First steps: passion for off-road since school days

     4x4 cars, especially Subaru, came into my life already in childhood. After Lithuania regained independence, many different cars started flowing into the country, but at that time German machines dominated. Japanese cars were rare, and Subaru felt like something from another planet. Because of their unusual design, many people avoided them, but my dad dared to try. The result was surprising: it turned out to be not only a comfortable daily driver but also a great alternative to a true off-roader, when real 4x4s were too expensive to buy.

Subaru XT and the first engine swap

      In our family, Subaru Leone models became an everyday thing – we had more than one or two. One of the most memorable was the Subaru XT – a car with a unique design that even today remains a rarity. Unfortunately, after a few years it ran into engine problems that we couldn’t fix at the time, so it ended up sitting in the garage broken. In 2006, when I was fifteen, I decided to bring it back to life – I swapped the engine and put the car back on the road.

The first lifted Leone: off-road experiments from spare parts

       This successful attempt inspired me to take on bigger challenges. In 2007, among piles of old parts and real garage chaos, I found a Subaru Leone body – without suspension, engine, or gearbox. Inspired by projects I had seen online from the US and Australia, I decided to build my first lifted off-roader for off-road challenges.

     The car was lifted about 11 cm. To keep the suspension geometry right, I installed a 6 cm body lift, lowered the suspension, engine, and gearbox. Everything was done from spare parts, without expensive tools or professional help – just with stubbornness, curiosity, and the will to learn by doing.

The second Leone: the car that refused to be “killed”

     The first lifted Subaru turned out nice and tidy – I just didn’t want to beat it up in the mud. So in 2008 I bought another Subaru Leone, meant only for hard off-road use. From the very start this car was planned for a “tough life” – I wanted to drive it in the dirt and basically push it to the limit. At first I only did simple mods – a 6 cm lift and cut fenders to fit bigger wheels.

      But things went differently: no matter how hard I tried, the car refused to break – it survived jumps, rough trails, and other extreme abuse without any serious failures. This reliability impressed me so much that it even made me give up another project I was working on at the time.

GAZ 69: a dream inspired by a video game

That same year I bought my first real 4x4 – a GAZ 69. Inspired by a 4x4 computer game, I wanted to build something similar in real life. From a pile of scrap metal, over a few years, an unusual car was born: I installed a 2.3 l Ford turbo diesel engine with gearbox, connected it to a transfer case, lifted the suspension, and did many other custom jobs.

     Sadly, this project let me down – it couldn’t match the off-road performance of the Subaru Leone, which was not only better at driving through rough terrain but also much more fun. Because of that, the GAZ 69 was never fully finished and was eventually sold.

      Since electric winches were too expensive for me at that time, I looked for a cheaper option – I built a mechanical winch from various random parts. The result was shocking: this homemade winch easily outperformed many pricey electric ones, both in pulling power and speed. It was one of those cases where creativity and simple engineering paid off big time. Later, the stock 1.8 l engine was swapped for the legendary EJ22. I dreamed about the EJ20 turbo, but back then it was still out of reach.

Unimog axles and Nissan Terrano: the toughest summer project

       In 2010, just finishing 10th grade, I unexpectedly found a pair of Mercedes-Benz Unimog axles for a good price. Around the same time, real off-roaders had also become cheaper – in our yard stood my dad’s unused Nissan Terrano with a 3.0 l V6 engine and a broken clutch. We decided it would be my next project.

    I stripped out the original suspension, replaced the clutch, and installed the Unimog axles. This turned out to be the most difficult project I had ever done – it took the whole summer. In the end, the off-roader was sold and left Lithuania. A few years later, I randomly came across a video of the same car with its new owners – they were proudly presenting it as if they had built it themselves. 😄

Leone Coup – a dream of a Subaru Brat come true

      Back in 2010, I had a dream – to get a Subaru Brat, the legendary Subaru pickup. But in Lithuania these cars were almost impossible to find. The closest option was the Subaru Leone Coupé – a two-door body that, once the rear hatch was removed, looked a bit like a pickup. Not exactly a Brat, but still close enough to make the dream feel real.

    One day in town I noticed such a car parked under a tree – I left a note on the window with an offer to buy it. Lucky for me, soon after the Leone Coupé ended up in my yard. A year later it got a 2.2 l engine from my earlier Leone, and the automatic gearbox was swapped for a manual. The car didn’t stay stock height for long – I installed a body lift, raised the suspension, and used all my previous lift experience on this model so it could handle both city streets and gravel roads.

