Uberoo

I hung the rest of the sheetmetal to get an idea of where I should put the bumper.

Short answer, dont crash. safest would be the imp,then the 89,then the 79.

WEIGHT REDUCTION!!!!! As I said earlier this thread is all about weight reduction,and here is the first mod. I cut off the front end of the brat after the strut tower and the engine cross member for a weight reduction of 34 lbs.However, I am tubing the front end and incorporating the front bumper as a structural member.So after I build the necessary reinforcements and mounting points it will probably weigh the same or slightly more than before,but way less adding the front bumper as a structural member without cutting the sheet metal away.Here is a pic with the fenders hanging on the car.Now I just need to find a more structurally sound left front fender. The bumper and the mounting bar will be removable so engine work will be a breeze...

After some google-fu I discovered that smart car steering racks are only about 15.75 from pivot to pivot which is about perfect.Now to find one..

I want to wheel,but I also know that once its together in any form, is rare that I will change anything.I'll get to the tie rod pivots when I get there.

Its a work in progress. here is an older pic but not much has changed other than a few small details.

So I had an assistant help me today,and the front diff/engine/and transmission can fit in a 78 brat with 6" of lift.JUST.I need to beat back the transmission tunnel to make the DR5 speed fit.Just so that the transmission and the front diff don't rub I will grind the top of the diff,and shave off alittle bit of the transmission drain plug-no reason for the drain head to be 1/2" thick when 1/4" will be fine.With the front diff mocked up ,I also was able to mark exactly where the control arm pivots need to be moved inward to minimize axle plunge and maximize travel-A whopping 4.5" per side instead of my original guess of 2" per side.It will end up with ea81 control arms that are longer than ea82. Long travel without added width.. does anyone happen to know the angle of the EA motor mounts and the EJ mounts?

Its a brat shape object in my garage with 7/6" lift and ea81 suspension.

"T caseing" refers to driving a divorced transfer case with the rear output of the transmission.Then a rear diff is added under the transmission to drive the front wheels.Driving it is exactly like drive a normal truck- rwd,4hi,and 4low.If you T case the vehicle after the factory dual range box you have even more gearing options-like super duper lo-lo.Also because the final drive ratio isn't determined by the transmission anymore you can now change the gear ratios for bigger tires... The hatch in my sig ran an ej22 with a 5 speed dual range transmission into a nissan 720 transfer case.The front and rear diffs were 4.111 diffs and it had no problems spinning the 31x10.50's. With the DR transmission I had hi and lo gears so I could have: rwd,4hi,4low,low rwd,lo 4hi,and 4 low low. In high range it was a little under powered on take off but it still could motivate the tires pretty good,but low-low was slower than walking at idle.

Thoughts like that keep me up at night.So at midnight,in my fluffy bunny slippers(JK) I lifted the engine up 6" and put a rear diff in its proper place.According to my sleep deprived maths "IT COULD WORK!!!"The transmission tunnel would require an extra special touch with my 10lb hammer, or I could section it upwards... I need to find an assistant to help me stuff the engine/transmission and front diff in where it goes to physically check clearances,but maybe I could have long travel suspension,and gearing, in a very light subaru... but more than that I need to go to bed.

So, um, about that update,um, work got in the way, along with a serving of life. Ive been remarkably busy so I haven't had a chance to get much done. Ive been fabricating a bumper,but its not for my car,Ive been working almost every day for the past couple weeks fabricating stuff.At the end of the day I'm so tired I take a shower and crash in my bed. No one that looks at this cares about any of that,So time for the subaru update.update. Ive finally managed to clearance enough of the frame rails and my lift/adapter blocks to get the engine to sit down into its mounts.The blocks still need some clearancing to clear the moving engine but its in there.For Now..With the engine down in the engine bay as far as it is, I'm undecided if I want to just transfer case it and get it over with.I have everything I would need except a 4.111 rear diff.I have a sammy and a nissan case out back by the fence... anyway, here is the engine WAY DOWN in the engine bay. Just how far is WAY DOWN in the engine bay?The cam pulleys are the same height as the radiator crossmember. (the engine is tilted because its not quite centered,the driver side lift block needs some more clearancing. Here is a shot of the valve covers peaking through what was once 1/4" steel...not the obscenely low oil pan. Maybe I should just T case it,It has a 6" crossmember lift, and a 7" strut lift.If I did some work on the oil pan it could certainly clear the diff.Or I could set the engine up slightly higher than stock and still fit under the hood...Decisions,decisions...31" super swampers arn't that much more expensive than 29" super swampers...

