travelvw

Nice to see the low range improvements/upgrades about to be put to the test: my favorite of all your upgrades is a proper low range. Keep up the great work. K

Should have been black, yep ;). Front end looks like it can handle a smash from an amateur driver! Nice work. K

Naaah. Love the videos. K

Sweeeet! K

Oh no, timing belt failure! Otherwise, this topic needs to be changed to 'Long travel first gen IS faster and more reliable off-road'. That car is a beast! Great to see you guys, thanks for coming out to the Ozarks. K

Nice to see a rear bumper on yours and a rear strut tower bracing on B's that continues to come apart due to rust and wreck. Thanks for taking the time to edit and post these Mr P Todd! K

Wow man, what a trip!!! K

Strut swapping for fun/research, you guys are nuts! Yeah, I'm used to no A/C in my old Toyota with a little heater core foot burn in the summer time. I'm not sure what all is going on with your high lifts, but I always spray a little lube on mine and work it up and down before I head out. They like to stick and not function properly after they sit for a bit. K

Weather looks like it was still nice and cool up there. The random, dumped mound of potatoes is super bizarre! I think I've only seen one leech in person. Lighter weight vehicles are more fun to drive. Sounds like the rig you built will work well for you in the long run. Congrats, after all that hard work and seeing it thru. K

Given the intense customization that went in to this car, it sounds like a very successful first trip out, congrats! It's been a long process. Nice too see the Impreza finally huckin' some dust! K

Sick!!! Awesome progress! Raspy? Exhaust must be perfect then, leave it. Didn't you go stand alone to avoid electrical issues? But congrats on finding the issue. Looks like you are really close to having a driver. With trimmed bumper covers and a set of rally wheels, and you'd have yourself a cover car. Ha! K

Ehhhhh... Really incredible build. Patiently executed and well thought out. And it's so clean and rust-free! Hopefully you get the cam sensors figured out soon. K

It runs!! Nice progress. Hope to see it on the trails this year! K

Nice progress on the green Impreza, I look forward to seeing it finished. Thanks for documenting the death of that legendary first gen. Man, that car really took a beating. Save some of that blinker fluid for the new one! K

Bummer about the low range, that helical gear looks roached! Get that thing sorted; I want one that can handle even more thrust force and a similar driving style. Whenever you get to disassembling and rebuilding it, I am curious to find out if there are any additional parts with excessive wear, or if it is just that one gear. I think it's time to focus on the first gen, right? You should be proud of the years of use and abuse you got out of the black Outback. Gorgeous up there. K

Love the addition of the hi/lo shift levers over the cables. Looks like you are about finished mocking up the rear suspension. The entire skid plate frame looks well executed. Everything I'm seeing is an improvement over the Outback... man, you are taking this car to the next level! K

The first gen is coming right along. Lets see the final install of L/R billet knuckles and chromoly trailing arms. Headers look close enough to the rack boots, I'd make heat shields or wrap the ends. K

Lots of great work going on here, but I can't believe you bought headers: love it!! K

Lower 'frame' on the second gen pic is gusseted at the firewall; that certainly looks stronger. Good point. K

Love it! I can't believe you bought headers; car is going to sound good, too. How about doing those head gaskets now while it's out of the car instead of later when it's in the car? Looks like these cars need more bracing for the front a-pillar; same place that repeatedly cracked on the Outback? Does B's Forester have any bracing up front like a WRX? K

YES! Heck of an upgrade! K

Whaaaat? K

Exactly what D said, minus the scoops and vents... if it is indeed factory matched paint: green or Miller High Life. The gas tank skids look great. Bumper could use more K or B, but it's a good start :). K

The answer is a minimum of 3.5" subframe spacers for 235/75R15, so I'll be making 4" spacers to be safe. Also, I forgot to post this video from spring of this year:

^That's what I figured. I would personally like to limit the body cutting. It's more work than making spacers, which will in turn give me more floor/rocker clearance from the unforgiving Ozark rocks. We all have slightly different goals for our projects. So, hopefully J is capable of answering a simple question with something more than sarcasm? My experience with vintage portal axles is wheel hop, blown bearings, and oil leaks: my bus will not have portals by the time I'm done with it. K