Was a D/R 5spd avl in an 85 GL10 turbo wagon?

[mykingcrab]

I have an 85 GL10Turbo wagon for parts. Im confused because its been converted to carbed eng.

 

Im trying to find out if it came factory with a d/r 5 spd thats in there.Or if someone swapped the motor/trans together. were all gl10 Turbo's with 5spd trans single range? push buton?

 

IM also confused because my 85 RX (same year)has a different 4wd shifter. Here are some pics. thanx. MKC

 

1985 gl10 turbo wagon

 

 

 

1985 RX Turbo 4wd D/R P/T 5 spd

[GeneralDisorder]

That is (in the picture) the correct 85 4WD shifter. They changed them in 86. So it would seem that it was either that way from the factory, or a complete matching 85 donor was used including the console's.

 

85 was a strange year. 2WD GL's were MPFI, etc.... so it easily could be that the GL10 turbo wagon got the same tranny as the 85 RX. Part time 4WD with the higher 1.2:1 low range.

 

My vote is for stock.

 

GD

[GeneralDisorder]

Wait - I see what you did now. The bottom pic is of the RX....

 

So no - that was a swapped in tranny because it's got the wrong 4WD shifter. All 85's would be like your RX.

 

GD

[mykingcrab]

Ok i see what you mean now. GD, Is there anyway(short of counting 25 splines)

to confirm by #s/n, if it was,was/not factory trans. Its a parts car so I havent drove it to see if it has the good low gears ? the rear diff has a 3.7 tag

[GeneralDisorder]

Ok i see what you mean now. GD, Is there anyway(short of counting 25 splines)

to tell by #s/n, if it was not factory trans. Its a parts car so I havent drove it to see if it has the good low gears ? the rear diff has a 3.7 tag

 

Hhhhmmm - that begs the question - did they know the gear ratio's were potentially different?

 

Couple points to take note of:

 

1. It's been converted to a carb - carb's were always 3.9.

 

2. It's got the wrong 4WD lever. Indicating the tranny is also a swap.

 

3. Carbs were often D/R, while turbo's were almost never.

 

4. Ergo - it's got the engine & tranny from an 86 or 87 4WD GL.

 

5. It's got the wrong rear end for the tranny - possibly one of the reasons it's now a parts car?!?

 

Of course you can spend time verifiying this stuff to be true, but that's the most likely situation. Counting the splines will tell you if it's a turbo tranny or not. I know of no way to find out the ratio's inside the tranny other than that, or doing some on-the-bench turning of the input shaft to see how the output's spin.

 

The rear diff being a 3.7 makes me instantly suspect of the condition of the tranny and/or the rear diff. You are going to need to verify the ratio of the tranny before you can be sure though.

 

GD

[Gloyale]

Not all GL-10s were Turbo. I've seen carbed ones. Are you sure it wa a turbo, and does it say 3.7 on the diff.

[mykingcrab]

Not all GL-10s were Turbo. I've seen carbed ones. Are you sure it wa a turbo, and does it say 3.7 on the diff.

 

The rear doors are badged" 4wd turbo ", if im correct the diff had a 3.7 tag. When I get home,Ill get some vin/eng/trans/ diff #s and some good photos.

 

Im sure the motor has been swapped, because ive found alot of unplugged components,and gismo's

Its the transmission that has me baffeled. Dids they swap the trans and consoles,pedals ect.ect.

 

 

Has anyone seen a GL10 turbo 4wd wagon with p/t...d/r....5 speed?

[Hondasucks]

I had a parts car that had all the RX goodies (checkered seats, dual range trans, etc..) but it had a digital dash.. so it didn't have any RX badges on it (however the trunk lid just said "SUBARU")

 

I've heard that the dual range was an OPTION on the turbos, even the later full time dual range... And my parts car, according to the VIN, was NOT an RX, but it had everything else.

 

Also, most of the GL-10 standard goodies, were options on the lower level cars, so it WAS possible to get a GL with digital dash and other goodies, it was even possible to get a non-turbo GL-10, however most people that ordered the GL-10, went all out and got the fully loaded model.

[mykingcrab]

I had a parts car that had all the RX goodies (checkered seats, dual range trans, etc..) but it had a digital dash.. so it didn't have any RX badges on it (however the trunk lid just said "SUBARU")

 

I've heard that the dual range was an OPTION on the turbos, even the later full time dual range... And my parts car, according to the VIN, was NOT an RX, but it had everything else.

 

Also, most of the GL-10 standard goodies, were options on the lower level cars, so it WAS possible to get a GL with digital dash and other goodies, it was even possible to get a non-turbo GL-10, however most people that ordered the GL-10, went all out and got the fully loaded model.

 

great info thanks!!!. when I can, ill get good photos, codes and ##s, and we can can rip into the facts with more amo. thank you very much. anyone else?

[GeneralDisorder]

85 non-turbo GL-10's were not carbed though. They were MPFI non-turbo's. So in any case it's got an engine swap, and the wrong year D/R lever.

 

Both of which point to the engine and tranny being swapped. I suppose they *could* have swapped to the newer D/R lever because the 85 lever's have a tendancy to split, and then they also *could* have swapped to a carbed engine that just happens to have most likely come from a D/R model that had that type of lever.... but how likely is that scenario really?

 

Supposedly a LOT of things could be special ordered. However we don't have documented proof of this sort of thing actually happening. No one has come forth with pictures and scans of orginal sales documents showing things like this. Stories like these tend to circulate about all sorts of things, but they are rarely based in reality. Was it done? Perhaps, but at the time Subaru's were budget, japanese cars - not something people spent the time to special order models of generally speaking. And if they did they probably still own them, and evidently don't frequent internet forums such as ours.

 

GD

[mykingcrab]

85 non-turbo GL-10's were not carbed though. They were MPFI non-turbo's. So in any case it's got an engine swap, and the wrong year D/R lever.

 

Both of which point to the engine and tranny being swapped. I suppose they *could* have swapped to the newer D/R lever because the 85 lever's have a tendancy to split, and then they also *could* have swapped to a carbed engine that just happens to have most likely come from a D/R model that had that type of lever.... but how likely is that scenario really?

 

Supposedly a LOT of things could be special ordered. However we don't have documented proof of this sort of thing actually happening. No one has come forth with pictures and scans of orginal sales documents showing things like this. Stories like these tend to circulate about all sorts of things, but they are rarely based in reality. Was it done? Perhaps, but at the time Subaru's were budget, japanese cars - not something people spent the time to special order models of generally speaking. And if they did they probably still own them, and evidently don't frequent internet forums such as ours.

 

GD

There is truth to what your saying. Infact im now detirmined to get codes=p/n/vin. I was home today. had snow so ill get good pics asap. I apprereciate the imput.

thnx MKC