Subaru's getting more expensive than the boat

[matt167]

I bought a cheap 1999 Subaru Legacy SUS from a friend, knowing it had blown head gaskets and needed some other tinker work. Quick search found that EJ22E motors are a popular motor swap and a quick way to get these cars back on the road, as the original motor ( EJ25D ) has to come out for head gaskets anyway.. I bought a 'tested' $450 motor, warranty good for 3 months 3 months/3000 miles on the short block, but it was supposed to be drop in ready... So I put a timing belt on it with new idlers, new tensioner and a new water pump/ thermostat. started putting the new spark plugs in and noticed one was steam cleaned.. Pulled the cylinder head and it was seeping coolant, not completely blown, but it's good I got it before the engine went in. I figured that I should put the original DOHC heads/ intake on the 2.2 shortblock so that it has all the original sensors and I can use the original exhaust, as I'm this deep into the engine anyway.. My $450 engine, turned into a $1,500 engine, and I will be Close to book value of the car by the time I'm done. Only plus is now, I can turbocharge it pretty easy with some factory WRX parts and a piggyback controller if I chose to... The bad thing is I'm actually burning thru the boat funds to get it done.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Subaru's getting more expensive than the boat

We have owned 2 subarus and would love to get another, but the prices for 200K cars are way to high, so I settled for an explorer, until life gets realistic again on them, I won't ever consider one.

 

[matt167]

Re: Subaru's getting more expensive than the boat

Yup. Around here, you Can't touch a 'good' Subaru of any kind for less than $2k, and paying between $2-5k for 12-15 year old vehicles is expensive to me, when other brands can be had for less than 1/2 of that.. Going to the actual Subaru dealer, used is generally 90% of the cost of the current model, even going back 3-4 model years.

This isn't the first engine I got burned on. Last 1 was a Ford 460 I got from a U pull it.. $129+50 core and similar for the transmission hooked to it. Had it out of the car in a couple hours. Left the accessories on it cause they were closing soon. Got charged for each accessory + their respective core charge.... Got it home and pulled the pan to find wiped bearings.. It was a good solid block and some how the crank is not damaged.. It will get a Cars By Carl stroker kit and I will turn it into a 501 if I ever get back to building my hotrod