DerFahrer

Again, I'm still learning Gen1 stuff... I was just under the impression that 76-77 cars had the turn signals mounted inside the headlights, like so: But what you're all saying is the change to the signals mounted outside the headlights... happened mid-year 77. Right?

Yes, I made it to, and was able to run in, the 2006 SE region of the Subaru Challenge, in Gainesville, FL, in Patti. Not having run the Challenge since 2003 in Ginger, and not even having legitimately autocrossed in over a year, I was itching for some practice, and a chance to test out the suspension stuff for real instead of just goofing around on the street. I didn't mention it on this board, but I've had a helluva time with my Legacy these past couple weeks, as I had to change out the crossmember because of a broken steering rack bolt. I did virtually NOTHING else the weekend before the event, except for turn wrenches. But when all was said and done, she had a brand-new, OEM, steering rack (with new U-joint), a brand-new, OEM, crossmember, a resealed power steering pump, a resealed oil pan, and a tune-up and new pads and rotors. It was a very time-consuming, physically exhausting, and expensive couple weeks, but when I finally realized the car was capable of making it to and participating in the Challenge, I somehow found it all worth it. Due to the WRX springs and Turbo rear swaybar, and my honest nature, I signed up for the Challenge in STS (Street Touring) class. Most likely, I could have signed up for a Stock class without anyone saying anything, but I, as long as some other honest people, felt I should sign up for the class that allows for those particular mods. After the work was done to the car, I took it to an alignment shop through a friend who was able to get me a better deal, and who promised me that they would grant my request for custom alignment settings. So I figured I was finally going to get my -1º of front camber that I wanted. But the dumb bastards at the shop said they were not able to get my camber set that far negative, which I know for a fact to be BS. I was angry, and I was tempted to argue enough to not pay for the alignment, since they had ignored my requests as a customer, but with only 3 days till the Challenge, I let it go, and just decided to run the car as it was. So, fast forward to Saturday morning, as I'm getting ready to run. Tire pressures set at 40f/38r, brand-new helmet from Pep Boys , all systems go on the car. Heat 2 gets ready to run, and so do I. First run was a 65.263. Getting used to the car with all the new stuff on it, and also getting used to the suspension feel, since I hadn't actually raced the car since. I drove pretty good, but knew I could do better. Second run... I lost my power steering at the start . Took the first corner and had to bear-hug the wheel to get it to turn. I kept going, but cautiously to see what would happen. After that turn, the power steering magically reappeared, feeling lighter than it did a second ago. I continued on, and because of my issue, did a 67.260 on this run. Good thing they only take the best score! Third run, made double-triple-extra-super-duper sure the steering was bled properly, and decided to try again. Car had power steering all the way around the track, and I was already getting used to the way the car handled. 64.043 seconds. I set a goal for myself to break into 63 seconds for the 4th and final run. Final run, again, car drives great. The first three runs, I came in a little too hard into a left-hander after exiting a slalom and got a little squirrely (despite my camber settings, this car can oversteer!), but this time I tracked through the turn smooth. Kept on through it, and put a little extra on for the last couple turns before the time boxes. I drive around to see the timeboard, and... I not only broke 63, but 62 too! 62:737. I'm ecstatic! After the 2nd heat, we broke for lunch, and they posted the first half of the results up. My class was already done running, so the 3rd spot out of 4 that I had secured myself in was already a done deal. No, I didn't win, or even get a trophy, but neither was I expecting to. I was in fact quite happy that I was only 2 seconds behind an 05 Legacy 2.5i, in a beat-up 91 Legacy. As the day progressed, I saw some pretty sweet stuff... 2.5RS-T's everywhere, Saab 9-2X's, old Impreza 1.8's, etc. Some guys drove absolutely fantastic (a friend of mine ran the event too in his 91 Legacy Turbo, and came 2nd in class and 24th overall), while others didn't (many spinouts and one excursion off road, almost into a ditch full of water). In the end, with overall time, PAX factored in, I came 87th out of 124 cars. Again, I'm not in any way disappointed, because I drove as fast as my ability and experience would let me, I also got some practice to improve those two things, I do have a good number of WRXs/STIs sitting below me, I got to find out how my car drives at its current limit, and above all, I had fun. Hopefully next year, my car will look a lot less like rump roast

The position of the crank sprockets relative to each other means nothing. It's been a while since I've done an EA82 timing belt, but I've never paid any attention to that. If the keyway on the crank is okay, the crank itself is okay, and the sprockets are okay (i.e. not bent or dented up in that area), then you're fine. Do you have an exhaust leak?

*scratching head* You sure that's a 77?

Different 1.8, unibrook

Sorry man, I was skimming the thread...

Hopefully the guy gets his mullet caught in a woodchipper or something similarly gruesome.

