Jack's Journey, another Poverty Pack

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Jack is a one owner since new (me!) SG MY04 Forester X.
He's served us well over the years, mostly as a daily driver for SWMBO with a few camping trips towing a 7'x4' light off road camper trailer as well as board carrier and shuttle bus for the kids.
The last 18 months He's been reduced to Camper Trailer puller & Mal/Nipper (surf lifesaving) board carrier.
About 8 months back, SWMBO started raising discussions about trading Jack in on "Something Else" to the value of about $15 - 20ksecond hand, hiluxy sort of thing as she felt Jack was getting a little worn out.
This was to be used predominantly as a shuttlebus, camper trailer tower & board carrier mind you, but with a view to more adventurous touring..

With a little bit of effort, I managed to convince her that Jack was not in fact terribly worn out (backed up by the mechanic thankfully) but just needed a bit of a spruce up.

And thus the journey begins..
 
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So.. the plans:
Get more air between his belly and the ground without leaving it entirely, Fit betterer more ruggedy feet, raise his nostrils up a bit so he can still breath in bigger puddles and not choke on dust. Improve his night vision.
Maybe even downsize his tagalong with something a bit lighter and more versatile.

Commencement Date: About mid October

First bit: Get that belly up! (Lift Kit).
I almost went mad and bought the SLO 4" Monster lift kit,

Ended up buying something a little smaller, but probably just as mad - a 2.5" front 3.5" rear kit from Subie Lift Oz. Six hundred and something, 180 to install

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Before strut lift:

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Strut lift in!

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After strut lift:

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Sorry for potato quality.

Oh.. forgot.. picked up some Blitz 240s on special for $349 from Autobarn.

Running Total: about $1250.00
 
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Part 2
Tyres & Bash Plate
Purchased 5 Dueler A/T 697 for about $140.00 each, including fitting balancing etc, free rotation every 5000k for life. It's not what you know..
Probably not the best choice for things like the Creb or Old Tele Tracks, but I'll downsize the rims in future and get something beefier if need be. at that price I couldn't refuse.
Total: $700
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I'd also ordered a bash plate from David Wilson, which just happened to arrive today, so I fitted it when I got home. price including shipping (to Cairns mind you)
Total: $400.00

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Total this round: $1100.00
Oh..picked up a snorkel online, the triton whateveritis, damn close fit by the looks of it, $120.00

Running Total: $2470.00

To add to the list, we're going to sort of straighten out the worst of the bumps on the body, with a dab of paint on the rusty bits.
 
Another (boring white) my04 poverty pack getting dirty is no bad thing. Gee if I kept a running total on what I have spent on mine I would have stopped spending money on it long ago! Still, the continued upgrades have definitely made the car better off road and in most cases on road too. Have fun.
 
Rally said:
Gee if I kept a running total on what I have spent on mine
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You've probably spent enough that you could have bought a small fleet of them instead of just one.. :rotfl:
 
Interesting what was in lift kit just strut spacers or some more stuff like arms spacers as well. Isnt it 2" is limit of lift for sake of cv angles?
And money means nothing, if its gives you joy then i like to spend all i can and wont feel bad for it because i will know where i put them . it makes my car better, safer, cooler and i will enjoy it everyday. Thats what money is for.
 
scalman said:
Interesting what was in lift kit just strut spacers or some more stuff like arms spacers as well.
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Trailing arm spacers as well. really nice quality from what I can tell.

Isnt it 2" is limit of lift for sake of cv angles?
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Umm.. I haven't broken anything yet, apart from a split CV cover thingy (pretty sure it's original, 165,000Ks) But I haven't done a lot off road since I've had the kit in.
Full droop is the worry I hear.
On the plus side, I'm pretty bloody slow off road, too much gorgeous coutnryside in the Tropics to look at
My main reason for the lift is to be able to get through deeper water. Got a lot of waterproofing/protection to do yet before I hit the bigger puddles, the last thing I want to do is come a cropper in the Daintree river (which will probably be my first decent river crossing) because of the crocs, not a pleasant way to go.

And money means nothing, if its gives you joy then i like to spend all i can and wont feel bad for it because i will know where i put them . it makes my car better, safer, cooler and i will enjoy it everyday. Thats what money is for.
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I'm just putting it in to see how much i end up spending on it, this forum seem as good a place as any to file that information!
 
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So will you go for something more or its just enough for you now? Rims stays same? Gonna paint them black maybe?
Shocks original?
 
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Rims the same for the moment although I'd like something a little lighter to balance out the added weight of the tyres and looking at going down to a 15" MT for when I do the trek to the cape,
Paint adds weight!
Shocks original and probably staying with the same (one needs replacing soon unfortunately, probably do both the front ones at the same time It doesn't make sense to do one at a time I reckon), ditto springs - don't want stiffer springs, I like comfort and as soon as you go off paved roads here you hit corrugations. I might even go softer!

Definitely want to upgade diffs and put in SF low range, just a matter of accumulating the parts so I can do it all in one hit.

I missed out on a WRX (2009?)that had been rolled at low speed (backed off a ledge) by someone I know, didn't even think of putting an offer in on it for parts. I should have, it was pretty clean. But then, I don't even know if any of the mechanics of it would have been suitable...
It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the local 'subaru guru' wreckers/mechanics got hold of it, use the parts for their race cars (which are all pre 2000)
They've got a nice little brumby they're putting a supercharger in too, shold be a fun little work ute!
I must go and see them again during normal working hours and have chat about what I'm after.
 
