NickNakorn

I don't remember ever seeing them because we had so many locally manufactured small cars from BMC, Rootes and other companies as well as imported Isetta and other 'bubble' cars.

Would you believe it!? I had the whole thing back together and managed to leave a vacuum pipe disconnected - so lots of time wasted trying to find which one and then locate it. But all done now and dash all back as required. And no bits left over either.

Thanks for posting the film clip - much appreciated. I love small cars and have owned variously, a Hillman Imp, 2 Morris Minors, An Asutin A30, a Mini, a rear-engined Skoda 120 rapide, 2 honda CRXs and a Triumph Herald Convertible - all practical, bought for very, very small sums and used as daily drivers. Small is Beautiful!

I agree that clutch adjustment is crucial, if it does not disengage fully there will be problems even if everything else is fine. I was taught the 'counting' method of changing gear by my grandfather when I was eight (had a cushion but could reach the pedals in my mother's Mini - well it was the sixties!) and it goes like this. Clutch down, count one, into neutral, count two, into next gear, count three and clutch up. When you learn, each 'count' is about 1/2 second to a second. Over years that time comes down to 1/10th second or less (not that you're counting!) but the thing is to get the rythm really even and you'll have a graunch-free ride.

Try and judge if the noise is in time with your wheel rotation or your engine rotation. I once had a very similar sound on a Daimler Majestic Major and it turned out to be a loose bolt in the torque converter bell housing. Having mostly had manual cars I didn't find the fault but a friend who had driven many automatics recognised it. It's just a suggestion if you find nothing else wrong with the wheel/axle/hub assemblies.

Beacuse our blessed weather has decided that summer is not going to happen this year, I have now got around to fixing my heater blower. I had the blower motor out, bench tested it and it was right as rain. The coil resitor unit was really, really cruddy with rust and leaves (amazing the thing didn't catch fire) so I sand blasted it very gently and it now looks new. But the blower still would not work when connected and I was getting no live feed when it was turned on. I then investigated the dash switch - all ok - so the only thing left was the relay - couldn't find it but while I was looking I did find the wires to the relay and a light blue multi-connector I had not noticed before and - hey presto - it was partially burned out! With a quick by-pass it all worked so tomorrow I'll be fitting a new connector to the offending circuit - hate these fiddly jobs but I'm getting better at removing bits of the dashboard!

An interesting thread, I found myself agreeing with everyone; it all depends what you're trying to achieve. When I was young I drove like a maniac and used every ounce of braking and acceleration available to me and changed my brakes twice a year, my clutch once a year and my tyres - well, I don't even want to think about it. Now, 40 years later, I find I'm still harsh on tyres (change them about every three years - about 25k miles) but I hardly ever need to change my brake pads or shoes - and even then it's usually for reasons other than wear. Clutches? I haven't worn out a clutch in 20 years but change them if I have the engine out anyway but that's not very often. And I have always double-declutched, used engine-braking and heeled and toed. In other words, if you drive gently and with expertise, everything lasts for ages and now I find I can drive as fast as I ever did (when law allows) without trashing components. Here in the UK, petrol prices have always been very high and so we're used to having to be economical. But, when there was a tanker-driver's strike, we had to be really, freally frugal because fuel wasn't available. I tried different techniques and got about 75mpg out of my 1988 Honda Civic - lots of coasting in neutral, low revs (limited myself to 2500), no engine braking and lots of thinking ahead, anticipation and very gentle driving. Using the same techniques in my Subaru L-series (loyale/leone) I can get about 55mpg but I prefer to drive a lot more briskly and tend to get 40mpg very easily on a run and 30mpg around town without banning myself from engine braking . But very occassionally, for the hell of it, I'll use the car in, lets say, a sporting manner and and fuel consumption drops to 15mpg if I'm lucky. By the way, I agree too that many countries have laws banning coasting in neutral for historical reasons; brakes were very unreliable 50 years ago. But some cars - early Saabs for example - actually had a freewheel device as standard. My conclusion? We're all right!

Apintonut, I assume you're either unsure of what you want or you're taking the P

http://www.rockymountainwesty.com/ do adaptor kits for the Subaru engine to VW gearbox; that's the easiest route.

I doubt that a wheel out of balance would create 'bouncing' let alone 'crazy bouncing' - just a vibration. Is this thread real?

Very useful info concerning the choice of bearing available from GD; thanks. Question; do you know if those part numbers/spec codes are international and the same across all manufacturers? best wishes all Nick

Dampers, front and back, can deteriorate if a car is left standing for any length of time and I'd also check the rear subframe for rust and/or fatigue cracks because they can get thin, become bendy and break (particularly if you are in an area of winter road salt). I had that happen on my old green L-series; handling became very bouncy and then there was a loud 'crack' and subframe broke in half leaving the car almost undrivable.

As for many of us 'cancer' is not just a word, perhaps you'd like to use the word 'rust' in future.

