thesmith

A bit of a delay on the update, been super busy these last few weeks. The Murray single row radiator seems to be keeping the engine much cooler than the OEM one, which is nice. The new fender is a slightly different silver, and the trim is a different size, but we'll just call it the jazz of car repair. I'll keep it like this until I can find a parts car or a matching '88 fender. Since my last post I've also installed a RAM mount for my phone/GPS setup, works like a charm. Did some detailing work today so the interior is looking pretty sparkly. On another note, can anybody comment on normal oil pressure ranges for the EA82? I just don't know what to look for. If it runs consistently at ~45psi, but starts around ~65ish, is that normal?

More details on your setup? Their brakes look pretty nice, but obviously you've done some custom work to put them on an EA82. What model of calipers/rotors are you using?

I'm thinking about overhauling the brakes on my 88 GL soon, any recommendations of brands for pads/shoes? I'm just running stock rotors/calipers and rear drums for now, but I'd like to make my purchase worthwhile. The wagon is mostly a daily driver. Thanks! (also, links to a thorough rear disc conversion writeup would be much appreciated!)

do you still have your stock bumper beam and cover? if they're in good shape I might be interested in buying them.

One new radiator, one new fender, and five pulls on the bumper beam later, the wagon is back up and running. Pic to come tomorrow.

Who knows. Their website says that the two row fits my year, turbo or no, but it doesn't fit. So I've opted for a single row option from them, hopefully this one fits correctly.

So the radiator I got from O'Reillys doesn't fit, the mounting holes are all in the wrong places as are the hose connections and cap. I'm taking it back and exchanging it for a single row that should do the trick. Yet another delay in getting the wagon back on the road!

Here's some photos of the first little day trip I took in the Soob. My high school sweetheart and I took a cruise up to the top of a ridge in Big Sur on a spectacular August day.

All metal. O'Reilly's part no. 433698.

Picked up a new radiator from O'Reilly's today, a Murray two row unit. Drop this thing in the car and it should be up and running!

Oh, I figured I should state for the record what has been done to the engine since I bought it: -Heads resurfaced -Head gaskets -Crank & cam seal -Rear main seal -Oil pan gasket -Valve cover gasket -Timing belts -Drive belts -Oil pump seal -Transmission magnifier (what is this part? I couldn't seem to find any info on it. Can somebody enlighten me as to what this is/does?) -New thermostat -New fluids: Brake fluid, transmission fluid, coolant, engine oil) -New spark plugs -Fuel/oil filter replacement I'm pretty sure that's it. This was all done by a shop in the Monterey area, since things like the crank and cam seal are beyond my skill level for now. I figure an EA82 is a good engine to learn to wrench on, though.

Yeah, it's slow, but I'm okay with it for now. I'm much more concerned with getting a radiator and having the car up and running. I figure it won't be worth the new tranny until I'm ready to swap engines.

This is my '88 GL wagon. Picked her up in a car lot in Salinas with only 83XXX on her! It has the 3AT in it, and thus is a gutless wonder, but it'll go just about anywhere without complaining. Just not fast. Loose future plans for this wagon: EJ swap, 5spd DR swap, add a decent stereo, and find some different wheels. I'd like to keep it looking mostly stock because I bought it in such nice condition, but depending on how it looks after the body work is done I may also look for a different bumper. Unfortunately I was in an accident only a week after returning to Seattle. I'm in the process of replacing the fender and radiator. I pulled a fender from an '85 wagon I found in a pick-n-pull but haven't found a decent radiator yet.

Awesome, thanks. I'm still looking for a radiator in the Seattle area if anyone has one!

Thanks. I've taken the wagon to a local body shop to do the disassembly and inspection. I'm hoping it won't need a pull on the radiator support. The technician there told me to hold off on buying parts for a couple days until he can determine the extent of the damage. On the bright side, my radiator itself may not be damaged! looks like it may just be a kinked/partially disconnected hose... fingers crossed!

Hey all. I was in a minor highway accident yesterday in my EA82. Nobody was hurt, and it was rather low speed, but I've bent my front left quarterpanel up and bent the valence under the bumper. The bumper itself is shifted to one side but it looks okay. I didn't even crack a headlight. However, it leaked coolant immediately after the collision, leading me to believe that the radiator took some damage. I assume this is from the valence under the bumper coming into contact with the radiator, and hopefully NOT from the center support. But on to my real question: I found a good fender/quarterpanel at a pick n' pull nearby, but didn't have the tools necessary to remove it with me at the time. What size are the bolts used to attach it this piece, and does anybody have a good writeup on replacing body panels? This will be my first wrenching on this car and I'm hoping for some guidance. Thanks! edited to add tags

Just got this girl with only 83k original miles! Picking her up from the shop tomorrow with new head gaskets, oil pan gasket, crank and cam seal, valve cover gaskets, new filters, and new spark plugs. stoked to drive, not stoked about the cost of all of this work right off the bat. I hope to learn a lot more about this car so that exorbitant shop bills can be a thing of the past!

In the audio world it's well known that you should use amplifiers with a higher maximum output than the power handling of your speaker. Some even recommend DOUBLE the power handling of the speaker for higher headroom before distortion. If you clip the amplifier (drive it to distortion), even with far less than the maximum wattage the speaker is capable of handling, you create square waves which will drive the speaker to maximum excursion and tear the cone apart. "Want to kill your guitar/bass/PA/car speakers? Use a low powered amp and let it run red!"