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North Idaho GL


Idasho
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Gave the little Subaru another thorough engine check-up today. Glad I did...

 

First got the motor up to temp, them pulled the plugs for inspection and compression check. Plugs all looked great, a hair on the lean side.

 

Compression on all 4 is much closer to 150psi now. All within 2-3PSI of each other.

 

Tightened a few heater hose clamps, weeping a bit...

 

I then did a lean-best weber tune on the carb. First time since swapping the carb from the old motor to this one. this cleaned up a slight off throttle hesitation and flat spot between primary and secondary carb chambers. Should help squeeze a few more MPGs as well. Though Im RIGHT on the edge of needing a larger idle jet.

 

Then I pulled the distributor cap to check rotor and cap.... and found the distributor advance mechanism not only VERY loose, but jammed in full advance :eek:

 

 

This dizzy is a napa reman, with less than 2k miles on it :rolleyes:

 

Rotor and cap were fine.

 

So I dropped a good used one in, retimed, and tossed everything back together. Much improved. :headbang:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well hello Idasho,

Not sure if you'll recall, but my son and I visited you while you were in the middle of your engine/tranny swap.

Thought you'd get a kick out of knowing that I managed to drive my old '89 all the way back to Vegas. It ran like a champ.

 

Have thoroughly enjoyed watching your build progress and am envious as can be.

 

Doc

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Mileage report!

 

The motor currently has just shy of 2000 miles.

 

This week I was able to get the Subaru into the shop for inspection and service. No more straight dino oil for this thing. It was fed a nice crank case full of quality 10w30 synthetic-blend.

 

I took some good photos, to show just how clean the motor has remained. I have done no cleaning since install. Im sorry to say though that the re-man water pump I put on it is already weeping slightly from the weep hole. So an OEM brand new pump is on the way. Other than that, things seem to be doing great.

 

A while back I scored the last 2 cases of motorcraft oil filters from Rockauto for less than $2 a pop, so that's what this thing will be running... forever :grin:

 

ea130.jpg

 

Only evidence of a leak Ive been able to find. Some moist oil pan bolts. At first I thought it was oil, but it was actually trace amounts of coolant that had dribbled down the block from the water pump.

 

ea131.jpg

 

Valve covers staying dry

 

ea132.jpg

 

Dry oil pump

 

ea133.jpg

 

weber staying clean

 

ea134.jpg

 

ea135.jpg

 

I also took the time to open up the last oil filter that was used, just in case.

 

I couldnt find ANYTHING. :headbang:

 

ea136.jpg

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Thanks guys.

 

A forum member built the strut lift blocks. I "fixed" them, and built the rest of the lift. The "fix" included not only re-welding the blocks to the plates due to crap welds, but also offsetting the plates another 1/2" to correct the alignment.

 

Built it myself? You decide :rolleyes:

 

 

I do like the stance. I think it is PERFECT for a daily driven rig that you can still have a blast with off the pavement. Even with stock tires.

 

I do have a set of 14" wagon wheels in the shop..... and as soon as budget allows, this GL will be getting some BFG A/Ts :clap:

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  • 3 weeks later...

Small update....

 

Last week the Subaru left my wife stranded. She has been using for winter commuting, and the ignition module gave up the ghost. :rolleyes:

 

Ah well, easy fix. I keep a few spares.

 

Today the car was dropped off at the exhaust shop. New cat-back :clap:

 

Stock (but catless) y-pipe, then 2.25 all the way back with a cheapo muffler.

 

:headbang:

 

Vid....

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Very clean, very clean.

I'm curious, I didn't read anything, but did you shave the heads at all or just install the 9:1 pistons?

Also, how is it handling the 2.25" exhaust? When I upped to 1.75" true duals my BRAT came alive.

I'm thinking about just running a single on my Blue 83 after I build it, curious about your experience with the larger single.

 

You better bring that thing up to CDA sometime, I want to see it in person and hear that muffler.

My EA81 craving is getting so bad that I might just dig my BRAT out of the snow and fire it up to scare the hell out of the neighbors...

Anyway, get it up here man! I wanna see! :P

 

Twitch

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey Twitch,

 

The heads were shaved .015

 

So far it LOVES the larger exhaust.  Opening it up really helped this ea81 rev.  

 

Ill let you know if Im headed that way in the GL!  It would be great to meet up!

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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Time for another update.

 

As with all of my rigs, I dont NOT repair things.  As things stack up I take note, and make time to get things taken care of.

 

This week I have the little Subaru in the shop for a few things.  

 

Since the new engine, I have never liked just how hot the oil temps are under sustained highway speeds.  250+ degrees is not uncommon.  So I am fitting the motor with a t-stat controlled oil cooler sandwich and a good B&M oil cooler.  Today I got the cooler and lines installed.  I wont have the sandwich for a few days.  But at least Ill be ready for it.

 

As with all subarus, rust is always the enemy and is always lurking.  Even as clean as this Subaru is, it has developed a few small spots that I felt the need to address.  Corrosion is ground away best I could, treated with Ospho, primed, and repainted.

 

I also HATE fluids hitting the ground, and it seems that every time I flush the coolant system, I can never quite get the coolant level correct.  So the system burps some coolant.  Using nothing more than a stainless drink bottle, I made a simple overflow tank to catch it.  If it works out, Ill fabricate an appropriate bracket for it.

 

ea137.jpg

 

ea138.jpg

 

ea140.jpg

 

ea139.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

I may as well update this...

