Dan-AZ

Here is my 1979 GL 1600 Wagon. All Subaru except for the Stereo added before I bought her. Paint is the original "Brilliant Red" and the interior is stock from the factory. The Driver's seat has much wear and that's a project for this Summer. Engine rebuild is coming this Summer as well.

Sweet ride! I am jealous. I am looking for a Brat now too.

I have heard that so I will look into that option too. Thanks

I had my dealership try to install one of those and it had serious problems. The Hitachi that was pulled from my car I seriously want to have rebuilt only because I know it works. I heard horror stories about the manufacturer rebuilts that are out there.

I agree. I am weighing my options at this point. There is something to say about a car that's stock, but parts are becoming difficult if not impossible to get. It was a headache getting the stuff I had to get to get my car running again. Would you know what year, model, make of the car that the alternator mod comes from? I want to put that in my book so I have a fall back. Thanks.

I am at a T intersection here and need to figure out what works better and which way to turn. After a long drawn out electrical problem, I am looking at 2 options. The first is to do the Mitsubishi alternator mod and put that one in. Or number 2 is to have my old alternator rebuilt locally and keep one as my spare. To rebuild my old alternator, they charge $80 an hour plus parts. It could be just the brushes and contact for the old one, but I am not sure if the windings haven't gone bad. Any advice or direction is appreciated.

My engine only has 140,000 miles. The seals are going out so I figured I would tear it apart and replace what I could. The engine is solid and I haven't had problems with it. I am looking to get at least another 100,000 miles. The problem is getting parts for my gal. I have never had to do modifications on her, but I think that all is about to change. My electrical system is giving me problems with the alternator and V/R so when that's all fixed, I plan my next step. When she becomes unrepairable, I will probably cry for a week. Then it will give me an opportunity to find a 80's Brat and start all over again.

I found a place in Utah that sells rebuild kits for EA71 engines. I am rebuilding this Summer so I figured I'd let everyone out there know that this guys sells them. http://www.rpmrons.com/index.html I have only talked with via email and he states he has the stuff.

Thanks to all for information, advice, and parts. I hope to have my baby back up and running soon.

OK. I guess you can call me ignorant. I own a 1979 GL 1600 wagon. With advice and emails from some of the members here on the board I am trying to fix my car. The V/R went out on the right side wheel well and I am desperately trying to understand all this. This is the first electrical problem I’ve experienced with my car. I replaced the V/R with a NAPA equivalent and I’ve gone thru 2 of them getting 30 miles of road before both of them went. I believe the part number is VR553 per NAPA. That led me to the alternator. Since I was stranded on the side of the road, I had the car towed to the Subaru dealership. They put a new alternator and a new V/R – this time from O’Reilly or Autozone in - and now the car doesn’t run. Red lights on the dash still are on and the engine doesn’t run. Everything else works. I see comments about some alternators not working right out of the box. I keep seeing people talking about alternator modifications. Some have said to replace both the alternator and the V/R at the same time. People have told me to change out the alternator with a Mitsubishi one. I have no issues with that except I need to know a model number or something. However, will the NAPA VR553 voltage regulator work with that alternator? This V/R from NAPA I hear is solid state and not the old mechanical type. I am not trying to buy a whole bunch of parts that don’t work so I am looking for some advice on what I need. Trying to find original parts is most difficult and I need my baby running again. I need some advice or a parts list. A compatibility list would be nice. Is one posted here on the board? Any help is appreciated.

I know why I like my Subaru. It's a fun car and the 4-Wheel drive makes going thru snow very easy. It's fun to work on and easy to work on. I am having issues with my ride right now and I hope to have that resolved soon. The car is only 34 years old so things need replacing. I am just wondering about everyone else and your motivation for owning older Subarus? Or newer?

Yeah, my dealership isn't that educated at this point. I have them replacing both the V/R and the alternator. We'll see how that flies. The holidays are killing me with shipping and getting parts.

They are doing that now.

