Are 90s Subarus now too valuable to modify?
With the oldest Subaru WRXs nearing 30 years old many people consider cars of Japan’s epic 1990 performance era collectable classics. like Skyline GT-Rs, Mazda FD RX-7s, JZA80 Supras, Honda NSXs and DC2 Integra Type Rs, whose values have all shot up in recent times.
So this raises the question of whether these cars, which we have all loved modifying through the years to suit our personal taste or to make them better to drive, should be preserved in factory-fresh condition as classic cars... or are we free to keep personalising them?
One car which has always had strong monetary value in Australia is the limited-edition STi coupe. Aussies got their first official taste of STi Impreza goodness when Subaru Australia brought 400 Version 5 2-door STi coupes in and sold them all in about 35-seconds. (Well it was actually 399 that made it due to rumours one fell off the boat!)
These were the hot sauce 206kW jobbies, up from the already-rapid 160kW WRX, although they were plauged early on with engine failures as somebody forgot to inform Subaru Japan we don't have 100RON fuel Down Under (thanks, Kevin!).
These were followed by 400 4dr Version 6 sedans in 2000, before the STi Impreza joined the WRX as a regular model in 2001 with the launch of the GD as a 2002 model Down Under. Today, mint condition, dead-stock examples of the Ver.5 and Ver.6 Aussie-delivered STis command a premium as so many were modified back in the day.
We've already seen prices for the Australia-only Liberty RS Turbo bottom-out a few years ago and values for mint surviving examples of this rare early 90s beastie are climbing every year. And, given its rarity and position in Aussie performance car history it is easy to understand why.
But, as with many "classic cars" (especially stuff from the 1960s) they're not great to drive in stock trim today. The brakes are weak, handling soggy, nobody has cassettes to play in the crappy stereo, and 147kW doesn't feel rocketship fast like it did in 1993. Some will argue this is all part of the charm of classics, but what if you could keep the 90s look but update how the car feels to drive?
Will we see people modifying their 90s Japanese heroes in ways that can be reversed, similar to how some muscle car owners now strive to keep the original bones of the car so as not to hurt the value? Or should we just enjoy our cars however we damn well want?
Personally, I see nothing wrong with taking what Subaru gave us and making it bullet-proof. Let's face it, the beauty of Subarus is you can literally bolt a better drivetrain and handling package in, which is completely reversable!
If you're reading this chances are you're a fan of modifying cars, so you won't hold it against us if we turn the wick up on this 2 door STI and make it even more epic than when it left the factory! If you haven't seen the new episode, check it out here!
Dan
The old mighty car mods mantra of ‘your car, your story’ rings true here. Yes these older cars are going up in value and there should be an element of appreciating its originality, but it shouldnt stop you from doing what you want to do to it, otherwise what’s the point of getting it in the first place (unless you truly wanted a bog stock original car which you can restore rather than modify).
Moogs mini is a perfect example to this point, a mint ‘jdm’ mini in it’s original state would suffer the same pitfalls (soggy brakes, weak performance whatever else) and arguably cutting up the shell to fit a new rack and a b16 ctr motor would arguably make the purists cringe and maybe affect its perceived ‘value’, however he has modified it to suit his taste and surely has significantly better performance compared to its original state.
Marty, follow your instincts as to what you originally intended to do to the car and to hell what anyone thinks. You’ve done it before and for some reason we keep feeding at the mcm trough so keep going.
Kayahan
There is still a lot of room for improvement with these cars that anyone would consider a tasteful upgrade. Also hint hint the car in Japan dealership had tons and tons of aftermarket options that are either delivered by a third party company or STI themselves
Paul
You are the kind of guys who doesn’t suprise when it comes to invest. I’m sure this car will get valuable very soon :)
Ben Jones
I totally agree. Take the classic and refine it to be more reliable & sharper to drive. I am so excited to see this develop. I’m from UK and have a bugeye WRX wagon that I saved from the rockers, so far its had a new shortblock (Marty’s mum) reconditioned heads all new gaskets & belts, stage 1 clutch, skimmed flywheel, vf35 turbo (moogaru), sti injectors, sti intercooler, walbro 255 pump, sumitomo 4 pot front & 2 pot rear brakes. All this I did myself on my drive and honestly I would have never achieved this without you mcm boys as inspiration. Hopefully I will be getting it dyno turned in June. Love your new car Marty it’s a total unicorn & I’d love 1 that shape even a 4 door. Unfortunately these are so hard 2 get in UK coz of the rust. Anyway thanks for the vids guys say hi to cheryl.
Jona Jones
Love the write up and it is true, you can either preserve it in the package or drive it how it is meant to. Lets be real, Mighty Car Mods is mighty at modifying cars, and for that we wont hold anything you do to this STI against you. Just dont infect someone else.