Got a few questions on my 79..

[Subasaurus]

Hello everyone, i've been gone for alittle while, been pretty busy from getting my life in order, new job, new house, people passing away and such and abandoning my projects for some time, well i guess im back again,

 

1. anyways my 1979 wagon seems to leak water from under the dashboard and im tired of covering the car everytime its going to rain, i guess water entering the cowl but im not too sure how its all designed after that? has the aftermarket dealer airconditioning option under the dash on the passenger side. theres always a huge puddle of water on the passenger side on the floor after it rains.

 

2. wagon still has the original 2 barrel hitachi carburator, was last rebuilt about 10 months ago, the mixer screw is all the way closed but i think its still getting too much fuel? it pukes black smoke like a diesel if i rev it some, has a fuel pressure regulator at 2 psi right now, flooring it when boarding the highway looks like a semi truck is getting on the highway and such, i mean amusing and fun non the less but theres some real nasty black smearing sulfur stuff that comes out of the exhaust, also the accelerator pedal seems to have a dead spot around 40percent to 45 percent of throttle with a load on it (the car) it just lags terribly, could be when the second barrel comes in, but im not sure whats going on or how to calibrate this, only when im accelerating slowly it does this. i've also maybe thought it could be 20,000 miles later perhaps its time to change the sparkplugs but not sure as i thought modern spark plugs were good for 80,000miles plus.

 

3. on cold days the charge light is on and the interior dashlights don't work even though the alternator is working perfectly fine, if the ebrake is on it shows half of the revs its suppose to be at but when the ebrake is removed the revs redline and just stay stuck at 6000rpm until the car warms up, once it warms up then it reads accurately (15-20minutes later) or smacking the top of the dashboard accelerates this process, then about 45 minutes later the tach just gives up and redlines again and stays there, kind of funny and its been doing this for about a year now, same pattern, perhaps theres some small electronic board somewhere? im not sure...

 

 

thanks for reading my question, any help is appreciated.

Edited October 27, 2017 by Subasaurus

[moosens]

Pin holes have caused the leak(s). Take the cowl off , take the dashboard out , lift the carpet , and use a flashlight or whatever pointing it down into the cowl area and look from the inside.

 

Dash comes out easy , don't be scared - you're trying to save your ride.

 

Pine needles and leaves etc build up down under the cowl and sit there until they cause the rot. Many many owners have ignored this and that's why many many old Subarus are gone.

 

Also , PRP made our group here two batches of windshield gaskets. They have some in stock and I even have one or two left. Spend the money and get that gasket and again , don't be scared because I've done it so you can too.

 

Get that sucker sealed up firstly. Then you're off hunting wire connectivity. As for the carb , most people jump over to a Weber , but in many cases you don't need to. Sounds like your carb is not set up right - sorry , I know a shop "did it" 10 months ago.

 

To me that's my basic approach. Seal the body , check your wiring very thoroughly , and then go thru the carb one step at a time. Choke adjusted , idle , mix , and of course your timing too. It's a 79 so no points ignition that's a plus.

 

Good luck. I have some factory service manuals if you're interested.

[Subasaurus]

 It's a 79 so no points ignition that's a plus.

 

Good luck. I have some factory service manuals if you're interested.

actually, maybe i should have also mentioned i swapped over to points on the distributor as the little "computer box" that was attached with the ignition coil was out when i got it, but i replaced the points about 2 weeks ago and set it to .020in

 

the thing is ill mess with everything on a car except when it comes to anything further past the head gaskets (inside engine block) and the carburator itself, but perhaps the carburator should be something i should overcome my fear of...

[Subasaurus]

i have an 83 GL Hatchback EA81 that needs a new carburator, it currently has a holly, but its beat up pretty badly, what would be a WEBBER replacement for this EA71 wagon and would the same exact one work for the EA81? not sure about the bolt patterns and sizes between these two engines..

[moosens]

"the thing is ill mess with everything on a car except when it comes to anything further past the head gaskets (inside engine block) and the carburator itself, but perhaps the carburator should be something i should overcome my fear of..."

 

Yeah , I was the exact same way and I think you'll find many of us are still or were at one point. The carb rebuild kits are not so hard to get thru. If you do it have a small "sink" to dip the carb body in and soak it in appropriate fluid. Have air to blast too. Canned air can work. There's lots of info posted just have to dig a little.

 

Finding new jets would be great but with cautious cleaning they'll likely be fine. The kits usually don't include jets but do have the accelerator pump and an air mix valve.

 

There's a good sized population of knuckleheads like us over on the dreaded face book. You'll get lots of help there too. Private groups - just join up and enjoy. Face dook groups - Classic Subaru Network and Old School Subaru Group , can't go wrong there for starters.

Edited October 28, 2017 by moosens

[moosens]

And this Board also has a face dook Group.

[moosens]

"i have an 83 GL Hatchback EA81 that needs a new carburator, it currently has a holly, but its beat up pretty badly, what would be a WEBBER replacement for this EA71 wagon and would the same exact one work for the EA81? not sure about the bolt patterns and sizes between these two engines.."

 

Other folks know more than I do on this matter but I'm thinking the ea71 and 81 Weber replacements are likely the same. 32/36 with a manual choke - I believe.

Edited October 28, 2017 by moosens

[charles_thomas]

32/36 will work with either. You will Have to run slightly smaller jets on the EA71. The intake/carb adapter will be different as well.

As always, Don't get the 2 piece adapters. It may require a little digging, and some research through the forums here, but there are 1 piece options avilable for all of the EA carb mounting patterns.

The price is close enough that they are not worth the eventual leaks that will arise from using a 2 piece adapter.

 

I personally have been running the Weber-Holley 5210 with a manual choke kit without issues for years. I have had them on several kit-cars, a Fiat, a Toyota and others. Holley is mostly the same parts as its 32/36 progressive Weber counterpart, half the purchase price, and way more reliable than the knockoff Webers floating around pretending to be the real deal.

The one I have in my 77 was on the orginal EA71, when I dropped the EA81 in, I just changed the jets and bolted the new adapter on. Haven't had any issues after tuning.

 

When switching between Dizzys, might be worth double checking your dwell. Also that the adavnce curve is in line with your other tuning. Not sure what the differences exactly are between the different dizzy models (I'm sure someone else here can tell ya) but I do know there are several different advance curves as you change the Dist. That can cause a flat spot as well without a retune of the carb.

Edited October 29, 2017 by charles_thomas