The Beast I Drive

It is out of the shop, the suspension is pretty much done, just a few things i need to reinforce and one thing I want to change before it becomes drivable, but that will be a long ways in the future anyhow. Its out of my way so i can get some other projects done and give me time to collect some parts for it. Now that its out of the way for now, I have been able to get workin on my hatchback. here is a teaser, a taste of things to come... -Bill

That is a pretty sweet rig ya got there for sure! -Bill

My guess is it has a low temp thermostat in it and maybe a clogged heater core. Try flushing the heater core and see what happens. -Bill

My bet is on thermostat failure. -Bill

the only thing I can think of is that the RX is a hard lock, not a viscous LSD like the EJ trans. I really dont think it would make much of a difference, the hatch is so light that with that kind of power youre gonna get wheelspin if you dump the clutch and try to launch. I havent had any problem with hooking up in my RX, but I dont have 130+ hp... Yet -Bill

dude are you ever in the lower valley? -Bill

I make some every once in a while too. -Bill

It could have really bad rings... -Bill

Got the front springs mounted to the axle today, I shouldve gotten a LOT more done than I did :-\ I havent quite decided what to do for the rear end, but it looks like Ill be making a mini sub frame to lower the rear struts. Then I need to make the radius rods and links, and I think for the sake of get it done now Im just gonna do a 3 link front steup. This should also give better flex and clear the driveline with no problems and still be stable. The rear will still be 4 link as planned. Then I can roll that monster out and get my Hatch in there and start making my lifts. -Bill

Im sure it would, but dont you have to split the case to do that? Anyway, you should ask Jerry, since he's done it he should know what to do to make the axles work. -Bill

I thought this car got taken to the junkyard? idk I thought I read a thread about it somewhere on here a little while back. Glad to see it didnt end up in the crusher after all! -Bill

Actually, ask Jerry, he has an RX tranny in his hatch, he should know.. -Bill

Oh crapsicles, i forgot about that...:-\ I think you would then have to get EA81 Turbo axles, but I dunno what the spline count is on those, youll have to ask an EA81T guru. Otherwise you could lengthen the control arms just enough to give you the track width of an EA82, then put EA82 knuckles on, they will bolt in, no modifications. OR you can build hybrid axles, use the Turbo EA82 DOJ on your EA81 axles. -Bill

no thanks, I have one here, same color even. Dents and body damage have been a part of the Beast's life since it came into my hands, gives it character :cool: -Bill

FWIW... What I have noticed is that even though the RX has a higher diff gear ratio, the tranny's final drive ratio is actually numerically higher than a regular N/A 5 speed D/R. Example, my RX cruises at 55 mph in Hi range with the motor reving at a little over 2750 RPM. It has the RX FT4WD with diff lock and 3.7 diffs. My moms GL wagon, with 5 speed d/r and 3.9 diffs, at 55 mph revs about 2600 RPM. -Bill

to swap in the RX tranny all you will need is a matching 3.7 rear diff and turbo axles. N/A axles are 23 spline on the diff end, and turbos are 25 spline. EJ axles are also 25 spline, except fwd Imprezas, which are 23 spline. the EA hubs are the same on turbo and non-turbo, so all you need is the axles and rear diff to match the tranny. Oh and youll have to mount the vacuum solenoids for the Diff lock too, but thats easy. Other than that, its all bolt in, since you already have a 5spd D/R in, nothing has to be custom made. -Bill

So you want to go Legacy AWD. Cuz you could just bolt in a RX tranny and throw in a 3.7 LSD rear end and have D/R AWD. And since you already have a EA82 tranny in it it would be pretty much a direct swap. -Bill

Our trailer has rails on each side leading up to the fender and back down to the tonge, so Im just gonna make something that clamps to those and screws or bolts to the wood deck in the middle. -Bill

Well, its double duty, daily driver and weekend warrior, but here's the Beast: Oops, that ones sideways... thats better, but a little too clean... Thats more like it! The Beast 87 GL Wagon EA81 stock D/R 5 speed 2wd Lo/hi custom 6 inch lift 31" Maxxis Bighorns Flames for that extra 10 hp :-p -Bill

Lol I plan to leave it brown, thats where I derived its name from Im sure it will get plenty of damage, who knows, I might manage to roll this one too :-\... Or maybe Ill just stay away from that particular crossing, it might be a little harder to get htis on back on its feet if it goes tits up Ive been up to Manastash ridge, actually had some fun up there in a stock 85 toyota pick up too :cool: I just rarely get the chance to go places like that due to cash, so I stick to the lower valley mostly, that and my Friend's uncle owns a ranch that covers a large section of hills that used to be the Yakima Firing Range... so theres a little room for me to play thats close to home, but nothing extreme. And I can backroad this thing to that ranch, saving fuel on a tow rig. Interesting, the front axle is about 2 inches too wide to fit on my trailer with 10" wide tires :-\ We had to push the jimmy on with another truck and wedge it between the side rails, and then i had to tie the truck to a poll and pull the trailer out from under it with the Ram to get it off , so Im gonna have to build some sort of ramp setup that will place the wheels above the fenders of the trailer, but thats no big deal. -Bill

I guess i forgot to mention that this was not really intended to be street legal, so bumper height and track width is irrelevant. I am totally up to speed on restrictions for road legal lifted rigs, Ive been through this with the DOT before on the Beast. As for 20" of lift, I needed to get the axles under the car by myself, i had no help, and they had tires on them. Just so happens I like the way it sits that high. Why only 33" tires? So the 2.2 can still run 'em reasonably. I wont have trim my fenders either, and I like the way it looks. As I said before, the stock Subaru suspension is TEMPORARY. I will upgrade to some nice coil overs when I can AFFORD them. For mud, this setup will be quite nice I believe, maybe slightly underpowered, but thats what forced induction was created for I went with the Nissan T case because i got it cheap, and I didnt want to use one of my NP205's, those things are waaaaaay to heavy. the pinion angle on the axles really isnt going to be all that bad, I took some measurements and stuff and it wont be that bad. Flexy rock crawling style off roading isnt something we have much of down here in the valley, we have sagebrush and mud. I plan on looking into lower gearing and lockers for the axles eventually, but that will prolly go hand in hand with the coilovers, so its all a money issue. Basically, what you see now I am building with what I had around or what I acquired for very little $$$. It will get better in the future, but i want to get it rolling now so I can get my shop space back to do some other stuff that really needs to get done. If the tractor hadnt died on us i prolly wouldnt have even started this project, I woulda just lifted it out of the shop and dumped it on one of my other wrecked parts cars. -Bill

If its already out, you might as well fix the wiring and install the newer one.

Im down to buy one, I want my Beast on December 30 (my B-day), my RX on September 17th, and my brown project wagon on July 4th, if the 4th is called then I want the 3rd. Let me know when you want the pics. And how much it might cost. -Bill

Yeah the 80's sube rear seats are 2 piece top and bottom, so youd need a custom frame. there are some Datsuns in a junkyard near me and they have bench seats still, I took measurements and it would be tight but it would fit. You would still need to make custom mounts of course. I dunno how tall you are but seeing as how the seat would straddle the tunnel it will prolly raise you up a bunch, you might find you need the t tops out just to sit comfotably Oh, FWIW, I measured the inside of my '80 brat, not a Gen 2, so the datsun bench might have more room if you are putting it in a Gen 2. -Bill

I thought about doing that too, i was thinkin using a seat from a 70's Datsun or Toyota Hilux, you would have to mount the E brake and console somwhere else though to do it... -Bill