Donor found? And a build strategy, perhaps?

[thall818]

First, I'm new. I've been stalking you guys since May, that's when I signed up for my kit. My date is June 24th, 2014. I am new to kit building, but not new to car building. I found a driver WRX. 2002 wagon with 124K miles. It has a misfire, but is driveable. I can get it under $4K. From the google searches, it appears misfires are somewhat common and not a huge deal. Any thoughts?

Next, I have plenty of car space available at work. I plan to build at home. This gives me the opportunity to just take parts as I need them. Is anyone doing this? Seems like they would be less likely to get misplaced, and I could avoid taking apart things I don't need to.

Thank you for your thoughts. I'm excited about being part of the community.

[longislandwrx]

Welcome, Sounds like a good price.

A misfire shouldn't bee too hard to diagnose. Check for a light pulley/flywheel as they can trigger a misfire. Change the plugs. Clean the engine grounds.
If its a specific cylinder, swap the coil pack and see if it follows the coil pack or stays with the cyl. Replace faulty coil packs. check for a blown head gasket.

I'm going to be following the same organ donor methodology. I'm going to pull parts as needed and clean them up, and install. I don't need to build the car in a month like some of these guys so if it takes a little more time so be it. A lot of the factory bolts get reused so not throwing them in a big bucket should save time.

Good luck with your build.

[BrandonDrums]

Welcome, Sounds like a good price.

A misfire shouldn't bee too hard to diagnose. Check for a light pulley/flywheel as they can trigger a misfire. Change the plugs. Clean the engine grounds.
If its a specific cylinder, swap the coil pack and see if it follows the coil pack or stays with the cyl. Replace faulty coil packs. check for a blown head gasket.

I'm going to be following the same organ donor methodology. I'm going to pull parts as needed and clean them up, and install. I don't need to build the car in a month like some of these guys so if it takes a little more time so be it. A lot of the factory bolts get reused so not throwing them in a big bucket should save time.

Good luck with your build.

Ask the seller if you can do at least a basic compression test on the car before buying it. It's a 2.0L so it's not as likely but a misfire could also mean low compression in some cases. If there's a failed ring or a bad valve that would require a lot more cash than a bad coil or a cruddy grounding strap.

What cylinder is the misfire? If it's on 3 or 4 I'd insist on taking the extra precaution. 3 and 4 (4 especially) run hotter due to the longer exhaust track and have more failures as a result. Again, usually on the 2.5L and not so much on the 2.0 but it's worth your time.

[doofoo]

If this is the car I am thinking about - I contacted the seller and asked them about it. They had already swapped the coil and done some other work (which did not resolve it). I asked if they had done a compession/leakdown test but didn't get a response before he replied to say it was sold. Didn't sound promising. I don't like the gamble. :)

[thall818]

Yeah, I lost it. Sold about the same time I posted this. Found another project. It's a 2002 with no engine or trans. Not wrecked. Asking $2K. Was thinking about an engine from JDM racing motors. This turns it into a bigger project. Almost more of a junkyard build. Not sure it save any money, probably not.

[wallace18]

You should look into ajw for donor pallet.

[RM1SepEx]

Keep a positive attitude and keep looking, you have plenty of time...

[BrandonDrums]

Yeah, 2k for a chassis w/ no engine or trans is not worth it.

UNLESS it's only missing the longblock and not headers, pan, intake mainfold, turbo, cooling system etc. etc.

It's easy to find a longblock to rebuild for cheap. It isn't easy to find one running or otherwise with all the other components too. By that time you've exceeded the price of a AJW pallet for a frankenstein build to boot.

AJW, complete running or wrecked donor w/ running drivetrain or bust!

BTW, consider a wrecked STI too. It doesn't have to be a wrx because the money you'll make selling the 6 speed and the brembos (if you choose) will MORE than pay for a 5speed, wrx brakes and will leave you additional money in your pocket.

You can get a running 5 speed for 1k -1,200 which is what you can make off the brembos alone. A 6MT will sell for 3k bare and up to 6k with spindles brakes and axles (and rear diff which you don't need anyway) which needless to say is a good lump of cash ready for rebuilding an engine if need be and upgrading a transmission too.

It's just a good bit more hassle to consider.

[longislandwrx]

I don't think $2000 is unreasonable if EVERYTHING else needed on the donor is clean and in great shape, having the motor out actually saves you a ton of time.

you can strip it in 1/3 of the time, sell the body and interior bits and then have a shiny jdm engine delivered.

See if you can haggle it down. Is the title clean?

[BrandonDrums]

I don't think $2000 is unreasonable if EVERYTHING else needed on the donor is clean and in great shape, having the motor out actually saves you a ton of time.

you can strip it in 1/3 of the time, sell the body and interior bits and then have a shiny jdm engine delivered.

See if you can haggle it down. Is the title clean?

Only if you just need a longblock. If you find yourself also having to source all of the parts I mentioned, you'll end up spending far too much and spending far more time sourcing the parts than you would just pulling the engine.

FYI, you can pull an engine with the trans in about 4 hours from a subaru. You'll spend weeks...if not months sourcing the engine and all the peripherals.

[Xusia]

That would be a great donor for someone going EV. Or some other powerplant (H6? Anyone...?)...