Purchasing JDM motors?

[LarLar]

Okay a little rundown on my plans. I'm selling my 04 WRX. Its sold and I'm just waiting on payment. Now, I plan on buying a GC chassis Impreza. I already have a few picked out. But my question is... Does anyone have any expierience buying a jdm engine and trans? I see them on ebay all the time and I'll easily have enough to afford a full swap for whatever Impreza i get.

Simple rundown- Buying a GC Impreza. Want to buy a full JDM sti swap.

How trustworthy are the vendors?
It can't be terribley hard to do the swap right?
I'll be going to school at wyotech when i do this and hopefully i can use the tools at hand.

Thanks guys!

[MConte05]

I bought my version 8 JDM STI engine from a vendor on NASIOC (goes by the name JDMRacingMotors). Was a great experience, although not for my wallet.:rofl:

They are all pretty trustworthy, although I would highly recommend Wali at JDMRacingMotors, he is a good guy. You can read through my members journal to check out my JDM motor experience (search MConte05 - EJ207).

[kurt.]

The swap is easy as far as bolting it all in, but the wiring is a nightmare. I've done a couple swaps and.now.I just send out the harness to Iwire. He can do it and have it back to you within a couple days. I would recommend.finding shop that at least offers a start up warranty on the motor or one that can provide compression test info along with it because every importer does compression tests. The last thing is when you get that motor in and you're ready to fire it up, don't. What you NEED to do is unplug the ecu and.crank the motor for about 5 minutes or so to prime.the oil.system. just watch the oil light on the dash, keep cranking the engine until it goes off and maybe a little extra for due diligence. If this prime is not performed, there's a good chance you can kill the bearings in the bottom end on start up.
Feel free to pm me with any question you may have.

-Kurt

[pope_face]

+1 on wiring.

A friend of mine on NASIOC just started a similar swap, but he's doing a JDM 2002 WRX STi engine/transmission into an SF Forester. He bought a half cut from Japan though, so he's essentially got an entire car to do the swap. As I recall, it wasn't cheap, but he kept the entire drivetrain for his swap (engine, transmission, differentials, axles, hubs), and the rest he sold to fund it... interior, Brembos, fenders, hood, bumpers, etc.

Only thing I would watch out for, as far as purchasing just the engine and transmission, is that you match the final gear ratio in the front differential to the one in the back. If you buy the JDM engine and transmission and it turns out the front differential has a different gear ratio than your stock one, you'll be stuck trying to find a replacement rear end. If you can afford it, I suggest looking into a half cut as well... it's a bit more money up front, but you'll have (essentially) a complete car, so you can keep whatever bits you want and sell the rest.