edrach

The standard model is a great little car. I bought a new STD in 1985 and it was my daily driver for a number of years. 'Bought it to save on gas since my workplace was 55 miles one way up the local interstate highway. You might try checking the sections of the Repair Manual forum; you might find some useful information there. Another place you might look is the Old Repair Manual. Here's some of the Weber info you might have wanted: http://www.indysworld.com/80s/general/USRM/subrepair.htm How to Keep Your Subaru Alive. I know GD doesn't care for it, but it's a great beginner's manual for the early Subarus. Ignore the weird pictures (the author had a strange sense of humor). But it's a much better manual than either the Haynes or Chilton manuals. NGK plugs. No actual data, but lots of anecdotal data to keep you away from any other sparkplugs. You'll find almost 100% agreement among those who do their own work that the NGK plugs are the most reliable and trouble-free plugs for the Subaru. Don't ask for trouble by installing those Champions. Install a set of NGKs and sell the Champions on craigslist. EJ conversion. Nice thought but really too much overkill and expense. You can improve your STD by upgrading to a EA81 engine, adding a weber, and upgrading the rear brakes to disks. If you really want to improve it, a 5 speed dual/range transmission along with rear diff to make it a 4WD capable car. Not too difficult to do if you find a 4WD hatch at the local Pull a Part yard. Best of luck with it and welcome to the group.

ORG's combined National/Regional event this coming weekend. http://www.oregonrally.com/rallycross.cfm Looks like reasonable weather: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Hillsboro,%20OR&wuSelect=WEATHER

I had the same question. I wanted better stopping ability for my '97 Impreza wagon (my daily driver as well as my rallycross car) without modifying the brakes or going in for the red, yellow and green racing pads that were out there. I put the question to Paul Eklund at Primitive Racing (http://www.writerguy.com/primitive/) and he supplied me with a set of pads that work very well for me. They wear well without gouging the rotor and stop my car much better than my previous pads. I believe they come from Australia. Price didn't break the bank either.

Thanks, I appreciate the help.

Long story short; I picked up an '82 Brat recently without a title. I did check with WSP and they searched their databases and did NOT come up with a listing as stolen, salvage, etc. So I took my chances and bought it. Car does have a CA title somewhere and my initial search of the CA DMV site with the VIN# came up as not found. I did find it on carfax and that confirmed its CA origin. Also I have a CA license plate with the last tabs which expired in 1997. Anyone from CA know what the procedure is to locate the last registered owner so I can get a "release of interest in lieu of title" or maybe a title. Also, will CA try to get me to pay for all the last 13 years that the car has either not been registered there or moved out of state? Drop me a PM or email. Thanks.

If it's an EJ22 I have used pulleys available. $30 shipped.

Photos sooner the better! Add me to the list of interested parties.

I have to add my favorites: SUBEXTC STIXTC

I found this little tid-bit in the RockAuto newsletter. A little pricier than getting them at your local pull a part yard, but they are NEW! I did find one for under $40 for a '90 Loyale. (I submitted this for the USRM since I thought it would be useful reference info for future use). They should also be available for new gen models. Blowing Air at Only One Speed If the blower motor for the heat and A/C system starts blowing air at only one speed or stops blowing altogether, then there is a good chance that the blower motor resistor has failed. On most cars the blower motor is a simple electrical motor with only two wires coming out of it. The speed of the blower motor and its attached fan is determined by how much electrical current comes through the wire. The resistor(s) in the blower motor resistor act like a valve to control the flow of current to the motor. When the fan switch on the dash is at its lowest setting, then the current is routed through the highest ohm resistance in the blower motor resistor. The resistor uses up most of the current before it gets to the blower motor and the fan turns relatively slowly. Move the switch on the dash to the highest fan speed and typically the current is not routed through the resistor, but goes 100% to the blower motor so the motor and fan operate at maximum speed. This is why blower motors will often operate at top speed even if the blower motor resistor has burned up. The blower motor resistor is usually mounted to the plastic heater case in the dash or under the hood. The blower motor resistor turns the current flowing through it to heat and the air flowing through the heat & A/C system case helps cool it down. The photo is of the very simple blower motor resistor found in my wife’s ’87 Mazda. The maximum resistance and lowest blower motor speed occur when the current is routed to run the full length of the coiled wire resistor before getting sent out to the blower motor. The resistor wire looks like the filament from an incandescent light bulb and it can burn out similar to a filament. Where the resistor wire breaks determines what if any speeds the blower motor will still operate at. Find blower motor resistors for your vehicle by ACDelco, Airtex/Wells, Dorman, Four Seasons, Motorcraft, and Standard Motor Products under "Heat & Air Conditioning" in the RockAuto.com catalog.

