Caboobaroo

I remember that car. IIRC, it started out as a 4wd wagon, not a 2wd. I totally forgot that he stuffed an EA81 rear end into there. Basically, take a look under a 2wd wagon and then take a look under a 4wd wagon and you'll see there's really no way of doing it.

ok here we go again... I have looked into converting a gen 1 2wd wagon to a 4wd and it is not possible unless you feel like spending your life trying to cut apart a 4wd gen 1 to weld under the 2wd. The rear suspension and the way it bolts to the underneath of the body is waaaaaay different, thus not making it worth while to do it. Its much easier to find a gen 1 that is 4wd (wagon, Brat) then it would be to convert, plus the expense... well I'm not gonna get into that one either but trust me on it. Now that you read that, think about how much work it would be to do it with gen 2 parts into a gen 1....

hey I know which yard you're talking about! Its right off of highway 34 called Loops Auto Salvage I believe. Been there a few times before I was into Subarus since my dad hs a '79 Peugot 504 diesel. He's got a great selection of rims anf IICR, he's got a pretty good price for alloys and steels compared to other yards.

well the corner that the sheet didn't cover, I ended up cutting a chunk of of a piece of scrap I had and I'm going to somehow glue them together. I'll get a sizing of the pieces but they're from the old Wal-Mart in Cheyenne, WY. My friend was able to get them for me because he was doing some training there and since they upgraded to a SuperCenter, they didn't need them.

probably going to use the same stuff to seal in the window, polyurathene. Nice, black and sticky... mmm gooey! Now I gotta get a tube to install it

Thats the one... It also ran to the back and wrapped around the tailgate with a special slot cut in it for the tailgate handle.

I'm finally doing something on one of the weekends that I can come home from Steamboat. I decided to work on making the lexan windows for the back of the RX. Well I got one done after a couple hours since I have to use my Dremel to cut it because I don't have anything else. Here's the pics going from the sheet of lexan to the final product... Sheet of lexan After 2 cuts Getting close... Glass vs. Lexan comparison Final product test fitted into place

ok to help clear up a few shady areas, you can used upgraded struts in the front from a WRX but only IF you have a 5-lug conversion done. You also have to use the stock tophats in order for it to be a "bolt in" item. I am currently running '95 WRX front struts, brakes, knuckles, axles, XT6 control arms, and XT6 tie rod ends as well. In the back, I still have the stock RX coilovers, XT6 rear discs and calipers. Total cost of the upgrade so far is around $600 but I had to get some parts shipped to me from the west coast. So yes it is possible but it takes some $$$ to do it.

for the caliper, try removing it from the car completly or remove the bleeder screw. It makes life so much easier then trying to compress the brake fluid inside.

I just looked Mary and its not the same one. The stripe that ran the length of the car that the targa stripe ran into was about 3" in width and was a two tone color (car was brown with a brown/light brown striping)

a good dead blow hammer also works pretty well. If its stuck more then anything in the world, a sledge hammer will work but you would probably mess up the threads on the end of the axle stub.

When I lived in Oregon, I saw and almost got, a '79 GL Brat that had some different stock decals on it. Instead of the targa stripe just ending at the bottom of the B-pillar, it actually went down into a stripe that ran from the nose of the car on the body line, down the side where the targa stripe connected, and around the back where both sides of the stripe connected on the tailgate. I've never seen it since nor have I seen it in the brochures either.

I didn't chop it at all:D I'm still trying to figure out why you had to remove the fender and the bumper? All I did was remove the plastic inner fender, line up the intake hose on the inside of the engine compartment, mark where I needed the hole to be and cut with a Dremel. Then I found one of the old holes from either the resonator or the washer fluid resevoir and bolted it in. The only cutting was the inner fender well area where it comes through at, plus I have the splash tin mounted back in and it will keep the air filter nice and dry.

dude, I did that on the original engine out of my '79 wagon. I had to go to Eugene to get a good 'used' one from Mudrat. Oh I need your phone number again since I think I lost it.

time for a helicoil buddy, take your time doing it and you'll love yourself for using it:D

My '89 RX has 6 1/2" speakers in the front and in the rear which were stock. I dunno why it was like this because all the wagons and sedans that were EA82's had 5 1/4" in the front and 6 1/2" in the rear...

