Sub78

Dang! That thing looks incredibly clean. I'm no Soob expert as I just acquired a 78 Wagon about a year ago that I am still working on. Looks like you have a good jumping off point with that ride though. A lot of knowledgeable folks on these boards that I'm sure will be able to help you out. Good luck.

I should preface that with locally. It seems most of this stuff is up in the northwest. Not much in the way of full engines down here in AZ. I've looked for some donor vehicles but seems most yards crushed these wagons. Hard to find (at least in my search) anything earlier than an 83. My gas tank was wrecked and I just recently came across one after almost a year of searching. Along with a few other odds and ends. Definitely not discouraging but having looked through these boards and all over online it seems as though the wagons are a bit more scarce if you are looking for a new project to start. The folks on this board have made life much easier searching out and finding parts along with the wealth of information that is up.

Ill second that good luck. They are way harder to find than the brats to find. Ive got a 78 and the parts are much more difficult to locate.

I think if looking at photos I'm correct in saying that the body style for the 78 and 79 are pretty spot on. 1980 they went to a much boxier style. Very different from the 78/79. Thanks for the consideration though Ivan. He should be pulling the tank sometime this week and is going to shoot me a few photos before he ships it.

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Alright, so It's been a long time since I've looked at this post and figured I would throw up a video and give an update. Finally after all these months I do believe I have the gas tank problem solved thanks to Subaru3 and the guys up at CBASS in Idaho. Here is a quick listen to her running that I took awhile back. The squeal at the beginning was due to a bad water pump which was replaced right after this video was taken. Currently working on the interior until my gas tank is shipped and thanks to Danny for the clutch fan that should be shipping soon.

Hey Ivan... I assume a 79 4WD tank will fit a 78 but just wanted to check and see if you knew. Found one up in Idaho thanks to Subaru3. Who by the way is looking for a 2WD wagon tank from I think 78. Any input?

Todd! You are the man. Called that CBASS and they have a 4WD tank from a 79 Wagon. Pulling it today and if everything looks good should have it shipped by the end of the week. Much more reasonable than the guy in Utah who wanted to charge me 450$ for his. You are a life saver. I've been trying to find one of these for damn near a year. Thanks again so much for the lead. If you are looking for a 2WD Ivans Imports just posted on another thread I had in the marketplace saying he has a 2WD wagon gas tank. Give him a shout. He just posted it today. Below is the link to the thread. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/136298-wtb-gen-1-1978-subaru-wagon-4wd-gas-tank/

I'm pretty sure they sped this film up to make it as riveting as this was. I was on the edge of my seat for 8 minutes. Great post. Cool to see the old Soobs.

I don't think the 2WD tank is the same as the 4WD.

Well hell that should work. 5 fins, 4 fins. What's the difference in a vehicle that is 35 years old. How big is the fan from end to end? Is the center ring roughly 3.5 inches across. It looks like the same bolt pattern so I don't see why it wouldn't work perfectly. Did it come off an EA71? Feel free to email me david.j.stancil at gmail.com Do you have a price in mind? Shipping would be to 85745. Thanks. Gotta love the message boards.

Here are two pics of it. The fan is all busted up as you can see. It had five fins on it and the circular part of the fan measures roughly 3.5" across. The second photo is of the back of the fan. The whole assembly bolts right to the front of the engine and is belt driven.

Yeah that'd be great. I'm a little weary of it but we'll see. I'm not in much of a rush as I'm still laboriously prepping my floor pan. I think when it's all said and done I'll have close to 30 hours on getting this raptor liner in. Should be pretty solid though when it's done and a nice upgrade from the crap carpet that was in there. Plus it gives me something to do while I continue to figure out my gas tank problem.

Looking for a clutch fan for a 78 wagon with an EA71 1600 engine. Mine shattered awhile back and am looking for a replacement. This is the belt driven fan that is roughly 7 or 8 inches across that bolts with 5 bolts to the front of the engine. If anyone happens to have one of these guys lying around PM me. Thanks very much.

What! I have been scouring this damn country for months on end. Thanks very much, seriously. I'll be calling today to see if they still have it. Hopefully they aren't charging 500$ for the damn thing. Much appreciated for the lead. I think I've had a post on here for folks with a 4WD tank since I bought the damn thing. Here's crossing my fingers. It'd be nice to get my girlfriend off my back about her not running. I'm sure that won't stop the jokes though; still incredibly baffled how she doesn't love this old Subaru as much as I do. Thanks again.

I'll have to bust out my Haynes for that one. I am by no means mechanically challenged but this is definitely the first vehicle that I'm really "working on". My only saving grace is that this thing is much easier to work on than most other vehicles out there. The only problem that I feel I'll run into hopefully far, far, far in the future is parts. I've been looking for a good donor car but these wagons seem pretty scarce. Thanks for the advice on the dash and the cowl. I do have to replace a cracked windshield and my wiper arms are junk so perhaps a full overhaul of the dash and heater core would be wise. May as well deal with the nightmare once instead of multiple times in the future.

