sparkyboy

Very cool! Always great to get a beloved car past a milestone

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/165403-free-you-deal-w-shipping-xt6-wheelstires-seats-dashboard/ I must have thought that he had the gauges too for some reason. Would you be able to wire up that digital dash to your ls swap? For god sake no body mods except maybe tasteful flares to fit wide tires,simply dropping her a couple of inches would look sweet That car would be sleeper as hell, smashing porcshes and corvettes.

That ride is going to be sick when you complete her. Pics please! There is a guy here giving away an XT dash in CT :-) And some dude on CL in New Mexico or some place like that with an 88 parts car

https://boulder.craigslist.org/cto/d/subaru-outback-llbean-93k/6430148886.html This one is cool if she wants something nicer than that. Then you have some money if and when you find that 84 you would love to have. Or maybe buy someone a really nice Christmas present. 10k will easily get you two nice Subarus

I noticed that you put family quotations, that means you don't have kids huh? You guys been married long? I would guess not. This is the first ad i found. See if she likes something like this: https://boulder.craigslist.org/cto/d/1998-subaru/6433478466.html

See if you can get a car for your wife for around 6 or 7k. You can certainly get an 05-09 with an h6 for that, and those have timing chains instead of a belt, but the 2.5s are still good. Why no turbo? My buddy has an 05 xt and she's a sweetheart! Anyway save some money for yourself for something like this, but the second gen GLs are getting scarce! http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/165400-85-subaru-wagon-gl-leone-4wd-dual-range-5-speed-std-for-sale/?fromsearch=1

Well he never really specified how new the car has to be, if I had 10k to spend on a car, I would personally spend around 4k on a very nice, low mileage 96 or 97 outback or early forester with a 2.2, they do still exist amd come up on CL from time to time. Spend 1k at a shop getting a new t belt and everything. Then I can spend five or six k on something really cool.

Get another 80s sube :-) They are great with the ej22 swap. In fact there is a gl-10 with an automatic in Wyoming or something (not sure where you are located) but alas you don't want a turbo... For way less than 10k you can get a nice mid 90s outback or a first gen forester. Just get a 2.2, 2.0 or 1.8 and you won't have to worry about head gaskets. But if you find something good with a 2.5 just get it, they are still good engines. My 99 obw had the 2.5 and she never let me down. But certainly install new head gaskets for peace of mind. Oh and 200,000 miles is just getting broken in for a Subaru. You can have an earlier one, which is better because they are non interference, for around 4k for a really nice one. Imho subes started getting ugly after 99. I have an 86 GL with an ej22 swap and she is fantastic, i would definitely take her over a newer Subaru! Cheers man!

Is there a link to the build? I'm wondering how the torque tube was installed on a Subaru engine

Good find man! There are not many of those body styles left driving despite the fact that they built them for 9 years. It breaks my heart to see one in the junkyard which is a rarity these days. I got my 86 gl a couple of years ago for $450, dual range like yours, and she ran great on her ea82 for about 10,000 miles until she skipped a tooth on the timing belt. Then last year over 8 months I did an ej22 swap. Now she hauls balls nicely and gets nearly 40 mpg on the highway, i did the math! The thing i love about these cars are that they are SO easy to work on, the engineering is simplicity at its finest. You can remove the entire engine and trans in a couple of hours working at a leisurely pace. You don't even need a hoist if you have a buddy help you lift. I helped my friend remove an automatic transmission from his e46 bmw and i was like wtf?

Haha! That's a funny story wagons! You'll find the right setup through trial and error winmag, you will be able to remove and replace your carb with your eyes closed if you can't already do that lol. I am lucky in that department, i had to rejet my Rochester monojet carb and got it right on the first try. Probably because there is only one jet, a simple lovely little carb that one. Keep it up boys! Soon we'll be helping fools pull their trucks out of the snow

It could be that the horn itself is just worn out, try power probing it or testing the wires with a multi meter and having a buddy hold the button down first before taking the steering wheel cover off. I ruined my horn on my old Camaro back in 96 when the avalanche won the Stanley cup haha!

