an engine buddy of mine so I know its done up well. aluminum heads electric fan no ac and ready to go. To the whole fuel injected thing I don't have to worry about weight of computer crap that all went in the garbage. also they use edelbrock daemons on the NASCAR cars. They have to use regulators on these cars to keep them form going "too fast" bull shit. even with these regulators there are guys running 213 mph in qualifying runs. I prefer rear wheal drive train. And the motor is on the tires so I don't have to worry about traction so much.

and one last thing fieros were made with fuel injection i could have it but don't want it there are guys dropping ls6s in these and just screaming but that is too expensive for a low buget car.

You don't understand...

uh... maybe I'm an idiot but what am I not "understanding"?

The fact that you just maybe partial to subarus?

Well I think these are wonderful cars. If this was less expensive and I new more about import mechanics than american car mechanics than hey I would do the swap in a heart beat. Though there is another problem I do care alittle too much what my friends think up here in mid minnisota. They are all classic car freaks and if that was an option in terms of gas millage then hell yeah. But...

any way if this what your talking about then say so, other wise I'm just not getting what your saying, please elaberate.

The Fiero may handle well, but it's gonna creak and groan and rattle over every little bump you hit. The Impreza was designed to race and be fast over any type of road condition, and it's really solid.

For the engine, no matter how well a carburetor is set up, it's not gonna work as well as fuel injection. It's just not as precise. That's why no manufacturers use them anymore. Don't you think with some of the more hardcore performance cars on the market today (Z06, EVO MR), the manufacturers would love to lose some weight and complexity by going carbureted IF it worked even half as well? And fitting an engine in a chassis that was never designed to handle it compared to one the engineers designed it for from the factory... Sure there is a "kit" and you'll be able to bolt the engine in with the kit, but that's only have the battle... now you have to maintain it. And I'm not talking about oil changes. When you start doing stuff like that, things will start breaking. Especially if you race it and drive it hard.

I just think you're looking too much at performance goals and not the whole picture. I'm not talking about being faster, I'm talking about being better. And I even like Fieros...

I guess it's like the commercial says, "when you get it, you get it". And if you still don't get it, well, then you don't get it :biggrin: Good luck with your Fiero project, sounds like you already had your mind made up before you even started this thread.

if you want to build a race car go with the feiro. If you want a reliable fast car go with the subaru. I think thats what he was saying