4x4_Welder

Does anybody carry these any more? Just took a look under my Hatch, and the bushing's gone, flange hitting the underbody and all. How about alternatives, like leaf spring bushings? Or maybe fill it in with RTV, or even make a solid aluminum mount? I don't care if it winds up being pretty solid, the car isn't exactly a luxury ride.

As soon as I get the new rear suspension assembly installed, I'm going to mount up some older snow tires on the Hatch- 7.75x14 bias plys. These things have a wicked beefy tread, looks almost like the old Gumbo Mudders. 26" overall, they will just barely fit on the car mounted on Pug alloys. I'll provide some pics once I get them on.

Along the lines of what my Hatch is getting, but the markings and wheels are going to be flat black. It looks nice, I have always loved the look of a true flat OD Green. So many of the rattle cans have a bit of a shimmer to them, but that stuff seems to lay on there really nice.

I have seen this Brat twice this past week, on Werner. I alwyas just catch a glimpse of it. Pug alloys, red and black, lifted.

Haven't seen that one- I do have a silver hatch, but no lift, no tint, no stickers. Massively dented rear bumper, rust, mismatched wheels.

Pull the t-stat and the lower radiator hose, stick a garden hose in the t-stat hole, and let the water flow. Watch the water coming out for chunks.

Ben's avatar = At any rate, I would definetely go with a water- cooled turbo, they last a lot longer and don't coke up so bad as air/oil cooled units. Run an intercooler for sure, and keep it around 6psi. Run Subaru head gaskets, torqued to spec (don't overtorque, that can warp the heads and cause premature failure), and run a two row radiator with a high capacity water pump. Maybe a 180º t-stat, water wetter in the cooling system to help it work more effectively, and keep everything clean and in good shape. I would also run a diesel-rated oil in it, to control blow-by past the rings, provide the zinc additive that these engines need, and stand up to the heat in the turbo. A properly set up turbo with an intercooler will provide a much cooler charge than a supercharger, plus it has the advantage of fuel economy. A supercharger is always there, always blowing the air whether boost is needed or not. The turbo, though, responds to the demand of the engine, so when you're just cruising around, it's not giving boost until needed, saving you gas.

The pickup and ignition module/ ignitor are not the same thing. The hall effect switch is the pickup, which signals the ignitor to fire the coil. One the EA81 and EA82 Subs, they are both contained in one unit under the cap.

That, exactly. Those wheels would absolutely rock with polished faces and black painted reliefs. Especially with the white car offsetting them. Maybe some nice white letter tires, and you wind up with an absolutely timeless classic of a car.

Also could be the timing is set way too far forward, and the starter is working against the spark to get the engine moving.

Run a box with the straightaxle, you'll never be able to get a rack to actuate the steering right and the car will be a danger on the road or trail. Unless, of course, you mount the rack on the axle, and use a really long slip joint to attach to the steering column..........

.035" isn't that much, really. You can get spacer shims in that size from most machine shops. If you are concerned about protecting the bores, you can mic out the bores, and get spacers that size or a couple thousandths under, so the don't have any room to move around. I'm keeping the solid lifters in mine, but there isn't any difference on the base circle, so just dial in the valve asjusters, and it'll be good to go.

Finally heard back from them on the EA81 cam, and their price isn't bad- $50 for a 250 duration cam and solid lifters. I didn't price out hydro lifters, both my current engine and the engine I am going to build are solid lifters, so no need there.

If you just want to go the Uber-redneck way, double up on the Swampers. I saw a guy at a mudrun in Portland a few years back with an 84 Wagon set up like that. Of course, there was also the guy with the pizza cutter tractor tires and a stack out the hood too- The bigger the void, the more self-cleaning ability the tire has. The downside is that the more lugs, the more biting surface the tire has to propel the vehicle forward. Tractors have fewer big lugs since they can't rely on wheel speed to clean the tread out. On a car, especially in greasy mud, tractor-tread patterns are a disadvantage, limiting the forward propulsion the tires can give. A tire like a Swamper, when spun, will clean out, and present more biting edges to the mud. BTW, my old Wagon weighed in at 1750 by itself, my Hatch only weighs 1440 by itself. With a full tank of gas.

Actually, works great with an auto. I have also used a light application of the service brakes along with feathering the gas to get unstuck, but that was in snow with ice underneath.

I almost forgot- National Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Oh yeah, I've used plenty of arbor presses, usually to broach splines though. I really prefer a hydraulic press for stuff like this though, much more versatile. I still need to get one, though, it's in the shop budget, but I just need to work on the income side of the budget.

Why not ditch the doors? Do up some nice lightweight tube doors, keep the real ones in your garage until the winter. Should help you drop about 100lbs altogether, or just wear your belt and ditch the doors completely for the summer, you'd drop about 175lbs that way.

I wouldn't do it on a FWD car, if it was RWD then maybe, since you can correct a loss of traction/slide a lot easier. Disconnecting the driveshaft wouldn't have any effect, since the axle is still locked, and the wheels are still trying to turn the same speed all the time. I'd do it for a dedicated trail rig, but not something that would go on the street.

I think on the EA-82, they have to do that due to space limitations in the cam case area.

Yeah, I was figuring I'd have to go with Delta. It's not bad, they are close to me, and I have a Delta regrind in my truck, with good results. A quick search around Summit showed nada for any Subaru cams. I have built up parts before with a stellite torch, but if you just spray a cam all the way around, there is effectively no increase in lift, but a very slight increase in duration. I have also played with custom ground cams in Ford 300-6 engines, one I had a shop take almost 1/10" off the base circle to increase the lift. It worked, but wore out quickly because they didn't harden it.

Do both of them at the same time, just because only one failed doesn't mean the other is ok.

Not bad- Whereabouts in Shelton are you?

What kind of cam options are available for EA81s? Or are Delta regrinds the only option?

Even driving known vehicles long distances can get stressful. Glad it worked out for you.