silentfive

Agreed, I inherited an 81 DL Wagon a couple months ago, and I've been running through little improvements; the Seafoam yielded a great result. I did it in my driveway (whoops), and there was WAY more smoke than I expected... I was kind of afraid someone would call the fire department. It was worth it though, things are definitely running smoother now. That stuff's a miracle for around $8 a can.

I haven't had a chance to check other VIN locations yet (really lousy weather here this weekend, no garage) but I will as soon as it's over 30 (and not too windy.) Thanks for all the great info and warm welcome, though. I'll update when I can move stuff around a bit better, because I'm pretty curious about this car now. Yeah, I would greatly prefer 4WD (what I'm used to, really), even though the FWD has performed pretty well; I was secretly hoping that some former owner just did a screwy conversion that could be undone with a little effort, which is why I was confused/started the topic, so hearing bolt up conversion to 4WD is a relief, and it makes me want to invest more in the car (if I can find the parts!) Dash swap does seem most likely, though. Even at 27 years old it's only got 155,000 miles on it, so I bet it could still go really far with the right maintenance.

Hi, I've recently inherited an 81 Subaru DL Wagon due to an accident which destroyed my previous vehicle (97 GMC Sonoma, if it matters.) The Subaru's been in the family for about 15 years, and I'm going to be driving it for a while (maybe a long while, we'll see how it holds up. Funny thing, it's the car I learned to drive on, and now it's back after a couple of other dead vehicles, still running.) I like the car a lot, but I'm kind of stumped on the VIN; if someone could help me figure out what the car's equipped with, I'd be grateful. I have the Chilton manual, and running through it, I came up with the codes for (I'll go by positions and some codes, because I don't know if posting VIN on the Internet is safe or not): 1. Japan 2. Fuji Heavy Industries 3. Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle 4. Restraint Line and Seat Belts 5. Station Wagon ("M") 6. 1800cc Engine 4WD ("5") 7. DL Model 8. Weight Class 3-4k lbs. ("B") 9. Check Digit 10. 1983 Model Year ("B") 11. 4WD 4MT Manual Transmission ("D") This is where I'm confused: it's a manual, and it's a five speed (1-5 and reverse.) There's no push-button or any other 2wd->4wd shifting mechanism in the interior. Also, it's an '81 , and the model year is 1983. All of that makes me think that the car is not as it was stock, especially the 4WD/ 4 MT stuff considering the shifter is five speeds. The VIN I went by is the one on the insurance; the dash was carpeted over. Can anyone tell me what the deal is here? I've been searching Google, reading the manual, and lurking here for a couple of weeks and I can't figure out if the car is some all time 4WD, or if it's the original body with a new engine/manual trans dropped in, or what? This is how we bought the car, but it was a long time ago off a used lot, and we're not really mechanics. Any pointers to identify what I've got would be really appreciated.