SuBaRiNo

The hatch has gone through a few changes since i was on here last... including the completeing on the ej22 conversion with the use of an L-series gear box adapted to it.... Took it for a run on the beach today and i could not be happier with the performance.... found myself racing along the beach a lot faster than the ea81 could ever push my car and i still had a lot more power behind me. Some information about them shocks can be found at the following address.. http://www.ausubaru.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=archive;action=display;num=1083012709 That site also shows the part number for the shock that fits on the rear with the use of a top mount that has to be fabricated. Dave

Yes Ally means aluiminium... You will have to forgive my Aussie slang. ok... The bottom studs bolts on the enigine go through adapter plate...through the gear box bottom bolt holes and then u put nuts and washes on them. That clamps the bottom of the adapter plate between the engine and gear box. For the top ones you drill out the threads on the EJ engine.... then you bolt through the Ej engine top bolt holes into the thread in the adapter plate. You HAVE to make sure the bols bolting the enigne to the adapter plate do not protrude out the other side of the adapter plate or the gear box will not sit flush... i used some washers to make the bolts the perfect length. Then you put the top bolts on the gear box through the gear box and into the thread in the adapter plate. Also being sure they wont poke out the other side of the adapter plate forcing the engine and adapter plate apart.... this would damage the threads. I actually made the top bolt holes in the engine and gear box a little bigger by drilling them out to make them line up with the thread holes on the adapter plate. I hope that makes sence. Dave

The adapter is no where near as hard to make as it looks... even the outline shape can easily be made by placing a sheet of wood on the bell housing of an Ej22 engine and tracing it... this becomes your outside shape. Tracing the inside of the ea82 gear box to the opposite side of the sheet of wood is the tricky part to make your inside shape. The bolt up holes at the top do not even have to be exact... mine turned out to be a few millimeters off.... this was easily fixed by making the top bolt up holes in the engine and gear box a little bigger. The bottom 2 holes on the ej22 engine and the ea82 box line up exactly.... so you don't have to worry about not making it exaclty in the right spot because it will locate itself. This is also the case with the flywheel.... having made the bolt holes larger on the ea82 flywheel... it also centers itself on a locating sleave on the ej22 engine which happens to be the exact same size is the location hole on the ea82 flywheel. Adapter plate is made of Ally plate which i simply used a jig saw with an aggressive blade and set on a slow cut setting to cut it. Was truely way easier than i thought it would be. Dave

I am currently working with somone on here to send over a template. I have asked them to send this template to anyone over there that may need it. I would be un-able to send it to everyone due to a lack of time and the costs involved in sending it over seas. Dave

Ohh... i forgot to say how it runs... Runs great when it's not in a bad mood... it does have a few issues i have to sort.. including a dodgy gear box that i purchased which apears to be stuffed. It has plenty of power... no need for a turbo. Dave

Ok... i will try and answer a few of these questions.... - I will be more than happy to send the template out to someone else who can distribute it to everyone else over there who might need it. How exactly i can get the template there i am un-sure as yet. - Adapter plate is 12mm thick.... apparently that is the exact length that the Ej22 bell housing is shorter than the ea82 bell housing. This means by adding the adapter plate, it then makes the ej22 bell housing the exact size of an ea82 bell housing. After doing that you can drill out the ea82 flywheel stud pattern bolt holes so it bolts directly to the ej22 engine(no spacer needed). Then use the entire ea82 clutch set up on the flywheel. That also alows u to use the ea82 thrust bearing and everything and use the ea82 or ea81 starter motors without problems. I hope this helps Dave

As some of you know i have a 1983 Subaru Hatch which is rather rare in Australia due to hatches never being released here. I thought i would put a post on here as i have just finished installing an ej22 engine into the little hatch and converted it to 4wd. I have used a standard wagon rear end to make it 4wd along with an L-series 4wd gear box adapted to fit onto the ej22 engine. I was actually inspired by someone on this board to attempt to make the adapter plate myself and i ended up saving a lot of money that way. I have some pics on the net for people who would like to look at the different parts of the conversion. The site is below. http://community.webshots.com/album/134929361hUEpcw Enjoy Dave

The bottom paint is a black non-gloss paint. It is just spray can paint so that i can touch it up really easily if it gets scratched. It is a rust protectant paint usually used to prime metal surfaces. I have already had a rock flick up and scratch that bottom part of the car rather sevearly but because of my paint choice it wasn't a problem to repair. I highly recomend painting the bottom part this way. Only other things i have done to it is a weber 32\36 carby. Everything else has been left for now. As to how the car got here.. i would have no idea... someone had a lot of spare money i guess. Dave

Thanks for the feed back guys. I will answer the couple of questions asked about it. soobme: It is an aluminium bull bar. It does look like steel and for a long time i thought it was.... but it's not. Mike W: The bull bar doesn't weigh as much as it looks... maybe 20 kg or something possibly less. CamoMan: The rims are 14 inch by 6.5 inch i think. They are called Desert Rat rims and available in Australia.They are designed to fit on the older Subarus. They are a great rim and only cost about $90au per rim. The sedan in the pictures is a mates car that i built up with him... was a 2wd only about 6 inches off the ground... looks a whole lot different these days and it's now 4wd. He has the same tyres, rims and lift kit size (3inch) as the hatch... although he does wind up his suspension just to be taller than me. The blue colour is a Purl Blue... it tends to change colour from a blue to a purple sort of colour in different light. Everyone loves it. Im scared to scratching it now though. Future plans are to put in an ej22 and an ea82 L-series gear box. I have already got the ej22 and im in the middle of planning and prepareing for the conversion. If anyone on the board has completed an ej22 conversion without using the entire ej22 wiring harness off the donour car, i would really like to talk to you about what i can and can't remove on the wiring harness from the ECU. Thanks guys Dave

