BlackBoot

I knew the coupes were rare, but how many were made, and are still out there? I heard somewhere only 2600 rx, were ever made?

I was thinking of removing the back hatch, and having a fabric cover made, Kinda looks like a brat with the hatch off. Removing the weight of the glass, and avoid breaking it, because it will be hella difficult finding a replacement. But this car is complete, and very clean, so I am thinking of just keeping it close to stock and getting collector plates, that will get some strange looks at the classic car meets. But If I'm going to restore this car, it needs sexy wheels. And I do have a 92 spfi wagon, I can put my DR in that.

Thanks Scott. I know the cross tube has been replaced, It would be nice if it's a 4wd. Have to crawl under for a look, dang this thing is low compared to a wagon. Also, are the front axles the same on a fwd or awd? The yard seems to charge more? Is the carb different on a fwd? Basicaly, what is different about this fwd carb 5 spd coupe, from the common awd wagon. This car is eligible for collector status and plates, here in British Columbia, also considering restoring to all OEM era correct and applying for collector plates? Wheeler vs. collector Any thoughts?

Here is what I'm Starting with. Only 130,000 KM (80,000 Mi) parked indoors, everything working and complete, tick of death, needs an axle and the steering dust boots are torn. this car has seen a lot of speed bumps and road debris. Bought from the original owner, only locally driven ect. The owner warned me about taking it on the highway, hadn't been in years he said. so carbonized. And now, after.. drove hard on highway, tick got louder. put half can seafoam in oil, half in 1/4 tank gas, drove for a day, drained and fresh oil and filter 10w30. Italian tune up, ? it worked !! ? drove at 4000 rpm in 4th gear, for 15 minutes. No tick! Front wheel drive, carb. I have a dual range trans and diff with moustache bar in storage, what other parts and mods am I looking for? other than the lift components I am familiar with.

here it is, upside down? whatever

But now I don't want to chop and buggy build this one, too good condition and low miles. I could even apply for collector plates, it over 25 years old, and If it's kept all original. So the wagon will end up being the buggy, or if I get a legacy.

Looking at the coupe I just bought, $300. Just taking the rear hatch off, it resembles a brat.

So I'm picking up an 86 GL 3 door coupe this week, It's FWD, I have a dual range and diff, and can get the rest of the driveline from the wrecker. But what bolts on and what does not? Do I have to fabricate anything?

There are lots of pre cut and bent cage kits for impreza, with all sorts of options. I think it would be worth the investment to get all the bent pieces, and fab the easy pieces? Approved cage parts, takes the guesswork out of engineering this project safely. Also saves time, instead of messing about with difficult bends and no pattern to work off, but i'm sure there are some free impreza cage plans out there somewhere?

http://www.clubgti.com/showthread.php?202315-Roll-cage-tube-specification-thread-MSA-amp-FIA-info This Impreza roll cage looks like a pretty good start for a buggy, along with a very cut down donor car

Here's a link to crawlers using these for exactly this! http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/techarticles/wheels/131_0707_cutting_brakes/photo_08.html And they are installed at the wheel.

This one from offroadingsubarus.com is cool, Like a legacy turned into a brat, http://offroadingsubarus.com/images/new_bratlifted.jpg

This is my idea.

How many brake lines are on the loyale? From under the hood that is, to the rear wheels?

Legacy is available and affordable, but the forester or outback parts are going on anyway, This is where "economy of effort" comes in. Start with the vehicle with most of the desired parts, think or what your time and effort is worth swapping and altering to fit, also paying for each part or group of parts. Donor car is the way to go, get the whole car for $500 Parts individually would come to way more. The base legacy is fine to start, but in the end I think it's better to pay a bit more and get the car that has the suspension your going to get anyway, already on, and working. I'm a renovation contractor by trade, old stuff always has expensive surprises.

