Weber swap instead of fuel injection?

[Fang]

Hi there mates. I am relatively new to the forum. I was recently given (yes given) a fairly nice 1986 Loyal 4x4 wagon. It is red, has a transfer case, overhead cams, and fuel injection. As you might imagine, this made me very happy -- I love old 4x4 station wagons, and I have always wanted an old Subaru.

 

Its a great car, but it runs fairly poorly -- It seems that it always is a bit underpowered, and it runs like crap until it warms up. I have given it a little tune up -- new timing belts (correctly installed), plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor, etc. and it runs better than at first. I have never owned a Subaru before, so it might be running great, and might just ::feel:: underpowered to me.

 

I believe that the cold-start valve might be at fault, but that costs a bunch of money, and I have almost none.

 

My buddy owes me some money and has a basically new Weber 32/36 that he bought for an ea82 that he used to own. He ran it for a week, blew up his motor, pulled it, drained it and blew it out with compressed air.... He had a mechanic buddy help with prepping it for sitting on the shelf, and now he is willing to pass it on to me. I am a motorcycle mechanic, so I have tools and more or less know how to use them. Gee whiz I can even make a few brackets, re-route fuel lines, and buy a used Honda Accord throttle cable from a junk yard -- all without any real trouble.

 

So the big fat question is this a wise swap? How would this affect power, and how will this affect fuel economy – I tend to try to drive fairly fast and aggressively most of the time, but my wife does not.

 

Thanks for your input!

-Fang

(download Nervous Norvus’s song “The Fang” by clicking here”)

[archemitis]

the weber wont give you any neck snapping power, but its an ok upgrade. and the only real way to get more power from efi is to either go turbo,with mpfi(multi port fuel injection),or high compression with the spfi(single port/throttle body efi). or another combo of the two.

[Qman]

The Weber s/b every carbed Subaru owner's 1st upgrade. It will give noticable improvements. As Arch said though, it won't be neck snapping. And for the record, it has an integral transfer for hi/lo/fwd. All part of the transaxle.

[Petersubaru]

if you are that handy and have the skills, try using an older style 2 barrel carter carb ...a new carb base and manifold will have to made, but now you will have plenty of adjustablity from a good old GM Buick carb

[Fang]

Thanks mates you are fast!

 

I am not looking to rebuild the motor or build a rocket. Instead of "Neck Snapping" I'm think I am looking more for "toe tapping."

 

Currently I am getting about 19 or 20mpg with the current setup. What is normal for these throttle-body injection setups when they are working ideally, and what might I expect if I get the carb set up correctly?

 

I forgot to say that the Weber is a 32/36 DGEV with the electric choke, and it already has the brackets/ base plate adapter.

 

The kicker here is that I am looking for an efficient INEXPENSIVE fix. I like Carburetors. For me they are "field serviceable." I like that, and I have one here waiting for a little love.

-fang

[Snowman]

I might get flamed for this, but I would advise against going with the weber swap right away. It may be worth your time to find out what's wrong with the system that's on there, as a properly running SPFI setup will run very well all the time and should get better fuel economy than you describe. The weber will likely make a bit more power, but to do so, you'll lose some fuel economy as well as drivability compared to the SPFI, and you'll have to constantly tune it to keep the car running right. Also, depending on the climate in your area, the Weber will likely run like CRAP until the engine reaches operating temperature. Cold starting ability is also sacrificed if you don't use a block heater in winter.

 

Others have had pretty good luck with their weber carbs. Mine has been a real SOB and I'm converting to SPFI from that.

 

Just my two cents.

[archemitis]

oh, i just noticed its an 86 loyale, with spfi. me no read so good.=]

id leave it. a weber would be a step backwards. as far as im concerned.

free flowin air filter, and free flowin exhaust with the catalytic converters gutted, does alot for spfi. and advance the timing a hair.

[Flowmastered87GL]

Being that the car is fuel injected and it has the 87+ side moldings AND bumpers... what makes you say its an 86?? Was it produced in 12/86 or something?? If thats the case its really probably an 87 model.

 

If the guage lighting is green and the wiper controls are coming off the right side of the steering column, its definitely 87+

 

I agree that going to a weber would be a step backwards. My 87 GL with a weber WAS faster than my 88GL's with SPFI, but they got way better mileage and ran smoother.

 

Does the check engine light work? Try checking for codes (see the USRM) One of my 88's ran like crap cause of a bad EGR solenoid and later because of a bad sensor on the throttle body or something (the new owner found that out)

[Fang]

Yeah, you're right, FlowMaster. It is an '88. All my other cars are '86 models and I just got excited and typed the wrong thing. I normally would jsut fix it, except for the lack of cash. It runs fine as it is, so maybe I should just save up a little and but the correct repacement parts. I already need both front axels.

 

As far as the check engine light, I think that it ::might:: be burnt out. I'll have to check again.

-fang

(TheFang.MP3)

[subaru_styles]

well after owning 2 spfi motors, putting a free flow cone filter will help alot..some people disagree with me. but after i put my old intake on my coupe, i noticed a difference