I thought it was about time i posted the pictures of my hatch now that it is all lifted. It is an 1983 Hatch with a 3 inch lift kit and 27 inch tyres. It would have to be the only lifted hatch that i am aware of in Australia. And is the only Hatch registerd in Western Australia. I am only aware of maybe 5 other hatches in the whole of Oz. I certainly get alot of interest from people wondering how I shortend a wagon not knowing it's an imported model. Let me know what you guys think. http://community.webshots.com/album/121005339qHcfki Dave

I have just got my 83 Leone Hatch licensed for the road and finally got to drive it over 60km/hr on the open road. I have noticed that if i go over 105km/hr there is a speed alert that begins to "bing" at me warining me of my speed. It sounds as though it is coming from near the glove box. Is this speed alert adjustable. Or is it set to this speed? Thanks guys Dave

Im putting a 3 inch lift kit onto my 83 Leone Hatch on the weekend. Also i am fitting my 27inch tyres from my wagon onto it. When i put them onto the wagon i had to cut the front fenders a little to fit the wheels on without rubbing. But on the back i had to do no cutting. On the hatch im assuming i will have to do the same amount of cutting on the front fenders... but do i have to cut off anything at the back to make them fit? Thanks guys Dave

I am going to make this hatch the first and only modified hatch in Australia. I want to show everyone here what they are missing. The mods i will be doing will include: 4wd Conversion 3 inch lift kit Rear air shocks Possible Bull bar Roof racks with spotties mounted on them 27 inch tyres on 14 inch rims Possible DVD player and TV screen CD player + AMP + 15 inch sub in boot + 2 sets of speakers Possible winch CB radio + CB antenna Custom rear bumper Power Stearing Engine: Either dual carb ea81 with ea82 5 speed gear box with dual alternators OR Possible ej22 with 4 speed AWD Auto gear box. It will truely be one of a kind in Australia and will surely turn some heads. Dave

Has anyone looked at these pics yet? Dave

The paint job is completed now and the exterior is back together. Here is a pic of it: More pics can be seen at the link below. http://community.webshots.com/album/103615033wlCQCX Let me know what you guys think. Dave

Upon further investigation and some posting on other forums, i have found that it is infact the break light warning system that turns the break light on in the dash if a glob blows. Thanks everyone for your help. I was a little confused because the wagons and the hatch i have both have a seperate unit located in the rear fender which did this. Thanks again Dave

I have just began wiring up my leone sedan tail lights onto my hatch and have find an unusual coil mounted near the wiring on one of the lights. It is situated behind the plastic pannel which holds in the glodes. A pic can be seen at the link below. Where you will see the coil on the right hand side of the holder. http://community.webshots.com/photo/103615033/107630091cqdxox What does this do? And do i need it? Thanks guys Dave

The paint job is now all completed... i will put some pictures of it completed in the next few days. I re-assembled the front end today... still have the back end to go. It looks great already and i still haven't put it all together. Ma-fia : You can email me if you like at davem2000@hotmail.com Im no professional with body work but after doing this i have learnt a thing or 2. Im sure there would be a body work export on this board some place that may be more suitable to seek answers from. Dave

Yeah i thought about getting some foreign assistance with getting some tail lights, but if they ever got damaged i would have been up for the drama all over again. Pluss if the lights were not in perfect condition by the time they got here i would need a new one due to registration laws here. One small crack and it wont pass licensing. I heard rumours the hatch was sitting in a wrecking yard. i think your guys call them bone yards or something. It had been sititng there for 2 years rusting away untill i purchased it. I have had it checked and it is the only one that has ever been registered in Western Australia. Luckyly it has previously passed all the Australian complience standards. And yes it is RHD. It was a lucky find... there are ALOT of australian subi fans that would love to get there hands on it. Dave

I have just finished painting it today... i will have some pictures up of it shortly depending on how much of it i want to put back together before i post more pics. Dave

Most of you might think im crazy but it was my only option... I have an 83 Hatch and im locatied in Australia. Meaning i have one of maybe 5 subaru hatches in the whole country. My rear lights where busted when i got it and there being no replacements anywhere in Australia i underwent the mission to mount sedan tail lights to the hatch. It took a while...and it didn't really work out as good as i wanted it to but im still happy with it. Pics can be seen at the link below. Let me know what you guys think. http://community.webshots.com/album/103615033wlCQCX Dave

Thanks Qman. Yeah i think it would be too pricey to get it sent over and pay for the shaft. If i have the measurements it would be cheaper to get one made. Then i can just take a Wagon shaft in and tell them how much i want it shortened by. I have been offered an ej22 to put in the hatch so i may not even end up making it have an ea81 4wd gear box but i would still need the measurements just incase. Thanks again. Dave

No one can help?

Thanks for all the info. I was wondering if someone could do me a HUGE favour. Due to there being no such thing as a hatch tail shaft in Australia.... could someone out there do some quick measurements and tell me how much shorter the hatch tail shaft is compared to the wagon or brumby shaft. Im guessing it's close to 50mm. Thanks Dave

The reason i am asking is because im in Australia. There are only about 5 hatches here and i don't know of any of them being 4wd. Hence...getting a 4wd hatch shaft is impossible in this country. By the sounds of it i will have to get a custom one made. Any idea how much shorter the hatch shafts are? What if i put an ea82 gear box into it.... will that allow me to use the ea81 wagon tail shaft? Thanks for the help guys... most people in Australia are un-aware that this vehicle even exists Dave