Successfully lifted Saturn Sw1

[Sh1tb0xHero]

I successfully lifted my old rust bucket sitting on some Presa A/ts. Running on Bassett rims 3 inch backspace, custom spacers between the body and struts and on 205/75 r15 tires.

Other mods are full catback with Obx headers and some Magnaflow muffler. I rigged an oil catch can for that extra response in the throttle.


I didn't know where else to put this thread.


This has been a long running project of mine for a few years now. Kind of a bet to see if I could do it.

[fdryer]

Add entertain thoughts of awd......... Looks like a great semi off road car.

[Sh1tb0xHero]

I do have plans written up for such a project. I was thinking of fabricating a frame for a Toyota chassis. I remember someone actually putting the whole uni-body on a Toyota frame. That in itself is a long way off. Possibly in the near future I'll try it when I acquire more space. For now this is a great weekend trail rider and daily driver with stock tires!

[DonP1]

Can you provide some details on what you did?

I have a 1999 SL2 auto that runs around a farm I'd be interested in doing this to.

[alordofchaos]

Neat! I'll probably never do anything with it, but occasionally I think a couple extra inches would help with the occasional deep snow we get.

[fetchitfido]

Drop it on a S10/Blazer frame. 4x4 & real power *done* lol

I've never done anything like that but it shouldn't be that hard to get the wheels fitted to the wheel wells better and make it look less idiotic.


Though if you're going to fabri-cobble a proper AWD system into it I'm pretty sure Subaru stuff is far closer to bolting in than Toyota (struts are nearly a direct swap)...and there's more aftermarket support for Subaru than Toyota's AWD system (not that All-Trac is bad...just never gained in popularity)

[AlexofNazareth]

Bolting on Subaru independent front and rear suspension will be more rewarding than dumping a turd frame onto a heavy truck chassis.
Lightweight & nimble > bulky & a garbage ride.

The only downside is that people want too much money for Subaru parts, especially the mechanical LSDs you would find only in the STI Trans/Rear Diff.

[Sh1tb0xHero]

Originally Posted by DonP1

Can you provide some details on what you did?

I have a 1999 SL2 auto that runs around a farm I'd be interested in doing this to.

I managed to find a shop to fabricate some 2" spacers back when I didn't know how to weld. The spacers fit on top of the stock/aftermarket struts. After installing them I did run into some trouble with the misaligned sway bar mounts (off by 1 inch) and the Camber. A crowbar and some elbow grease fixed the sway bar issue and 4 camber bolts for the latter.

Tires are Presa's A/t 205/75r15 on 15x7 Bassett's with 3 inch backspacing. To fix the rubbing issue I had to delete those flimsy plastic wheel well splash guards and bang flat some pinch welds. Also had to trim the plastic fenders a bit for the front.

I mounted a Spod Source controller from a friends wrecked Xterra for all the LED's and other on-board junk. It runs on a 4 terminal battery for the extra accessory connection.

All in all it's really fun to drive on wooded/gravel trails. Don't count on going up wet muddy trails though, you would need an LSD. Quafe sells some for a grand and would be a more reliable option over the cheaper 'box' that mimics an LSD. Also, wire up a manual switch to turn on the cooling fan. These things tend to overheat at high load times like gunning it up inclines.

I might turn this thing into a rallycross vehicle and just buy a Suby for them technical trails all around my hometown.

[Sh1tb0xHero]

Originally Posted by AlexofNazareth

Bolting on Subaru independent front and rear suspension will be more rewarding than dumping a turd frame onto a heavy truck chassis.
Lightweight & nimble > bulky & a garbage ride.

The only downside is that people want too much money for Subaru parts, especially the mechanical LSDs you would find only in the STI Trans/Rear Diff.

That was my original plan but as you said, they cost quite a bit in almost new condition. A friend suggested I should just buy a junkyard Subaru and gut it. On the other hand I'm more toward just using Subaru for technical trails and as a daily while autocross in the Saturd.

[Keblar]

That's fantastic!

No problems with rub on the larger tires?

[Keblar]

Originally Posted by Keblar

No problems with rub on the larger tires?

I must have been asleep when I read this thread the 1st time, because now I see where you clearly address the wheel rub and fab.



Would LOVE pics of your fabrication if you ever get a chance.

[Sh1tb0xHero]

An update; Switched to 195/75r14 on Bassetts, which will be replacing the stock tires. I've found these size tires don't cut down much on mileage loss as the other ones did. Has about 24 MPG, excess weight from tires/roofrack drag and recovery tools/gear. Mounted a skidplate to protect the oilpan and transmission case.

Feel free to ask any questions you might have.

Here it is in action in the only mud pits I could find.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2LD...ature=youtu.be

Skidplate;
http://www.saturnfans.com/photos/sho...=57833&cat=500

[Waiex191]

Cool! Auto or manual?

[Sh1tb0xHero]

Originally Posted by Waiex191

Cool! Auto or manual?

Automatic

[Sh1tb0xHero]

Here are some more interesting pictures from my project car for anyone else interested in references. As you can see I've stripped out almost the entire interior luxury plastic and fabrics. All that remains is the dash, a sweet center console I found at a junkyard and the comfortable stock seats. I'll be sticking to a 3-point seat belt since this isn't gonna see any hardcore track racing. Please mind the mud, it's been accumulating from somewhere over the past 3 months. I have gotten around to deleting the A/C yet and is pretty darned close to my exhaust headers, but it doesn't seem to affect both components.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZxT...ew?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n-Y...ew?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZaK...ew?usp=sharing

[ErikTande]

How did you make the spacers? Do you have any pictures of them? Nice work!

[Charlie]

Really impressive!! Nice job! Love the video and photos!

Charlie

[Sh1tb0xHero]

Originally Posted by ErikTande

How did you make the spacers? Do you have any pictures of them? Nice work!

I apologize for the lateness of my response, work is quite demanding these days.

The spacers were fabricated at a garage that specialized in making offload parts. A friend worked there who got me a discount on them. Sorry, I have no picture of them. They are basically made of quarter inch steel with a cylinder center welded to two flat pieces. The fabricator used my old stock shocks as a template to make them. They add two inches to the lift.

[Sh1tb0xHero]

Update - Saturn evolution into a battle wagon:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1DF...IYWTNgQtPqPKSw


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GpD...ew?usp=sharing


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NKE...ew?usp=sharing

[fdryer]

The first thing I thought your video was showing was a dirty lifted Subaru Outback in off road colors (mud). The flat paint, mud coating, large wheel clearance, large balloon like (snow?) tires seemed like a Subaru wagon even though I recognized the front end. You transformed your wagon into a very decent off road vehicle.

What's interesting is you decided to spend the time and effort to modify a wagon for off road use many suv owners refuse to entertain driving in off road conditions. My guess is only die hard off roaders will try with some beefing up theirs to help prevent off road rash. And front wheel drive still doesn't stop you from going off road. The large skid plate is very innovative to protect the engine from collecting unanticipated large rocks looking to put a dent in the engine or xmission. I'm sure rocks are disappointed with your lifted wagon.

A beautiful lifted mod. Maybe not street beautiful but it looks gorgeous in the woods. Very purposeful looks.