daeron

sounds like the question at issue is: If you make a run of these adapters, do "we" want to have the widest options for our wheels on our oldskool soobies, or do "we" want wheels that can change back and forth between our oldskool soobies and our newskool soobies? I say "we" because I am perfectly satisfied with my nappy old 13" steelies; my soob is a putt-putt machine not a performance car. So, which would you rather have? Wheels straight off of an Impreza, or virtually any aftermarket design you can think of? One way grants more choice, and the other way grants more compatibility.

They aren't easy things to swallow, but the points GD made were plain and honest truth; he doesn't candy-coat anything. The best way to summarize GeneralDisorder is "knowledgeable yet sometimes caustic." This post was a perfect example of it. Heck, I tried to jump start my mom's Sable Station wagon backwards in the rain once.. I didnt LOOK at the +/- terminals on her car, I just thought about it from my memory and got em backwards, fried the alternator and something else (cant recall what, but it gave my dad a MAJOR hard time tracking it down) We ALL make dumb mistakes. Wisdom is knowing how much you don't know, and everyone on earth is born not knowing all the things GD pointed out. In terms of being a car-guy, his list is virtually a credo of "what I learned on-the-way.." I mean, I can't blame FORD for me messing up the positive and negative, can I? I DO whine about fords and how their cars go together, but it has nothing to do with the late 80's Taurus/Sable battery location. (just everything else about the way they put their cars together. Decent engines, awful vehicles to work on. Poor planning.) Like Rick said, hopefully you read the end of this thread and take heed.

Bump an old post to prove that I don't ALWAYS just post a new thread when I have a dumb question. Is 16 mm REALLY the minimum thickness for my vented, FWD EA82 rotor??? 87, GL-10, 3AT, 2WD... I replaced my brake pads today (too late, one rotor is scored and needs to be resurfaced or replaced anyhow, I will do that later and eat a new set of cheap pads.) Anyhow my rotors were more like 12 or 13 mm thick, and honestly it didnt seem like I could dial the piston too much further into the caliper... but if 16 mm is the minimum service tolerance, then I must be lacking some SERIOUS thickness.... TIA.

Once in a while, yes. Its rather liberating. Me too; some things get filed in the "S#!+ Happens" folder... but when you reach the line of automatically chucking it in the trash for the sake of chucking it in the trash, you have reached the bounds of idiocy. Honestly, I don't think anyone has tried to say much more than that.

Actually, GD, I have seen a total of four GL-10s in person, and they were ALL FWD 3AT! Seems to me that they sold alot of those to people who wanted as much "cushy" as they could squeeze out of Subaru-of-the-1980s. Note that its non-turbo, as well. I think you were the one who summed it up best by saying that GL-10 is basically the "loaded" option package; when you said it, it really brought it home to me that the power and drivetrain "options" were simply excluded from that. They used RX badging for the "loaded 'power' option package." What a beauty of an engine bay.. BUT, it looks like it has been recently detailed under the hood. There is a subtle difference between "stayed THIS clean" and "just got it THIS clean" and that looks like it may be the latter. I am not saying it is something to beware of, but I always try to notice whether a used car has been polished to be as pretty as possible already, or whether some more elbow grease might make it shine more.... and that one looks like it has had all the care that elbow grease can give it.

