RS Revival: New Motor... almost!

For months now I've been saying "new motor" and "I'll fix the motor" and other excuses.  Last night, I put some truth to those claims as we lifted the original 2.5L SOHC motor out of the RS.  Bit of a recap, if you've missed it, but this motor was a bit tired.  It's main issue was Cylinder #4, which was fabulously holding a whopping 20% compression when we ran tests on it back in November of '13.  It's been like this since I picked it up and, while it idles rough and just doesn't quite have the power it should, it somehow never managed to break down.  Thanks to this hurting motor, this project car has always been mobile under it's own power from garage to shop to RallyX event.

Last night, we hoisted this Rotary Boxer Engine out of it's holding cell.  With the help of some friends and a borrowed lift, it came out pretty easily.  The new motor is from a 2001 Impreza RS Coupe that was rebuilt 7k miles ago.  It also has an Exedy clutch, STI oil pump, and other minor tweaks to it.  We transferred the alternator and water pump over from the old motor, but also found out that we needed to transfer the oil filter adapter and thermostat too.  Were it not for those two bits, we probably would've had the car buttoned up and running!

Alas, that glorious moment when this car is fired up WITHOUT a misfire, WITHOUT shaking itself to pieces, and WITHOUT that flashing Check Engine light will have to wait just a little longer.  I won't have time to tackle it until Sunday, so hopefully by Labor Day, this RS will be running around happily with it's new motor!