leone

Searched the forums before posting, but didn't turn anything up. Does anybody know for sure if standard DIN chassis (1-2 DIN) radios will fit in the first generation (90-93) Legacy center console? I measured, but I'm coming up 3/16" too narrow for published radio sizes, but maybe actual radio chassis are more like 6 7/8 inches wide instead of 7 inches? I'm willing to do some plastic trimming, but really don't want to hack the metal too much if possible. Many thanks!

I owned an 1100 FF-1 from '77-81, and did all the repairs and maintenance myself. Mine was completely stock and everything worked perfectly. i can verify a few things from personal experience... The brake system was A-OK with DOT-3 brake fluid as was the Star and 360 models before. The dual radiator system worked great, and that was in Southern Lousiana and Central Arkansas in the Summer. At speed (above 30 or so), the fan would never have to run even on the hottest days. On cold days, there were times when it took a long time for the cabin to warm up though. The stock wheels were narrower (by 1/2 inch) than the later Leone models after '74. I currently have a '73 wagon that came with those same narrow wheels, but later models were 1/2" wider. The narrow wheels are very light, and combined with the in-board brake drums, the front torsion bar suspension, and the steering geometry, the FF-1 was the most fun car to drive of all the cars I've ever owned (and I'm not kidding). There is so little unsprung weight on a stock FF-1 that it literally "floats" over obstacles, and it was almost effortless to steer the car as well. The turning radius never failed to impress me. I could turn completely around in spaces that would be challenging for a large motorcycle! Great looking FF-1 Jamie! I'll keep my eye open for parts in the event you want to return more things back to stock. Subaru had nothing to be embarassed about the design of that car!

Not only that, but the camshaft of a donor engine would likely have to be swapped with an older camshaft as well (outboard exhaust valves). Most of the dry-sleeved complete engines to be found will be of the later type with SEEC-T heads (inboard exhaust port) and camshaft to match.

Hey thanks Subyguy! Let me know when you're ready and I'd love to make a deal on those. I had someone munch my bumper years ago, and finally found an NOS '73 bumper in Colorado Springs. But no luck with brackets all this time. My existing ones are pretty bad...could straighten left, but right one is torn apart. Someday I hope to get caught up with sorting and organizing, I'm hoping to post some of my excess stuff to maybe help out with parts on the board.

Thanks for the info Paul. I'll get in touch with Danny about the brackets. I know you're buried these days. I'm the same way... Sure would be nice to have 30 hours days and the energy of a 20-year-old again!

I've been looking for '72-73 front bumper brackets for some time now (and a few other things for my '73 Wagon). Any chance you have contact for that guy Danny in TN? Thanks!

I had a thought. I apologize if I missed something, but I didn't remember reading in the thread about the cam set up on that eBay short block (I assume it was some kind of NOS situation). Fuji parts shipped a number of dry-sleeve EA-63 blocks cammed for outboard exhaust (intended for pre-76 warranty issues), but they also shipped dry-sleeve EA-63 blocks cammed for inboard exhaust (for later cars with the SEEC-T system and manual transmission). If you haven't already, probably a good thing to double check the cam set up before breaking down and reassembling the block. Again, I apologize if that had already been covered in the thread and I just missed it. P.S. I personally don't mind the wet-sleeve blocks. The one on my '73 wagon has never let me down. The heads just have to be assembled correctly with new crush rings and head gaskets, and then correctly re-torqued on schedule (something customers and dealers apparently could not ever seem to do right in the '70s). I suppose you wouldn't want to turbo charge an early wet-sleeve EA-63, but then even a dry-sleeve EA-63 isn't much up to that either.

