Table of Contents
- Intro & Goals
- Initial Photos
- Progressive Uncrapboxing
- Engine Swap
- Widebody Dreams
- Rust Repairs - v1.0
- The Subie Sanctuary - Widebody Moulding Part 1 & Part 2
- The Subie Sanctuary - Drivetrain swap (6 speed, DCCD, 5x114)
- ?
The Punisher: A 2001 RSTI Wide body Coupe
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
Table of Contents
Intro & Goals
Hi! I'm sort of new here and excited to be finally posting a build journal. I've been lurking and learning for the past 4 years which is right around the time I picked up my beloved 2001 Subaru 2.5 RS Coupe. I figure I'll give a little bit of backstory on the car and my plans for it before digging into the journey that has transpired thus far.
I've been into performance cars since before I even had my license. My dad was into muscle cars and bought a sweet 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass that we worked together to restore and modify when I was 14 or so. My dads best friend was a mechanic so I spent a lot of time in and around garages and helping out where I could. I've always had a soft spot for the Subaru Coupes and I remember when they first came out not only noticing them but thinking wow, that would be a cool car if only it had more power.
In 2014 I picked up a 2012 Subaru STI Hatchback as a daily driver. Loved this car and took it to a few track days as well as by that time I had a buddy who was a driving instructor and he was working me hard to get out on track. Fell in love with that thing all over again on the track. The drivetrain was just exceptional and with the practicality of a hatchback? How could you not have fun. At about that time while researching mods for the GR, I came across the whole concept of "Subaru Lego" and realized that many drivetrains are fully "swappable" with many cars in the Subaru lineup. This caused a light bulb to go off because at that point I remembered how much I loved the GC/GM versions of the Impreza and figured they must weigh less than a GR. Yep. A LOT less. The wheels started turning and I tried to justify selling the GR and moving to a Coupe at that time but it wasn't practical with our baby daughter on the way. Time passed, I sold the GR and got into a MK7 Golf R, that was also fun and more posh but also started having strange electrical issues (German car problems) so I then sold that as well and got into a boring old family SUV. My automotive life was mundane at best until on Saturday morning was aimlessly browsing the local classifieds site and I spotted a black 2001 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS coupe with an STI wing. My heart skipped a beat. I had to go see this car that afternoon. Miraculously it drove well, seemed pretty clean and even looked good underneath from what I could see. I bought it without hesitation and the next day I was driving it back to my place while experiencing the Subie Rumble retro style. This was in May of 2017.
Upon getting it home and in the garage almost immediately I started to find things that were "sub par" on the car and figured out I had some work to do which I'll detail in future posts.
Lastly, I'll share my original plans for the car:
Hi! I'm sort of new here and excited to be finally posting a build journal. I've been lurking and learning for the past 4 years which is right around the time I picked up my beloved 2001 Subaru 2.5 RS Coupe. I figure I'll give a little bit of backstory on the car and my plans for it before digging into the journey that has transpired thus far.
I've been into performance cars since before I even had my license. My dad was into muscle cars and bought a sweet 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass that we worked together to restore and modify when I was 14 or so. My dads best friend was a mechanic so I spent a lot of time in and around garages and helping out where I could. I've always had a soft spot for the Subaru Coupes and I remember when they first came out not only noticing them but thinking wow, that would be a cool car if only it had more power.
In 2014 I picked up a 2012 Subaru STI Hatchback as a daily driver. Loved this car and took it to a few track days as well as by that time I had a buddy who was a driving instructor and he was working me hard to get out on track. Fell in love with that thing all over again on the track. The drivetrain was just exceptional and with the practicality of a hatchback? How could you not have fun. At about that time while researching mods for the GR, I came across the whole concept of "Subaru Lego" and realized that many drivetrains are fully "swappable" with many cars in the Subaru lineup. This caused a light bulb to go off because at that point I remembered how much I loved the GC/GM versions of the Impreza and figured they must weigh less than a GR. Yep. A LOT less. The wheels started turning and I tried to justify selling the GR and moving to a Coupe at that time but it wasn't practical with our baby daughter on the way. Time passed, I sold the GR and got into a MK7 Golf R, that was also fun and more posh but also started having strange electrical issues (German car problems) so I then sold that as well and got into a boring old family SUV. My automotive life was mundane at best until on Saturday morning was aimlessly browsing the local classifieds site and I spotted a black 2001 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS coupe with an STI wing. My heart skipped a beat. I had to go see this car that afternoon. Miraculously it drove well, seemed pretty clean and even looked good underneath from what I could see. I bought it without hesitation and the next day I was driving it back to my place while experiencing the Subie Rumble retro style. This was in May of 2017.
