Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to this week's episode of the Dirt Subies Podcast. We got an absolute heater for you this week. I think you're going enjoy this convo with Josh, aka Subiraptor, but real quick, make sure that if you're not already subscribed to the YouTube channel or following on the different podcast platforms, do me a favor, do that for me and then leave a comment and make sure you're checking out the Subie & You Podcast. There's tons of episodes over there that you can binge and I think you'll really enjoy it.
Speaker: Let's go ahead and jump into this. dude we got the man we got josh here today subi raptor right that's yeah yeah that's what what the name was given to me i love it okay well i was ask like how did that uh how'd that come up so um i i've been with the the rebel rally um for the whole you since the year it started um so for all 10 years um first five years know i'd always have a truck you know ram truck um And then up until five years ago, um you know, my, my Cummins broke down. and I'm like, I'm going to build this Subaru. Um, and I took it and I've had the most fun past five years in the Subaru. Uh, so I think the second year i came and, you know, it's, it's loud. I'm running here at that time. I was just running old, you a fart can on the back. Yeah. Just a a cheap little muffler thrown on it. And so it was, it was loud. um
Speaker: And it got around quick. Like I was able to set checkpoints and everything pretty quick. ah And so ah Jimmy Lewis, who's a big, big motorcycle guy, he's actually the the course director of the Rebel in the off-road hall of fame and everything. Like just an awesome guy. But he's like, oh yeah, all these other course workers were running, were running, you know Ford Raptors and I'm out there in a Subaru. ah So he just, nickna you're out there in the Subiraptor and So it just kind of stuck. And so that's kind of what it was known by. And I started, you know, listening to, you know, to the Subaru podcast and Subaru and you and, and yours. And I'm like, um I'm going to make an Instagram for my car, you know, I've only had like a month and, you know, it's been going good. Yeah. I've only had it like, yeah, literally, literally a month. i think What the heck? Yeah. I haven't, haven't had it a whole, a whole long time. okay
Speaker: Why would anyone want to see Instagram about my car? So. Yeah. And I think I'm like, now I pride on like 900 followers. Like I'm like, this is nuts. That's sick. My wife was like, you know, she's like, Oh geez. I'd show her all the time. Send her screenshots. Oh, I'm up to 500 followers, 600 followers.
Speaker: Yeah, social media is an absolute time suck, yeah but i really enjoy, you know, 15 years ago when I first kind of started messing around with cars, sort of, it was, it was like you really had to sift through forums and you had to know people locally in order to really do anything. Now it's like I can, I can talk to people on the other side of the world about cars, you know? yeah and it's cool because like first few episodes you know listened of yours yeah i didn't know that there was that was recording and that there was video with it so i was just you know kind of listening to it and you hear the hear the name so i know hit on their instagram and find out like i'm already following them i'm like oh that's cool but you can kind of put a you know kind of put a car to a face to a name so yeah yeah
Speaker: So, yeah, that's how did you find? um um Because I'm guessing you found the SubianU podcast first because he's been doing it way longer. But how did you find that? um That was kind of I think a Carrie Lando put put something up and messaged right away. I'm like, how have you not told me about the SubianU podcast? And she's all, but how do you not know about the SubianU podcast? so ah so, yeah, I just started listening to that. And then then I saw, I think, actually like.
Speaker: on Instagram, your, your podcast came up. like I like it from a raft's like point of view, how he's, yo know, cause I'm, you know, I'm haven't listened to, you know, all of his episodes yet, of course just, just starting to listen to it. But, you know, he he started out being kind of, you know, new to Subaru buying his Crosstrek and be like, Hey, I'm going to start a podcast. And so it's kind of been cool listening to him kind of grow.
Speaker: in Subaru as well. is And then with yours, kind of doing it for a while and kind of seeing like a different perspective. It's really cool how the the two podcasts are... you know kind of different ends of the spectrum. So, yeah, no, it's, it's so I usually just lean on the guests expertise. Cause I know just enough to get myself in a lot of trouble. You know what mean? I'm way worse at drawing out the, you know, the storyline stuff from people, the way that rap does, he's, but he's way more organized. I just get off work, yeah open up my laptop, turn on the mic and then we roll. yeah yeah but yeah that's a that's cool aspect you know definitely too but yeah it was you know it's been kind of you know like i'm you know driving to and from work and just yeah throwing a podcast so there's not like a whole lot i can just you know listen to like a few hours straight and stuff but it's just kind nice you know listening to them and and getting uh getting through them um
Speaker: But yeah, so I mean, so that's how, you know, Subaru Raptor got its name. It's definitely more Jeep parts put on the Subaru than than Ford Raptor parts. so I mean, if anything, it'd be like the Subaru or something. But yeah, the yes, sir. It's it's funny. um Yeah. When when I first saw your Instagram because you messaged me. Yeah. Yeah. Tell me over a month ago. yeah like yeah listen to the podcast i was like oh man right no feelers dude thank you um but i uh it's it's it's cool to hear that that's how the name came up because my first thought was like oh i wonder if he also owns a ford raptor if that has something to do with a ford raptor i own a ram it's kind of like ah a faux trx hey another wrong dude though have you driven a trx before um i've ridden in one at the at the rally um they were
Speaker: they weren't, when i stopped working at ah ah Chrysler, um it was just kind of when they were first just kind of being released. So I never actually got a you know, B1 and take that, you know, take that delivery inspection in or anything like that. But yeah, I've ridden in one and yeah, they're, they're nuts. Yeah. i it's So we'll get into this a little bit, but you did some, Filming with ah Top Gear and then i actually helped. I don't know if you watch VinWiki or like Whovi's Garage or Car Trek at all, but I helped them film an episode of that.
Speaker: And the guy that sort of manages all the cinematography for that, he had a TRX for a while. Yeah. And that's what he had when we were out there. We've become real good friends since. Now, I don't even know how many cars later he is now. i mean, the guy owned like a Ferrari 308 for a while. just yeah He's done well for himself. Yeah.
Speaker: And yeah in the TRX, I was like, bro, this thing is, you could stomp on pretty much any tuner on the streets and this bad boy on thirty five The only thing I wish is that you could you know take them out of all-wheel drive and just go rear and just yes just go for it. Yes. I hate those full-time tea cases, bro. Yeah. Yeah. Can't stand them. Well, let me ask you about the, uh, the rebel rally since you touched on that. Can you, ah you know, I have ah I have somewhat of an understanding of it, but can you kind of lay out for people who've maybe never heard of it, what it is? And then, ah I think it's real interesting that you've been with it since the beginning. Can you kind of talk about those early days, how it got started as well?
Speaker: Yeah, for sure. um So the Rebel Rally is ah an all ah female competitor navigation rally. So I kind of explain it like it's kind of like a giant like scavenger hunt. So there's there's green checkpoints, blue checkpoints and black checkpoints. um Green checkpoints are kind of the ones that are manned by like me, who is a course official. I'm also like the on trail technician. um And so, I mean, those ones are kind of set. Like, it's all analog. They get a paper map. They get, you know, they they get plots. They have to plot out their own. They have a you know compass and ruler, make all their plots, you know, and set up these checkpoints ah throughout the day. So, like, the green checkpoints are kind of set strategically to kind of move competitors throughout the course.
Speaker: <unk> Kind of like, you know, time frame saying, hey, you got to be, you know, here between this time and this time, but there's all these blue and jack black checkpoints in between that you need to you know try to get. And if you miss your time, then you don't, you have to go to the following green and not get any of the checkpoints in between. So, I mean, it's, it's, it's kind of tough. Yeah. What now is it like R a rally where can you be early? Yeah.
Speaker: um No, you, so like I have, you know, some of the, you know, top people, you'll be in, you know, Carrie and Andrea with the Subie this year. um Yeah, they were, they were in the front of the pack most of the time. And so they'd show up and that'd be the only time I like, I'd be able to talk to them and hang out while they're waiting for their green to green to open so they can click it and keep moving on. Okay. Gotcha.
Speaker: So, yeah, I mean, it's like, but you kind of have to, play okay, well we can get, you know, 10 points over here. You know, it's going to be a little farther or we can go over here and get, you two or three, three or four points.
Speaker: So, I mean, they kind of have to choose like, okay, we can get that, but we can't get all of them. So, I mean, that's why it takes these, you know, navigators who have been doing it a while to really be like, oh, we can get that.
Speaker: I mean, just like the two, the driver and the navigator like meshing. I mean, you can be the best driver in the world. But if you don't have a navigator who knows what they're doing, like, you know, you're going to end up in Las Vegas. So, which we've had, we've had a couple get pretty close. So now where does it take place? actually I should ask that. Um, it's usually, it usually always starts the first few years. it started up in Lake Tahoe, started out in Tahoe.
Speaker: Um, he always comes down into Nevada and like the Hawthorne, um, you know, um that area. Um, and then drops down back into California. We usually go around like the Johnson Valley area, Dove Springs, all that. And then used to always end in Glamis.
Speaker: Like that's where it was a few years, a few years, like our, the end of the year party, the gala was in San Diego. But then, after COVID we've always just done it at the final course, the final base camp.
Speaker: Um, which has up until the past couple of years has always been in Glamis. But this, the year before last was ended in Johnson Valley. And then this last year ended at Pirate Cove in Needles.
Speaker: So that was, that was pretty cool because it was a little closer to home for me. so Yeah. And which state is that in? but Needles or, oh, I live in Arizona. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like Needles, where's that at? Needles is in California, right on the border. Okay. Okay. right and and so What's maybe the total distance that the drivers and navigators are traversing? I think it's... See, they always confuse me because they're always like saying it in kilometers, but... Yeah, right? American, so... I don't speak Canadian. But it's always roughly, know, like 1,500 miles. Like, I mean, you cover a lot of ground. The actual competition days are, you know, seven to eight days of actual...
Speaker: competition So yeah, usually every year I rack up, you know, 2,000, 2,500 miles on the Subaru round trip. So that's tight. Yeah. But that's really, that's really all like the major driving that the Subaru gets. So, um, yeah, I tend to, after you live in it for,
Speaker: for 10 days straight. like i'm like, I want my truck. i want It's a little gross too. Yeah, it always carries that that certain kind of smell when you're living out in the desert for a week. How did that get started? Were you involved in starting it or did they kind of was it people that were already organizing it that brought you in? Yeah, i was the the creator of it is Emily Miller. She's amazing. She's also getting inducted to the Off-Road Hall of Fame. you She used to rally with Rod Hall um i mean just just incredible you're everything that she she does um and really know made this huge event that first couple of years were like man like i don't know how long this is gonna last like it's you know we're we're mechanicing out of a u-haul truck that we took out into the middle of the desert and with some easy-ups with some rope lights on it. You got to do what you got to do, man. mean, now we have a big double-decker tongue-pull, like, you know, 40-foot trailer with a lift in it. And we don't use the lift for actual lifting cars or anything, but just, know, for storage. We're sponsored by Milwaukee, we're sponsored by Pennzoil. So, I mean, it's huge. We're sponsored by Yeti coolers, Pirelli tires, like... It's nuts, man, everything that we kind you
Speaker: you know the way that what it's came to. Yeah. but Yeah. And, uh, you're, so you're, you know, you're a technician for the rally. yeah What does that look like? What are your days typically look like? Are you only working on cars? you doing other stuff?
Speaker: No, I mean, uh, since I'm a ah course official, um, as well as, uh, uh, you know, of the on trail tech, um, you know, we set the blues. So, so again, get back to like the, the checkpoints, the blues are,
Speaker: though they're They're marked. They're either a flag or a pole. So they're kind of something that they can see that you know, is is physically evident to them that there's a checkpoint there. Whether it's their checkpoint or just one that we set up to try to trick them, I mean, that's that's for them to decide. That's um that's diabolical. Sometimes you you get a lot of you get a lot of, you know, some, some, disgruntled competitors at night sometimes when when they see that they're in the completely the wrong location and our our uh our camera crew um you know and like man they they could be hiding and you'd never know that pictures are being taken you know it's it's it's really really cool so i mean they capture they capture that they capture all the The mad faces, the the tears, the the cheers, everything. Those telephoto lenses, man, they're magic, bro. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker: So, yeah, so we got to go and set up all those you know those blues you know in the in the morning usually before competitors start because and competitors are off the line at like 7 a.m. So, yeah, so we'll get up at yeah the course crew, 5 a.m., m head out.
Speaker: know so I mean, sometimes it's... you know it's within a span of 200 miles for a day so i mean either we'll jump on the highway you know hop far ahead you know which is also all done by the you know our go course director kind of plan where everyone needs to be so yeah so we got to do that so the average day wake up at five head out um and then so they'll come through my green usually i'm around the start or the middle Everyone, know, kind of just sit around for six to eight hours. And then, you know, they'll all go through. and then we just kind of what we call run and sweep and just kind of follow with the trackers and just make sure everyone, you know, kind of kind of herds everyone in. So sometimes I'm not back till, you know, nine. I think I've been as late as like 10 o'clock at night getting back into camp. um So it's definitely long days. And then if people break stuff, then we're working on stuff at camp. We've had some broken axle housings that are completely snapped in half. We've done we've replaced engines.
Speaker: We've done a clutch and a crosstrek at in Glamis. and see we did a We did a transmission in FJ80 this year. um So it's kind of... So FJ80s do break. Yeah, yeah. um that Transmission just gave out. And this this this team, I think the past...
Speaker: Three or four years before this, they've gone out with 77 Bronco. Okay. okay So, I mean, and and they just every year, like they, every year, like they would upgrade what broke the last year.
Speaker: Every year, like something new would break. Something else. So, this year, we're like, oh, you brought an FJ80. Like, we're not even going to see you. And then, like, the first night, the transmission gave out. Like, oh.
Speaker: It probably had 400,000 miles on it though, dude. Those poor things. People run them half a million miles. But then like you know how we sourced the transmission, like i think our mechanics director, he just...
Speaker: you kind of made a Facebook post and said, hey, we need this transmission. um And, you know, they they worked out someone to deliver it, you know, the 300 miles it took to to bring it to us.
Speaker: um And we started tearing it out. um It ended up being the wrong transmission. So then it it sat another night. um while we sourced another transmission and got it but um but we got it in and know they ended up you know finishing the rally um the thing with like the rally is it's more of just you know working through and kind of just getting through it just finishing i mean i mean there's there's definitely some people uh you know carrie included that that are there to win i mean and
Speaker: want to win every day, but also, know, they have a blast, but, uh, you know other people are just like, you know, this is something I've seen. I want to do. um and it's, it's a fight like, you know, every day, but just, you know, the relief you see after they, you know, hit that and go through that, that finish line is, is pretty cool. So, uh, yeah, it's, it's definitely something. And like I said, from, you know from what it, what it started out, um, You know, they're setting up these huge, like, circus tents in the middle of the desert for our you our main our main tent. um You know, full, like, gourmet food the entire time.