Wise man. Catalytic converters, when properly fitted, have absolutely no negative impact on the performance of the vehicle. (BTW, sorry OP, but I gotta sound off on this.) They are a honeycomb material, through which the exhaust gases flow. The exhaust heats the honeycomb material up to a point where the chemical nature of that material will combust any unburned gasoline vapors and also strip potentially harmful fumes into two relatively inert gases. Just like mufflers and exhaust pipes, you can make em big enough to flow the gases of a 5000 cubic inch freight train engine if you want... and honestly, the pipe size involved is not much different from that of a muffler. The reason they are looked at as such a restriction is because they so often get clogged; that honeycomb material is VERY VERY FINE and carbon buildup, once it begins, adds up quickly. Some seafoam into a vacuum line *may* help fix this, and should help prevent it, but there are no guarantees. Personally, the cat on my soob is gutted. It was when I got the car. I am not feeling deadly remorse about it by any means... but if I were in better financial shape and had some cash to burn, I would love to pickup or fab up a new Y pipe and put a real cat on. It's called covering your rump roast... after all, theres over 300 million of us being jackasses and pumping out more smog each day than we breathe in the USA alone. That number isn't going anywhere but up. The point is, don't be so incredibly flippant about it. If this user's solution is to gut his cat, or chop it off, then let him know that the judgment call is there for him to make. Don't do something like suggest it as the single most natural thing to do; thats almost akin to being a dope-pusher. I, too, do far "worse" things than driving around with a gutted cat, but I am darn sure that should a cop somehow get into inspecting it and confirm that its empty, I am liable for a VERY expensive ticket. Anyone in the United States who is caught with a vehicle (post '75?) that came with a cat, that has been deleted, on the streets, IS liable to Federal Charges. They don't PROSECUTE these cases all the time, but the fact is still the same. The cat is there to catch gases that, ideally, the engine shouldn't have put out anyhow. Sure, your motor may burn perfectly clean for emissions testing, but in real life, driving down the street, the total mass of the pollutants emitted by your engine in it's lifetime will be LESS with a cat on it than without. I say, Cover Your rump roast. Or is that for hippies? peace.

nice work! This forum doesn't get enough high-quality engine p0rn.

If ever was spoken a truer word, I haven't heard it. You guys like the same parts about raceday that I do... we should form a club or something

Thanks for that response.. You've taught me a little more about the older subaru system. Well, whatever you get into, feel free to PM me for ideas/questions/discussion. Hybridizing and making things work together is something I rather enjoy myself.. I wish I could say I do it a lot and am great with it, but unfortunately it is more of an un-exercised "knack" right now. sigh.. I wish it was so simple to "flick the L6 for an RB20/25DET or RB30E/ET" over here.... people here tell me I need to put a smallblock chevy in it, and my reflex to that is to punch them in the face... I CONTROL that reflex very well, but that sums it up best.

Studious. :-p Irony is a beautiful thing, aint it? An Astronomer??? FTW!!! Anyone else think this thread was a good enough discussion on this topic to maybe make the post a sticky, or possibly throw it in the USRM so we can point to it in the future when this subject comes up? It has covered pretty much all the bases, fairly well.....

Maybe this is the "young bachelor economics" coming out, but in my mind you're shooting after something too new for your "mileage" vehicle.... My opinion is that you might be better off looking for a FWD (for economy; if you need traction more than "florida-boy" here then whadevah ) early legacy, and keep it running with junkyard spares....BUT, as I said, that may be mostly difference in perspective.. The whole "wife" thing is also something of an alien concept to me as well, so what I am saying is I can see where you could be justified in immediately shooting my idea down. I just wanted to throw it out there for your consideration as much as anything else.

If you have spent the money on a 750 CCA Interstate battery, then you should spend the money on new battery cables, in case the car is still running on the originals. Even if the cables look beautiful, its time for them to go.. If they are really so nice, then they will make EXCELLENT auxiliary ground straps somewhere else (the battery terminals on the OEM cables come off and you are left with a flat cable lug at either end, easy to bolt from any point to point.) Personally I think I am going to go on the lookout for a relatively low mileage car in the JY with a gear reduction starter that looks original, and take it home, take it apart, clean and regrease everything, and put it back together. If I find any brushes I don't like then I'll take the one in my car apart and pull nicer brushes out of it, try to put together the nicest starter I can, and also a spare, and install the good one. My point is that I think a good OEM starter, properly reconned before it starts getting worn, might be the most ideal bet for longevity, reliability, and cost.. short of buying a brand new starter, and even those are not 100% reliable like the stock units seem to be. It seems like all the starters die the same way; dirt from wearing components building up and accelerating wear and reducing efficiency. A quick recon shouldn't impact the overall construction of the unit (typically faulty rebuilds are the result of poor bearing or bushing placement, certain issues with press fit assembly that needn't be disturbed for a simple clean and re lube) and I plan on effecting this plan as soon as i find the right starter in the JY and have 15 bucks burning a hole in my pocket. My current JY starter is starting to get a trifle loud, and the bearing noise as the gear reduction spins down is starting to change.. so I want to grab a spare in any case. Automatics suck.

