Can't use a 2008?

[AVIONX]

Howdy. Got a line on a 2008 WRX donor. Will that get me anywhere?

[Mechie3]

Motor and trans but the suspension is all wrong.

[metalmaker12]

Yea the hubs are not going to work. If it's a great deal than you could get a jdm 5x100 hub and brembo brake swap for like 1-2k.

[JeromeS13]

If you're planning on making it a single donor, lots of things aren't going to work.

[PhyrraM]

Add a $500 '90-'99 Legacy/Impreza for the non-drivetrain stuff and your likely close to everything you will need. There will be hiccups to sort out, though. How resourcefull are you?

[mug23]

Why can't you get all the needed individual parts off the Subaru forums classified ads? That way, you don't have to deal with what to do with the not needed parts and you can pick and choose which ever parts you want.

This is the route I will be doing as I don't have to deal with dismantling parts off the donor car and trying to sell/ship the parts.

[BrandonDrums]

Add a $500 '90-'99 Legacy/Impreza for the non-drivetrain stuff and your likely close to everything you will need. There will be hiccups to sort out, though. How resourceful are you?

Not a bad idea if you can find a low mileage rollover '08. Perhaps we could figure out what parts are needed for an 08 + WRX donor? It would also be nice to have a fitment roster of the models and years that have components compatible with the 818

I could be wrong but I imagine the list for using an 08 looks something like:
all 4 steering knuckles
lower control arms
multi-link rear suspension components
steering rack?
modified axles?

If we get a comprehensive list, I think we should try to get the post stickied...

[Mechie3]

Why can't you get all the needed individual parts off the Subaru forums classified ads?

You could. Depending on what parts you're going for, and what all is needed, it may or may not be cheaper in the long run. I'm guessing it won't be if you go the WRX route. Here's my thinking using myself as an example:

Purchase cost of 06WRX donor: $4095
Parts sold/metal scrapped: $2055
Shipping for parts sold: $155
Total out of pocket expense for donor: $1900

Cost of a working transmission used: ~$800-1200 depending on year, rebuilt, etc
Cost of working long block: $800-2500 depending on displacement, mileage, etc
Cost so far: $1600 - $3700 and you don't even have any suspension, gauges, wiring harness, hubs, brakes, steering wheel, steering rack. I think the hardest part will be getting all of the minutae of nuts, bolts, and odd and end pieces. Once we know all the odds and ends it'd be easier to add up a true cost.

People scrapping wrecked cars pull the big items, put it on nasioc for a month or two, then scrap it. They don't pull every last nut and bolt. Those will be the hard pieces to get IMO.

[mug23]

You could. Depending on what parts you're going for, and what all is needed, it may or may not be cheaper in the long run. I'm guessing it won't be if you go the WRX route. Here's my thinking using myself as an example:

Purchase cost of 06WRX donor: $4095
Parts sold/metal scrapped: $2055
Shipping for parts sold: $155
Total out of pocket expense for donor: $1900

Cost of a working transmission used: ~$800-1200 depending on year, rebuilt, etc
Cost of working long block: $800-2500 depending on displacement, mileage, etc
Cost so far: $1600 - $3700 and you don't even have any suspension, gauges, wiring harness, hubs, brakes, steering wheel, steering rack. I think the hardest part will be getting all of the minutae of nuts, bolts, and odd and end pieces. Once we know all the odds and ends it'd be easier to add up a true cost.

People scrapping wrecked cars pull the big items, put it on nasioc for a month or two, then scrap it. They don't pull every last nut and bolt. Those will be the hard pieces to get IMO.

I totally understand where you coming from as having a donor is much easier as you can put every nut and bolt as needed. For me the biggest problem is space where I do not have to store another car nevermind one that will be sitting for a long time. Plus, I would most likely have all the major items rebuild to like new so my trend is I like have have everything as new as possible even come down to nuts and bolts.

[Erik W. Treves]

funny, I did this exercise this weekend... just using EBAY I ended up with around $3700 for everything minus, ENGINE, TRANSMISSION, WHEELS/TIRES. Also those little nuts and bolts add up. Now...there are advantages... you could use the the year leading up to the build, slowly buying parts and cleaning each getting ready and spread the cost out...yes it will cost more, but you also don't have to deal with the donor sitting in your garage/driveway. I played this game with my LOCOST..my wife didn't want a busted up Miata in the garage..so i had to buy all the pieces one at at time... that probably cost me an extra $1000 to do it that way...but I would have probably paid $2000 just so she wouldn't complain :D I am still undecided which direction I will go on this one.....

[Mechie3]

You certainly CAN do it, it's just a matter of resources (ie: time vs money vs space). It's not the most cost effective, probably not the easiest (in terms of sourcing parts), but does require the least time (for tear down) and the least space.

[Xusia]

Once the complete list of necessary donor parts is published, I plan to put together a spreadsheet that does a couple things:

Lists every part, along with which vehicles and model years have a compatible part. Yes, I will most definitely need help with this! (PhyrraM, I'm looking at you! LOL)
List every Subaru model by year, along with which parts can be used and which must still be sourced elsewhere.


The intention is to make it easy to find parts by knowing which vehicles have them, and also which vehicles make good (or bad) donors. So if you stumble on a really good deal on a non-official donor, you'll be able to see if it's worth it or not.

