SCREEAAAWWWWWW

Thanks for all the help and tips guys. i got it installed end everything I just need to find a constant 12v or wire one in, the stereo not saving settings got annoying the first time i turned it off. Does anyone know if there is a constant 12v anywhere near the stereo I can splice into? Sounds a million times better than stock now though.

Awesome wagon, you should paint the rims. OUCH! i just bought 4 brand new sealed bearings for my two front wheels for $36 on amazon.

I might have to come to WCSS now just so I can race you. you better have nitrous or something because my suby does around a 30 second 1/4 mi. :banana: new headlight trim assembly thing installed thanks to retroroo, my front clip is messed up too on the passenger side: A closer pic, the rust is just on the surface And everything put together, she needs a bath though: I installed Thanks and its cleared out a little bit now, they sure don't give you much space here.

lets race! (lol @ old subarus racing that sure would be boring)

Yeah its almost as kewl as yours, I will post a new pic later today since there has been a lot of progress on it.

Thanks for all the info everyone, its a shame nobody makes a decent kit but that is understandable. I have a dremel tool somewhere and I just ordered one of these nice mechless decks, it was only 45 bucks or something like that, I don't need a cd player I have an iPhone Now the problem is putting in some decent speakers, more specifically finding a place to put them. I ordered a pair of 4" two-ways for the front and I'm thinking about 6x9's in boxes in the back? I want a sub as well, but want to keep the back of the car relatively clear so I can go camping and sleep in it somewhat comfortably. If anyone else has an 81 or w/e years that they came with this tinny two speaker radio, if you have pics of where you put your speakers that would be awesome to see them I need ideas. Also thanks GD for the link to that thread, it gave me the idea of getting a mechless deck, I hadn't even thought of something like this before.

Well that's poopy :-\ I looked and didn't see anything I will look again though, thanks.

Does anyone know of any websites selling a stereo dash mount kit for an 81 gl wagon? I have looked and looked and can't find one anywhere.:-\

You're right you did I'm sorry I have a lot on my mind, I appreciate all the information and appreciate you repeating it haha. I can't find my pressure tester anywhere :-\ I don't think it was good enough to test that small of a number anyway.

Really? That is good to know, I will have to find my fuel pressure tester and give it a look, what psi is it supposed to run at?

Thanks for letting me know I would have searched forever for it! What is that other thing I took a picture of?

If I adjust the idle mixture screw it will idle ok, but only at about 1500 rpms which is obviously too high. My vacuum seems good and there is no moisture in the distributor. The timing is a little off, but not by much (I need to buy a timing light.) Also it will idle ok like I said if I adjust the idle air mixture screw, but when going downhill in neutral/with clutch in it will stall every time, soooo idk :confused: PS found the o2 sensor thanks !

I can't find anything that looks like that filter anywhere in the engine compartment. The only thing that even looks like it has lines going to my carb is this: and heres one a little more far away for reference Heres a shot of the drivers side of the engine compartment by the strut tower: I really don't know where the filter is, perhaps someone bypassed it? That would be really dumb but you can't put stuff past anyone these days.

Hi I think my 81 gl wagon is supposed to have two full filters, so far I have only found and replaced the one by the driver's side rear wheel. Supposedly the secondary is under the hood somewhere but I can't seem to locate it. Could anyone point me in the right direction?

My 81 gl has these same symptoms and also dies at idle constantly, I was figuring it was the carb as the PO said it had a crack in it or something (he doesn't really know anything about cars so he couldn't tell me much) but it is a California car. Where is the o2 sensor located, inside the cat?

Wow great thread, thanks everyone for clearing that up for me

....Or was it just renamed and is also a current line of cars? Like the Legacy or Impreza?

I didn't get a lot of time to work on it today but I put a new radiator cap on because the original one was old and cracked and I had removed it to flush the radiator and knocked a piece of the old dried rubber seal off of it and when I took it to the lake the day before the radiator was just spewing out through the cap. I also changed the fuel filter which I had intended to do much earlier and it was a very good thing I had done so because when I removed the old one, it looked super old and had some brown sludge running out of one side. unfortunately it wasn't a transparent one like the new one I put on so I couldn't see how clogged it was but I'm assuming its pretty bad based on what came out of it. I've never seen such a dirty fuel filter before:mad: I understand what you mean now, that is a good idea and it will be added to "the list" I couldn't seem to find a very good angle to solder it at, I also can't get to it underneath because there is a skid plate there. I'm pretty sure my carb is the hitachi because it has the hexagonal finger-sized anti-dieseling valve pointing towards the drivers side headlight on it, which I listened for the click and it seems to make one so I assume it is in good working order. I'm planning on buying another hitachi from someone on here, one that is in working order, to pass smog. I'll probably switch to a weber after that although the SPFI sounds nice too, just a little more work. I will do the lines and the timing they are next on "the list." How do I check if my distributor is working correctly? Also thanks Me too! Really do I just ask at the auto parts store for a set of vaccuum lines or do I have to buy different lengths and width lines and cut them to size?