Cool. What diffs you thinking of putting there?
Steel rims much better and stronger for offroad. I would use them.
Yes stiff ride is bad . i think my front shocks are kinds too harsh on bad roads. Think they still original ones.
So how much your ground clearance now in front skid plate, exaust in middle and rear diff? Mine about 26 cm front skid plate and 28cm rear diff.so its about 10.2"
Changing shocks you need to do both so car would stay on same level. Best thing to change springs same time too. Like for example my front springs are changed and i think they slightly diff stiffness one side softer then other. So i would change both with both shocks.
 
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it's a shade over 300mm at rear diff with 215/65X16 on it, haven't measured anything else really, I should do.
Diff-wise, not sure yet until I find out what I can get. A DCCD would be high on the list i think. I like the thought of plated diffs front & rear, but not sure they'll be in the budget.

Main objective at the moment is making it a bit more water resistant. Going to try and get the snorkel in next week, then start plugging holes. Probably shift the ECU (my usual mechanic thinks that's a waste of time, he might not be my mechanic much longer, some of his workers are a bit slap-dash) and after that start delving into the transmission.

oh.. and try and figure out recovery stuff. Thinking of getting a box tow bar thing (the removable ones) front and back (have to replace the back, because it's not removeable) with anderson plugs nearby, then mount a winch on the removable bit so I can pull the car out from either end. when not in use, the winch can then live in the back of the car with the rest of the bits & pieces (Endgel, snatch straps, tools, spade, cutting equipment and so on)

Unless I win a fortune, in which case I'll buy myself an Iveco!
 
Nice mods you thinking of. I could not afford those so i no thinking even.
So what mind trips you do? Short ones couple hrs or couple days with camping or even weeks?
I love camping and i found out that my trunk is more comfy to sleep in then tent . i did slept in mine for 2 weeks and it was amazing. I would do it for longer no problem if would have money and free time.
 
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scalman said:
So what mind trips you do? Short ones couple hrs or couple days with camping or even weeks?
I love camping and i found out that my trunk is more comfy to sleep in then tent . i did slept in mine for 2 weeks and it was amazing. I would do it for longer no problem if would have money and free time.
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We tow a camper trailer and go camping a few times a year, pretty much drive to destination set up camp and that's it for a few days.

I've only just started building up the car for more adventurous stuff, so the few trips I've done off road recently have been day trips.
Not sure what to do with the camper trailer, thinking of selling it and getting something smaller (it's massive) and lighter, perhaps something that has a roof top tent on it and not much else, so I can fill it up with spare parts, fuel and water for the trips ahead! I've got a few planned for the years ahead.
My schedule for defined trips is:

1. Creb Track, theoretically just a day trip, but challenging, with a fair sized river crossing and a few creek crossings. If the car survives this, It will survive anything I'd want to do in it. This will be my "tester"
The two things that concern me about this track is the steepness (up and down several times) and the crocodiles in the Daintree river.
I aim to tackle this once the wet season is over enough for the ground to dry out and the river level to drop, although the way things are going with the wet season this year, I'll probably be able to do it over the Christmas break!

2. Tip of Cape York (Furthest point north while still on Australian mainland) taking the softer routes of the Old Tele track. Hopefully do this within the next two years.

3. Australia's "Longest Shortcut" to Perth, then home to Cairns via Broome & Darwin This one would be epic, hopefully do it before they pave it all

Then I could comfortably say I'd seen most of Australia, as I've already done most of the east and southern coasts and sizeable chunks of the middle. Oh, and Tasmania, the cold bit down the bottom.

There's some good video of both the Creb Track & the Old Tele Track on you tube, It'll give you some idea of what I'm planning on putting this car through!
 
scalman said:
Steel rims much better and stronger for offroad. I would use them.
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That's true for 4WDs but not for Subarus. OEM alloys are very strong & light, OEM steelies bend easily & are heavy. Alloys are the way to go for our little Subies

Ben Up North said:
1. Creb Track, theoretically just a day trip, but challenging, with a fair sized river crossing and a few creek crossings. If the car survives this, It will survive anything I'd want to do in it. This will be my "tester"
The two things that concern me about this track is the steepness (up and down several times) and the crocodiles in the Daintree river.

2. Tip of Cape York (Furthest point north while still on Australian mainland) taking the softer routes of the Old Tele track. Hopefully do this within the next two years.

3. Australia's "Longest Shortcut" to Perth, then home to Cairns via Broome & Darwin This one would be epic, hopefully do it before they pave it all
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Awesome !!! :monkeydance:
 
Got bored and seeing as I was missing one of the front covers (where fog lights go on the fancy subarus) thought I'd cut some out of some aluminium screen I had.
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Looks a lot better from a distance, especially if you squint a bit.
'Temporarily' tacked in. When they fall out I'll fix them (or the next ones) permanently.
Maybe.
 
Should keep the mozzies out :lol:
 
Anything that keeps mozzies out has got to be good.

I do wonder why the original covrrs aren't solid- is air pressure needed in there or something?
 
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