Speaker: Like, we got this guy, Drew Deckman. I mean, he's a Michelin chef, man. he's Dude, that's what's up. Yeah, you eat you eat good there for sure. i mean, they'll they make sure that the mechanics are fed when we're out there wrenching and, you know.
Speaker: all hours of the night, they make sure they bring us food. And like I said, it's, it's incredibly good the entire time. And he's been with us all 10 years too, Drew. So, um, I think there's about,
Speaker: think there's about 15 of us that have been there all 10 years, I believe, maybe more. I hope I'm not forgetting anybody, but, okay um, yeah, so it's definitely kind of like the rebel family for sure.
Speaker: How many teams on average, um you know, over the last you know three or four years, what's what's kind of, what's the landscape look like there? You know, first three years, there was like 30 teams. I think now we're, think there was 62 teams this year. That's sick. I think i think that's that's what it was. So, yeah, it's it's pretty, it's, you know, grown quiteed quite a bit. And there's also, you know, manufacturers are getting into it. Like Jeep's been with us for a long time. um This was the first year that, you know, Carrie got Subaru to really, you know, get in and put teams and sponsor full teams in. So that's, that's awesome. Cause I've said from the beginning, um you know, don't know why Subaru is not in this, know, especially like in the wilderness platform. I mean, it's, it's perfect. um We had Rivian for a while, all electric, So we had we had hydrogen power generators out there charging them up every night, doing a charge stop throughout the day.
Speaker: Rivian's and those if you want power, dude, like just nuts. I rode that in Glamis and it was it was insane. They cook, man. The 49% owner of the company I work for, um her husband, is he loves anything that's electric. He loves it. he's a He's a pretty highly trained surgeon, and so he's just kind of into anything that has to do with technology. Yeah. And yeah, dude, those Rivians, I think they got one of the first ones that were available. Yeah. They love them. There's something else, man. Yeah. Yeah. if i was going to buy an electric car, it'd be, it'd be one of those. 100%. mean, i'd I'd have to sell a kidney or something. Oh yeah. Yeah. Um, what uh,
Speaker: ah I don't know, maybe like the either the craziest or most frustrating thing that you've had to work with, like horror story, trying to get somebody back into the rally.
Speaker: i mean, sad to say it. There was there was one a lady in in a Subaru one year. And I'm pretty sure she put like twice as many miles on that Subaru as any anyone, any other competitor. and she was just, I mean, we still to this day, like if we got someone, you know, going off trail, we'll still, you know, yeah call out her number. But, uh, yeah, she was just one. It was, it, it was a day. um
Speaker: she was coming through Glamis and one of the guys said, Hey, uh, where's your bumper? And she's like, what? Had this full, like, I mean, built like metal, you know, it was a nice metal bumper.
Speaker: And, uh, he's like, yeah, you, you don't have a bumper anymore. And I mean, and had the high lift jack and everything up above it. Like, I don't know how you couldn't see that it wasn't there. And yes she was sure walked around and she's like, it was there. so I was just, it was just gone. I think she just, you know, hit a dune and just,
Speaker: Ripped it out. Like, I don't know, but yeah, that was probably one. That was also the year that I got the most stuck I've ever been in my, my Oh three Ram 1500. And, I had to pull my winch line out.
Speaker: And I mean, you know, you're at Glamis, there's sand everywhere. Like, it's not really, unless you, you know, have a, have a dead man pool, which the owner of that guy, awesome guy. um So shout shout out to dead man off road.
Speaker: But, you know I just had found the smallest little shrub. I could find, pulled my winch line out at the bottom of this, you know, this big dune that I'm teetering on, um, tied it up, had my hand outside the window and then we got like, you know, 40 mile an hour, you know, sandstorm going on. So I'm just, you know, hitting it and just pull the truck around and just barely get out of it And I don't know how. And that made me think about that because I picked up this big metal bar that I thought was her bumper at first when I saw it. So I threw it in the back of my truck.
Speaker: And then, ah you know, the guy I had, one of the rescue guys with us from Rescue 3. And he's like, well, I think there's some people over here. I'm like, man, those are those are bad dunes over there. We don't we don't want to go over there. He's like, no, I think they're just, we just come up there and it's right there. Well, I ended up getting in a witch's eye, which is just a giant you know sand bowl.
Speaker: And so I'm like, man, I don't know. Like I can't slow down and we're not going to get out. So I just kind of wrapped around this bowl. and just launched out of it. I mean, just sent this Ram just in the air.
Speaker: um And so like the rescue guy, he went up, smacked his head on the roof. But when we landed, that bar just came right through the back window of my truck. And so that was, that was the most, I'd say probably the most carnage I've done on me on my personal vehicles. I've done a little bit to the Subaru, but, but not, not a whole lot.
Speaker: your i think I think people ah forget trucks are so much different when you're running them in sand or snow or off-road because they're so heavy. It's completely different game than, you know, like our Forester because I have an SG also.
Speaker: Or even my XJ. My XJ is massive, yeah but it weighs nothing because it's unibody, you know. um yeah dude a ah big ram pickup doesn't matter if you got mud terrains doesn't matter what you're running you'll get stuck a lot faster than you think if you're not careful and speed is definitely your friend yeah yeah so then like two years after that then that's when i put took my 06 megacab cummins and and took it romping through uh sand but then at that year actually um
Speaker: I lost second gear out of that 48 RE transmission day two in the rally. So I went the whole rest of the rally just skipping over a second gear. Manual transmission? No, no. Automatic, but yeah, I just... the clutches wore out. Yeah, it just, you know, it was a terrible transmission. That ended up being why i rebuilt that transmission.
Speaker: three times and it just kept overheating all billets stage three kit um and just kept overheating so i that's actually how i ended up buying my first my first subaru was 03 uh forester you know a transmission went out in the coming so i'm like man i just i just need something that i can take my time build the transmission up on the truck and just drive around so i was looking through Saw some, you know, now, ah you know some friends of mine, they were selling a little 03 Forester manual transmission. They bought it for their
Speaker: They actually knew the original owner um from Flagstaff, Arizona. And he he just he just didn't want to learn man you learn how to drive sticks. So yeah they got rid of it. I picked up for $1,500. It had it.
Speaker: three hundred and ten thousand miles on it dude, everything, because the guy had receipts for every single maintenance, never had head gaskets. It all original, the the thing, you know, engine transmission, everything was original on it. Everything that, you know, when it did go bad, it got replaced. Um, and just a great little car. And I'm like, man, I, I can probably lift that and go take it off road. You know, got a hunt coming up. So let me, let me go, uh, let me go lift this thing so can go take it out in the woods.
Speaker: Um, And so that was the first time, know, kind of look started looking through, you know, price tags on lift kits. So I'm like, man, I spent $1,500 on this car. Like, I can't spend $600 on a lift kit. So, I mean, i I made this. I think I just did.
Speaker: I think I cut some steel pipe about three inches and then put steel, just flat strap, three inch flat strap, kind of made a triangle out of it and threw it on. And to this day, it still has that lift kit on it. And that's been seven years. It hasn't driven like driven in the last year because the transmission finally went out of on it for the buddy that I sold it to. um But yeah, I mean, i would just take that thing anywhere. just you know bashing through everything, and like I just couldn't kill it. like So that's when I was like, man, I'm going to take one of these on the rally. I mean, not one with 300,000 ended up
Speaker: picking up my 05, um, from a friend of mine. Um, just an awesome guy. he's, he first started working for Subaru in, uh, 1980.
Speaker: Um, so he's like, you one of the old pioneers and he has, I think, I think he told me, I just called him before, before I got on with you just to fact check a little bit, but he's got,
Speaker: I think he said he has 60 Subaru titles sitting in his filing cabinet right now. that's um Where does he live at here Right here in in ah Cottonwood with me. like oh that's tight. Next to Sedona here. so I mean, just owns a little gas station.
Speaker: And, I mean, everyone you know knows him as the Subaru I'm hoping, like, someday I'll kind of take that title over. But, you know, if anyone's got a Subaru problem, I mean, if you say, oh, the guy with all the Subarus, I mean, they know exactly. exactly who you're talking about. He has, think four Brats.
Speaker: Um, he's got a ton of Loyals. I think the most what he has is Outbacks, like that kind of second gen. Yeah. 96 to 99. He's got two Bajas.
Speaker: Um, yeah, I mean, just a few Foresters. he He's, he's looking to to clear the, clear the herd a little bit. Uh, might So if anyone's looking for some, some old Subaru parts that just hit me up.
Speaker: But yeah, I mean, he just kind of had my Forester just kind of sitting out in the weeds. um And I have, you know some pictures on my Instagram of it, you know, how I, how I got it. Yeah. You know, just out in the, in the weeds actually only had 97,000 miles on it Um, but he said, and what, what sounded like that it had ah had a really bad rod knock and later to find out after I replaced the engine, um, it was just that, that lower, that lower timing belt bearing just went out, um, and just was smacking around. So actually I ended up putting that, uh, engine in his sister's outback. So yeah. So as far as I know, that thing's still driving around. That's funny you say that. I hear that all the time. I hear i see people say, oh, I get rod knock, but only when it's cold.
Speaker: Yeah. And it's just that hydraulic tensioner doesn't have pressure when it's cold and it starts to clack. This one, actually, the the bottom bearing... like a pull of the pulley, yeah the bearing actually came apart. And so it was actually, you know, kind of wallowing around and, and smacking. Like, I mean, it's, well, and it jumped like three teeth. So, I mean, it sounded like, Oh, this thing gone, but yeah yeah. So no, it's, it's actually good. So could have saved a little bit of money if I didn't have to buy the $2,500, you
Speaker: ah reman engine um But it was worth it. It's it's actually, ah my engine's actually an STI block. So it's a you know closed deck block. okay um And it's gothel yeah it's got a mild ah cam grind on it. The builder said it was should be around 200, 210 horse the crank.
Speaker: horse at the crank um It definitely has a lot more pull at the higher RPMs. oh So yeah, it really starts waking up about like 3,500. It kind of move so moves those 29 inch tires a little bit a little bit better. so Well, could you ah tell us a little bit about that car? I know it's not your first Subaru, but it's kind of your main Subaru now. So what is it and what kind of mods have you done to the thing? oh yeah. So it's just a, you know, base model, uh, Oh five Forrester, XS, um, five speed manual.
Speaker: Um, so, I mean, thing was actually in really, really good shape. I mean, it was like most Subarus you find in the weeds, you know, smells like patchouli and has dog hair all over it. But, um, so the inside was, was definitely rough. Um,
Speaker: But, you know, it it was just a good, solid car. I mean, Arizona car, so there's not a you know spot of rust on it. yeah Just you a solid, solid platform to start from. um so I mean, really, it was just...
Speaker: started out as just me built building a lift kit for it um know i love everything that those that you know your buddy from adf is doing um but he's a maniac dude i got i got a wife and four kids so i mean if if i would say hey honey i'm gonna spend eight hundred dollars on a lift kit Yeah, I could build it, but... oh yeah She's not going to go for that. So, ah so yeah, so you know i I built my lift kit, same lift kit I'm still running for the past you know five and a half years.
Speaker: you Two flat pieces of plate. um with a piece of you know steel tube um actually all stuff i work at a cement plant now so i guess it's just like scrap steel that we had lying around so it was probably free on some gas line or something like that so yeah so now it's it's on my car so um were you able to do um like a camber offset when were able to build that in i didn't i'm still like wanting to you know try to put that in um But I've never really had like an issue. So right now, those spacers, I have ah actual you know three and a half inch in the front.
Speaker: And it it's fine. i don't I don't go through axles. I mean, I throw an axle. I throw a boot like once every two years. like i'll just they're on They're on rotation. So next year, I'll do the left side. And then the following year, I'll do the right side.
Speaker: So you might not be the type of person that is able or willing to build your own lift kit for your Subaru. And if you're like me and you just want to buy one that's good and you're going to know that it's already going to work, my friends over at Anderson Design and Fabrication are proud sponsors of this podcast. And I'm super thankful for that because I've been using their parts for probably about a decade the way that they are sponsoring what we're doing over here is by giving you guys a five percent off discount and all you got to do to take advantage of that is go over to their website awd adventure.com and use the code dirt subies at checkout that will give you five percent off lift kits
Speaker: ditch light brackets skid plates and a bunch of other good hard goods massive shout out to them it's a huge honor for me to have them as a sponsor so make sure that if you're in the market for a lift kit that you go over there and check it out and if you're not in the market for a lift kit just pass this along to a friend that you know is in the market help them save a little bit of money and support the podcast i haven't had any issues you know knock on wood um that's That is actually crazy. Three and a half inches, no subframe drop in the front? Nope.
Speaker: Are your struts blown out or something? That's crazy. No, yeah I have, like, i'll get I'll get to the struts because I have a story about that one too. All right, all right. And then so the rear, i actually have ah an inch subframe drop on the rear.
Speaker: okay And I only have an inch and a half spacer, but I'm running Ironman four by four overloads in the back. So yeah they're probably not at that level anymore. um But so I did for Black Friday, just ordered some ah Rally Tech.
Speaker: So I got Rally Tech overloads for front and rear. Yeah, that's a way better spring. Coming in. So I think I'll like it because I'm running a rear sway bar because I would i'd yeah get going quick, um you know, in the desert.
Speaker: And it would just the back end would get a little squirrely and carry. It shouldn't be. Throw some rally tech in there, overloads, and you won't need a sway bar. so So I'm hoping that's the case I can ditch the sway bar again. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, those things hate not having a sway bar in the rear. Yeah. Yeah, they hate it. So, so yeah, so that was the the first year, and then I built you i built a two-inch trailing arm spacer.
Speaker: Um, just made that actually with, um, Jeep JK control arms. I just cut that and use the square, you know, uh, rectangle tubing off those, those Jeep, uh, JKs, the Wranglers. Um, actually, because, you know everyone would replace all those. So I have just piles and piles of those, those, uh, JK control arm factory Rubicon control arms. The, the bushings just go bad real, real quick.
Speaker: No, they just, you know, everyone thinks, Oh, I got to get Heim joints. so I got to get these, you know, Oh, that's right. so They're just stamped steel. Yeah. So they just pull them off, um, put either adjustable ones on or just something heavier duty. but you know, factory Jeep parts are extremely heavy duty for Subaru. So, Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Especially just for a trailing arm bracket.
Speaker: so yeah, that's what I have. So that was the first year. That's really all I had. And, um, know took it out it did great you know i first rolled up to the rally in a subaru you know and they're used to me driving these big old trucks they're all like, what the heck are you doing? Did that come in the back of your truck or where is it? And I said, no, that's what I have this year.
Speaker: and they're like, dude, like, where are we supposed to send you? Like, we can't send you anywhere. And I'm all like, just wait. And, yeah you know, Jimmy Lewis and all that, I mean, just blown away. They're like, dude, how'd you get there already? Like, like man, because I can go 70 miles an hour down this dirt road. and No solid axles, I don't have to slow down. that i might yeah I'm pretty much in a side-by-side out here. so um Yeah.