I know it would be a lot of work, but maybe this could be a possibility: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUBARU-ENGINE-1200cc-1400cc-LAWRENCE-KS-/250926563097?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item3a6c637f19 ? [url=http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUBARU-ENGINE-1200cc-1400cc-LAWRENCE-KS-/250926563097?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item3a6c637f19][/url]

Yes, holes drilled to insure the block was not serviceable because of tax write off (IRS). Unfortunately witnessed such destructive activities while working at a Suburu distributor back in '76. The warehouse guys were known to "dumpster dive" hoping to save parts. A lot of old 360 parts were lost when tax write-offs were taken on unsold parts inventory.

Most likely is that the carb float has taken on fuel (leaked). Not easy replacement to find. It is possible to repair by draining and drying it out, find hole or split, and then seal with a tiny bit of solder. Too much solder and it will not be able to be adjusted from the extra weight though.

Todd, I don't have my parts book handy, but this looks like the correct one: http://tinyurl.com/4jegxd If link is not OK, just search for "420872022" on eBay. Good seller, but we should double check the P/N (and any supercedes) though. EDIT: Oops! Memory is failing me... I thought you were looking for the EI distributor. I see you were looking for the EI control module. I'll keep an eye out...

I just re-read my post, and I guess that was pretty confusing! Yes, what I meant was that 970autoparts had a couple of sets for sale. And I apologize for posting it here instead of the auction forum, but I really wanted to see one of us get them if needed. Some auctions are really trying to gouge people lately.

Normally I'd post this in the area for auction sightings, but I thought these would only be of interest to our "historic" crowd. Just received a couple of sets, and there are still a couple of sets left. Last time I saw these, one went for $38, so these are a bargain. Just search for "Subaru 6841" on eBay to find 'em.

Just some quick historical comments... In this photo you can clearly see the cam adjusters for the front ends of the torsion bars (two of them) on the front of the car. No struts on these guys. And unlike VW beetles, there is a separate torsion bar for each side. Together with the two in the rear, there are four independent torsion bars for the suspension. Perfect in their simplicity. The cam adjusters are nice, and there is an equivalent adjustment (allen bolt) under a rubber plug in the trunk for adjusting the rear torsion bars. These are useful for leveling, but if used to raise the car, cornering stability will suffer. You can also clearly see that there are no heavy rotors, drums, or calipers on the wheel or knuckle (inboard brakes). The portion of the car that "floats" with the wheels and tires is extremely lightweight. I used to run 145-13s on the original 4.5" steel rims, and I could run my FF-1 over speed bumps and rocky country roads with ease at any speed (tiny unsprung weight). Also, the second radiator is actually a heater core, mounted under the hood to make more room in the cabin. The fan on this heater core (the only one on either radiator) has a damper control. The fan can kick in on hot days, deflecting the waste heat outside. If the heater core is removed, no heat inside for winter. The FF-1 had a little extra in the radiator department, but no need for a large fan otherwise (more power for locomotion). The FF-1 had a lot of really innovative design features, many ahead of their time for a production car. Of course, it is just my opinion, but most "modernizing" would be a step backward from the original.

Also, as I recall, the selector shaft exits the rear of the early 5-speed at a more upward angle than did the 4 speeds. Caused a slight problem with one conversion I once did, but it did make it easier to indentify the 5 speed in a scrap yard.

IMHO, there was no better setup for suspension and brakes on old Subarus (all the way through the stage2 leones) than the FF-1. The four wheel independent torsion suspension combined with the in-board front brakes and lightweight steel wheels made for one of the lowest unsprung to sprung weight ratios for a production car. You have to drive an FF-1 to feel and understand how well they really handle and how much fun they are to maneuver. Even assuming it was possible to do it, reconfiguring the brakes or suspension (toward disks and struts for example) would be step backwards in fun and handling performance. The car is so light that even adding 5 pounds to each wheel would be noticeable. At least try the stock setup first (for a comparison to anything else), and see how much fun it is. -Cheers P.S. I drove an FF-1 for 8 years (from '76 till '82) and did all my own work on it. Let me know if I can help with anything. I still remember the car quite well. I really wish I still had it:

Previous owner reported the transmission whined with a high pitch (related to speed) all the time and in all gears. Then one day, no motion in any gear including reverse. A nice car otherwise, so an adoption was in order. Thought it might be the torque converter, but it sure seems like the pump is gone (no pressure). I didn't find any gear lube in the tranny, and the fluid (and level) seemed OK. Decision to replace was made easier when a nice 3AT showed up at U-Pull for a hundred bucks.