Waste not, want not and recycle - todays second hand cars are the classic cars of the future, the antiques of the future and part of the world's industrial history. It takes massive amounts of energy to make a new car so keeping the old ones running is environmentally a good option even if their economy in use is not as good - scrapping and salvage also uses energy. I also like the craft aspects of making parts and panels, welding and so on. In a few years, when most early Imprezas have been scrapped, there will be a new generation of enthusiasts restoring them - perhaps even converting them to electric when the oil becomes too expensive..

For $500 it looks lijke a real bargain! Here that kind of money would buy a scrap spares-only heap.

I'll see if I can locate the pin puller and take some pics - but it's basically a rod with a little hooked end.

It's very true that having the right tools and some previous experience is a great help. I'm a fairly slow (I call it thorough and methodical!) worker too but I've years of experience with other cars so I was reasonably happy to start taking my Subaru apart. The most time-consuming part for me was making a little tool to remove the (we call them piston pins or little-end pins here in the UK) wrist pins. And, because I had another car to use meanwhile, I also took my time cleaning and storing all the parts for future use as I removed them. Nevertheless, I think I've saved time and money overall by doing the best job I can. Of course, now I have an engine that pulls like a train and has really good economy too but the good engine has really highlighted all sorts of other problems such as issues with the susspension and brakes - oh well, on we go!

Check all your drive-train parts for excessive play including drive shafts, CV joints, prop shaft, gearbox mounts and gearbox extension tube.

In the time it's taken you to do that you could have removed the pistons and split the block...

GD, An excellent thread and I'd like to thoroughly endorse the method; one I've used myself on and off since the 1960s. The only difference being that we used to use grinding paste spread directly onto the glass because sheets of wet and dry were often a bit lumpy in those days and hard to find as our local supplier sold it in narrow rolls. Also the contact adhesive required the glass to be ground if it was to stick well. A great thread. Oh, I nearly forgot: on small motorcycle and lawn mower engines we'd do the same to the top of the barrel and run them without head gaskets to get the extra compression! We thought if it's OK for Bugatti it's OK for us :-)

I agree that fuel free of contamination is important (If the tank is in good condition the fuel wont degrade sufficiently to make a noticable difference even if some lighter hexane is lost) but the octane rating definitely makes a big difference because high octane fuels burns more slowly, makes the power stroke slightly smoother and gives a longer burn. But, providing the timing is correctly set, low octane fuels are fine even if the duration of the burn is shorter - power is only reduced slightly though torque might suffer. So, yes, clean fuel is a must but, given clean fuel, the timing needs to be matched to the octane used.

I'd use the situation as a good opportunity to rebuild the engine properly then you can hone the cylinders and fit new rings too. Doing a proper job is usually a good investment and saves time in the long run. Splitting the block isn't difficult so there's no need to avoid doing it and you'll have a nice refurbished engine instead of a bodged up job.

My Haynes manual (UK reprint) states that 1987 to 1989 carb models should be 8 BTDC, all injection cars at 20 BTDC and that all models 1990 to 1994 should be 20 BTD so there's no problem there. I have never had an under-the-hood sticker and don't recall one on any of the 4 EA82 cars I've owned; perhaps UK versions did not have them. While the 1989 onwards Subaru service manual (that I have downloaded) does not specify (an error on subaru's part?) the timing for carb models, it does specify 20 BTDC across the range of all the other fuel injected models and my local Subaru garage also concurs with the 20 BTDC for my carb car. As my car/s have done many tens of thousands of miles set at 20 BTDC, I'm happy to stick with that setting using 95 RON. As I've said there might be regional variations for different model years, different fuels systems and so on. I don't see a problem at all. If your car runs well, doesn't ping/k and has no flat spots, good fuel consumption and so-on, then all is well. If you're not happy with the 'factory/haynes' recommendation then set it to your own spec. If you're on a very tight budget and low octane fuel is cheaper in your area then simply retard the timing until there's no ping/king under low vacuum, high load conditions.

Hi Jeszek, You might be right (after all, both Hayners and Subaru might be wrong) but I'm reasonably confident my infomation is correct for my UK spec car. I'm not saying all EA82 Hitachi carb cars should run at 20 BTDC (there's regional variation), just that that's what I do because it's recommended by both Haynes and Subaru. The car runs well on it too. Our 'regular' 4star unleaded is a 95 RON fuel with 'super' being 97 RON (a very few UK garages sell a 99 RON but it's expensive) so there will be regional differences in timing advance given that the highest 'super' in some countries is less than our 'reguar'. According to (might be wrong) Wikipedia, Honduras 'regular; is 87 RON so naturally the timing will be less advanced than for a UK spec car. I think the USA has the greatest choice but I'm sure USA posters will know their local octane ranges. I suspect that the regional Subaru recommendations take account of fuel variations and thus the timing settings will be a best compromise for 'your' neck of the woods.

Out and about again! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DTPrECMphI