There is a certain thrill in poking around salvage auctions. You go in dreaming of hidden gems. You come out either a hero or someone Googling the price of tetanus shots. The guys at the YouTube Channel, I Do Cars, inspected a car bought from auction that belongs to their buddy, Pete, who chose option three: hero, tetanus, and emotional scarring after discovering his “deal” of a 2017 Subaru WRX STI came with a secret.
Not a fun secret like launch control or a hidden divorce playlist. No. This one involved a blown, “built” EJ257 that someone had swapped in and dressed up to look like it had never seen war. According to the video, that someone hails from New Britain, Connecticut. We are not naming names, but let us say that whoever did this wrenching should not be allowed near engines, screwdrivers, or probably forks.
Step One: Realize Your Engine Has Been Assembled By Goblins
At first glance, Pete’s STI looked normal. Under the skin, though, the bolts sat loose, as if they had been installed during a fire drill. The turbo? Held with the same commitment that most people apply to New Year’s fitness goals. Vacuum lines existed mostly as decoration.
Then the engine came out. And the engine said, in its own oily way: “Leave now. There is only sadness here.” The belt was cut. The turbo oil feed line was missing. The timing covers looked like they had seen both God and the void. And the connecting rod had already booked a holiday outside the block.
Youtube – I Do Cars
Step Two: Pretend It Is Fine Until The Piston Falls Out
Subaru folks love to chant the same gospel: “It is a built EJ, mate. Stronger than stock.” And to be fair, built EJs can be tough as nails. Right up until someone force-feeds them too much boost, forgets the concept of oil, and pushes them so hard they don’t just give up… they erupt. What you’re left with isn’t an engine, but a surprise art installation inside the sump.
The teardown proved it. Pistons were missing chunks, as if someone had taken a snack break inside the block. Bearings had melted into glitter paste. Rod bolts were scorched to a dramatic bronze, looking like they stared directly into a mechanical sun, and the crankshaft had been seasoned by heat, as if it had spent the afternoon on a backyard grill. One piston even lost its crown — allegedly thanks to a batch of Manley pistons known for self-ejecting in moments of existential crisis. Subaru owners call that “character.” Everyone else calls it a warranty claim that never happened.
YouTube – I do Cars
Step Three: Question Humanity
The oil filter. Let us pause here. On a built turbocharged engine that probably made six hundred horsepower, someone installed an oil filter roughly the size of a shot glass.
An engine that could inhale small birds through the turbo depended on lubrication from something you might find on a garden tractor. Truly, we live in a fallen world.
YouTUbe – I Do Cars
Step Four: Try Not To Cry While Counting Salvageable Parts
To be fair, not all was doom. The heads survived, mostly. The cams survived, mostly. The Killer B oil pan lived, because apparently, metal pans are immortal even when the engine turns itself inside out.
Everything else has the structural integrity of crisps stepped on by a toddler. Pete will sell what he can. The rest becomes garage memorabilia or perhaps warning signs hung over the engine stand like medieval plague banners.
Moral of the Story
Subaru owners, bless them, believe they are buying rally legends. Sometimes what they are buying is pain, forged internals, and a new set of cam seals every weekend. That is part of the charm. But buying a salvage STI with a “built motor”? That is not a charm. That is skydiving with a parachute packed by a raccoon.
Do not trust loose bolts. Do not trust photos. And never trust someone who says “ran when parked” when the piston clearly tried to escape the block like a prisoner stealing a guard’s uniform. Auction heroes and horsepower faithful, take note. The road to rally glory is paved with forged rods, the tears of the hopeful, and occasionally a piston lodged in the oil pan like a forgotten kidney bean in soup. This STI did not just blow up. It died loudly, dramatically, and dishonestly, which might be the most Subaru way to go.
Still want one? Of course you do. That is how Subaru gets you. That and boost noises.
YouTUbe – I Do Cars
