My subaru 360, rusty beauty, now how to hypermile?

[rmay635703]

ll I figured its time to post some pictures of my rusty beauty, I prefer to drive and enjoy as opposed to make a show car.

If I get any results or make some modifications to the car like an underbelly pan for the front I will post them here, thus far here is the mess I've gotten into.

I have lined up someone with the right equipment to weld in some 16 guage flat floor pans because as you can see they just don't look right.


Passenger floor Pictures, Passenger floor Images, Passenger floor Photos, Passenger floor Videos - Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting



The drivers side and all along the rear floor are rusted through quite well, also my rear window must leak into the rear pad as when I was checking my gas tank it was quite wet and musty. Not sure how to remove it either?

Also recently my subaru has been very starved for fuel with a big air bubble in the line, fuel won't even drip out when I remove the line, apparently the very small fitting on the tank is clogged, despite the previous owner saying the tank was recoated, yet another removal I guess, anyone else think these fuel lines look odd? It would be nice if the fuel line from the tank to the filter would be big enough so the rust, dirt, whatever would clog my fuel filter as opposed to the tank fitting?


My exhaust leak I haven't solved yet the boot doesn't meet the air intake properly, not sure if I need a new boot or if the aluminum is just missing and that boot is directly above the leaky exhaust joint, I have reduced how much it leaks but it still leaks and gets sucked up by the fresh air intake, also the fresh air duct doesn't seat correctly against the outside air intake louver, maybe time for some "good stuff" expanding foam and duct tape, someone did mention a gasket for the exhaust I will have to see if I can locate one for the joint between the muffler and decompression chamber. Far as I can tell the heat box isn't leaking, funny part is the faster I go the more exhaust I smell, I would hope it would get swept away, must draft up in.




Apparently on a 2 stroke an exhaust leak saps a lot of mileage and power, I will have to work hard to get it out of the way.

Hopefully my car stays intact, there is lots of surface rust peaking through the seams on the fenders, on the inside of the doors and hinges and the front hood flys open occasionally because the latch is deteriorating.




My mileage hasn't been paticularly good either, probably because of all the fuel delivery problems, 1st was too much to the point gas came out the carb. (bad float) now too little. MPGs vary from 29 up to about 50mpg, (all in town driving) mileage has gotten better as its warmed but the vehicle isn't running right yet so I can't really say what it will end up being. It seems to be around 40ish which is low for this vehicle, I am thinking of covering the underside of the front under where the front hood opening is as it is just a big open area to catch air and make drag (and there isn't anything that needs to breath in there anyway)

Ah what to do what to do. I don't have the cash to restore this right and don't have the tools to do it myself, At least the thing is mechanically running OK save some fuel delivery issues, but what to start on 1st?

Here is a picture of my other Kei car a Miles ZX40 electric mini van, too bad it weighs over a ton, an 1100lb Mystery van converted to electric would probably go further.

Cheers
Ryan

[bgd73]

your project was a short lived day dream of mine. A friend said "Hey, wanna see a real old subaru?"
We pull into to a private road, and there it was, a white 360 van, sinking, little freaky wheels, misproportionate body size for even me, (I amnot a lrger person) So, I instantly think of cures walking around this old buggy (its my strange brain phenomona after being a service person) and thought of moving the front sets back towards the middle, a bmw flat 2 boxer motorcycle,(as if 10 grand was a drop in the bucket) wheel lugs/wheels/spindle from a newer sube, and the rust is always the easiest part (I truly enjoy welding). Steels of modern choice, and aluminums after deciphering flows.

Good luck with this project, I have only read about and never saw in action but via internet photos.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by bgd73

your project was a short lived day dream of mine. A friend said "Hey, wanna see a real old subaru?"
We pull into to a private road, and there it was, a white 360 van, sinking, little freaky wheels, misproportionate body size for even me, (I amnot a lrger person) So, I instantly think of cures walking around this old buggy (its my strange brain phenomona after being a service person) and thought of moving the front sets back towards the middle, a bmw flat 2 boxer motorcycle,(as if 10 grand was a drop in the bucket) wheel lugs/wheels/spindle from a newer sube, and the rust is always the easiest part (I truly enjoy welding). Steels of modern choice, and aluminums after deciphering flows.

Good luck with this project, I have only read about and never saw in action but via internet photos.

If I had a decent digital way of recording I could show it in action, when I first got it, it ran great and it would go over 70mph! but then the float sank, so I replaced now the fuel system gets clogged restricting top speed to around 25-35mph .

The one saving grace of my rusty car is that the motor is mechanically restored, the carb is new and clean, the float is now new and clean.

These are REALLY fun to drive and I have a feeling once I get all my fuel delivery problems worked out and get the exhaust and tuning done right this should make a very nice daily driver 50mpg in town should be no problem.

As for the seating I am 6' 2" and I fit comfortably inside, the seat moves back far enough that no one can fit in the rear seat, the only tough part is getting in and out since you are basically sitting on the ground like a rocket ship

ALso my 300lb friend fit in just fine but again hard to get in and out, the suicide doors don't help the matters.

I am hoping to get the car prettied up a bit but I don't want to spend the $11k the local body shop wanted.

I would prefer it to be a nice red so in the wisconsin winters I am seen, white car in white snow = bad.

[order99]

Oh, the poor wee bairn...

I have no idea how tiny your repair budget is-but is it possible to replace the gas tank entirely? That should do wonders for the rust in the fuel. Also, it looks like you might need to replace a few of those body areas entirely-if you forgo the cost of replacement panels you can always cut back to the unrusted metal and bridge the gaps with a few layers of fiberglass(at least on the areas not subject to critical loads!)

