hello from texas, i havent been on here in a long time, since i sold my '86 subaru gl wagon. today i was "given" an '83 subaru wagon, (yellow) 4 door. havent reall checked to see if its a gl or whatever, an old freind of mine decided to get rid of it and thought of me. he let me have it for FREE! anyway she runs, a little rough on the idle while at stops, but she ran pretty good, temp and voltage is good as well. what are some things i can do to improve the idle and shifting, (some grinding)? tires are new, no stereo, interior a little shot. most of all i really NEED front corner marker lights and rear tail lights. well let me know what you think guys. thanks :-\

Pictures required before help...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, fine, have you done a full tune up yet? Start with the simple and cheap stuff, like filters. As for the grinding, adjust the clutch cable first, then take a look at this:

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=86901&highlight=shifter

Hope that helps,

~Eric

2WD or 4WD?

 

Idle quality is probably a number of things - there's lots of vacuum lines so some leaks are likely. The stock carbs are notorious for weird idling issues as well as cold starting issues, and progression from idle to mains. Best to rebuild it or replace it with a Weber.

 

GD

A new rotor & cap would be good to replace. And inexpensive.

 

I'll assume all the vauum hoses/lines are old - replace them. Worth every penny.

Just about any Subie for free is good congrats. As GD said, the stock Hitachi carbs are notorious for problems when vacuum leaks are introduced to the system, so check all the vacuum lines and make sure none of them are hanging about unplugged.