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Project Haiti - Subaru Utility Wagon for Orphanage work


AdventureSubaru
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My wife and I have committed to purchasing, building and donating a Subaru to friends of ours who work with some orphanages in Haiti. They have an old Pathfinder that is giving them continual issues and even on their best days is killing their budget on gas mileage. So I am seeking some ideas and thoughts as we go forward with the project. The wagon will need to be

 

trail capable - not a full off roader, but able to handle the rough mountain roads that they have to travel frequently.

 

Spacious - both cargo and passengers. It will not travel empty very much.

 

Durable - Both in mechanical reliability and body. It will be used pretty hard. Bumpers will be bumped plenty.

 

Fuel efficient - Gas is not always easy and never cheap. They operate mostly by donations and other support, so they don't have spare cash laying around. (Really, no one is in this business to make money.)

 

Low budget - My wife and I are not wealthy, but can certainly meet this need.

 

 

The plan so far is to find a 95-99 Legacy or Outback with motor work needed/blown head gaskets. Then build it into a supremely reliable trail wagon. I've seen projects around from $300-$1500 that fit this bill. Heck, my 2000 started as a $350 heap, so it happens.

 

The plan for it as of now.

 

EJ22 (Probably non interference) motor swap with fresh seals, separator plate and timing kit.

Fluid change to tranny and diff. New clutch if a 5 speed.

Fresh coolant Water pump and thermostat

Weld up a full size basket roof rack spanning from top of windshield to top of hatch for lots of extra cargo carrying ability.

Full tune up - plugs, wires, air and fuel filters

New brake pads all around.

Install a removable 3rd row seat - probably rear facing like the old Volvo wagons so it will carry 7 or 8 passengers

Outback or Forester suspension, with 3/8 HDPE spacers and about 27 inch all terrain tires and full size spares.

Reinforced front frame and steel bumper. Maybe added fog lights.

Trailer hitch maybe

Weight reduction where possible to offset the additional weight of modification and cargo.

 

Since access to mechanics and parts is not easy or cheap or fast, I'm going to bring spare parts - plugs, wires, timing idlers, and belts, bulbs, fuses, oil filters, probably a spare alternator, starter and maybe axles.

 

Looking for good ideas and opinions on what I may not have thought of yet. Also considering the following questions and looking for the best way to go.

 

with the rear seat and possibly 5 or 6 people in the rear half of the car, how best to beef up the suspension back there. New KYB struts? Forester struts over outback? What's going to last longest and sag least?

 

Completion by January. I'll drive it to the port in Miami to get it on a ship to its new home. They will be in the states in November so I can get paperwork to them so they can have ownership to take care of importation on their end. A 3100 mile road trip from central California to Miami should be a good stress test and will work out any bugs before I pass it to them.

 

If anyone is wanting or willing to help with this endeavor, we'll be setting up a fund for for it. I'll also have a shopping list once the car is purchased to get it to where it needs to be. If anyone has parts they'd wish to donate or discount for the project it would be much appreciated. Not all of us are meant to go work directly with those in need, but we are equally valuable in supporting and enabling those who do. Our wrenching abilities and know how can have a lot of impact in this way when our time and money are given to such people.

 

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Good suggestions. Skid plate for sure and I may expand the reinforced bumper to add some brush deflection.

 

The car is acquired! Just got home after nearly 5 hours of driving to retrieve the project. It's going to be some work but I'm pretty stoked about it. Low miles and drove it home about 75 miles. Runs smooth, drives straight and had good power. Held 5th gear up a 9 mile steep uphill grade of HWY 17.

 

More pics and description after I get some rest and have some daylight to work with. Spent the afternoon doing some transmission work and I'm beat.

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Here is is where we found it in Oakland. The exterior is in need of a good wash and it has a small dent on the drivers fender that should pop out. It spent some time in the midwest  and east coast. Has some rust in the rear to prove it. Illinois to Vermont to Oakland California. Soon to be driven to Miami and shipped to Haiti. This car has traveled. But it's the right motor (EJ22!) it's a 96 (Non interference!) and it's a manual (wohoo!) and to boot....

