New to Subaru, Am I Blessed or Cursed?

[Hudmud]

Hello, just wanted to introduce myself as a new (older Gen) Subaru owner. I have recently acquired an 82 and 84 GL wagon(s) and will have a ton of questions as I embark on my restoration/maintenance projects.

I have just perused the last 30 pages of posts in this catagory and if nothing else, I must admit, you guys are fanatics!

Power to ya!! I may end up becoming a full fledged member myself???

Any way, I am having a similar surging, hesitation, jumpy tach, fuel/electrical/vacuum problem with the 84 as I have noticed others post about. (I think I have it narrowed down to that!!)

I have replaced the fuel filters, installed a new accelerator pump piston, (previous owner used cheap rebuild kit) and rebuilt the faulty vacuum advance on the dist using a rubber inner tube as a diaphram. The hitachi dist has some play in it but I cleaned and greased it for what it is worth and overall the car runs better than it did before but it still isn't right. The plugs look really good but the wires (1) is torn up and so new wires are coming tommorrow.

Now for a couple questions regarding 84 GL Wagon 1.8 MT 4WD:

1) Is there a correct wire routing for the plug wires?

2) Is there a reference source that would tell me what parts are interchangable between years and models of Subaru or other makes?

3) Will any modifications need to be made other than rims to switch from 13" to 14" tires?

I'm in Wisconsin and there ain't many Subarus in this part of the country so I need to aquire as much info as possible so that I may proceed with my projects as expeditiously and inexpensively as humanly possible.

Thanks and I look forward (hopefully) to becoming a part of the family which this message board certainly is!!

Rock and keep rolling!!!!

[northguy]

Hudmud, welcome to the board. There are several members in WI, and a bunch in the midwest. If you play around with the search function you will be able to dig up answers to most any question you may have about Subbies in the archives. You can also access the subaru repair manual for information. Good luck and welcome once again.

[mcbrat]

welcome! Where in WI are you? we are having a Midwest Subaru Gathering April 24th in Western Iowa. There is a thread about it in the Meet/Greet Forum.

 

for your wagons, if it has the same (Gen2) front end body style, parts will for the most part interchange...

 

some parts are a bit different. your 82 will have solid rotors, where your 84 would have the vented rotors. the calipers and pads are different as well. but the whole set-up will swap between them.

 

no other mods needed for the 14's, except finding a set of pug wheels. or you can go the 6 lug route and you'll need to modify your drums/hubs....

[bratman2]

Your blessed. I know how you feel, in eastern NC Subarus are pretty rare also and thats with my family owning 3, probably half the Subs in the whole county. The pug rims are a blessing if you can find a set, took me three years to find the 505 turbo steel rims I have. A 195-70-14 should fit easily with no other modification, the 195-75-14 Cooper allterrains I have would just touch the front edge of the fenders if you turned and hit a bump at the same time and that is with a 1-inch body lift. A slight fender edge roll on the lip cured that. Good luck on your projects.

[88xt6joe]

You are blessed Subarus are the best. Where are you at in WI in live in the west central part. Maybe your close we can chat.

 

Joe

[heartless]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Subaru's!! And, yes, Our World IS Flat!!!

 

So where are ya - I too am in Wisconsin, near dead center of the state. Have 5 Subie wagons here, ranging from 85 - 89.

 

These are great little cars! Altho sometimes they can be frustrating - when they up and wont start - but they arent that hard to fix - a lot of fun to drive, the wagons especially are very versatile.

 

The folks here are great, and very helpful, but do use the search function - 9 times outta 10 somebody has asked already, usually more than once... :-p

[Hudmud]

Thank you for your welcomes and replies.

 

I am in South Central WI, Princeton to be exact.

 

The reason I was asking about the 14"s was because I just bought a brand new set of P-205/75/14 that I put on an Aerostar that is now after 2 weeks with the new treds, requiring more repairs than I care to invest so I was hoping I might be able to use them on the subbie. It sounds like a little more than slight modification would be required in order to use these tires. Thanks for the info Bratman2.

 

As far as parts exchange is concerned, I am not sure what a (Gen2) body style is as compared to ???? This is my first exposure to Subaru. The body and under carriage on the 82 is rust city so there is no salvage there... it's primarily my ice fishing machine. I am interested in learning which body parts interchange but my main concern right now is mechanical soundness. Thanks McBrat.

 

The parts I am curious abought are such things as the distributor, carb, all brake components, wiper motors, radiator, starter, alt, AC , windshield, tail lights, blower motor, heater core, fuel pump, H2O pump, drive train and axel, ect, etc..... in other words, in my used car and junkyard searches, which makes and models are going to have parts that I can use on my 84? Is there not a reference manual or some web site that I might be able to glean this info from?

As an example of what I mean, while searching for a replacement vacuum advance for the distributor I learned that Subaru used both Hitachi and Nippon. Do the advances interchange? MT, Auto, Turbo make a difference? Any other make vehicles use the Hitachi dist that I have? I know I have a long road here but I'd like to go as the crow flies if you know what I mean.

 

Thanks again for the replies, there's no place else to go but "onward!"