I like the small platform the loyale provides, I can get down quad trails, and daily drive. I' d like to see more people out wheelin' and I thought I'd bring it up here, and try to find the most economical, economy of effort and capability in one package. I have 2 paths on this, one completly stripped buggy, and one saftey/road/emissions legal and daily driver capable, possibly pickup conversion? My main goal? Cheap, easy, legal and daily. I was introduced to the subaru Loyale through research, I was looking for a vehicle with comparable capabilities to the vehicle I drove on 3 overseas tours with the army. Volkwagen Iltis The Iltis was 15 years + in service when I joined, drove the hell out of those, they were retired 5 years ago,and now they go for at least $10,000 surplus beat to hell, I would never buy one for that price, I was the guy who beat em up. Enter subaru...

I'm up for it! I have lots of time but low on cash, started my own business this year. Lack of cash it a creativity motivatior. I assume that a forester or outback is ideal to start with?

Locking brakes off also, cool. So where to place the valves, can they be put into the joint between the steel lines and the rubberlines near each wheel? Or can they be under the hood? Are all 4 lines accesable under the hood? Fittings or adaptor types and size? So at each wheel if sufficiently placed and protected? Or under the hood? For the switches I'd like; lock On, lock Off and momentary 5 to 10 second on or off.

I've also learned that hot rodders have retrofit ABS and traction control, into early model vehicles. It would be quite simple to get an ABS unit from the wrecker, and control the solenoids directly without a computer controller. The abs pump would also alow push button wheel lock without pushing the brake pedal.

I found a couple of racing line lockers that are low cost $40 each. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-760002/ With one for each rear wheel, wiring fittings and switches, it will come in under $100 installed.

Going back to my original post, Re: offset rear crossmember lift blocks, To move the wheel center to the rear, and move the tire away from the rear door, to not have to cut as much, or not at all? How much can the axles take? This is without extending the driveline, just an inch or two back, if the blocks are going in anyway then why not? Also the mount for the diff to the cross member modifyed to match

Another approach I have thought of. The loyale frame is desireable for the weight and the dual range, and legacy for the power. Loyales are harder to find in BC, and importing anything from out of country or ever out of province is a PITA. Legacy is readily available. What if the legacy was stripped chopped enough to bring the weight down? Then resemble the ea body buggy. And swapping a dual range into a legacy seems easier than swapping an EJ into a loyale, and lug conversion, misc. retrofitting and wiring.

Master saftey switch and indicator lights, absolutely. I wonder if there valves are available with pressure settings or of some other valve or combo that could do this. This is somewhat just like a set of selectable hill holders for each brake line. Where to install the valves? Up front, or at each wheel? Would it be possible to swap them in place of the hill holder valve? If I can source the parts cheap enough, I'd like to try it out, just the rear at first, then maybe the front later if sucsessful or required.

I just need something for when I'm on a badly washed out trail, with oppset corners hanging in air spinning, instead of coasting backwards down and trying another run at it. Or getting high centered on compacted snow, cause I got no lift, yet.. Just need to transfer power to the other wheel for a moment, just to get rolling. I had suggested having a timed switch to engage the individual wheel lock momentarily to reduce the safety issue that dragging could cause and forgetting it on and damage related to that. It won't be that critical if the locked wheel drags a bit, if it gets me out in tight spots. I never intended this idea to be used in any other situation, like on road or at any speed, not meant as a replacement for LSD or anything else but an alternative for a specific use. Cheap simple push button manually selective brake lock.

Very much like what I would like to build, i like the Idea of the buggy chop, there are some pics of a loyale wagon converted into a truck box in the rear out there. I'm thinking somthing in the middle. I like the angle brace taking the load from the cut away C pillar, to the B pillar, I thought of that too? I want to cut out the roof too and need support to keep it from folding up like a suitcase if all the doors are opened at once! Lol I'd keep the bit of roof between the B pillars side to side and the top of the door openings from the A to the B pillars, and then have the braces come down from the top of the b pillar to where the c pillar was, weld the rear doors shut and shave the handles. Shorten the rear and just move the bumper and tail lights back, no tailgate, and hack some sort of poly bed liner to fit, add other roll support where needed. I think this would suit my purposes and budget better than a subframe to get the support I'm looking for.