Mike W

Sad to say, but a search of You Tube turned up more offroad videos of Syncros than of Subarus. Dang hippy buses are fairly capable rigs. Shows what diff locks can do for ya. Too bad they're expensive and sort of rare. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf_JiYYDWOE&mode=related&search=

That dual engine contraption could almost work if you cut the car/brat in half and connected the two ends with a pivot. That'd be some wierd doings.

Happy Birthday Eric and Rob! Hey thanks for the invite but I can't make it. Beth is in the hospital again-not good. Anyways hope the party/housewarmer is a blast! -Mike W

I was just thinking that a kit where the tubes are bent and maybe some joints welded, but still still shippable sized pieces. A lot guys have welders and some skills these days. But even a basic bender and skill use it...not so common. A weld it yourself kit for under a grand would be cool. I mentioned the Legacy/Impreza platform because that opens the door for WRX axles and bigger tires & transfercase.

Hey thanks for the pics! That is nice work and I like the way they did things. Throw one of those on a trailer and bring it out West for the Show. And start taking orders! Any plans for a shippable kit? I bet there's a US market for that, especially if it was as affordable as some of those sandrail frames I've seen. Hmmm, wonder what they'd build using Legacy/Impreza drivetrain and suspension parts?

I meant even more pics please. Ya' know like more of the underside, the inside, what's under the skin panels, etc. Just so we can see how he did stuff. A turbo crossover pipe would help eliminate those vulnerable y-pipes. Other than that I like what I can see.

Nice tubes. More pics please. Transfer case?

I did a google image search for "subaru 6x6" and this lame image came up. Can't say I ever would have thought of a Suba-Limo. If that was a pop top tent I guess it could be an RV. http://image.blog.livedoor.jp/khplanning/imgs/4/e/4effe677.jpg

A few years ago aomewhere down by Olympia I saw a Mog towing a monster fully exo-caged rock crawler Unimog. Seems like it was all painted up with Red Bull graphics if I remember right. While watching those truck trials, I found a bunch videos of this 6x6 mini van on blubber tires Also more kinda cool articmobiles at http://www.litvina.com/ I searched for Subaru 6X6 and didn't any but there was a Renault 6x6. Can't believe no ones has been sick/bored/drunk enough to build a Subaru 6x6!

Well now that I've wasted nearly an hour watching a bunch of those truck trial videos! It maybe be off topic, but thanks! That was better than watching Paris-Dakar. From what I could tell those Tatra trucks are Czech made. That's some seriously beefy independant suspension and supersized everything. Offroading must be big in the Czech Republic. Any of you guys remember seeing that Czech built offroad racing mutant Subaru Hatchback with WRX powertrain? I posted links a few years ago. That was cooling seeing it win against burly 4x4's. There, now this thread is "on topic".

Did you guys see this one? It has a lot of the same footage, but with added spectator "faces of death." Hardcore Crash Compilation Vol. 2 Rally Special Brutal viewing...people definitely having a very bad day.

Hey uh, regarding the lower strut mount extension concept... While prowling PullaPart a while back, I'd swear I spotted that same style of lower strut mount on some other make of vehicle. If that were the case, there's a chance that some other strut might give the desired lift, more travel, and/or better tire clearance. Anyone explore that avenue?

Non-stick cooking spray (like "Pam") from the dollar store sure makes clean up alot easier. Mud just falls off on the trail and the rest hoses right off.

I'm a Seattle guy, but I used to like playing up in them thar hills. Mountain biking, fly fishin', just drivin' around...it's all good especially in the spring time. A nice sunday drive with the lady is Swauk pass to Mission Ridge then down to Wenatchee. More offroadsy, those canyons north of Eburg and up to Colockum Pass. Seems like Cook canyon was about the only one open most of the time. There was other roads roads up canyons but the gates were usually closed. South of Eburg, I've had some fun adventure drives up Umtanum Ridge. This time of year, if the snow is melted, there should be lots of flowers and good views. My Bro' was over there today in fact, hiking Umtanum Canyon. Very popular hike these days.

And the wheels? What's the offset?

