Caboobaroo Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 well if y'all look in the marketplace, I'm trying to get an EA81T for my 79 wagon. I've been told a few different stories on if it'll fit or not. From what I've gotten is it'll fit BUT the steering column will bind on the axle somehow. Mudrat79 (John) told me that BUT Hondasucks (Andrew) said that he put an EA81 into his '77 wagon and it fit just fine. So does anyone else have any knowledge of doin this? I'm also gonna be dropping in a d/r 4-speed behind this turbo motor so I can keep it a manual and 4wd. So, what do I have to do besides drop it right on in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLCraig Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 well Subaru sold a Gen1 Brat in 81 (the last year for a gen1 brat) and it came with an EA81 with a d/r 4 speed. I'm not sure what they did to make the engine fit but they did make some changes to the d/r 4 speed for it to fit into and gen1 chassis. What they changed was the casting for the transfer case and tail housing. If you can find one of these transmissions it would make the swap easier. If you can't find one you'll need to do some fabrication to make a regular d/r 4 speed fit and maybe a new drive line will need to be made. You might want to consider going with a d/r 5 speed from an EA82. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 EA81 was available in '79 wasn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLCraig Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 No, the EA81 didn't come out until 80 and only with an automatic transmission that year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myossfeece Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 if you can't find one of the D/R 4spd tranny's like CL craig is talking about then maybe you could consider a small lift to help out the clearance issues. 2 in lift all around or something like a 2in lift in the front and a 3in in the anus to keep the "Subaru stink-bug stance!" as I refer to it as. I personaly havent done the same swap, but am in the middle of an ea81 crossmember with a small lift in a gen 1 brat but haven't done any thing on it lately. (Lending Ro-neece a hand) Good luck with the mods and keep em comin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted March 6, 2004 Author Share Posted March 6, 2004 well I hate to tell ya this but I'm not liftin my wagon. I'm actually lowering it quite a bit:D If you're gonna be comin to WCSS6, you'll see why I am but until then, its a secret. So anyways, it sounds like I'm gonna have to do quite a bit of modifying to it to get it to fit just right. Since GLCraigGT mentioned something about an EA82 5-speed dual range, why couldn't I just drop an EA82T into it? Would it fit or would I have to cut the subframe up to make it fit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myossfeece Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 I don't know exactly but you'll probably have make some taller motor mounts or cut the crossmember out a bit to clear the turbo crosspipe. As far as any clearance issues, it will be the back of the motor on the cam covers, but that would go along with the idea of the taller motor mounts. I cannot speculate on whether or not the turbo would clear the fire wall, but I bet it would fit. Good luck with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowmastered87GL Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 Dude, Russ, buy that wrecked $200 legacy up in Seattle and grab the engine, wiring harness AND tranny and sell the other parts to recover the $200 EJ22 Beerwagon :cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 I just put an 81 GL Brat tranny into my friends 82 Brat, and I didn't notice any differences in the tranny casing. Basically, the only difference I could find was the 4WD lever mechanism was turned 90 degrees - but that was easily fixed, as it's threaded - just had to turn it with a wrench. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLCraig Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 hmm that's interesting. When I had to replace the transmission in my 80 hatch, the only one I could find was from a 78 and I had to swap parts from the two to make it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted March 8, 2004 Author Share Posted March 8, 2004 well I have decided to go with an EA81T. Also would I be able to fit a d/r 4-speed tranny in there and use my old 4wd lever? Andrew told me that it would work just like the 08 and 81 Brats that are the gen 1 style that have the d/r 4-speed. I wanna try and make it look stock but of course, it won't be anywhere close to stock:D The Beer Wagon will go: rrrrrrRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWW..PSSHHHH...brrrrRRRRAAAAAAAWWWWWW...PSSHHHHH....brrrRRRAAAAAWWWWWW........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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