Upon getting it home and in the garage almost immediately I started to find things that were "sub par" on the car and figured out I had some work to do which I'll detail in future posts.
Lastly, I'll share my original plans for the car:
- Clean up the mess
- Remediate visible rust
- Upgrade suspension
- Upgrade brakes
- TRACK DAY
- Engine swap
- Wide body kit
- Drivetrain swap
Initial Random Photos
This is from the day I got it home. No back seat attached, red mud flaps, Go Pro mounts stuck to the roof and windshield... smells of "rallycross car" which I would later find out that's exactly what the previous owner had just started doing with it.
![91349]()
185 fire breathing horsepower. In all actuality this thing had lots of pep was I think the power level of the stock 2.5RS is quite well matched to have a responsible level of fun. I'm not responsible. This isn't going to end well...
![91347]()
A month after getting it home I found some Rota wheels with usable tires on them and upgraded. The black bronze look was so much better and the Rota's were a 17" wheel as well which I think is about perfect on these cars. The STI wing that came with the car was still in the garage undergoing a brake light LED fix at this time.
![91348]()
This is from the day I got it home. No back seat attached, red mud flaps, Go Pro mounts stuck to the roof and windshield... smells of "rallycross car" which I would later find out that's exactly what the previous owner had just started doing with it.
185 fire breathing horsepower. In all actuality this thing had lots of pep was I think the power level of the stock 2.5RS is quite well matched to have a responsible level of fun. I'm not responsible. This isn't going to end well...
A month after getting it home I found some Rota wheels with usable tires on them and upgraded. The black bronze look was so much better and the Rota's were a 17" wheel as well which I think is about perfect on these cars. The STI wing that came with the car was still in the garage undergoing a brake light LED fix at this time.
The Subie Sanctuary Widebody Moulding Process
I had first seen this shop on YouTube when a friend shared a link with me and I was really impressed with their attention to detail and commitment to doing things right. I knew I'd found the place I wanted to do my repairs and perhaps even the wide body but as one would imagine with a Subaru shop that does rust repairs in the salt belt of Canada, they were BUSY.
What started as a great conversation on Instagram over patching some shock towers turned into getting put onto the waiting list for the whole shebang. Fast forward many months later and I got the call to drop the car off which happened in August 2022 and completed in October of the same year.
These guys are pros. I asked them to look over the car when it came in and fix anything they'd recommend within budget. You'll see from the videos they found some nasty stuff the previous owner did to "repair" things and made some magic happen to get the tough bits of the 6ovrcrst kit to fit.
PART 1
PART 2
I had first seen this shop on YouTube when a friend shared a link with me and I was really impressed with their attention to detail and commitment to doing things right. I knew I'd found the place I wanted to do my repairs and perhaps even the wide body but as one would imagine with a Subaru shop that does rust repairs in the salt belt of Canada, they were BUSY.
What started as a great conversation on Instagram over patching some shock towers turned into getting put onto the waiting list for the whole shebang. Fast forward many months later and I got the call to drop the car off which happened in August 2022 and completed in October of the same year.
These guys are pros. I asked them to look over the car when it came in and fix anything they'd recommend within budget. You'll see from the videos they found some nasty stuff the previous owner did to "repair" things and made some magic happen to get the tough bits of the 6ovrcrst kit to fit.
PART 1
PART 2
Thank you! Planning to pick up the car from the shop on Thursday or Saturday this week. Can't wait to see it in person for the first time. Had to wait for most of the snow to melt in a warm spell to drive it home since it's about an hour away from my place and the salt has come out onto the roads up here in Ontario, Canada.
Cool build, been waiting for someone to mold the 6OC kit in. Looks pretty comparable to the aerosim sides, minus the side marker
Thanks! Yes, I am likely going to cut some holes for the side markers later on. I asked the shop about it when they were installing the kit and due to the curve of the fender they weren't sure the side markers would sit flush so we left them out. That said, I've seen a couple other people with the 6OC kit now since then that have it looking pretty good. I want to get some close up shots or see it in person and if it looks good then out comes the knife!
Cool def post how you did it if you do also I have an aeroluxe kit sitting in my spare bedroom, lmk if you want any measurements for the side marker placement
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