mulletsquirrel

Darn right this is cool stuff. It just fits that I have an 86. About the time when the Nintendo hit America. Maybe if I pull it off nice enough, I can convince people it was a factory option

Luckily I know a lot of electrical engineers (good solder-ers) if I run into trouble. I just know that I will have to solder a ribbon cable to 72 pins on each side of the cable. Thats 144 solders! in a small space!

That is really cool! I like where this is going! Did you have any troubles with fitting the dash back in once it was lined?

Made a bit more progress today: My 6" extension actually worked to connect the radio antenna! I can take back the 4' plug I got robbed $15 for. Hooked up both front speakers into their (hopefully temporary) speaker rings. These were hastily made out of plywood, but I hope to get a hold of some MDF and the correct tools (router, jigsaw) to make these decent. Hopefully I can get a hold of some fiberglassing material as well to create a cool enclosure on the dash for these. I never showed my 6x9" speakers, here they are chilling in the back seat. They add some necessary mid-bass to rock music that I listen to. And, the most exciting part of this project ( at least for me ) is the NES in dash mod. Here is a picture showing the fit of the cartridge. I will have to really play around with the wires back there to get it to fit all the way in. Can anybody guess my favorite band? (Hint: look at song below) There is no way a 1980's NES will fit back there, so I am planning on mounting it below the console where that little pocket is. I want to mount the power/reset switches by the game though. I am purchasing a 'spare' NES tomorrow to do the mod on. I wouldn't want to be without an NES if I screwed this one up. The mod will involve a lot of soldering and wires and awesomeness:banana::banana:

Wow. Wish I would have known about that sooner. I bought a 12" extension to solder to it. Probably won't be long enough. I'll give it a shot. Edit: I found the connector, bought a longer extension and hooked it up. Radio works!!

There's only one way to find out! :-\ I may install a cooling fan to the unit if heat becomes a problem. Update: I got the wire ran by the driver side strut down into the car by the fuse panel. Thanks for the help! Updates coming soon!

I actually am thinking of wiring up the cartridge and the power/reset buttons/lights to go in that head unit slot, and then have the controller plugs be in the center console so they are accessible to all. The only downside is that someone may not be able to insert a cartridge while in 1st, 3rd, or 5th gear. I am still trying to decide where to place the actual NES hardware. Maybe I could fit it all under the CD player, but I doubt it. In the end there will be a 9" monitor in the back center and a 4.3" in the front right, as shown in my picture.

Idea for speaker box:

I didn't realize it had a trip computer. I thought that was just a clock! My factory radio was also narrower than this unit, I ordered a new faceplate from Amazon.com. There was just a black piece of plastic to the right of my radio, nothing in that tall slot, if thats what you were asking. I can hopefully get a hold of an NES to mess around with today from a pawn shop or CL or garage sale and get that project going. Another question to anybody: Where is the best place to route a power wire from inside the cabin to the 12V battery? The only spot I saw was where the clutch cable comes in by the pedal.

My 86 GL did not come with a plug, the antenna was wired right into the radio! I had to cut it to get the old radio off. Is soldering this to a new plug a solution?

Well, now that I have had this wagon for about two weeks, I really have to dig in and make it more... me. So yesterday I finally received the head unit mounting bracket, and I could mount my head unit without using any zip-ties (besides on wiring)! Before: I am going to mount the 4" speakers I got on the dash, will make a fiberglass enclosure to fit them nicely in that crevice. Maybe in the enclosure I can include a cup holder for myself, as this car has ZERO cup holders, what the heck? Done with Head Unit (besides antenna adapter. can anybody enlighten me how to attach an antenna plug to the bare wire I had to cut off of the OEM radio?): I also found a really cheap (hopefully not describing the quality) LCD monitor, specifically designed for cars and video games, which I will use with an NES in the car. Came with a 9 inch screen, 300W power inverter, speakers, and has composite input, and also USB/Memory Card input. I got it for $75 bucks at Walmart on clearance! ( PS this is not in its final location. Everything will be cleaned up nicely. It was getting late, and I just wanted to test it out. ) I am going to attempt to find a cheapo NES (don't want to ruin mine) and mod it so the cartridge goes in that spare hole under the head unit. I think that would be tight. Let me know what you think so far! More pics coming soon.

What year is that? Thats ballin'. My wagon is an 86 and it has a more vertical back.

Will do. I keep getting side tracked from this however. I did some weight reduction to the dash by removing the stock AM/FM radio. However it got added back with a Sony head unit and 6x9s. I don't think its the carpet. I'll have to check on the rest when I get some light tomorrow. I did notice there is a bit of oil leaking (very slow - few drops from over night) from the valve covers.

I just got some cheapo 6x9's and put them in boxes in the back. Added the extra punch the sound system needed.

Not looking to spend more than I have to. Just want to be able to cruise 75 mph without flooring it on the uphills. I am not looking for too much am I? I think my engine needs a bit of work though since my first tank of gas netted me 24-25 MPG. Is that normal? 150 miles highway (65-80downhill), 70miles in town. What to expect for mileage?

It has some rust already, covered up by some blue paint. I think I may repaint the whole car so something a bit more masculine than baby blue though. Update on the car, now have installed a Sony 50Wx4 cd player. The back speakers are working, but the front are not, probably due to that shared ground speaker setup in this. I am going to rewire it anyways and put 6x9's in a reasonable spot (not by my feet). Back (stock) speakers sound suprizingly good! 1/2 to 2/3 of speaker volume is lost due to poor speaker placement however. Maybe I will update with a picture of the new exhaust. I even put on a nice shiny exhaust tip from advance auto, so at least one car would look good next to my RX8. Tim: what breed of Subaru are you driving?

Well I don't think I would do an engine swap in this car. I bought it just for the winter. I will probably check out the plugs though. How many carbs are on this engine? I was scared to mess with my motorcycle carbs since there were 4.

Thanks for the tips. I'll check that stuff out. I guess I am just used to the speed of less aged cars, like my 2006 RX8 or my old 1.8 turbo Jetta.

I have a 1986 GL Wagon (1.8 Carb/5 speed). I almost have the pedal to the floor to keep the thing at 75 MPH. Is that normal?

I did it myself... it was about 70 bucks. Not too bad.

The V8 SHO was a 3.4 liter and came in the 1996-1999 SHO. If you get one, make sure the cams have been welded, since that was a weak point. I think the rotary would be your best bet. I have an RX8, and I tell you what, no engine I've ever been stuck to has been as smooth, sounded as cool, or revved as high (in a car). Plus the power to weight ratio of your vehicle wouldn't be lost, and could improve the FR weight distribution.

Hello all, My name is Darrek and this week I purchased a 1986 Subaru GL with 235,000 miles. It came with many goodies like 4WD, 5 on the floor, power steering, power locks, power windows, AC (not working), and carbeurated 1.8L engine. It seems the entire exhaust is rusting apart, and it sounds like an old truck, but I love it! I bought this car as a winter driver, since winter tires for my RX8 would cost more than buying this car. I picked it up for $550.00. Let me know what you think! I would ask about what type of exhaust to do, but would rather search the forum than get flamed. -Darrek