LD9 in an 818

[viribus.knight]

I get where you're coming from, turbomac. Honestly, 10 lbs/hp is more than I've ever had the pleasure of handling, and I'd say I'm in it for the sheer novel of having built my own sports coupe how I want it. Including the comfort factors, such as sound and climate. I don't care about the air bags, even though I probably should. If I were to use the LD9, I know I can make 200 crank with what's on it now, some meth, and a tune. I wouldn't mind a WRX donor drivetrain, if it can reliably hold its >200 hp power levels for 25-50k street miles between rebuilds (2-5 years, in my case). 300 hp would be cool, but 200 is plenty. Especially if sacrificing that 100 means it lasts longer and is more reliable. I'm shooting for $20k, maybe $25k if I can't find a good donor at auction.

BTW, where are you located?

Georgia, about an hour outside the perimeter on a good day.

[lsfourwheeler]

Georgia, about an hour outside the perimeter on a good day.

An hour in which direction? I'm from Rome and go to school in Atlanta. (Building my car in Michigan though because I like to keep it simple... )

Also, I agree with the other comments that a stock WRX drivetrain will be the way to go. I'm in a similar boat as you with my budget planning and I really think the only way to be able to stick to that $25K target is to not deviate too far from the intended setups. Modification and mistakes are expensive. Find a ~100k-150k miles donor that is running well, do some maintenance items on it like headgasket, oil pump, water pump, and timing belt. That should get you the reasonable power you want and the reliability you're looking for while still letting you stay in a predictable budget and pull from the giant collection of builders and information in this forum.