 

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Mechanically it's still a baby. Had two CEL codes. I cleared them before driving home and they have yet to resurface after 72 miles. A small bit of oil leakage at the driver's side valve cover. Maybe the O ring of the oil fill tube.

 

Back brakes are shot. I'll be grinding the rust out on the back end and painting it all over to get it ship shape.

 

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I'll be populating a shopping list soon. Big things I can think of so far will be -

 

Oil separator plate and clutch.

Rear brake rotors and pads

New (used california rust free) rear subframe etc.

 

And the fun modifications for trail worthiness and cargo carrying ability.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Given the additional load on the suspension from cargo and passengers, have you considered using King or Ironman springs? Also, I don't know if you were planning to make or buy the rear seats, but here is a place to get some ideas: http://www.littlepassengerseats.com/outback.html#.Vhe65xHBzGc and https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.577023802326404.143968.250990354929752&type=3

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Install a new knock sensor, they fail so rarely that i consider that a good $10 addition to any car you want  another quite a few reliablie miles/years out of.

Clean the idle air control mechanism.

Full size spare

Thoroughly clean and regrease with Silglyde or high end caliper grease.  The permatex and other stuff doesn't last as long and if it's been out east it's not easy on those slides out here.

 

Two parts I routinely consider - fuel pump and alternator.  They leave you stranded if they fail, OEM is really expensive, and aftermarket aren't that reliable or hard to source.

Maybe do what I did in college - send them a used alternator and fuel pump or keep them in the spare tire compartment.

Subaru had new remann'ed for that car for like $60 - $80 years ago - like a 1996 models due to a recall I think.

Now I just try to replace those items once - I installed a new OEM Subaru H6 alternator on my 2002 OBW at like 200,000 miles, but I found someone selling one cheap so I got lucky.

It's at 240,000 miles now and I want to install  a Subaru fuel pump - i'll likely get a new one ($$$$) or low mileage used unit

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  • 5 weeks later...

Shipping doesn't look like a problem. He's got a Haitian drivers license to pick up on the other side. We need the title and power of attorney on this side. Should go smooth once it's there.

 

Brainstorming and gathering parts. I plan to send spares on things such as fuel pump, sensors etc. The trick will be keeping customs from stealing stuff out of it along the way. Apparently this is standard behavior for Haitian customs. I may bolt a plate of steel or plywood over the spare tire well and put them in there.

 

We pulled out and washed the pine needles off of it today. Natalie was stateside and visited us this weekend. It was missions month at our church so she was able to lead part of our Sunday service. She got to see the "before" version of the car.

 

Next question... to beef up the rear suspension a bit, will going with 2008 Forester KYB GR2 struts on the stock outback springs give a little extra boost to the back end? Probably paired with some strut top spacers and something like a 215 70 15 or similar.

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  • 7 months later...

Started right up with a jump. One tire was half flat but I may be throwing an AT set on there anyway.

 

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Lots of leaves and dirt to clean as it sat for a few months. Gave it a wet wash and evicted an ant colony from the trunk.

 

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drivers window went down but not up. Used switch fixed that.

 

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Started taking its face off for some new armor.

 

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Bye bye plastic

 

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Test fitting so this thing can go beast over the next week. I've mostly cleared my calendar so it will be my obsession for the next 5 days.

Edited by AdventureSubaru
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Made a deal on these via craigslist last night. Full set of General Grabber AT2s in 225/70/15 for about the cost of one new one. Tires are nearly new.

 

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While out I stopped at Pick N Pull in Fremont and got a trailer hitch from a 97 Outback. Steering rack on the car was rusty and had a pretty good drip when I drove it. Found a rebuilt unit in a 98 Legacy. Remanufactured battery as well.

 

Harbor freight 4th of July sale for cutting and sanding discs for the upcoming metal work.