Looking good! I did find out with a bit of cutting the inner fender, you can also use a chunk of an AEM CAI for a WRX. I got some pics here

hey guys, its kinda a first come, first serve deal. If someone can get it trailered away, that is the most ideal thing for me. I do know that if it makes its way east, it would definatly be going to a good home. Paul kinda has dibs but if he has no way to get it, then 75subie will get it and if no one gets it, well..... As for the coupe, sounds like a great project! I'm excited to see what becomes of it since I have done a couple electric cars before with people that work at Hewlett Packard.

vultures, all of you are VULTURES!!! I need a set of front EA81 axles....

easiest thing to do is to pull the steering column to get it out with ease. I found it was the easiest thing to do on my RX when I swapped my auto to manual.

gauges that I'm going to install will be all Autometer Phantom gauges. In the A-pillar pod, I'm going to have 1. Boost gauge, 2. A/F ratio gauge, and 3. EGT gauge. I'm also installing some more gauges in the dash and they'll be 1. water temp, 2. oil temp, and 3. oil pressure.

I have converted the front of my '79 wagon to EA81 vented rotors, calipers, and suspension pieces. I used the EA81 control arm to help keep the cost of ball joints down ($36.99 for EA71 vs. $16.99 for EA81). The only thing I had to do was make new stabilizer rods that were identical to the EA71's, then just welded them on and I had a nice upgraded front end. I also used EA81 adjustable struts and I cut 3 coils from the springs and I never had a problem with clearance.

To put the pedal cluster in, you'll want to remove the steering column as well. Not too hard, maybe 4 or 5 bolts. You'll also want to get a instrument cluster from a manual car as well because the auto has the shift indicator on the auto cluster. Like hti said, it's all a bolt in. I did the full swap in my RX from a 4EAT automatic to an RX FT4wd D/R 5-speed manual. Was pretty easy and straight forward but it sucks putting the tranny in alone...

one should be for the "4wd" switch and the other will be for the "hi/low" switch. You are correct for the '85 having the switch on the shift linkage inside the cab whereas the '88 has the switch (actually 2) in the tranny. If you can get a wiring diagram of the tranny, it should help you out a lot on figuring out where they go and how to wire them up.

ok I finished the 4EAT -> 5-speed swap in my '89 RX. A quick list of parts needed: transmission shift linkage pedal cluster instrument cluster clutch cable flywheel and clutch assembly driveshaft center console (for neatness in interior) The transmission will bolt right into place. One thing is you plan on using a non turbo transmission is the fact the axles have a different spline count in the DOJ between the two. The non turbo axles have a 23 spline DOJ whereas the turbo has a 25 spline DOJ. You can replace the axles with the non turbo if you plan on using the non turbo transmission but then the rear diff will have to be swapped out since the turbo and non turbo diffs are different ratios (3.70 - turbo, 3.90 - non turbo). The pedal cluster is probably the hardest part about the swap since you have to remove the steering column to get it out. Its a very easy swap with two people but if you do it by yourself (like I did) it can be a little harder trying to get the tranny into the car. Then remove the automatic shifter and the plate covering the hole which the shift linkage will come though, mount the shift linkage, attact the clutch cable to the clutch fork and make sure everything is tight before you drive off. Also the rear with the driveshaft is the fact that the manual diveshafts are linger then the autos. You can use a driveshaft from any EA82 manual car, be it turbo, nonturbo, single range, dual range, etc. If you have anymore questions, PM me and I'd be willing to help you out on it.