 

I havnt driven the GL much lately.  Just around town.  I refuse to drive it out of town due to my oil pressure and temp gauge having issues.

 

Ive been having some serious trouble getting Innovate Motorsports to send me a new gauge.  The gauge is still under warranty, but it seems they took their sweet rump roast time to check mine out, and verify that it was actually having issues.  They took long enough that they the MFG have NONE on the shelf.

 

They have had my gauge since May 1st.  8 phone calls have been made since, and many promises have been missed.

The story right now is that they will not me making another batch of them for 3-4 weeks.  That puts me more than THREE MONTHS without a gauge.

 

For the record, INNOVATE MOTORSPORTS HAS TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE 

 

The last couple of phone calls have become pretty heated.  I work retail myself, so I know how much it sucks, but I also know how to play the nasty customer card.   Well, I played that card, and I am supposed to get a "temporary" gauge this week.  And they will ship me a new kit to replace the old broke one when they have some in stock.

 

PITA, let me tell you!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Giving the little Subaru some love...

 

Cleaned up.

 

cleanedru.jpg

 

Also got the "temporary" replacement gauge installed.  

 

rugauges01.jpg

 

 

And since installing the new motor, Ive had a bit of tuning issues,  The thing runs out great, and most people Im sure would just run it, but creeping temps on the highway have lead me to believe the weber isnt quite jetted right for this high compression motor.

 

I had installed a PLX / Bosch wideband O2 sensor on my previous "fun" rig, it was required for tuning purposes.  Well, I sold the car, and nabbed the wide-band off of it before the sale.

 

So Ive been meaning to build myself a "universal" wideband setup, that allows the unit to plug into a cigarette lighter for 12v, and clamp onto any exhaust for readings.  it involved extending the harness, and fabricating the simple clamp/sample tube.  With the one exception being the O2 sensor bung, all was done using scrap junk found int he garage.  So far so good.  I took it for a ride last night, and it seems I was right.  As soon as you dip into the secondary on the highway, the motor leans out a good deal.  So now I need to order larger jets.

 

rugauges02.jpg

 

rugauges03.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...

Some new goodies installed today...

 

I finally got around to installing my (hopefully) better digital gauge.  This one has oil PSI and water temp.

 

They do not come in green, the best second choice was orange.  I think it works with the center console colors okay!

 

gauges01.jpg

 

 

And some are sure to like this one....

 

I installed a digital outside temp gauge.  This will no doubt come in handy in the winter.  It is always a good idea to know when the roads are near icing over.

The gauge also functions as a voltage gauge and clock.  So the small button panel was installed above it.

 

yes, HOT here lately....

 

gauges02.jpg

 

 

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  • 4 months later...

Great work, One of the better write ups on the net and the Subaru Community generally does better than most.

Possibly something to do with the high mileage abilities and reliability of Subaru's that brings a response of both brand loyalty and the extra effort over and above what people put into most brands because the cars reward the effort.

 

Your work is of a very professional standard, but for one thing I do question the Centre bearing mount for the propeller shaft, How is that working out, It seems to me considering your efforts that may have been just a temporary setup till you were certain of the required position and height.

 

The best I have seen in that regard was the job done by the boys on ausubaru under the following link.

http://www.ausubaru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12696

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Just a thought Jono on ausubaru has had great success with using EA82 headers on EA81 models as the larger diameter seems to help with both torque and free revving with the better breathing.

Your EA engine build with higher comp would likely benefit as well with the better breathing allowing the engine to run cooler as well.I seem to remember your concern on oil temps so hope this heads up is of use to you your Build is great and anything that could improve it like that would just ice the cake even more.

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I have an ea82 header on my ea81, it still even has the stupid spacers on it. I keep meaning to remove them to improve clearance a bit, but eh, effort. It works fine.

 

I installed a digital outside temp gauge.

 

I like how clean your install looks with those gauges. Where did you put the sensor probe for the outside temp sensor?

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Thank you for the kind words Coxy.  I have the ability to do fine work, and this little car in the condition I found it seemed to demand as such.  And so far, it has been well worth it.

 

I have roughly 5,000 trouble free miles on it now.  The center bearing has proven to work well.  I havnt touched it since the first install and adjustment.  No noticeable vibrations or noises to report.  No reason to fix what isnt broken!  

 

But the car is doing great.  A great example of how great was just last week when we got home from a 2-week holiday trip.  The Subaru was parked in the garage for two weeks staying warm while we were away.   I open the door to the garage, slip into the drivers seat, apply the throttle once to set the choke, and turn the key.   Less than 2 revolutions of the motor and the car fires off, like it had never been parked.

 

Most of this is most likely the weber, but it is shear joy to see such a silly old car spring back to life ready go.

 

The car is still running on the lean side of things according to the wide band. especially in high RPMs.  I attribute the high oil ( and water) temps to running lean.  I have yet to have the chance to tear the carb apart and re-jet it.  That will have to wait until summer.   For now the car is my garage queen that I drive to work on occasion.  The car seems to like parking in the garage!

 

I have considered a EA82 header.  Though I will hold off until I can get my hands on a stainless aftermarket one.  Being carbed I prefer to keep it cat-less.  And living in Idaho that is 100% okay to do.  But so far I havnt seen anyone offering a custom header that would work,  I would like a mandrel bent catless, stainless header.   Please let me know if you know where to get one! 

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