Advice for Buying donors and parts from the forum members.

[Wayne Presley]

I didn't think I'd have to post this on the forum since every dealing I've had or heard has every member standing behind their word. Many send parts before the checks arrive, giving parts away for the cost of shipping. Seems that isn't always the case anymore so:
Get the deal in writing, back up phone calls with a follow up email.
Ask for any purchase requirements.
If possible use a secure payment type.

[capt. bill]

Donor Cars: From experience buy a donor with side or rear damage....the 2006 WRX sedan had front end damage. Besides losing the radiator and fans; had to rebuild motor (broken timing belt) plus needed a sawzall to remove front of car (beam behind bumper)..Capt. Bill

[turbomacncheese]

Me too, but the price was RIGHT!!

[lance corsi]

Personally speaking, I would not buy any used parts for subies. My dealings with ppl have proven to be less than optimal. If u need parts, go to Subaru parts online.
I would recommend building without donor, just buying the parts I need. Trying to sell used subie parts is more trouble than its worth.
Using a stand alone ecu sounds expensive, but if u value your time, go this route and buy the accompanying wire harness for the engine & make the body electrical harness from scratch. You'll b glad u did.

[turbomacncheese]

Lance, I've seen pictures of your work and it is very impressive. I get where you're coming from, but some of us like the wrenching. If I wanted a car right-now-right-now, I'd just go buy one. The time I spend cleaning and rebuilding parts isn't a chore...it's a hobby. I can certainly understand why some people disagree with me, but to each his own.

[wirenut]

Personally speaking, I would not buy any used parts for subies. My dealings with ppl have proven to be less than optimal. If u need parts, go to Subaru parts online.
I would recommend building without donor, just buying the parts I need. Trying to sell used subie parts is more trouble than its worth.
Using a stand alone ecu sounds expensive, but if u value your time, go this route and buy the accompanying wire harness for the engine & make the body electrical harness from scratch. You'll b glad u did.

If I was to do it over, I would go this route for sure.

[Mechie3]

Personally speaking, I would not buy any used parts for subies. My dealings with ppl have proven to be less than optimal. If u need parts, go to Subaru parts online.

When I got my first WRX in 2006, the WRX had only been in the states for 4 years. They were owned mostly by people in their mid 20's and up that had disposable income as they were $25k cars ($25k in 2002 is the same as $34k in 2016 accounting for inflation). This crowd tended to be more professional. Fast forward to 2017 and 2002 wrx's can be bought for $3k and they've become the latest "civic" of the "honda crowd". You now have "bros" buying them who are not as professional as the former ownership crew. They've become stereotyped with hooning and vaping and people selling junk parts for gold. I once bought a used stock turbo. They shipped in the cardboard from a 12 pack of beer (bottles) with only a second box wadded up inside for packing.

[lance corsi]

Lance, I've seen pictures of your work and it is very impressive. I get where you're coming from, but some of us like the wrenching. If I wanted a car right-now-right-now, I'd just go buy one. The time I spend cleaning and rebuilding parts isn't a chore...it's a hobby. I can certainly understand why some people disagree with me, but to each his own.

I agree about the hobby part and most parts are gonna need cleaning, I did all that, but most of the donor car is unusable to me, since I went with the vette susp. It may work out if u follow the manual, but I'm stupid that way. ��

[Mike de Angeli]

Does any one have any suggestions for a muffler for the 818? Ideally I would a drop-in replacement for the cat with which I built the car; the state inspectors rejected me on this ground alone (not bad!)
Thanks, Mike de Angeli

[AZPete]

Mike, see http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...ms-for-the-818
I have the Boig muffler and resonators from Mike Everson and I'm happy that they are quiet . . . sort of. Will this keep your inspectors happy?

Lance, I know I should make them myself.

[turbomacncheese]

I agree about the hobby part and most parts are gonna need cleaning, I did all that, but most of the donor car is unusable to me, since I went with the vette susp. It may work out if u follow the manual, but I'm stupid that way. ��

Call it what you want, but it looks kick-***. I don't have the resources or experience to follow suit, and judging from what I've seen so far, following the manual will deliver a car much more capable than I am.

[Blwalker105]

There aren't many forums where I would buy from people, but this one is of them.

On the donor subject, I agree with Lance and would not go that route again. I would just buy the parts I needed. It took me almost a year to get rid of everything I didn't need while the remains and shell took up valuable work space.

Mike, take a look at spintech mufflers.

[chuckt]

On the donor subject, I agree with Lance and would not go that route again. I would just buy the parts I needed.

I know this thread is really old. I am just beginning to look into building a kit and I am trying to decide which one.

Can anyone point me to a source of new parts to complete a 818s? I am wondering if the idea of buying all new parts to complete a kit is practically doable. It looks like I can get a driveable 2006-2007 Impreza (not a WRX) at insurance auction for less than $1K and then about $1.5K to ship it to me. (sight unseen is not a good thing IMHO, nothing local at this moment) Or I could buy one off a lot and drive it home for about 6K and sell the rest for scrap. But I would rather source all new parts as much as I can. Can anyone help me get started on where to look?

[blomb11]

You could look for a Subaru wrecker and buy the parts you need off a whole car. I just bought everything I needed locally from a wrecker all off the same 07 WRX for about $4k. I would think all new parts would be more than $6k. I did some cleaning but everything was in good shape.

[lance corsi]

Well hello again! If you don’t have at least $35K scheduled to be spent on your 818, you’d probably be better off to buy a scrapper and salvage what you need, then send the hulk back to the scrapper and collect your $!
Buying new components saves time and hassle and for me, allowed me to pay more attention to other things that needed it more. Personally I’m not in a hurry, or should I say I wasn’t in a hurry to finish until our geniuses in DC stated their disdain for petrol burning cars. I’ve logged more than 3K hours of labor into it and untold $. Seems like every project I’ve encountered has taken an average of 6 weeks. Don’t know why except that I like to weigh my options befor making changes.
I’ve been making everything too, so that takes time. Good luck whichever method you choose.

[Shannon4570]

I think this thread is very relevant to anyone looking at buying a kit, which category I happen to fall in. If I were to order a kit and use only aftermarket resources I wouldn't even know where to begin. I can understand the value of not wasting time and space on a donor but it seems to me there is a significant shopping list needed with requisite vendors which a noob like me would have no idea where to begin. Is there a consolidated information base to gather this info? I have read every build thread less than 10 years old but sifting through those bits and pieces would take my lifespan and yours.

It's interesting to note the 818 is by far the most heavily modified, tweaked and otherwise deviated from the base of any FF car sold. This makes it even more difficult to decide on a starting point. I would welcome all thoughts, ideas or input of all here. Thanks in advance.

[aquillen]

My route was pick up a motor and suspension set at JDM in Cincinnati. Any of the JDM places in the big cities could at any time just happen to have all that. True, mine was all from Legacy cars (susp was 2008, engine 2001, and it was a 3.0 H6). But the whole mess was $1500 and super clean. If you could get lucky that way on an Impreza donor - how nice...

The rest was trips to a couple pull-apart places in Northern Indiana. Prices for DIY get the parts in these places are incredible, and I can't tell you how many things they just said - take it - didn't even charge me for. No - really !!! I took friends along sometimes and we had a ball digging around in the yards (just avoid the ones with hazmat tape around the car.) And check for half-off days if they have those.

A couple things off Ebay. (By the way they drive on the left side in Japan - you won't use the steering rack off a JDM in the US, at least I couldn't).

You look at my build, "Art's 818" and it was done for about $20,000 all in.