GeneralDisorder

Those will work - just drill two extra holes in each, or convert to 6 lug. I just drill them personally. They are 8" rims tho - that's a little wide. 6.5" or 7" would be better. You can buy these at just about any tire/wheel shop brand new for $25 - $30 each in white or black. Chrome is more. Generally you want the thinest rim you can get that will work with your tires - it will hold the bead better, and there is more rubber to protect the rim from rocks, sidewalks, etc. GD

Depends on what you have more of - time or money. Personally I've seen old head gaskets that have been RUN used again with no problems. And until it's run and the AL block and heads expand to compress the gasket and weld the sucker in place it should be just fine to reuse - give the bolts that little extra turn to insure a slight compression durring install, and let the engine heat do the rest. And I still say do a retorque. It's good practice anyway. Subaru's are NOT swiss watches. But most of the people on here will never learn that. GD

Well - if the engine hasn't been run yet, I would say go ahead and use it again. Unless the grapite on the gasket is all messed up I think I would at least give it a try. When you torque it down the second time, give it an extra 10 ft/lbs or so on each bolt just as a precaution, and I think I would at least do a retorque on that head maybe in 500 miles. GD

It's on the back of the intake manifold - should be a 17mm with a hose comming off. Look for the EGR valve - its on the passenger side - the look to the drivers side in about that same location and you'll find it. You can clean it with carb cleaner - soak it overnight and it will be nice and shiny the next day. Make sure to clean ALL the hoses and connectors going to it as well and be careful removing them as they get brittle with age. I use a screwdriver to clean the gunk out of the hoses. GD

Clean your PCV valve. GD

Sure - just replace with an electric fan - the AC electric fan from an EA81 is thin and should work without a whole lot of modification - you can wire it to run when the AC comes on, or with the existing electric fan. There are also a ton of aftermarket radiator fans out there to be had. Just measure it up and see what you can find. GD

The fuel gauge which has always been a bit jinky in this thing, has now fallen to a seemingly irrepairably "limp" state. The needle sits there about 1/4" below the E. This morning I started the thing, and the needle first went down (weird), and then sprung back up to 1/2 tank. I filled up at work and when I got to the first job site of the day, it was limp. I fill my tank each day, but sometimes do long trips to the beach and back for work so having a gauge is nice. Besides - I like to fix things even if there isn't a particularly good reason. What I'm looking for are the resistance specs of the sending unit in the tank. I get 4 Ohms off it now, so I'm guessing that less resistance means more fuel. What is the max resistance value - ie: empty. Anyone have sugestions on a cheap fuel gauge? Either I have a bad guage (seems likely considering what it's doing and where the needle is sitting - should not be reading 1/4" below the E - I think the gauge ate itself), or a bad wire in the loom somewhere. I can run new wire to a new gauge - that's no problem. Before I get these answers - yes I've checked the connector at the sending unit. All clean there. And NO I will not just track my mileage instead. GD

That's a leone Touring wagon! Neat - get it. Raised roof. GD

Um - well not really. They are controlled off the ignition switch and relay but other than that they just "on" whenever the ignition switch is in start or run. GD

Electric choke, anti-deisel solenoid, and float chamber vent solenoid. GD

They were not originally inteneded for that purpose. They are there as an atifact of the aluminium casting process. But someone noticed a long long time ago that they will pop out if the coolant freezes, so the name stuck. There should be two in each head... they will pop out and end up in the valve covers or down in the oil pan. Lack of proper amounts of anti-freeze in the coolant mixture. GD

Figure out a way to install EA series rear bearings. They last forever. I've seen originals in good shape after 200k miles. GD

Our forum here is pretty great indeed - we can all thank the mods for not putting up with any BS. I'm guilty of it from time to time too - heck - how do you avoid sticking your nose into things sometimes with over 4k posts. I've had my reply's deleted on occasion over the years, and sure I get a little peeved, but in the end it's done to keep everything friendly and fuzzy here. For that I am grateful. GD

I think they must have realized in '82 that a subaru wasn't likely to be able to "pass" a whole lot of other vehicles effectively, and changed the sticker on the button to read "center lamp" - 80/81 read "passing lamp". I have never seen "offroad lamp" - that's a new one to me. Is it geniune? I have one in the garage I may install on my wagon at some point - I have the control box, and the switch for it too... but then I have been collecting parts for what amount to years now. I have actually forgotton some of the interesting things burried in my garage. Maybe some of it will surface one day. GD

