Hello everyone!
So a little background: I'm a car nerd in high school, and recently I've been looking for a car to get wrenching on. This will be my third car, after an automatic Camry and (for a short time) a manual Accent hatch. I can drive stick, know racing lines, and can do many basic repairs.
This car will see a lot of modification over time, and don't worry, I have good taste. After it's done, it'll take up duty alongside the Camry to drive around every so often, and perhaps the odd HPDE, autocross, or car show.
With that, my question: I've got it down to either a classic Subaru Impreza (that is, a GC8) or a 3rd-gen Honda Prelude Si. I've found nice examples of both cars in the $3k range, and I was wondering: which would you suggest for someone like me? This is sort of an apples-to-oranges comparison, but give it a go.
Now, the Subaru can make more horsepower (which probably isn't ideal for a driver like me), but I'm leaning towards it anyway.
Again, which would you suggest I go with? I know this isn't the ideal forum to ask...
Thanks!
~RS8
AWD > FWD, I'd go with the subaru, but a 3000$ impreza sounds a little shady and you will definitely get a better prelude for 3000$
The prelude might be a good choice if you want to eventually get into the world of engine swaps and builds. I'm not familiar with preludes specifically, but most hondas are very easy to swap engines in. There are many fairly cheap honda builds that can make 300-500 whp or more, which would be tons of fun in a car that weighs under 2500 lbs.
In reply to Mrfurzzy :
I was going to engine swap both of then later in the build, with an EJ257 in the Subaru, and a B20A or maybe an H22A in the Prelude.
I could probably get a 4WS assembly for the Prelude for a good price, and install it; shouldn't be too hard, I did some research.
But my ultimate goal here isn't horsepower. I'm only aiming for like 200whp max in the Prelude, and 300whp in the Subaru. The Subaru is AWD, but it's gonna be more expensive to get it where I want it to be; getting a correct wheel width and offset and everything to fit the WRC bodykit is going to be a pain.
Hard choice, actually- you're down to what scale of "project" you're willing to take on and what condition the car is in when you get it.
Nag the Impreza, and you're dealing with a car beloved and sought after by the dregs, guys who now put portholes in the roof of their cars to let out vape smoke. They are also workhorses in their stock form, so finding even a stock NA car with little rust AND not having to beat fans off with a baseball bat is going to be tough.
The Prelude is an odder duck. For one, engine swaps aren't very easy not due to Honda parts bin, but because the hood line is shallow. I think a B18 can be fitted, but any K-series needs the hood to be cut up. Harder still, the tin worm took to Preludes with gusto and few saved them- you'll still find them, but how many are in savable condition (like here in the midwest) might be thin on the ground.
The rest is up to you as a person, tho. Since you say you're kinda new, I'd try for the Prelude for it's cheap cost but i'd keep an eye on Impreza's just in case.
My experience is with Hondas not Subarus, but I can say that Hondas are durable, reliable, and assemble like Legos. While the Prelude is not Civic, I still think you will find parts easy to source and wrench on.
Prelude because I arbitrarily like it better.
pinchvalve said:
My experience is with Hondas not Subarus, but I can say that Hondas are durable, reliable, and assemble like Legos. While the Prelude is not Civic, I still think you will find parts easy to source and wrench on.
All of this, while the Prelude isnt the most desirable Honda chassis out there to mod, its still a great car and Honda parts are alwasy easy to find cheap. The potential is mind boggling. An Impreza can be a great car and a great place for a fairly novice car-nerd to start. Plenty of support and theres just a massive community of Honda Geeks out there to help
Thanks for your input, everyone!
I think I'm going to go with the Impreza, then replace the Camry with the Prelude later. That seems like the most logical path to take. That way, I have a reliable, relatively efficient car that's still heaps of fun, and a performance-oriented project car.
