Off road friendly aeromodding... My lil beast

[freebeard]

That makes sense. My roof rack has round, transverse tubing for the (deck?) and they moan loudest at about 45mph. A thin board where you have the light bar helps immensely.

What kind of light pattern does that unit have (i,e., flood or spot)?

[chillsworld]

That's awesome that you run that thing through ORV parks! I love subbies and all manner of capable cars/light trucks. I'd love to have an older Sub GL wagon with the true 4x4 with 4lo/4hi... I found one locally but they won't return my calls Have you installed any bashplates or underbody armor to yours?

I had thought of another vehicle, but buying another vehicle wasn't an option.... UNTIL i found I needed $1k worth of IFS rebuild. Cost benefit analysis leads me to believe the amount of money I need to spend on it in the next 6 months won't get me the same quality vehicle I could most likely find buying for the same amount

I'm currently cruising craigslist for something like a subaru/small pickup or a large F250 to do run biodiesel/WVO in. I've always wanted a vehicle with long distance range and free fuel

So I have put my modding of the mountaineer on hold till I determine which way I will be going with this. If I can't find another vehicle by the time repairs are necessary, I'll go back to my plan to mod this lil beast I hope no matter what, I can accumulate info and feedback that will be useful to off road friendly modding!


~C

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by chillsworld

I'm currently cruising craigslist for something like a large F250 to do run biodiesel/WVO in. I've always wanted a vehicle with long distance range and free fuel
~C

Do you know anything about the older powerstroke fuel injector system?

[chillsworld]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

Do you know anything about the older powerstroke fuel injector system?

I'm actually looking for the IDI trucks, fully mechanical and capable of running off of pretty much anything in stock form. I'll have to learn how to rebuild/install the pump, but from what I understand it's easy once you learn how to do it. The engine may be gutless and inefficient, but it will serve its purpose perfectly for me... Or so I hope

~C

[oil pan 4]

It wouldn't be gutless and inefficient if it were turbocharged.
When I installed my first turbocharger on my 6.5L it increased fuel mileage by about 2 to 2.5 mpg. Those MPGs were earned at 5 to 10 mph faster than before the turbo too.

So that means you will be looking for a 6.9L or 7.3IDI. Not sure what year they started turbo charging the 7.3L. The 7.3 turbo is so under sized, chevy diesel guys wont even put the 7.3s turbo on a chevy 6.2L diesel. So you might be better off getting a dirt cheap nonturbo and do the turboing it your self.

[chillsworld]

Originally Posted by bradze

but i just saw you are in georgia, so i guess driving a foreign car would be like waving a flag that says "i hate jesus"

I went back to look at the pic of your car, I found one on Craigslists I wanted to compare.... And saw that last line, I started laughing outloud. I missed that the first time I read it haha

I don't think any vehicle I pick will cause problems... It will always have mud on it, National Park bumper stickers, and I'm 6'4" with a beard... I can be redneck, hippie, or anything in between, people just accept me

~C

[bradze]

i added that last part a few minutes after i submitted the post. there are plenty of guys who offroad their outbacks, one comes to mind who i think is from alabama actually. they're very popular in the NorthWest. heres a video from the 2012 event, when my car was still new Even Good Ol' Boys Love Mudding In Subarus
i really like the little article "even the reddest of necks..."

[bradze]

Originally Posted by chillsworld

That's awesome that you run that thing through ORV parks! I love subbies and all manner of capable cars/light trucks. I'd love to have an older Sub GL wagon with the true 4x4 with 4lo/4hi... I found one locally but they won't return my calls Have you installed any bashplates or underbody armor to yours?

I had thought of another vehicle, but buying another vehicle wasn't an option.... UNTIL i found I needed $1k worth of IFS rebuild. Cost benefit analysis leads me to believe the amount of money I need to spend on it in the next 6 months won't get me the same quality vehicle I could most likely find buying for the same amount

I'm currently cruising craigslist for something like a subaru/small pickup or a large F250 to do run biodiesel/WVO in. I've always wanted a vehicle with long distance range and free fuel

So I have put my modding of the mountaineer on hold till I determine which way I will be going with this. If I can't find another vehicle by the time repairs are necessary, I'll go back to my plan to mod this lil beast I hope no matter what, I can accumulate info and feedback that will be useful to off road friendly modding!


~C

i had a homemade skid plate under my engine/trans but it got so bashed up i took it off and will just get a premade one when i have money. my front bumper got destroyed so i "fixed" it with zip ties and aluminum plates on the bottom. its much stronger than what it was for almost no money. my family truckster is just a mallcrawler right now, at least its living up to what i bought it for, a comfy family hauler thats reliable and can do almost anything and gets decent mpg. i was using the truckster for rallycross and offroading and all sorts of stuff but i broke an axle 2 months ago and am not allowed to use it for anything other than an appliance car. if you can find an older one cool, but some people get early 90s legacies, and track down an AUDM gearbox with true LO range. one guy in moab did this, his legacy makes rock crawling jeeps look stupid.

[chillsworld]

Originally Posted by bradze

i added that last part a few minutes after i submitted the post. there are plenty of guys who offroad their outbacks, one comes to mind who i think is from alabama actually. they're very popular in the NorthWest. heres a video from the 2012 event, when my car was still new Even Good Ol' Boys Love Mudding In Subarus
i really like the little article "even the reddest of necks..."

Oh I know, I've seen my fair share of Subbie GL/brat videos from the northwest! I love the clearance and tires on that first white one in the video I'd rock that for sure!

Originally Posted by bradze

i had a homemade skid plate under my engine/trans but it got so bashed up i took it off and will just get a premade one when i have money. my front bumper got destroyed so i "fixed" it with zip ties and aluminum plates on the bottom. its much stronger than what it was for almost no money. my family truckster is just a mallcrawler right now, at least its living up to what i bought it for, a comfy family hauler thats reliable and can do almost anything and gets decent mpg. i was using the truckster for rallycross and offroading and all sorts of stuff but i broke an axle 2 months ago and am not allowed to use it for anything other than an appliance car. if you can find an older one cool, but some people get early 90s legacies, and track down an AUDM gearbox with true LO range. one guy in moab did this, his legacy makes rock crawling jeeps look stupid.

I think I've seen that video actually of the guy in MOAB, and I was sitting there giggling like a school boy when I watched. I would be more interested in a divorced transfer case for even greater MPG gains on the road

I'll definitely have to look into the subies again, now that I"m more or less in the market for another car . I kind of have my heart set on Diesel though, the idea of running on veggie or homebrew bio might be too much to ignore.

~C

[adam728]

Originally Posted by bradze

we sorta have similar goals. ever consider looking into a 2010 or so subaru outback? with the right tires theyll have about 9" of ground clearance and can go 95% of the places a jeep wrangler can.

That claim is heavily area dependent. Take it out to Arizona rock crawling and that 95% becomes more like 35% due to lack of low range and a breakover angle that will leave it beached everywhere. Take it to the dunes and that 95% becomes more like 99.99%.

Just saying, lots of factors come into play. Big thumbs up for wheeling it though.

but i just saw you are in georgia, so i guess driving a foreign car would be like waving a flag that says "i hate jesus"

Still not as bad as parts of Michigan. This is "Big 3" land, and some people feel obligated to let those driving "foreign" cars know it. One town near us gives me a chuckle any time we pass through. The Car Quest has a Nissan Versa for the delivery car. We have yet to spot any other foreign car when driving through there, it's a game we play, every time. I swear they handed out a free Grand Am to everyone that moved to town, they seem to rule that place. Millington, MI