So, I have bought a Subaru Domingo with a 1200cc engine and it is hopefully being loaded onto a ship to come here to England. I notice that a lot of the 600cc have superchargers. Would there be any advantage to fitting one to a Domingo, and where would one get one? I have recently established contact with a fellow member of the Magic Circle in Tokyo who is also involved in the motor trade....somewhere. If I can ask the right questions............ All wheel/four wheel drive. I have a Mitsubishi Delica which is really rufty tufty. High Low ratio, diff lock and huge tyres. It recently extracted me from 2'6" of flood water in Wales. I am not expecting such dramatic performance from the BCD, (Blue and Creamy Domingo) but is AWD just - a slightly better than two wheel drive - or will it lock the diffs to get out of muddy/icy conditions? The interior of my vehicle is a basic 7 seater. Realistically could I track down some 'captains' chairs for the back? Lastly patient Subaru Gurus, I really wanted a wood trimmed dash. I have trawled the furthest reaches of the net with no luck. I am begining to think nobody actually produced a trim kit. Many of the VW tribute vans have colour coordinated dashes. presumably these have been removed, filled, sprayed and replaced. Is that the only route to Dashboard heaven? Thanks people, Fay
Fay, A supercharger install can be a lot of work if you arent knowledgeable. The 660's with auto trans and AWD pretty much required the supercharger. The 660 just doesnt have enough jam. Your 1.3 will be similar to a 660 supercharged. No locking on the AWD. You could remove the fluid coupling on the front drive shaft and install a longer drive shaft. This would effectively "lock" the center to give 50/50 tourque split front to rear, but left and right will still be open. Plus locking up the center will add more wear on your vehicle and tires. Probably not worth it for a street vehicle. Yes, the VW dashes have been painted (poorly in most cases). You could get a wood grain kit manufactured, but the first one is the most expensive.
I've got my AWD Domingo stuck, but only from trying to drive through clay with street tires . There is no diff locking, unfortunately. All you get is a center viscous coupling that will stiffen up under wheel slip. If one front and one rear wheel lose traction, you're stopped. As far as super/turbocharging, you're best to ask around at Subaru Justy forums. A quick search shows no hits for 'supercharger'. Now turbos, there are a few. Keep in mind, though, that intake and exhaust are reversed on the Domingo engine, and there isn't too much space in the engine bay. That being said, the Justy got 35% more naturally aspirated HP out of the same engine block. Part of that may be just an ECU tune, part may be due to the Justy's 3 valve/cylinder head. If you can figure out how to get a 9V Justy head onto a Domingo, you will be a champ.
Thanks for the info, it was much as I suspected! Most of this will have to wait until it gets here mid April. However in the meantime I have found this:- http://www.emblem-car.com/ They are gently barking those Japanese! The wood dashboard is dead, long live the filled and sanded colour co-ordinate! I have tried writing to emblem cars, but no reply. I have a colleague in the land of the rising sun, I'll send him in to bat. Thanks for the food for thought! FaY
Thats not too far from my friend in Nagoya. I have sent him a note to check it out. Some pretty cool units (but expensive!) on that site.
It would be good to try for a spare dash And some better back seats... I am wondering whether Emblem are THE conversion specialist, or one of several.
