[Fischbeef]

Hello all, new to foresters but not to subaru. I have a 2001 S (SF body). the dash color (burgundy) and layout is less than desireable for my tastes.

Ive seen posts on this forum that show the wrx dash swapped in but i was wondering the details. I want to swap the WRX dash and center console(02-04 w/o the auto hvac) into the forester to update the appearance.

1. Does it fit without modifying the physical mounts?

2. Will all of my electronics fit and function normally as this is a loaded S with heated everything. (I believe there are spots for everything except maybe the side and front window defroster switches)

3. Can i keep the original gauge cluster or does that have to be swapped as well.

Other plans include wrx suspension and removed factory body lift.

Thanks in advance,

Paul

 

[Nick D]

I would just leave it.

 

[Vinnyd]

see this member journal he swappped everything from a wrx into his forester

 

[Fischbeef]

yeah i saw that but he is lacking in details plus he did the whole harness and assembly i just want the dash cover and center console with retaining most of the factory goodies behind it.

Maybe a dash out of a similar forester with the black or grey dash, they came with a dark grey/black correct? even that would be an improvement.

Thankyou though

Gotta check the junkyards this weekend

 

[cfyPatrick]

There is going to be a fair bit of modification needed to fit a GD WRX dash into your Forester. IMO, it's not really worth doing unless you're doing an engine swap and have the dash out anyways. Even then, it's still a bit of a pain, which is why so few people do it.

A better (read: easier) solution would be to just get the dash out of another SF Forester or GC Impreza the color you want, and put it in.

 

[Fischbeef]

yes, looks like the white SF had to change everything, not something i wanna get into on my daily. hopefully i can grab one cheap at a yard...

Thanks again

 

[Rob]

You will have to rewire all of the dash stuff to get your SF stuff to plug into the GD items as well as swap in the GD HVAC stuff, including putting new holes in your firewall for where the GD heater core runs.
Like others have said, not worth the swap unless you are doing the engine swap at the same time.

 

[Fischbeef]

You will have to rewire all of the dash stuff to get your SF stuff to plug into the GD items as well as swap in the GD HVAC stuff, including putting new holes in your firewall for where the GD heater core runs.
Like others have said, not worth the swap unless you are doing the engine swap at the same time.

Ok, grey sf dash it is, btw with that jdm grille, is it abs necessary to change the headlights to make it work? and where did you source yours from?

 

[cfyPatrick]

Ok, grey sf dash it is, btw with that jdm grille, is it abs necessary to change the headlights to make it work? and where did you source yours from?

There are two different "faces" for the SF Forester. The 98-00 face was more "straight" across (if looking at where the headlights meet the hood), whereas the 01-02 face has more curves (i.e. what you have). The physical difference between the two styles is only with the hood, headlights, and grill. The fenders, headlight trim pieces, corner lights, and bumpers are interchangable, with differences between the corner lights and bumpers being cosmetic only.

Just get the grille that's suitable for your model year. You only need to swap headlights/hood if you want to use a grill not meant for your face style.

The grilles pop up on eBay every once in awhile... right now there are two available, one for the earlier, and one for the later style of the SF Forester. Just google Forester SF5. Otherwise, you can buy one off of Yahoo! Japan auctions, using a third party bidding service like Nengun.

Rob changed his headlights/hood because he was changing the entire look of the front end of his car.

 

[Rob]

What he said^^^^
FWIW, when you find a grille on Ebay, 90% of the time it is going to be the early version so ASK BEFORE YOU BID, please!
I have seen a few people on here selling early version grilles they won on Ebay only to find out they don't fit their 01-02. They are harder to find but they are out there. I had one and loved it, it was too bad the turbo hoods for the later versions weren't as common back then as they are now.