Im 17 and have been wanting a 03-07 forester for a few years now. I found a listing on next door ( https://offerup.com/item/detail/916379170/ ) for an 03 xt at a super good price. Its a project car but ive been wanting to get my hands greasy for a while now. I would be buying the car and everything else it needs to get running with my own saved money. Do you think this is something i could do on my own without a ton experience? With school being online in the fall, i have the time to dive into this and do research on how to get everything running. Is this car a project that someone without a ton of car tools could do on their own? Thanks for your response.
2003 project car - does this seem like a good idea?
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@izak welcome to the forum from another Oregon member!
The 2003 Pacifica Blue Pearl metallic is one of my favorite Forester colors! I inherited a 2003 Forester from my father in 2005. I passed it on to my son in 2009 when I moved on to a 2007 FSXT. I still miss that 2003!
That swap is not an easy project... not recommended for a first project, especially on a tight budget.
The rear dust deflector is missing. If that's not included with the vehicle, you will have a very difficult time finding a replacement. If you remove the brackets, it will require body work to plug those holes!
If that's something you want to take a chance on, I'd recommend having a mechanic friend, or a shop you trust to look it over & go from there.
Bobby...
['07 FSXT Member Journal] ['03 X Member Journal]
The 2003 Pacifica Blue Pearl metallic is one of my favorite Forester colors! I inherited a 2003 Forester from my father in 2005. I passed it on to my son in 2009 when I moved on to a 2007 FSXT. I still miss that 2003!
That swap is not an easy project... not recommended for a first project, especially on a tight budget.
The rear dust deflector is missing. If that's not included with the vehicle, you will have a very difficult time finding a replacement. If you remove the brackets, it will require body work to plug those holes!
If that's something you want to take a chance on, I'd recommend having a mechanic friend, or a shop you trust to look it over & go from there.
Bobby...
['07 FSXT Member Journal] ['03 X Member Journal]
@2.5x_sleeper Thanks for the response bobby! This is from the seller: "it needs the intake an exhaust hooked up for boost an the correct ecu witch would be a 03 wrx ecu." it seems that everything accept the exause and intake is swapped already. Just needs an ecu. Im going to take a look at it next week. What should i be looking out for?
@izak normally for this kind of swap, you need the donor vehicle sitting next to your existing vehicle. You then swap everything over, including the entire engine wiring harness. Then it gets complicated, as you have to merge that wiring harness with the cabin wiring & it's NOT plug & play! If you don't have the skills to do that, a performance shop can do that for you, but it will be expensive.
In addition, you're betting that rebuilt engine will actually work...
Take a look at this sub-forum to see all the discussions on NA - naturally aspirated to turbo conversions.
Bobby...
['07 FSXT Member Journal] ['03 X Member Journal]
In addition, you're betting that rebuilt engine will actually work...
Take a look at this sub-forum to see all the discussions on NA - naturally aspirated to turbo conversions.
['07 FSXT Member Journal] ['03 X Member Journal]
Love your enthusiasm, car ownership stage and your age.
I was 15 getting my first project car, but it was free, non-working just had to tow it out of guy's garage 1/2 mile away. Got home, worked on it, and it moved a total of 6 ft under its own power; towed to junk yard later. Didn't spend much money. Good experience in recognizing when to throw in the towel.
So here - your own money, little experience, few car tools on a complex car that you have to buy. I think you'd make a better choice with a more traditional car: suggest looking for a compact two wheel drive sedan/coupe with an inline 4 cyl motor - this motor/drive train configuration is much easier to work on.
Example: my son got a 20 yr old Honda Prelude, faded red and on life support, from an Idaho farmer for $300 (advertised for $600; admit I found it for him). Son loved that car for 7 years, just kept adding fluids, screwing stuff together, used baling wire to re-attach front bumper after a side swipe in Seattle. And I noted that when I drove it, young women looked to see who was driving it since it was obviously a young man's car.
I second the opinions above. I swapped an EJ25 (not turbo) into a 1970 VW Beetle. I also did not have the full donor car, I just bought a motor with a blown head gasket and fixed it myself.
I'm not super technical, but the internet knows everything. Even though I went for a 'budget build', I still has to spend a substantial amount of money on all the little items that you didn't know you needed. That's why it is so important to have the donor car, or at least the full front clip when you do a swap.
So I agree, I think it would be better if you picked up a running car first. Get your feet wet with that, and save a Forester for later.
I'm not super technical, but the internet knows everything. Even though I went for a 'budget build', I still has to spend a substantial amount of money on all the little items that you didn't know you needed. That's why it is so important to have the donor car, or at least the full front clip when you do a swap.
So I agree, I think it would be better if you picked up a running car first. Get your feet wet with that, and save a Forester for later.
Welcome to the forum, @izak !
I think I remember being young at some point and having a project car.
That didn't work out too well in the end, but I learned some good stuff. As above, though, I didn't pay any money for it, so it was fine when I finally junked it. I agree with the above posts about getting something else.
Mike
I think I remember being young at some point and having a project car.
That didn't work out too well in the end, but I learned some good stuff. As above, though, I didn't pay any money for it, so it was fine when I finally junked it. I agree with the above posts about getting something else.
Mike
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