What should I do about my vehicle?

[Sarra]

So, this is an 'I have this, not sure if I want to keep it' thing. IB4FirstWorldProblems.

Anyway, I have my Subaru Baja, it's paid off, but now I'm not sure if i want to keep it. I bought the non-turbo version because I waited for 7 months for a turbo model, and none came up, and I figured I could swap the powertrain. If I bought the turbo model, I would have eventually tried putting a 6MT in it from a STi anyway.

So here's the problem: You can't swap the hub/knuckles for some reason I cannot yet fathom (the STi used a 5X114.3 hub, except for the SVX and B9/Tribeca, all other Subarus use a 5X100 hub, and apparently the trailing arms don't work). My original plan was to buy a Baja, pull the engine, trans, rear diff, axles, hubs, knuckles, brakes, wheels, tires, wiring, and computer, and start swapping it out with STi gear, starting with the hubs/knuckles, axles. I'd do the trans/diff/axles/hubs all at the same time, then I would build a new engine for it, starting with an STi turbo motor.

So, I do have options. I could keep the 5X100 hubs, and make hybrid axles. This way I could run the 6MT and the beefier rear diff from the STi, but the hubs, brakes, and especially wheel bearings are going to be a huge weak point. Alternatively, I could run a WRX 5MT, but... Here's the problem: Subaru's 5 speed manual transmissions are based on a 1980's 4 speed manual gearbox, which is just an updated 1970's box. Basically, they're weak. The 5 speeds use a horizontally split transmission case, which flexes under heavy load, and the actual gear shafts can move in relation to eachother, and since second gear is at the far end of the case, the teeth can go out of mesh, and it's fairly easy to strip the teeth off second gear. The 6MT box in the STi uses a case split vertically, which is extremely strong. A guy drag racing in Puerto Rico ran 800+ ft lbs of torque through a stock 6MT for hundreds of really hard launches before second gear gave up. Built 5MT's will break at 300 ft lbs of torque or even less.

My other thought would be to get a second car... The Baja is 3,800 lbs with my fat ass in it, which makes it the heaviest Subaru I've ever owned. My Legacy L was 3,550, my Legacy GT was 3,500, my WRX was 3,200, and my GL Turbo was 2,800 lbs. I've been keeping my eye on local lots and craigslist for a 1994-1999 Impreza to come up for sale. It wouldn't be hard to get a high mileage car, and build it how I want to build it for speed.

Oh, why is this even an issue? I want to build a 2.65 liter stroker motor. I'm aiming for 450 ft lbs at least, so a 5MT probably won't be sufficient...

Also note: The later 6MT's used in the Legacy, WRX, and Forster are based on the 5MT, so I'm assuming they have the same weakness as the older 5MT's.

And finally, I could just sell the Baja and buy a STi. This would actually be more expensive than buying an old Impreza and fully swapping the crap out of it... Or I could sell the Baja and get a Corvette. Not sure what to do.

Cliffs Notes: Bought NA Baja, can't swap how I want to, should I go with hybrid axles, or another car?

 

[tallyforeman]

If you got another vehicle how often would you drive it?

When I had my Super Duty, I built it into a daily driver. But, I didn't drive it everyday simply because a set of tires was over 3k, not counting my off road tires. Having a second vehicle allowed me to have a spare incase one was down.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[justinart24]

I have a paid off 08' STI, I wish I would have kept my 06' WRX and used that money for travel/vacations."thumbsup"

 

[spinner]

Ive got a 1993 gc8 ill sell ya, cheap lol.

 

[Sarra]

I'd probably use one for the weekend, the other as a daily. The cost of tires was one of the reasons I stayed away from the Corvette as a daily, but as just a weekend car, or even as a weekend/track day car...

I also was thinking about selling the Baja, getting two older Imprezas, turning one into a tire eating monster, and the other an EV for in town/DD stuff.

 

[johnnyh66]

I'd daily the Baja and build a sleeper Brat... or 700hp Audi 200 Avant!

 

[CM9000]

buy an alfa romeo.

 

[THX_138]

..... Or I could sell the Baja and get a Corvette. Not sure what to do....

