el_freddo

Going with a dual range 5 speed swap as well? Looks good and she (or is it a he?) certainly does scrub up well! Cheers Bennie

I would’ve left all that emissions gear if it wasn’t doing anything nasty. Mine’s pinging atm and I don’t know why. Very frustrating! So I don’t have an answer as to why it’s running rich now. Also you should’ve kept the charcoal canister. It’s one of the first bits of the emissions gear that came out. It stops your fuel tank from venting vapours to the atmosphere. @sparkyboy - you should check out the ‘71 LC Torana. I had one of those in the 4 door with a 186 red engine (the EJ22 of the straight six red engine series). Loved that car. A mate wrote it off and that’s ultimately what got me into Subaru’s... otherwise I’d still be playing with those now I reckon (check out the LJ XT6 Torana - the one to have. The LC series had the GTS prior to the XT6 and came in hot pink!). Also check out the ‘68 HK Monaro. The V8 GTS had a 327 chev small block. Awesome looking vehicle! It was also available as a GTS with a 186 “S” pack engine that was tweaked for better performance, it had several gearbox options too. I digress, and now find myself wanting a bigger shed!! Cheers Bennie

@sparkyboy - The RS is practically a factory sleeper over here - subtle boonet scoop and downplayed sports styling... no one looks twice at these unless a) you’re blarting past them which they don’t expect or b) they know what an RS is all about. From factory they’ve got a water to air intercooler, the boner scoop isn’t really needed! I can’t wait to get mine going!! It won’t look as good as this one but anyway, it’s an RS and I’ll enjoy driving it! Cheers Bennie

My hunch is head gasket leak. Using the AC loads the engine enough that the cooling system can no longer “look after” the blown head gasket and thus over heats If this is the issue, it’ll only get worse over time Cheers Bennie

Wheel bearings. Diffs usually whine when loaded on or off throttle, but typically not when coasting. This is why I think it’s wheel bearing related. Cheers Bennie

Holy cow that’s some thorough information!! Top effort! Cheers Bennie

G’day Zeb, welcome to the forum! Not everything is backwards, just the steering stuff really. Everything on the engine is on the same side etc. Sorry to her about your grandfather. Sounds like he had good motoring taste though! Get onto any rust ASAP and keep her under cover if possible. I’m wishing I had a carport or enough room in the shed for mine. Got any pics to share? Cheers Bennie

That’s the touring wagon spec. And looking at the boulstering in the seats I reckon that could be a JDM thing, although the advert says GL10... Youll need the seat backs too. Cheers Bennie

Yeah we do! (OBD1 EJ22 in my L series) I’m now about to replace the CTS, and I’ve just replaced the O2 sensor since this film was made. Cheers Bennie

I’ve got a mate over here that would love to have that shell! But that won’t be happening... Cheers Bennie

Got any pics of these struts? Cheers Bennie

Sorry, I meant flash as in remove stored codes. No good changing sensors, check codes and still have the same stored codes showing up. You’ll be chasing your tail if you’re not clearing these! May least that’s how I operate in my shed, it works for me every time. Cheers Bennie

Hmmm... graphic equaliser (say it in a Homer Simpson voice with some drool ) @Giles - I'd be pulling all CV shafts down, cleaning, regreasing and putting quality new CV boots (“bellows” - cool name). Double check that you’ve got an LSD our the back, over here they were optional on the Vortex/XT4. If so it’s also a good time to service the clutch packs that will most likely be worn out. I’ve read that some sort of Nissan clutch packs fit in since the r160 is essentially the same diff. Cheers Bennie

There’s a set of connectors to erase stored codes, but I’m unsure about the exact details. Instead I do the “battery dance” - disconnect the battery for a few minutes. Half hour to be really sure! Start the engine but do not touch the throttle. Idle may waiver up and down a little, this is normal. Don’t touch the throttle or put it in gear until the fans have cycled at least once, I usually do twice. Then you can go for a drive or shut it down and have lunch etc. By checking timing I’m taking about the cam belt timing. Sorry I should’ve been more explicit about that. Just check to see that it’s all aligned as it should be. Cheers Bennie