The forester needs new shoes.Badly.Although, it was mildly entertaining watching it slide sideways..

Ive gotten tires for free.Remember, *BIG* tires on subarus are the stock tire size on other 4x4s. You can find nice tires that people are giving away after lifting there vehicles or what not. Still, for what its worth,the tires that are going on my 78 brat are gonna be BRAND NEW super swampers...bald or worn out all terrains suck in the mud.The wheelspin to momentum ratio is a bit lacking.

Brats and old subarus typically arn't expensive to buy or maintain, but what will get you is when another old subaru follows you home.It looks so sad so you feed it and water it,etc then before you know it you have a fleet of them.

I don't typically work on my engine at night except if something goes snafu,so I haven't installed a hood light.If I wanted to however I would go to a junkyard and get one of the factory installed lights off any car.It wont cost much and you can get the light,wiring,and the hood sensor in one place.My 89 dodge had a factory one with a 20ft spool of wire so you could take it with you. I'm sure if I ever took the time to clean the wires and the contacts it would work great,but the few times I opened the hood at night I just used a cheap flashlight or my phone.

I have a gen 1 brat topper in good shape.Its just sitting in the back of my dodge taking up space. If you want it come and get it.I would rather give to someone who will use it than just drop it off at the dump.I'm in Lewiston, Idaho,but if you pay the fuel I can deliver within 100 miles. PM me.

Any subaru can do what is on your list.What is so special about the 03-04 outback?

the timing covers are a sensitive issue with your interference engine. 99% of the time,any debris in the belts will just be kicked back out, but that 1% and it throws the belt...On early ej22's just put the belt back on and you good to go,your engine though might damage itself..

There is but its better not to run it,because all it will do is stop the mud/water from draining back out.Next time if your clutch starts slipping open the top rubber clutch cover and spray some water down into the clutch with a hose while the engine is running. Depending on how much is in there even a 20 oz bottle of water might do the trick. Speaking of that cover if you still have one it bolts onto the bottom of the engine with two 10 mm bolts.The factory piece is a thin piece of stamped steel with no o ring or gaskets...at least my phase 1 ej22 is that way,but subaru may have put the cover on the transmission in later years. In fact I usually remove most of the covers the car came with from the factory for offroad: remove timing belt covers because they let water/mud/coolant/oil in but don't let it escape so your timing belt swims through that crap,drastically shortening its life. With an interference engine I might just notch the bottom of the covers to let them drain...better yet would be to make some covers out of fine expanded metal mesh to keep debris out of the belt, but it would easily drain and you could instantly see if the engine was starting to leak oil or coolant. Bottom clutch cover for the reasons above. Backing plates for disk brakes because they are very good at holding rocks/debris and scoring the hell out of the rotors... mudflaps end up getting torn or ripped off anyway...

sand, gravel,etc.It doesn't rust out cars but expect to replace a windshield every once in a while..People with money replace them every year,but I have never had a car without a cracked windshield so it doesn't bother me.Officer friendly might tell you to replace the windshield,but unless he is paying for it,not happening.

Maybe petition the local morons ,err incompetent jerks,err elected officials to stop salting the roads and find something else that isnt as destructive to cars and the environment...

What is your intended purpose of the car?There is a difference between rallying and offroading. Rally is driving as fast as possible on narrow roads in the middle of nowhere,sanctioned or otherwise. Offroading is going slow(ish) over boulders,streams,logs,etc...The two worlds are mutually exclusive.For instance,because rallying is done at higher speeds on significantly better roads the suspension is firmer and has less travel than an off road suspension.Also what is your subaru?there are many different subarus stretching back along time.The subaru in my sig is an 81 hatch with significant mods,while Prwa101's is a much newer,but still old forester.

and people say that long travel ifs doesn't help offroad...The long travel subi kicked a55 off road,it certainly seemed to go through that snow better than the stock subaru,and a hell of a lot better than the bronco.. ALSO: you might be able to keep the skidplate from bending if you make some bolt on supports from the crossmember.The skidplate right now is like 1/2 of a truss,lots of bracing on one side,but nothing holding those braces up.

I would just be happy if I could afford one,but those closest im gonna come come to owning a rwd boxer powered car would be if I can finally swap in a EJ22 into a rx7.Just life has changed and I will now be selling the rx7 soon because we are gonna be moving.

Remaned axles are crap. You're best option is to find a good stock axle from the junkyard and repack it full of grease.