Speaker: Well, what's your what's your wheel and tire setup on that thing? um So, like i say, we're we're sponsored by Pirelli. So, I'm running 235-70-16 Pirelli Scorpion all-terrain plus...
Speaker: pearlli scorpion alterra plus um It's really been a really good tire. And I've talked to the Pirelli reps and i you know they know that the only downfall of that tire is the sidewall.
Speaker: They're a very thin sidewall. I've only gone through one tire though. And they've given me... I've gotten three sets of five through the past last five years. Nice. But yeah, I've only... One of my set is on a...
Speaker: of Forrester out here that I built for a friend of mine um I have a brand new set Sitting in the shed still So I mean I think this set that I have on right now I've had this same set For the past three years okay So I mean they're a decent tire For sure That tire, I'm not, Pirelli's or the Scorpion line is super slept on, in my opinion. um They don't, in my opinion, they don't push them hard enough because it's a great tire. Yeah. I mean, they're they're more straight, I mean, for sure. Yeah. That specific tire, is that made to be like a CUV type all-terrain, kind of like the Falcon Wild Peak AT Trail? Yeah.
Speaker: It's more like like my size tire. That's the smallest that that tire comes in. Oh, wow. So that's why I actually wanted to go like 15, you know, maybe a 225. I mean, I wanted the 16 because I just run ah outback rims.
Speaker: Yeah. Because my my buddy ah has like a whole closet full of just, you those same exact outback rims. Yeah. You know, when I cracked one and so I'm like, hey, Richard, I need i need another i need another rim. He's all, okay.
Speaker: You tosses me another rim and I'm all set. um I am running in inch and a half wheel spacers in the front and two inch wheel spacers in the back. Okay. I was going to ask about that. What I've noticed is um the fronts are, they are like a half inch, a little wider from the factory what it kind of looks like. So that's why we're run the the bigger because they sit pretty even right now um so yeah so i run wheel spacers again never never had an issue um because that you and just for people who are listening who might want to do something similar you need the wheel spacers to keep the tire away from the spring perch correct
Speaker: Oh, correct. Yes. Yeah. Because if you didn't run in a factory, you'll offset rim. You're going to be rubbing that that spring perch, especially in the front. And that's also how you can tell if you've bent a strut is if that clearance gets a little less. Ask me how I know. um which which leads me to my my strut story so the first year i took it you know uh there was there was a big storms throughout that year so there was a there was a lot of washouts um you know along the trails uh so you'd be you you'd be blasting down your road you know 60 miles an hour and then there's just you know no road there um
Speaker: So, yeah, so when your struts, you know when your tire comes up really fast to the car, those those struts just tend to, you know, kind of kick in. so So I bent three out of the four struts that first year. um mean, it wasn't anything I have a picture of me putting a jack in between the body and the strut and just jacking it out and straightening it out. Yeah.
Speaker: So that was also on like day two of the rally. So then I went the rest of the rally with, with bent struts. Um, but you know, it, it made it like I made it all the way back. Although, you know, 1500 miles back, drove all the way home from, you know, Yuma to back to Cottonwood. So little hot boy camber never hurt anybody. Um, so that's when, you know, it leads me to after,
Speaker: I'm like, man, like there's there's gotta to be some way to make these things stronger. So I went on, you know, to my, one of my local parts house, uh, eBay, um, and ordered some, uh, ordered some stress. I mean, $68 a piece for, you know, just some, some knockoff struts. And I went, you know again to the, the scrap pile at work and got a you know, a piece of tube that,
Speaker: you know, a little bit bigger diameter than the cylinder of the strut. Sleeved them? Yeah, cut it in half, sandwiched them. boop So, you know you're not welding on the actual, you know, cylinder of the strut. You're welding on that that pipe that you just put around it. Did that, put two gussets on the bottom, welded them to the, you right above the, you know, the the bolt holes for the for the knuckle mount.
Speaker: I think I saw this on your Instagram. Yeah. And then made another, another little gusset up on top to go to the spring perch. Um, and I've, I've been running those same struts for four years. Uh, the rear, I just sandwiched it and then put a piece of angle iron down that, uh, down the, the, the, the main cylinder of the, of the strut. And like said, yeah, no bent struts past four years. Oh, they're, they're good to go. That's tight.
Speaker: um i'm trying to I'm trying to debate on if this next year i should get a new set a new set of custom eBay struts before I put those Rally Tech on. but Not a bad idea. I don't know. Not a bad I can always throw those yeah i'll throw those ones on my daughter's car. so There you go. She's got a she's got an 04 Impreza Outback Sport. She just turned 16, so she's been driving that around.
Speaker: That's such a nice car. yeah I put 05 Forrester struts on it. I actually lifted it about about three inches. um And, you know, she just she just loves that thing. actually just, you know heard her drive by. She just got home. So I put put exhaust on it. I told her that's my, ah that's my, my, see if she's trying to sneak away. I always hear her coming and going. oh That's brilliant. Yeah. oh Yeah, so i got to she went, she had a summer job. She bought her own ah falcons. She got the trails, which, you know, she shouldn't be doing anything too major. ah There's a 215, 65, 16. That's a good tire, man. I tell people all the time, as long as you're not going to subject to sidewalls to anything, for sure it's going to get you where you need to go. And what i mean what I've kind of noticed, like said, with the Pirellis, they do have that that kind of weak sidewall. on The new one that they just came out with, I believe it's the XTM Pirelli Scorpion, they kind of fixed that problem. We only had, I think, one failure on the rally this year of someone running that tire, and that was ah you know kind of a freak accident.
Speaker: um But you know driving a Subaru kind of... in my opinion, makes you kind of a better driver. Cause I mean, you, you got to pick your lines. You got to, yes you got kind of choose wisely. I mean, sometimes I'm definitely like, man, there's no way I'm getting up this and I get up it. like It's kind of crazy, but yeah.
Speaker: It's funny you say that because I've said that so many times because I never, um i never did off-roading. I got into the whole thing just because hiking. And I remember when I first, um, got, you know, I, I did get to a point where I was like, okay, I do want to do real off-roading and, and that type of thing. And so when I bought the Jeep, I was like, oh dude, like I know exactly how to do this, you know, but now I'm looking at that, uh, that XTM, that's a good looking tire. Yeah, dude, they're, they're really nice. And we, we kind of helped with like the launch of that tire. Okay. Like they kind of made it, um, cause I mean,
Speaker: Two years ago, the one year that i that I took a sidewall out, we were up in Northern California um in this big like obsidian field. So, i mean, there's just obsidian everywhere. And I just kind of got a little close and just got my sidewall. And then ah probably the most aggressive driving I had to do in the Subaru was that same year shortly after I just sliced the tire. And I went down this one washed out road and it was just full on like boulders, you know, you know, kind of rock crawling. I'm somewhere no Subaru.
Speaker: i mean, should ever be. i like that. I'm glad I put rock sliders on this thing because I'm going to be using them. Yeah. So speaking about that with the rock sliders, those are actually uh wrangler rubicon okay rock sliders that i cut down and and put it on there i can actually lift up my car with them they're they're pretty solid and they stay kind of you know nice with the body line and kind of yeah kind of don't really know they're there unless you look yeah um Did you mount those? Because I'm guessing you welded some custom brackets on or welded them straight to the yeah body. They're you're not welded. they're They're bolted on, so I could remove them. There was one kind of like um mount underneath, kind of under like the driver's door, kind of by like the kick panel down there. That was already a hole for like if you tie them down, know, they have that little spot that they can tie down to. And so I actually put a nut in there, welded a nut. That actually went with like one of those factory Rubicon mounts. And then I went and kind of put a piece of angle iron down the pinch weld and bolted into the pinch weld. So, okay yeah, they're on there. They're on there pretty solid for sure.
Speaker: That's sick. um But yeah, like you said I I have a lot of Jeep parts on my my Subaru and I'm still not done yet. I have still have ah another one that I ah that i've modified for it. and What's that? got to break the news here. So after I built the you know built the struts,
Speaker: Another one of my friends who actually, you know, I think we asked how I got started in the rally while I was working at at Chrysler. And, you know, I have a background. I was at Hyundai. was a master tech Hyundai for eight years. know, I've always had Toyota. i used to restore old Toyota Land Cruisers for for a company in Flagstaff. So i had like a big import background. And she first heard about the rally. And they were looking for mechanics. And she said, well, you know there's everything here. And you kind of know every you know different know genres of vehicles. so
Speaker: So that's how she she got me into it. She got introduced me to the to the creator of the rally. And I've just you know been there ever since. So so yeah, shes she owns a Jeep rental place in Sedona.
Speaker: And she had one in Moab, but I don't think the Moab one is open anymore. She do the pink Jeeps? ah No, she has a Barlow Jeep Rentals in Sedona. Her name Nina Barlow.
Speaker: um Amazing, amazing off-road trainer and just has been around it for forever. um So she always had you know extra Jeep parts lying around. So she gave JK...
Speaker: um j k front lower control arm adjustable like tubular control arm so they kind of have yeah they're they're not himes but they had you know big kind of beefy bushings yeah just the dumb tubing yeah and i originally got them from her because i'm like hey i want to build you know a spare tire carrier Like, do you have anything with heim joints or you anything to make ah a swing? And she yeah, I got a couple you know track bars and then I have these these these control arms. I'm like, okay, cool. So they're laying there I'm just, you know, those those really look like they have like the same angle, same bend as the real trailing arms enough in the Forester.
Speaker: And sure enough, I took one out of the Forester, set it next to that. I mean, it's an identical bend. It's insane. I'm like man, like now I just got to get it to, you know to mount to the bottom of the knuckle.
Speaker: And so I had, uh, I measured it and it's, you know, a two inch, uh, uh, diameter. So I go, had an extra, uh, a trailer hitch, um, just lay in there. I'm like, Hey, well that's, you know, that's two inch. So I cut it, cut a, you know, cut it and kind of cut one half ah or one end of it off and made a C and and it man fits right around it. Welded it to the to the trailing arm, yeah now my now my trailing arm.
Speaker: um Bolted it up, fully adjustable. I can know you know cool bring the that back tire in or out however you want. so That is sick. I remember seeing that now. And they're crazy beefy. So I mean, they're way, way overkill for sure.
Speaker: Yeah. So speaking of modifying cars, one of the most overlooked things that I notice are things like batteries and proper battery mounting. And I am super thankful and honored to have Melee Design Firm as a sponsor of the Dirt Subies podcast. And the way that they're doing that is by giving you a 10% off discount just for being a listener. All you got to do to get that discount is go to MeleeDesignFirm.com and use code DIRTSUBIES at checkout. That'll get you 10% off batteries, battery mounts, battery tie downs, engine bay caps. So if you're wanting to dress up your engine bay a little bit, I actually have their full engine bay cap set in my daily driver. I got the wrinkle red, but you can get whatever color you like. Their stuff is really well made, small batch, and not every, you know, broccoli head hot boy in a WRX is already going to have this stuff on their cars. So go show some appreciation and some love if you're in the market for that type of stuff and make sure you use that code to save yourself a little bit of money. Let's jump back into this episode. I have two questions I want to ask you right off the top my head before I forget. These are completely unrelated, um but i wanted to ask you real briefly.
Speaker: We talked about the wheel spacers, but what other tire fitment things did you kind of to go through? know there's a lot of sledgehammer action that has to happen. Yeah, for sure. I mean, you kind of got beat the crap of the firewall. Um, you know, for that, for the, you the face your tire when it comes in, cause you it hits, it hits that firewall. And I mean, sort of the inside too. Um, one big fix for that, go into the, the STI control arms in the front. Um, it gives you just that kind of that bit.
Speaker: just moves that tire up. i think I actually think I have pictures of it on there. yeah But I think it moves it like half an inch forward. yeah You know, so you have... Yours are painted blue, right? on They have that. So everything, that's kind of my my signature thing because yeah the Rebel Rally, like that they're kind of like that baby blue. So, I mean, I'm building the car for the Rebel. So everything like I build, even on other people's vehicles that I've built it for, and i paint them that baby blue. It actually was, it was leftover from when I did that transmission in my Cummins because it's it's old school Mopar blue.
Speaker: And so I had the can leftovers. I started spraying stuff with it. Um, so that was kind of, that's kind of been my thing. My, my skid plate, which I call the skid plate, but just this big piece of, you know, kind of thick ish metal I got from the plant. That's full, like a belly pan completely covers the, you know, the engine compartment. Um,
Speaker: So, yeah, that's just like kind of a piece. It's kind of bolted in the front where the factory bolts up. And then it's kind of actually just forms, kind of follows the that subframe. And I welded two bolts, two nuts on the back, and it's bolted in. It does its job. It takes a beating. um covers my i got an unequal length header on there, so it fits that nicely.
Speaker: um but yeah, so where were we? I was just going to say real quick, I like your your wheel choice. i think that is one of the most underrated alloy wheels that Subaru ever put any car in 16-inch. Because they always came with the machined face with a little bit of gold on the inside in most cases. And when I saw your car, um I had a first-gen Legacy probably – What year are we in? Oh man, it's been over 10 years now. But I specifically looked for a pair or a full set of those wheels, painted them bronze. Yeah. Like a super dark bronze. They look, they remind me a lot of the
Speaker: I think back in like 2000 to 2003 or something, ah the C5 Corvettes had a a trim package that came with a wheel with a real similar spoke design. And they always remind me of that. They look yeah sick, dude. They look really good. Good choice, dude. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, and then with the bronze color, we um you know my daughter's rims on her Impreza weren't like that great looking, so I'm like, I want to get some wheel paint. And it's just like the Dupli-color wheel paint. Man, it lays so nice. what i used. um And it's it's tough, too. yeah um Yeah. I was cutting through mud and all sorts of stuff in the rally, and i mean they still look just like the day I painted them.
Speaker: So I painted hers, and like, I'm going to do that to my car, too. yeah I was going to paint them black. You know since I have that that classy champagne color, Forrester. I love that color. I don't care what anybody says. At first, I was like, oh, man. But it's' it's growing on me. Yeah. very It's classy in my book.
Speaker: Anything that looks like a grandma would buy it, I want it. Exactly. Because you know it's going to be clean. Yeah. um But, yeah, so I really like those alloy wheels. And like I said, it's it's nice having – having you spares spares at the the close close yeah by when i need them oh they made millions of those wheels yeah for sure and i just i just like i'd love to get you know a set of methods or something like that because i you know i love method wheels i had some bronze methods on my my cummins um but you know if you bash those on a rock or something you you definitely feel you definitely tear or tear up a little bit You know, these things, i don't I don't really care what I do to them. Like, I'll use them to stabilize a floor jack if I need to. I'll set the car on them. Like, it's not a big deal. That's that's what I like. I like stuff that I can actually use and abuse.