I say build what you have planned out and stay clear of the vette idea unless your getting it to flip and make money.
Built not bought is always the coolest"thumbsup"
Plus if you don't do it, you will forever wish you did

Opinion from someone who's owned several vettes over many years.

Unless you're buying the newest brand new model for just the simple cool factor of owning a "new vette"

Or buying an old 50's or 60's classic for investment and flipping sale value

My .02¢ is vettes are garbage.
They are overpriced , overrated and most of all ride like complete shit.
No doubt the brand new 2016's are pretty cool, but again.... it's just a vette


Like owning a boat.
Every time I buy one and sell it I swear I'll never waste the money on another, but oddly enough my pea brain keeps buying boats and vettes repeatedly.
Only good thing is there's an Ass for every seat no matter what you have there's always a buyer waiting for a good looking boat and or vette resulting in free money/profit to be had.

The one I had last year was a 98 C5

 

[meatmonkey]

As a technician who worked at a strictly subaru garage for three years who's replaced more turbos and motors than I can count, don't settle for less than an STI. There are so many differences that most people don't realize. Everything from more spot welds in the unitbody, to bigger balljoints and wheel bearings, to very durable struts, incredible fixed housing style calipers, and the list goes on. Basically you can "upgrade" everything on a normal Subaru and you'd still be better off with a stock STI. I get sick of punks telling me they turned their WRX into an STI with a turbo and intercooler upgrade. Just goes to show how little they know.

 

[Sarra]

As a technician who worked at a strictly subaru garage for three years who's replaced more turbos and motors than I can count, don't settle for less than an STI. There are so many differences that most people don't realize. Everything from more spot welds in the unitbody, to bigger balljoints and wheel bearings, to very durable struts, incredible fixed housing style calipers, and the list goes on. Basically you can "upgrade" everything on a normal Subaru and you'd still be better off with a stock STI. I get sick of punks telling me they turned their WRX into an STI with a turbo and intercooler upgrade. Just goes to show how little they know.

I had a WRX for 8 years. Trust me, I know what the difference between an STi and a WRX is. My WRX had the stock intercooler and turbo, but I would romp all over a stock STi from 50-140 mph. I tuned the car myself, using a borrowed laptop, tactrix cable, and wideband O2. When the bank finally repoed that thing, the engine was totally shot, the transmission was making all kinds of awesome noise, and the entire exhaust needed to be replaced (the car had 200k on it, on the stock engine and transmission).

Anyhoo. I wanted to go full STi swap into the Baja, but I've been told that the hubs/knuckles won't swap into the Baja, which is a huge limitation, and it's kept me from going forward with the transmission swap so far. What bothers me is that I can't figure out WHY the hubs and knuckles won't swap, beyond the fact that 'the trailing arms don't bolt up'. The big kicker is that I want to keep the stock ride height, I have, will, and really enjoy going off road, and while my WRX would happily go on some of the logging roads nearby, its lack of ground clearance was... Nerve wracking at times, and I really don't get that at all with the Baja. The Baja is almost 600 lbs heavier, as well, but it's much closer to a 50:50 weight distribution. Local scale put 2,000 lbs on the front end, and 1800 lbs on the rear. It handles really nice, considering...

I guess, if I could get a definitive answer on the hubs/knuckles, I would go ahead with this project. I'd do a 2005 STi trans/front axles/hubs/brakes, 2007 rear diff/axles/hubs/brakes, a Baja Auto driveshaft, 2005 STi wheels, and a built engine. Top it off by repainting it, and most likely WRB. I'm thinking FMIC, so keep the stock scoopless hood... Tons of power, reliable transmission, and overall tons of fun.

Oh, yeah, the 2007 STi rear diff is 3.545, the 2005 front diff is 3.9, the 2005 has a 1:1 center diff, so I'd be pulling the front diff and putting in a 3.545 1.5 way LSD. I like long gears, and it's one thing I really was unhappy about with the WRX, the gearing felt short. The Baja is just agony to drive because 5th gear in the Baja is shorter than 4th gear was in my WRX. >_<

Edit: forgot to mention, if I do go with a 'Vette, it would most likely be a C5. I've always loved the C5, and the two I drove were absolutely amazing. Granted, one was a friend's with a built motor in it... Main thing killing that idea is the cost of tires. Though, I have seen, and indeed installed, more expensive tires... Go ask how much a pair of front tires costs for a fire truck. They're almost as much fun to dismount, mount, and balance as they are expensive...