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Bunk bed frames cut down and welded together forming the base of the roof rack.

 

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Installed the hitch and grabbed some leftovers from the garage to put it together. Grease to keep it from sticking.

 

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BAM! It can tow now. Will be taking a trailer from Texas to Florida along the way.

 

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Pulling the timing belt for an upgrade.

 

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Crank pulley was good and rusty. Grabbed one off an EJ25 that my brother and I pulled last week.

 

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Making the swap tomorrow. Took a long while to find a shop that will mount an balance without charging an arm and a leg. Shops out here almost all want $25-$30 per tire! Not gonna pay $100+ to mount a set of tires. Found one a half hour down the road that will do it for about half that.

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Tires are mounted and look great.

 

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Test fitting the rack to know where to drill.

 

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Clutch still has not arrived but got the motor pulled today.

 

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There's usually at least one snag with every big project. Here's this one. After 3 days of soaking in PB blaster and with care backing the bolts out, 3 of the 4 power steering rack bolts snapped. I had to cut the captive nuts out with my grinder. Going to weld new nuts in and reinforce the mounts. 

 

Still to do -

 

Weld the armored bumpers and install.

Clutch install and put the motor back in

finish painting the rack and mount it.

O rings and new refrigerant

Make some killer mix CDs for a 45 hour drive.

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Here's the start to the day.

 

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Finished paint on the roof rack. Drilled mounting holes and bolted it on.

 

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Rhino Pac clutch kit finally arrived.

 

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Realized after I took the photo of the clutch disc that I had it backwards. Whoops.

 

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Clutch installed on the motor.

 

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The steering rack was the battle of the day. The front crossmember gives little room for working a grinder and fitting under with my welding helmet and such was tight. I finally took one of the steering rack brackets, threaded a bolt through a big washer and nut, welded the nut to the washer and held the bracket in place to weld the washer to the crossmember. Once the new captive nuts were tacked in, I pulled the bolts and bracket and welded in some extra material to make it structurally sound. Stronger than new now.

 

After the new mounts were made, the install went pretty smoothly. Now has a recently rebuild and (probably more importantly) California rust free.

 

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Together again. Motor is reinstalled and clutch pedal feels great. As daylight ran out I got some of the measurements and cut some material for the bumpers. Got the mechanicals 95% together in the car. Tomorrow will see some test driving and a lot of welding. Leaving tomorrow evening or Saturday morning if all goes as planned.

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WHEW! Sitting in a hotel room in Florida now.

 

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Finished up Saturday morning and hit the road. Made it to Los Angeles the first evening.

 

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Drove day 2 from 6am until after midnight. Got through Caifornia, Arizona, New Mexico and into Western Texas. I replaced o rings on the AC and recharged it before I left. A day of 110 degrees with AC on full tilt was a great stress test which is passed well

 

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Glad to have my first Culvers in a long time!

Edited by AdventureSubaru
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Start of day 3.

 

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Hills of Texas are fun!

 

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Made it to central texas where our friends live. Started packing the trailer that would be towed the second half of the country. The hope was to take as many of the donations and equipment as possible for them to save $$$ on customs. Loaded up during the afternoon

 

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Waited for papers to arrive the next morning and left. Trailer was loaded up so pace was about 50-55mph tops. Much more and the trailer had too much opportunity to cause mischief.

 

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5th day was mostly straight driving with a few stops for good food along the way. We had made it to Baton Rouge the night before. Day 5 we crossed Mississippi and Alabama and the Florida panhandle.

 

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Found a Wawa in Florida! Right next to a Culvers! Life was good!

 

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Finally rolled in this morning to leave the Subaru, trailer and paperwork with the shipping company. 6 days and over 3200 miles and it made it! We did an oil change this morning after breakfast so it's starting fresh when it gets off the ship in Haiti next week. This car has gone from Illinois, to Vermont, to Oakland to Florida and now leaves the country for much more use and adventure.

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