elRayRay Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Hey there! Just today, I acquired a genuine 1987 GL Wagon 4wd! I've been waiting for this day for several months. I've been watching them lately and today I pulled the trigger. I have a faint history with 80's and 90's VW's, so a Subaru seems like a good fit. Plus, it will get me into the backcountry! I'm planning to give it a 4" lift and put it on 27" BFG's, and put all sorts of tubes around the outside (bumpers, racks, etc.). I definitely need to get some more power out of it, though. Any links to start with for general info regarding engines? EA81=carburetor right? See you around! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferox Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Welcome. You need an EJ swap for more power and reliability, and EA81 is carbed unless you do an SPFI swap. EJ22 is the way to go. Search for EJ swap. That should get you where you need to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elRayRay Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Welcome. You need an EJ swap for more power and reliability, and EA81 is carbed unless you do an SPFI swap. EJ22 is the way to go. Search for EJ swap. That should get you where you need to be. After a bit more research, it seems that I have the carbureted EA82. As I understand it, EA81 is pushrod and mine looks OHC. I'm definitely not trying to get into engine swap territory right off the bat. Maybe after I get it closer to what I want, but right now I just want a well-oiled machine that I can get into the woods with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferox Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Is it manual transmission or auto? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elRayRay Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 Is it manual transmission or auto? 5-speed, D/R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiGL Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 (edited) Try rebuilding the original carb, or perhaps a Weber. Then a 2" exhaust and tune for it. That'll net you some more power. EJ swaps apparently aren't that difficult as far as conversions go, but I haven't peronally doen one. Clean car anyway! one more thing, are those alloys 14"? They look like they might be. If they are then 27" BFGs will go right on without needing to hunt new rims! Edited September 20, 2015 by KiwiGL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elRayRay Posted September 20, 2015 Author Share Posted September 20, 2015 (edited) I'm probably going to try to find another stock carb and rebuild it to put on. Where is a good source for aftermarket exhaust systems? The wheels are only 13's. ???? Edited September 20, 2015 by elRayRay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elRayRay Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 I just got it back from the shop. New plugs and wires, filters, oil, gear lube (apparently, there was NONE in it), and v-belts. Back in the day with Volkswagens, we had this incredible resource called a Bentley manual. Does anything comparable exist for Subaru? The Haynes and Chilton manuals never really had the content of the Bentley. I'm excited to get into this car, and I need to get some stuff fixed in a hurry. It has no exhaust behind the (presumably clogged) cat, the passenger CV has no boot to speak of, and the passenger headlight could be the home of tadpoles. I'm heading to the junkyard soonish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferox Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 The Haynes manual has excerpts from the Factory Service Manual (as usual), but really what you want is the actual FSM if you plan on working on it and keeping it for a while. I don't disagree with KiwiGL about the new exhaust system, but if you are going to spend the money to have someone build a new exhaust you might as well spend the money on an EJ swap. The ea82 is not a bad engine, but it's the transition engine between the EA81 and EJ22, as such it is the proverbial turd of the bunch (relatively speaking). If it runs well, then I would rebuild a carb just like you plan to do, but I would not put much money into polishing because there is no way to really bump up power from the EA82 in any considerable way without doing something ridiculous and expensive. A new exhaust system will put you halfway to a complete EJ swap (~$1,000 total). Way more power, better mileage, way less maintenance, easy junkyard parts, and much better dependability. There are mechanics in Portland that will do the swap, but I do not know what they charge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subabro Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 rebuild it! that will going to look awesome after a few tweaks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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