Jackson Rally FOZZWLR

[Bdiddy11]

Definitely looks 100x better than a Forester in stock form...I have been looking at Subies casually as a replacement expeditioner for my XJ. Love the XJ, but mileage sucks.

I've always thought Foresters were a bit on the ugly side but having seen a few done up my mind has changed, that and they get great mileage which would be ideal for expeditioning. We don't really do hardcore stuff so I think I could get away with AWD instead of 4wd.

I do like the look of a lifted Impreza wagon though, but seems as though a Forester is more suited for a bigger family and has better angles =/

 

[Recce01]

Epic work there Kyle! I'll pull you guys through the nasty stuff and you can laugh when you pass me while I stop at every gas station hoping to see you guys tomorrow.

G

 

[JacksonRally]

@Bdiddy11

Thanks man. I really dont like many vehicles in stock form. They can all use a little help. I also have an Impreza wagon but it is definetly a touch smaller than the Foresters.

@Recce01

Thanks G!! Last saturday fell apart but I still played a little. Cant wait to finish the Fozz and my GL then we can go get the heck outta dodge!

 

[JacksonRally]

Friday should be a big day. My brother is taking the day off to come over to the shop so he can finish up the wiring. Then we can re-install the headliner and interior panels. After that I need to set up some time to go work with my buddy to properly valve the shocks as they are too stiff. After that she should be ready for a little shakedown run. Still needs some little tid bits finished but there will always be something on the list.

 

[Jrally]

I've noticed, with off beat cars like ours, shock valving is really noticable, dependant on how you drive it. When I first had the Celica running, just crawling around fairly slowly off road, soft valving was fine. As my urge to drive it more like a rally car, the worse it felt. Valving went up about 30-40% in back and the fronts were replaced with custom Bilsteins, valved by Bret Norgaard. The car isn't nearly as articulate as it use to be, but it doesn't lean over like a 30" travel trophy truck either, anymore.
-Jon

 

[JacksonRally]

Jon,

For some reason the Forester is the opposite. It is bone jarring stiff. Im wondering if I have the springs too stiff also. But everything I did set me up for my desired ride height. Stock fronts (info gathered from the web) were 157lb, rear 117lb. So with the new setup I went with 200lb up front and 150lb in the rear. I was thinking to up them from stock because we will be making plate style bumpers and running a 8000lb winch up front which will weigh approx 90lbs. The roof rack un-loaded weighs aprrox 70lbs. So the plan is to revalve and go from there. The spring we got are pretty much off the shelf Eibach and King. To get a lighter spring I would have had to have them custom made as the free length is 18''. A 16'' spring will coil bind before full bump. So for now Im going to revalve and go from there.

 

[Heloflyboy]

Looks great. Do you have anymore pics of 87 subie. My brother in law has one he wants to build up.
Thanks

 

[JacksonRally]

link to thread for my 87 GL

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/82481-Jackson-Rally-Suba-Wheeler

 

[Jrally]

The spring rates sounds fine, so maybe it is all in the valving. Any idea how much nitrogen pressure they are running? More than 200psi seems excessive to me. I'm running dual springs on the front of the Celica and single 225lbs in the rear. On the fwd rally cars, I run single springs in the front and dual rates in the rears (300 F / 200-100 R)

-Jon

 

[JacksonRally]

The spring rates sounds fine, so maybe it is all in the valving. Any idea how much nitrogen pressure they are running? More than 200psi seems excessive to me. I'm running dual springs on the front of the Celica and single 225lbs in the rear. On the fwd rally cars, I run single springs in the front and dual rates in the rears (300 F / 200-100 R)

-Jon

The "insert" if you will is a fox 2.0 emulsion. I had it machined down to 50mm o.d. and hard chrome plated, I also removed the aluminum top shock eye and had my own parts machined to install into a Subaru top mount. I am running 200psi nitrogen and have slowly been bleeding it off to see if that helps. Im thinking that most applications for those off the shelf fox shox are some where around a 2:1 motion ratio and the Forester is .95:1 so virtually 1:1. Thats why I think its just the valving. We have to button up a few things then I will fiddle with the valving. We are not going to run any sway bars.

 

[Jrally]

That's pretty much what I used on the back of the Celica, 10" travel, remote res., Fox, off the shelf. I'm using it in nearly a 1:1 ratio, shock mounts just on the back of the rear axle. I ended up having to increase the valving, once I had the *****'n fronts installed. I think we went up 30-40%. But, it's controlling a VERY heavy back axle and 225lbs springs. I will say, they aren't very fun to try and compress for installation and certainly add to the rear spring rate. For a strut style application, I could see where the valving could be too much.

-Jon

 

[GCRad1]

Gas Cans?

What gas cans are those back on page one? Nice and short!

Like your rig!!!

 

[JacksonRally]

Rodney,

We got those cans from Off Road Warehouse in Temecula. One was labeled "waste oil" container and the other was "material handling" can.....I think you know what we are gonna use them for though. They are 5 gal, steel and have a nice low profile.

 

[JacksonRally]

Well I have some photos of the finished and mounted roof rack but for the last 2 days now I have not been able to upload photos to my photobucket....not sure whats going on?

Some raw goods came in yesterday for a few parts that need machining for the struts. Delrin will be used as spring guides to keep the springs from deflecting and rubbing away at the threads on the strut housings and some aluminum bar stock for internal strut limiters. All of this parts will be installed when I pull the struts off for revalving. Hoping to do this in the next few weeks!

 

[JacksonRally]

My brother and I managed to get this rig to the point to where we can take it out for a shakedown. We took it to Big Bear on Jan. 1. My dad has been taking us to Big Bear on New Years Day since the 80's so it has become a little tradition. The Fozz like many other vehicles will never be done but is more than ready for some adventures.....finally.