2012 WRX Donor

[Chris Canning]

I had an 03 donor all lined up but have just come across a great deal on a 2012 with super low miles which was rear ended. Its an EJ255 with a 5 speed but I was doing a little search on the specs and my understanding is that from the Gen2 to Gen 3 the intake is revised and the 5 speed is from a Legacy.
I appreciate it may not be a bolt in job straight from FFR but I'm up for a little drama it means I get to have a near new drivetrain.
Our 818R ships next week so I need to decide if I'm going 2.5 or 2.0 and obviously want to do the newer option if its possible.
Anyone else out there looked at this or can offer a bit of a heads up on some of the issues I may come up against?
Thanks for any feedback.
Chris

[Xusia]

Not a Subie expert, but wiring and electronics are a potential concern. All 2008+ cars are CANBUS. If you are planning on using the 5-speed it comes with, you might be able to make the wiring and electronics work. If you can't, or if you don't want to try, you'll need to use aftermarket engine management like Wayne offers, which will obviously be additional expense.

[longislandwrx]

A lot of changes happened in 2008... I'm sure you can make it work but you will most likely have to modify a lot of parts/brackets. If you want a newer lower mileage engine, I would try to buy just that rather than the whole car

[StatGSR]

the engine and transmission are workable, but as mentioned could still present problems, the real issue is that all the other pieces you need wont work from that donor.

[Chris Canning]

Thanks Gents, its a great deal on the motor/trans which I can get seperate to the corners. So Im thinking I'll grab the column, rack,body harness and get the for corners from a different car.
Cheers
Chris

[JeromeS13]

From what I recall, the mounting on the steering rack is completely different, as well as the rear hubs. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm thinking the front hubs / control arms are also very different.

[longislandwrx]

Chris that's probably your best bet. A lot of hardware gets reused (I wish it was just all new... I would have been willing to pay a few hundred more for the kit... now I have to make multiple hardware store runs) So save as much as you can when you pull the other parts.

[matteo92065]

We also building an 818s with a 2012 STI motor. We hope to use the 2012 motor, gauge cluster, ecu, immobilizer, and wiring harness(s). Everything else will be 2006 wagon parts.
Be sure to post updates so I can benefit from your work! :)