[twilightprotege]

so i'm looking at buying an SF forester very soon and i'm weighing up my options.

i will use the car for offroading, mainly sand, but from time to time mud and the like. i want the car to be turbo'd, but also the dual range gearbox.

so in terms of which car to get, i either want the limited or the GT. problem with the limited is no turbo, but i have absolutely no problem doing an engine conversion or even rebuilding the NA engine to suit turbo. the problem with the GT is no dual range box (and needs 16" wheels??? - i want 15's).

advantage - i have an 8 bolt dual range manual box in my garage as i was going to use it on my 87 rx turbo if i did an EJ turbo conversion.

so i guess my question is, and what i'm looking for opinions on, is would it be better to get the limited and swap the engine, or get the GT and swap the gearbox, wheels and brakes?????

i'm not concerned about suspension etc, or if the car has been flogged as most of the parts will get upgraded. no 1 issue is no rust - which makes me think a GT is the best option as it's more likely to not have been used on the beach.

any thoughts people have would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Kevin]

If the ECU and harness are different wouldn't it be easier to swap drive train components?

 

[twilightprotege]

yes but that's what i was trying to work out. you can get a decent import engine with full harness and ecu for under $2k no problems (and with less k's than a GT engine), so if the limited is more than $2k cheaper than a GT, the limited is the better choice - also a spare gearbox wouldnt go astray either. advantage to the box i have is that it's from a liberty and thus has the 1.44 low range