The AUSubaru.com.au Forums

Hi guys,

I've been lurking here for a while, reading and getting a few ideas. I thought it was time to extract a digit and get on with a project of my own. So here is my starting point.


A very stock standard 1988 GL Touring Wagon.

I've managed to pick up a 3 inch lift kit(thanks Blackmale) and a set of 15" alloys off a 1997 Nissan Pathfinder. I started the process of fitting the lift kit this morning. Not the easiest thing to do by yourself, but hey thats half the fun. The only drama i had was a rounded nut on the front crossmember, just the excuss I needed to get the grinder out. Gotta love the fireworks.

With the rear finished and most of the front lift finished i thought I'd to a test fitting of a rim on the arse end before it got to dark.


Given that the tyres are 215/80/15 it was a very tight fit. The only spot that it was hitting was the mud flap. I alter it slightly with a stanley knife which worked with no hammer action.


The offset is great. Sits just inside the line of the wheel arch(very tight on the inside)


Much better ground clearance.

I'm hoping the tyres will fit the front as easy. I'm a bit worried about the firewall and the lower spring base but i guess I'll find out tomorrow. I'll try and take a few more pics and give further details.

Cheers Rob.

good stuff,, good to see aother soob getting lifted in the w of a

dave

Good progress mate. Hopefully see you around the streets sometime.

Dave

or better yet OFF the streets Looking good there, L series Tourer is my favorite Suby. Good work going for 6stud conversion right off the bat, I hope it fits well at the front.

cant wait to see the 6 stud workin. lookin good so far.

So NOW i know why blackmale didnt get back to me regading the lift kit:-D, you bought it!!

Good on ya matey, looking good so far..

Marc

OK here's what I managed to get done today. These pics are from around lunchtime. Lift kit fully installed, 6 bolt conversion not yet started.





I was really surprised with the overall height of the car(not that I'm complaining). Good ground clearance which makes it a lot easier to work under the car.

In the afternoon I completed the 6 bolt conversion. I ended up having to remove the front mudflaps because of clearance issues. The daylight managed to beat me so I didn't get a chance to get anymore pics, more to come tomorrow. The end result looks good but could be improved with some centre caps.

I couldn't help myself, had to go for a small test drive. There was some rubbing on the front wheel arch but nothing too extreme. I didn't notice much of a difference in take off speed but it's a bit hard to tell around the streets. Then again an EA82 running a carb is hardly a powerhouse.

Two full days working on the car, time for a beer or two and a chill out.

Cheers Rob

lookin good buddy.

Dave

looks awesome. really.. now time to come out and test with us


dave

bloody hell that looks excellent. huge difference with the 6 stud/bigger wheels it looks. and what only time for a beer afterwards haha!

Whoa looks good bro - im sure your gonna have a heap of fun with that!!

Looks very good!
Rims/tyres look cool, and most importantly, they're a tad different, its nice to see

Very nice. I can't wait to see the finished product (centre caps and all) topped off with some off road pics and vids.

A good weekend of effort by the look of it!

Cheers

Bennie

Here's a few more pics.





I ended up having to cut the front guards and hammer flat the ridge on the firewall. The guards are a bit rough but I'll neaten everything up later. I'm still getting some scrubbing when accelerating through a corner but otherwise all good. I'm guessing that there is a bit of play in the suspension due to old rubber bushes. Time for some new Nolathane bits and pieces.

Realistically I'm going to have to go for smaller tyres (~27") to avoid major scrubbing while offroading. I got 4 rims and tyres off ebay for $99 so I can't really complain. I've been looking at Bridgestone desert duellers 693 from memory. I'm really looking for something that works well in sand and normal road use. I'd be interested in what tyres forester and outback guy’s use.

As for future mods,
-EA82T on straight LPG (not sure yet)
-front bulbar (anyone in Perth know where to get one)
-rear wheel carrier (may go the altered bike carrier)
-off road camper using rear suspension off fwd l series (maybe I'm dreaming)

Any feedback on progress so far, tyres, future mods would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers Rob

i use kumho all terrains on my outback in i think they are the best tyre ive ever had on an offroader

they are dead silent on the road and are really really impressive on the sand and dirt

dave

Awesome job mate looks good.

surely youd get scrubbing on uptravel aswell though?

Looking great there!
Bullbar try BrennyV - I think his Leone bullbar is still forsale, it's a very good one.
EA82turbo eww....do it proper - go EJ.
Offroad camper haha I've had the exact same idea. I have the rear half of my old wagon sitting there still and already have the 2wd rear end ready to go into it

So far the only scrubbing on uptravel has been on the rear wheels when hitting a fair sized dip in the road (rear mudflaps). I sprayed the firewall with putty to find where it's rubbing, no luck yet.

The idea behind the EA82T is fitting the cam housings from a carb motor to a turbo motor to allow use of a electronic dizzy without the need for an aftermarket engine management system. With using LPG and a WAIC it should allow higher Boost levels and higher engine output. Also the idea of an insert for the exhaust port to allow the use of hotter cams has possibilities (re USC post). I'm looking for an engine that has higher output without the need for computers and is therefore easier to fix. Like I said it's all in the planning stage so it doesn't hurt to have a few wild ideas.

Thanks D3v1l, I'll check out the khumo's.

Hey Amuck,

I'm not sure that I understand what you're wanting to do with the turbo application - most people go for the EA82T as standard. If you're going to be trying this with a carbie engine I wouldn't expect it to be reliable or living for long unless you re-build the engine to handle the stresses a turbo will injuice on the engine internals.

As for the dizzy, if you get a standard turbo engine the dizzy's are interchangable, but why you'd want to do this is beyond me - the EFI turbo system will look after itself if you look after the engine/put the right extras on it to "go faster", it'll probabily use less fuel than a back yard setup.

Check out the "My Car" section - one of the subi boys that do the restorations has made his own turbo EA81 with carbie application, with the carbie before the turbo and some elaborate bloody pipe work to match!

I'm not meaning to get you down, I just want you to know what you're really in for. Also the inlet ports on the heads are different between the Carbie and MPFI/MPFI turbo motors - latter having twin inlet ports each side.

Cheers

Bennie

wow! its looks mega atm with those rims. ill keep my eye out for you, not too far away from my place