Scoobywagon

it occurs to me that you could also try using a pair of rear tires with a slightly harder compound. If I remember right, 4wd in a sube is a theoretical 50/50 split in power front and rear. If that's the case, then hard tires should help the rear break loose a tad earlier while the fronts keep on grabbing. The combination popping in my head at the moment is Michelin Pilot XGTV-4's up front and something like Cooper Cobras in the rear. You'd probably just have to experiment with it to get a good combo.

Yeah, fred drove a sube, and it had 4wd. 4-hi was wilma pushing, 4-lo was when they would hafta hook dino up in a harness and have him pull.

That is one spiffy ride! I'm kinda wondering if you couldn't just louvre the black piece that appears to lay across the "engine bay". In the pic, it looks like and inlaid piece, perhaps with hinges? Might try putting some louvers in that and if you STILL can't keep it cool, the perhaps some sort of airbox rig inside there to help direct air to the radiator, assuming sufficient inside clearance for such a beast.

UNfortunately, no pics, but...had a good time at the beach today. My wife and I went to westport today (out by Aberdeen), and went out to the beach. As we came over the little sand dune on to the beach, we found a newer Toytota Tacoma buried almost to the axles in the sand. Fortunately for him, I happened to have some rope in the car. Hooked on to his rear bumper and 4-lo plus about 5 fat chicks pushing...and voila.... The guy quietly admitted to me that his buddies in the Toyota Tacoma club would never let him live it down...getting extracted by a station wagon that was old enough to buy its own booze 2 years ago. Thus...the 83 is no longer a mere Scoobywagon....it is, in fact, a Tow Wagon (as opposed to a tow truck).

Get a second set of 13 or 14" steelies and head on down to your local commercial tire shop. Get a set of 13x6 Ag tires. THey make them for Kubota tractors. LOTS of traction that way!

0-60? What is "60"? Feet?

Well, if you want them to NEVER come off, you could use black urethane. Same stuff you mount a windshield with. I've had good luck with 3M's line of spray adhesives over the years, too. I'm currently experimenting with something that is new (to me anyway), called Gorilla Glue. Supposed to be the toughest glue in the world. I've been glueing metals and cermics together, but no plastic yet. Have you tried using Armor All or an equivalent to clean it up? If that doesn't work, I think I saw something at my local auto parts store (Westbay, for those of you out my way) called "Bumper Black". I can't remember but I think it was from plastikote or someone with an equally reprehensible spell checker. Just kinda spotted it out of the corner of my eye while I was trying to find a reasonably sized can of moly grease. Speaking of moly grease....doesn't get mch blacker than that....hmmmmm.....

I got the engine out of a wrecking yard in upstate NY. They sent it through one of their local carriers who did not have a route all the way out here. The local carrier forwarded it through yellow freight who brought it out here. Didn't need a dock, but I couldn't have it sent to my house, either. The delivery target has to have truck access (which my house decidedly does NOT). In this case, it went to a local garage where they were doing the motor swap for us (would you believe the thrust bearing died before the original clutch????). Anyway, I recall paying ~$250 for the engine and the whole deal was right around $400. I'll see if I can dig up the original bill of lading.

freight isn't too bad. I had a Saturn engine shipped from New York to Washington, cost about $150.

For 185/70-13: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.jsp?startIndex=0&vehicleSearch=true&width=185%2F&ratio=70&diameter=13&search=true&pagelen=20&pagenum=1&pagemark=1&x=11&y=8&speed_rating=SR&speed_rating=TR&speed_rating=UR&speed_rating=HR&speed_rating=VR&speed_rating=WR&speed_rating=YR&speed_rating=ZR for 175/80-13: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.jsp?startIndex=0&vehicleSearch=true&width=175%2F&ratio=80&diameter=13&search=true&pagelen=20&pagenum=1&pagemark=1&x=14&y=15&speed_rating=SR&speed_rating=TR&speed_rating=UR&speed_rating=HR&speed_rating=VR&speed_rating=WR&speed_rating=YR&speed_rating=ZR IN 185/70-13, tire rack returns a hit on Kumho's 758 power star. Good tires. Use them on my 83 wagon. They last really well and theres enough tread on them to deal with about anything short of mud soup or fresh snow measured in feet. $27 is a pretty good deal, too.

Harbor Freight ROCKS!!!!!

I did the same thing in my wagon at one point. Stripped out the splines on the right front hub. In 2wd she'd just sit there and grind. 4wd got me home....~30 miles.

