Spiffy

two words... sah-weet! --Spiffy

exactly! I would never buy an AWD car from somebody that had one set of chains for it... unless you like replacing your center differential... mountainwalker, it's a subaru, it doesn't NEED chains... unless you want to go off-roading in the snow... just get a decent all-weather tire that has a good snow rating... there are sites like tirerack.com that give you the winter rating on tires... just make sure you're in the green and you won't need chains... but when you're in the snow drive like you're in the snow... like I said, I own subarus because I don't need chains (I lived in the Sierra's near Dodge Ridge when I discovered subaru) and they have all the other good creature comforts... if you really want serious traction invest in some snow tires... les schwab will swap them out for free every season... you just need about a 27" diameter piece of garage floor to store an extra set of tires... --Spiffy

I would sneak it through in one of the existing passageways... there's quite a few things going through the firewall from the engine to the interior... open one of the small rubber openings a little more and stick a wire through it... you could also drill another hole and use a rubber grommet and seal it up afterwards... whatever you do make sure you stick some silicon sealant in there when you're done so moisture doesn't sneak it... and most importantly, put a fuse right at the battery, not just at the amp... --Spiffy

I haven't used chains since I've been a subaru purist and have awd or 4wd at my command... I was wondering the same thing... gotta be some deep unpacked snow or seriously harsh conditions... oh, sorry I don't have an outback to give any real input on the topic of this thread... --Spiffy

looks like you went from this: to this: you got a grill and some black wagon wheels with center caps... oh, and your rear bumper looks a lot cleaner... --Spiffy

sounds fun, but it's over an hour away from the hospital... but some bumpy roads might help the baby come out... not sure how the wife feels about giving birth in tillamook state forest though... (: are you going to make it an early morning trip, or later afternoon? --Spiffy

I would have a pro do it... they can match the factory color and bake the parts so the paint stays on (if the part is metal)... if you use a rattle can and clear coat it'll start getting dull within the year and then flake off... and factory-matched rattle can paint doesn't have the same setting properties as the paint they use in the shop, so it never gets as tough... you want door handle paint to last a long time, since it sees a lot of use... have a pro do it if you want it to look good... --Spiffy

I'm the same way... I want to be able to go places a normal car can't, but I don't get disappointed when I can't follow a jacked up solid axle vehicle with lockers up a gnarly climb... mine is a daily driver, and it's not convenient to break things to the point I can't make it down the hill... luckily, if I'm with experienced sube people they generally know how to disable the axle so that I can still drive on it... --Spiffy

it doesn't really fit in with your butterfly motif... ... but yeah, on the bill of sale or title there's a box you check that states it's not the actual mileage... at least that's how it's been in the two states I've owned cars in... I've never had to check that box, so I don't know what kind of extra paperwork it creates... but it's not a problem, just a procedure... --Spiffy

it's been debated here before... I didn't use a valve and I haven't had any issues at all, and I've hit the brakes hard plenty of times since the swap... --Spiffy

new tranny fluid will probably help a lot... and the clutch is easier to adjust (and cheaper) than it is to change the fluid, so you might as well do both... --Spiffy

yeah, order for an earlier year, or maybe their computer is smart enough to know brat/hatchback... but don't count on it... you say you have the spoke wheels, and it sounds like you have the ea81 spoke wheels... those don't have as much of a curve as the ea82 spoke wheels and as Turbone says will hit on the newer calipers unless you grind the calipers, or get some ea82 spoke wheels... --Spiffy

sweet little rutty climb! for the lazy... I totally could have done that in my stock wagon... looks like some good times... reminds me of this: http://easilyamused.com/subaru/outings/images/2002-10-04/movies/JunkieHill.mpg that was in SubaruJunkie's stock rig many years ago... was a bit too gnarly to go UP with a stock rig though... --Spiffy

sweet that you ran into other subaru people while out there... oddly enough I was close to going out there yesterday as well since I was already in oregon city... that would have been a really weird coincidence if I had met you all out there... that area doesn't look like it's in the state forest so I probably don't have a map of all the forest roads... I need to expand my map collection of good forest/logging road areas... --Spiffy

