Subaru_dude

Good to hear. Sounds like I made the right choice. I think keeping extras is a great idea, will make a trip to Subaru asap.

Ah-hah!!! I couldn't remember what the stuff was that I had read about, and I remember reading a thread about it that you started I believe. That's been quite a few years ago that I read about it.

I fashioned some gaskets out of the black rubber-like gasket material and coated them with about 8 coats of Permatex copper spray-a-gasket. Hopefully it holds up for a while. The stuff seemed pretty tachy, so I'm thinking it will do fine for a while. http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/permatex-copper-spray-a-gasket-hi-temp-adhesive-sealant-10-oz-80697/7160111-p?cm_mmc=ACQ-_-Google-_-GPLA-_-7160111&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=7160111&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw=&gclid=CPfHjuOusb0CFUtk7Aodv1IAvw#utm_source=acq&utm_medium=google&utm_campaign=gpla&utm_content=7160111

^^Sounds like my ticket right there!!!^^

Last time I used the cardboard gaskets from autozone they lasted about a month. Did you do anything special to them?

I'm not able to make a trip to the local dealer which is an hour away just to order intake manifold gaskets that will take a week to get there. I'm stuck with e-bay and the internet. Any good ones out there? I guess a better question is, which ones aren't cardboard? These seem like a good deal but I have no idea what they're made of. http://www.ebay.com/ctg/Victor-MS15269-Engine-Intake-Manifold-Gasket-Set-/77116729 Any input is much appreciated. I need to get this thing back on the road. I'm tired of fixing it!!! I gotta go to work!!!!

Replaced adapter plate gaskets on EA81, no difference. Next will be intake manifold gaskets.

After somebody liked my post from sept 10th 2009, it brought to my attention this question. Can't remember the size but it may have been an inch and a half larger than stock. Not lifted but woulda been nice. That car has since been crushed which was a very dumb decision, but I was sick and tired of having an old car and at the time I had a '96 Outback which has since been destroyed in a rollover. Now I'm stuck in a love/hate relationship with an '84 hardtop... Edit: Completely forgot to actually update what I have done recently. I let my friend drive it and he shoved it into first gear while 2nd was already wound out, and then after that it didn't run right and about five minutes later would hardly run at all. I think the high revs may have caused the adapter plate gaskets to fail which I had used blue permatex on. Taking it apart I can see that the blue stuff doesn't hold on too well. Tried replacing the gaskets with paper cutouts and not using sealant, and I quickly realized after starting it that I needed to use some sealant. I just coated them with permatex 2 and am letting them dry.

Yo Ocean Park, Washington!!! Give me the summer to make some cash and we'll see what happens... would LOVE to have a rust free hardtop.

I used vaseline and they did NOT want to stay in place at all. Grease doesn't seem that much thicker. They kept tilting to one side and falling off. It's a whole lot easier to just have the motor leaning on the opposite head, then the rockers really do just sit there in place.

Weber if you have the money.

GIVE ME THAT CAR, NOW!!!! haha j/k here's mine... http://i.imgur.com/6jD3b52.jpg

What a relief it's only that... I think you'll still have to pull the cam tower but at least you're not looking at another head gasket job. I'll tell you what, I hear about people doing the headgaskets in the car and they never mention how terribly difficult it is to get those stupid rockers to stay in place while they put the cam tower on. It's like they conveniently forget... or want to make working on Subarus seem even easier than it is so people are less intimidated to work on them. When that happens they dig into it and it's way more difficult than they thought and before you know it they're selling it. AND GUESS WHO'S BUYING IT. IT'S A CONSPIRACY!!!!! Anyway... yeah.

A Legacy is a completely different cluster I believe and won't fit. You can go with a Loyale or regular GL cluster though.

I'll have to take pics, it's kind of hard to explain. I do know that there's a total of three lines coming off of the fuel filter and one goes to the carb, one comes from the firewall and the other goes back into the firewall. And between the two that are going/coming into/from the firewall T into eachother. Freakin weird.

I've got my passenger side pcv hose running to the air filter box and the drivers side running straight to the valve. Seems to work just fine and it's simpler than the setup you've got.

That Leather Edition touring GL is really really nice. That exhaust needs to be opened up a bit, and those valves adjusted methinks. Also, Weber. Then I'd drive it. I bet it'd make a great mail car...

