thinking about doing a swap

[97ej22]

I'm thinking about swaping a sti motor into my 97 obw I was wondering if anyone had anyidea what I might be gettin my self into money wise along with wat I'm gonna have to change (motor/trans) and what year would be best bang for my buck type of deal

Any imput would be helpfull thanks in advanced

[Subruise]

look up "franken motor" prolly cheaper than a sti motor, and better to boot.

 

RV

[Suba9792]

if you have the funding by all means try it:lol:, but to be honest, your probably looking at over 6k, and that's probably a start, franken motor, 2.5 block, 2.2 heads, should be good for about 170-180hp I think:rolleyes:,, there is a guy here in Oregon that has built one. STi swap, waste of money on an outdated model.

Edited December 23, 2010 by Suba9792

[bheinen74]

If I was doing that, then i would suggest buy a totalled auction car STI for say 5g, that is "NOT REPAIRABLE" title status, that mean it cannot ever be rebuilt-way cheaper that way at auction. You might get one for 4500 or so.

make sure its "verified to start and run" you dont want one hit in front and tossed the Tbelt causing valves to hit those turbo pistons.

 

Then swap everything, struts, brakes, calipers, drivetrain, what left of not being wrecked.

Buy one that side-lined a light pole so the inside is toasted, and side is collapsed, but the running gear and stuff is strong still.

You might even get cool Sti seats in a deal like this if they arent biohazard'd

 

others thoughts too?

 

Overall, for sure that the best bang for buck, you can sell good parts over to the Nabisco folks and then use what you need. That 5g car, you could sell 3500 in parts, and that will fund your remaining.

[subaru360]

^ Salvage title STIs with running engines go for 8-9k at the copart salvage auctions.

[afterbang]

this past weekend i got to take a ride in a board member's brat that had the frankenmotor in it with torque cams and it was pretty ridiculous. that is definitely my next project after learning how straight forward and relatively cheap it is to do. i know the legacy weighs quite a bit more but for gaining power and keeping reliability without a turbo, it seems to be a no brainer.

[Suba9792]

Afterbang, you must be talking about GD's neighbors they built! that thing is crazy, they need to rename his street Subaru way:lol: GD you need to get that clutch replaced in the SS, I'm dying seeing it sit. The franken motor is pretty cool as a matter of fact GD just did an engine swap for a friend of mine, since for some reason the previous dip ************ who owned it fried the EJ22 in it:eek: so they found a replacement at Foster Auto Parts and did the swap, GD bought the old motor, reason...The heads, he needs to use the heads for the EJ25 block that he has and viola! Franken motor. That is what I will "would like" to build for the wife's Legacy Sedan I'm going to find this coming year, since there are not many SUS around, as grossgary said I can build one for her!

[Suba9792]

I believe with the franken motor your going to put out around 170-180HP, but with a ton of torque.

 

 

Correct me if im wrong on the power rating.:-\

[Fairtax4me]

I've been tinkering on the idea of a franken-motor myself. Would be nice to see a dyno sheet for one.

[Suba9792]

yeah its pretty insane, I'm hoping GD with do a build thread for all of us that would like some insight on things. I bet he is going to put it in his own brat:banana:

[GeneralDisorder]

I would say the frankenmotor is easily 180 HP - possibly more. Consider that it's a 165 HP block that's been raised from 9.7:1 to around 11:1 or a bit higher using the small CC 2.2 combustion chamber heads. Further it has Delta torque cams that lower the torque peak - they breathe like crazy at low rpm - we were told the torque starts pulling pretty hard at 1200 rpm. I don't doubt it. It's not a winder - the heads flow poorly at high rpm. It runs out of steam at about 5500. But till then it pulls like a train. I think the last one I built cost about $700 with a strong used 25, rebuilt heads, and the torque cams. That's using the heads and manifold from the 2.2 that was in the car. It's a very cost-effective upgrade.