Searching you tube for "rally crash" turns up lots of brutality and violence. I liked this one. Lots of reminders about where NOT to stand if you're a spectator.

Anyone else notice these Harbor Freight HID offroad lights in the latest catalog? -edit- Hey nevermind... I didn't notice that the price is per lamp not per pair. And even if it was $120 for a pair of these china made lights, a check of ebay shows that real Hella 3000 & 4000s have come down a lot and are now almost affordable. I suppose by the time HIDs are really cheap, LED lights will be the rage.

Nice Mick. The installation is very similar to the way I installed the Jeep Cherokee tire carrier on my Hatchback. There's pros and cons to having the spare back there but if nothing else it looks cool!

Hey Jerry, looks good. Does it have a name yet? Looks like a Zukaru or Subazuki fusion sort of thing. Affraid to ask what's under the hood. Cat desiel? Guess I'll have to make it to the show this year. Anyway, good to see you're still around and playing with Subes. Man I sure get a kick out of checking in and seeing what you guys are building and driving these days! Yesterday I saw this Zuke on craigslist and for just a second, I thought it'd be more my style with a '83 wagon body, EJ engine and crawler transfer case. Wish I had time to spare.

Cool, I'm looking forward to seeing what I've been missing out on. Don't hate me for sayin this, but I kinda wish we'd started out with a better name. It all started with Hatchbacks and Hatch Patrol is what someone called us back at WCSS#2 and the name stuck. Hey I was just joking about parting out the Fubaru. I've kept it this long... might as well keep doing wierd stuff to it! My original purpose in modding the car was to make it more capable of adventure travel in the mountains. When I get back to (ab)normal, I plan on organizing weekend adventure trips that would be good for new members and folks with cars that maybe aren't quite ready to conquer Walker Valley. I don't know if that counts as Hatch Patrolling, but the given the popularity of the Evans Creek Campout, wives/kids/dogs/etc... the adventure tours might help recruite new members or at least be a fun diversion from building and breaking Soobs. What were the membership requirements anyway???? Participation in a hardcore trail run or what? Guess I'll have to re-apply for membership.

I don't know about the rest of the guys but I'm just on a hiatus (4 years now) but I "Patrol" vicariously every time you active folks post pics of real 'wheelin'. My Hatch is resting in a garage and can't wait 'till I have time to go out and play. Hmmm, or maybe I should just part it out and get a toyota?

Another thing that might be helpful, is that you can swap and rotate the thermostat housing to make hose routing less funky. Old RX7s had a radiator cap on the t-stat housing and it swaps onto EA engines. For hoses, most auto part stores will let you go through their stock to find the hose you need. Have fun...

Hey Tim, do you remember seeing the horizontal radiator in my red Hatch way back when? I used a radiator and presure tank out of a Porsche 924. Not only is it a nice rad with powerful fans, but the way that system was designed, the radiator cap isn't on the radiator, but rather the cap is on the pressure tank. The pressure tank (reservoir) is mounted higher than the radiator and you fill it through the cap on the tank. I works great that way, the only thing I'd do different, is hinge the radiator so it's easier to access the clutch adjustment, and I'd exhaust the heat up and out the rear of the hood, perhaps with a cowl type hood vent like Qman has (had?) on his Brat.

Looks like fun and yeah I miss you guys. I'm still lurking arond here though. But gosh, guess I'm gonna have to upgrade to one of those cookie cutter import pickup trucks. Just kidding. I'm actually surprised it took this long for you to go 'Yoto. Seemed like a logical evolution to me shortly after building my Hatch. Just makes more sense. Zap, yeah I owe ya' a phone call... thanks for calling and sorry I couldn't make it over there.

When I did mine, I made a pair of little L shaped bracket gizmos to pull on the cables. I don't have a picture but they were sort of like fender washers with a split fork sticking out one side. The fork part was curved to pull on the cable lugs much like a clutch fork. Worked great and allowed easy adjustment of cable tension. Working the dual e-brake while driving... now that's the fun part. Maybe need a co-driver to work the traction control unit? Can you imagine the look on peoples faces when they see four e-brake levers? That alone would make it worth doing.