 

[CM9000]

rotary swap a foxbody. call it the SRO instead of SVO

 

[C*H*U*D]

My .02¢ is vettes are garbage.
They are overpriced , overrated and most of all ride like complete shit.
No doubt the brand new 2016's are pretty cool, but again.... it's just a vette

I thought the appeal of vettes was their bang for the buck? Good sports car performance without draining the bank or something like that.

I'm just asking out of curiosity. I've never owned a car so I'm just going on what others have said.

 

[CM9000]

if someone want a "bang" for their buck, buy a 99-04 mustang gt and blow the trans. that's the worst mustang of them all. vettes were cool until, I would say.. 97.

mustangs were cool until... 86. and scoobies were cool in my opinion till the bugeyes died.

find a gc8. and make that 22b replica come alive.

 

[Sarra]

My WRX was a Bugeye. I actually prefer the 04-05 style, but I still refer to the 06-07 as the 'Goatse' version, because of the front grille.

The big issue I keep forgetting to mention is that the Baja I've got is a California emissions vehicle, and even though I'm not in California, I'm not sure how my state would handle me swapping the thing for emissions. Does it have to keep adhearing to Cali emissions, or just Federal?

 

[wings_of_fire]

Built not bought is always the coolest"thumbsup"
Plus if you don't do it, you will forever wish you did


Or buying an old 50's or 60's classic for investment and flipping sale value

If I buy a classic, then it would be for me and not for resale purpose. I am far more likely to buy a 1970 dodge charger rt sometime in the future.

The RT versions are above 50k:roll:

 

[WHITE-TRASH]

I thought the appeal of vettes was their bang for the buck? Good sports car performance without draining the bank or something like that.

I'm just asking out of curiosity. I've never owned a car so I'm just going on what others have said.

Out of the box with a warranty they are pretty bad ass. A bit unrefined but theyll out a huge smile on your face in a lot of ways. Take an older rig and throw the difference between its purchase price and the vettes in aftermarket parts at it and the vette will lose 9 times out of 10 though.

 

[CM9000]

My WRX was a Bugeye. I actually prefer the 04-05 style, but I still refer to the 06-07 as the 'Goatse' version, because of the front grille.

The big issue I keep forgetting to mention is that the Baja I've got is a California emissions vehicle, and even though I'm not in California, I'm not sure how my state would handle me swapping the thing for emissions. Does it have to keep adhearing to Cali emissions, or just Federal?

depends on what state you live in and if you live in a rural area. in Michigan.. no emission tests. so people usually swap whatever they want in whatever they want here. a ranger with a old 302 is pretty easy to find round here. if your state does not require an emissions test then you should be fine with whatever swap you end up doing. "thumbsup" hope this helps with your decision.

 

[Sarra]

depends on what state you live in and if you live in a rural area. in Michigan.. no emission tests. so people usually swap whatever they want in whatever they want here. a ranger with a old 302 is pretty easy to find round here. if your state does not require an emissions test then you should be fine with whatever swap you end up doing. "thumbsup" hope this helps with your decision.

Oregon. I gotta see how they handle emissions on Cali cars. I think you just have to keep up with Federal emissions, even if the car was originally a Cali emissions car... But I'm not 100% sure.

 

[clod booster]

Oregon. I gotta see how they handle emissions on Cali cars. I think you just have to keep up with Federal emissions, even if the car was originally a Cali emissions car... But I'm not 100% sure.

Oregonian as well, In Oregon it varies by county, I'm down in Marion county/Salem area and theres no emissions or inspections here.

Currently own a '15 Fiesta ST and '92 Subaru SVX with a 5 speed swap. Used to own a '05 V70R with the basics, catless 3" downpipe, front mount intercooler, intake, upgraded sways.

 

[Sarra]

I'm in the Southern part of the state, and I gotta go to Medford for I&M. >_> I just don't know if I'm going to have to keep with California emissions, or Federal. For Federal, I'm fine to swap. For California emissions, I'd just sell this thing and get something else.