FergusonT Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 My brother in law had the idea to cut the roof and windows out from the rear seats back on my '91 legacy. So far we have the hatch and windows out, we're just wondering how we're going to close in the front...from the rear seats up. We are also planning on giving it a lift and throwing a small plow on it. This car has been beat up and was just sitting around so we figured lets put it to use. Hopefully I can have some pictures up soon, but I was wondering if anybody had done anything like this before and if they have would they be able to give me some advice as how to go about mounting the plow. The plow is going to be a small garden tractor plow that might have pieces of aluminum extended out each side. Also...the suspension lift. I have heard that I should jack it up and weld taller shocks in place to lift it. Does anybody else have a better idea as far as a left, we want to get the frame higher as well, not just a body lift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Bad idea. The roof is the most structural part on a unibody car. removing it will compromise the structural integrity of the entire car, espeically with a lift and a plow. Leave the car stock and lift it. Unless you're going to do a full roll cage, or make you're own HEAVY DUTY supports that are in the general area of where the roof would be, you won't last 10 minutes on the trails. I used to go mudding with my Cummins Turbo Diesel, so I know there is some serious shit involved with mudding. This is what will happen. You will get this project all done, get in, get to a trail (If you even make it that far) and the car will buckle in the middle, with the nose and tail pointing at a 30 degree angle towards the sky and the middle of the car almost touching the ground. Torsional flex will make the car undrivable, even before it snaps in the middle. It will be similar to body roll, only the body won't roll, it will twist in the middle when you take turns. Mark my words... As far as the plow, use steel instead of aluminum. Aluminum is rather soft, and won't stand up to much. For the lift, what kind of springs do you plan on using? I'd say either run stock shocks front and rear and just weld something on the top hat to mount them back to the chassis at the stock location. Camber will be an issue as well if you go the route you're talking about going. You could also cut the knuckle brackets off the stock struts (NOT THE STRUT ITSELF) and weld the brackets back on to a piece of tubing with a shock mount on top. Clamp some F150 springs onto the bottom mount, then weld the stock top hat from a 1993-1996 Bronco or F150 to the stock Subaru strut mount. For the rear shock, just weld a mount coming off the chassis somewhere and bolt up a cheap Monroe shock from an F150. Weld another mount to the custom spring bracket on the knuckle you made and bolt it up. Don't try to weld the lower shock mount to the knuckle itself. Welding to cast is a lot harder than it looks. It's possible, but you need to pre-heat the cast and clean it SPOTLESS for anything to hold. The front shocks will be extremely hard... Hard to the point of you might as well not run any. For the front it will be a little more complicated because the upper hat pivots to allow for steering. The front tie rods will be stretched beyond their limits, so there will be immense toe-out on the front wheels. There will also be a bunch of "Bump Steer", meaning the front wheel will turn whenever the suspension is compressed. Needless to say the sway bars should be removed completely. For brake hoses you might be able to get away with ones from the Outback, since they are probably longer due to the factory lift. There is a lot to suspension geometry that makes a car go down the road, so you must also take into account the geometry if you want to make it go over rocks and through mud. The CV shafts will be the first things to go if you lift it, assuming you can weld. If you can't weld you'll be breaking welds left and right. Honestly, since you're just going to beat the piss out of this car anyway you should just pick up two of those cheezy spring expander lift kits from Autozone. You put 2 between the coils of each spring and expand it via the nuts on the studs. This will raise the car a couple inches, totally F*** up the geometry in every possible fashion, but it's cheap and easy. Oh and by the way, the body IS the frame on this car. You can't lift the body with hockey pucks like an old Ford, Chevy, or Dodge truck. Body lifts are for "Body On Frame" / "Ladder Frame" (Same thing, two ways of saying it) vehicles. This car is a unibody, the frame and the body are all one piece, and there are no frame rails. The roof and the floor hold the entire car together. Welding shocks in place of the stock one's won't support the car. They also won't allow the suspension to move. No offense, but you don't seem to understand how a car is built. I don't mean to insult you, but you really need to take one of the wheels off and try to picture the kind of lift you're envisioning. I hope you don't take offense, but from the post you made, it kinda sounds like you want to unbolt the stock struts, weld on shocks, and expect the car to ride higher. That won't happen. Shocks don't support the car, they just dampen bumps. Springs support the car. A shock and a spring are two components. When you combine them, a spring with a shock in the middle that can be removed in one entire piece, you have yourself a strut. The Legacy has struts. McPherson struts are struts that also act as an upper control arm (Usually) That means that the knuckle is attached to a control arm (Or control rods) at the bottom, and the strut at the top. Camber is maintained by the knuckle being held in place by the strut, and pivoting on the lower control arm. When you have a vehicle with upper AND lower control arms, with a spring around a shock setup, it's USUALLY a "Coilover" setup. Coilovers look like struts, but usually they are not one complete piece that can be removed in a modular (1 piece) fashion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users LieutenantDan Posted November 3, 2009 Mega Users Share Posted November 3, 2009 Bad idea. You probably could have left it at that:lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdubs Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 It's a bad idea, but it's been done before. I've been trying to find the damn thread all day, I think I may have found it on the Cardomain website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 OP.... Are you still around? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users LieutenantDan Posted November 4, 2009 Mega Users Share Posted November 4, 2009 I think he rolled his topless car and hit his head on a rock. UT OH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FergusonT Posted November 9, 2009 Author Share Posted November 9, 2009 well i wasnt really looking to take it too seriously....but thanks for the detailed advice. What do you guys think about a rear strut tower bar for body/frame support.....if this car desides to take a crap and begin to break welds etc......then thats as far as i'm going to let it go. This is going to be a project utilizing the least amount of resources possible. I dont have the time, money, or personal know how to really do whats necessary to do it all the "best way". But its definitely good to know that by cutting the rear part of the roof off compromises the structural integrity of the car. as far as the geometry of the suspension....not too worried, i imagine that if this car is really used for what i plan to use it for...it will come out when it snows with chains on the tires and go forward and reverse a few times.....until i just say to heck with it......Then maybe it will actually end up with tires in the air...hopefully i dont hit my head on a rock! ha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 If you want to raise it without worrying about suspension geometry just get those $20 spring expanders and put them between the coils in the springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lkout4trucks Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 go find an old jeep truck style top and use that to seal of the cabin. lift it to the sky! its too bad its unibody or i'd say custom steering linkage and 3ft body lift haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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