Steptoe's photos

You are not likely to find 85 BRAT specific wiring, so we all tend to use the nearest match as a guide with expectation there may be some differences and to check stuff yourself if in doubt

good catch. I have no answer for you. Have you the other side still installed to take some measures as it stand for a fitted base measure ?

i believe the above to be true

the speed sensor i have found real easy to find at the back of every EA82 speedo head - carb and efi that I have owned - just not done EJ conversion. If you want external sensor, research a pulse sending kit the VW guys use with our engines in their old beasts, or after market cruise control magnet that fits to rotating shafts or flanges

the EA82 dist into EA81 involved retaining EA81 dist drive cog to install on EA82 dist in it's correct position, chop the excess off below drive cog and chop a hold down ear. That is all I recall reading. Sounds like a plan to retain all the spfi and let it run on EA81. The spfi manifold touches the EA81 block casings so trim some meat off underside of spfi intake manifold, in a dry fit no gasket, no gasket goo dry fit first

the sensor is usually a single wire under the thermostat. another sensor for auto choke off or pollution stuff is elsewhere, much fatter and screws into a bracket and not actually making contact with coolant. Follow GDs suggestion yet ?

and the lazier way to see if it is a fuel line thing - a quality fuel system cleaner additive for starters, then know that you likely need to replace fuel filters after a tank or two of fuel. 8mm nuts on the tank sender at the rear of fuel tank, with a pretty long life rubber seal. Remove it when tank is very close to empty or empty for safety to simply view the internal condition. Should be shiny new galvanised look about it. My worst looked like black and brown barnacle cladding. That was a throw away. People suggest rubber fuel lines can collapse inside causing blockages.

thanks for not writing up a stupid post - the more details - the better ! I now usually just ask for a compression test result - less typing for me to start with. I also had an 84 model and some 24 years ago I suspect it was for sale for an intermittent problem, similar, but not same as yours. Mine ran fine during the day temps but at 4am in winter bogged down and only idle, no take off power. Short story is that I used air compressed into a fire extinguisher vessel as I had no compressor myself. Isolated all steel fuel line sections by removing and replacing at same time, the rubber fuel hoses. With rubber hoses off, I blew air from front to back end of each section. When it came to fuel pump to tank - I got some resistance, then heard the blockage clear up on the floor of clean, empty fuel tank. It was rusty crud that I think was lining the tube or sock and shrunk in the cold, blocking off sufficient fuel delivery. Fixed my problem and the story has fixed a few more. Compression test might be easier, but near useless in this case

There were different standard head castings over the years and the earlier heads used slightly smaller valves.Some had what could be described as flat braces seen on the top side between central area and outer as if to brace where inlet manifold bolts on. So much of these is so common, it might be your luck to get something different. HGs the same right through EA81 carb models. Can you add a pic of the head spark plug side to a post ?

see any round marks in casting of block halves ? I think EA81 had them and will have a two digit like 84 If you think you have hydraulic lifters .. I seem to recall my hydraulic liftered EA81 imported from Japan had mild steel push rods, whereas our standard in Australia was solid lifters and they used aluminium tube with steel ends capped the alloy tube for push rods.

yeah, disco on ausubaru built an EA82T, ceracoating tops of used pistons among many other refinements and he got a refined EA82T but after some time felt he needed to put some UEC through the intake, on the side of the road for maybe the first time in his life. It stalled and stayed stalled. Then clean up transferred gunk to the valve stems because it could not be burnt in a wet ignition engine - not enough revs up caused it to stall, causing him to strip for diagnosis and that was the end of a a sweet ride and his play with Subaru's

Well, I see it differently If you set the cam and crank cogs up on a theoretical engine as a boxer and measured say 300mm from two points, one of crank, one of cam, then shave a mm off Your belt is a fixed dimension in new state, so when all is buttoned up after the shave, the EA82 dizzy side cam is going to be turned about one mm clockwise off perfect cam to crank timing and the turbo side head once shaved is going back one mm anti clockwise, altering your degreeing of the cams different to each other ! I used to work with a very clever engine builder a long time ago, and got much lectures and instruction on these sort of things. A straight engine would be adjustable to compensate but not a flat boxer. So much difference you really won't notice a thing

leave the nut on by a few threads if you value your chompers. A gentle hammer tap to the top side of the retainer nut can also help shock things loose as you wrestle the wheel off

