1974 GL Coupe Restoration

[Zoriak]

Long time reader first time poster!

 

I've begun a restoration project on a Subaru 1974 GL Coupe that has a 1600 engine, and wanted to post it here.

And here's after I hosed it off a bit.

 

Engine needs a bit of cleaning, and the previous owner put a Weber carburetor on it, but for some odd reason completely disassembled the choke system, so I need to fix that.

 

Interior is pretty fantastic in my opinion, electrical is solid and there's only damage on the driver seat.

 

I've been looking online and this car is extremely hard to find parts for, if anyone has any tips they'd be much appreciated!

Just ordered new struts, rotors, brake calipers, brake pads and rear drum shoes, a back driver's side tail-light(had a small break in the original one, and the only other break is the front-left blinker). It sat for years, but a new battery and key-turn and the engine fired right up, sounds really great and has a small oil leak on the crankshaft oil seal. The muffler has about 4 massive holes through it, and will need to be replaced.

 

There's a small flip-switch to the left of the headlight pull switch, and following the wire I found that it's cut and ends up stuck near the passenger glove box, is this aftermarket or should I investigate more?

 

I'll be posting updates as I work on this car, my deadline is about two weeks from now, so I'll be posting regularly!

 

The radiator has a leak at the base, can I swap it out for an 80s gen radiator, or does anyone have any parts connections?

[speeds2much]

Love it. Gotta keep 'em alive!

[Datsunrides]

Long time reader first time poster!

 

I've begun a restoration project on a Subaru 1974 GL Coupe that has a 1600 engine

 

I'll be posting updates as I work on this car, my deadline is about two weeks from now, so I'll be posting regularly!

 

The radiator has a leak at the base, can I swap it out for an 80s gen radiator, or does anyone have any parts connections?

 

2 weeks to restore???

 

Are you really Chip Foose and the A team?

 

The 80's rad *may* work, but I think it is bigger in every dimension and the lower hose outlet is different. If you got fab skills, anything can be made to work. I did just have my 73' original radiator recored so the cores are available if you want to go that route. As for parts, keep a sharp eye on ebay and here. I would say I was able to get most of the hard to find parts for my coupe with a lot of help from the guys here. I'm sure they will chime in soon. I have a few parts myself, but probably not much you can use as mine is a 73'

 

Mark

[moosens]

Interesting. Best of luck with it. I'm about to send a similar condition set of the same seats out west , less a drivers seat. You'll have to get yours doctored up because finding any drivers seat in mint condition is impossible.

 

I have for sale a coupe fuel filler door. And an early style gas pedal too. I have some locks for doors and trunk. Hmmm , more if I can dig but it's winter so no promises.

 

Some of us here started with these vintage cars quiet a while back. There's myself and a few others who have gotten small lots of new old stock from closed out or elder dealerships. I also have those tail lights complete. Have new side markers and turn signals. Etc...

 

We'll talk soon. Cheers!

[Zoriak]

I just got back from college and have nothing else on my hands, hence the fast timeframe! Right now I'm stuck waiting for the struts, rotors and calipers to arrive from New York, I'm admit I might have skimmed the post-rules, so if anyone needs the link to their website, that's where I got everything for the wheels.

 

I'm talking to a specialist in upholstery and classic interior fabrication tomorrow for the seat, as well as picking up a spindle of rubber weather stripping to re-seal the window panes.

The windshield also has the largest crack in it I've ever seen, so it's going to a repair shop that has a great name for older cars, granted as soon as it has brakes attached, and the new front-right strut so I don't have to use a block of wood as a spring(previous owner's choice, it's strange I know).

 

Moosens, I found the back-left light on ebay which was a lucky find, the other broken one is the front-left blinker light, do you have an extra one you'd be willing to part with? Otherwise I fear it'll be a custom fabrication, or finding a motorcycle blinker of the right diameter and placing it within the cylindrical ring container. I'd love the gas pedal! Currently all I have is a metal bar with a small 90-degree bend at the end.

 

The car also sounds really beefy; a ratty classic muscle car/borderline stroker engine sound to it, does anyone know why? The muffler is practically non-existent, but I've heard engines before without exhaust.

It's like a two-stroke chopper motorcycle combined with a Subaru. I'll film it and post a link to a video. The Weber carburetor is missing the choke components, so maybe too much air.

 

Updates soon!

[Zoriak]

Okay, pulled the radiator to check the condition of it, and I'm currently switching the oil seal around the crankshaft pulley as it was leaking as well.

I found another radiator inside another Subaru(I think it's an '81), and the radiator has the height and thickness dimensions, but is a little wide.

