Im thinking about maybe building a UTV based on a Subaru car,right now its just in the idea stage might not even happen, Ive built a 4 seater

buggy for my daughter based on a 89 EA82 wagon , wheelbase shortened 20" not sure

what car to start with on this one, im thinking the gen1 and gen2 Legacy with the EJ would

be a good platform 1990-1998 as they are getting cheep and readily available, I tried doing

this back in 2008 and never finished it, if I work this right I could make a kit and with

my kit you could make your own UTV from a Subaru , one doner car or a mixture of stock Subaru

parts and aftermarket parts, my own car would have an EJ 2.2, a Dual range transmission

and 27-28" DOT tires with a towbar and be licensed as a car , so I could tow it on the road

with the family Forester

 

make it a 2 seater with a utility bed on the back, shortened 24", so 77" wheelbase

 

my daughters buggy https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1694996424059252&l=d01767ee24

 

other inspiration http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc276/jonb8/Picture086.jpg

 

 

more http://www.4wdonline.com/2000/PiCs37/Rhn-Humbug2.jpg

So would you do a tube frame kind of thing? I think that'd pretty sweet, maybe with the radiator under the utility bed to shorten up the front?

 

I've wanted something like that for a while. Would make a cool street legal utv if done right :-)

So would you do a tube frame kind of thing? I think that'd pretty sweet, maybe with the radiator under the utility bed to shorten up the front?

I've wanted something like that for a while. Would make a cool street legal utv if done right :-)

Yes frame and roll cage and body panels, maybe options at different stages , maybe a bolt together or weld up kit or a turnkey option if you deliver a car to me

I think you'd have a good market for that one, I know several guys here have talked about building one. Get a few in the woods and out on the sand I think it'd catch on, way cheaper then a rzr or the like. Make it so the gauge cluster and all the sensors plug and play no harness stripping. EFI 135hp+ utv, possibly street legal, with a heater. Sorry I've had a lot of different Subaru ideas kicking around in my head this is one of them. I just don't have to time or the talent to do it.

 

One other idea I've had for something like this is to move the front wheels forward like ea82 control arms on ea81 crossmember, with the radiator in back and the wheels two inches further forward the front overhang wouldn't be to bad.

However, the problem becomes a legal issue.The subaru is a car so its only allowed on "jeep" type trails.Where the smaller UTVs can fit on preexisting 53" wide trails. Alot of people buy the bigger side by sides only to find out they can't ride them anywhere because they are close to 60" wide.A park ranger will ticket a UTV if its on a trail designated for 53" or less.They will throw the book at you for a car based buggy.

well for me I would be looking at it as a poor mans rzr 1000 which has similar to dimensions to what Scott would be making. Good for sand,logging roads, jeep trails, etc. with short wheelbase high ground clearance and a utility bed would make a great hunting rig/camp rig, or would be a blast in the dunes or embarrassing jeeps in the woods :-) not so much to explore the atv trails kinda rig.

well for me I would be looking at it as a poor mans rzr 1000 which has similar to dimensions to what Scott would be making. Good for sand,logging roads, jeep trails, etc. with short wheelbase high ground clearance and a utility bed would make a great hunting rig/camp rig, or would be a blast in the dunes or embarrassing jeeps in the woods :-) not so much to explore the atv trails kinda rig.

well for me I would be looking at it as a poor mans rzr 1000 which has similar to dimensions to what Scott would be making. Good for sand,logging roads, jeep trails, etc. with short wheelbase high ground clearance and a utility bed would make a great hunting rig/camp rig, or would be a blast in the dunes or embarrassing jeeps in the woods :-) not so much to explore the atv trails kinda rig.

Somebody please delete two of those sorry about that

many of the utvs are stock 64" wide and wider with custom rims and tires,

a stock gen2 legacy is 67.5" wide , all the places I ride would be fine,

the sand dunes, walker valley ORV on the Jeep trails, my own property, Ive had a lot of fun with

my daughters buggy and its just a wore out EA82

they even have DOT street legal tires for UTVs heres some 14 and 15" rims

 

http://www.sidebysidesports.com/efxmotoclaw.html

I hadn't seen those. That would make something like that float across the sand and snow.

This is happening! I have a 98 legacy in the shop and am making jigs off it today, I picked up some steel today and will start on number one prototype this coming week ! After number one which I will keep for myself I'll make a few improvements to the design and go into building and selling complete kits, I'm personally excited about this project it's something that's been on my mind for 7+ years , my car will have 29" TSLs , a 88 3.9 dual range and a EJ22

todays progress , a little video

 

https://www.facebook.com/scott.raper.946/videos/1836137423278484/?l=6712192552255522955

Making progress, started on the bottom frame rails, here's the plan build 2 buggies first one will have the dual range second one will have the stock automatic, then take them both out and test drive them together

todays pic

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1837054713186755&l=ac60990bad

 

 

https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/22803_1837054713186755_108027565927853539_n.jpg?oh=eb207a916834638d7449d356b5635d34&oe=560DB76B

Edited June 2, 201510 yr by Scott in Bellingham

Genuine curiosity here since I have no experience with this kind of work: Any reason not to relocated the radiator to somewhere safer?

 

I Imagine this thing will be going pretty slowly most of the time offroad and will be cooling the rad with the fans far more than with air moving through there while travelling at speed. Seems like you could keep it from getting plugged with mud or smashed/punctured by putting it somewhere else, without any real sacrifice to cooling.

In the plans have a few options, one of the next ones will get a rad in the back behind the seat,

I like it. Wish I would have started with square tube base and dropped the rails as urs is. Wish I would have known about the rino buggy before I started too. I jumped the gun and went into it blind on my build with less help from the form than I hoped for. Other than being told to just buy a sxs. I'm sure this is going to be a very killer build

Edited June 23, 201510 yr by apintonut

been 3 weeks, bottom rails all in now working on the mid rails, steering mount, brake mount, seat position

added some pictures here

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1850670758491817&l=f8ee8a3296

Scott that thing is cute. Your power to weight should be wicked.

Dang. What is the wheelbase on that thing? It looks much smaller than I imagined, and that is definitely a good thing. I am certainly going to be interested in a kit for one of these in the future.

Dang. What is the wheelbase on that thing? It looks much smaller than I imagined, and that is definitely a good thing. I am certainly going to be interested in a kit for one of these in the future.

stock-25" on the wheelbase, with a Auto trans you remove the front section of driveline

which is 25" , so 103.5-25 , will be around 78 1/2 , Im running 77" WB on this https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1694996424059252&l=d01767ee24 buggy and it works great, I mostly am driving around

in the woods up hills and in the mud

I'm betting the answer to this question will be that it is too early to say for sure, but I'll ask anyway. What is the projected cost for a kit assuming that the customer already has a donor car? Even ballpark pricing?