Lightfoot's Build Thread - New carb and interior

[El Presidente]

Backstory:

 

After seeing a lifted Subaru wagon on Craigslist, I had to have one, so I found this USMB and started doing my homework. I ended up buying a 87' GL Wagon this last Feb. for $500. It had the stock hitachi carb and it BARELY ran, which required a tow home from Belfair.

 

Its original name was Sh--box, it was swamped offroad and smelled like mildew, swamp water and perfume..timing belt was two teeth off, had elecrtical issues in the dash, and the windows leaked helping the mildew. It also had mismatched tires, howling front bearings, stripped hub and spindle on the drivers CV axle, leaky steering rack, mangled exhaust system, fubar'd carb, brakes on the way out and stiff ujoints in the driveline..

 

Here it is after fixing all the above, with new carb and interior.

Edited October 23, 2011 by El Presidente

[El Presidente]

#1 upgrade - Holley 5200 carb(DFAV Weber)

 

Since it barely ran well enough to drive around the block and into my old garage due to carb issues I figured I'd start there. I read on the board about the Weber upgrades and heard a few mentions of the DFAV(aka..Holley 5200) which came stock on many early 70's cars including Pintos and Vega's. The DFAV also fits better on a Subaru because the throttle linkage is on the same side as the Hitachi and the choke isn't on the front, interfering with the power steering pump reservoir. I Picked up one from picknpull for $38 and gave it a good thorough soak in barrymans carb dip. Its off a 74' pinto with a 2.3L

 

The throttle shafts were very loose(which is a common problem on the DFAV's) and I repaired them by using JB weld. Its done by stripping the throttle shafts down and covering them with autobody wax, then you roughen up the inside of the throttle shaft holes with sandpaper and smear a good helping of prepared JB weld in there. Then put the shafts back in and let it cure. The wax will help them release once the JB weld cures. The shafts now have a perfect fit and if you need to loosen them back up, just put some rubbing compound or toothpaste on the shafts and work them around. I originally made mine to tight and when the motor was cold the shafts would get sticky, so I had to spend some time loosening them up.

 

I also removed the choke pull-off to simplify the carb. I ported the stock carb opening out as much as I can and then I made an adapter plate using two pieces of aluminum bar and perfectly matched the adapter to the enlarged intake opening and the carb gasket. I didn't take pictures of it during fabrication, but I'll post pics if anyone wants, I'll just have to pull the carb. I made a thottle cable holder using some 1 1/4"x1/4" bar. I used a "cable to ballstud" adapter so I could use the stock ford ballstud. Here it is:

 

 

 

Now it runs great!

[El Presidente]

#2 Upgrade - Interior swap

 

I don't have any pics of the old interior, but it looked just like any other haggared interior you'd see at the JY. The interior was blue, but was mostly grey from sun damage and dirt. A buddy had a 85 2wd DL wagon he was scrapping with a really clean brown interior, so I took everything, the seats, the dash, the carpet, the steering coluum and wheel, and every other stitch of trim and plastic. It took me a about 8-9 hours to take my old interior out and reintall my "newer" one. I like the 85-86 interiors better, but I kept the 87+ HVAC buttons and intrument cluster, which I like better than the 85-86's.

 

The wire harnesses all match up and the dash plugged right in. All the interior pieces fit great except a few things: The 87 ignition lock had a metal tab I had to cut off to fit in the 85 coluum and the interior door panels need to be cut to fit around the mirror bases..in 85-86 the mirrors are differnt than 87+.

 

Its not that hard to do and well worth the effort. I'd take pictures, but its just a 85 GL interior.

[one eye]

update #3

It wheeled and did a hell of good Job............

 

Jeff