It'll fit, but I need to fiddle with the radiator hose so the bend in it isn't too drastic.

 

I swapped the mirrors so they're a matching set currently, I can always change them later.

Has that classic feel to them!

 

And here's a close-up to the crack of the windshield. The dash has two vertical cracks that run on the top of it. Has anyone messed with vinyl sealer?

 

Awaiting replacement struts and rotors due to arrive Monday. For some reason the calipers and pads/shoes weren't included, I suspect they were back-ordered.

 

 

[moosens]

Wow ! , hey please don't even mention putting some hack light in place when there's like a few guys out there who have it new.

 

I'm unable to grab my new old stock from the back of my storage right now but there's other folks with the same light. They are common among NOS dealer finds.

 

I'll get back to you though.

[Zoriak]

Hello again!

 

After a slight delay with shipping, tracking says it's in town and in delivery for today. I'll cross my fingers that the struts(inserts?) I ordered contain the ring-nuts, so I can have a shop remount the springs on the pre-existing spring shoes(I think that's what they're called). The box contains all the parts I need, they just ran out of room to write item descriptions, so hooray for not having to wait longer for ground-delivery from NY to WA!

 

I haven't checked the condition of the brake lines(or if they currently exist), so it'll be exciting putting on the new struts and brakes.

Back-Left light assembly has yet to arrive, and I'm scheduling windshield replacement for the next few days, as soon as I can guarantee that the car stops when I want it to!

 

I also want to get the stock cassette/radio player working again, so wiring checks will be made, and maybe a replaced capacitor or two, I'll try to find the model number and scour up blueprints.

 

moosens, that storage you have sounds like quite a treasure trove, if you want to do some spring cleaning, I'd love to wheel my electronic shopping cart over there!

 

Updates to follow, I'll be busy staring out of the window waiting for the UPS truck.

[Zoriak]

Parts arrived, and the strut inserts contained the ring nuts! Got the springs remounted and removed the old rotors and brake calipers. I had no idea how difficult taking the ball-joint assembly that connects the strut and CV joint together, 2 1/2 hours to get that evil thing off.

 

Picked up brake fluid as there was 2% left, and will be installing the calipers with new rotors and pads, along with the rear drum shoes as soon as possible. I'm putting on a manual choke assembly on the Weber carburetor temporarily, to get it to the windshield replacement shop, as I wait for the automatic Weber kit that connects to the throttle linkage.

 

And I have to put the other radiator on after the crankshaft oil seal gets replaced, almost forgot about that.

 

Progress is looking good!

 

P.S: 42 year old cotter pins are really annoying.

[Zoriak]

Success! Tonight was the maiden voyage, down to the mailbox(about 400ft drive) and back. Replaced crankshaft oil seal, received a new Weber carburetor thanks to a friend, picked up a manual choke assembly, got the rear brakes resurfaced, bled the brakes(the adjusters were filled with crud, so some compressed air solved that. The master brake cylinder was completely shot, so I salvaged one from a Brat.

 

Radiator still leaks, but the 1980s generation radiator can fit, it's a bit biggger and the bolt holes don't neccesarily match up, so there might be a bit of drilling involved to get it working.

The CHG light is on in the dash, so I suspect the alternator isn't charging. I'll check the rear cable and most likely replaced it. There's two extra alternators in the trunk, go figure!

Tempt gauge works, carburetor is perfect, and tomorrow I'm taking it in town for licensing, and swing by a muffler shop on my way back, as the muffler looks like a Pepsi can that's gone through the blender.

 

If anyone has their eyes out for the front-left blinker, I'd still love to hunt one down and buy it. Now that the big issues are taken care of, I can star nit-picking on the lower things, such as the speedometer actually working, license plate lights, actually having a gas pedal, etc.

 

Woohoo! Updates to follow soon.

[als2005]

Congratulations and good luck,keep running.

[Zoriak]

Alright, new radiator installed courtesy of ebay, license plates mounted, three test drives and everything runs and sounds great!

 

Drove 8 hours to a scrap yard and picked up a windshield, just removed the old gasket(every single windshield shop in my area decided to be completely unhelpful and refused service), so I had to re-use the old gasket by meticulously removing it, and then sealing it back onto the new glass using urethane.

 

Need to replace windshield wiper motor, and back license plate lights, then a drive to Napa to pick up new wiper blades and it'll be 100% street legal!

 

Well, except for the left blinker, and the top portion of the passenger seat belt. Oh and I need to make a muffler appointment, as it currently sounds like a B52 bomber.

