SubSandRail

27" or 28" on a 15" rim, 8" wide. I like BFG All-terrains. We use them down at the dunes on our street-legal buggy's because they have flexible sidewalls and have great floatation on the sand when you run 4 lbs of air. I like the looks of the 27" super swampers I saw on Ken's Brat, but I will probably start out with something a little less expensive. This will be a daily driver, and don't want to tear them up on the highway. I can get a set of mudders for trail use later. SubSandRail

It sure would be convenient if an 8 lug wheel was available in 140mm. Does anyone know if there is such a thing? I have searched the posts here and find plenty of info on the 6 lug conversion. Before I do the 6 lug conversion I want to make sure that there isn't an 8 lug option. I plan to pre-heat the hub with a torch, then build up the area to be drilled with weld, then turn it smooth on a lathe. This way the stud has a smooth, flat surface to press against. Is this too much work, or should I just press in the new studs then weld them in place? Q-Man (& others), have you ever broken a 4 or 6 lug? SubSandRail (and now an 83 GL Wagon owner)

Don't waste your money on the CB shops that offer "super-tuning" etc. One of the technicians that works for me used to work at one of those places, and you get almost nothing for your money. He quit because he could not stand to see customers ripped off every day. Find a local ham radio operator that has an SWR/power meter and you will be much better off. We like to help the CB people because there is so much misinformation and almost every modification done to CB's is a hack job; and they splatter noise all over the RF spectrum. Every time I see a big rig with the antennas leaned forward "to get out better" I shake my head. Every Cobra that I have tested was capable of pushing the max power allowed by the FCC. The quality and placement of the antenna is way more important than the power of the CB, and CB power does nothing to help reception. For the VHF and UHF bands (not CB), it is very imporant to have a good ground plane. For CB (11 meter band, at the top of the HF band) you get the best performance by putting the antenna as high as possible. Fender mounted antennas only radiate effectively from the portion that sticks above the roof. So go for a mag mount on the roof, and get the tallest you can support. I use a 1/4 wave (about 8') stainless steel whip on a spring mount, but a loaded (shorter) one will work and won't have the wind loading problem. There is a lot of misinformation out there. Stick with a stock CB and install a good antenna in a good location. Find someone with the equipment to test your setup. High quality coax and RF connectors help. SubSandRail Extra Class FCC License 12 years managing RF design labs USMC Amphib Recon Radio Operator

I bought a pair of strut spring compressors from harborfreight.com for only $10. Check out: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=3980 The 1" zip ties are almost a buck each and you throw them away when you are done. Also they may not hold. SubSandRail

Attached is a photo of the rescue chopper at Evan's Creek, picking up the guy with the broken leg. SubSandRail

Who was the nut in the RX turbo sedan that tried to take on the hill that flipped the jeep at the top of the 311? ( don't take "nut" the wrong way) Did anyone get a photo of the flipped jeep? SubSandRail

Are the first 4 gears on the 5 speed the same as the 4 speed, or are they different ratios? The VIN decoder sheet does not have enough info. If everyone agrees that you don't get much by converting to the 5 speed, that would indicate that 1st and 2nd are the same or nearly so in both tranny's. Does anyone have the actual ratios? After seeing these Sub's in action, I may have to get one. EVAN's CREEK - Does anyone know when the snow hits Evan's Creek? I am going to fab a pair of skis to replace my front tires. I'm hoping to get out there in the snow before the ORV park is closed for the season. If it does not work out, I'll drill extra holes for mounting on a Subaru and recruit an unsuspecting GL owner to be the test pilot. SubSandRail

The name is Mike. (No big deal)

I've started a trip report thread, with some extra info on the guy with the broken leg. SubSandRail

