24 replies to this topic

[livefreeordie]

hey guys,
been lurking in the shadows for a while now. but im gona make a new thread on my current car. My 1983 GL wagon! it's a great little beast! have tons of photos to share! a few questions though, about the forum; I waited for a while for my profile to be active or whatever, how long will it be before i can post attachments? and what is the easiest way to upload/attach photos from my computer? saw you could make albums under "user cp" but couldnt find it. or should i just be using a 3rd party like photbucket ect?

anyways....
800$ got me a 4spd hi/lo 4wd 83 GL wagon. 198k miles on the ticker.. all original. no leaks but a fair amount of body rust. sunroof, tow package, and a good set of studs for the winter!

so... a little background.. about 2 years ago i needed a car bad and ended up with a 1988 DL with a bad engine, drove it till it exploded and then purchased my "new" older car! the DL was great, and got me through every storm (I live in tahoe and ski every day!!! getting through deep snow and icy roads is why i have a car, in the summer i ride my bike!) so my build will follow 2 paths..
1. cheap$$$ (i work hard but dont have a lot to spend)
2. snow driving!

here is the DL doing what it was built for....



and here is my "new" GL as she sits today, fresh paint, wheels, a ton of other goodies, just a little teaser

Edited by livefreeordie, 23 August 2012 - 11:49 AM.

[livefreeordie]

one more shot of the 'ol DL
sittin like a champ, ready to go skiing
when the engine went, i sold her for $400 and i think the guy may have parted it out. miss the gal
RIP

[livefreeordie]

so to start things off...
old car in its last spot before bein towed


"new" car in its place a month or so latter ! (with some bondo and sanding allready done)


first impressions were so much dust! and rust and PO had made an attempt at doing some things but pretty much had a box of parts he had pulled off..
changed the dist cap and started on the rust
touched up the paint on mud flaps and else where and other quick fun things.

[livefreeordie]

so the car has a few panels that are a different shade, i guess. so the car will have to be painted! i figure i'll give a go with rattle can paint just cuz im cheap!!! b sanding the rust!



drove her around a bit, and some work def needs to be done! but hey! she runs good, and the engine seems to be in very good running condition! there is dirt in everything though. and she rattles a lot. plus i think a window had been smashed in cuz there is broken up glass all over as well...

[livefreeordie]

ever spray paint a car ????????

i want to keep it looking fairly original, and not anything crazy. i'll keep it close to gold... for now i guess (you can see the different shades kinda)

[livefreeordie]

i went with a sand/tan color. now it looks ready to go on a safari! haha

oh, and i got new (nice!)wiper blades, bulbs, and replaced the old fuses out

Edited by livefreeordie, 23 August 2012 - 09:47 AM.

[livefreeordie]

thats the final product. sorry for the shadows, but she looks nice and clean now! also fit my old ski rack onto the roof. now its looking pro! haha!

[livefreeordie]

quick question for now, I found this cool thingy online. it shows th options for 1983 subaru models.

http://www.indysworl...ures/1983-l.jpg

it says the cars come with "Hill Holder Clutch".. what is this? and did it come in all 4x4 wagons? dont know to much about this stuff so i was wondering if my car had it? also i found the adjustable suspension and was wondering what peoples thoughts were on driving around with it permanently raised? I use this car as my DD so i wouldnt want to ruin it and read its generally not a good idea? it just looks cooler and could plow through deeper snow im thinkin.. thoughts? more photos will come sometime soon! enjoy!

[Durania]

Let's see some engine bay and interior shots! That is one of my favorite EA81 colors.

[TheLoyale]

Bravo, the paint turned out good!

[cpreset]

if you crank the height all the way up it decreases the life span of your cv boots the hill holder is when your on a hill and you depress your clutch and break at the same time you can let go of the break and it will stay engaged untell you release the clutch so you don't roll back as much.