Yeah, QikRX did not share the autopsy from memory after the thing stopped on the engine dyno. Another RX fella simply slapped the turbo on an mpfi goer to get more torque down low. Next thing I read is the thing is for sale with a suspected spun bearing. You may have missed my point on timing belts and massive shaved blocks and decks. The timing belt structure is a fixed dimension, so when you remove face material and reassemble valve train, in order for a new tight belt to fit, it is going to marginally cause the cam to crank timing to be out. Retarding one side, advancing the other side on a boxer - marginally. You may have to play physically to get what I am saying or chop 10mm out to exaggerate the effect of what I am getting at - of an old donk nobody really cares much about

We got analogue clocks in the wagon and utes, but from memory my 84 sedan was orange digital

I wonder about Ferps timing belts after shaving so much off the heads. I know the tensioners take up the slack, but the cams must retard or advance the closer the cam gets to the block as the cam belt teeth dimensions do not change ?? There are others who have slapped a turbo on carb compression, and wound up the boost and say they got 50,000 miles before hurting the internals - I think this depends on the condition of the donor also. A Mt Isa, QLD, Australia fellow built an EA82T with better rods and pistons (forged) , wound up boost to about 20 psi, added nitrous oxide and saw 400 HP on the engine dyno before something distorted and jambed things up inside. It ran afterwards I hear, so nothing actually broke or twisted, but he went off the scene after that.

EA82 models only weighed about the 1000-1100 kg region

The EA82M I have, M is for MONGREL, turbo heads and cams on carb block, using carb dizzy and LPG as the fuel, has been running at 22 degrees for years but if I load up with a trailer and some gear and just cruise up a long highway haul up hills, something goes wrong and I lose power at standard temps. If I stop and let it cool down to cold, I can do return trip, even heavier, yet down the inclines, I do not get the power loss. How heavy the VW Camper is may also dictate what timing you use

do you know how to check for dizzy rotor spinning, or not as the case may be if that side timing belt not right

which hoses? I think they are the same throughout but not sure

I have done three of four non factory set-ups, all likely different to each other if truth or memory, was known. One current one, the rear vent, T pieces to the PCV valve on it's way to my air box which is mounted to the right front corner of your picture .So, when PCVV opens up , it can take from whatever is in this line. The rocker hoses ...shoot, I need to look to confirm, but I usually have them feed the filtered insides of air box to save unfiltered crud somehow making it's way to where it should not. I can picture in my mind, one rocker hose dropping in on the top of the box where any oil would spoil the filter element - but it does not. Engine uses oil instead, unsure if it is rings or valve stem seals - been too unmotivated to pull out just to see if seal replacement sorts things Essentially I see it as you need to allow the induction draw to pull the fumes from the rocker and rear vents to burn up any fumes while you have pedal go pedal action. When decelerating and no acc pedal action, the PCV valve gets to take over, and draw air from the rear vent or air box. I think if you have that covered, with a healthy engine, you are sorted. Try not to over think simple...pot calling kettle same colour here

GD is correct and I agree that I have put more money into my EA82s than what they are worth, but it is all I have in my shed

hmmm, the size of pic and my eyes ? I cannot quite clearly see the left hand side of picture where the inlet manifold looks to be the twin tube inlet of the twin port mpfi heads and inlet set -up.....but, it does look to be and not the single tube of carb and spfi set ups. I am curious as to what the carby is, though I cannot see this combo fitting under the bonnet of a Subaru. To comment on the PCV ... I have modified a few from standard in the mpfi twin port systems. I treat both rocker cover ports as OUT flow from crankcase and also the mpfi block only vent port at the rear of the block upper, non dizzy side - treat it as OUT . They can all feed to a catch can if you like, then vent the catch can to a line hose that goes from air filter box clean . filtered air side to the PCV valve in the manifold below your carby if it is still there. I use non Subaru-standard air filter boxes out of V6 GM Australian models that allow for easy remote filtering and hook up of PCV hoses etc, so understand your queries

good to know. just going by looks of that photo, i have one that length, and another about 10-15 mm longer

I have had the inside pipe of the Y pipe cause my noise problems. I have never done an autopsy on the how and why but I found to drill a hole in outer skin that we all see and screw a metal fixing screw through it and either into or against the inner skin. Noise gone, until screw came out. Next screw got silicon sealant to hold it in place