Sorry...must have hit a wrong key...5-30. Still...yes it is very thin oil, though not as thin as the salad oil I've used in my other favorite car. My SHO got 0W-20 synthetic. Anyway, yes, the point of running the heavier oil is to keep oil pressure up, usually in an engine with some wear on it. However, at 267 kilomiles, my 83 still has decent oil pressure at idle, and the pressure rises appropriately with RPM. Now, my engine DOES leak oil, but not at the oil pump. one of these days, I'll get around to replacing my valve cover gaskets. It loses less than a quart every 2300, so I'm not overly worried about it. I'll get to it at some point. I settled on 5-30 for the 83 after some experimentation with the 81. The 81 got much worse (~3-5 mpg less) mileage on 20-50 than on 5-30. With a fresh set of seals, it doesn't leak, and the motor doesn't burn any...yet, so I see no need to sacrifice mileage for leak or burn protection that I don't yet need. I'm not saying that everyone should run right out and dump their 20-50 in favor of something lighter. Hey, if it works for you, great! I've just found that, for my situation, the 5-20 does a better job than the heavier oils. You're right, though...if you use ATF, you MUST CHANGE THE OIL!!!!! When I do this, I drive a minimum of 70 miles and amax of 100. mostly thats to get everything nice and hot and to make sure that the ATF gets circulated nicely. Having done that, change the oil and filter and voila....

DO NOT USE 70-90!!!! In the states, the stuff is labeled MerconIII-Dexron. It is AUTOMATIC transmission fluid. It should be red in color and really runny and thin.

As far as noisy lifters go, my solution is really simple. I use 5-20 Valvoline and change it every 3000 miles religiously. Twice a year, just before I'm ready to change the oil, I pull a quart of oil out of the engine and replace it with a quart of automatic transmission fluid. Its non-corrosive, has decent lubricating qualities and is a darn effective cleaner. Once you've added the tranny fluid, run it till the oil (and tranny fluid) gets good and hot, then change the oil and filter. Voila...no more (or at least a lot less) gunk in your engine.

YOu aren't alone. I have to work today, too. Just later tonight. Anyway...had my wagon up to 90 once. Downhill, tailwind, foot on the floor. I WILL N E V E R even THINK about doing that again!

that's a nice flush look too.

Another option would be to look for an early 90's ranger with the XLT package. Look behind the seat and you will see to small oddly shaped black boxes. THese also contain 4" speakers but perform astoundingly well for their small size. I'll take pics of the ones in my truck so you can see what to look for.

Well, I've decided that I'm going to pass on these two, at least for myself. I'd thought it'd be kinda fun to stuff and ea82t and 5-speed into the 78, but I don't think I'll get around to it before the car REALLY starts to fall apart. Having said that, if there's something in there that somebody wants, let me know and I'll see what I can do. If there's enough interest, in them for parts, I may go ahead and buy them so that you guys can get some of the parts you need.

Finally got some pics taken. What the heck is a Subaru FE? Put the pics in my gallery. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=4212

The bodies both appear to be in very good condition, although there is a fairly good bit of moss growing on both. The interiors look pretty nasty, but without actually getting into them and looking up close, I couldn't tell you if the interiors are salvageable or not. They have all their glass, but who knows what the seals are like. I'm gonna try and get some pics tomorrow and I'll post them here, so you guys can ogle them, see what you think. Thanks!

I have an opporunity to buy a 78 sedan (missing its badges, so I don't know what it actually is) and an 80 GLF with auto. The guy wants $100 for both cars. The body panels appear to be in good condition, but they have both been sitting for years, so all kinds of little creatures have taken up residence in, on and around them. He thinks the GLF has a cracked head, doesn't remember why the 78 got parked. Obviously, neither of them runs. I'll cruise back out there tomorrow and snag some pics. Should I take the cars?

the wiring harness is really nothing. You could transplant an actuator from a GL or you could simply buy a new one from your local car stereo shop. They are farily cheap and it is really just a two-wire setup. On - push, Off- retract. Simple.

Beachbum, Sorry, VRM = Voltage Regulator Module. Some appear to be internally regulated, while others are not. My 81 has an external regulator (silver box mounted to the fender above the passenger wheel well just behind the battery) while my 83 does not. At least, I've not yet identified anything that looks like a vrm...

Just so I'm clear... You normally show 13-14 volts until you turn on the a/c at which point it shows ~8 volts. Right? If that is the case, then there really isn't much for it. 14 volts is appropriate for ANY alternator in a running car. Much higher than that and you risk burning things up (like computers or VRMs...you know...stuff like that). An alternator with higher output MIGHT solve your problem, but it would introduce others down the line. How old is your battery? What is its reserve power rating (usually shown in minutes)? Take the car to a GOOD parts store (by which I mean NOT Sucks...er...Schuck's or any of the CSK stores). Have both the battery and the alternator tested. I suspect that you have a dying battery. If so, replace the battery. I'll bet dollars to Krispy Kremes that this will decrease the problem, though I sort of doubt that it will go away entirely with just a new battery. I'd also crawl up under the dash and hook an ammeter into the power for the squrrely cage fan that actually blows the cold air around. See how much power it is actually pulling. I can't remember what it is supposed to be, but I think it is somewhere around 15 amps at high speed. Just remember that 15 amps is fully a third of the stock alternator's nominal output, so you are GOING to see some drop in voltage with the A/C blowing. Oh, and if it should turn out that the alt is going south on you, spend the extra bucks to get a replacement VRM while you're at it.