3eyedwagon

John, Those are two pieces of steel flatbar. Anything 1" to nearly 2" wide will work, and somewhere around a 1/4" thick would be ideal. If you have a drill, a hacksaw, and a vise; you can knock them out in twenty minutes. You just need to drill holes about 2 1/2" to 3" apart while the flatbar is still straight, and then bend it in the middle to about 15 degrees. None of this stuff is incredibly exact, so just try to get everything even. Drill the holes to the same size as the ones in the struts. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 9/16". Then install the strut turned 180 degrees around. It's simple man.

Yeah. I'm not totally bad mouthing them. They are relevant, if not only because the aftermarket made them so. But, they do have a solid motor to build from. I was just surprised by how much people had talked them up once I got mine. In stock form it was pitifully slow, and mine was supposedly one of the better years. After a lowering kit, and a bit of suspension work my S10 solidly handed my 5.0 it's ***. This despite it being about 800-1000 pounds heavier, short two cylinders-7/10 of a liter, and having leaf spring truck suspension. That 5.0 never left me walking though, and like I said; NASCAR syled smokey donuts. :grin:

He's right. LX is a interior/trim package. I had a LX 5.slow. It was a pretty sweet little car. It wasn't as fast as I'd hoped (especially off the line), but, it sure did amazing donuts on dry pavement.

I'd like to think that us up here in Washington might know just a wee bit more than you Iowans do about mold. Simple Green will be your best friend. Unless you guys have some sort of exotic "corn mold" that I'm yet to encounter; you should be able to clean it up pretty well with a bunch of Simple Green, and alot of elbow grease. I've dealt with alot of mold from cars just sitting around in the shade over the course of one of our 9 month winters, and for the most part; almost all mold is cleanable/salvage. Unless it is to the point that the mold has actually started to rot, or degrade the cloth on the seats you should be ok. The plastic parts will all clean up pretty well, just be sure to not leave too high of a concentration of Simple Green on those parts for very long. I have seen higher concentrations of the stuff distort, and even melt some plastic interior parts. It's gonna take some time, some hard work, and in the end it probably won't be like new. However, most of the cars around here have mold damage to some extent, and we still drive them!!

The "Sticky" at the top of the Offroad section will help to answer a bunch of your questions as far as tire size and all that. Depending on what you want for a lift; I would highly suggest building your own kit. You are going to have to bolt in on either way, so you may as well learn the extra bit, and do it yourself. They aren't very complicated, and theres a few people on here who would be glad to walk you through the process. All of these kits consist of simple cut up steel blocks, and a few slightly more complicated parts. If you hunt around; you can probably find someone to build you the more complicated parts for fairly cheap, and the rest is well within most peoples abilities.

EA81!!!!!!!! :lol::lol::lol::lol:

It's not the diff gear set that's different. It's the gear ratio's of 3rd, and 4th gear that are diffferent. 1982, and earlier dual ranges have lower 3rd, and 4th gears. They changed to a taller gear package in 1983. http://ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=723&highlight=ea81+dual+range+ratios

A little bit of cross bracing wouldn't be a bad idea. If they were welded together with a cross bar to make the shape of a capital H; you wouldn't have what I see as a potential problem with the pieces rotating forward or back of center. I know I've seen this problem twice already on that style of bracket. A light piece of cross bracing would eliminate this possibility, and you could even do it once you install the pieces on the car.

The frames should all be just fine. But I'd give another vote for the s10 for the frame. It's alot stronger than the competitors. Just bend over and take a look under one to see what I mean. The ranger also has a solid frame, but s10 frames will be around long after you, and I are gone. They are hell for stout.

Count me as another vote for the 4.3 powered S-10s. The 2.8 V6s are reliable, but they make about half the power of a 4.3. The Ranger is a good pickup too. I've owned both a 3.0 liter model, and a 4.0 liter. They are virtually the same. The v6 Toyota are a JOKE. That 3.0 liter made reasonable power, but go ahead and go buy ANY parts for them. There's a reason they are sitting in piles around the country, and can be found for free on Craigslist. The only thing a V6 Toyota pickup was good for is it's third memeber. If you want to pull something with a 4 cylinder Toy; you better have a bit of time on your hands. The 4.3 S-10s and all of their drivetrain components are just far superior to anything else you could buy in that price range. The 4.3 is probably easily the best v6 ever made. It has been used in everything from police cars, to mail delivery trucks, to boats, to civilian conversion vans that weigh far too much, to everyday pickups. There are even racing series designed solely around that engine. It is an amazing motor. Parts are cheap, it's easy to tune, comes in a wide variety of fuel delivery configuartions (all of which are great), and it has an excellent aftermarket following. I'm not detracting anything from the Ford or Dodge small trucks, but GM definitely handed out a whooping when they released that motor in the S10.