Well, first off, your front hubs need those axles installed to keep themselves together. If they just sit there with no axles in them, you'll destroy the wheel bearings, in probably less than 1000 miles. Now, you COULD just take the outer axle stub apart from the rest of the axle and stick it in the hub and put the castle nut back on it, and that would take care of that problem... But... as for the rest of the drivetrain: You could wear out your 4WD mechanisms in your transmission prematurely. One of the more knowledgeable guys can say for sure, I could be wrong. I would also say that you'd put extra strain on your rear diff and axles, because now they're dealing with 100% of the engine's power instead of just 50%. But... we're talking about a Gen1 that has around 60-70hp in the first place, so that might not be that big of a deal. Why do you want to go RWD so bad?

You do know, though, that you can't just "take your front axles out" and automatically have a safely-operating RWD car.

Top out at 85 because your engine is at redline, or top out at 85 below redline, but the car can't go any faster? If it's the former, then you could MAYBE go for higher gearing. Does your 1600 have the starter on top or the driver's side? If it's the top, then you'll have a LOT of work ahead of you to make an EA81/82 tranny work. If the starter is on the driver's side, then a tranny swap might be easier. I'm still learning my Gen1 cars, so I dunno if maybe Subaru changed to the later tranny for all cars in 1980 or just the new Gen2's. Now... if it's the latter, then sorry, but that's as fast as your car can go. Putting taller gearing in it could actually make it SLOWER because the engine will have to work harder to maintain that same speed. My Legacy, for instance, can do 112 mph, just like all the magazines said it could. Not because it's bouncing off the rev limiter (it's sitting around 5k at that speed) but because that's all it's got. It's using all its 130hp to approach and maintain that speed. If you wanted speed and horsepower, you shouldn't have bought a Brat in the first place

They're excellent motors. As good as the 2.2 liter engine they're based off of (have virtually EVERYTHING in common actually except cylinder bore). I have one sitting in my garage that I hope to have a turbo on and in a GF Impreza wagon before next year is over. It has 230k miles and I was told it ran fine before being removed, it was just leaking oil everywhere.

Manarius is right, the later EJ22's are single port. I wanna say 97 and later myself, but I could be wrong. NOW... a later model Legacy exhaust will fit on an older Legacy. I have a stock 98 Legacy GT catback exhaust on my 91 Legacy. It was mainly because I got a really good deal on it, and it had the larger single-tip, which I preferred over the two smaller tips.

I have a good amount of original documentation on mine too. I love how you adjusted the clutch cable and got it driveable. Does that not put you on top of the world??

The head volume is one of the things that determines compression ratio. The EJ25 heads have a larger volume than the EJ22 heads, and thus, would decrease the compression ratio.

Even though it would be a decrease.

If it looks JUST like Paul's wagon, it would have to be a 78, coz the 76-77's had the single round light with the grill-mounted turn signals.

People, you're being a little ridiculous. First off, this 1.5R version is never going to come to the US. SOA doesn't need us to tell them that 104hp is not enough power for American roads. Second, this car is available in Europe. Those of you who live in Europe should understand why this car is available there. You all have much less room than we do, you all do less overall highway driving than we do, and you all have waaaay higher gas prices than we do. But you all have much better porn... Ahem, anyway ... The theory that a smaller engine having to work harder to move a car, and therefore using more fuel is flawed. As some have said, an engine technically runs at its most efficient at WOT anyway, and furthermore, the basic laws of physics state that a smaller engine moves less air, and therefore will need less fuel. I don't care what else you say, that is still the truth. I'd have a 1.5R for the hell of it. Two of the cars I have in my possession have less than 100hp, so I don't see how 104hp would be a problem.

If so, great! If not, why? I know, it's a dumb question. I'll get into more detail tomorrow...

You needn't worry about power in a rallycross event. I can attest to that firsthand

I think people jump on the Heli-coil bandwagon too fast. I've either ruined threads myself, or found threads that were ruined, a total of 5 times. Once in this exact same situation, exhaust stud stripped out of my XT's driver's-side head, and the other times were where either drivetrain or suspension components mounted to the body. EVERY TIME, I have just retapped the threads to the original size, doing it very slowly, carefully, and using the proper cutting oil, then used a good amount of Loctite. On my XT, I really couldn't care less if that stud never comes out of the head again, so I used red Loctite. I've never had a problem with any of my thread-tapping work for years.

Yours is stickshift though Joost. GD, wouldn't the FT4WD 4EAT cars have a clutch pack, and not a viscous coupling?

What kind of car is it? I don't know of any diagnostic "beeps." On cars made till 1994, the Check Engine Light would flash the code at you. On 1995-up cars, you have to hook a scantool up to it. Did the mechanic possibly forget to hook a sensor back up?

I can't remember for sure, but I coulda sworn that the FT4WD XT Turbo that was in my area had a diff lock. It's gone now, so I'll never know.

That was my first thought on reading this thread.

The engine probably won't feel as smooth with a plain pulley in place of a harmonic balancer.