One of the things I've been considering (I've been considering a lot, and I waffle sometimes, I know!) is buying a el cheapo Impreza for everything BUT the eingine & transmission, then sourcing that separately. If I did that, I'd be looking to get a performance built engine (or an H6 - it's still on my list...). :)

[Oppenheimer]

One of the things I've been considering (I've been considering a lot, and I waffle sometimes, I know!) is buying a el cheapo Impreza for everything BUT the eingine & transmission, then sourcing that separately. If I did that, I'd be looking to get a performance built engine (or an H6 - it's still on my list...). :)

I had a similar thought. With an older single donor WRX, chances are its going to be higher miles, forcing even one on a bargain path to consider rebuilding major components, such as motor and trans. While with a newer, single-donor-incompatible, it might be possible to get something with so few miles, you wouldn't need to worry about rebuilding. Meanwhile there are a lot of parts from your newer donor you could sell off (to WRX crowd), offsetting more of the cost. Then you either get a cheapo donor to fill the gaps, or buy all those parts from classifieds. For all the odds & ends, nuts & bolts, find a local guy parting a car, and buy all that stuff no one else (WRX crowd) is going to want for cheap.

[Erik W. Treves]

You certainly CAN do it, it's just a matter of resources (ie: time vs money vs space). It's not the most cost effective, probably not the easiest (in terms of sourcing parts), but does require the least time (for tear down) and the least space.

all is true! I have done it both ways...first Cobra (pure donor), Second Cobra (Non-Donor -all new stuff), LOCOST (half and half)..lol...I guess that's three ways... with the pure donor, I ended replacing quite a few things to include a complete engine rebuild... The Locost, everything I bought went on the car and all parts were had picked serviceable the first time...no question the non-donor was the most expensive...but boy it runs pretty good :D

After having some lunch, I think I have decided to do the hand pick donor items and keep my eyes open for the "perfect" donor...if one happens to fall in my lap then I can probably sell what I have duplicates of here on the forum...if not then 8 months from now all I will need is an engine and transmission and I will probably buy one from Japan (used) off of ebay.

Course all of this might change after my visit to FF on thursday....lol....might come away with more options to confuse me further.

[Mechie3]

I will probably buy one from Japan

The younger crowd will get this one. ;)

Are you going to overnight it?

http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l482/z33c/106d8r7.jpg

[Erik W. Treves]

only if I am trying to make it for race wars ;)

[RM1SepEx]

I had a similar thought. With an older single donor WRX, chances are its going to be higher miles, forcing even one on a bargain path to consider rebuilding major components, such as motor and trans. While with a newer, single-donor-incompatible, it might be possible to get something with so few miles, you wouldn't need to worry about rebuilding. Meanwhile there are a lot of parts from your newer donor you could sell off (to WRX crowd), offsetting more of the cost. Then you either get a cheapo donor to fill the gaps, or buy all those parts from classifieds. For all the odds & ends, nuts & bolts, find a local guy parting a car, and buy all that stuff no one else (WRX crowd) is going to want for cheap.

yup, pretty much sums up a very viable option

That's why I went with the 70,000 mile 05 donor, no need to rebuild many drivetrain parts... I did have to replace some damaged ones but ebay, craiglist etc are your friend

An STI build is very doable and you could sell off things like the 6 speed for big $ to recoup $ for other stuff

That's the fun of it.

[metalmaker12]

Everyone,
Getting a running donor is the best and most cost effective way to get the kit parts ready. Subaru Parts add up, and re-building adds up even more. Get a 02-07 with lower miles and see how it drives and what it needs, get it all set and tear it down. My donor was not this route and it cost me in rebuilding, the spindles, tranny, etc plus than I went nuts and I bought a ej207. My donor had a non-running engine which I sold for 1,400. All the parts I bought added up very fast. For the 8-9k I spent I could have gotten a decent wrx. The good thing that came out of it is the motor I grabbed, the tranny rebulid with the cusco and all the cool parts I bought. It is all good stuff, but I could have waited to get it all. From my experience the 15k target price is very hard to get close to unless you get a really good running well maintained donor. Buying the parts piece by piece is going to add up very fast and you can not really load test them etc.

[Xusia]

From my experience the 15k target price is very hard to get close to unless you get a really good running well maintained donor.

Or you are willing to build with a NA Impreza donor. Those are a dime a dozen on Copart...

[RM1SepEx]

without adding my Quaife and powder coating, timing belt, water, oil pumps etc... I would have no problem doing the $15k target price with my 05, 70,000 mile donor. I chose to refresh and upgrade a perfectly good clutch and brakes, header, to the tune of $3000 "extra" my total donor cost is below $7000 including the new brakes, clutch, header and Quaife.

W/O replaceing those parts my donor cost is only $4000 and I have a bunch more parts to sell off... So I think the $15,000 would be relatively easy, even with a WRX

[evo818]

my wife didn't want a busted up Miata in the garage..so i had to buy all the pieces one at at time... that probably cost me an extra $1000 to do it that way...but I would have probably paid $2000 just so she wouldn't complain :D I am still undecided which direction I will go on this one.....


haha, this is probably going to be the reason I do the same thing. It will cost more, but it's worth it! ;)