GG Impreza General Thoughts?

[KZJonny]

Anybody here had/have a NA GD Impreza?

I know there are some WRXs going round which are also similar enough for the comparison. I'm asking more on handling/suspension end of thigns than power and brakes.

I'm going to take a look at cleanish Hawkeye Impreza that is real cheap because it needs struts and the owner is complete non-mechanic and doesn't want to spend the money on an old car. Very fair. So... if isn't a rust bucket I can maybe grab it for like $1200 CAD. Which around here qualifies as screaming deal even for a used car.

I really do like the Yaris I bought in Autumn to get me through the winter, but it is just a touch too small, and if I keep it longer I am going to engine swap it and put better suspension in it..... all of which is a waste of my time and money probably. Best thing to do is get rid of it. It's also probably worth $4K or so, which means I can probably get the Impreza, do all repairs and registration and come our ahead. (I could also sell my Outback... it is getting long in the tooth, and I do not need 3 x Subaru wagons. + It is auto, which I have always hated, and the Impreza is a 5MT....)

 

Anyway, curious mainly about thoughts on handling if it is well set up and has all new bushes installed, etc.... I would probably do whatever the equivalent of our Spec B Bilstien upgrade is for the GD chassis. Or if there are upgrade KYBs available and some better springs, go that way. The GD certainly has a reputation for being a fun car to toss around, and that is mainly what I want to know more about. I won't get a chance to find out on a test drive, I'm sure, since if one shock is bad, I bet the rest are also clapped out.

I just want a winter beater than I can have a little fun with, and since I am already pretty fluent in Subaru and EJ, I might as well stick with it. I really wanted a bugeye, but everything around here is either a rust bucket by that age, or has been riced up pretty bad, or is auto. Also this hawkeye is both cheap and pretty clean..... It is also probably a better platform for winter highway driving that the Yaris. Even with a Whiteline RSB and new shocks all around, it gets bullied around the road pretty bad in high winds. I think I will appreciate having AWD and cruise in a dedicated winter car.

Edited April 28 by KZJonny

[RumblyXT]

That’s actually my favorite gen WRX, 2006-2007 Hawkeyes.

But honestly what I’ve always wanted to do is a GD WRX swap into a 1st gen Forester. Very practical and the 4EAT transmission is a tank! However, I’d need a whole WRX donor car for that to swap everything into it..

I think the GD platform is great, quite reliable and there’s plenty of aftermarket parts for it as it was for the Honda Civic in that era..

Their only downfall of course is the infamous H/G issue on the NAs. Slap a MLS H/G on them and they’ll last forever.

Edited April 27 by RumblyXT

[KZJonny]

So it is just an NA Impreza. I don’t need the heartache of 2 x turbo EJs in my life. Hah!

And it is sitting around 240k kms, so I fully expect it will need headgaskets now or soon anyway. But I’ve done that a couple times now so I’m not concerned. Unless the timing belt looks super-new, that is another thing I would want to do as well anyway. But beyond that, the EJ 253s are pretty good overall, and I know I can get another couple hundred kms out of that no problem.

My favourite *looking* ones are the bugeyes, but I am pretty sure they came with an NA 2.0L, so the Hawkeyes are a little better for that. And if I decided I really want to keep it for a while a front end swap is easy enough, and there are lots of bugeyes out there for parts.

The thing I found out that is encouraging, but also kind of unsurprising is that underneath the car, the Impreza and WRX are pretty much the same. (Brakes are different of course, but I don’t think think the larger brakes are critical for an NA powered car….) More that as you mentioned, there is an ocean of parts out there for them, and anything made for a WRX is bolt up. Sti hubs are different, so suspension and brakes from them does not apply.

The used parts market is strong around here as well, since rust kills 20 year old cars that are not thoroughly rust proofed and there are always a few GD/GGs that had been modified being parted out.

Going to go take a look today anyway.

[KZJonny]

That particular wagon needed a new everything. I probably could have picked it up from the guy for just above what he'll get for scrap, but even then.... I can probably buy a runner that doesn't need a clutch + struts +bearings + complete engine reseal + timing belt kit, etc... for a less than the cost of all those parts and just fix things over time.

Still, even getting in one and moving around a little, I can see diggin the small wagon. It definitely feel like it sits lower and sportier than the Yaris, for sure...