Speaker: Let me ask you this. this This is a little out of order, but this popped into my head. ah You are working on a lot of vehicles in the rally that are doing the type of driving that the average lifted Subaru owner is doing. a lot of like overland style driving. You know, we're not doing rock crawling. We're not doing bug bogging. um And because of that, what do you think are some of the, specifically on Subaru's most common repairs that you are seeing and things that people ah would maybe want to look out for, be careful of when they're out doing this type of stuff?
Speaker: I mean, definitely the i mean the main thing is just you know prep your rig. you know we're We're out there. you We do a full tech inspection you know prior to the start of the rally. um Man, you don't know like how many times... you know Not really so much in the past couple of years, but man, we'd be going like, dude, did you even bother you know checking the oil on this thing? Yeah. So, I mean, that's that's a major part of it.
Speaker: Really isn't just like a repeat offender every year, except for except for tires. I mean, nine times out of ten, you know, if someone's in in the in the garage area at the end of the day, like we're doing tire repairs. um And that's good to take.
Speaker: Yeah. That's a good thing to take note of. Yeah. You know, people don't think about it. It was pretty awesome. One year we had a ah Rolls Royce in there. The Rolls Royce.
Speaker: And I can't think of the name of it. But it was like an all-wheel drive SUV. um And man yeah, they they popped a tire. They wanted to stay stock.
Speaker: um So, I mean, they were running in they were running like highway tires because that's the only thing you could get in that size. I think it was like a 22-inch tire. That's ridiculous. Or 22-inch wheel. And, man, I can just remember the Rolls-Royce people are standing there. and i And we don't have a tire machine out in the middle of the desert. So, I mean, we just got bars, tire bars, and we're just wrenching on. I mean, beating the crap out of this rim. And they're like...
Speaker: you know, that's a $6,000 rim, right? we're like Oh, why'd you bring it out? Why'd you bring it? So, yeah, man, but they they were really cool. I mean, they, they, uh, just really cool people out out there. And I mean, i mean, they were just out there watching us do it And they're like, man, I can't believe like, some of the stuff that you guys have been able to repair out here with, you know stuff that you're not used to seeing. Like, none of us have ever touched a Rolls Royce before. None of us have touched a Rivian before the rally. Like, you know, we've had a port axle G wagon one time. That was pretty cool.
Speaker: Portals are sick. Yeah. Working in the sand though, that is another level. Yeah, and it' especially some nights, it's, I mean, I know you're probably used to cold, but, you know, I'm born and raised here in Arizona. So, like, I think it was like 80 degrees here today. Yeah. Middle of December. yep. My parents are in Phoenix. Oh, yeah, okay. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker: So, I mean, we had, you know, some nights it's like, you know, 20 some degrees out there. And, you know, we're oh shivering trying to put a transmission in something. or Absolutely. Yeah. This year in one of those Inos Grenadiers. don't know if you've heard of those things. They they look like... they're lagu They look like a Land Rover. Like an old Land Rover.
Speaker: have seen those. They have the twin turbo BMW straight sixes in them. Well... You know, that being a, you know, kind of a BMW sort of vehicle, you know, to pop the hood, you pull it and then you pull it again and there's no safety latch. So the competitor, know, popped it um and got, you know, sidetracked, which is very easy to do on the rally.
Speaker: And they started driving away and that hood just came up, folded over it. So, i mean, we got this shattered windshield. I mean, and we're, you know, in nowhere, Nevada. And, you know, the the guys from Grenadier, from Inos, brought us a freaking windshield. And we put it in this thing. I mean, we were in with a sawzall with like a dulled blade. You're cutting this windshield out of this thing. mean, we're not glass guys. Like.
Speaker: um i mean 20 20 some degrees outside i mean we're freezing trying to get this windshield on me with razor blades trying to cut the cut the stripping yeah the colt and uh so we we got it in guys from a grenadier were awesome they stayed there and helped it helped us get it in when they got there um i said I mean, just just everyone on it is just, you know, really, great really, really believe in the rally. And even like our sponsors, I mean, that's how they're picked. I mean, they're, mean, they've had tons of people that yeah, I want to be a part of it, but if you don't kind of stand, you know, for the rap, what the rally is, know, we, we kind of don't want your money, but, uh, that's a way to be dude. For sure. I mean, it's, I mean, yeah, you know, it might be something bigger, but you know,
Speaker: Do you want those kind of people if, you know, if they're not willing to support you? Like... Why are you going to support them? So, Hey, let me ask you a little bit about your, just your overall career in automotive. You know, I know you used to professionally work on cars. I'm guessing flat rate might've had, might've had some reason to do with why you're not in it anymore. I mean, so, so first of all, you know, right out of high school, um you know, I went to, I went to a WyoTech, uh, in Laramie, Wyoming.
Speaker: Um, and, Full, you know, technical automotive college. I did ah the automotive program. I did chassis fab and high performance engines and yeah automotive upholstery, which actually was was a pretty awesome class. That's cool, dude. um So my my first few rigs, like while I was there, I had a 92 4Runner. I completely did custom interior in the entire thing while I was there. Then I bought an 82 Corolla wagon when I was there. full you know tuck and roll pleats like i mean it was it was pretty cool i mean i did carpet i wrapped the dash everything in that thing like it was it was pretty cool the old t72 corolla wagon rear wheel drive three tc little four cylinder in it like It was a pretty cool old ride for sure. school JDM is yeah some of my favorite stuff ever. just looks ridiculous. There's nothing else that's ever going to look like old school JDM. No. Yeah. um
Speaker: So, yeah. So that you' allll actually that that's where I went to school. you know, I got out um you know while I was there. got engaged to my now wife. We've been together since you know freshman year high school.
Speaker: Oh, right on. So, yeah. So, so she was here. We were apart for a year with me being in, in, uh, Laramie. So WyoTech is, you know, it's a full eight hour day of classes every day. Like you pretty much have a job you're there, yeah you know, eight to five, doing your classes. And then, you know, of course you need to eat and everything like that. So I had, I was delivering pizzas for Papa John's, um,
Speaker: you know, till sometimes two, three o'clock in the morning and then getting up and going to school. Making it happen, dude. yeah Also the university of Wyoming is in that same little town of Laramie, like Laramie is tiny and it has these two, you know kind of big schools crammed in it.
Speaker: So, but man, if you're delivering pizza at three o'clock in the morning, To in a college party. Man, you're a king. You just walk in and people just start handing you money. and Let's go. Hey, did a did ah do you get paid for that yet? like, no, they said you were paying. And they just started dropping some some money to you. Let's go, man.
Speaker: But yeah, that was you know driving that 92 4Runner around. you Definitely ate up the gas. Oh, yeah. What did that have in it? Was that the 3.4? Yeah, the 3.0. Slow. Okay. Oh, that one. No, but at least it had the five-speed manual in it. Okay. But, yeah, I had, you know, 31, 10, 50, 15s on it. Okay. You know, big bumper that I built in chassis fab there. Yeah.
Speaker: um big roof rack that I built in my high school welding class before I left there, um you know, to go to WyoTech. But yeah, it was it was a good experience. That was my first real experience of cold weather. you know, sometimes some negative 30 wind chill. Yes, dude. man like i'm not even used to above negative 30 man you know so i live in oregon and a lot of people think oh oregon nice temperate rainforest not the part i live in bro we we get that type of weather in the winter but then it gets like 110 in the summer so it's it's kind of desert climate like high desert it's really odd but
Speaker: What sparked your interest in cars? do you Is there like a definitive moment in your childhood or early years where you saw a car that just made you think, well, like, whoa, this is sick. I want to i want to learn about this.
Speaker: I mean, my dad was always, you know, kind of a Ford nut, which is probably why, i like, I'm so against Fords now. um But, I mean, he he always, we had a little dirt track, a little dirt circle track in town of Cottonwood, which, you know, is no longer there because it made noise and made dust. So, you know, naturally it had to leave. um But, you so my dad would have these little, you know, Foxbody LX four-cylinder Mustangs. Oh, let's go. And, you know, we'd be,
Speaker: putting roll cages in them so i mean i'm probably know five six years old and you know i dad a lot bigger than the five-year-old so he's like hey uh don't you get back here and you know weld this right here so like you i was back in his race car you know welding his welding his roll cage up dude um i mean definitely wasn't i don't think uh whatever whatever classifications they had for for safety regulations i don't think i was following it but um Yeah. So, i mean, that's kind of how it was. I mean, I went into high school, you know, knowing quite a bit about cars because, you know, kind of was always around them. So I really I didn't take auto class in high school. took welding, took you all four years I did did welding.
Speaker: But auto, know, kind of knew it. So I didn't I didn't really take it except for my senior year. my yeah now wife, my then brother-in-law, you know he was a freshman. Um, I was like, man, i want to take auto, but i don't want to take it by myself. So I took beginner's auto with them. And, uh, the teacher said, awesome guy, Sonny Rodriguez. Uh, Mr. Rodriguez was like, Hey, uh,
Speaker: if If you get ah an A on this pre-test, you you got an A for the the rest of the year. Nice. i'm like, okay. So I ended up getting like a 99% on it. And so I pretty much just did that year as just like a teacher's aid. Okay. but So yeah, so i mean i could I knew about it I didn't know...
Speaker: exactly like it was going to be a career. Um, you know, kind of like a wild tech recruiter came, uh, to the high school and that was kind of it. That's how I got into wild tech, you know, wild tech, they kind of, you know, promise you, Oh yeah, you're going to get a you know, high paying job and you know, all that kind of spiel. It sounds like military recruiters. yeah Yeah. Yeah. I got a lot of job offers for upholstery, you know, cause they actually, you know, came in and like saw my work. Um,
Speaker: But man, i couldn't I couldn't just sit there at a sewing machine for eight hours a day. like I think actually one was cat skins you know that do like seat covers. so They're kind of a bigger you know custom ah seat cover, seat skin place. Yeah, used to sell those.
Speaker: But yeah, I mean, it's just... I just i just couldn't do it. So yeah I started just you know doing it as a hobby. Looked at some other fab shops like in in Phoenix.
Speaker: But then kind of settled on a... a place for storing old Toyota Land Cruisers, um, and, you know that's toyota was was my thing and my first vehicle was a an 86 four runner you know removable hard top i wish i had that thing now it'd be worth like 15 grand go dude i'm helping my buddy work uh finish one of those right now dude yeah i mean such a good platform it was just gorgeous and uh yeah one of those you kick yourself for for letting your dad tell you no you should get rid of it and get this 92 pickup and
Speaker: yeah yeah we the only downside was i mean unless you motor swap them you know they're they're carbureted and so we did propane on this one oh yeah we'll see how that goes pain that and the little samurais run really good on propane yes i just you know i'm six foot i don't fit in a samurai too well so i've i've never really been into the samurais too much um Probably one of my favorite off-road rigs, but they got to be, they got to have a 22 RE swap minimum with solid axles. Absolutely. Once you do that, all you need is 35s on a Samurai and you're pretty much untouchable.
Speaker: Yeah. You know, such a sick platform, but you're right. They are not big at all. no um But so anyway, so yeah, started working for this company. um You know, we got most of our FJs.
Speaker: from australia like they got imported from australia okay they were all right hand drives a lot of them were like the the bj40s the diesel ones um so i mean just some awesome rigs a lot of them were the you where they kind of make them into crew cabs full-size four-door you know it was just it was a really cool place to be especially for you know a place right out of You know right out of college. Yeah. The only thing that was bad is I live in, you know, Cottonwood. These were in Flagstaff. And worked there like through October. And so, know, I just got out of college. I'm like, I i need something fuel efficient. I'll go buy ah a motorcycle. So I got a little brand new ah Suzuki GS 500, little twin cylinder. I mean, it, it ran good. Nice little bike.
Speaker: Until it gets cold, bro. Yeah. So I'm driving through you oak Creek Canyon. you know, 20 degrees outside blasting through, you know, it was, you know, I had three pairs of gloves, you know, sticking my hands down the engine to try to warm them up. yeah but so the, the place was, you know, cool to cool to work at, but yeah, they kind of did some things like they were definitely in it for the money and I'm, you more, i want to do this right. You we'd get yeah one I remember is one that had a,
Speaker: It was one of those that was converted to a quad cab. ah Okay. And the floorboard was just rusted out, like all the way into the back panel. And they're like, oh, we're just, paint yeah, exactly. Oh no, like hey they really did that. I said, give me some sheet metal. I'm like, what are you talking about?
Speaker: I said, I'm going to build a new floor and build the, you know this whole new, you know back of the cab. And they're like, okay, whatever. And so they you know got me a thing of sheet metal. It took me like you know a couple days. I completely built a new floor, you know wrapped it, you know tack welded it around for the body. I'm like, oh, man, that looks great.
Speaker: But it took way too long. So next time we're just going to Bondo it. And I'm like, oh, man. Dude, that's horrible. you know This is 07. Not going for like what
Speaker: Um, but I mean, i mean, they would be charging 20 grand for these things. In 07 was a lot of money. I mean, slapping used engines in them. I mean, they were pretty much just get this thing running and get it out the door. um and that just, that just wasn't me. Um, there was a Hyundai dealership opening up in Cottonwood, um, from a friend of mine that, uh, he was the, you're going to be like the the general manager of it. and said, hey man, like we'd love to have you here.
Speaker: you know there's There's really only like kind of like the service manager, the parts manager, they're brothers, really, you've gotta be really good friends of mine. um And it'd be you as the tech. I'm like, okay, cool, like yeah, I'll start. So I quit there at the Land Cruiser place in like the beginning of December, Got married December 15th. So that was just this last Monday. So celebrated my 15 year, my 18 year wedding anniversary. Congrats, this last Monday. I just got married. Yeah. Yeah, dude. Congrats. Oh, thank you, dude. But yeah. So, I mean, it was kind of like a, you know, a life change. And, you know, I definitely be in a new dealership and everything. And I think I started at like.
Speaker: 12 bucks an hour flat rate, like start now. Okay. I mean, nothing. And that's not horrible back in those days, but it's not a lot of money. I was only flagging, you know, maybe sometimes three, four hours a day. Like it wasn't, okay you know, it wasn't a lot of, you a lot of work. But, you know, stayed there for eight years, became, you know, Hyundai master certified tech.
Speaker: um You know, kind of got to see Hyundai grow from, you'll be in cheap kind of throw away Korean cars to, yeah you know, what they are now. Like, i so in, in 07, well, actually I started in January. So it would have been January of 08.
Speaker: Um, you that's when they really started, you know, coming out, making a decent vehicle. Um, and now I think in my opinion, I think Hyundai quality wise is right up there with, with Hyundai and Toyota. Uh,
Speaker: and Subaru for that matter, they're just, they're just a lot cheaper. Yeah. They don't hold their value. um but you, you can't beat that warranty. I mean, 10 year, a hundred thousand, like let's go no matter what warranty they covered that, that 2.4, that they started putting in like 2012 into the Sonatas.
Speaker: I had a friend who had just went out with like 130,000 miles. Hyundai covered it full warranty for them. That's because, you know, it was a defect in the engine. It was just nuts. And they just put a you know brand new engine in it for them. So I mean, in that aspect, like it was nuts.
