As I mentioned in a previous post I recently cracked the head on my 1997 WRX

The cost of repair is quite high ($3000ish), and the gearbox could use some attention to (in first gear it wines like its in reverse & chips 4th) So I don’t want to spend 3K but still have a shitty gear box and the same 155kw's.....

I've been trawling the site for info on swapping out motors etc. Got heaps!

So far I think the best value for money will be to look at a low km STI conversion (engine, computer, turbo, gearbox and diff's) around $5-6K I’m estimating fitted.

I've found a V2 STI engine with 96,000km's and a V4 with 120,000km's
If I’m going to the trouble of putting in a whole new engine, the lower the km's the better.

The info I’ve found on the V3/V4 suggest that it was vastly update and a much better engine than the V2. However I’ve also been told that the V2 had fewer problems and was a stronger engine (and the one I’ve found has 20-30 thousand k's)
Would you put in the V2 with lower k's?
What else would you look for with your conversion? Any suggestions?
Also is 100,000k's still high? A good friend of mine drifts his 1994ish skyline and has changed his engine a few times. He suggested not considering anything with more than 80,000kms! I've yet to find an engine with so few k's on her

Opinions/Suggestions please guys.......

Cheers - Will

Afaik the V2 had the angled, smaller TMIC. This may present problems for later upgrades... but a FMIC upgrade would still be possible.

Also from what I've seen, the V2 has less aftermarket support than the V3/V4

mmmm.... I’m fairly sure my current TMIC is slightly angled (1997) it’s angled in line with the slope of the bonnet.
might not be too much of an issue as the plan is to get her all fixed up, drive her for another year, then sell her on. so I wont be looking at any more upgrades.

When he says angled he means the TMIC kinks to the right, the 97 WRX has a straight TMIC. I think it changed 95 - 96

Get a V3, its the same year/generation as your current car and will produce *much* less headaches when it comes time to do the swap. Spend the extra coin and get a half cut, one that includes the rear drivetrain as updating to a V3 sti box will mean different ratios. Being a V3 sti it should also come with 4 pots if you get the whole cut. Then you can sell off any bits you don't want to make some money back. V3 dash & cluster etc.

V2/V3/V4 are all a bit of bastard years where not a huge amount is interchangeable between them without doing a lot of work. A same year swap can be done in a weekend, dicking around with different things can take much, much longer. My car runs a V2 sti body loom with 06 legacy motor and engine loom, 08 sti ecu, v4 dash and cluster. Lots of custom work means lots of $$ and time.

As long as the proper servicing has been carried out on the motor, even one with 250,000km should still be pretty good. Your mate probably keeps busting motors because he runs more boost on a stock ecu and sits on the limiter like most drifters.

While you have the motor out, you may as well do a "100k" service, ie belts, pulleys, water and oil pump etc. while this might cost you another $1k on top of everything else, then you will know for sure you have a quick, reliable car for years to come.

If you are looking for a cheaper fix, the guys at STechnic (DTrally) can probably fit an early liberty motor and either rebuild your box or supply one in better condition than your current box

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MY93 Impreza GX 1.8L, 0hp, 0nm

Ive seen the V2 described as closed deck and bullet proof before. Never had one myself though.
And not sure what sort of differences there are in the V2-3-4 long motors, some one here will though, but the V2 does have the intercooler that sits on an angle off to the passenger side.
Good idea to have a search on which year came with what turbo, they seem to change every other year as well.
I got recomended to use a 98, V4, motor in my 98 wrx. It would be the easyest to wire up, wiring being the Hardest=longest=expensive part of the conversion.
There are 3-4 good importers that get recommended all the time, call em all and pick their brains for ideas and recommendations.

V2 in theory is bullet proof. But also 14 years old..
its old tech, td05, small intercooler, unsymetrical heads so harder to do simple upgrades.

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MY93 Impreza GX 1.8L, 0hp, 0nm

Yeah, I’m worried the 96 is getting fairly old. And as you say old tech and potential problems with the change over/compatibility.
I'm heading into JWS tomorrow to hear what they have to say and see what they have. I'm keen to find a V3/V4 with lower km's than 120,000
I'm sure they are around I'll have to keep looking to find one.

Certainly will do!

Diamond at Auto Evolution sounded great on the phone,
Knows what he’s talking about and comes highly recommended on the forum.
But he just sold his last STI engine the other week! Damn it. He’s going to have a look for a V4 or even a V6 for me.
But I might be waiting 6 weeks or so