The Beast I Drive

Check all the hoses for the fuel sytem (pressure line from pump to carb, return line, vent line) for any damage or signs of a leak. Is the fuel pump stock or a stock replacement? If it's not, check it to make sure it's not putting out more than 5 psi. Check the gaskets at the base of the carb, and look over the carb real good. It could be that the vent line or return line is clogged or plugged off, causing pressure to build in the gas tank and pressurizing the lines in the engine bay, I've had problems kinda like this on a couple cars I did Weber swaps on and it was because I capped the fuel vent line... -Bill

Im interested... Im sure some kind of arrangement can be arranged -Bill

Actually, it wasnt... I can't recall who it was by ATM, but I am certain the one I came across was not Brian's. However, had it not been for Brian, I would never have had the initiative to try it I saw him mod a pair in person at his house one of the times I visited... I have a part number around here somewhere... -Bill

Here's a cheap and super easy mod I did to my 87 GL. Stock, the windshield washer tank is in the passenger front fender, right behind the turn signal. This is fine for most everyone, but with large tires sometimes they will rub on this container, and (as I have discovered) the fluid can freeze in the winter if you don't use anti-freezing wiper fluid. My solution to get it out of harm's way was to install a wiper fluid container from an EA81 bodystyle car (80-84 Wagon, Sedan, Coupe, 80-89 Hatchback, 82-87 Brat) which mounts to the passenger side inner fender. This way, it can't be punctured by anything off-road, and my Windex (streak free shine FTW) won't freeze next time I drive over the pass in the dead of winter. What you will need: -Wiper fluid container from an EA81 body car -The bracket it mounts to and the 2 bolts -about 10" of red and black small guage (12 or 14) wire Here's the best part: The mounting holes with weld nuts are already there on the passenger side strut tower, like it was made for it! You simply bolt the bracket to the strut tower, slip the container onto the bracker, hook up the wiper squirter hose, and extend the 2 wires to the fluid pump. Then remove the old container and toss it! Here's the bracket mounted to the existing mounting points on the passenger side strut tower: And here's the tank mounted. Note the extension harness I made to go from the stock EA82 wiring to the EA81 washer fluid pump, it's about 10" long. This mod will work on stock or lifted rigs, EJ swaps, EA81 swaps, power steering, and you can still keep the spare under the hood if you want. -Bill

I will post details on the Superbeetle struts when I get around to that part, but there is a couple threads with some info on them here somewhere, I ran across one inadvertently just a few days ago, but cannot remember where or how I came to find it... -Bill

EA81 strut towers dont have the same clearance inside them that the EA82's do. Bashing is required on EA81 lift installs. -Bill

Im glad to hear it passed smog, Im ready to see some pics of it off-road! -Bill

Read the FAQ and search the off-road section. 2" strut lift is not advised on ea81's, you are advised to use 2" blocks on the body as well or you will more likely than not be replacing front axles every month. -Bill

Upon doing some research, it turns out the Isuzu Rodeo axle is a Dana 44 1.31" diameter 30-spline axle shafts, and lockers from several manufacturers are readily available! -Bill

I really considered the T-case Rob, but Im interested in trying this out first, and if I dont like it, it wont be hard at all to add the T-case, all the rear work will be done already. To be honest, with no glas stubs to break I wont have to watch the gas as much, and with the more powerful engine and an XT6 clutch and flywheel, and the 4.11 gears it will be a HUGE improvement over what it is now. Ive wheeled this rig a lot, and it does really good with what it has, so this will only make it better... Even if its not a leap, its still a step forward... Oh and this is what I have for a skid plate and exhaust right now, and it's taken some serious abuse on some nasty rocks and still going strong, I might fab up something that looks a little better though, this one was just a quick hack job. -Bill

Looks like its gonna be a sweet rig once it's ready to wheel again, Im just getting into my Toyota, there's a ton I want to do to it, but it all costs money... Gotta say even with stock gears, stock motor, and just 32" tires and a 3" lift, my Yota constantly embarasses the Beast, but it IS a straight-axle Toyota... -Bill

