At the end of January, I finally fulfilled a dream I've had for as long as I can remember. I'd always wanted a small, low-profile car with a whole bunch of horse power crammed under the hood.
Well, for my sleeper swap, I've gone with taking my '99 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS and installing an '02 turbo-charged WRX engine. I hired I-SpeedUSA to perform the transplant. I got to know these guys through the online Subaru Impreza club, www.nasioc.com. I got to work on the whole installation with I-Speed's Adam Levy at his shop in Novato, CA.
The whole project took just about a week. This was one of the quickest swaps I-Speed has completed. Usually, it takes closer to three weeks. But a lot of times other customers have more than just the engine changed.
The splicing of the stock wiring harness and the WRX engine harness is the most time-consuming part of the process. Adam spent over 20 hours just on wiring.
After several days of work, the new engine is in.
Now the hood scoop is actually functional.
A stock WRX has been timed at 5.6 seconds from 0-60mph. With the RS' lighter weight, lightened flywheel, and higher gearing, my car is now in striking distance of cars like the Mustang Cobra, Camaro SS, or older model Porsches. Not bad for a $10k car.
My car was featured in Grassroots Motorsports. Coolest car magazine, ever. For the record, I felt that way before they picked my car.
