As a younger man, I spent a lot of time around modified Subarus. I gained a great deal of knowledge and experience (or so I thought) to the point where I decided to attempt motor swap. I parked my car in my mother’s garage for what I thought would be the very last time it would ever be naturally-aspirated. Boy was I wrong.

This is my . Hers too.

Automotive projects, big or small, rarely go smoothly. This instance was no exception. The transmission had already been rebuilt and the brakes had been installed beforehand in order to handle the increase of horsepower.

After parking the car in the garage, we stripped the inside of the car and removed the front portion of the wiring harness fairly quickly. We began wrenching on the bolts connecting the motor to the transmission. With every bolt out (or so we thought), my friends and I attached the motor to the engine hoist and tried to get it out. Multiple attempts and several bleeding hands later (sorry Mike!), we gave up.

Watch this episode of Worst Car Stories to find out how the swap got finished...and how the whole catastrophe nearly drove my mother to become an alcoholic.