Thoughts on modifying outback sport to wrx/sti clone vs trading in?

Het y'all, long time lurker here who has thoroughly enjoyed this sub, thanks for that.

Im curious about the cost/benefit of modifying my 01 impreza obs 2.2l to give me performance roughly equivalent to that eras sti. Besides the obvious drive train swap, I'd be looking to boost suspension and braking for the complete build. To me, this means rear drum to disc conversion, replacing the taco links, etc.

I have the space and tools, the car is in decent shape with about 100k miles and a few very minor rust blemishes around the wheel wells. I like the idea behind this transformation as it could be a clean wagon sleeper if done right.

However.. This adds up to what seems to be a sheeeet ton of time and money for an end result that is the same as trading in for a similar year wrx or sti.

Has anyone done something similar?

How did you like it?

What hidden challenges may be lurking with a build like this?

General thoughts appreciated!

Thanks fellow baruskis