obk25xt

Couple more vids from TSF last weekend. It was a nice day up there.. Theres more on my youtube if you're bored……

Welded new shackle hangers, mounted f150's, really liking the new travel I've gained with the longer shocks. The f150's do everything better than the 63's did, but they are def not as tough. Truck needs a new steering box, and this one needs resealed. Ordered weld on beadlock kits. Looking for 38x12.50's……

Got my street wheels all mounted up, this car is ready for battle… Had to do a lil fender roll & pull (read: beat the **** out of them with a hammer), but the tires/wheels fit without issue and don't rub the fenders anywhere. And, this thing handles wayyyyyy better with more contact patch and less sidewall, along with the much wider stance (was running 195/70/14's on stock steelies). I am pretty sure i will look into some autocross. Also, been running a stock 4.44 FXT trans for the last month or so and I really like it.

The lower arms look pretty stout, but the uppers not so much…..

I've painted some wheels, and I did paint the hood vents last night. But yeah, I agree, the patchwork thing seems to be working out quite well haha..

Did a lil more lighting and paint… I'm really gonna stop messing with it now… At least for a day or so. Also, picked up a set of 04 STI lateral links to stiffen things in the rear up a lil. I'll get those on but probably not before the next rallycross, we will see...

THANKS!! I live in SWWA, bout 20 min north of Portland. And yeah my plan has been to paint things as I go, but so far I've painted NOTHING. I just bolt it on in whatever condition it's been when I pick it up, and it seems to be working out haha... Today I made some covers for the fog light voids, and I ordered some DOT approved headlights. Those LED's are wayyyyyy to bright to drive on the road, I don't wan a be the guy that causes an accident, especially in a car that looks as ridiculous as this one.

And this brings us to TODAY! This is actually what I did today. The rest of the posts are dated today, but had happened over the last 6 months or so…. Facelifted the car today. Looks good. Poor car is having identity issues and doesn't know anything about matching haha….

So! Check it out!! These things went on AWESOME! Took a lil trial and error (and making a bunch holes in my fenders) but I got them looking good. The rears I took 3-4" out of. I didn't cut the fenders underneath, I haven't had any clearance issues so far. Not bad for $10 at the junkyard and an hour in the garage! Whatcha think!?

Did AWESOME this weekend at the NOR PAC national event. Placed 3rd in MA, and got some good experience. It POURED rain on sunday, right before our final run and that made the entire event for me. I was able to run clean and claw into 3rd position. Super fun, great time, awesome people, car did perfect, new transmission is SWEET, and I drove well. Cant wait for next month, my plan is to do NOTHING to the car…. Maybe a few cosmetic things, but mechanically its tight. I'll probably throw a few spare parts in my race kit, and I also learned to be super conscience of tire pressure this weekend. All in all, major success….

After a few days mashing around on the new trans setup I've come to the conclusion that its gonna work out awesome in the dirt. It's pretty fun on the street actually too, lots of shifting but it pulls better in any gear… One more week... Fabbed up a tow point today, hope to not have to use it, but its better to have it and not need then need it and blah blah….. Last "mods" before the big weekend… Added a shifter extension, and installed prothane shifter bushings… I'm not messing with anymore before nationals… Also picked up 8 bottlecap wheels, and painted them orange to match my new RS wing… This car is obnoxious going down the road, and I like it that way, be noticed, loud pipes save lives haha...

Big things are happening….. Car drove well at Chehalis, I still overdrive the hell out of it. I need to slow the eff down and drive the cones better. Pretty sure I am gonna go back to the stock rear sway, I think the 20mm is too much, oversteer is more than I'd like. Changes that are (hopefully) going to take place in the next 20 or so days…... 1. Pull 4.11 trans out, and disassemble the gearbox. 2. Remove the OEM 06 wrx flywheel/clutch currently in the car. 3. Disassemble a 4.44 FXT trans that I just have laying around. 4. Build a hybrid trans, using the 1-5 gear set form the 4.11 trans and the 4.44 final drive from the FXT trans. 5. Install a helical LSD front diff. 6. Replace OEM 06 wrx flywheel with a 12lb 02-05 flywheel. 7. Install Exedy clutch kit I have for 02-05 wrx fitment. 8. Put it all together!!! This should give me a close ratio 4.44 final drive gearbox, which will allow me to pretty much use 2nd for the majority of a run. Also will get me a quicker revving engine, and better engine braking with the lighter flywheel. I did a BUNCH of math and gear ratio comparisons last night, and I have some really neat charts if anyone care to see them…. I still understand that the ONLY way to improve my driving is to get more seat time. But, I real love building cars…. And this is no exception….. (combined post) Built the trans yesterday, hope to have it installed and test it today. I didn't get the OBX, there seems to be some issues with the warehouse workers shipping, idfk…. I gotta swap rear diffs and slave cylinders today. Overall the transmissions work was easier than I thought it would be. Heres a few pics, and some charts showing ratio comparisons….. This chart is the stock 4.11 vs the hybrid 4.44 side by side….. And this chart shows the stock 4.11 at redline in 1st gear is 33mph. In the modified box 33mph in 2nd gear is 4200 rpm which should put me well into usable power. I should have some seat time with it by this afternoon!!

Painted wheels, mounted flaps, installed diff skid, and am in the process of installing forester control arm bushings (oem ALK). Gonna have to do a lil exhaust work for clearance around the diff skid but other than that it all looks good. Should have the Primitive front skid installed in a few days too. I'm not gonna mess with the belly guards til after I get more serious about gutting the car and really getting into it…. Stoked on the larger tires! The 14's were awesome traction compared to the snows I ran on the Outback in April, but they were a lil on the smallish side. I think I'm getting setup properly at this point…..

