[Ready to go for the lift...I think so.]

Hello all! Thanks for the tips. Sorry I wasnt specific about my Car or anything actually. 
 

My Car is a Legacy 1996 Wagon with an EJ20 engine. 
 

my goal is to lift it enough to fit hopefully 215/75/15 wheels. If not possible I would Seattle for 205/70/15. 

I dont want to sacrifice safety in highways as most of the places i want to visit are at least 1.000 km distance. Then some inner roads, maybe cross a creek and being able to hook a trailer. 
 

That’s all folks!!

 

thanks again for the tips! 
 

Of course photos will be uploaded of the process and final results!!

[Ready to go for the lift...I think so.]

Hello All!

I think I’m ready to go for the lift on my car. I have found new KYB 2004 Forester struts and a Legacy Outback 1988 in disambling. 
 

Just to check, I have:

1.- new kyb struts for a 2004 Forester. 
2.- i will reuse spring and tophat from my car (any coments?)

3.- here’s where I get confused, what should I take off from the 1998 OB? The body spacers? The sway bar, springs? 
 

Please give me some advice as this is my first car project.

Thanks in advance!

 

 

[Hello from Chile South America]

18 hours ago, el_freddo said:

Welcome STPC!

That’s a clean looking liberty/legacy you have there. 

A mild lift and maybe a low range swap would be two very worth while mods to do. The low range swap isn’t for the faint hearted as it involves opening up the gearbox - and sourcing a non turbo dual range gearbox from an L series for 1.59:1 low range. Much better than the standard 1.19:1 in your wagon. 

Good cars though! Look after it and it’ll look after you! 

Cheers 

Bennie

Bennie, you got me thinking about the gearbox. My Legacy already has a selector between Hi & Lo AWD....did you mean that?? It does change the ratio of the gears. 

[Hello from Chile South America]

17 minutes ago, idosubaru said:

Welcome. I’ve been to Chile.  My wife worked in Santiago for 2 years.  I walked past a Subaru dealer, should have went inside. She’s fluent but I speak no Spanish. I didn’t get to travel much but went north close to Peru but not quite all the way. 
 

People run different size tires all the time. They just need to clear strut, the lower spring base sticks out.  See how much room you have there. I would think there’s plenty of room. 

90s legacy’s had 15” wheels/tires and the GT had 205/55/16”. Most Likely the clearance is the same between those and yours. You could check by verifying the strut part number is the same and then comparing those tire size differences. 

Thanks! I’ll just give it a try!

Nice to hear you lived in Chile, Santiago it’s not the most beautiful city, with one exeption...a sunny day after the rain in the middle of the winter....clean air and snow in the mountains...so beautiful. 

Can you recall the name of the place you visited? It was by the ocean or the desert?

[Hello from Chile South America]

2 minutes ago, el_freddo said:

Needs bigger!  

Serious note: I’m not good on tyre size readings but going an inch taller won’t really be noticeable or have any real benefits.

I do know what you need to ensure is that the tyre clears the spring perch/seat on the strut when going larger. 

Cheers 

Bennie

 

Hahahahaha! Go Big or go home!!

I just want to pass the inspection (yearly mandatory) and work from that base. If my struts do not pass...I will hurry the OB strut mod and go for bigger tires. 
 

What would be the benefit of the gear box change? I do notice that first and second gear are very “short”. Will that improove?

Thanks!

Cesar

[Hello from the far South]

On 3/17/2020 at 12:02 PM, NV Zeno said:

The raised roof body on your wagon is also very rare (at least in North America).  It looks to be in good condition, probably worth saving if you can.

At least in Chile the “raised roofs” were for better versions like AWD vs Front wheel drive. I remember a version with digital speedmeter it was like a spaceship!!

[Hello from Chile South America]

Thanks Freddo, the paint its really bad specially in the roof and bonet. 

Im thinking in the Outback strut mode (buy new and keep the springs) to make room for bigger tires. 
I will not do much offroading maybe some bad rocky roads. Right now I need to put some new tires to pass inspection.

The stock tires are 185/70/14 I found some 195/75/14 A/T Goodyears. I think the model is FSR. Will they fit with stock struts?

I checked www.tiresize.com and they are 5,4% bigger. From 24,2” to 25,5”. Any advise?

[Hello from the far South]

Hola Rafa. Im from chile too. Hope to see that MV arround!! 

[Hello from Chile South America]

Hello All! 
My wife inhereted a Subaru Legacy Wagon bought by her dad new in 1996. Served for many years as her mother’s car untill she couldn’t ride no more....Alzheimer.

The Car was abandoned in my house a couple of years ago, we used it for going to the supermarket and so....until I decided to make it my project...my wife said to me “Are you crazy, why you want to fix that old Car!!!” I reply....because it has 150k kms its a manual transmission and has awd Hi & Lo..... she gave me the look....and said “do what you want, but dont spend too much”...so here I am, wanting to make it good for traveling arround my beautiful country from de desert to the patagonia and from the Andes to the Pacific...with my two doughters...in case they want to join!!