I thought I read somewhere here on the board that they are not the same. Im in the market for a 4wd gas tank. Any leads on one? Ill keep my eye out for a two wheel drive wagon tank. They are in short supply. I'm most likely going to have to have mine rebuilt. What is wrong with your tank?

I thought I read somewhere here on the board that they are not the same. Im in the market for a 4wd gas tank. Any leads on one? Ill keep my eye out for a two wheel drive wagon tank. They are in short supply. I'm most likely going to have to have mine rebuilt. What is wrong with your tank?

Yeah, too much of a pain to make stock. Not tomention cost. It seems it's already hard enough to keep these on the road. Thanks for the advice on finding the leak. It's supposed to rain today so maybe I can hunt it down.

Just thought I would post what the interior of a 78 Subaru Wagon 4WD looks like ripped up. Bought this with ok seats but the carpet was jacked and there was a leak somewhere in the door weatherstripping that was leaking and soaking the carpet. It had been sitting for about 10 years under cover so luckily she was spared from years of rain. I however do not have cover and this is how I found out. Because I ran into some gas tank problems which I am still waiting for the funding to fix I figured I would give her a thorough interior cleaning. This led to the idea "eh, well since I've got not much else to do I may as well pull the seats". So I pulled the seats. The next obvious step would be to pull the carpet right? Done. The carpet was pretty much junk so I was looking at options. I've decided to completely strip the floor pan and primer it and then try a few coats of Raptor LIner DIY. It looks pretty solid on most of the jeeps I've seen on the forums. Obviously this isn't going to be stock but I don't much care about that. I like the idea of the clean floor pan and the lack of moisture buildup possibilities plus it ads a great rust inhibitor to the whole bottom of the truck. Obviously this is Arizona so rust isn't too much of an issue but I am definitely not planning on being too long and it will eventually end up somewhere cold. My main concerns will be road noise and possible heat coming through the floor boards but I'll try to limit that with some aftermarket carpet / rubber floor mats. Worse comes to worse I can get carpet put over it in the future if it really is that bad. Most of the folks who have done it though are happy with the results. Long term it seems to hold up well. Here is the start of in depth interior work. Took a hammer and cold chisel to the floors to remove the sound proofing material and am in the process of using xylene to finish removing the tar. This will take probably another 4-5 hours of prep. Afterwards It will be sanded and one corner of rust patched then primed. I'll be doing the liner on the whole floor pan along with the side walls and up and over the rear wheel wells. Here are a few pics of the progress so far and a pic of what the raptor liner looks like in a jeep. Thought I'd start a thread on interior spaces and see if and what folks have done to their soobs. The third photo is of the trunk space, it shows post Xylene work. Cleaned up really well. The trunk looked just like the front parts of the floor. That xylene is awesome. Also thew in a pic of the whole care... damn near rust free.

I bought my wagon non-running. She turned over but wasn't getting fuel. The guy who I bought the car from had let it sit for about 10 years with gas still in the tank. It varnished and hardened. I pulled the tank and all of the lines were solid. The sending unit mount was somehow stripped so it had to be cut off with an angle grinder and it is pretty rusted out inside. I realize that you can get these boiled and re coated but the inside vent tubes and pickups need to be re-done along with new mounts for the sending unit. Fuel cells aren't really an option here for daily drivers especially a wagon without a firewall somewhere and there are absolutely none available for purchase anywhere. I've come to the conclusion that I have to have it rebuilt. There is a place in Phoenix that rebuilds gas tanks along with a local shop Arizona Coil and Spring but the costs are expensive. I don't really want to shell out 3-400 dollars on this tank but it looks like I might have to. I've toyed with the idea of just cutting it open and trying to do it myself but I am definitely not a welder and being that this is the only tank I've got I don't want to F it up more than it already is. Because of that rear diff in the back there is just about 5 inches of clearance for the whole rear trunk space where it sits and after countless hours scouring the internet there aren't any universal tanks under 7-8 inches tall. So... ha. That's where I'm at. In the mean time I've been gutting the inside. Need to feel somewhat useful on this build. Plus the ol' girlfriend gives me the evil eye every time we walk past it in the driveway. Open to suggestions...

Did anything happen with this? Is she still sitting around or did someone pick her up?

WTB: Thought I'd bump this up to a single thread. Looking for a 1978 Gen 1 4WD wagon gas tank with a sending unit. Email me directly at david.j.stancil at gmail.com. Willing to pay for shipping. I'm located in Tucson, AZ. Hoping someone on these boards might be able to help. Any info on where I might find one of these bad mamas you would find me forever in your Subaru debt.

Bump on that gas tank, only thing I need to get the damn ol' girl on the road.

Good luck man, I've been looking for a 78 4WD wagon gas tank for months now. Such a pain is the A**. I'll work some magic juju for you if you return the favor. Someone on these damn forums must have some wagon gas tanks running around. I'll keep an eye out. Not many wagon owners out there. Everyone loves those dang Brats for some reason more. Ha.