Wagons, you are in boulder? Are you the guy with the dark yellow/beige 83 GL that i met at the Safeway a couple of weeks ago? Every car show i go to there is only one ea body Sube...if I happen to bring mine! Need some support to promote old school subes! Not all of us Subaru fans drive a slammed WRX! Haha! My GL gets more love at cars and coffee in Lafayette than my 77 Camaro! I need to join that subie club and see who wants to drive over mosquito pass. You guys been? 4x4 only, but when i was a kid me and my dad drove my moms 2wd auto 84 gl over that no problem! Happy wrenching

Good for you man, where do you live? If i could buy cars from the pick and pull here in Colorado, i would have about 50 cars by now! They used to let a person do that here, but not anymore unfortunately. I had a 99 outback with clunking in the front, i just ignored it like an idiot, because it was only at full throttle turning right, which i hardly ever did. then about 5,000 miles later she developed a violent shake, luckily she was auto so i slapped her into 2wd and limped her home. My front drive shaft u joint failed so badly it almost tore the driveshaft in half! Used one for $15 set me up proper until my ex gfs mom blew a head gasket and drove her until the engine got so hot, the needle was stuck past the h permanently. Ha! Happy subaruing!

+1 on the ej22 swap for the easiest way to have more power. It'll make your brat scream i promise! I did it on my 86 gl and don't regret it for a second. I can't speak on building up an ea81 as i have never done it myself, it would be cool and pretty sleeper but if i were to guess the swap would be less work and money. In fact you can probably at least break even for selling a good factory ea81. I got a donor car (t bone accident) for $500, parted the rest and came out even. With the adapter plate, fuel pump, new clutch, head gaskets and timing belt it cost me about $500. I drilled the flywheel myself. I see you are in AZ, if you are ever tooling around in CO, i have a good phase one ej22 and wiring harness (complete uncut, hardest part of the swap) i will sell you for cheap, $500. I have a video of the engine running before i pulled it. If i can do it anyone can. Food for thought, it would be cool to take your brat on a little road trip to get her a new engine, and trust me people will be geeked when you open the hood. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/162423-respect-for-the-ea81-and-performance-mods/?fromsearch=1 Remember this guy fellas? This is a funny read

That sucks man, nothing that can't be fixed hopefully. That bucking might just be timing or a carb issue. Odd that it wasn't present right away.

Vice grips till you find a new one!

Thanks golucky you called it.

Update, looked it over, fuse #5 caused the issue if anyone else experiences this

Hey there fellas, 2002 legacy sw Parking or running lamps don't come on at all. Every other light works. No matter what position the light switch is in, or the position of the switch on the top of the steering column. I know that switch on the column is supposed to turn on the parking lamps no matter if the key is in, so i am thinking that is the problem and the entire combo switch needs to be changed? I have a spare combo switch and will just swap the plugs to see if this fixes the problem tomorrow, but i am just wondering if anyone has experienced this particular issue. Pain in the rump roast to swap as the steering wheel has to come off, but whatever. Cheers boys

A heat gun will make that a five minute job, a plastic razor blade if the sticker is all cracked, but heat up an edge and peel the sticker rigjt off

Any external fuel pump will work, i have a bunch from the junkyard for my 86 gl (ej22 swap). It's a universal one that i worm clamped to the factory bracket sideways, and just extended the rubber lines a bit. But i have a factory one that i carry just in case it fails and i need to do a quick switch, i can tell you this from my experience, whenever i see a gl or loyale at the junkyard, i take ten minutes to grab the fuel pump and every single one has worked. So i guess what i am trying to tell you is to just grab any damn pump you can rig up and carry a spare, and drive the hell out out of one of the coolest wagons made! Congrats on the great deal btw

Very cool story and awesome ride! You have some cool subarus indeed. Dogs love subarus! :-)

That is a really cool picture of your Subaru!

I was once offered $2500 for my 86 GL wagon. She only has a homemade two inch lift but the reason I think this dude was so geeked on my car was because of the ej22 swap. Maybe I should have taken his offer, haha! But I spent 8 months doing the swap and I love her too much to let her go. Even here in boulder where it seems like one in three cars are subarus there are only a handful of that body style putting around anymore, and they built the damn things forever. I think these cars are most valuable in a trade situation, I would be open to trading for another muscle car. But I would probably soon be looking for another 80s sube for an ej swap project! These cars are really fantastic with that engine, the power is just right for most situations, if not excessive, but still gets great gas mileage.