The one I have is an all steel hoop that bolts to the unibody, and then the rear diff. The hoop pipe stays close to the gas tank, so it would take minor modification for 8" of lift. If it could be of any help; I could get a picture for you. Otherwise I'll keep an eye out for a stocker for You.

Stay away........ that's our little stash up here!

How tall of one do you need? I have a custom one for a 6" lift. Otherwise; I'll keep an eye out.

I'm sure this will create some debate, but I'd just like to point out that the limited slip diff is really nothing to right home about. It's only so "coveted" around here because it is slightly better than the rest of what Subaru had to offer. Because of this; too many people have held it in incredibly high regard. Mix that with their scarcity, and that's how they've become "coveted" Brag about a limited slip differential in alot of other motor vehicle enthusiast circles, and prepare to be laughed at. They are best suited for RallyX, and that's about it. Some wheelers may object, but only the ones who have them in their cars. Or those who are wanting to sell you one.

Is it hard wire, or inner shield wire??? I'm just trying to figure out what exact setup that is. Looks like dual shield to me.

It could also be the fact that the TV show is highly sponsored by the companies producing the products they are endorsing?!?!?! I bet once the real owner gets their project truck; all that crap is stripped out, and done correctly. That is, if it isn't Line-X that they've just told you is Duplicolor. I've used both the Herculiner, and the Duplicolor. I got KILLER deals on both products when I worked at an autoparts store. I thought I'd be saving the money of getting Line-X job done. In the end; I wasted a whole F'n bunch of my time. I'm a pretty meticulous person, and I know all about prep work. I used both of these products on truck beds, as well the trunk of a car. Both of them sucked, and looked like crap within a year. The Duplicolor ended up flaking off the inside of the trunk, leaving me with a big mess to clean up before spending the money to get it done right. These kits are cheap for a reason. They are an inexpensive fix to a problem that requires good quality materials. If this is a vehicle you are serious about having for the long term; buck up, and do it right.

You need to make a total of 4 of the blocks on the upper part of this diagram. You will need 2 of these blocks for the driver's side, and you will need 2 of these blocks for the passenger side. You then need to make 2 of the blocks from the lower part of this diagram. You need 1 of those blocks for the driver's side, and you need 1 for the passenger side. These blocks are for the front (as in front of the car, closer to the radiator than the other two mounting points) mounting point for each strut because the other design of block will not fit in between the strut, and the body.

If you read those instructions carefully you will see that it is to make 6 blocks. 3 for each side.

You will also need to figure something out for the power steering if you have it currently, and want to keep it.

Make the drop blocks like the ones in the diagram on page 1. That should fix your problem.

Is that all dual shield?

I believe some people in my area would call that a "menagerie" of some sorts. It is definitely interesting. And it would look way cooler with a surfboard on top!

My Miller Trailblazer 302 has helped me get a few rigs home that otherwise would've needed a rollback. It's a whole different story as far as a "portable" welder gos. It is in fact portable, you just need the truck that will carry it. I don't see much room for portable welders in the Subaru wheeling world. They weigh far more than is justifiable, and if people really start tearing up that much stuff on a Subaru, on the trails I see them on; they are probably doing something wrong, and no welders gonna help them!

Seems like this would've been a little bit more valuable post while the auction was still actually going on. Not once it was over.

If you have an idea in your mind, like it sounds like you do; I would advise you to go for it. Anything else will just be settling, and the projects that people settle for rarely end up being magnificent, or even finished. It sounds to me like you sorta already answered your own question. If you think you can do something, and do it well; push the envelope just a little further than what you have in mind, and in the end you should be happy. It never hurts to push your limits, and it's even more rare that following your guts is a bad decision. It sounds to me like you are ready to put the time, and effort in to something that serious. Good luck in whatever you decide.