[TheLoyale]

I have mine cranked up to max, the CVs aren't at any more angle than a 2" lifted EA82. Your CVs will be fine.

Hill Holder is a gimmick, learn how to drive stick the right way :-p

I may add. The adjustment for the front struts is right under the spring perch. its an adjustable spring perch basically.

Before:


After:


Adjustment for the rear torsion tube will be a 17mm bolt (Which probably won't turn as its rusted solid) The bolt is right in the center on the "A" style casting. There is a rubber plug under the rear seat which you can pop out and get to the bolt via the hole.

Edited by TheLoyale, 22 August 2012 - 11:26 PM.

[livefreeordie]

Ya i saw the plug under the seat, and it seems pretty much everything on the car has been rusted together.. ah well!
I just figured its probably lost that much in travel because the suspension is pretty worn anyways.
heres another photo...
sittin in the car hole. different lights?
changing that one out soon.

[livefreeordie]

heres the engine bay.. and believe it or not this is after an extensive clean... the car was so filled with dust (kind of like playa dust... any going home next week???? ) so i still have to go through the plugs and wires. the dist cap i changed out with a newerish one. and got a brand new filter for the carb!
aso changed the oil.. ew. and oil filter



also it seems the PO tore out a bunch of the interior panels and pulled out like half of the little plastic clips that hold the panels on, then put all those clips into a cup.? haha. so most of the rattling was solved by replacing all the clips and snaping the panels back on. also gave me an opportunity to deep clean, and i put in some new speakers (my roomates old ones out of his wrx)

[livefreeordie]

at the beach!


I put some of that super cheap walmart tint on the back half windows. it is not permanent (it really looks not so good haha) but im building a sleeping platform and stuff for camping in the back. also got sheets that i cut up to fit over the windows for maximum privacy!
(pics of that to come!)

[livefreeordie]

heres a better photo of the new paint (and crappy tint =) )

[livefreeordie]

so this is the sleeping set up in the ol DL... i'm gona use somthing similar.. i just needed more head room and less storage underneath

Edited by livefreeordie, 23 August 2012 - 11:47 AM.

[livefreeordie]

so i started on my new platform. the old one worked well for the DL but didnt fit in the new car so i just built a new one from scratch. the old one had to much storage room and not enough head room. i also bought a roll of velcro and applied one side to the cut sheets to fashion a "shade" sort of. with the velcro you can pull it tight to the sides of the car.

-heres a photo of the new platform - still needs its legs but i was just sizing it up

-also the shades arnt pulled tight but you get the idea

[livefreeordie]

driving to work today the left front break locked up, started smoking... i jumped out and the whole drum was bright red and pouring smoke! woops haha. quick fix, pulled the pad after it cooled and still made it to work on time!!!

[livefreeordie]

new photos
so one of the major issues with the car, that i will unfortunately have to spend money on is the ujoints went... actually it snapped and the rust is holding it together... i guess its funny or something? anyway pulled the drive shaft and put in brand new ones! shiniest metal on my car haha!!


here is it on my floor... see all the bits? the ujoint was in bad shape.. well it was ruined. no lube and all the bearings had exploded and turned to dust


close up of the rusted stuff (i think theres some grass mixed in haha)

[livefreeordie]

new ones!!!!!!!!!!! napa had a ton in stock (ea82 are everywhere and old subis) so i gt some the day of! and installed



lookin good!!!!!!!!!

[livefreeordie]

question;
so does any one know anything about the little bell that dings when you start the car? is it a real bell haha? and how do i get to it? it's cool and i wana see how it works lol

[turbosubarubrat]

if u want to get rid of it take these two wires off the ignition once u take off the colum covers and take off the ignition cover

[livefreeordie]

Oh, i didnt want to turn it off. Its just a funny sounding bell thing

[wallaby]

the bell ringer is above the glovebox - by the stock radio speaker,
i wrapped it in black electrical tape - now it is much quieter - but is still there.