I want to drop my EJ22t and a stick shift of some sort (prolly a SS 5MT) into an Impreza coupe one of these days. between the looks and the weight savings I really am motivated to go with it. Is there "best" impreza chassis to dump an engine into? like a year where the build quality was particularly good or something like that? otherwise I'll find a 00/01 RS with a blown motor and use that chassis. better interior, sunroof, already "looks right", etc. so yeah.

-IggDawg

Shoot for one with 4-wheel disc brakes and probably before 97 when they changed and gained a little more weight. Dont get a FWD car or a wagon if you want to save weight.

my four door 94 way 100 lbs less than my friends ywo door RS. So the weight thing is true. I have a thread right now basically asking if pre 97-98 are better/easier or if the new ones are better. It's also in the conversions forum.
Good luck man, Micah

this is an easy one

95
only year of coupe and OBD-1 (like the ej22t)

if you get later you have to deal with the obd-2

now if you were going to use a usdm wrx motor ... 96 the cheepest obd-2

i can't fathom swapping in a TURBO motor with more thatn 100000 miles in to a project car its just askign for trouble

What about the Brighton...Doesn't that come pretty much stripped from the factory (Manual everything, A/C is an option, etc)?

~Evan

Igg,
Not sure what your "priorities" are when picking the new model to do the swap in but:

1. I'd skip RS model because it's extra money, and you can get many of the RS parts pretty cheap.

2. I like the '99-'01 Impreza "L" models, all of them. They had the nicest interior out of GC chassis, come with all the power options, and you can find a high mileage one for a decent price.

3. They don't have the hood scoop (but have the nicer headlights), so an aluminum hood and scoop can get purchased from Subaru for a reasonable price.

If it's weight, performanc, etc.. then I'd find a '96-'98 AWD "L" model with the highest miles you can.

I just like the '99-01's because you can pretty much do the swap and not feel like you need interior upgrades.

Paul G.

pics of the exterior, like them paul? :)


http://www.iwoc.co.uk/images/iwocmembers/classic1.jpg

http://www.iwoc.co.uk/images/iwocmembers/classic2.jpg

http://www.iwoc.co.uk/images/iwocmembers/classic3.jpg

http://www.iwoc.co.uk/images/iwocmembers/classic4.jpg

I found this one today also:

http://www.gr8wheels.com/i//redsti.jpg

Paul G. <--me likes..

yup, saw that, not bad HAS GOLD WHEELS, YOUR FAVORITE!

yeah i saw that one too

not sure if its $8500 cool .. but it is cool..

93, that way almost any engine is legal for swap.

I'm not too sure how much the older L's weigh but my 98RS Weighs 2900lbs with 1/4 tank Fuel.....and a STI RA Engine Swap...Heavier wing, Coilovers and 17's.....So for my weight and power I feel I'm doing fine...Plenty of torque......:D

Originally posted by grnlantern1
I'm not too sure how much the older L's weigh
~2550lbs

MY93 wagon weighs less than my friends 99RS....Nice wagon pics posted :) The red wagon (ver1/2 wrx style), that is my look near the end of my project :devil:
If you have a certain year for a car and want to do a JDM swap, try and get the closest year engine to swap in as the car. But really you can put anything in. I think the sedan chassis is stronger than the the coupe chassis.
All in all the best coupe to buy would be a 22b ;)!!! HAHAHA!!

-Joe

Similarly, another positive to an Impreza L is that, while it usually comes with drum rear brakes, as you go up in power, you can do a rear disc brake upgrade for less than $200 in parts if you go to salvage yards.

/Andrew

as far as the rear brakes, when I do the engine swap I can swap out the rear brakes from my legacy turbo as well. mmmmm.... ventilated rear disks.....

Thanks for the input so far, guys.

-IggDawg

the Brightons, I imagin would be the lightest from the factory. I had one and they come with power nothing!!! Mine had no cc, pw, pl etc.. It was a 5 spd, 2 dr, AWD light weight with potential but it met it's death via dumptruck.

I have heard that my car is one of the best (1997 brighton coupe) , since it has power nothing, little sound deadening and AWD and weighs 2660 lbs! It excepts all the parts off an RS and most of the WRX.
I'm in the middle of finding the driveline I want and hopefully in two months I will have a 300hp L turning 12's!

Well the 97 brighton is still heavier than the older models aparently... The lightest of all of course are the FWD ones :p

You mentioned sunroof. If that is important to you (it adds quite a bit of weight approx 60lbs) you need an RS or pre-97 with it. I know if was not an option in 1997 onward.

Originally posted by Jaxx
this is an easy one

95
only year of coupe and OBD-1 (like the ej22t)

if you get later you have to deal with the obd-2

now if you were going to use a usdm wrx motor ... 96 the cheepest obd-2

i can't fathom swapping in a TURBO motor with more thatn 100000 miles in to a project car its just askign for trouble

Sounds like I'm in business then:)

hmm i have a question, as my info says 93L. i was just wondering whenever i do a swap, say a 2.2 or a 2.5 will i have to change any thing from mechanical significantly because of a older model car? or i might just as well get a ej20t, if so am i looking at an overwhelming job converting it to nearly 10 years of parts, hope u guys know what im asking, hahahaha its too early and i'm thinking the negative effects of the war with iraq for my paper due in 2 hours, been at it since 5 :confused: :confused: :confused: :eek: :eek:
begin to feel the car really underpowered as i spend more time on it. :(
im confused, should i ditch my 93 get a newer model with high mileage and then do a swap? very confused

Stick with the older cars... same parts bolt up, but you have less hassle dealing with OBD2 and emissions, etc..

Learned that the hard way with my virtually uninspectable STi V ;)

im totally at 121,000 miles right now and am totally gonna do a turbo motor swap. AS long as the car is in good shape it should be fine. I dont think its asking for trouble. we will see.