Scars Included: Calvin Choi's Track-Built 2004 Subaru WRX Still Drives to Work

Look closely at Calvin Choi's 2004 Subaru WRX and you will find mismatched shades of blue, replacement panels and scratches under the TechWrap Canada livery. As PASMAG's Adam Gordon put it in an Oct. 20 feature, the graphics have become part camouflage. That is not a flaw in the build. It is the build. This is a WRX that has spent seven years doing exactly what it was made for.

Choi is from Scarborough, Ontario, and the car has been his since he was 18. It was his first car and his daily driver, and in plenty of ways it still is.

From Civic plans to Subaru weekends

Choi told PASMAG he once figured he would end up in a modified Civic. Then he started spending weekends watching local Subaru drivers, including Richard Grossi, Steve Deneka and David Brister, at CSCS events. The noise and the pace of those cars changed his mind, and he bought the WRX.

Like a lot of first-time Subaru owners, he lost the original engine. By then, PASMAG writes, a couple of track days with friends had already hooked him, and any idea of building a stance car went out the window.

An STI swap on a tight budget

Money was tight while he balanced work and school, so the rebuild came together the way grassroots builds usually do: help from friends, long nights and Facebook Marketplace deals. The WRX got an STI 2.5-liter engine, a six-speed swap and a big turbo.

Choi was working as a technician at a Toyota dealership at the time and did much of the swap there, according to PASMAG, before towing the car to a friend's garage to finish. Seven years later, that same combination has survived roughly 30 to 40 track days. For a turbo boxer that gets driven hard, that is the most impressive number in the story.

The parts list explains why. A Garrett GTX3071R turbo, ID1050 injectors, IAG fuel rails, a DW420 pump, custom equal-length headers and an Invidia turbo-back exhaust handle air and fuel. Mahle pistons, Manley rods and GSC valve springs strengthen the engine. A custom front-mount intercooler, CSF radiator and Perrin oil cooler manage heat during repeated sessions. Definitive Tuning did the tune, and PASMAG lists output at 340 whp.

Chassis and aero

The drivetrain is all JDM STI hardware: a Version 7 six-speed, an R180 rear differential and a Stage 3 clutch. Fortune Auto 500 Series coilovers with 10K Swift springs carry the car, and Whiteline supplied the 22mm front and 24mm rear sway bars, roll center kit, anti-lift kit and links. JDM STI Brembos with Pagid pads and DBA rotors handle braking. Wheels are custom Choii Motorsports forgings, 17x9.5 with zero offset, on 255/40R17 Nankang CR-S tires.

Outside, it looks the part. There is a custom splitter, Karlton flares, an APR GTC-300 wing, APR mirrors, an RPG reverse carbon hood scoop, custom hood vents, RE-style rear spats and the TechWrap Canada livery. Inside are a CAE shifter, Sparco wheel and quick release, Recaro seats, a Status harness, Defi gauges, an NRG harness bar and a flocked dash.

Why it resonated

PASMAG is upfront about why the car stuck with its staff on the PASMAG Editorial Desk podcast. Choi never set out to build the fastest Subaru in the paddock or chase dyno numbers. He wanted a blobeye that was fun to drive with friends. He still drives it to work, still takes it to meets and still wrenches on it in an underground garage.

That matters right now. As PASMAG notes, grassroots motorsport keeps getting harder to keep up with: newer cars are faster, budgets are bigger and shops keep raising the bar. A 22-year-old WRX with honest wear on every panel and the same engine combination it had seven years ago is a reminder that the point of a track car is to use it.