The Beast I Drive

Center diff lock. Darned. I need to find a locker that will fit an R-160 with just a little modification. Although, on that thought, Im sure many have already done that research, coming up empty handed. Oh, low low range would be SUPER LOW, like make t case rigs look like race cars. I really hope that one is feasible, I would love to have that crawling torque. I know that someone built a 350 Small Block Chevy powered chainsaw Why not a Subaru chain saw?zzz:grin: I actually do plan on building a 1400 powered riding mower, just havent decided how to hook the motor to the drivetrain yet. I like the thought of hydrostatic drive for functionality, but i also want to be able to do burnouts and wheelies with it at the WCSS's I want it to be something my kids would be scared to ride. This sucks, I have to go to work in the morning. I liked my week of doing nothing. We need a smiley with a big a$$ hammer. Id use that one a lot. -Bill

Gotta love the haterz. Wasnt there something around here about using Ford Tempo springs in the front for better handling? maybe look into that? And Have you considered the 2wd XT struts? i thought they were supposed to be like 1-2 inches lower? -Bill

I dont know why, but I definitely felt a power difference when I swapped muy '82 EA81 motor for a '86-ish EA81 in The Beast, the new motor feels like it has a bit more torque than the old one, and i think thats because the Hydro motors have larger valves than the solid lifter motors, but I did also replace my Ford 2bbl carb with a 32/36 Weber. I could just be thinking with my a$$, but to me it felt like there was a difference. -Bill

I hope someone recovers that car. i dont care who, i just hope it is recovered and returned to a new stage of glory. Hell Id be out there lookin for it right now if i lived in the area -Bill

Hey all, So I am sitting here awake, unable to sleep, because I have these crazy thoughts and dreams about the infinite possibilities that are possible with enough effort, fabrication, and money. The top 2 ideas on my mind right now are 1. Take a front diff loc unit from an RX Tranny and modify whatever needs to be, well, modified to make it work in a Rear diff 2. A Tripple/Range tranny, by modifying the gear shafts to accomodate an extra low range gear. This one is the most far out of the two and would probably require major fabrication/modification. Other crazy ideas -a push lawn mower with a Subaru 1100cc motor set up so the bellhousing is down and a custom oiling system and intake -a riding mower with a 1400 dual port motor and hydrostatic drive units for the blades and forward/reverse Those are pretty much at the top of my head right now, Im sure more will come once I try to go back to sleep. Oh, and this is in the off road section because all of these ideas are obviously intended for some kind of off road use -Bill

It cant be that bad Plus, now you have all our interest peaked, you must show us -Bill

Well, this one has factory AC (rare), and the frame isnt rotted all to hell (rare in the Midwest) -Bill

Whats the story on the "Frankentranny"? -Bill

It'll be a nice Brat once you repair the body rust, at least it doesnt have structural rot. Gonna be a nice project for sure! -Bill

Sounds to me like its ready for a 'cage, lift, and serious off-road duty On a more serious note, use a come along and a tree or something to straighten it out, the reinforce it on the inside with some plate. Not hard if you now how to weld and have the tools. You could also do just a roll bar instead of a whole cage, that wouldnt be expensive at all -Bill

I can do it, its just... Different than the other EA series cars, independent rear torsion bars :-\ I swapped a EA82 rear assembly into mine, and i now Jerry built one with a EA81 rear assembly installed on it. Both with 6" lifts and 5 speed D/R of course. -Bill

Definitely looks good man! -Bill

Winter sucks for Sube owners. This is like the 15th Sube to get damaged because of stupid driving this winter. Sad, really sad. Poor little GL wagon. -Bill

You should try building some EA81/82 hybrid axles. Take the EA82 cups and put them on the EA81 axles, GD did a write up on that. The EA82 cups are much stronger. Just grab some from the junkyard and go at it. I plan on doing that for my Hatch, or buying new EMPI axles and mix matching the new parts. -Bill

You will be crippled off road, and your on road performance will suffer as well. With the low range of the D/R you still have a usable gearset for offrading with oversized tires. -Bill

Update! My new shocks came! These are Pro Comp ES1000 shocks, I got them about 7 inches longer than stock to compensate for having the torsion bars cranked up. I had to enlarge the slots on the mounting bracket, but that was easy cheesy lemon peezy. I havent installed them yet, my tires might rub them until I get them on new wheels, but I will find out tomorrow. The modification to the brackets next to the stock one -Bill

Psh, Im doing that kinda stuff with bad axles. Heck I been wheelin in sand with no CV boots... I am amazed I havent busted an axle yet, the rears are ready to blow and my pass. front is toasted too, but they keep going... Better safe than sorry, but I like to live on the edge -Bill

The low range is great, and you can do FWD burnouts with 31's -Bill

Im syre it will have plenty of dents after I paint it and wheel it a bit Most here have seen what happened to my wagon, the Hatch will prolly stay nicer longer, but it will get damaged Im sure. Its NOT gonna be a show queen -Bill

I had to, when I got the car the rear valance and quarters were trashed, as were the front fenders. I replaced the fronts but i couldnt fix the damage in the rear, so I chopped it off and I like how it cam out, it will work very well for the bumpers Im building for it. This car was heavily abused in its former life, there is not a single panel on this car that doesnt have damge, and the underside is pretty beat up too. There is a little bit of rust starting to develope in the rear wheel arches as well, but I plan on cutting out the fenders a bit anyway so its not a problem. Still looking for new doors, both mine are trashed. The drivers door is splitting in two , not to mention the apparent shotgun/roll damage. -Bill

If you have a sewing machine it wouldnt be too hard to make one ya know... Just pic up some material a your local craft shop and go to town on it -Bill

Oh and since i re arranged all my pics, here is a pic of this project There will be more progress soon, I promise -Bill

Unfortunately not a lot of progress lately, due to holiday laziness on my part, but I did finish up my rear interior panels, all I need to do there now is prep for the SuperCaulk stuff. Havent done much of anything else though, but here are some better pics of my shifter set up for those who asked -Bill

Looks pretty good, nice and clean with the trim on there, all it needs is that extra hole in the boot for the extra lever -Bill

I wish we has those bumpers w/o the little platic blocks like you guys do. I want an Australian car! I like that sedan, the 27's look right at home on it. -Bill