I have to check this against my car because that sounds grossly inaccurate.. should be more like 3200 RPM for 55. 3AT right? EDIT I posted before I finished reading the thread, heh. what I hate about the 3AT is the other end; the gearing, RPM to MPH wise, is identical in second gear to my old Z car in second gear.. and the Z car had a fivespeed! BUT, first gear tops out at a HIGHER speed on the soob than in the datsun! And THEN, the datsun gets three gears after second to finish driving the car, where the 3AT only has one... Plenty of these automatic boxes are in good shape; if they are well cared for then they can last a perfectly acceptable service life. How many people properly care for an automatic trans, though? The fivespeed is a superior choice UNLESS you simply cannot drive it.

no EA82 cars in the local JY? I try to grab anything like a good rear lighting pigtail when I see it, and all the EA82 cars will be using the same pieces. My corner marker lamps up front aren't the greatest (corroded sockets) and I snagged one replacement, but am waiting to find another good one before i actually change it. no safety inspections here :-\ I wish there were; then maybe people couldn't run 50"+ tires on the road ever, and they'd have their headlights adjusted right, and the plague of brake light bulbs installed wrong would be cleared up.

There are many parts exporting companies in the south florida area... ACTUALLY... My favorite store is a local chain (they have about six or eight stores) that is VERY good with service, the parts guys are usually either knowledgable, or humble (they listen to you if they do not know as much as you.) They have a parts exporting service; I do not know if it is limited to the bahamas/carribbean area or not, but we have people here from ALL over Latin America so there is a good chance that they may be able to help you. http://www.congressauto.com/locations.cfm?fname=&sessionid={SESSIONID}&uname={UNAME}&wholesale={WHOLESALE} http://www.congressauto.com is the homepage if that above link doesn't work, and export@congressauto.com is the export email address. The BEST part is that they have, on their website, a place to click that essentially opens a terminal in your browser identical to the one that the guy behind the counter has. It is not the EASIEST parts lookup interface to use, but it is very thorough. I worked at the store briefly so I can use it fairly well. Shoot them an e-mail; they may prove to be a GREAT source of replacement parts. The store carries ALOT of lower quality parts in order to keep prices competitive for the price shoppers, but they also carry higher end merchandise and understand the value of quality. They should be able to help you order almost anything commercially available here. Honestly, I am kicking myself for not telling you about them a long time ago! Hopefully they can make life better for you when it comes to getting obscure parts. I have no idea if the end pricing (with shipping factored in) will be enough to have yo using them as a primary source, but for difficult-to-obtain items it may be just the key.

DD 87 gl10.. its 20 years old, and it delivers pizzas and pays my bills. A car that pays the bills is a beautiful thing. a FREE car that pays the bills is even better!

We got another one!! and I learned, for my self anyhow, that taking everything seriously, all the time, isn't any good.. I use laughter as a ward against many things, and its the best anti-depressant out there. Well, other than octane

This is "thinking outside the box" and it is probably worth absolutely nothing..... BUT.. We Z-car guys, who run the older L-series cars (I6) have found that we can lift the entire engine control system out of a Z31 (84-89 300ZX, VG30) and apparently it can be used (and more importantly, tuned to fit) running an L-series.. There is a program called NisTune that is used to tweak the parameters of the ECU. Not 100% on all the details, but I can research more if you are interested and get you some links. IIRC, the dizzy needs to be modded, and our flapper AFM and throttle position switch need to be replaced with a proper hotwire MAF and pot-style throttle position sensor. What about doing something similar with the subaru? Obviously an EJ setup would be difficult because it uses distributorless ignition.. but might you be able to hack into say, some Nissan or Toyota 4 cylinder control system and figure it out? The basic functions of any engine computer are similar enough that the project, for one properly equipped and motivated, is certainly not impossible.. Like I said, its a crazy idea.. BUT you seemed motivated, and you seem like you *might* be knowledgable enough to pull something along those lines off. In the end, there's only one way to find out. IF you could figure some junkyard stock system that would run the EA82T more capably than the stock engine management, something tells me you would make ALOT of friends here I'll stop wasting bandwidth with my crazy ideas now.. but I had to suggest it. I am all for pushing the envelope.. a friend of mine put it best once. "There's something attractive about being a trailblazer..."

weight reduction the natural way FTW

whiskey-tango-foxtrot???!!?!? HOW THE.. aww, nevermind. Just, nevermind. :banana: :banana:

at a swag, I would say something on the order of 15-25 pounds? 10-20 kilos or so? but thats a Sophisticated Wild-Assed Guess.

