jeffery Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 (edited) Hey to all! Never owned a subaru but have been interested since I have seen all the lifted cars running around bellingham ,WA. My backgroung= prototyping, r&d, composites, (mold making and parts mfg.), metal fabrication and machining based around aerospace, offroad and art. interests= offroad bikes, trucks, buggies, snow machines, downhill mtn. bikes, going big (within reason) cnc and the general outdoors. Just got a new shop and finally have enough room for some longer term projects!!!!! Planning on building small, light weight, tube chassis 4x4 with independant suspension. Something a little bigger than a side by side yet no bigger than a samari. thought this might be a good place to start, been reading posts now for a week and have come accross lot's of great info. Props to all the knowledgeable members that have put the effort into making this forum work. If you guys could take a few minutes and look at some of my questions I would be stoked! where do i start??? I want to build something that will take some abuse. I know that you are not going to be rock racing a subaru based buggy, but would like to use the toughest parts while still keeping the weight down. what year and model; 1. would hold up the best to offroad? toughest axles, tranny, diffs, easiest to increase travel etc, I know this is a pretty general question, just looking to get some direction for research. 2. have low range? 3. dimensions? smaller the better mainly worried about width, I'm sure there is plenty of flexibility in length. 4. manual versus auto tranny strength? Justy????????? I am only assuming the running gear is lighter than the other cars, hope I am wrong as they seem quite narrow. whatever help would be awesome! my project will be public knowledge, all specs, cad drawings etc. will be available on this forum. purely fun project!!!!!!! Edited October 16, 2011 by jeffery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red92 Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 Planning on building small, light weight, tube chassis 4x4 with independant suspension.Something a little bigger than a side by side yet no bigger than a samari. ... where do i start??? You could build one of these! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstaru Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 I would start with a later model if i were you.Like impreza or legacy suspension.Axles are stronger, better over all design allowing for aftermarket support in bushings etc. There is an LSD wrieup in the FAQ. The downside to our rigs are no options for aftermarket gearing. I would read around abit . there are several projects going on here that have all kinds of different vantage points. A couple of folks have done "plan" builds if i am not mistaken.(ordering plans) cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott in Bellingham Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 where do i start??? I want to build something that will take some abuse. I know that you are not going to be rock racing a subaru based buggy, but would like to use the toughest parts while still keeping the weight down. what year and model; 1. would hold up the best to offroad? toughest axles, tranny, diffs (strength, open or limeted slip), easiest to increase travel etc, I know this is a pretty general question, just looking to get some direction for research. 2. have low range? 3. dimensions? smaller the better mainly worried about width, I'm sure there is plenty of flexibility in length. 4. manual versus auto tranny strength? Justy????????? I am only assuming the running gear is lighter than the other cars, hope I am wrong as they seem quite narrow. whatever help would be awesome! my project will be public knowledge, all specs, cad drawings etc. will be available on this forum. purely fun project!!!!!!! I would go with the EJ2.2 ( 90-96) with torque cams tires no,larger then 30" ( real demensions ) EA82 Dual Range transaxle (85-88) Im in !!!! Welcome PM me your Email and we will talk Im in Bellingham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffery Posted October 16, 2011 Author Share Posted October 16, 2011 (edited) nice quad? cool but not my style! Edited October 16, 2011 by jeffery did not quote Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbrat Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 since you are mainly worried about width, you should look at the GL ea81 series ('81-'84). I think the WMS on mine was about the same as a '85 Toyota pickup. 55" maybe.... the first gen Subaru 4WD's ,'76-79 (78-81 Brat) were a bit narrower, but no D/R and smaller engine (except the '81 Brat) as you move on thru the years for newer soobs, the WMS keeps getting wider... from the '85-'94 DL/GL/Loyale to the Legacy/Impreza based models. however, as they get wider, the axles get stronger.... you'll want to stick with a manual tranny.... 5 speed Dual/range from '85-'89 better low range and stronger than the earlier 4 speed D/R and better clutch options (XT6). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffery Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 thanks for the info guys! will do some more reading and start collecting parts. I have lot's of other projects in the works but like to start thinking about new ideas in advance, is a good way to work out the buggs. I am hoping to pick up a roller in the next couple months and get it stripped down to start measuring, working on suspension designes etc. I am stoked to have enough room in the new shop to leave these kinds of projects set up and not have them be in my way, kind of a dream come true. will post some pics as soon as I got something happening! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyH Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Subaru Domingo with Yamaha engine Buildup tread translated: http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=fi&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=fi&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fforums.offipalsta.com%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D66233%26page%3D4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffery Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 (edited) Subaru Domingo with Yamaha engine now we are talkin, definatly closer to what I have in mind!!!!!! heres one for ya! would it work if you mounted a subi transaxle backwards in the rear of a buggy and spun it the opposite direction (which I am assuming would be counter clockwise) I don't know, are the gears cut directional? would it shift right? would it work yet be weak, do the gears have the same support on the forward side of the teeth? someone tell me I'm stupid so I can cross that direction of thinking off my list! (although it sure would be cool) Edited October 23, 2011 by jeffery not enough info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 (edited) now we are talkin, definatly closer to what I have in mind!!!!!! heres one for ya! would it work if you mounted a subi transaxle backwards in the rear of a buggy and spun it the opposite direction (which I am assuming would be counter clockwise) I don't know, are the gears cut directional? would it shift right? would it work yet be weak, do the gears have the same support on the forward side of the teeth? someone tell me I'm stupid so I can cross that direction of thinking off my list! (although it sure would be cool) You would need to mate the engine to a stronger transmission if you do that. Your best option for a real small buggy is a Subaru Justy. http://subarujusty.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=talk&action=display&thread=2684 Edited October 27, 2011 by Dylan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstaru Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 You can't really mount the drivetrain backwards as there ar eno provisions of reverse cut gears. The usual suspects for rear mount are VW ttransaxles.There are adapter plates sold.But in that case yiou would need a syncro setup to get 4wd. I found that utilizing some different diffs might obviously be an option, but did not look into reverse cuts for other "solitary" diffs. If you mount the engine a little further back in the frame that way a rear diff can be mounted up front it might work out,but in that case you would need a divorced t-case, like nissan , or zooki.The nissan case profile is really tall.But the zook case can be rotated and flattened out. Umm, lets see, thats about it for now.cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uberoo Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 could always build a justy buggy with the engine mounted longitudinally next to you.Then use the axles to drive the diffs.It would end up crawler rather than racer but without a low range and the low torque of the justy engine...I bet even a justy engine would turn 31's in that configuration... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubaruLT Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 maybe someone know something about this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubaruLT Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 the other one. https://picasaweb.google.com/113755893119854350273/SubaruBuggyTest#5659705599298122130 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyfun Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 That first buggy with the Justy setup is pretty sweet. Geared too high, though, and needs to get an LSD or to weld the diff. Bigger tires/more travel would help, too, but its already geared too high. Great idea, though. I've entertained using a diff as a gear reducer, too. Plus, then it opens up a lot of options for relocating your engine to the middle or back. Better yet, use two diffs so you can use some 40" tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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