Upgrade time again. This car is going to end up totally built, I can see it already, it's just the natural progression of ALL my vehicles. Bought some stuff from a guy who was parting his stage car out. Some of you may recognize it idk. Got a fair deal on the stuff and it's stuff I can and will use…. Really looking forward to being a dedicated participant in this motorsport thing…. Gonna paint the wheels an obnoxious color and probably the rest of the car will be hideous too at some point….

Here's a few pix for y'all...

Assembled/installed my replacement engine yesterday, it runs fantastic. Replaced both plugged cats with a single high-flow cat, and put 2 cherry bombs in the exhaust. I'm assuming the cats were super plugged, because before the engine swap the exhaust was WAYYYYY quieter and it was straight piped. Finished building a skid plate/engine guard from a (legally acquired) stop sign. I didn't put timing belt covers on this engine, so it is pretty necessary for some guarding down there. I also didn't have belt guards on the outback, or ANY lower protection at all, and at the last rallyx I jumped 3-5 teeth on the t-belt, and there were rocks embedded in the belt along with mud/rocks in the radiator, fans, cam gears, idlers…. Basically EVERYWHERE…. Also removed the front sway bar and swapped in a rear one from an STI. I think the car is ready for the next race… I went and mashed around on some family property this afternoon, and this car handles much much better than the outback did. Pretty stoked…. Pictars…. "New" exhaust... Engine protection...

Car is CONSUMING oil… Did compression test… 170, 172, 170, 150… Also spitting wet, black, nasty out the tail pipe and smokes like a banshee… So looks like i will be replacing the engine before the next race. Oh well, win some lose some. It will be ok, already have some good used parts lined up on the cheap. Other than that, I got some GREAT tires for rally cross. 205/70/14 fairly aggressive, should do well. And, also picked up some stock 2.5RS struts/springs. Istalled all that stuff today. Also removed the trim down the side of the car, and installed a wink mirror... New tires all mounted up.. New mirror And new stance

This is gonna be a copy/paste from DI for the most part, but I'll keep this thread updated as I continue the build. This car is a BLAST! 1995 LX coupe, 267,000 miles, 2.2, 4.11 5mt swapped into it, and 2.5RS front seats, the only power option it has is mirrors. I picked it up a few days ago, and I've already dug in. I went to pick and pull and got a wingless trunk,and a back seat (to stay in SA class for this season). I am in search of some OEM 2.5rs suspension, currently its on AGX's and H&R springs. I put a 2" catback straight pipe on it yesterday. I plan on building a road sign skid plate today sometime. Enough yadda yadda, pictars……. This is how I picked it up. And after a day in the garage... Straight pipe

Thanks! Yeah, I have zero regrets about the extra work it took me to tuck the drivetrain…. It was a PITA when I was doing it, and I was frustrated a few times and kicking myself for even thinking I needed it. But its bada$$ for sure. It's damn near flat under the cab. Looks awesome in that vid too...

Some vid from yesterday at TSF

UPDATE! Bought some brand new OME rears and put them up front. Bought some 14" shocks for the front and put my 12's in the rear. Built some bump stops (I'm calling them THUMP stops, because currently threes NO rubber anywhere in there!). Just a lil more fine tuning and I think it will be 100% dialed. Also, I am on the hunt for larger tires. Thinking its time for some 38's. I'd really like to end up with a set of 38/12.50 tsl sx's like my 36's are. PIX Heres what the bump stops look like, I need to make the frame-side landing pad for them a lil larger and add some rubber material. I'll probably end up with some belting material between 1/2"-1"… Definitely gained some droop between the OME's and the longer shocks. The front end just falls out of there now. And these springs have no problem going negative. Hopefully they can take some abuse without getting all wrapped up.

Finished the bumper, and redid the front springs, again. Am gonna pull them out one more time and add one more leaf. I like the height, but they're a lil too soft I think, its all trial and error. Next is paint, was gonna paint it all "satin espresso" but its a lil too dark. gonna end up somewhere between the original color and the dark brown.

Made some progress over the last couple days. Swapped the bent ruf packs for some 4" pro-comp rears I picked on the cheap. I think the truck is too tall now and I'll probably change it up again real soon. They ride nice tho. Then I dropped the rear bumper and bobbed 11.5" out of the bed. I really have been anti-bob for the entire time I've had this truck, but it seems to be the natural progression. I'm in the middle of building a rear bumper right now, its gonna turn out pretty slick I'd say. I drove the 2x4 rec tube into the frame 14" before I started building off of them. I am definitely over building the rear bumper, and it is not going to be removable, at all. It will tie into the frame through the rol pan and the lower quarters. I'm gonna have to make a bolt on receiver hitch tho, so I can still tow my lil trailer haha…… Here's where I'm at for the last 2 days….

Some copy/paste updates from another forum I frequent... I built a headache rack the other day. I used the internal roll bar from a Scout Traveller top. I had to modify it slightly so I could keep the toolbox tight to the rack. I pretty much built it to haul my canoe to the river, but I'll probably weld some stanchions on it and mount a couple lights or something. Here it is before I cut the gusset out of it. It would make a pretty decent lil rack as-is if I didn't have the toolbox, but I didn't want to give up the 5"-6" of usable bed. So I started cutting it up a lil, and I Put approx 24" of angle down the bedrail also. I'll probably weld some eyes or something to the angle and the hoop to, for anchor points/tie-downs. Then I painted it, and remounted my CB antenna. Works great for the canoe, it ONLY touches the rack, doesn't touch the tailgate at all. 2 point fixed bridle in the front to my tow points, and single point in the rear where I cinch it tight… Works perfect… :flipoff2: