Jump to content
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

Info on how to soup up my 88 GL?


Recommended Posts

Does any one know how i can make my 88 GL Wagon 4dr 5spd

1. Go faster, i.e. Turbo, intake

2. What type of wheels fit

3. what sort of suspension mods are availible

4. any bolt on Stlying acessories, such as bodykits, spoilers,hoods, custom bumpers, headlights.

 

My Car is, as I said, A 1988 4 door 5 speed wagon, whith Hi and Lo range 4wd, not sure if turbo, but I dont think so. It has 194,000+ miles.

Also, has anyone had any problems with the front end?Something

is dragging, especially when I have the steering turned almost full lock either side.

 

Any info would be much apreciated

 

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I have been reading and learning, albeit slowly. My next question is, which engine is in my car? I know its either a AE81 or AE82, but how do I find out? For all its worth, the engine is a 109 CID SPFI. How hard,expensive would it be to either Turbocharge this engine, or would it be eiser and cheaper to just do a AE82 Turbo engine swap? I am on an extremely cheap budget. $1000 or less.

At least for now.

 

1988 GL Wagon 4x4 5spd

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your car is an EA82. In order to Turbo, you will need to switch to MPFI, the Turbo wiring harness, Turbo ECU, Turbo Exhaust, and there's more to it than that. For one - you probably might as well pull the engine, cause you'll need different heads for the MPFI, so it would be easier to simply drop a turbo motor in. It's a lot of work, but I'm sure you could do it for less than $1000 if you make the right purchases. Also - a turbo on your engine would be difficult becuase your engine has too high of a compression ratio - the turbo's have different pistons. So if you were to do the turbo conversion, it would be running at a much higher boost, and you would need to run premium in it, and probably use a manual boost controller etc. I'm no expert on Turbo's but if it were me, I would just go find a Turbo car - too much trouble to mess with trying to swap it in.

 

As for suspension mods - there are none that I know of. You can get body lift kits for off-road, but I didn't gather that's exactly what you wanted.

 

As for wheels - basically there aren't any of those either. The only ones around are original subaru wheels, some aftermarket sets that aren't made anymore (can get em used here on the board sometimes), and Peugeot 504 and 505 rims (hard to find). All of these rims are a 4x140mm bolt pattern. Alternativly, you can go to a junk yard, and get a bunch of suspension parts from an XT6, and retrofit your car to the legacy 5 bolt pattern. This opens you up to a whole bunch of wheel possibilities. Someone here could tell you what parts you need for that.

 

Don't know of any body kits either... but maybe.

 

GD

Link to comment
Share on other sites

for the XT6 5-lug conversion, you'll need the rear control arms, the discs, hubs, calipers for the back and the control arms, axles, struts?, hubs, discs, calipers I'm pretty sure. As for a body kit, I know an RX body kit will work but trying to find one is gonna be hard. Rims for the 4x140mm can be found easily depending on where you are. I know between Corvallis and Albany, there's a pug junkyard and I know the guy who owns it has rims up the @$$. But if you're doing the 5-lug conversion, I'm pretty sure the chevy 5-lug will fit that bolt pattern too. For the motor, better plug wires, plugs, and a hotter coil. A nice flowing exhaust will make more power too. But if you want to switch to a turbo, it would be easier to just go find one that is already a turbo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...