 

Okay now to figure out how to get all this Urethane black stuff of my hands!

 

Updates and pictures(maybe videos?) to follow as usual, woohoo!

[Zoriak]

Windshield fullly installed, license plate lights functional(they weren't grounding at all, easy fix), Windshield wiper blades replaced(I still need a new wiper motor, unless anyone knows how to resurrect one, it's getting power but no movement!).

 

It was running very rich, and the front-left cylinder wasn't firing, which explains why the car sounds so ratty and "stroker-engine" like!

Replacing spark plugs, and spark plug cables, as well as checking the distributor cap.

 

Compression check on the cylinders just to be on the safe side, and there's a slight oil leak from the gasket of the oil-pan, it drips on the exhaust manifold and smells lovely.

 

The muffler is completely non-existent, so I'm getting that done at a shop tomorrow.

 

Heat works, and I've found an original tape-deck by Subaru, so I'm taking it apart and checking the capacitors and resistors and any spots that might've burned. Anyone know if I can circuit bend audio directly from it, instead of using the black adapter-like plug that connects to an AM/FM radio?

 

moosens, do you know anyone that has a front-left blinker for sale? My searches come up clean, and I've been trying to figure out how to replicate one. Stock VS Functional is a difficult battle in my mind right now.

 

I've taken a few videos and will be posting them on a YouTube account, is it okay to post links here? Time to check the forum rules again!

 

Also if anyone else has owned one of these cars, the speedometer says it can get up to 120mph, but I've found that by giving it a stress test and pushing test it, it'll get up to 60-70ish mph, and that's in 4th gear. Is that something odd with the transmission gearing, or do these cars really only get up to 80mph going downhill? I Hate the idea of maxing out the engine in order to survive on the freeway!

I'll check the wheel size, they might be too small.

[Leeroy]

Mine all do 150 - 155kmh easy so you should be able to get around 90 - 95mph without too much trouble.

[moosens]

90-95 mph when all working well , etc. I agree.

But don't expect more. 13" wheels and narrow width , just be careful whipping it around.

 

I'll check as I can for that light. I know I just sold one on eBay not long ago. But eBay is a total ripoff for sellers these days. Anyways .... Keep the posts coming. Cheers!

[Zoriak]

Alright, new spark plug cables and spark plugs installed, license plate lights finally mounted, and a couple of wiring issues recrimped.

 

Front-left cylinder isn't firing(that's why it sounds so ratty, as well as the lack of horsepower that keeps puzzling me).

 

Replaced the plugs but still didn't feel or hear any change, so tomorrow I'll check that plug and see if it's even firing, as it's probably the distributor, and if not, I'll do that compression check I've been avoiding in case it'll come back with bad news.

 

The clutch slipped a tiny bit at about 50mph, so if it really starts going, I'll replace the clutch and put in the second engine I have.

I talked to an upholstery expert that works on restoring classic cars, and he said the damage on the driver seat is going to be extremely difficult to replace, just in the fact of the seams sewed at the head-rest, as well as the strange pattern(I read somewhere, was it called sharktooth?).

 

Oh and it has a straight-pipe on it, which actually sounds pretty fantastic, definitely a head turner!

 

Everyone cross your fingers for me, I hope I don't have a dead cylinder!

[Leeroy]

I do not know if this will help you any but modern car seats with a 'see through' built-in headrest tend to use a zipper. This would certainly make for a far simpler installation of new covers. Just a thought and what I would do!

[Leeroy]

Not sure about sharktooth but over here we would call the patterned seat vinyl 'herringbone'.

 

Good luck the the cylinder issue!

[Zoriak]

Alrighty, so no more cylinder issue, there was some type of serious blockage, and by driving 70mph for two hours, the whole car lurched and blew out whatever was still in the cylinder, so it runs and sounds great now! I'm cleaning it out from gas tank to exhaust, just in case.

 

I took the windshield wiper motor apart, and it turns out the brush-contacts were at strange angles, the black ground wire had disconnected via heat on the solder-point, and the blue wire had burned in half underneath(I had to pull the little PCB board out to find that one), so I took all the components from a newer one and replaced them, as I still have to use the metal plate that bolts to the firewall(they're very specific, and I have no idea how to take the pin off the rotating arm, so it just seemed easer). Anyway, I don't have to use Rain-Ex anymore, the wipers work!

 

Here's a picture of how a wiper motor works, or well, how it should never look:

 

I also cleaned up the urethane around the windshield, and painted the entire car, because having that stock-yellow bleed through the faded gray just wasn't cutting it for me, haha.