OMG, there's 2 in mine as well! it's an invasion! ... when I moved up here to the PNW I instantly noticed that there were a ton of subarus around here... it made total sense, because of the weather conditions and the need for traction, and because of the utility aspect of hipster portland... there were none down in the california bay area (I lived in livermore)... but there was a niche of them in the sierra mountain towns... I lived in sonora and there were a lot of them, but not enough to stand out until you looked... there were also a lot in angel's camp (a city to the north)... so it seems that they follow their needs, like pickup trucks in farm towns... --Spiffy

as the crow flies... car was on the ground and I didn't have a helper... so that's my best estimation in a straight line from flange to flange... --Spiffy

my wagon's mid-pipe from flange to flange was about 60"... --Spiffy

I'm down for some subies in the forest! had a dream last night that I was driving around and ran across some guy in a tan ea81 wagon... then we both started driving around the forest... I've got my ea81 wagon for adventuring... mostly stock but working on it... got the rear discs on, and an lsd waiting to be put in... gotta see about cranking up the suspension (and getting it aligned)... I'm mostly ready to go any time, but I'm waiting for my kid to be born (due date is tomorrow) so I might be kinda busy the next couple weekends... --Spiffy

my determining question has always been: does it have a frame? if it's got a frame and you can remove the body and still have an engine and drive-train then it's a truck... if it's unibody and the body IS the frame then it's a car... but as others have stated, I've seen plenty of "cars" registered as trucks... people at the DMV have no idea about how these things are built, they just fill out the paperwork they think fits best... I would classify the brat as a car, and a jeep as a truck... but it's not up to me... --Spiffy

I kind of asked the same thing here: http://ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=88908 that is, if it's the y-pipe you're talking about... seems there are subtle differences with the spacers, but those can be overcome as long as you have spacers, just in case... nobody seemed to mention that a brat y-pipe wouldn't work on a wagon, and vice-versa... however, for the pipe behind the y-pipe I'm not sure if it's a different length... I can measure my wagon later today, if you've still got enough brat exhaust to compare it to... --Spiffy

that is a SWEET wagon! and yeah, nice rack... I hope to get one like it to attach to my factory rack... looks pretty sporty with the bra, bar, and lights in the front... --Spiffy

the temp spare must not be the same outer-diameter size as the tires... when you mismatch the tires you risk burning up the center differential... that's why they ask that you change the spare putting the temp spare on the rear and disable the AWD... this with keep the front working with matched tires and disable the center diff to avoid damage... for peace of mind you could get a full-sized spare... I probably wouldn't my wife having to change 2 tires (if it's the front that goes flat) and then having to jumper wires to get back on the road... this may also be a good time to get roadside assistance, so they can just tow you to the nearest tire shop... (: --Spiffy

any paint will wear through over time... clear coat is your friend for things like this... --Spiffy

the Hammacher one is the only one linked here that is NOT a convex lense... both the seenontvproducts.net and jcwhitney.com ones are convex and distort the rear view, much like a right/passenger-side mirror... beware, objects in mirror are closer then they appear! not even sure if it's legal to have one of those as your center rear-view... or you could go with the multi-panel "Wink"style that has 4 or 5 flat mirror panels... straight outa the 80's! --Spiffy

the thread you mention has a lot of good info it in... basically the white canister behind the strut tower (passenger/right side in the US) gets vacuum from the manifold and uses that to actuate the vacuum solenoids behind the other strut tower... the same white canister also works the vacuum actuated vent system inside the car... I had a problem with not being able to have defrost while going uphill because this system had a leak... so if all positions of the vents in the car work while going uphill then the canister is probably fine and the problem is in the 4wd actuator or the diaphragm it connects to near the transmission... --Spiffy