TheLoyale

There is also a USMB Facebook page, which is traveled about as much as USMB lol. If money was the issue behind this, we should have an idea of what it takes to keep the USMB up and running, possibly how much is in the account. So we can get a better idea of when to donate and how much. Cheers, -Tom

Also am getting a few things done on the Wagon. Getting the new arch panels in and getting rust repair finished up. Got the rocker already on, just need to do some finishing details on to have it complete and strong. Also looking to get some new gussets just so I won't have to fabricate them.

Changed the tail pipe around on the Hardtop with a 3" Stainless section. Sounds much better, nicer cleaner note.

Changed the tail pipe around on the Hardtop with a 3" Stainless section. Sounds much better, nicer cleaner note. Also am getting a few things done on the Wagon. Getting the new arch panels in and getting rust repair finished up.

Added some high decibel horns today. Not Hella Supertones, but they were $25 and on the self. Took them apart and painted them with Cherry blossom red with a silver grille. Drove it to work for the first time this year! Brakes work so nice.

Brakes are all done! Drilled/Slotted 9" Rotors all around, New calipers, 30mm Calipers in the rear, New NTN Bearings/seals, New Brake hoses and as much stainless hardware as I could get. Now if you stop in a hurry, it'll be ejected thru the window! Now onto other little fun things! And back to working on the Safariwagon....

BFG KM2s will last a life time. I have a set on my Landcruiser and use it daily for the past 5yrs, tires still have above half life. Another tire option would be Kenda Klever M/Ts.

I was looking at Tokico Rear Calipers I have today and noticed I have one set of 31.5mm and 3 sets of 30mm. Here they are compared side by side. 30mm is on the left in the first pic with the Stampings "7tR and 7tL" The 31.5mm are on the right with the stampings "CL9T" L&R In the second picture the 31.5mm are on the right, and you can notice the piston housing is Larger. I am guessing the 31.5mm is from a Wagon body, possibly 4WD, while the other are from various 2WD and Sedan body cars. Needless to say, the 31.5mm will be going onto the Safariwagon, and the 30mm will be going on the Hardtop. Also last night, I ordered EA81 Slotted rotors for the front, EA82 2WD Slotted rotors for the rear and new Front EA81 Calipers.

Thinking all Calipers will become Bronzy gold. Keeping it 80s Thoughts anyone?

So.... After matching up 2WD EA81 front calipers/brackets to 4WD EA82 calipers/brackets I have found they both are vastly different and are NOT compatible between EA81/EA82 knuckles. In order to run EA82 front brakes on an EA81, the entire knuckle and possibly the control arm will need to be swapped out with EA82. So my plan on running 9.5" EA82 brakes on the front of the Hardtop went out the window. Guess I will stick with EA81 9" brakes and run slotted rotors all around. Took a few photos of the differences. (In my hand is the EA82 Caliper) 2WD EA81 Caliper. Caliper Brackets EA81 on the Right, EA82 on the Left. Figured I would post this info up incase anyone else was looking into this as a swap. Anyhow, today I received 2WD XT Rear Disk Parts from John in KY! Thank you again for sending these out to me! Gonna get everything cleaned up and painted, may run one of the sets of reman calipers I have (I may run EA81 4WD rear calipers as they should have a larger piston) Will also be putting new bearings into these. MADE IN JAPAN.... Nothing better! Can you Spot the Amsoil....? Cheers all! -Tom

Got the Tank in and all hooked up today. New lines, clamps stainless hardware and the works. kinda nice having a tank that isn't puking gas! Next up will be the brakes. I snagged a set of FWD XT rear disks from John in KY. I am gonna compare the calipers I have, and see which ones have larger pistons and run those along with Slotted rotors. I am also going to see if Loyale calipers/brackets bolt up to the EA81 knuckle. I have a feeling they will! In that case, I will have the 9.5" brakes in the front!! And again, slotted rotors. Should have some good stopping power once all done. Will get some pics once I get the rear disk parts -Tom

So, I was making progress on getting the fuel tank in with new hoses and such. But the weather likes to play tricks in Wisconsin and we are now getting freezing rain/snow. Everything is ready to put back in, I also cleaned up the filler neck, it was rusted where Subaru didn't hit it with undercoating, but it cleaned up good and is now protected. Need to get some M5 or M4 stainless screws for it along with some proper hose clamps. I will get some more photos of the finished products before install.

