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Cut the rear off my wagon this last weekend..


El Presidente
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I wish we could get away with stuff like this in Australia!

 

Too much bloody red tape and requirements for engineering to satisfy insurance, highway patrol and road worthy requirements :banghead:

 

As it is I'm lucky to have flown under the radar with Ruby Scoo so far. Hopefully it stays this way for a long time to come!

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Cheers

 

Bennie

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Awesome.

 

Though with as substantial as that hoop looks, I think you should go further and create a type of exo-cage for that Subaru :headbang:

 

Just run some tube to the top of the windshield, then down to the strut towers.

And tied left to right. With good DOM tubing, it would provide some good roll-over protection.

 

560x.jpg

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I wish we could get away with stuff like this in Australia!

 

Too much bloody red tape and requirements for engineering to satisfy insurance, highway patrol and road worthy requirements :banghead:

 

As it is I'm lucky to have flown under the radar with Ruby Scoo so far.

 

It varies state to state.

 

Some states do have "roadworthyness" inspections..... in heavily populated states in the eastern U.S. They check for rust, beacuse thy salt the roads heavily in winters.

 

And if your crazy mad max modified rig causes an accident.....you're insurance probably will limit what they cover. They will claim "unsafe modifications" were done, and that since they didn't know about it....they won't pay to cover damages.

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Thanks guys!

 

I used 3/16 because the bed frame will be part of a hybrid exo/subframe. I'm hoping to get the turn signals and reverse lights done this weekend, a tailgate, weld up some brackets for new mirrors(so I can go doorless) and hopefully get started on a removable divider to seal in the passenger compartment.

 

Josh

 

Don't go doorless until you get some kind of an exo or subframe. The doors are part of the unibody structure. Besides, if you happen across LEO that knows his stuff he will write you a ticket. Can't run doorless on a unibody!!

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Don't go doorless until you get some kind of an exo or subframe. The doors are part of the unibody structure. Besides, if you happen across LEO that knows his stuff he will write you a ticket. Can't run doorless on a unibody!!

 

Huh. I used to run doorless in my Jeep Cherokee(which is a unibody) and never had any problems and I beat the crap out of it. When I thought about going doorless I searched around on the forum and read about several people not having problems too. Its my understanding that the doors aren't part of the unibody structure just like most unibodys, but in terms of crash testing they are part of the structure. Basicly it willn't hurt anything...the unibody will flex around like it always does and it will flex back to where is (just like a framed rig), but in a crash I'd be in trouble. I already drove my rig for a few days around town with no doors and the doors reinstalled fine.

 

As long as your not an idiot and you have a seatbelt on, going doorless in a unibody is fine, I've done it for years. Cops are more concerned with seatbelts, mudflaps, and fender flares. What area your in can make a huge difference though.

 

Josh

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Awesome.

 

Though with as substantial as that hoop looks, I think you should go further and create a type of exo-cage for that Subaru :headbang:

 

Just run some tube to the top of the windshield, then down to the strut towers.

And tied left to right. With good DOM tubing, it would provide some good roll-over protection.

 

Thanks!

 

Yeah, in a roll over that hoop alone would do a whole lot for me up front. Its getting a full exo, with rock sliders and tube fenders, but I'm using grade b pipe instead of DOM. I'm familiar with DOM and its just not necessary for what I'm doing considering difference in strength and cost.

 

Josh

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How ever you want to do it. I can give you the information. What you do with it is up to you...

 

I appreciate your concerns and I hear where you coming from. I'm gonna do what I'm gonna do and if I have any problems I'll certainly post a story. Consider me a guinea pig:D

 

Josh

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pretty positive i saw this beast drive right past my house on meridian ave in northgate... you turned left like a block past my house.

 

looks ************ing awesome and i am jealous

 

Thanks! Yeah, that must have been me, apperantly I live right down the road from you. How are ya neighbor?

 

Josh

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Thanks! Yeah, that must have been me, apperantly I live right down the road from you. How are ya neighbor?

 

Josh

 

haha small world i have been following this thread for a while now. i gotta walk over there sometime and check out that beast up close.

 

ive been keepin an eye out for a sub $500 GL to build up...

Edited by subiwag
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  • 3 weeks later...
Josh,

 

What is your plan for the sliders? 1.5 x 1.5? After this last run that mod is #2 on my to do list.

 

 

K

 

I'm using 1.5" schedule 80(just over 3/16 wall) grade b pipe for my sliders, same as my tube fenders. They'll get welded onto a unibody stiffener(that will be 1.5x1.5x3/16 sq tube) that ties the front and rear lift block together.

 

After seeing what happened to Jeff, a skid pan is still #1 on my list be fore I make it out.

 

Josh

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  • 4 months later...
  • 1 year later...

BBBBBUUUUUUMMMMPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!

 

I've been working on my rig when I've had time and I was able to get a lot done by taking a week off work before WCSS. The upgrades are starting to pile up since I last posted here, so I thought I'd update.

 

The first mod was a new exhaust system and a cat fix. I'm using an ej18 impreza y-pipem so the cat is attatched to the actual y-pipe by a flange which made adapting really easy. Heres what I came up with-

 

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Installed:

 

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I used 2" for everything from the y-pipe to the flowmaster 50, then 2 1/2 from there back just for sound. 

 

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Originally I had the exhaust go straight back like a stock wagon, but with the bobbed back, I got tons of fumes in the cab which got really, really old. I fixed it by dumping it out he side right behind the rear tire. I didn't want to deal with crushed exhaust tips, so I used a piece of 2x4x3/16 box tube as an exhaust tip and welded to the bottom of my sub frame. Now if it hits a rock, it'll survive.

 

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I've noticed no difference in bottom end after removing the cat, but my top end goes further now, which is fun on the freeway. I love the sound, thats all I can say....At idle(600rpm) it is dead quiet, no blub, no lub, nothing. From idle to about 2700 it sounds a lot like my old Jeep. It has a resonating growl that just sounds angry. From 2700 to about 4500 it sounds like a tuned honda..ehh...but from there to about 7000ish it reminds me of a dirtbike, like my buddies KTM. Its fun :grin:

 

More to come -

 

Josh

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After my EJ upgrade, I really needed a skid pan especially because the oil pan sits 1 1/2" lower than the ea82 pan. So I drafted some machinists prints and got to work

 

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I don't have any construction pictures but heres the finish product. All the square tube is 1 1/2"x3/16 and the panels are 14ga mild. It attaches to pretty much everything you can attach to; 3 stock skid holes on the crossmember, the unused swaybar mounts, the front core support, and two 1" bolts through the tie-down points. If this pan ever comes off, I have bigger issues.

 

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So far so good, I've had it to walker a couple times now and I have not been easy on it. With the edges welded around the 14ga, it makes it really tough.

 

Josh

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