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Nice. So more grunt, mechanical FI, better cooling, no precups to drop. Sounds like a solid deal to me. Thanks for clearing that up. I haven't spent much time around the non IDI engines.

I'm a little underinformed on the HD series of engines, but does the 1HD-FT mean that it has a more optimal valve and combustion chamber configuration for economy? Kinda like how the 5VZ-FE means that it's the fifth generation VZ engine with EFI and economy valve/combustion chamber...

For what it's worth, I wheeled a RWD Toyota T100 with minor lift, limited slip diff, slightly larger A/T tires and some minor trimming and had a blast with it. I had to yank myself out of a few sticky situations with a come-along winch, but it was fun. By the time that I became a dad and had to...

I have one that I use while working. I do home inspections, and having a little oven on-hand is pretty rad. It's pretty low temp, and only hits like 300 degrees, so it's good as a little slow-cooker. You can sear up some short ribs and wrap them in foil with some spices and aromatics and let it...

Better yet!

Sweet! I see that it's got the fake light pod on it. I helped mod one to fit on my friend's W163 ML320 and ended up getting a knockoff one to slap on my Subaru. You can drill out the light blanks and install flush-mount LED pods in them. It looks trick.

The Dude abides.

That's a solid goal!

I have to be honest that I've long been a hater for the Liberty, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what you'll do and where you'll go with this thing and being proven wrong. For $1200, that's a good deal for a pretty clean and fairly upmarket car. This will be a fun build!

When my now-wife and I were dating, we went up to the Six Rivers National Forest to bum around and explore. Part of the trip up involved driving up the Bigfoot Scenic Highway at night. We stopped to answer a call of nature, and heard something big crashing through the underbush towards us and we...

Then in February, the inner CV joint that I screwed up finally failed, and the oscillation of it in its death throes roached the corresponding wheel bearing, so I had to tear the front end apart. AGAIN I figured that while I was in there, I'd go ahead and swap in coil springs and an ADF 1"...

I got home from work on my birthday in December and found that my wife and in-laws all chipped in to get me a set of King overload springs.

Finished product while testing the signals and parking lights: Of course, then the alternator decided to check out, so I spent Christmas afternoon swapping it out with one from an 6-cylinder BH. It's definitely and easy way to get extra juice without springing for a custom alternator.

Cruising along, Simon got upfitted with some Toyo Open Country 215/70R16s ATs which are really impressive tires. I've been a BFG A/T guy my entire car nut life, and these suckers stick to the road like a fly on the wall. Grippy, fairly quiet, reasonably priced. I also did new outer TREs, and...

Following that debacle I turned my attention to something that I knew that I could only moderately screw up: wiring. Simon is an automatic, and you can trick the TCM into locking up the center diff on a 4EAT slushbox into full-time AWD for off-road use. It's basically just a bank of resistors...

Moving along, I sourced a 3" spacer lift kit for Simon. It did not go smoothly. I accidentally dropped my bottle jack too fast, and the inner CV on the DS axle popped loose. I was able to rekerjigger it back together, but I'd been so thoroughly whipped by that failure that I chose to tuck tail...

This is from mocking up my homebrew sound system on the car. It's pretty simple: an audio in, a Pac Audio volume knob, an amp and a toggle switch. My first attempt was with a 100-wat amp that I'd had kicking around my parts pile. It wasn't enough. I stepped up to a Boss 400w amp, and it's nice...

Of course, what Subaru isn't just a rolling wall to plaster in bumper stickers?

First thing's first, his brakes were... not so good. He was in dire need of a fluid flush, his front calipers were pretty stiff, and his pads were low. My first weekend with this car was just nonstop wrenching. I also found a hashed front bearing and swapped it out. Of course, I managed to...

Simon has had a long life, but his prior owners had done all of the important maintenance and repairs and kept him in good standing so their daughter could go to school and work. When she went off to college, they sold him and the proceeds would help her pursue her education. They even gave him...