Everything works except the car doesn't run. It cranks, lights work, etc... Red lights on the dash and engine doesn't run. It kills the fuel pump but it will actually run for a few seconds if you let it sit a bit. Then it quits again. I was driving home when it quit the 3rd time. All the red lights came on and you lose engine power. When it quit the first time I got no red lights at all. Just quit and I thought fuel pump. But no power to fuel pump. The fuel pump runs thru that V/R switch. After I changed it, it ran great for about 20 miles. This time the charge light came on and it ran for a short time before all red lights came on and it quit. Then the 3rd time. Only 2 things go into the V/R switch - the battery and alternator. I checked all the wiring and its good. So the alternator was my next guess. I was headed on vacation so I gave it to the dealership to fix. If parts didn't take forever to get, my car would be fixed [maybe].

The delay is getting parts for the 3 weeks. The wait for regulators is 7 days and I have gone thru 2 of them before isolating the alternator. The V/R part is from NAPA - VR553. Not to mention it's over the holiday season. I replaced one and they replaced one. We are waiting on the third. They stated the windings on the alternator were going and the output voltage was kinda weird so they are replacing the alternator. We found some factory originals so we are going with that. My mechanic has over 30 years experience on Subarus so I am confident he can fix it. I am just checking to see if the alternator and the V/R would do that. The fusible links are fine - Checked those. I have the full schematic so I know it's something to do with the alternator now. I replaced the alternator 10 years ago so I hope that the new alternator and new V/R will fix this. The system is so simple, but finding parts that are original now is very difficult. Thanks.

OK. My 1979 GL 1600 has electrical issues. I drove her the night before and no issues. I drove her the next day and she quit on me. No lights or anything on the dash - Just quit. Since she wasn't getting fuel to the carb, I figured a bad fuel pump, so I changed that. No luck - No power to the fuel pump. Checked the voltage switch/regulator on the right fender wall and that seemed to be the issue. Replaced that. Ran for about 20 miles and she quit again. All the red lights on the dash came on and she just died. I had to have her towed to the dealership. They said the alternator was taking out the switch/regulator. Has anyone else experienced this? The dealership can't 100% identify the problem and my car has been there 3 weeks. Does the alternator sound right? I buzzed out the wiring between the alternator and the switch/regulator and it all seemed good. Any help is appreciated. -Dan

Thanks. Will look for them too. Checking multiple sources to see what I can get.

Thanks. Sending pixs to your e-mail.

My pedals are worn out on my 1979 GL 1600 wagon. Does anyone have a substitute or know anyone with replacements that I can get? Even something from JC Whitney or similar would work... Thanks Dan

I have the same wagon. GL1600 1979 and the color is "Brilliant Red." She's almost completely restored. I am also looking at a new engine or rebuilding the one I have. I found a guy in Utah that sells rebuild kits for our engine. About $450 for the complete kit. I think I have a project for the summer rebuilding the engine in my garage. The way it looks I figure when all is said and done I will have about $1000 in the engine to rebuild and get it back in the car. http://www.rpmrons.com/index.html That's the guy's website if you are interested. Good Luck. Dan

My heater core on my 79 GL 1600 needs to be removed - slight leak that I need repaired. Does anyone have any tips on removing the dash and instrument panel? I see three screws at the top of the dash and others underneath. I know it takes time to unhook and get stuff out. I have the manual to help. Any surprises that I might encounter? I've done just about everything else on this car except remove the dash and instrument panel. Thanks.zzz

Yep, Flag... I have an almost fully restored 1979 GL 1600 series II. Missing a working analog clock and spindle nut covers for the wheels. Other than that, she's been repainted and looks great. She's 4WD... Have fun.

Those brackets are the same for my 1979 1600 GL wagon too!

Been to the yard in Cornville - got a few parts off a 78 that worked. That wreck is long gone now. My only choice is the Phx area. Thanks

I have the same problem with my 79 GL 1600. When the engine and tranny warm up, things are fine. When things are cold, forget about downshifting to 1st unless you are about stopped. Also, shifting is a bit stiff when she is cold. I had to have the transmission mounts replaced and some of the seals replaced inside, but she still is stiff to shift when she is cold. I am running straight 80W gear oil in front and back. Best of luck.