Well, Ive been tinkering around with this idea for a while now, but I put it off because I wanted to do all I could with the independent rear suspension my 87 GL wagon came with. Well, with a welded rear, 8" of lift in the back, and 31" tires, it likes to eat those glass stubs these old rigs have. Also, flex is severely limited by the short travel of the shocks and the angles at which the axles can safely run. So its time for the IRS to go. For those of you who dont know my rig, here it is as of today: A couple weeks ago I got a hot deal on a rear axle from an Isuzu Rodeo, like a 97 or something. Disc Brakes, 4.10 gears, and beefy looking construction, I think this will do quite well. looks to be about the right width too. I just need to change the brake lines to work with the Subaru setup, cut off the spring under perches, and weld on some brackets for my 4-link and rear coilovers. Then Today, These beauties came..... These are Heim joints I bought from Speedway Motors, they are used on competition rock crawlers and high-HP racing applications. They are ************ing huge, and flex to some mad extreme angle. I bought 4 right hands, and 4 left hands so I can have alignment adjustment in the rear. Just an idea of how big these are, here's one next to a joint I bought for the Turd wagon. The small joint has a 3/4" shank and hole. Yeah, overkill, but it's my style So now I just need to get some LH and RH 1" jam nuts, about 30' of 1.25" .120 DOM tubing, some long travel rear coilovers, and I can get the axle mounted to the car. Then I will need to modify the Isuzu driveline, build my 4.11 AWD D/R trans, and re-build the front half of my lift to incorporate a new front suspension using modified VW Superbeetle struts and new custom lower control arms, and more lift. I will also be building a sort of sub frame to connect the front lift to the rear mounting points on the body, for the 4 link to bolt to. The Superbeetle struts will give me an extra 2-4" of suspension travel in the front, IIRC. Also will be dropping in a Hi-Po EA81 that I am getting in trade for a Hatch (I hope ) With all this, The Beast should be *almost* as capable as a stock/slightly lifted 1990's Toyota pick up with IFS. I might have a gear shop make me a custom set of 3:1 Low range gears, and modify the body of the trans to acomodate these, but not any time soon More updates as parts are acquired! -Bill

The engine stamp on the ea63 and older motors is on the back of the block near the oil filler tube. Also the intake will have almost no vacuum hoses or emissions control equipment, and typically will have a single barel carb. -Bill

Sweet, sounds good to me -Bill

RWD Brats are fun to drive I couldnt help but break the rear end loose on every turn when I had my black Brat in RWD for a couple months... It was a blast -Bill

Easiest thing to do is make a bracket that adapts the late ea82 rear coilovers to the stock shock mount, then disable the torsion bar. Fitting the entire rear assembly from a ea82 car can be done, but only If you plan to lift it and make adapter blocks, or do some custom fab work to reconfigure the mounts either on the body of your car or on the ea82 subframe. -Bill

Bighorns FTW Run them on my Brat, the Beast and my Yota, they rock! Nice rig -Bill

If it comes down to needing storage space, I have that kind of space..... I just dont have much cash to drop on this, or I would be all in. I could put up $500 and store the parts, with free access to the parts for anyone else who pitches in... -Bill

Im fully in, might be bringing a buddy and his truck too... -Bill

I dont know exactly, but IMO it was because the tranny wasnt designed to be used behind a 230hp motor and pull around a car that weighed 50% more than a fully optioned Legacy... Just overworked the trans. The solution seems to be to add an auxiliary tranny fluid cooler in front of the radiator, and keep up on the fluid and filter changes. A lot of folks who have done that have kept their stock trannies alive. -Bill

Toppenish, Washington -Bill

a couple more, still have about 10 videos to load :-\ stupid Clearwire internet speeds FTMFL. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QSlnRNTdfk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5I6wPOgjUc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3wBfnWxXKo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmCVml9PBYc -Bill

Both the 2 1/2 ton and 3 ton versions they sell at harbor frieght have proven to be amazingly durable and versatile for me, we have 2 of each, and both sizes have enough lift to get the Beast off the ground jacking from the rear diff, and I have 31" tires plus an extra 2" suspension lift in the back I dont recall what we paid for them, but it couldnt have been much, they arent the fancy quick-lift aluminum ones, just the orange heavy steel ones... -Bill

With the EG33 and your stock 5 speed, in mud with bigger than stock tires, you will destroy the tranny very quickly... Since you are considering an Auto, I would get one from a 96-99 Outback (4.444 gears). The main problem the SVX's had was... Blown auto trannies so get a tranny cooler and keep up on the maintenence with that setup and you should be ok. You would need the TCU from the Outback, and there are 2 write-ups on the board about modding the ROM or whatever to set up paddle shifters and custom shift modes, if you want to get into that stuff.. Mount all the electronics to a bracket on the headliner so it stays out of harms way, and you should be good. The EG33 will bolt up to any 4EAT auto. -Bill

A couple more vids, still a lot more to come... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7vd8dVAq-Q http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io81jrzjMO8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7gLf2LCVow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8va2r3-uLis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qYalsFP-HI -Bill