Just go and visit a (or a few) tyre specialists/dealers and talk with them knowing the info that Matt and other members have contributed in here. They’ll be able to give you an upfront answer and you can ask more questions with a much quicker turn around in reply time. I think you’re over thinking this and really just need to get a new set of tyres. I’ve been reading since the first post and now it seems you’ve got the tyre you want but then nit pick for something else. It took me less than ten minutes on the phone to decide on my tyre choice. And I always get an alignment with new tyres, always! Alignments are cheap insurance to get the most life (=distance) from your tyre. . Bennie

Did you flash the ecu between each sensor being swapped? Is the cam timing lining up as it should?? Cheers Bennie

Bloody schmick looking job on that alloy elbow Jono!! Looks like it just came off the showroom floor! Cheers Bennie

I’d say the samba is old school - not that I know the years they were produced. One of those in the stables would be sweet! Maybe I did mis-read your post. If only my snorkel let me get across that rather large puddle I could be there... maybe Anyhow, awesome pics none the less! Cheers Bennie

How is yours the only Subaru there if you’ve got the brz, wrx and samba (super cool!)? Cheers Bennie

Stop teasing us Johnny! Where’s the rest of this pop-top build?? Cheers Bennie

There’s a set of bushes in the shift linkage between the gearbox and the lever. It’s a common issue. Someone will know the parts you need. It’s relatively simple, just fiddly to get to. Cheers Bennie

Yes. Pull the main harness from the vehicle. Leave the engine harness on the engine. Trim down the main harness, lay it out over the engine with the wires you need to start it setup either on a switch panel or labelled so you can connect them to a battery for start up. Use the wiring on the vehicle for the fuel pump, might need to extend some wires for this. When it starts, runs, doesn’t throw a CEL (unless it did beforehand and you know what the code is) you know you’re good to wrap the wiring and go ahead with pulling the engine etc. This allows you to troubleshoot any harness/engine related issues without extra downtime on your EA daily. You could even lay the EJ harness into the L in prep for the engine to be put in, again, saves on downtime. The donor vehicle is the way to go unless you know exactly what you’re doing and what you need - or you like learning “along the way” when you find bits missing or bits needed that you’ve over looked. The FSM wiring diagrams of the ECU are the ones you want. Basically any wire from the ECU plugs are kept. I unwrapped the harness then traced all wires from the ECU, taping them together as I went. Anything that was woven in an untaped got cut out. Here’s my testing of the harness. As you’ll see I put all the bits together rather than find a donor: Cheers Bennie

There’s some awesome work in there Giles! Ive has trouble working out what some of the pics represent, like the square cut section, the new semi dome looking piece (I have no idea where that’s from), and what are the rail pieces with the galvanised bolts/plates/rear suspension frame? Keep up the good work! Cheers Bennie

Flex is the wrong term commonly used by “low educated” 4wders, they actually need to use “articulation”... What you need to do is jack up a wheel with the others chocked well to stop the car moving off the jack. The lifted wheel will spin at some point. You should be able to release 4wd. Or go for a drive on a dirt road/with one set of wheels on the dirt, while moving apply some pressure on the 4wd lever, it’ll slip out. Lastly, while your brat might be a ‘91 model, you need to post in the EA platform section Cheers Bennie

Considering the EA81 doesn’t have timing belts it’s always going to be a pain in the arse to change them out... or not. Sorry, do my eyes deceive me or am I reading this correctly? After a few other posts in recent months I’m surprised to see you write this GD! When you say to use at his discretion, what sort of uses could it see? If this is a learning project it could be worth your time to do a full tear down and re-assembly using only the items that need replacing for a successful start up (such as head gaskets). Cheers Bennie