I saw this in the RockAuto magazine. They actually carry new blower resister assemblies in their catalog. Generally under $40 and a bit easier to find than at your local junk yard. Blowing Air at Only One Speed If the blower motor for the heat and A/C system starts blowing air at only one speed or stops blowing altogether, then there is a good chance that the blower motor resistor has failed. On most cars the blower motor is a simple electrical motor with only two wires coming out of it. The speed of the blower motor and its attached fan is determined by how much electrical current comes through the wire. The resistor(s) in the blower motor resistor act like a valve to control the flow of current to the motor. When the fan switch on the dash is at its lowest setting, then the current is routed through the highest ohm resistance in the blower motor resistor. The resistor uses up most of the current before it gets to the blower motor and the fan turns relatively slowly. Move the switch on the dash to the highest fan speed and typically the current is not routed through the resistor, but goes 100% to the blower motor so the motor and fan operate at maximum speed. This is why blower motors will often operate at top speed even if the blower motor resistor has burned up. The blower motor resistor is usually mounted to the plastic heater case in the dash or under the hood. The blower motor resistor turns the current flowing through it to heat and the air flowing through the heat & A/C system case helps cool it down. The photo is of the very simple blower motor resistor found in my wife’s ’87 Mazda. The maximum resistance and lowest blower motor speed occur when the current is routed to run the full length of the coiled wire resistor before getting sent out to the blower motor. The resistor wire looks like the filament from an incandescent light bulb and it can burn out similar to a filament. Where the resistor wire breaks determines what if any speeds the blower motor will still operate at. Find blower motor resistors for your vehicle by ACDelco, Airtex/Wells, Dorman, Four Seasons, Motorcraft, and Standard Motor Products under "Heat & Air Conditioning" in the RockAuto.com catalog.

Nothing wrong with the chart; go by the number on the transmission. No telling when SOA decided to use a different transmission on the production line.

Compare the tranny number on the bell housing to the # on the VIN plate (in the engine compartment). It could be that someone has already changed the tranny and rear diff. Center differentials are the same up to '97; in '98 SOA went to an updated version. I believe there was a good link and photos in nasioc; you might search there after you search here (I might have copied the link here when I ran into this issue on our Forester).

A manual can also have torque bind when the center differential starts to fail. I had the problem in our '99 Forester. I couldn't find a used, good center diff and ultimately wound up buying a new one (around $575 plus installation).

He looked extraordinately fast to me, especially for such an underpowered car running on stock tires.

I saw an immaculate '84 GL wagon (in blue) running in SA in the afternoon. Very respectable times considering what he was running against. Look for his scores at http://www.oregonrally.com/files/RX_5_30_2010_PM.pdf ; his is the one with a DNF on his second run (he blew a tire in the middle of the run). Bad luck but he fixed it and finished the day.

ORG put on another great event this past weekend. A great course layout with lots of speed in spots and enough technical stuff to make you think and slow down where needed. I don't know how many entrants were there, but it looked like the largest field this year and yet finished at a reasonable time with four runs where the fastest time of day was pretty close to 1:40. The instant posting of scoring is just great. I'm looking forward to the National event in June.

Sorry I won't be able to meet with you guys. Jeanne and I will be heading south to Hillsboro this weekend for the rally school and rallyX.

So far it looks like the rain will have stopped by Saturday; both weekend days are listed as partly cloudy with no rain in the forecast.

Just a note to the OP, the BR-3 unit that I purchased a long time ago has worked on every '96 and later Subaru I've tried it on (including my '97 Impreza). The BR-3 doesn't seem to require the special setup to make it work correctly on my '97. Maybe you can find someone who has one to sell for cheap; once you have the hardware interface, the software is free. I like mine so I won't be selling it soon. Sorry.

'95 to '99 Subarus have a "funky" communications protocol that prevents the scanner from updating the reading in real-time. See my comments on the scangauge II that I have on my '97 Impreza. Until I set up the scanner properly, it wouldn't work with my car.

Watch your local craigslist; also the ebay/craigslist forum here on the USMB; I post every Impreza I see under $1000 as well as some really nice ones in the under $1800 price range (of course that's only Seattle area and sometimes Portland).

jI'm with the person who suggested keeping the GL as a daily driver. But....in addition look for an early Impreza which already has an EJ18 or EJ22 which will run circles around a modded GL. Plus any future upgrades will be so much easier if you already start with an Impreza chassis. Watch craigslist and save your money and wait until you find what you're looking for; early Imprezas can be found in the $500 to $1500 range pretty easily. Also, the person who suggested the Primitive Rally School had the right idea. It happens 4 or 5 times per year and will be happening this Memorial Day weekend. If you can get to Hillsboro, it'll give you the opportunity to see other cars, talk to drivers, talk to rallyists and help out with the event if you feel like it. I believe there is camping available at the fairgrounds so staying overnight might not be too expensive.

Mods might move this to the rally/racing forum.