I'm kinda late to this party. Long time lurker, first time posting. Just wanted to announce that I think I invented this whole
Subaru as Overlander concept. LOL Maybe not; haven't looked at every page of this thread. I am pretty sure I am among the handful of first builders.
These pics might be of historical interest to some. My '77 4WD wagon that I pumped everything into... and in those days it wasn't much. I had to do some custom mods. I was inspired from reading the early exploits of the
Turtle Expedition and their Land Rover 109" WB.
I did what I could with it, given that there was next to zero aftermarket support of Subaru in those days:
- Had Con-Ferr (in Burbank, CA) custom-make me a shrunk down version of their iconic roof rack, to fit the Subaru wagon's small roof (Con-Ferr charged me only $80 in 1979 or so)
- Had a welding shop make some upgrades to the factory optional front bumper and grill guard
- Added an array of lights, mostly Cibie
- Did a custom lift of the front end (rear didn't really require it); I even designed in some camber adjustment, since the original lift made the camber a little wonky
- Had the factory steel disk wheels widened by a local wheel builder so I could run taller and fatter tires
- Swapped the stock carb for a Weber 32/36 DGV
- Had a truly custom single-muffler exhaust (no catcons on Subs in those days) made by a local muffler shop
- Ported ported heads
- Installed a cam reprofiled by Schneider Racing Cams
- Moved the spare tire onto the roof-rack an mounted a really nice, flat tool box in the spare's old spot under the hood.
This car also has the distinction of being the first Subaru in the world to wear
Bilstein shocks. Late 1970s. That was years ahead of Bilstein offering a factory set of shocks for any Subaru. How I did that was take my struts and rear shocks to Bilstein of America in San Diego, and the manager there was super cool about the idea. Really nice German guy. We looked through their warehouse and found some shocks to match.
Turned out that their Nissan 240Z replacement strut inserts were a darned near perfect fit with my front struts. I don't recall what rear shocks we selected. They were basic stem-eye shocks off some other small car. I was in no position to be picky. But darn it, I wanted Bilsteins 'cause that's what all the Baja bugs and desert racers in the off-road magazines were running. LOL
The manager even gave me a really cool "BILSTEIN Racing Shocks" sticker, big white letters on a clear background. I wore it proudly on the back hatch for a number of years, til it disintegrated.
I started a Jerry-can holder project but never quite finished it.
I took these pics back in the mid-1980s, in and around Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California.
Sold this little car in 1991; bought an International Scout II to replace it. I still have the Scout.
EDIT: Just throwing in some reference material below, couple of old magazine ads from the late '70s, for people who don't know how long Subarus have been a thing to play with off-pavement, and what they were when I bought mine. I know many of you probably hadn't been born yet!
BTW, notice the winch on the nose of the second one. Yes, US dealers used to offer small winches as an add-on, along with the push-bar you see here. I believe that was a Superwinch. Smallest model they made.
, I decided to go for more of an off road build than a handling machine. 
