13B Swap into '79 Subie
 

I'm about to get head and shoulders into a project that is too ambitious for my skill level.

I have a '79 Subaru wagon with 4WD. It weighs ~1700 lbs and the motor is toast.

I have an '89 FC vert with body damage, which was insurance totaled after a low speed crash that affected the bumper and fender. She's fixable but with the rebuilt title there's no resale value left, so I want to pull the motor and put it into my subaru.

Problems I can already foresee:

I am not a mechanic. I have some knowledge, and I have access to a car club with a full time mechanic and all the tools I could possibly need, but the most complicated thing I've done to a car is replace a brake rotor.

The motor I want to swap has overheated a couple times, and I think my main seal is about to go catastrophic. No big white smoke event yet, but I get a lot of air buildup in the coolant, with constant bubbling while I'm trying to bleed it. It's going to require a rebuild, further pushing me out of my comfort zone.

Finally, it has to be a budget build. I can't justify spending more than 3k on the swap. I'll be doing everything either myself or paying friends with beer to help.

Does anyone have some knowledge they can drop on me? Even if it's just problems you know I'll encounter.

lost case, closed, sorry

Too ambitious for 3k. Even if you were to convert to rwd, it would be difficult. At minimum you need welding skills, mechanical skills because things won't fit, will need mods. If you want to use it as a learning experience that will likely cost you triple what you expect and spend many years on that project while you learn, go for it. Otherwise it's not worth it.

Welcome to the board. :)

For something like this you need to have both skills AND a bigger budget. You have neither. If you must, you can probably proceed with one or the other. It doesn't sound like you're all that attached to the Rx-7, so maybe look into an EJ-swap in the '79 Wagon. It may still require fabrication (I have no idea!), but I can't see why your $3,000 budget couldn't get you most, if not all, of what you'd need.

If you choose the Rx-7, then the engine build alone could eat up almost half your budget. Of course, you might get lucky and find a decent, running replacement. After that, then assuming the damage you mentioned is only bolt-on parts (no frame or quarter cutting and welding) - and nothing else major is wrong with it - then you could feasibly make your budget when all is said an done, and have a driving car.

Of course, option 3 is just keep the money and look for a decent car, then build the projects when future resources allow it.

Yeah, it looks like two different projects. I can get bolt on parts for an EJ swap, but I'm still going to rebuild both motors, just for experience.

Is there a rotary rebuild guide for idiots somewhere?

There are dvds for sale for rebuild but I would just download the fsm from foxed.ca and read it a couple times. Get familiar with it then start and take your time.

^ Might not be a bad idea to do both - get a video AND the FSM. Having a variety of reference materials can't hurt. That said, as far as videos go, you could look at some online ones. I know Aaron Cake has one and I've seen a few more that were quite good.