First - you should start a new thread as you won't get many responses by hijacking another thread. Discs and 6 lug = good Turbo = bad for reliablilty, and bad for lifted off-roading. Not a lot more power, no low end when you need it, and the turbo needs RPM's to spool - high RPM's are your enemy off-road. Too much paraphenalia to break off-road. I hate people that bring complicated machines out in the mud. Always end up pulling them out. Think to yourself "would I want this on a farm tractor?" 27" tires = gearing sucks - expect to get 20 MPG with a well tuned Weber. Not for a daily. Lift will do nothing except allow the tire install. I run 28's and love em. Too damn expensive for a daily tho. Small engine - big tires = bad mileage, and expensive tire wear. Accell coils are junk - they switched to Mexico for their supplier. Lots of bad stories about them. Do a search and you'll find some good alternatives. Apparently NAPA sells a black coil with the same specs as the "old" accell. Run the stock (OEM only!!!) thermostat. Suffice to say the aftermarket ones suck..... a lot. And run the stock temp if you value your engine. Amsoil is a waste of money on a used EA81. Maybe if you rebuilt the engine. If you plan to off-road you'll be forced to change the oil after each run anyway - synth might be ok for a street rig, but too much dirt, dust, swamp water, and other junk will ruin any oil. I reccomend Chevron - get it from Costco. GD

Heh - good luck finding one. But yes - same as swapping any other EJ into an EA chassis. BTW - they are only 165 HP stock. Would be easier to find a JDM WRX front clip and put that in ~280 HP. I've always thought a nice swap would be the early JDM EJ20 - it was 150 HP with no turbo. GD

Not sure if that would be a straight swap, but probably could work with some modifications..... Not sure it would hold up to the weight of the SVX tho. Plus if you are going to the trouble of modification, a 5 speed is lighter and does in fact make for a pretty quick SVX I hear. GD

First swap - expect to be out a car for at least 2 weeks to a month. Radiator in your car should work fine - as long as it's in good shape. EJ22 works fine with EA series radiators. GD

Any EJ series... the SVX has the EG33 - 3.3L H6 producing 230 HP. Straight bolt up to any EJ series AWD 5 speed.... You use the legacy pedal assembly, clutch, and stuff - modify the shifter console with a boot instead of the auto plate. It's not terribly hard really. There's a shop in WA that will do the whole conversion for $4,000 including all the parts. If you buy the parts, should come in well under $500. GD

Yes - the mount holes in the cross member need to be slotted about 3/4" wider. Easily done with a file or dremel tool. Other than that, it's pretty simple..... not any harder than converting to a turbo would be anyway. Mostly wireing. GD

Put a 5 speed in the SVX and sell it for 10 times what you pay for it - that will finance a nice project. GD

Still need the entire wireing harness and computer - will also have to fab a new exhaust as it may not come with the downpipe. It will phisically fit in the car - but so would an EJ22, and for the cost of the EJ22 + adaptor plate and drilled flywheel you would get a decent 135 HP instead of the rather wimpy 115 HP of the EA82T. Plus a decent used EJ22 would cost less than a JDM EA82T and all the wireing. GD

Please don't cut the hell out of a Brat just to fit tires - get a lift at the least and do it right. Brat's are rare enough already without people cutting them up and ruining good bodys just to save a couple bucks on a lift. GD

Short answer: No Long answer: If you really wanted to, yes, but you'll basically need a whole donor front clip or car. Just swapping the turbo to your block isn't a reliable solution as your engine is 9.5:1 comp, and the turbo is 7.7:1. Different pistons. Different heads, and different intake. Not to mention the entire wireing harness for the engine and the computer for it.... As for seats - swap anyting you like - just have to weld up your car's mounting rails. I've seen anything from legacy, to toyota MR2, to izuzu. XT and XT6 are possible too, but consider that there are LOTS of seats out there besides Subaru's. GD

Totally depends - I've got at least that much into my lifted wagon. Originally a $400 auction car, I bought another car for 4WD conversion parts, lift, tires, blew the original engine due to lack of oil pressure (no guage on the digidash, and by the time the light was flickering the damage was done), more lift modifications, front/rear custom bumpers, etc, etc. I would have to say I could never get back out of it what it took to build. That's just a fact of life with old cars. Especially heavily modified stuff that is used for play. If you want something to just drive to work and back the best bet is to get a new junker each time you have a major malfunction. Sticking with the same brand and using the old car for parts is a winning combo. I can pick up vehicles for $100 or less and put anywhere from 10k to 100k miles on them for less than $500 if I'm lucky. Say I spend $100 on the car - now I have to fix whatever parked it - usually a couple hundred there - cost to register and get tags is $110 here, so about $500 when it's all said and done. My philisophy can be summed up (I've said this before): "If you drive old cars - own at least two - if possible three, and a AAA membership." GD