The stock alternator isn't on the car, there is a brand new one, and there is a killswitch for the fuel pump installed is that different than a cutoff relay? I am trying to find the thread you are talking about, I really need to read it because I am unfamiliar with some of these things. I tore into it today and found the green wire, but I can't take the unit out to solder it without taking off the bar and the bumper I think I will do that tomorrow. Also the brush bar on the front blocks the passing lamp so I am going to have to do something about that too. Today I tried to take apart the shifter mechanism and pull the bushing to see if I could find/fab some new ones since the shifter is so damn sloppy, but I couldn't for the life of me get the nut & bolt that holds together with the bushings to break free. I tried spraying some penetrating lubricant on it and I cranked on it but it started to round the nut and the bold head so I stopped, is there some trick to getting that off? Only other real problem I'm having with the car is that the engine stalls when coasting downhill, unless I give it gas constantly but uphill it does fine. It sometimes dies when idling on level ground as well. I'm pretty sure it is the carburetor but I think the timing is off as well because it diesels a little bit every time I shut it off. Why can't I put a weber on in california, this is making me seriously consider moving... Here is an pic of the best side of the car in my driveway. I cleaned and sanded the rims, then painted them with flat black rustoleum, everything went better than expected. I plan on painting the brush bar with the same color. Also new tires on the back. Also does anyone have a passenger side headlight moulding thing that goes around the headlight and has the blinker + running light on it, the silver thing? I would like to buy one. I also need a dipstick since mine snapped off. And the plastic things that go around the interior door handles, I would really like to buy some new ones as well, mine are rotted away (or are they all like that?) Probably a bunch more stuff I can't think of right now.

Yes it is the 4 speed, however I have never swapped a tranny before, but it seems like it should be pretty straight forward on this car, not sure if I'm up for it yet though. Also my passing light doesn't open up, and I haven't got around to checking if it is vaccuum or electrically operated, but I will definitely need to get that in working order, even though my brush bar kind of blocks it Yeah I found it, apparently the original one broke or something because the one on there was just a rubber plug instead of a handle and teh tube was bent off to the side, I thought it was some sort of breather at first until I saw the tube was metal. I even managed to break off the dipstick inside somehow so I had to pull the tube out WTB new dipstick Yeah my carb definitely has something wrong with it, looks like the flapper for the second barrel is broken, because it just sort of hangs there. Also last night a drove up the mountain to do a little wheeling (at night in a car I don't know too well yet, I'm smart:-\) and all went well until I was heading back and coasting downhill, the engine died even after I restarted it several times and would constantly do this until I gave it gas. I'd really like to buy a re-manufactured carb or at least a rebuild kit but have been looking for a few hours now and can't find anything, if someone could point me in the right direction that would be awesome. There is already a killswitch installed in the car underneath the dash that cuts off the fuel pump (it is in the worst place though I accidently flick it all the time and wonder why the car is not starting...)as well as a brand new alternator Also I have one more question, when I am driving anywhere above like 45-50 mph and turn the wheel even slightly it sounds like my front tires are rubbing or something, but they aren't, and I am baffled by what this might be, the alignment seems good and I just put new tires on the front (just swapped them to the back but it didn't make a difference) so :confused: It's a sweet rump roast car overall I'd have to say, I think I have become a subaru lunatic like everyone else here haha.

What are the biggest tires I can put on without installing a lift? I don't want them so big that they will rub.

Yeah, unfortunately I don't think it will pass smog with a weber, however I am interested in doing an SPFI conversion, I'm pretty sure something is wrong with the carb anyway, the PO says he took it to a carb shop and they said it was cracked but I don't know about that. I haven't yet decided if I want to put a lift on it or not but I am definitely going to get new tires for it tomorrow, as well as give it an oil change and tune-up and run seafoam through the fuel system. I think I'm going to keep it mostly stock, because I really like the way the car is designed. Oh yeah one more thing, nub question but, where the hell is the oil dipstick on this thing?? I swear I can't find it anywhere...

Also it has the passing light, and the dual range transmission those are the things you want right?

A friend of a friend of a friend offered to sell me his 81 gl wagon since I had mentioned I was looking for a car, so I searched online, found these forums read a few months worth of posts and realized the value in these vehicles, so I went ahead and purchased it. I paid about $500 for it.. Its in rough shape, but the odometer reads only 175,000 miles and the PO says that a rebuilt engine went in and its only at about 60,000 i think, and from what I've read on these forums that's not a whole lot. Anyway, pics: [i edited the pics so they don't stretch the page sorry about that, if you click them they will get bigger. Horizontal scrolling is of the devil!] I've never owned a Subaru before, but I really find the concept of off-road cars to be awesome. I've owned a few Volvo 740's, they are fun off road but no 4-wheel drive like this thing. Anyway, like I said I have read a lot on these forums so I know a bit about the car now, but would appreciate any advice anyone here could offer to a first time owner of this type of vehicle. I'm a bit mechanically knowledgeable, plus I have a lot of my own tools so I'm not a total nub to this game. By the way the engine runs great, idles like ************ though, and could have a little more power, but it needs a tune up etc. Also the PO said it was only getting about 12 mpg so I should really look into that because from my understanding it should be getting about 20+. Can't wait to get this thing wheelin'. PS sorry about the page stretch these forums don't have spoiler tags IDK what to do to fix it