 

As noted an STi swap will be prohobitively expensive and a ton of work. You will need a whole donor car for certain. You will never recover the cost and you will ruin the value of the car because no one wants to buy someone's project like that.

 

GD

[Fairtax4me]

I've seen numbers everywhere from 125whp to 200chp. Not a thing about torque though.

[LegacyBrad]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2005-SUBARU-IMPREZA-WRX-STI-ENGINE-EJ257-GD7-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem5640bc4f52QQitemZ370453270354QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

3,500 Buy it now....

[GeneralDisorder]

And you still need a tranny to handle the power - not to mention wiring, shipping, pedal assembly, etc. Buying parts car for 8k would be cheaper.

 

GD

[97ej22]

This is all pretty intresting and got me to do some thinking...is there any performance stuff for a 2.2 like cams (not reground ones or what ever) or other farly minor things I could do to build some more steam?

[GeneralDisorder]

If you don't want a reground cam (why not?) then there aren't any performance cams available. Unless you want to do something like the frankenmotor you are very limited. Reground cams are the best option but if you don't want those then you are prett much stuck.

 

GD

[987687]

I know someone local who built an ej22t. STi heads, intake, big turbo, etc. 6mt tranny, r180, DCCD, suspension, etc, etc. Put it all into a first generation legacy wagon and did all the work and tuning himself. Ran him something like 5k or so.

[97ej22]

Idk. I've never rly heard of reground cams... so idk wat to expect...is there any prefromace stuff for this motor that I can do with out haveing to send the block out to get punched over or something like that

[97ej22]

I know someone local who built an ej22t. STi heads, intake, big turbo, etc. 6mt tranny, r180, DCCD, suspension, etc, etc. Put it all into a first generation legacy wagon and did all the work and tuning himself. Ran him something like 5k or so.

 

I would love to do a swap like this but id never be able to getta ej22t motor for cheap...and I'm only worried about motor and trans not suspension stuff

[Suba9792]

go with the franken motor, or just a set of cams, but if you have the money to dump into it, by all means go for it. But finding an EJ22T isn't the easiest thing, they are fairly desired. Check on NASIOC they are boost heads over there, I'm sure one out of 100 may have some tech advice, just don't fall for the bolt ons.

[987687]

I would love to do a swap like this but id never be able to getta ej22t motor for cheap...and I'm only worried about motor and trans not suspension stuff

 

Well, you'd better be worried about suspension and brakes if you put a powerful engine and 6mt in your car!! With stock suspension and all that power you'd kill someone.

[97ej22]

Well, you'd better be worried about suspension and brakes if you put a powerful engine and 6mt in your car!! With stock suspension and all that power you'd kill someone.

 

Ill be more worried about a big break upgrade rather then suspention I know some pretty fast cars on stock suspention and stock breaks

[Suba9792]

do you not remember you are driving an AWD, "brakes" and suspension will need to be done. Along with tranny etc. If your planning to do all of this, why are you wasting your time with an older car? why not just buy a newer WRX for the same if not less than what your going to spend on a swap? that would make the logical sense right? otherwise just do cams. I think you need a turbo car not an NA. As I have stated before, go to NASIOC for boost help. I have seem many WRX's for sale all over the US on craigslist etc for less than 10k! thats about how much your going to end up at in the long run, and whomever your going to pay to do it. If you had a 98-2000 RS then I would say you better do it! but ya dont, your wasting your time and money.

Edited December 25, 2010 by Suba9792

[987687]

The easiest and cheapest way to get a turbo in your car is almost always to get a car that came with one... Some people like adventure though, so why not put a turbo in an NA car

[Fairtax4me]

Ill be more worried about a big break upgrade rather then suspention I know some pretty fast cars on stock suspention and stock breaks

 

Just because you know of a few doesn't mean its smart. I know of a few as well. Have seen a more than a few more end up wrecked.

Driver sensability helps, but when the car can't be controlled, it doesn't matter who the driver is.