Speaker: Yeah, they so Samsung used to be the same thing. i I don't know if people remember this, but Samsung used to be like a knockoff yeah brand. And Korea has...
Speaker: absolutely like revolutionized themselves within the last 25 years. for sure. And, um, yeah I lived there for a little bit and it's essentially like, oh yeah. Probably one of the coolest places you can live. It's just very,
Speaker: It's almost like living in like a Disney movie is kind of what I tell people. As long as you stay away from the neighbors to the north. yeah Yeah, that's a different... i mean i I went to the DMZ just to say I did, but yeah i mean you know yeah you you can't even get in there. Oh, yeah. but no that's That's funny you say that because yeah i've I've noticed that. The way that they do... It's not quite the same as Japanese engineering, but they're very much like... on board with uh know just the way they do things is like really intriguing i like it a lot yeah there's actually someone that lives like around the corner from me that they have the hyundai kona yeah yeah it's like a small little dude it's it's lifted it's black all blacked out it's got like a nice like off-road bumper on it
Speaker: dude that thing's pretty sweet. Like, I don't know what it's capable of, but yeah you know, I think it would be, uh, I think it'd be fun to, to take out and see what it actually does. Um, I've lifted, i've lifted a Santa Fe before. Okay. Nothing, just a little, you know, like inch and a half space, your lift on it.
Speaker: Um, But yeah, nothing nothing too crazy. I built a pretty nasty Hyundai Genesis Coupe, the V6 one. Yeah. um yeah A friend of mine who you recently passed away, he had a 2010 Genesis Coupe manual transmission. And he comes up to me. He's like, hey, Josh, like what do you think we can do to you to beef this thing up? And I pulled up this, I forget the company that made it
Speaker: But it was a full, like, turbo kit for the Genesis Coupe, V6. Not the four-cylinder turbo, but it came with a big, like, you know Turbonetics ball-bearing turbo.
Speaker: And I'm like, you just joking with him. Hey, yo you know, you can get this. it was like $10,000 for this kit. um And he's like, oh, yeah, that'd be pretty cool. Well, like, a week later, he comes in. Okay, i ordered the kit. It'll be here next week. Come on. The kit for what? Yeah. He's all for the turbo.
Speaker: I'm like, Gary, like, there's, there's no way you got that. He's all do it. It's going to be here. Like, when can you put it in for me? And so I, you know, in my garage, me and my buddy, you know, on the ground, jacking this thing up, put this whole turbo kit in it. We got it done at like 10 o'clock at night.
Speaker: I'm like, man, let's go take this thing out. And we we didn't even have the exhaust on it yet. Just open header. it Just rip that thing around. And at that point it was only running like four or five pounds of boost. Like it wasn't much. Yeah.
Speaker: And it was, it was nasty. Um, and he just kept like, well, what else can I do? Um, we put water meth, methanol injection in it. Um,
Speaker: And just kept like, what else? I'm like, Gary, you probably want to stop. so we Go buy a Ferrari, dude. yeah we we put a We put a big Wilwood brake setup in it. The car was just, I mean, it was it was insane. It was a Corvette killer for sure. I think that's a cool platform. I really like yeah the Genesis stuff. Genesis is like a whole luxury line that they yeah have in Korea. It used to be.
Speaker: Yeah. i mean, now they kind of have a separate, like they have, you know same as Hyundai and like Lexus. Like it is, it's kind of separate entity now, but yeah you know, at the start, it was just, you know, it was Hyundai and Genesis. Like for a while they came out with that, that Hyundai Equus that was, you know,
Speaker: like an $80,000 Hyundai. Yeah. It was a big, um you know, four door sedan, the back seats reclined. They had like massagers in it, but I was like, um, you know, it was crazy. Like they, they really kind of, like said, Hyundai, Hyundai stepped up their game.
Speaker: Yeah. Um, for sure. Yeah. They're not playing, but yeah. So like I was, I was at Hyundai for all that time. And then, uh, my buddy who went from Hyundai, know, started being the general manager at the Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership, uh, in the same town. And he's like, man, like we've really need a good used car tech. It just knows everything. Like the cars we're turning out right now, you know, they're, they're just not up to standard. Um, know, we, we want to start putting money into our used cars cause that's where the money is in the car dealership. absolutely Um,
Speaker: would you want to come over here? And I'm like, man, like I've been a Hyundai for eight years. Like I'm the only master certified tech, like within, you know, between here and Phoenix, like all the way around.
Speaker: you know, I'm not sure, but you know, I made the step. Um, and you'll really, really, you know, it was a good decision. you know, I made quite a bit more money over there.
Speaker: um you know, that's what got me into the rally. It's what i love getting paid. oh So there was definitely a lot more hours there. They did, you know, put a lot of money into their used cars. But I also, you know, learned, you know, learned Ram and Jeep as well. So that was, that was cool to kind of be on, you know kind of learn a whole new, you know, different, different, you know, other than Korean line. Yeah.
Speaker: So, yeah, so I was there for, about six years. Um, and I did most, uh, most of the welding and stuff, you know, Jeeps go out, play, they break stuff. So a lot of stuff for, that's how I met, uh, uh, my friend Nina Barlow. i you know, start welding the little skids on her, uh, control arms and everything um gussets and all that so yeah all of her all of her rentals you know came fully fully kitted at that time it was the jk's yeah um so yeah everyone got got you know those those axle uh braces for for the knuckle so you didn't you know didn't tweak the gussets yeah yeah yeah you guys trust all that you guys trust the axles
Speaker: i'm Not full trusses, just pretty much those because that's where they tended to you know bend the axles. yeah right on this You get people who are renting them, not really know what they're doing. yeah yeah Just kind of the common failure, but they'd fully you know come fully lifted on 35s. Nice. So, I mean, yeah, she she' held a you know really good... ah Yeah, a really good line of of vehicles, really capable vehicles.
Speaker: were they Were they doing Rubicons with the Dana 44s front and rear or Dana 30s in the front? They they were just – she just had a factory Jeep Rubicons. you know There was nothing really modded for the ones she sent up because she did Rubicon rentals.
Speaker: Okay, perfect. So Dana 44, brother. Yeah. That's the jam right there. Yeah. Yeah, so I mean, it was it was cool. Like he said, she had, at one time, forgot, thought she had,
Speaker: and know she had like over 20 at one time, because she had the Moab, um, rental and then the Sedona and that was before all the side-by-sides came and ruined ruined it and Moab so Sedona sick dude I was there um last last uh last fall man yeah yeah next time you come down we gotta go and we'll hit we'll do broken arrow I'm sure I'm so down let's do it right I'm so down yeah that whole area is beautiful Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of cool. Like, I mean, people are like, Oh yeah, I went and did your broken arrow. I'm like, yeah, it's like 15 minutes away from me and I've yeah never taken my Subaru on it. So, I've taken the, you know the four runner and, you know all the other, you know, pretty much just my, my 98 four runner.
Speaker: Um, I took on, took on broken arrow a few times, but, uh, I really want to take and see what I can do with the with the Forester. Yeah. but do you Do you follow um ah the bearded pixel on Instagram by chance? it's got the blue SJ Forester XT.
Speaker: I'm sure I probably do Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we, so I've got three really good friends, um, in the, you know, Phoenix ish area. And, uh, yeah, last year we, i don't remember exactly because I'm not familiar with the trails up there. So I don't know exactly where we went, but I know we came in from the top and went down into Sedona.
Speaker: And, um, yeah, it's probably, um, no I know. don't think it be soldiers pass. I think I know of what you're talking about. i just, I just can't recollect it right now. Yeah.
Speaker: Well, we took, um, so my friend, uh, Ryan Wolf, he's got a three, six, uh, 19 outback. And then the bearded Pixel, he's got a that I think it was 2017 Forester XT. And then our friend John, he's got, I think it's a 2014 Outback 3.6. We took all those down through Sedona. All the Jeep people are looking at us like, what's wrong with you guys? Yeah, I mean, Subarus are definitely getting a lot more common. Like, I feel... yeah I feel like I started it, but I mean, like that's when I lifted that, you know that first 03. I'm like, man, there's no lifted Subarus out here. And then, you know, I lifted it and drove it around and then, hey, there's another one. There's another one. And I mean, I've i've also built about another...
Speaker: you know, six or seven of them that are rolling around town here, just, a you know, friends and stuff like that. So, I mean, they are getting a little more, a little more common for sure. know, the Subaru scene in Flagstaff is pretty huge, um but not really, not really the aftermarket, like lifted, you know, kind of Subaru community too much, just kind of basic,
Speaker: you know, outbacks, mostly, um, outbacks and foresters that, uh, yeah, they're good for snow. So, Oh, absolutely. And you got snowball up there. So that drives a lot of the, a lot of the Subaru sales, but I feel like it was the introduction of the cross Trek that really kicked that whole thing off. Once the cross Trek became, yeah you know, more known, all'll do was it was game over at that point. Yeah. And I,
Speaker: like that's one like I really want to build I really want to build a cross-track someday yeah they're just they're just a good good platform and man someone it went fast so it either scam or Um, or someone just jumped on it. Someone was selling a first gen, uh, cross track up in Flagstaff and they're like, yeah, nothing's wrong with it. it Like there's something like needs a battery or something like two grand. okay And I'm like, oh man. And then like the next time I looked, it was gone. I bet the CVT was clapped and they weren't telling me. Yeah. I'm actually going to be putting a CVT trans in a 14, uh,
Speaker: forester here in like a week or so i think it just you know i think the solenoids are going out in it but uh it just you know it's got 190 000 miles on it so i'm like man we can you can drop the money we can put the a valve body in it or you know we can pick up a used trans and i can throw that in labor is not much different between the two um so yeah so you know doing the the used trans route so i think you picked up a like a 60,000 mile, uh, CVT for that was something like 1200 bucks. So I mean, not, not horribly bad, but yeah. So I'll see how that goes. I'll be my first, uh, CVT have swapped out. So yeah, I've never owned one, man. Yeah. Yeah. Me either. You know, she's not my thing. Hey, what, um,
Speaker: So, you know, you've told me a little bit about what you're doing now, but what kind of caused you to transition out of working on cars professionally and into what you're doing today? um It was kind of one thing. i mean, just, you know, family wise, not so much the money benefits.
Speaker: um And i was I was just getting burnt out. Like, I did it for roughly 15 years. You just kind of seeing the older techs where I was working, like, you know, they're grumpy. they Pissed off. Their hands just hurt. Like, they they don't want to be working on cars anymore. And, like, you know, I enjoy working on cars. And I was, you know, starting to get to that point where...
Speaker: It was a job. like I got home. I didn't want to work on another car. i didn't want to yeah yeah yeah build a car for myself. so i mean Now, it's kind of nice. like I have you know how many thousands of dollars worth of tools sitting in my garage from what I acquired over 15 years from the Snap-on trucks and Natco trucks. and You still owe on them? No, and I don't owe on them. Nice. It's all even my...
Speaker: my ah my big old snap-on three-bay toolbox. Oh, let's go. It definitely clogs up the garage. You might be the only human being on planet Earth that's got paid off snap-on tools. I right? I got a hold of that. the The key is to not finance them, just doing the truck payments and making your truck payment.
Speaker: Oh, man. Yeah, playing with credit. yeah It works for some people, but I don't owe anybody anything and I don't plan on changing. But so, so now, um, an opportunity came, you know, don't know if you've, I know you said you've been in Arizona. I don't know if you've been in like the, the Jerome area or anything like that. I have, I have, I've stayed in Jerome just one night, but yeah. So in Jerome, like you look like down the hill,
Speaker: They were down the mountain and there's that giant like facility down there, of two big, two big gray domes. Well, that's the cement plant that I work at now. Oh, no kidding. Yeah. So that's cool.
Speaker: Yeah. So, I mean, completely career change. if People are like, oh you work at the garage over there? I'm like, no. I, uh, I work for a utility, you know, shovel stuff and jackhammer stuff. And, um, you know, run equipment, um, past, you know, four years I've been, you know, doing a lot of, you know, fabricating parts, like part of our, one of our, uh, big vacuum trucks, you know, kind of just materials worn through it. So I, you know, spent today, know, building a new piece. So, uh, so that, that won't happen again. It seals it back up. Um,
Speaker: So, I mean, yeah, it's been, like said, a complete career change, but easily one of the best decisions of my life. You know, with 401k and benefits, it's just, you my insurance is insane. Like I'm a, I'm a type one diabetic. So, I mean, I okay always just, you know shelling out money for oh yeah everything and, ah you know, pretty much everything gets, you know, gets covered. Yeah.
Speaker: And, you know, having four kids, I mean, that's that's definitely the priority. Get plenty of, you have vacation time for me to do the the rally. i start It was funny. I started there in September um of 2020. And I'm like, hey, yeah, so, like, thanks for giving me a job. But I got this thing called the, I got thing for the Rebel Rally coming up in two weeks. they're like, okay, well, how long can you be gone? I'm like, 11 days.
Speaker: And so like, oh, okay, well, yeah, as long as you told us. So, you know, they've been gracious enough, you know, to to be fine with me taking, you know, 10 to 12 days off, you know every year since. so What do you think is um a good piece of advice? You know, a lot of people that are on YouTube or, you know, listening to this, they're yeah probably...
Speaker: you know, maybe a little younger than us. What, what do you think is one of the biggest pieces of career advice that you could give people? I mean, you're you're definitely not gonna, you'll find, not everyone's gonna find something that they love. um I mean, you you kind of just got to come to the conclusion.
Speaker: Like, you know, you're, you're not gonna like, you know Every single person you work with. Yeah. um You know, it's kind of just one of those things that you you got to do, um you know, and always, you know, even if there's those days like you don't want to get up my job, I get up early, sometimes at three o'clock in the morning. i mean, most days, five o'clock in the morning and get to work. Some days, especially these cold mornings, you definitely don't want to get up. But, I mean, as long as you come to that realization, like, you know, if you want to eat, if you want to, you know, buy stuff for your kids, buy stuff for your car. Like, i mean it's just, you know, you got to do it. You know you just got to put in the put in the time. Make sure you take...
Speaker: you know, time for yourself, make sure you do stuff with the family. Absolutely. You know, make sure, you know, my, one of my biggest priorities for the past, you know, really for the past, you know, 13 years, I've been, you know, coaching youth sports with my kids and, you know, basketball, soccer.
Speaker: um so i mean, make the time for that. I mean, make sure that you're, you're there, know, and it just, you know, you like said, just enjoy, enjoy those things. you know, appreciate those things and just know, like, you gotta, you gotta support your family. Like, that's what you gotta do. you know, and I'm one, like, every time I left, like, when I left Hyundai, when I left, uh, Chrysler, um you know, I always, like, felt really bad. Like, you know, I've grown attached to these people that i work with. You know, I feel like I'm, you know, letting them down if I leave. But I mean, you gotta, you gotta put your family first. You gotta to put, um, you know, your own health, um, you know, first.