Don't forget the EA61... and the EA71s were also used in the second gen Leones in DL trim.

Just cleaned the Weber air filter, used the K&N cleaning kit. Made a big difference in how it drives too. Also recently got a tank of straight non-ethanol gas and the valves are MUCH quieter. Found a place to put my tank vent line too, I did have it plugged and the fuel system was building up extreme pressure. It would get so bad that the pressure was causing it to run rich which would cause it to run warmer than usual, and I'd have to pull over and relieve pressure by cracking the gas cap. That usually resulted in being soaked with gasoline, so I'm really glad that problem is solved.

Those EA81s are awesome engines for the following reasons. A) They don't have a timing belt or chain, they have internal gears. Will never jump time. B/ Super easy to work on. Water pump and oil pump is super easy to get to, not to mention there's a ton of room on all sides of the motor. C) They're pretty darn bulletproof and pretty peppy with a Weber carb. You could also take the the time and money you were going to put towards an engine swap and put it towards swapping throttle body fuel injection into that car, also known as SPFI. That engine with the proper higher compression pistons from a SPFI car and of course the fuel injection system itself is a strong engine. Of course, an EJ22 swap has it's advantages as well. A) MOAR POWAH!!! An EJ22 in an EA81 body makes for a seriously quick car. Also has way better low end torque which is great for lifted rig applications. B/ More readily available parts because there's more EJ22s still around than there are EA81s. C) Fuel injection is really nice in cold weather. Of course, this point only holds its own if the EA81 it's being compared to is carbed. D) The ignition system in the EJ22 is far superior to the EA81. Coil pack and igniter instead of distributor and ignition module. Far more reliable. I am going to guess the EA81 will get better fuel economy than an EJ22. I'm consistently getting 35mpg hwy out of my Weberized EA81 '84 DL hardtop (2 door without B-pillars). Also, if the EA81 that's in the car is super worn out and you can't find a good replacement EA81, that's another reason to go EJ. Edit: Because B with ) makes a stupid little sunglasses face.

I agree that they can cost more than they are worth. I'm looking for a beater Brat if anything...

I went to go look at an '84 Brat today. It was painted black with some kind of shiny specks in it, but the paint job looked fairly well done. Rusted out tailgate, and the front corners of the wheel wells in the bed were rusted through. From the inside, where the shock mounts to the well seems solid. Small amount of rust in the spare tire area, rocker panels rotted out, but the undercarriage looked to be in good shape. The suspension parts, exhaust, axles etc all had surface rust. He said it had been sitting a while but he had no idea how long. The seats are worn out, and the dash is cracked. 230,000 miles, and it wouldn't start. It would crank, and it sounded like it had slightly lower compression in one of the cylinders. He said he just drove it until it slowly lost power. Probably just a fuel filter or something. Now for the good... Snowflake wheels, the tall roll bar and the jump seats are there with head rests. Like I said, there's some minor rust but nothing serious. I tried to pull the carpet back but there's also some black sound dampening that's pretty well stuck to the floor pan. It was definitely wet in the floor, and smells of mildew. It has cruise, and a cassette player. Also has all the chrome bed trim in the back, but not installed. I didn't think to check and see if it was all there either. I didn't even make an offer. I just told him what I thought it was worth but it wasn't what I was looking for. I told him 800-1000 and he laughed and said there was no way he'd let it go for that amount. I think that's a very fair price considering I know of a 4spd d/r EA81 GL wagon with less rust for $650. I just don't like black on a Brat, and that speckle crap looks terrible... it's like a giant hot wheels. What do you guys think it's worth in parts?

I had a 3at Loyale back in high school and with me, my sister and 2 friends and their football equipment it was a tad over 800lbs. Interstate travel would have been impossible, that car was an absolute slug with anymore than a couple people in it. I have towed a 700lb trailer with my 2wd 5spd DL with an EA71 and that did OK, but hills would have been really hard. I would say it did better than the 3at Loyale though but not by a very large margin. If you have a 5spd you'll probably be fine. Hell even the 3at will get the job done... I think a dana 60 only weighs around 300lbs.

These sound like a dream come true... can this be the real deal? Let us pray...

I really don't know if it hurts the engine, but retarding the timing will give you CRAZY torque down low. Back when I didn't know anything about timing, I had mine set pretty much right on top dead center. You could let it idle up 10 degree hills no problem. Ran like crap in any other situation though.