I love the classic looks of your Justy-I have no idea what your Cd is but I honestly can't think of any Aero mods that wouldn't ruin the lines. I suppose you could delete the passenger-side mirror and fashion an underflow tray for the body. The grill looks pretty minimal as is, a block might actually be overkill at this point. Some transparent headlight covers might help a little, but you stated you were on a budget...

And for what it's worth, my '93 Festiva has a faded red backside, a primer grey front and a (recently replaced) white drivers-side door. Oddly enough, I haven't has a single break-in so far!

[elhigh]

Security hamsters won't allow pictures to come up on my computer at work - I'm here on my third Saturday in a row, I'm starting to burn out with these six-day weeks - but if I recall correctly doesn't the 360 have an aircooled engine? If so, then maybe your exhaust smell is coming from a bad engine pan seal?

VW Beetles have this plate all the way around the bottom of the engine compartment, and it's removable and has a seal to keep it pretty much airtight. If the seal's cracked or missing, hot air that's been blown out of the engine compartment can leak back in, causing overheating and exhaust infiltration. How that would make it into your passenger compartment is a bit of a mystery.

Hey, there's a thought - VW heaters were air-to-air exchangers on the exhaust system. If that's like what's on your Subie, is one of those leaking? If it is, that'll get a lot of exhaust smell into the passenger cabin really fast, and going faster just makes it worse.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by order99

Oh, the poor wee bairn...

I have no idea how tiny your repair budget is-but is it possible to replace the gas tank entirely? That should do wonders for the rust in the fuel.

I doubt I can find a tank that would be proper without having one built, this tank looks pretty good and was supposedly coated (aka dipped and sealed), however the fuel fitting is UNDER 1/8" and any little thing in the tank would clog it.

I could justify up to maybe $3k for this project but I really really do not want to spend more than $800, the floor pans should be around $300 or so welded in, repaint I have found a do it at home in spare time guy but I haven't gotten a price down yet, I am not decided on if his level of "quality" will be good enough or not, I am not picky but my main reason for paint is to derust to prevent further rust, surface rust seems to be mainly on the front suspension area, the very rear of the car, the doors and hinges and along "edges" like the fenders, their seams, the edge of the hoods and the bottom edge of the framework.

Originally Posted by order99

Also, it looks like you might need to replace a few of those body areas entirely-if you forgo the cost of replacement panels you can always cut back to the unrusted metal and bridge the gaps with a few layers of fiberglass(at least on the areas not subject to critical loads!)

I am working on getting the floor pans cut out and flat sheetmetal welded in, I don't think any of the other body areas will be problematic (at least not yet)

Originally Posted by order99

I love the classic looks of your Justy-I have no idea what your Cd is but I honestly can't think of any Aero mods that wouldn't ruin the lines. I suppose you could delete the passenger-side mirror and fashion an underflow tray for the body. The grill looks pretty minimal as is, a block might actually be overkill at this point. Some transparent headlight covers might help a little, but you stated you were on a budget...

Never heard of this called a Justy in Japan they are called Ladybugs, a grill block is NOT what I am thinking of, there is one very poor picture showing the bottom of the car, basically the area under that front hood is wide open to the bottom near the front tires, besides my broken washer bottle and a spare tire there is absolutely nothing under that hood and no reason for it to be open underneith by the tires.

Originally Posted by order99

And for what it's worth, my '93 Festiva has a faded red backside, a primer grey front and a (recently replaced) white drivers-side door. Oddly enough, I haven't has a single break-in so far!

LoL I have never had a breakin on any car good or bad.

Anyway the exhaust smell is shown, if you look at the air intake boot on the side of my engine you will see a gap between the aluminum intake and the rubber boot that gap just happens to be directly above the joint between the muffler and the decompression chamber try though I might it won't seal perfectly as it must to make the car run correctly, just tightening that joint and reducing the leakage increased my power enough that I could shift into 3rd gear at 20mph instead of nearly 30mph. I am looking at putting in a Felpro fibreglass gasket as recommended on the subaru forum to see if that takes care of things, I also need to duct tape or ??? the boot.

Also It is possible that the heater box is leaking near the manifold gaskets but I could not see any exhaust from that area but then again it might be getting sucked through the heater system which I didn't completely dissassemble, although the heat system on this car is from the exhaust it is not identical to the VW system, the heater in this car will burn holes through your leg and will actually keep you warm, I can't say the VW system ever could do that.

[jcp123]

That is a cool project! I didn't know they sold these over here?

[KamperBob]

Ryan, any update on your project? I just stumbled on a S360 parts car which piqued my interest. A search here revealed your thread. I see you're in WI. I'm in IL.

Cheers
KB

[rmay635703]

I haven't been able to drive my car much for over 8 months, but it as at least it is now looking good and nearing restored state.

Hopefully now that my tank is fixed I will not run into clogged fuel filter issues again.

I still wonder quite strongly what the ideal harrod helper like design would be for my car?

I assume I have very bad air drag issues for its size.

Cheers
Ryan

[KamperBob]

Thanks for the update, Ryan. Now that I'm subscribed to your thread, I hope to eventually read more about your progress.

Meanwhile, while such a resto project is truly an opportunity its not really enough to flip my wig. However, if a 90% complete parts car for 500 bux is up your alley, here's the ad.
Subaru 360

Cheers
KB