Looking at ‘74 GL on Tuesday - What to Look For?

[G3.Spiffy]

I’m going to be looking at a 2 door ‘74 GL on Tuesday that the owner claims is 98% complete, and would like to know anything specific to this vehicle that I should look out for good or bad. I figure most of you have more experience than me, given that I have almost none with any subies older than ‘86.

 

I’m also curious about parts swapping between designations GL, DL, GS, and GSR for different years if anyone has knowledge of that

 

Thank you for the help!

[moosens]

That’s a 1400 in that car. And the original version , meaning it has what is called wet sleeve cylinders which are bolted in with shims. 
 

Once set correctly you’re good for a long time if you don’t thrash the engine about. But finding someone to do that these days will be tough. So if you want originality you’re likely going to need a factory manual (very easy to find and cheap) and start looking for shims and head gaskets.

Theres a couple or so guys out there with some New Old Stock left. I am currently selling off most of what I have BUT managed to sell a bundle of those cylinder shims already. I do have some left here and there. And I have a complete engine seal kit with headgaskets and all. 
 

Rest of the car is much like those that followed up to the 80’s. 
But you DO have front drum brakes. Today looked at in horror but not such a big deal. You’re not going to the track with it. 
 

Fuel pump is driven off the signal from a functional alternator and voltage regulator combination. Many folks caught off guard on that. Sight glass on left side of carburetor will allow you to see the float level. If sitting a long time you’ll want to take the float cover off - but we’re getting deep at this point and almost certainly the proper way to deal with this old carb is to soak it and have a kit to install. You’re going to hear the Weber replacement talk here and there. But the old Hitachi might be worth using for a while longer. Don’t just toss it please. 
 

Sedans have the fuel tank behind the rear seats and are usually in great shape because of that. But it’s 2020 now and I haven’t played with old sitting 70’s Subarus that weren’t mine in quite a while. But the tank is “indoors” so that’s the big plus. 
 

More than likely you can go over it and get it to start. But you know the deal , check it over well and maybe take out a spark plug or all , check oil , etc 

 

Hoping it’s a manual. Those first year of automatics were a near disaster. If it’s an auto , be aware that Subaru gave up on their vendors first automatic tranny. And then further issues. Will talk more if applies.

Not a whole lot of difference but yes you can put the GL items on a DL for the most part. No difference in engine , just a clock , am/fm radio , really not too much else. 
 

Let us know if you’re more interested in just keeping the body going and adapting a 2.2 with disk brakes , etc. 

 

[Subasaurus]

post pictures!

[G3.Spiffy]

On 9/28/2020 at 6:28 AM, Subasaurus said:

post pictures!

 

On 9/26/2020 at 9:09 PM, moosens said:

That’s a 1400 in that car. And the original version , meaning it has what is called wet sleeve cylinders which are bolted in with shims. 
 

Once set correctly you’re good for a long time if you don’t thrash the engine about. But finding someone to do that these days will be tough. So if you want originality you’re likely going to need a factory manual (very easy to find and cheap) and start looking for shims and head gaskets.

Theres a couple or so guys out there with some New Old Stock left. I am currently selling off most of what I have BUT managed to sell a bundle of those cylinder shims already. I do have some left here and there. And I have a complete engine seal kit with headgaskets and all. 
 

Rest of the car is much like those that followed up to the 80’s. 
But you DO have front drum brakes. Today looked at in horror but not such a big deal. You’re not going to the track with it. 
 

Fuel pump is driven off the signal from a functional alternator and voltage regulator combination. Many folks caught off guard on that. Sight glass on left side of carburetor will allow you to see the float level. If sitting a long time you’ll want to take the float cover off - but we’re getting deep at this point and almost certainly the proper way to deal with this old carb is to soak it and have a kit to install. You’re going to hear the Weber replacement talk here and there. But the old Hitachi might be worth using for a while longer. Don’t just toss it please. 
 

Sedans have the fuel tank behind the rear seats and are usually in great shape because of that. But it’s 2020 now and I haven’t played with old sitting 70’s Subarus that weren’t mine in quite a while. But the tank is “indoors” so that’s the big plus. 
 

More than likely you can go over it and get it to start. But you know the deal , check it over well and maybe take out a spark plug or all , check oil , etc 

 

Hoping it’s a manual. Those first year of automatics were a near disaster. If it’s an auto , be aware that Subaru gave up on their vendors first automatic tranny. And then further issues. Will talk more if applies.

Not a whole lot of difference but yes you can put the GL items on a DL for the most part. No difference in engine , just a clock , am/fm radio , really not too much else. 
 

Let us know if you’re more interested in just keeping the body going and adapting a 2.2 with disk brakes , etc. 

 

Sorry for the delayed response, I’m having trouble posting photos due to the 2MB limit. Any advice? Drove from the CA Bay Area to Sedona AZ and picked up the car. It’s mostly complete in terms of what I care about. Only things that are missing on the body/interior are the center console piece that has the armrest, the rear view mirror (no big deal at this point. I can find something to stick up there that’s close enough) the drivers side sun visor, the radio unit, the circular trim that goes around the headlight on one side, and I think that’s it. The list grows as I take it apart further and further. Considering the condition of the car, there’s more present than I expected. The engine is missing the top end (intake and up) but the rest of the drivetrain is there. Front discs, indoor gas tank, manual transmission. I’m planning to redo the entire drivetrain with a more modern EJ series setup from a pre DBW vehicle so I’m not too concerned about those things. My first task is the body, as it has its share of damage and a little rust. I’m calling this the restoration stage, which will be everything until the point of modifying and fabricating things to make the car drive again. I’d like to get my hands on a left rear quarter panel to weld in if possible, but understand that’s unlikely, but the rest I feel will fix up pretty easily. 

Will post photos once I figure out how

[NuclearDeLorean]

You should be able to choose the file size when you go to upload. Choose a medium file and it'll drop the size by about 1/10. PM me for help, I wanna see those photos!

[G3.Spiffy]