Thought I'd get things started with a few items. SUBARU TO THE RESCUE - Can't remember the names of the crew that went in after the ATV guy that broke his leg (right femur). He pulled into camp, folded down the rear seat of his Subaru, piled in pillows, and turned it into an ambulance. I tossed him my first aid kit as he tore out of camp. Four guys lifted him into the Subaru and got him to the entrance of the ORV park. Ken radioed up to some guys on the 311 who could reach out to someone closer to town with cell phone coverage. The Bonney Lake and Wilkeson fire & rescue teams showed up and took over his care. They shut down the entrance so everyone had to wait for the helecopter to pick the guy up. He was in his 40's and his buddies said that he had just recovered from two ankle surgeries and bought the ATV as a present to himself. The leg looked awful. No protruding bones, but it was bent at a 45° angle. I took some pictures, then talked to a fireman and he agreed to get some better shots of the helecopter. I'll get them developed and posted later this week. BROKEN SANDRAIL - I was able to do a lot of the 311 trail but sheared all four bolts connecting my drive shaft to the diff at the Big Rock (most people will know it, it's the one on the lower steep part that is 3" taller than everyones diff). This caused my chain to jump off, destroying the clutch linkage and neutral sending unit. (it's a motorcycle-powered sand rail for those who were not there to see it). See attached photo for a close up of the broben parts. I had replacement nuts and bolts and was able to get to the final steep part by revving up the engine in neutral, them jamming it into first. Motrocycle transmissions tollerate that more that car transmissions. The final part, some nut jumped on the back to give me traction, and got the ride of his life. I have no idea how he held on as I bucked and bounced up the trail. I got half way up the final steep part before I had to give up and get a tow. It was to steep to jam it into first and keep theengine from dying. Next trip - disk brakes and better tires. QUESTION - Ken made it up the 311 unassisted. Did a hatch make it? Also, is there an advantage (on the trail) of the 5 speed D/R vs 4 speed D/R tranny? Thanks for letting me tag along, and thanks for the tow Ken. SubSandRail

Got my oil pressure problem fixed in time to drive it this weekend. I'll be arriving Saturday morning. Do you guys use radios, in case you are already on the trail when I arrive? I have CB, FRS as well as 10 meter, 2 meter and 70 cm in the amatuer radio bands. Is the turn-around large enough to handle a full sized pickup and 20 foot flatbed? If not, I'll park in the loading area and drive the buggy in. SubSandRail

It took me a while, but I figured out that your event is for the Hatch Patrol, and my rail does not qualify (per the Hatch Patrol website). Maybe I'll see you guys on the trail sometime. SubSandRail

My sand buggy is 51% subaru (front and rear suspension). The tube frame is home made, and the engine is from a motorcycle (see photo). Is that close enough to a Subaru to participate? I test drove it at Evan's Creek before my last trip to the Oregon Dunes, and I think I can keep up. It would be cool to have someone to run with in case I break something. SubSandRail

Thanks for the info. I sent a private message with my email. With full-custom home made frames like this, chopping it apart for the next experiment is part of the fun. The steel tube is the cheap part. I'm at least a year away from doing something like that, but I want to get an engine now to play with. I figured that asking around and jumping straight to the best engine would be more productive than getting a random engine, hot-rodding it, then figuring out later that I should have used a different engine. I'm not using struts. I'm using rear coil-overs on my front suspension. I had to get rid of the flange that attaches it the the wheel well and fabricate a piece that makes it attach like a regular shock. I broke a few before making that design change. Not enough flex in the rubber spacers. See attached photo. SubSandRail

I built a sand buggy from scratch (see attached photo) using the rear end from a 1982 GL wagon for the rear suspension, and the rear coil-overs from a Legend for the front suspension. Right now it is powered by a Kawasaki motorcycle engine (chain drive down to a sprocket on the differential drive flange). I am looking into using a Subaru engine on the next buggy, and am confused by the engine codes (EA82, etc). Does anyone have a web page explaining this? I want the max horsepower in the lightest package. Also, are all early Subaru engines interchangable, or is there a chart that shows which engines can fit into the different frames? SubSandRail