I went to an estate sale a few years ago, and the house (an older one in a very old neighborhood) had a work pit in a driveway next to the garage. I thought that was cool enough, but then when I was in the garage later, I discovered there was a stairwell going down under the garage wall and into the pit outside! Way cool. Let's see, where's that shovel...

Hey, many thanks! Out the "back door" it will be. There's a scissors-type transmission jack on sale at Harbor Freight, and I'm going to split the cost with a neighbor who's got one of those early Legacy ATs to pull soon.

Hi, I'm an old school dog, having rebuilt several EA63 and EA71 cars, but I'm maintaining a couple of '88 EA82s for daily drivers. I have to remove and replace a 3AT transmission. I pulled the donor transmission from "top side" in the yard (used a shop crane). I just wanted to ask how easy it would be to remove and replace the 3AT from below (no engine removal). It looks like there's more room in trans tunnel of the '88 than earlier years (more room for 4AT I guess). Any quick advice to avoid cussing and wrench-throwing action? Thanks!

OK, I got the scoop. The kit was associated with an interesting (and apparently tense) little chapter in Subaru history. It seems that several variations of the Hitachi carburetor used from '77-79 exhibited a little problem with sustained high speed driving at temperatures below about 28 degrees. The problem was that the throttle plate would stick open, causing a very unnerving "cruise control from hell" effect! The problem was mostly reported in 2wd MT vehicles where a cold enough air blast into the engine compartment was capable of cooling the carburetor enough to cause the problem. Apparently some runs of carbs had close enough tolerances for the problem to happen, but most did not. Having experienced the problem himself, my brother said it's really scary when the throttle sticks open at 75 MPH with a tight curve coming up! The reflex of depressing the clutch was also an interesting experience! Apparently, the only part that's really needed is the plastic shield. The other parts were designed to help, but he felt they were mostly put in the kit to help with appearances and impressions of the "lawyer" kind. Not known how many accidents resulted from this, but somehow a recall was avoided. The kit was sent out as needed (mostly to Northeastern and Rocky Mt. areas).

I rememeber it was just a two piece set (distributor and control module). The two go together, but interface to the rest of the vehicle wiring in the usual way. Module might be very hard to find. But a swap back to standard components might be the ticket... Update: My brother says it was a fairly rare set up. Only shipped on very late model, stage-2 automatics destined for California.

My brother worked in the warranty dept. for Subaru South through '83. He knows about that cold weather kit because I remember him talking about it many years ago. He knows a bunch of other stuff like that from the same time period (and has a memory like an elephant). I'll call and ask him tomorrow to see what he still remembers...

Hi Todd, I'll keep an eye out for one of those for you. I actually put one of those set ups on my 49 states '78 GF about 15 years ago. As far as I remember, there wasn't anything unusual about the swap. So, maybe a standard distributor/ignition could be put in to keep 'er running in the mean time?

Now, I could be wrong, but I have read that the EA65 was actually a 1300cc variant used in the Leone vans made around 1982. From what I remember, it should fit any EA63 application as a short block. Maybe this engine came over from one of the foreign engine importers? Always wanted one those vans, but they were never for export (to US). If it really was the 1300cc variant, it may not be possible to know it wasn't a 1400cc since it has the inboard common exhaust ports and associated camshaft. The only way to know if it was really 1300cc would be to measure displacement. Would be interesting to find out, but I think the 1300 to 1400 change was bore, and not stroke. Anyone know if this is the case?