Discussion
I own a RB5 that I've spent over 5k on in the past year.
£2-3k will buy you an exceedingly bad one. You may get a decent condition UK2000 model for that. £4.5-5k should get you a decentish one.
Mine has just undergone a twin-scroll conversion and is running a fully forged engine with various other upgrades.
£2-3k will buy you an exceedingly bad one. You may get a decent condition UK2000 model for that. £4.5-5k should get you a decentish one.
Mine has just undergone a twin-scroll conversion and is running a fully forged engine with various other upgrades.
I think most of them will have rust around the rear arches. I had mine repaired a few years ago (separately, and about £350 a side I think).
Unfortunately it came through again, last summer it went to Scooby Clinic and had the arches done with fibreglass and a complete respray. This was not cheap, but it is now immaculate, and I do not intend to sell it (ever).
As for the WRSport pack, I'm pretty sure it is worth the premium, but you'll have to check properly to see if genuine. It should have a certificate, but I suspect some will have been misplaced by previous owners. I have mine, but got lucky, it came with a folder full of receipts, including the original sale.
The WRSport (or PPP) ups the power from 215 to 240, it has a prodrive exhaust, ECU, and tubing under the bonnet. Also look for WRSport written on the clocks, the big prodrive spoiler was also only for these, but most people seem to have acquired them for standard ones.
Good luck finding a good one, getting harder to do. Let us know what you find.
Unfortunately it came through again, last summer it went to Scooby Clinic and had the arches done with fibreglass and a complete respray. This was not cheap, but it is now immaculate, and I do not intend to sell it (ever).
As for the WRSport pack, I'm pretty sure it is worth the premium, but you'll have to check properly to see if genuine. It should have a certificate, but I suspect some will have been misplaced by previous owners. I have mine, but got lucky, it came with a folder full of receipts, including the original sale.
The WRSport (or PPP) ups the power from 215 to 240, it has a prodrive exhaust, ECU, and tubing under the bonnet. Also look for WRSport written on the clocks, the big prodrive spoiler was also only for these, but most people seem to have acquired them for standard ones.
Good luck finding a good one, getting harder to do. Let us know what you find.
My car is due to have its rear arches done for a second time, its a weak point with the cars for sure.
Watch out for is rust in the rear struts as it gets up there and is difficult to get rid of without cutting out the rear wings.
Another common issue is the gearbox. If you do go and look at one ask for its to be taken through the rev range with fairly quick gear changes to see if there is any crunching.
My car is a WR Sport model with the big rear spoiler although I've been upgrading the car from a mechanical perspective. I plan to keep the car looking standard with the only change being a large miltek exhaust.
I love my cars raw drive and its ability to go across country at a ludicrous rate.
Watch out for is rust in the rear struts as it gets up there and is difficult to get rid of without cutting out the rear wings.
Another common issue is the gearbox. If you do go and look at one ask for its to be taken through the rev range with fairly quick gear changes to see if there is any crunching.
My car is a WR Sport model with the big rear spoiler although I've been upgrading the car from a mechanical perspective. I plan to keep the car looking standard with the only change being a large miltek exhaust.
I love my cars raw drive and its ability to go across country at a ludicrous rate.
My Wife's rb5 No.112
Here it is with Morrette headlamp conversion but it it now wears the original headlamps which look less '90s
It is a non-WR sport although does have the PPP fitted
Great original car which has just clicked 110k miles and we have found it to be cheap to run and insure.
Almost 16 years old now and still a fun car to drive and really quite quick in the real world !
I was one of the founders of the RB5 owners club and owned #190.
I bought that in 2000 and embarked on a huge modification route that saw me running 350bhp in 2002 - which was a big deal back then. I ran the car for 70k miles - it was driven very hard but the only failure I ever had was an abs sensor. The gearbox was fine and I used the standard clutch too (I wasn't into full bore starts), but with decent gear changes the box was stronger than a lot of rumours, same goes for the engine as well - lot of issues at the time were down to lean running - ecu remapping has come on a long way since then...)
A brilliant car and second only to my 22B. I did have the car fully resprayed in 2010, and my now ex-wife took it over and created a monstrous 500bhp 2.5 daily driver.
Rear arches on a classic will always be an issue and something to be looked at closely.
If I could sum the RB5 up, it was greater than the sum of its parts, and felt much more special than the equivalent Turbo2000 (even thought the only real differences were solid rear bulkhead, paint and wheels - everything else was standard Impreza Turbo).
I bought that in 2000 and embarked on a huge modification route that saw me running 350bhp in 2002 - which was a big deal back then. I ran the car for 70k miles - it was driven very hard but the only failure I ever had was an abs sensor. The gearbox was fine and I used the standard clutch too (I wasn't into full bore starts), but with decent gear changes the box was stronger than a lot of rumours, same goes for the engine as well - lot of issues at the time were down to lean running - ecu remapping has come on a long way since then...)
A brilliant car and second only to my 22B. I did have the car fully resprayed in 2010, and my now ex-wife took it over and created a monstrous 500bhp 2.5 daily driver.
Rear arches on a classic will always be an issue and something to be looked at closely.
If I could sum the RB5 up, it was greater than the sum of its parts, and felt much more special than the equivalent Turbo2000 (even thought the only real differences were solid rear bulkhead, paint and wheels - everything else was standard Impreza Turbo).
foreverme said:
This sounds too good to be true right??http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/richard-burns-rb5-no-164/1099248020
I'm not sure about it, I'd investigate further. The car looks very clean in the pictures but then is high mileage and has rust on the arches although I couldn't spot this from the pictures.
If I were you, I'd ask how it drives, if there are any major defects and for information about its history and any modifications. I'd also ask for a copy of the MOT certificate if he's willing to share.
gavm5 said:
My Wife's rb5 No.112
Here it is with Morrette headlamp conversion but it it now wears the original headlamps which look less '90s
It is a non-WR sport although does have the PPP fitted
Great original car which has just clicked 110k miles and we have found it to be cheap to run and insure.
Almost 16 years old now and still a fun car to drive and really quite quick in the real world !
From rolling roads I attended back when these cars were nearly new, the PPP put out over 250ibs of torque. Only a few pounds less than the boggo standard P1's consistently put out.
rb5er said:
I love mine. WR Sport, Almost totally mint, don't think I will ever sell unless something really special tickles my fancy.
Decent ones are more like £6k if you can find one.
Share a few pics and details my good man, or have you a readers cars thread? Love to see it. Decent ones are more like £6k if you can find one.
Edited by rb5er on Thursday 19th February 13:57
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