I will have to see if this is available in the U.S, I've used other acid based rust converters (Permatex brand) which seemed to have worked out ok. Turns the rust black and hard as rock. But maybe this is a better product! Thanks for posting it, I will check into that as well. Cheers, -Tom

So as Wisconsin unthaws from its winter ravages, the birds start to chirp around 6:30am, the sun peaks its head over the horizon. But wait! Whats that noise...? Ah yes; another year of working on Subarus, fixing what was neglected by others. Anyway! As the snow has all melted and the temps are climbing, the GL has been uncovered and moved into the driveway. On the chopping block this time is the Fuel System, Tank, Lines, Pump, Float. Here is what the original tank looks like. I am thinking this is from sitting in grass over the years, along with the addition of road salts being in the air, clinging to damp steel. Pretty nasty if I may say. Since I have the tank out of the way, I gave these rust areas a go-over with the wire wheel to clean them up a bit, before hitting them with Primer and bed liner. This is only a temporary fix to slow down the rust until I get more time to actually tear into this car. Luckily I have a rust free fuel pump and bracket that I can swap in after I make sure its cleaned up and re-protected. I was also hoping I wouldn't need to make new metal lines, but after looking a bit closer, I am pretty sure they will need to be replaced too. Now! What better to replace ye ole' swiss cheese tank, than this well persevered one. I cleaned up any surface rust with a wire wheel, making sure to check for any cracking around the hose nipples and such. Everything checked out 100%. New fuel tank again thanks to Forest. This is also a 4WD tank. So if in the future this cars becomes 4WD or AWD swapped, the diff will fit nicely. After wire wheeling any trouble areas, I than coated the entire tank with Mar-Hyde Etching Primer; And then coated it again with Dupli-color black truck bed liner. I will snag a pic of the tank once it dries and I get the float back in. (And yes, I tapped off all threaded studs and hose nipples before applying bed liner) Also, here is a snap of the Brat moulding I mentioned in the other post. Fits perfect! Once I get the fuel system finished, I will be moving on the Brake system! Over the course of a few months sitting unmoved; I noticed all the brake fluid in the master cylinder was gone. I have come to the conclusion that one of the wheel cylinders is leaking. Brakes still hold pressure, but I am thinking over time the fluid is seeping out. So since I will need to bleed all four corners, might as well replace everything while I'm at it, Any hard lines, Soft lines, Calipers, Rotors, Pads, Drums, Shoes, Wheel cylinders, Hardware etc.... The Master looks and works fine, so that will remain as is. As I make more progress, I will keep the updates coming. So stay tuned Cheers, -Tom

Thanks bud! I think this is the first old gen they've put in their newsletter. Hoping to see some more in the coming installments (Get kinda tired of seeing Outbacks with tree hugger bumper stickers and your stanced out Impreza getting all the glory) Next post will have a few updates with pictures! Getting to work on this rig again along with trying to get the fuel system fixed up on the Hardtop.

The Loyale made it into Subaru Ambassadors monthly news letter this month! Check it out!

Trailblazer hey, probably a little nicer than the HHR ever was. Yeah I hear you on the Baja situation too. Damn that HHR is mangled, cockpit looks pretty good, A-pillar stayed ridged. Glad you got out of that with nothing serious hurt.

So a Baja sounds in order!

Damn rubbish! Glad you're alright though, icy roads or not, be dumb on someone else time. Granted yes, I drive quick, slide it sideways and around curves and do all sorts of "Dumb" crap when driving in the snow because its fun. But I've never came close to hurting someone else in all the years, never crashed into anything now that I think about it. Dumb people, I tell ya. So whats up next now that the HHR is no more? As for the oil pump, I agree it will help a lot with the HLAs. Although, I've never had any issue with mine for the past 10yrs, and now with Amsoil, they never make a sound. Perhaps because mine is a 3AT it always runs higher RPMs which probably keeps things open and not sticky. Low RPMs kill these motors (Which is why the STi guys blow con rods and ringlands) 4th gear turbo pulls are always a good idea If anything though, I would watch just how much pressure you get out of the XT6 pump. Otherwise kiss ur main seals goodbye.

If the rotor clears the same measurement as you said, then I see no reason why the ER27 pump wouldn't work on the EA82 with the added benefit of higher volume, which wouldn't kill the EA82 at high RPM. I am surprised the answer to this question so many years ago was "No" Considering the ER27 is 100% an EA82 with two added cylinders at the rear. Nothing should have really changed in the front of the block. If you look at an ER27 with the #1 piston at TDC. The two pistons at the rear will both be at half stroke from what I remember when Fox and I did HGs on an old XT6. Its like Subaru just slapped two extra cylinders and a MPFI spider intake on an EA82

Always nice to come home and find a box of parts waiting for ya! My house looks like a distribution center for UPS, FedEx, USPS and Speedy on any given day Haha...

You did a fine job cleaning up the other block. So usually I use a wire wheel to polish up the block and remove corrosion, but this tends to lean swirls (Probably could use a brass wire wheel to avoid this) but do you apply anything to the aluminum to keep it looking this clean and bright? I've noticed in time the surface corrosion kinda comes back. I used to use that Eagle One wadding compound cloth to polish it, just wondering if you know of a better way.

After many, many months of searching and begging. I have snagged a pretty mint Black D/R Center console along with some other Black interior bits. 1985 only, so they are hard to come by (Especially in nice condition) Thanks bud for helping me out with that! Anyway, Since 2016 will be the 10 year anniversary for Safariwagon. I am going to push hard to get it buttoned up this year. I miss driving it, I miss having an interior in it Haha. I really cannot wait to feel how it drives with all the changes! Cheers all and thanks for taking the time to read and follow this build! -Tom

Got the rear quarter molding from a Fellow member! Its actually a Brat molding, but is identical to whats supposed to be! Thanks Forrest!