Speaker: Um, and I mean, most, most places they'll, they'll understand. i mean, yeah if they were in the same situation, you know, they, I mean, Chrysler, they, they offered to, you know,
Speaker: throw me quite a bit of money like to stay yeah and ah to come back like couple years after I left and you know I took a big pay cut going to the cement plant when I when I first went but i mean we saved seven hundred dollars a month on health insurance can't beat that well and it's it's nuts And I think it um just yeah as somebody that doesn't know you outside of our conversation today and Instagram, like I just observing you what you told me, you're the type of person that.
Speaker: collect skills, a bunch of skills and you get good at it. I mean, cause you know, you got headhunted to go to these different places. I think that's something that people forget, man. Like if you have an opportunity to learn something at your job that's above and beyond, and even if you're not going get paid extra for it, do it and do it the best you can, man. And, and before long, you'll have people begging to give you money. Yeah. Thank you. Like said, I mean, I, I kind of you always have considered myself like kind of know, Jack of all trades. Cause Like I said, mean, that's of the same thing with, you know, building stuff on the Subaru rather than, yeah you know, going out and buying it. Like, so all in all, everything on my car from purchasing it for 500 bucks and buying the engine, I don't think I have more than five grand into my car.
Speaker: That's so tight. I mean, and I take it, you know. I take it a lot of places. I mean, yeah. Like some of the amazing trails on the, on the rally, like, and it always seems to, you know survive. Um, yeah, I'm always able, I'm always able to drive it from Glamis or, or wherever back home. Um, even one year i you know, bent back, uh, why I have the SDI control arms, taco to control arm back into my firewall
Speaker: I know. And it folded right in that middle part too, didn't it? So, so my buddy, he made this really cool. I mean, this he's, he's just amazing. He's the guy that runs the, you know, the mechanics for the rally. Well, he has this older, like Oh six, a power wagon.
Speaker: And well, he's a firefighter and they had this old wrecker like sitting there. So he's like, Hey, I could put that. So he has this wrecker, And on the back of his power wagon. So we have full boom with two you know twin spools and two hooks.
Speaker: It's just nuts. So said, hey, man, like, yeah, I kind of did something dumb and tacoed my my control arm. Were you pulling this thing? yeah So all he did was come. Yeah, we we hooked it up, yanked on it like once. i like Yeah, i think it's I think it's holding. So I'm you know double footing the brake.
Speaker: And I'm like, yank it. And he just smacked it, lined it back perfectly. My steering wheel wasn't even crooked afterwards. Drove it all the way home from, you know, from Glamis all the way back to Cottonwood. That's sick.
Speaker: So, yeah, I mean, it's like said, it's just, it's really the only vehicle that like I haven't like really broke on the rally like. I don't consider yeah i don't consider a couple bent couple bent struts and and a bent you know control arm really you know breaking. It's never left me stranded. I mean, no matter how many people on the rally probably thought it was going to, just...
Speaker: you know it's just It goes, man. Like it, it does its job. I sleep in it on the rally. Um, you know I have to, these are perfect for sleeping in dude.
Speaker: I push. so so like, I know you've said on one your podcasts that you sleep in yours. Do you put your head towards the back? which I put it towards the front. Cause I like the downward angle, but I might have to switch it up. Cause I feel like you're about to tell me something. I, yeah. So what I do slide the driver's seat all the way forward and, you know, tilt it all the way forward. And then I pack stuff, you know, in in between the front seat and the yeah folded down back seat. So I got a nice little foot rest. And then, yeah, just lay just lay down with my head towards the towards the back. The hatch, yeah.
Speaker: And that's the way. So I have... don't if you see i think there might be a a picture of like the back, like when I'm set up for the rally in the back. But so I have like a hanging like net, which is also a, it was a cargo net from a Jeep. Like you're supposed to be made to go in the, the crossbars on a, on a Wrangler. I have that suspended above. So that's what I put all my sleeping bag, my pillows and everything you know, my jackets and everything I stuff up there. And then I also, know, hang stuff off of it too. Like same, kind of use it like, kind like a Molly panel kind of up there, hang my, my first aid kit, you know, kind of like my toiletry bag and everything. So everything's kind of mounted. have, you know, a Demos shovel, you know, fold down aluminum shovel over my, passenger side rear quarter window and then i have just like kind of another little like organizer thing i need to i need to do something with it i'd love to do molly panels but like i said it's a they're expensive pricey thing pricey thing for something know i could i could defy some you another way to get around it I've thought, you have a plasma cutter. I'm like, I can just freehand one. But, you know, it'll be. But no, I like said, everything that like ADF does like amazing, man. Like if I had and people that I know that want me to build stuff for them, you know, they have the money. I've done a couple of ADF kits. And, you know, that's that's the first person that I, you know, tell them to to go for. First time I bought a molly panel, was like, oh, this hurts. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Because I definitely, you know, Patrick is, you we've become friends recently. I mean, I've been buying parts from him since like 2014. Yeah, yeah. And so, I all the stuff that's on my Forester right now, I mean, I paid for it, you with own money. And it hurts a little bit. So, I do have ADF parts on my car. have the ADF ditch light mounts. Nice. Because, I mean, he doesn't charge, know.
Speaker: that much at all for those i mean yeah it would take me longer just to you get the metal and you know all that stuff and to just buy a set of those and then i have the adf battery tie down oh oh the group 35 tie down man that's a good um good call So, yeah, so I do. i carry ADF stickers on or you on my car at all times. So, you know, I rep in. They're all like, oh, yeah, what kind of ADF do you have? I'm like, I got some ditch light mounts and a battery mount. Like, hey, it's OK.
Speaker: Yeah. No, there, you know, the thing is is I, if you have the ability to make stuff, yeah why would you not? you know And that's kind of my mindset for for sure. um The one thing, you know, that I recently put on this year before the rally Ford Ranger bumper.
Speaker: Oh yeah. Yeah. Dude. A lot of people love that bumper. So, you know a lot of people at the rally probably got tired of hearing in me, uh, rave about timu so i do gotta say my front ranger bumper is from timu but it's the same one like from ebay and amazon it's the exact same bumper yeah i spent 200 bucks on it like it took them three times to send it to me but i did end up getting it um it was a little banged up some of the the powder coating kind of got a little nicked but yeah hit it with some dupli color yeah he's good um hey
Speaker: Oh, sorry. Go ahead. um yeah yeah It was really easy to, to install. Um, two of the, I just had a drill two holes in the the Ranger bumper. Um, and that kind of mounted to the factory.
Speaker: Those two big. Yeah. So I put those on and then I sandwiched a plate in between. drilled the other two holes. So I have all six, you know, factory bolt mounts bolted to it. And then I welded, i welded the Ranger bumper to the plate. so I mean, it's, it's solid. Like it's, it's you know, other than actually welding it to the, to the body. yeah um You know, it's, it's a solid, solid bumper. okay I don't have a winch yet, but I think going like maybe a UTV,
Speaker: you know kind of went something, you know, dude, I'm running a Harbor freight. Yeah. Yeah. I'm running a Harbor freight UTV winch. Don't give a fudge, dude. That's all I need. Yeah. Did you, um, I might be picturing this wrong in my head, but you basically put a piece of steel across from one of the factory mounting points across the other. Is that correct? it It doesn't go all the way across. So, I mean, so I still get like some of that airflow in there from those holes from the Ranger bumper, So they're just two separate pieces of plate.
Speaker: Okay. Just kind of you know, on each of those, each of those sides. um Right on. But yeah, it actually always was was really simple. And then I put another, which I'm going to change it up a little bit. I put another like skid plate that I had lying around from a, from a JK.
Speaker: It's just like a piece. It was like an aftermarket one. um Kind of in between that bumper. And the lower, that lower cross member rail that's kind of sticking there. Cause then the radiator is kind of yeah hanging out. So I didn't want to catch anything in there, um but it hangs down a little bit lower. So it takes some of my clearance up. So I'm going to kind of you know change that up a little bit.
Speaker: Yeah. Well, I'm looking at the photo of that bumper. Dude, the the way you mounted, it's really good. Yeah. it It fits so clean and nice and like, you know, tight on the body. Like,
Speaker: If you didn't know any better, I mean, you'd think it was made for the SG, but. Yeah, that's probably the cleanest Ranger bumpers install I've seen. so Oh, thanks. Yeah, good job. You know, keeping in mind that the average person can't fabricate.
Speaker: um Most people are probably not going to be able to build their own lift kit. But if somebody wants to lift a Subaru on a budget, you've done a lot of things that have still saved money that you know pretty much the average person could do. Mm-hmm. If you right now were going to build another Subaru or give somebody advice on how to do it affordably but not horribly, what kind of advice would you give them to save a little bit of money? Like tire selection, wheel selection, lift kit stuff?
Speaker: i mean the the I think if someone says, i want a lifted Subaru, um but I don't have a lot of money, first thing I would say is buy an Impreza. Um, and put Forrester struts on it.
Speaker: Yeah. I mean, that's, I've done two of I did my, my daughter's Oh four. Uh, and then actually recently a coworker had a 2012 Impreza and I threw, he's all like, I need struts. I'm like, well, do you want to leave stock hide do you want to you want to lift it? And, um,
Speaker: he's all get a lift. So I actually got, you know, 2012, Forrester struts. Oh, there you go. And, and put them on it. And yeah, it did. actually, probably did like about like, I have the measurements, but it probably, was a little over three inches that lifted the thing. And then I actually just built my own little, um, pucks to lower, know, to lower the, the subframe in the, you know, in the back just with, we get, we get at work, get this stuff. I mean, it just looks like, you a cutting board. And so I just made, it was three quarter inch, uh, thick urethane and just HDPE drilled a hole in it and put them out. He's not, he lives down a dirt road. So, I mean, he's never really going to take it, you really wheeling.
Speaker: Um, but yeah, just wanted a little bit of look and he fit, I think he ended up putting like a two 35 on it and, you know, it looks, it looks good. He rubs a little bit, but, but not bad.
Speaker: Um, yeah but I mean, and then, know, really just, you know, what is the person really going to be doing? Um, you know, to kind of, choose what parts to buy.
Speaker: um you know, what I've kind of noticed is pretty much anything that's metal and flat, you can kind of bend and make a skid plate out of, you know,
Speaker: um yeah we get some i would think on my daughters i got like a couple you know old stop signs and stuff from the plant i think i'm going to make her some some stop sign skid plates we've taken it out a little bit kind of out in the the mud that thing surprisingly like there's some stuff like i got to get a run up at i mean i have a manual and she's the automatic so that little lower final drive and hers um But yeah, I'm like, well, you probably want to get a run. She's like, well, I'll just try it. And she just hit the gas and just crawled up like this mud slick hill. i'm like, man, I did not expect that at all. Dude, the four EATs, man, it's yeah there's they're solid, dude. They go anywhere. i mean, her car's got like miles on it, but okay it's good to to go
Speaker: what I really would like to do, i want to do an H six swap in my car. yeah And then I'd put my kind of you know hopped up EGA and in her car. But, but yeah, I'd, I'd really like to do the, an H six swap, but it's like, man, my car, my engine only has, my engine doesn't even have 15,000 miles on. It just has those okay five rallies on it. oh So I'm like, man, it like,
Speaker: It runs decent enough. it definitely could use some more some more power even though it is hopped up a little bit, but... Those H6s sound so good, dude. Maybe it's Brian from iWire. He's got one swapped into a 25RS.
Speaker: Sounds so good. It sounds odd, but good. Yeah, so there's a friend of mine from the rally. Her name's Eliza Coleman. She's she's a rally car driver. She's actually ah a stunt coordinator. Yeah.
Speaker: And actually the owner of Melee, because I was listening to your your podcast, he knows her because he mentioned her name. Okay, that um from the sounds familiar. Yeah. um But yeah, she used to be the stunt coordinator for a Jim Conner videos and she knows Ken Block and all that. But she did, because she was talking to me a couple years ago because she skipped a year on the rally. And I was supposed to meet her because she comes up and does the Prescott rally here local.
Speaker: Um, and so she was talking to me that she wanted to do an H6 swap. And I said, well, you know, my buddy Richard probably has an H6 lying around if you, you know, if you're really thinking about it. And then we didn't talk for, you a couple of years. And then she says, yeah, I finally did the H6 swap. And so I need to get, get with her a little more and see exactly what she did and how difficult it was. Cause I would really like to do that.
Speaker: Can you remind me her name real quick? Eliza. Eliza Coleman. I've got to follow real quick if I'm not already. Yeah. Here we go. Yeah, she's she's really cool. i was I wanted to get out and see her this last Prescott rally, but I think she had an ECU failure. Oh. wow So she didn't end up going, you know, being there the day that I could have made it. but Oh, wait.
Speaker: Alex Gelsimino is her co-driver? Yeah, that sounds familiar. Oh, that's sick. Alex Gelsomino is Rhiannon Gelsomino's husband. Okay.
Speaker: Travis Pastrana's co-driver. okay. Yeah, like she she's she's big in that world. like she's She's awesome. And like these people like you meet at the rally... They're so cool. oh They're just like these normal people. And then you're like, well, yo, they own this huge, like they're the CEO of this huge company. what Yeah. Like, that's insane. I found out one of my favorite um rally drivers, which is, this is funny. He drives a BMW, which I hate BMWs.
Speaker: This guy drives an M3 and he definitely like lets that thing eat for the people when he goes through the spectator points. found out he's like a dentist or something you know like just you know making my money over here fixing people's teeth to do what i really want to do you know for sure that's so sick so one other cool things we're talking about like you know kind of famous people um so one year um nina barlow she's done a lot with uh top gear know the show and uh
Speaker: you know, she kind of comes up to me because that's actually how I first knew her. She did one, um from Top Gear USA because there's Top Gear, Top Gear USA, and then Top Gear America.
Speaker: Um, so she did one with Top Gear USA and they, they did the Rubicon trail and, you know and she's, you know, they hired her for, uh, for you the professional driver and to kind of give that to the education to the to the hosts and everything um so she had this big it was like a 91 forerunner um that they bought i mean lifted it insane built this entire xokage on it it's bright yellow it looks like a banana and uh well after after this happened it ended up
Speaker: you know they rolled it in the Rubicon. I mean, staged. I mean, he played it off as it wasn't. okay Um, was this straight axle swapped? No, it was still IFS. Okay. Okay. And it was like, it was stupid tall. Like it was maxed out. Those torsion bars were just cranked. And, uh,
Speaker: So it set it on side, it like broke a motor mount, it did all this stuff. And so that was like when I first started at Chrysler. And so she brought it in and she thought, well, you know i bought they pretty much gave me this 4Runner and I'm going to use it as for doing rollover demonstrations for people to recover. Nice.
Speaker: And they're like, like, I didn't even really know Nina that much. And they're like, yeah, it's a Toyota. None of the Chrysler guys like, I don't want to work on a Toyota. They're like, give it to that new kid. um So that's how I got to know Nina. Perfect. You know, cause I, know, fix this thing, got it running, got it going again from its rollover from the Rubicon trail. So she owned that thing.
