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Fixes and up keep or upgrades?


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So I have my little 87' Gl Wagon with 81k miles on it, bought it about 2 months ago. Its getting a tranny swap next weekend to a 5 speed. Has already been seafoamed, new plugs, wires, dist. cap and rotor, Front CVs, exhaust repair and cherry bomb, fuel pump, air filter. Want to now what else I should get: Planning on window tinting, seat covers,floor mats. My question is regarding an air horn and lights. First of all any suggestions on a decent air horn for this? Brand etc.. I would also like to know if I can replace the parking lights with fog lights. I would also LOVE to have some roof mounted rally lights like ive seen on here but how are they attached to the vehicle? Any other suggestions on things to do would be great. Looking to end up with a nice looking, reliable and high mpg vehicle :)

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since i like reliable vehicles i will give you my bent on that side of things:

 

with the trans out replace the throw out bearing, pilot bearing, clutch and pressure plate and have the flywheel machined ideally. also, buy two new throw out bearing retaining clips from Subaru, they always have them in stock since they're common to even later gen vehicles.

 

as for the engine a timing component overhaul would be great for reliability. ebay kits can be had for under $100, a great deal including all new tensioners, pulleys and timing belts. replace the water pump, cam seals, cam orings, oil pumps gasket and oring and crank seal while the timing belts are off. at this point it's kind of pointless to replace the belts given that the pulleys are now 20+ years old and devoid of grease. they seize and ruin belts old and new.

 

replace the PCV valve and Thermostat with Subaru only. Definitely make sure the tstat is Subaru, the after market ones are junk - you can visually see how weak they are side by side.

 

go over battery cable ends, the alternator plug, radiator hoses and clamps and check the radiator condition.

 

fluids changes are good too.

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I dont have any roof racks. I forgot to mention I already did the belts and tensioners. Junkyards here havnt even heard of a Subaru GL lol :mad: Tranny will be installed by a pro and he is going to machine the flywheel and do a nice job for me with a new clutch kit. I have some Fresh oil in it, flushed radiator and filled with some good quality coolant. The radiator looks to be ok, no leaking or rust but the fins are very fragile, a single touch and they turn to dust so maybe a new dual core radiator for me? Would a fuel filter be in order? Radiator hoses and TB coolant hoses are also new.What should I check with respects to the dif.? Were can I pick up a nice PCV and thermostat?

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Sounds like the "reliability" end is under control...

 

as for fog lights replacing what you called "parking lights"...

I am guessing you are referring to the lights in the front bumper, right?

those are not parking lights, they are your front turn signals. the "parking lights" are the corner lights next to the headlights.

 

however, you can do what you propose, just a little more involved - first you would need to convert your corner marker lights to marker light/turnsignals - do a search, i know the info is there somewhere, i've seen it and have done it...

once you have converted the corner lights, you can then remove the old turnsignals and put in fogs - I made an aluminum plate to fit the location using the stock screws to hold it and mounted my lights to the plate. Works pretty well.

Will have to see if I have pics at all...not sure if i do.

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Forgot to say I also replaced power steering fluid, brake fluid, pads and shoes. When I hit the switch on the steering column the lights in the bumper light up. How about mounting them on the hood or roof any tips on that or roof racks? Would one of those High perf. coils from partstrain for $40 be a good idea? Would a new radiator be a good idea or should I stick to this one till it leaks or corrodes? WHAT THERMOSTAT DO I NEED? lol looked online and they have all sorts of degrees and I am a newb :banana:

Edited by Caramanos2000
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