What would happen if you took a car worth $50,000 and then decided to take every component of that car and pump it into one worth just $300? Well, if you have ever wondered about that, then Donut on YouTube has the answer.
The team at the American YouTube channel took a 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX, with $50,000 worth of upgrades in it, and decided to chuck it into a Subaru Impreza station wagon from 1993 to see what would happen if they did so.
The Donut team was convinced that if they did the swap, then they would have a better car at the end of it than they would have if they had left things as they were. All without the station wagon looking anything like the car it had just taken parts from, to give it a true sleeper appearance.
What the build needed was a plan, and it was a simple one. The sleeper would be stripped, and donor parts would then be taken from the 2007 Impreza. These would then be installed in the 1993 car, with odds and ends tidied up before it went out on a test drive. The results were certainly interesting.
Why Donut Wanted to Swap the Car’s Components
The aim was to try and turn the 1993 Impreza wagon into a real sleeper car. This one is a car that does not look as fast or powerful as it really is, as it is basically hiding its power via a normal-looking exterior. Subaru experts came to help out the Donut team to try and get the $300 car as good as the $50,000 Subaru.
What helped the team out was that most of the components are shared between the two cars. So the drivetrain, pedal box, subframes, and suspension would all bolt onto the 1993 Impreza with very few modifications. The engine and transmission are other components that can be switched right into the new car.
On top of the straight swap, the team also decided to do some upgrades to the Subaru. This included things like new carpet, repairing engine leaks, upgrading the shifter, and replacing some of the old wiring. With the 1993 Subaru fully stripped down, it would have been silly not to replace components that were old and worn out. The swap went quite smoothly, with the engine slotting in easily, along with the transmission, and the crew compared the swap to a giant LEGO set, due to how the parts easily slotted into place.
How Did the Team Test the Car Out?
To test the car out, the team pulled a bit of a prank on fellow enthusiasts. Other than the wheels looking different, the car on the outside looked just like an old wagon. They pretended to transport a mechanic to a filming location with them, making him think they were filming a video segment for another car. But the car taking them to the ‘filming location’ was the sleeper Subaru.
The trick certainly worked, with mechanic Suppy blown away by how fast the car was. In fact, they were convinced that the car would easily fool most people out on the streets. It still looks beat up and as if it has been through the wars. But when the team put the power down, it was rapid, and it was an amazing way of reviving the crusty old station wagon.