Speaker: She called it candy. Cause it was like bright yellow. yeah It had like, ostrich wrapped seats in it. like it was It was nuts. They bought it from some guy in California. I guess it was stock.
Speaker: And so they lifted it, put that big... egg I mean, the production put the XO cage on it, knowing they were going to roll it and everything. i mean it was... They definitely spent some money on that thing. But yeah, so I mean, she used it as a rollover demonstration and that was just... why I think she'd bring it in after she rolled it, which it didn't really need anything. um You know, it busted a window out. So I think...
Speaker: I think one time i had him get me plexiglass and so I made a plexiglass window for it and it still rolled up and down and everything. Nice. ah nice But so, you know, a few years after that, uh, top gear,
Speaker: America, the one that was motor trend. I think they were like half hour episodes on motor trend TV, but it had, you know Dax Shepard, Rob Cordeday. cool and I can't remember the, the third, third host.
Speaker: His name was Jethro. um But he was a professional driver. Really cool guy. He's middle of COVID. But they wanted to do like an overlanding episode at the cinders in Flagstaff.
Speaker: So Nina comes up to me and says, hey, yo you would you be interested in mechanicing this? I'm like, yeah. yeah so So we went out there and i like you I had no idea what anything was going to be.
Speaker: So I look at it. They have an old 60s Econoline van with a big mural of Dax Shepard and his wife, Christian Bell, with him like slaying a dragon On the side of it, blacked out, lifted wheel drive converted, you know, Econoline van. um First generation forerunner.
Speaker: It was independent front suspension, but it had a tough shed like attached to the back of it. Like look like a house. What the heck? And then the third one was 350 Z lifted.
Speaker: that was lifted With a, like, nicely built cage on the top to put a roof mount tent on it. love that. Yeah, it was is sick. I mean, that was probably, that car did the best out all three of them. It was insane in the cinders. Nice.
Speaker: So the first thing, like, with the, with Dax's van, the Econoline, like, I think they bought it in California. So it was jetted for sea level, like an old four 60 in this thing. I guess it was just ran like, like crap. Um, no fan shroud. This is July. i mean, yeah, it's in Flagstaff, but I mean, it's still 90 some degrees out. Um, and it was just, so they could, they could barely keep the thing running.
Speaker: So my job pretty much that whole weekend was just like make Dax's van run so we can get some footage of it. um So yeah, so Dax drove that. Rob Cordeday drove the 4Runner. And then Jethro drove the 350Z, the professional driver. um So the first thing me and Nina had to tell them when they first started taking off from the scene Because they couldn't get the Z to move. like, well, did you guys air down the tires?
Speaker: Well, no. So the first thing we did was air down all the tires and all the vehicles. um ah And the Econoline also had a full waterbed in the back of it.
Speaker: What? Just because it is Dax Shepard and for the the the Hollywood quality of it. Because they supposed to be... is I think the episode's called... ah like overland for 5k or something like that. So supposedly they spent $5,000 on all these vehicles. um So the first night, the final scene was they climb this big cinder hill to get to the top. And that's supposedly where they camp.
Speaker: um So, you know, Dax goes and it stops. He makes it like halfway up the hill and dies. So they end up, they're all like, hey, you know it wouldd be funny? Is if we got a knife and cut the waterbed open and drain all the water out. And so they did that.
Speaker: the z The Z made it right up the hill, like no problem. Of course. And the forerunner did fine, put it in low range and just crawled right up. So they get up to this hill and they're like, okay, well, yo that's a wrap for today.
Speaker: um You know, who does... They're like, you think it'll be okay for you know these vehicles just to leave up here till tomorrow? And while we're at the hotel, because they're supposed to be camping up there. And I'm like, why? yeah I had my mega cab Cummins at that time. And I'm like, well, I'll just stay up here. Like, that's fine. I was planning on camping anyways. and they're like, what, really? I'm like, yeah, I got to get up, you know early and, you know, try to figure something out with this van so you guys can film with it all day tomorrow.
Speaker: And they're like, okay, well, yeah, if you want to do that. And I'm like, well, what time are going to be back to start filming? They're like, oh, yo, first thing in the morning, probably around noon. so like oh, okay. Well, i got i got I guess I don't have to go get up the crack of dawn. So, if yeah, I, you know, got up in the morning, know, made a mountain house and, uh,
Speaker: You know i had some breakfast and I had a cardboard, know, like an air mattress that they had in one of the vehicles. And so I cut it and built a fan shroud for that van. You just did the carburetor. Oh, also the, the starter relay went out in it. So I actually still have the screwdriver that I had to have for Dax to to jump start it, to jump it and start the starter terminal. Yeah. So it still has the little burn marks on and everything. I frame it. That's awesome. oh
Speaker: So, yeah, so actually i have a picture somewhere that i think Nina took of me. explaining to Dax, like everything that I did do as van to try to make it for the rest of the day and, and show them how to, how to start the van and all of that.
Speaker: Um, and then I think for the, the four runner, think it it threw a power steering belt. So I had to put a belt on it and I didn't, I didn't have to touch the Z, the Z, like i said, it did. Oh yeah, dude. It did fine throughout the entire, the entire thing. That's so funny. Yeah.
Speaker: and And so they, at the end of the day, they like the final scene is they're kind of racing to the middle of this big, like dry lake bed at the cinders. And so they, they film it, do their thing. They're all like, okay, well we want to get a few more, a few more, you know, takes of this last run. We want to get some drone footage and everything. And,
Speaker: They're like, Josh, can you get the van running? I'm like, yeah, I'll try. like It's pretty cooked, but I got it running. and They're all like, hey, well do you mind driving it? I'm like, sure. so I you get in it, hop, and go around. and so I took like a really terrible like cell phone video inside but like we're going and i have some of the footage of me driving it bombing it you know just everything's bouncing around in this old van um you know doing the middle so it was it was just a cool experience like said yes for just a regular car mechanic like so something cool is this the 350 right yes uh-huh oh that's tight that's it yeah
Speaker: ah I love the bumper on that, the bumper cut. That's so sick. It was a cool rig. I think actually one of the people that worked on set said he he was going to do what he could to get it. cause yeah i was It was cool. id like It had nice exhaust on it. like it was It was nuts.
Speaker: Yeah, when I went and helped film that that Car Trek episode, um Freddie... freddie Hernandez Tavarish on YouTube. He was like, do you want this Audi? Because he picked an Audi for the episode. And i was like, dude, I have literally no way to get it three and a half hours back home.
Speaker: Otherwise, I'd be all over that. yeah He did like a Harlequin paint job with all the different color panels and Rhino lined it. It's somewhere now. I don't know who, I can't remember who bought it, but I probably should have just bought it and stored it somewhere and come back for it. But it is what it is. But yeah, so i mean, that was one of my my claim to fame, even though like I'm not like in any credits or anything like that. But I have pictures, so... That's so tight. Yeah, it was pretty... And then they did like a kind of like a like a little bonus extras, because like the only way to watch it was you had to have you know their Motor Trend streaming service. Yeah.
Speaker: to watch it so it was never like aired on regular tv or anything i think you can watch it now like still like youtube with a subscription or something like that but they did like a little extra and they have me yeah they did one of me like talking about you know explaining what i had to do build the fan shroud and and all that stuff so it was cool all of them cool everyone was really cool like yo It was still like that. like we have I have like a neck handkerchief because it was you know middle COVID. so yeah yeah The only one who was really weird, like Rob Corday, was a little... like If you touched his car, you had a fully Lysol. I get it. like i mean For as much as those guys go around. but you know what Dax was
Speaker: Dax was awesome. me I didn't talk to him whole lot, but yeah. That's tight. yeah Oh man. Hey, let me ask you, I've got a question that kind of popped in my head. What are some um misconceptions about Subarus now that you've kind of driven them, you've beat the piss out of them, you've built them. Are there any weird misconceptions that, you that you think? I mean, I think there's a lot of misconceptions about them, you know, like, You know, i was definitely one of those people that had those misconceptions about them. Me too. You know, it was never like, dude, like, you know, my buddy was like, man, Subur is like, they're awesome. I'm like, what are you on, man? Like, there they're, they're like, you know, they're,
Speaker: you know, they're, they're not what, you know, I would like ever be driving. And like I said, I, I bought that little with 300 and some thousand miles on it.
Speaker: And man, I drove it back. I drove to Phoenix and like, i mean, it was just a nice, good little running car. And it's honestly with everything I've owned with the, the four runners, the Ram trucks, um,
Speaker: everything The most fun I've ever had being off-road is in that Subaru. Same. It's it's insane. like I like going fast.
Speaker: I mean, you can do that. like Johnson Valley in a big 06 Megacab Cummins. I mean, just, I mean, just motion of the ocean the whole time. it's It's insane. Like I hated Johnson Valley. i mean, it's still not my favorite place, but you know, you can go through the whoops a little bit quicker. Not like, you there was one time i was at a side-by-side at Johnson Valley and we're going next to Carrie in her, in her outback when she did it two years ago. And I mean, she has her full, you know,
Speaker: coilover suspension and she's just going right through it. i'm like, yeah, okay, I'm going to be hitting bump stops every single time. like I'd love to do coilovers, but I can't see spending just as much as I've spent on the entire car on just $4.
Speaker: yeah Yeah. my Four corners of the vehicle. like I mean, I think you've proven that ah relatively off the shelf parts can provide almost the same experience. Yeah, for sure. I mean, that's my opinion.
Speaker: I'm going to do one thing that Carrie told me about when I'm putting the springs and stuff on is going with the the Kong dog toy bump stops.
Speaker: Okay. Okay. So I'm going to, I'm going to order some of those and put those on. Cause I, I smack my bump stops pretty darn hard right now. Like, especially when I hit a washout and I'm always, but like it does that.
Speaker: I'm like, man, something's messed up. And i take my hands off the wheel for a second. Yeah, it's straight. It's good. Or like sometimes you hit it and it's like a little crooked and then you hit something else and it's back straight. and you're like, okay, there you go. Like it's it's good to go. Can you explain those upgraded bump stops? Are they softer? they bigger? I think they're just more like progressive. um okay So, i mean, that's exactly like I first, she told me get, get Kongs. So, you know, I'm putting in Google Kong bump stops.
Speaker: And, know, nothing's coming up. oh What the heck? And then i look and someone says Kong dog toy. Well, that looks a lot like a bump stop. And I text message Carrie.
Speaker: Are you talking about Kong dog toy bump stops for use for bump stops? And she's all, yeah. And so I'm like, oh, OK. Is it a literal dog toy? It's a literal dog toy.
Speaker: Like if you look up Kong dog toy, they're a little like they look like a little like snowman and you just cut the top. I guess. Yeah. She's running them on. I know she has them on Mountain Subi.
Speaker: um I think Milton's running them, too. And then they had them on the. the hybrid Forester that she ran in the rally this year. Um, so I think they mainly have used them on the, the coil overs, um, but they should work just the same on the, so so she's, she's interested to see how they, how they work for me. Yeah. I'm looking at them right now. That's so funny, dude. It's insane. But yeah, they're just a thick, you know, rubber.
Speaker: i mean, they, it makes sense. I mean, they're nice, you know they're progressive. The more you compress it, the more, you know, stiffer it's going to get. Yeah. No, you're right. It does look exactly like a snowman. Yeah. Red snowman. Yeah. That's funny. So, so going to, I'm going to try that out. So for, for next year, I definitely want to, so I carry a lot on my roof. I carry my spare. Okay. I have, and I just have a Yakima on there. I do have three cross rails on my rack. I got an extra cross rail from Richard. Um, my, uh, yeah. Subaru guy. I was doing the same for a while. threw another crossbar on. but I have every single year. So I carry my spare tire. have an awning.
Speaker: I have my rotopacks with three gallons of fuel. um I have a full set of four max tracks up there. um i have...
Speaker: which was probably one of the heaviest additions. I got a three ton Badlands jack up there that I built mount for. i mean, it's it's really nice. It secures it. It's solid. Like it doesn't rattle. Um, but man, it's, it's a heft to get it up there. Cause I just stand on my rear bumper and just, you know, heave it up on top. Um, yeah.
Speaker: so yeah i carry a lot of weight what i found you know hit bumps and no matter how tight i crank you know those clamps down on those rails it slides forward so one time i i he kind of went over dune and kind of nosed the nose of the forester into the into the sand and that thing like my roof rack was like on my windshield.
Speaker: Um, so yeah. And it's every year, like even just going over normal stuff, like it, it just slides. So I definitely want to try to build, you I'm thinking of getting like maybe like a piece, like one inch channel, uh, square tubing and just run it along and make those bolts where the factory rails,
Speaker: yeah make them longer so I can bolt that kind of build off of that. I'd love to do like those who are like a, you know, a lower profile, like kind of like the sleeker ones. I know there is a, I think maybe a couple companies that make them for sgs but they're so expensive. Yeah. I mean, it's it's nuts. Like, I mean, if one of those companies would want me to try one out, I mean, I wouldn't, I wouldn't hesitate, but yeah, you know, just, just, just hit me up and he all I'll make a video. I'll put your sticker on. I don't care. let's um
Speaker: but yeah, that would be, that would be one thing i want to try to do for sure is, is make that. And then what I've been saying for the past five years is make a tire carrier, ah you know, a swing out bumper, um, on the back. And I just, I just haven't, you know I, so I'm really bad at rally prep. Like before the rally, I'm like, man, it's, ah you know, July. yeah That's good. I'm good to it. I get to like middle of September,
Speaker: I'm like, man, I really need to start getting my car ready because I haven't even touched it since last October. So so i need to stop procrastinating because I always do other projects um and really start kind of focusing on it a little little earlier if I want to get stuff done and not have to just throw it together with like a week left.
Speaker: I know the feeling, man. That's how I am with taxes. Yeah, me too on that. yeah But yeah, so I'd like to do yo both of those for sure. But yeah, I think a the roof rack would would definitely help.
Speaker: So one thing I've done with cool with working at the cement plant is we have a loto a lot of cement that we send out is done on you know in trucks and stuff. So they weigh them. So I'm like readily have a scale available. So before this last rally with all of my gear and everything, the Forester weighed 4,100 pounds.
Speaker: That's not bad. It was, you know, it was, it was weighed down, but that's not bad. I've, I've lightened it up over the years. I mean, first couple years, especially when I had, you know, an 06 Cummins that didn't, you know, that weighed 11,000 pounds.