Here's the before:

 

And after:

 

Last thing to do, is replace the passenger seatbelt, and fix the speedometer. The cable that connects to the back of the instrument doesn't spin, but I can hear a faint whirring at higher speeds, can those cables snap halfway through? I know it connects to the transmission, but the big question is where.

 

Oh and moosens, you're going to hate me, but I fabricated a blinker from a circular blinker off a bike. It looks pretty original, and because I drilled holes for the screws, I can always replace it and put a factory-standard one on, no use of silicon!

 

It also looks like someone took a sledgehammer to the oil-pan, so a replacement is arriving Tuesday to stave off the perpetual oil-change. When the engine warms up, oil drips on the exhaust, causing it to smoke, which causes worried glances from other drivers/passengers.

 

 

[moosens]

and by driving 70mph for two hours, the whole car lurched and blew out whatever was still in the cylinder, so it runs and sounds great now

 

So the Italian tune up method works. Atta boy !!

 

And yeah, maybe hate is a little strong but uh , ya know there's lots of lights out there. You'll score one soon , I hope.

 

I'm betting Todd has an extra oil pan to sell. I do too somewhere in my mess.

 

Speedo cable - top of tranny. It'll be obvious if you get your head in there. . They almost all stink after 20 years. Mine only works the odometer and speed , well mysteries can be fun ya know. Lol

[old sub freak]

And why did the oil pan leak? Also the oil pick tube up was more than half covered with small pieces of calking.That is what I love about Subaru's.... So durable and forgiving.... Nice Ride man !PS notice the oblong bolt holes ? tweekers i bet..lots of oddball "repairs"....     It looks like someone just wanted to use the old gasket and loaded it up with dope and hoped for the best....Hey it made sense at the time haha      !

Edited March 29, 2016 by old sub freak

[moosens]

Thinking your theory is correct. So many "get one more year out of it" fixes in the oldies.

[Zoriak]

Alright so the power wire to the wiper motor stopped functioning, so I fixed it by hotwiring a kill-switch under the steering wheel, it'll work for now at least. And turns out the car isn't supposed to sound like a ratty old muscle car, the distributor timing was just very far off, which explains the vacuum gauge reporting a good ol' 8 psi. Also replaced the passenger seatbelt with one from a later model(I think 1980?).

 

Sewing some patches into the drivers seat, and next up is replacing the rear crankshaft seal and the clutch, at about 60% throttle it slips.

 

Hearing lots of clicking when turning the wheel at very slow speeds, so some new CV joints might be needed as well.

 

Going to pick up some carpeting(black or red) and replace what's currently on the floor, but the floor mats themselves are almost perfect, they just need a good scrubbing!

 

I'l have to say this is probably my favorite car I've ever owned, it turns heads, gets commented on, and is overall just super fun to drive!

[old sub freak]

rear sealWell we open her up and found the rear oil seal was toast.It looked like it was pushed in too far and someone just filled the gap with blue sealer. So we cleaned everything up and tried to install a used(hey I know but it was one I installed only a few years ago) in the 1600 set up. well it wouldn't go,I ended up tapping so hard it tore the rubber off the outer ring of the seal.I have honestly installed dozens of Subaru rear seals and never had this kind of problem.So I ordered a new one for the 1600 ,I used fine sandpaper and cleaned the bell housing where the seal sits,Didn't look bad...So I go to install the seal and ....Dang it just doesn't fit maybe a 1/16 or 1/32 over? I end up tearing the outer side of the seal..... Hmmmmm well its installed and it just has to work.....yea right haha.so we install the engine and ,..........Its dumping out oil from that seal..I'm guessing ,haven't open it up yet but it seems that way. I coated the flywheel bolts so thats good.... So this rig had a 1400 that was swaped to a 1600. So I thought mabey they used the 1400 bell housing on the new 1600 so it will work ??? again just guessing.and that the 1400 seal was smaller than the 1600.and that would explain the mystery...Nada !I looked all over on line to see if they were the same gasket ......and it appears that they are the same..(insert puzzled,suprized  face).Soooooo I plan on calling some of the supply houses and see what up ?  The engine has been split at some point,you can see ample sealer everywhere..Did they use the 1400 bell housing to adapt the 1600's in? Any thoughts? thanks todd                        did the picture work?

Edited May 9, 2016 by old sub freak

[old sub freak]

No the picture didn't work but i posted it on a new post about crankshaft seal..really ugly.......Well i opened it up and sure as toast the rear seal is leaking..And the 1400 and the 1600 uses the same seal...Hmmmm So now what do i do? Anyone have any trouble like that?

Edited May 10, 2016 by old sub freak