Craig, I aint nevuh seen TOD what sound like DAT befo!!! :eek: (translation from Friday-speak: it should be VERY VERY easy to differentiate between rod knock/bearing noise, and the lovely sound of our hydraulic lifters telling us they need oil, seafoam, or replacement.)

my apologies, i had in mind older 2.0 liter engines.... I don't dabble that much in cars with less than two decades on 'em, so I forgot to mention the old skool vs new school CC/valve configuration exclusion... In reality there is ALOT more to the heads of the WRX engine than simply two more valves, the entire dynamic flow pattern of the gasses through the intake/cylineder/exhaust tract is RADICALLY different. One of the difference I had in mind earlier when making the post, in regards to CC design, can be illustrated here.. These are two photos of an L28ET (Nissan Turbo 280ZX) P90 cylinder head. The first combustion chamber is stock (stock-ish, the heads been worked, but not much radical change was made in the combustion chamber. Apologies, I lack a picture of a bone stock P-90 head.) and the second is a redesign along the lines of what I had in mind. The redesign reflects the flow pattern changes I mentioned, and also the redesign is a rough mock up, on a welded "test" head, to see how well the CC design that the builder had in mind would function (,echanically) on an actual shortblock on a stand.. Note the change of spark plug angle on the "worked" head versus the relatively stock one. ALSO, for the record, this combustion chamber is the one that REALLY seals the deal on my perceived "similarities" between the EA heads and the Nissan heads.. A pic of a stock head would make it clearer. (the "stockish" image above has had some serious work to it to make a minimal APPEARING, yet significant change in the performance; the bone stock CC is much more like the EA82 one.) Although the shape is somewhat different, when you look at them firsthand there is a distinct similarity between them, and the CC of the OLDER L-series heads was even more like in shape to the EA82, but it was an open-deck engine, which means that the CC was not just the shape it assumed, but also a small amount of the entire cylinder head firing deck.. In other words, there is a "bore" on the cylinder head that corresponds to the bore of the cylinder, in addition to the distinctive shape of the recess in the head that the valves reside in. The stock older Datsun heads have a "recess" that looks identical to the EA82 CC, and I HAVE seen more than two engines in pieces.

just putting things into perspective... 1.8 liter motor, wanting 250 horses. 138 8/9 hp/liter there. multiply that out, for a 5.8 liter motor and you're at 800 horsepower. Think you can do as good a job at nursing horses out of displacement as NASCAR engineers with billion dollar budgets? I am all for setting enthusiastic goals, but it takes a hell of a build to pull 200 horses out of 2 liters, with a WELL designed engine, and subaru built these engines for economy. Shoot as high as you can, but don't be sad when you don't reach your lofty goal. Unless you WANT to spend money figuring out ways to make this ultra high comp, beautiful squishing, perfectly shaped combustion chamber, miraculously rework the intake and exhaust ports, (IF theres enough aluminum to do all that work, and the right person to find just the right combination of shapes and flows) complete (of course) with the matching dished piston to *just* give you the right shape, and maybe convert over to LPG to run higher static CR than you could with gasoline, and get the devil's own turbocharging system on it... naturally Oring the block etc, maybe even bore out as much as possible (if any) and somehow magically keep it all glued together..... but that list is just the barest beginnings of what would be needed. The engine management alone would cost 1500 dollars, and then someone has to tune it on a dyno before it makes its value shown...I would LOVE to see it. Hordes of us would. But I ain't holding my breath. Besides, 140 horsepower is alot more fun than it sounds like. 170, even moreso. It isn't "settling" for less when its about all you can handle anyhow

Hey... thats a pretty good idea........... I could do that for my Datsun.... Hmm. I could do that for my Datsun, and SELL them! A very hearty THANK YOU. And humble, to boot.. I should have put two and two together on that subject a LOOONG time ago..