Speaker: You know, it didn't it didn't matter how much stuff I threw in the back of it. So I definitely have, you know, gotten it down. So my whole... ah compartment you know my spare tire compartment is just all my recovery gear i have my my bubber rope my soft shackles um tools i mean i fit quite a bit just in that little that little storage compartment down there that's where mine goes too dude right there i've even like got to the point like with my big like breaker snap on breaker bar like i've cut
Speaker: like the foam, you know, that they kind of have back there. Oh yeah. They cut foam so it fits in it. Like it's a little, yeah. Like it was made for it. So everything's, everything's secure. you know, definitely over five years, I've kind of found the little, the little stuff that just kind of makes the trip easier to get to, get to tools. I used to have a tub that I, you know, just like a that I put in the back that I had all my tools. Now I keep,
Speaker: I keep all my like four like tool rolls that I bought off of Teemu. Nice. Throw them in the floor and you on the floorboard on the passenger side because I don't have a passenger with me ever. Yeah. So it kind of distributes the weight a little better because my failing Ironman coils just just aren't you know what they used to be. So I'm hoping I can probably put a little bit more weight in the back with those Rally Techs on there too. Dude, ask them to replace those springs and then sell them. yeah Throw them on the daughters, but they're probably little too much for that little Impreza. it Could be, yeah, could be. Yeah, that's pretty much like how I happen to have a big Yeti cooler that I put behind the passenger seat that kind of put in there.
Speaker: Actually, like long, so I open it up so it opens up like towards the back seat back of the passenger seat. Gotcha. Okay. So you can get in from the side and and get everything. So being, being the type one diabetic, I got to keep my own insulin cold and all that. So it, um, you know, another sponsor shout out, shout out to Yeti coolers for, for our, uh, I got that one from the rally. So it does its, does its job.
Speaker: I need to hear about that rear turbo setup. Okay. We're going we're going to the 98 four. I need to hear about the third gen, bro. Okay. So after, you know, before pre kids, I had 87 Supra,
Speaker: um that i built it was a non-turbo five-speed manual um it had a blown motor in it actually i think when i bought it it didn't even have a motor in it it was just sitting at a transmission shop um bought the car for like 300 bucks it was clean my buddy had um a blown a seven m ah GTE, you know, the factory turbo engine that goes in that car folks sitting there. So I tore it down. Didn't put like anything forged in it, but I went with, you know, thicker multilayer head gasket, did some things like that.
Speaker: um Built it up, put cams in it and oversized valves. big old turbo R154 five-speed manual transmission. Thing was just nasty. The only downfall for that 700cc injector, is the only downfall to that thing was I never really got like engine management too well. I was just running the factory, which is, think, good for 7 PSI, and I was pushing 14 out of it.
Speaker: um With no tune? it would Yeah, it would it light up the tires in fifth to shifting into fifth gear. um Yeah. So real quick, funny story with that.
Speaker: So I got it going. That was when I was at Hyundai. We were, we didn't have a lot of hours. So I built that whole car. Like why it was at work. I wasn't getting paid because there was, you know, I wasn't flat rating paying myself. while I was working on my own car. Yeah. Yeah. So I got that thing going big old turbo. I didn't have any exhaust for it yet.
Speaker: Like, man, I'm going to go drive this thing middle of the day. So I pull out, I mean, just running straight off the turbo. I mean, just the loudest thing you'd hear, just blast it around the block, bring it back in, whip it into the, into the shop, close the garage door.
Speaker: Well, like two seconds later, like these cops come rolling through the dealership. Oh, we've, we've been hearing reports about a, about some red Corvette tearing down the road. I'm like, man, I don't know. This is a Hyundai dealership. We don't have any red Corvettes here. they're like, okay. Yeah. So that car definitely got me into some trouble. You know, in the middle of the, you know, an undercover cop like pulled out in front of me. So blasted around him real quick. And so he lit me up one morning and I convinced him that my throttle stuck. Um, so that was, uh, yeah, like said, it definitely worked. Was it, was a pre kid, one and the final straw was my turbo wasn't, it wasn't putting out the boost that it should have been. So I was headed home, uh, for lunch and it changed from 25 to 50 miles an hour on this little,
Speaker: this little road that we had. And so I crested that right when it hit 50, I just jammed it. Well, crested this hill and yeah, there's cops right there. At that point i'm doing like 95. And so um and so I just, I just see him turn around. I just pull over and wait for him. The one cop's like,
Speaker: One cop's mad. He'll get out of the car and all that. And the other cop's like, man, that thing sounded pretty good. like What do you got done to it? So I'm like popping the hood and showing him and this other guy is like you know reading me the riot act. and Yeah. Good cop, bad cop every time.
Speaker: i They didn't tow my car away. i didn't go in handcuffs. so i mean that was That was definitely a that's a plus. um but It was like you know an $800 speeding ticket.
Speaker: Criminal speeding. so it was like It was a little rough. but so After that, it was like, yeah, it's probably time for the Supra to go away. you know hey we just had... Actually, my daughter was probably a year old um and then we we had my my son on the way so i'm like yeah i think my buddy has a forerunner i'm gonna get a forerunner so i sold it the day i sold it i sold that supra for I think 5,500 bucks, like all that money I had into it, all that work I had into it. Now that car is worth like 12 grand. It's easy. oh
Speaker: But so some kid bought it and he ended up blowing it up. Like not even a year later. of course. um Every time. Yeah. ah But so this 98 forerunner, you know, showed up on the little help you sell a lot.
Speaker: um so i got it ran it stock for a little while my buddy was doing doing some things with his you know i i lifted it pretty pretty quickly actually but nothing major and my buddy was looking at the internet and there's this company called s sts turbos and they were building rear mount turbo kits and they made they actually made one for a tacoma I'm like, well, I mean, if they make them for a Tacoma, like, we can do that. But it was a, you know, $8,000 price tag or whatever, something crazy. So we're like, man, we can do this. So we, you know, go to our local parts store eBay again and, you know, find these TO4E turbos. I mean, they're... 150 bucks like well i mean it's gotta it's gotta be okay and if it's rear mount you have to worry as much about it spitting spitting fins into the engine yeah yeah for sure so you know we start going kind of piecing together this kit i actually you know fabricated kind of the pipe
Speaker: that went from the catalytic converter a back and it put the turbo back where the muffler where the factory muffler would go. you know It just kind of turns up, kind of has a little 90 degree elbow there, the turbo bolts on ah there.
Speaker: And then you know straight off then that your waste gate's right there. It had a big 50 millimeter waste gate on it. And then you just run off of that and you continue your exhaust. So you run it, i mean, it looked like you had factory exhaust.
Speaker: So the one thing we had to put a two inch body lift on it so we could put the charge pipe in between the frame and the body. So it was protected. i mean, you couldn't even tell it was there. We actually ran um to Home Depot and got some.
Speaker: like two inch black, you know, ABS plastic tube. And that's what we ran. It was nice because the actual inside dia diameter was only like inch and a half inch and a quarter. So it didn't have a lot of volume that it had to build.
Speaker: Yeah. It stayed nice and cool. Cause it's, you know it's running through plastic. Um, And ran it up, it went in. So the only time you could see, really see that it had a turbo was we had a pipe and you'd see it come up from underneath the passenger door. It came up and kicked out and kind of came up. So you'd see it in the fender well, that pipe turbo pipe came up. And then we had a big like 40 millimeter wastegate up on top right there in the engine compartment and then just fed it into the intake.
Speaker: um That's so sick. Yeah. And, like, the thing yeah with your turbo back there, I mean, it whistles like crazy. He's got some YouTube videos.
Speaker: oh ah Like, if you look up, you know, rear mount turbo 4Runner from 15 years ago, it was... It's got to be close to like 13, 15 years ago. I think so. Cause you sent me the video. Yeah. Yeah. We were, you know, some of the first people did that. Um, and it was great. We only ran like seven pounds of boost. And the cool thing about Toyota, you know, it said the bad engine management with my Supra is the, know, TRD made it so you could run seven pounds of boost to those, um,
Speaker: for those 3.4s and the computer recognized it and compensated for it. So there was no engine management issues with that. um that Like later on, like my buddy ended up putting like a fifth injector that ran on your cold start injector.
Speaker: And did some crazy. mean, he still has his, he lives in Idaho now, but yeah, he still drives that thing all over. He built him and his uncle, built paddle shifters for it so he had he had paddle shifters on it like it was nuts his yeah like full computer programming so he could control the paddle shifters and make the transmission shift. and Yeah. crazy.
Speaker: What part of Idaho is he in? um I think he's in Twin Falls. I think. Okay. I think he's close to Twin Falls. Okay. They work for, ah yeah, I'm pretty sure because I think he works for like Twin Falls Hyundai up there.
Speaker: um But yeah, I mean, he was my one. He had a, he had a nasty, turbocharged first-gen CRX that had a b six turboed B16 in it that actually laid waste of my Supra.
Speaker: Those things are quick, dude. CRXs weigh nothing. He had a rare... like I think there was only 10 accounted for in the U.S. Mugen wide body kit that he found from some tweaker guy that lived in in this town by us. He's just sitting in his yard. Let's go tweakers. yeah so i think I think all he had to do was clean the car out and the guy said he could have it. It was nuts.
Speaker: Dude, I had a homie that had a yeah I don't remember what it did in a quarter mile but it was all motor, no turbo. yeah But he redid the transmission and did straight cut gears all the way up to like fifth gear and did like...
Speaker: pretty short gears, I think up through third, man, that thing would smash on stock STIs in the quarter mile. It was pretty sick. It's nuts. Like I had, I had a little first gen SI CRX for a little bit and it was pretty cool. i mean, it was, it was beat. Like it was stripped down. Like the front fascia was all,
Speaker: like missing and i just i just use it to deliver pizzas and because there was a time there with working at hyundai i was also delivering pizzas and in town too and the the supra was a little bit bad on gas and people didn't really like the straight three inch straight pipe supra pulling up to deliver their pizzas um so yeah yeah for a little while that makes sense oh dude um Well, let's see. I've talked your ear off for two and a half hours. How bad was it? Were you nervous?
Speaker: what No, i don't I don't think it was. I think it was pretty good for my first ever podcast. I think it was. I mean, I know that there's stuff that I was meaning to talk about that I completely forgot. Sure things we started talking about and that got sidetracked and I didn't end up talking about. that's the fun part of it man it just conversating is super fun but uh you're yeah you're not the first person to tell me like oh man i don't know i'm nervous i've never done one yeah people forget they're even on it yeah yeah for sure talking talking trash about cars um is there any last minute stuff that uh i should be asking you that i forgot about oh i do carry like uh
Speaker: An onboard air. I have ah Everybody needs to. An ARB. A little pump. Just, it's just actually mounted. i actually don't even know on my Instagram if i have pictures of it. I should make a post about it.
Speaker: blue arb twin yeah mine's just ah actually the single the single arb and it you know it does does fine but it's mounted to the passenger side ah strut tower like it's kind of tucked down a little bit and i actually put a it's like a gallon little little air tank right up above it to have a little bit more volume but it it does the job um And then ah I know before we talked about my Timu purchases, my 8-gang switch panel. um
Speaker: That thing is awesome. Like I said, I think I i think i spent under $80 for it. It's actually like RGB too, so I can change all the colors. Yeah. Is Bluetooth? Really nice. Can it from the phone? No, one's not. I think you can actually get it in the Bluetooth one. Okay. But that wasn't a huge you know deal breaker for me. Same. It has constant power. power.
Speaker: it has momentary it has strobe and then it has flash okay um and you can change all the like pretty much you know kind of quick on the fly um so you know someone's tailgating you you can switch them to the rear strobes and hit them but i actually have i have the six gang on my on my ram okay um and then i have yeah the ah eight gang on the forester uh and it's Like, I mean, looking at it, it's it's really good quality.
Speaker: ah I mean, definitely the most, you know, bang for your buck. I've never had an issue with it. The buttons feel nice and, you know, solid when you push them. They got that nice little click sound. um Dude, they're all coming from China anyways. Yeah, good quality wiring in them. yeah It's all like, you know the solid state little control panel that has all the individual, you know, fuses and everything for, know,
Speaker: um So yeah, I mean, it's it's a solid little little unit and it's a lot better than just the little toggle switches I have. Yes. So for lights, I got ah i got a Tiri. They actually make like kind of the factory ones you could buy when they first came out with the JLs. Tiri made like the off-road lights.
Speaker: They have a six inch and a four inch. So I have the six inch on my front bumper and then the four inch teary lights on my, uh, for my ditch lights. Um, they're really bright. They're, they're really good, good, solid, tough, you know kind of indestructible light. I think they, uh, teary is a company that originally made them for,
Speaker: like equipment, like you'd have them on like a cat or something like that. Okay. Front loaders and stuff. Yeah. I'm looking at their stuff right now. it looks, yeah, it's good to me, dude. Yeah. It's good stuff. And they were like to buy them for the Jeeps when they were new. mean, they were like 600 bucks for like the four inch, like they're good, but I got them, you know, from, from Nina, she got some prototypes before they, before they really released them for Jeep. Um,
Speaker: So yeah, I'm running those just like my front ah fog since I you know got the the Ranger bumper. got rid of my fog. So I just got some off of T-MU, some little little lights that actually do white and amber. So I can switch those. I can strobe those. I keep them the regular lights are my fogs. I just keep that on my regular fog switch. And then I have the amber controlled by my by my switch panel.
Speaker: And then I have rear dust lights that I run on top of my yeah rack, just some yellow dust lights that I can strobe or keep solid it on. Chase lights are super, super nice. I appreciate them in the summer when we're doing runs and it's dusty. Yeah.
Speaker: And then I do One other thing I have on my roof rack is i have just a little... a little solar panel that I have running up there it's nothing like major or big it just kind of keeps it keeps everything topped off especially like I'd be out you know sitting for like eight hours at a time you're running in my you know my Android 9 inch tablet stereo for running the tracking for the rally Um, and then, um, my phone and everything. Uh, also with the rally we do the past couple years, we have Starlink. So I have Starlink mounted on, uh, to the Subaru. So it's pretty awesome going, you know, 60, 70 miles an hour in the middle of nowhere, Nevada and have full internet, be able to stream music or anything. Like it's just, it's insane. It was a game changer for sure. Going from, know, just sitting out in the desert, until someone rolls up through your checkpoint rather than being able to track live see where everyone's at.
Speaker: yeah You can even check your local parts store eBay in the middle of nowhere. Shop for upgrades of my my Timu and yeah eBay warehouse. Yeah. That's sick, man. I love it.
Speaker: Well, dude, um I appreciate you doing this. This was sick. Yeah, man. It was it was cool. Like you said I said, hopefully I don't ah ramble too much. and ah Like I said, man, that's half the fun. Yeah. yeah oh Where can people find you on the interwebs?
Speaker: So I just pretty much just have ah an Instagram, just Subiraptor. underscores? Nope, just all one word. Perfect. Subiraptor. Like I said, if if if anyone wants me to put, put stuff through the ringer of the rebel. Uh, you can, uh, ship it my way and I'll test it out. I mean, it saves me some time of building it. Cause yeah, let's go dude. Well, thanks for sharing all this stuff, man. I think, uh, I think people are going to enjoy this. Well, thanks. Yeah. as Like said, I definitely enjoyed doing it.
