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The oval holes make more sense if you think about the difference between the aftermarket rack designs and the factory roof rails. Most aftermarked designs are a pair of side to side cross bars, one fore and one aft. But the factory rails which are permanently installed are longer rails running front to back, one on each side. The oval holes make sense for these long rails if you take into account differential heating and cooling. The roof panels and the rails will expand and contract at different rates if they are different materials.So the rails will effectively be getting longer or shorter in relation to the roof panel they are mounted to. If you don't allow for that slight movement with oval mounting holes, the metal roof will buckle or stretch, or the rails will. You see the oval hole fix used a lot in woodworking where moisture and grain differences produce relative movement that would split the wood. It's less of a risk with the side to side aftermarket rails since the bow of the roof provides plenty of room to flex. It's the extra length and stiffness where the factory rails mount just above the strong door frames that would likely cause a problem. Of course, this is all just a guess on my part.

Even though we are FWD I think it'd be pretty cool to do a overland look im wondering if anyone has seen or done things like swing out spare tire carrier, light bars, roof racks and knobby tires? I think the first gen Connects could look really good "rugged"

Will, Your a gentlemen and a scholar. Make sure you post your build on here, I'm looking forward to see what a former Subie owner can do to transform one of these things!

I was able to get out of the office last weekend for a little camp trip down to South Carlsbad State Beach. It's nice to finally have a car with space! 2 surfboards 2 bikes and all my camp equiptment and firewood fit in no problem! I was even able to set up my hammock off one of the upper tow hooks and attach it to a tree for a nice relaxing sunset!

Push Bar Installed! Thanks 103west43rd! http://www.svcustoms.com/i-6233118-aries-offroad-5tabb-aluminum-light-mounting-tab.html http://www.svcustoms.com/i-6303880-aries-offroad-1113001-push-bar.html

This is a very interesting thread. I am going to retire later this year and I'm looking for a way to travel on the cheap to preserve my paltry savings. I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy a Transit and try to live in it, say, 4 nights out of 5. I am a landscape photographer so some of the places I want to go are going to be sketchy for a one wheel drive low slung vehicle. I have thought of hauling a Honda Ruckus around but that is going to complicate things. No way this is ever going to be a competent off road vehicle, but I don't want a "spit on the pavement and get stuck driving over it" vehicle either. Have you thought of using a separate battery/inverter setup? I will be following your progress. Thanks for sharing.

I purchased my Hella 1000FF kit from Susquehanna MotorSports for my Subaru. They are awesome! I have some Urethane Mudflaps I purchased from them that may need to go onto the Transit as well. AND they are a Team Dynamics Dealer. 15" 5x108 custom rally wheels would look amazing & be indestructible on the vehicle. So, it's ok I don't work for them and I'm an evangelist too!

Attempting Option 1 Strut Spacer I purchased a sheet of 1" HDPE Made a template and shaped the HDPE with a router, jigsaw and drill. Problem #1 Strut tophat bolts are too short, and are unable to be removed. So the spacer would need to be designed like this: Problem #2 Even if the spacer was designed as above, the strut would be too long to go back into the spindle. Edit: May revisit this using a Focus Camber Plate. (Solves Problem #1)

Thanks for your help! I have these on order (Part number 5TABB) http://www.svcustoms.com/i-6233118-aries-offroad-5tabb-aluminum-light-mounting-tab.html As well as the stubby Aries pushbar. http://www.svcustoms.com/i-6303880-aries-offroad-1113001-push-bar.html Now just need to decide on some lights....

Thanks for adding the Aires bumper. It looks good and mounts to all the factory points (Perfect). However, It doesn't look like there are any mounting points for driving lights. Have you added lights to yours? This seems like the only solution for mounting lights on the Aires bar:

Mission 3- Operation Road Less Traveled. My battle with creating a Lifted Ford Transit. When I purchased the van I knew lifting the Transit would be difficult. Many people lower their Transit, which looks great, but I've been down that road before; I decided to take the road less traveled. I previously had a Subaru that was lowered, making it difficult to go on road trips and off road. The Transit only has and inch less ground clearance then a Ranger See Transit vs. Ranger. So I figured a 1inch lift wouldn't be too extreme. I decided to start with the front to see if I could level out the front and rear end of the vehicle. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There were three options that could work. 1) Strut spacers, AKA Saggy Butt spacers in the Subaru community. A spacer is placed on top of the strut tophat raising the vehicle STATUS:ABANDONED 2) Spring Spacers A spacer is placed on top of the spring raising the vehicle STATUS:NO APPLICATION SPECIFIC, PART MEASUREMENTS TAKEN 3) Coilovers or Coilover Sleeves Such as Ground Control STATUS: EXPENSIVE AND NO APPLICATION SPECIFIC PART May explore an à la carte kit. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before shots: (Front) 7" clearance on front bumper 3.5" of fender / wheel gap After shots: (Tires) 8" clearance on front bumper ( +1") 2.75" of fender / wheel gap (-.5") First Transit Connect with All Terrians? 205 / 70 R15 Yokohama Geolander A /T installed on the Transit Connect I'll keep this forum updated on the progress of Operation: Adventure Transit.