     This Leone became my daily driver. Every day I used it to travel to university – 80 km there and back. At that time I was studying mechanical engineering in Klaipėda. Over time, I built a front bumper with a electric winch and widened fenders. In 2017 the car was sold, but a few years later it unexpectedly came back into my hands – and it’s still in my garage today.

Mano istorija

My story – from a basic “UK import” to a lifted turbo project

    In 2012 another chapter began – I bought my first Subaru Impreza. It was a modest 92 kW naturally aspirated model with a badly overheated, unusable engine and right-hand drive, but it had one big plus – original WRX body parts. That made it a perfect base for an interesting project. The first job was converting it to left-hand drive, which I did using another Impreza as a donor.

    The first engine was a real “Frankenstein,” built from whatever parts I had in the garage. Later I installed a 2.5 l motor, which brought the car to life, but it didn’t last long – I had also bolted on a Subaru Leone turbo. At that time a programmable ECU was only a dream, so the car actually ran on an LPG setup, with fueling controlled by the gas computer. Pushing the boost too far ended badly – at 1 bar a rod literally shot out of the block. 🙈 The problems were made worse by a bad fuel mix – I didn’t even have a wideband sensor to monitor it. That wasn’t the only engine that died – I blew up several motors trying out different ideas, even experimenting with ethanol controlled by the gas ECU.

Eventually things settled down: I swapped in an older-generation ECU that handled boost control much better. It wasn’t perfect tuning, but it was my first real step toward proper engine management.

    The looks also kept evolving – the Impreza got a spoiler, wide wheels, fender flares, and even… a lift. Yes, the Impreza was raised and could actually handle light off-road trails. In its final form, the project was something special: cheap parts, low running costs, and power close to a WRX, but with mileage costs like a diesel sedan.

Off-road legend: Leone pickup with a winch and EJ22

     By that time, the second Leone kept evolving and slowly turned into an online legend. Step by step it became more extreme: the roof behind the front seats was cut off, turning the car into a pickup, and eventually the entire rear body was removed.

First project for someone else – custom suspension

      In 2015, while studying industrial engineering at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, I got the chance to join a unique project – designing a suspension for an off-roader built for competition.

     The setup used two Toyota 4Runner front frame sections with independent suspension. The frame was narrowed, the arms were lengthened to get maximum travel, and narrow locking diffs were fitted to squeeze out every bit of traction in tough conditions.

      The work was done in a simple garage with only basic tools, but I also applied CAD skills I had learned at university. Some of the tricky parts were made by a CNC laser cutting company, so even with limited resources the end result looked professional. The owner assembled the car himself, and it proved its worth – competing successfully in a 4x4 championship. For me, it was the first serious step into projects where I wasn’t just building for myself but also taking responsibility for someone else’s result.

Garage creativity: from a 3D printer to CNC plasma cutter

      While studying in Vilnius, I rented a small flat, and soon the balcony turned into a mini workshop. That’s where a few important projects were born. From old printers and plywood sheets I built my first 3D printer. It was my first step into the world where mechanics meet digital control.

    Encouraged by that success, I started working on a CNC plasma cutter frame with drives. As much as possible I built it on the balcony, but as the size and complexity grew, I had to move the work to a garage. Only part of the machine was assembled in the flat – the rest, including the drives and controls, was finished later back in Palanga.

     Originally meant as a temporary solution to start working with metal parts, the plasma cutter turned out to be reliable and is still in use today. It became not just a valuable tool for making custom parts but also a symbolic bridge – from DIY garage builds to precise CNC-based work. This project marked a new stage, stepping up from improvisation to serious technical creation.

From garage ideas to my own business

After finishing engineering studies in Klaipėda and Vilnius, I had not only theory but also a lot of hands-on experience. All the projects I had done – from simple garage experiments to complex off-road builds – pushed me to aim higher. Naturally, the moment came to think about starting my own business.

    The first real steps were very clear – I began making lift kits for Subaru cars. This was the area I knew best: I had tested many setups in my own projects, I knew what worked and what didn’t. Using my skills, I started creating reliable, practical solutions – not just technically sound, but also proven in real-world use.

    Over time the kits improved – better design, stronger construction, adapted for different models. Orders started coming in, customers grew, trust built up. That’s how my biggest project was born – the company MB “SLT projektai.”

     Today SLT projektai is more than just a name or a logo. It’s a path – from the first bolts in the garage, to jumps in the dirt, lifted Leones, DIY machines, and finally a real working business. The company now focuses on car modifications, custom part manufacturing, and unique technical solutions.

      Every product here is born from experience, testing, and the drive to create something that not only works – but also inspires.

More photos, videos, and technical builds – on our social platforms.

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