I'm looking at 80's hatchbacks and I don't know where the E81 or E82 number would be located so I know what engine is in a particular car. Where is this designation located? Thanks.

They are all EA81 or EA71 (1.6). Only the STD model hatch would have the EA71 or possibly an '80 or '81 GL/DL.

 

You should stick to '82 though '89 GL's and DL's (they will all be EA81 engines). You likely don't want a STD model as they are totally stripped down. And in any case they are fairly rare.

 

You don't want a "three door coupe" which is what they called the EA82 hatchback. It's not the same animal and you don't want one of those.

 

GD

Thanks, GD....Yeah, I know what I want but was confused as to the engine overlap years etc. So, as I understand it, any GL hatch 82 through 89 will be a E81? A guy has an 87 I believe it is...maybe an 88...for sale and was telling me that it had more HP than the earlier 80's and hydraulic lifters. That confused me so i wanted to find the location of the engine designation on the car but didn't know where to look.

Its on top of the block behind the belts, and in front of the intake manifold, about 2 inches wide and 1 inch tall.

Thanks, Noah! Is that the engine number or the EA designation? Or both?

Just look where the distributor is. If it's on the front of the engine by the acc belt it's an ea81. If it's on the back of the driver's side head it's an ea82. Easier than trying to find the number, or clean it up if it's dirty and hard to read.

Well - the guy's information is *partially* correct.

 

1. All EA81's from 85 to 89 do have hydraulic lash adjusters (which is nice - no 15k adjustment). Also '83 and '84 Automatic's got the hydro's.

 

2. The hydro lifters are not the source of the "more HP" claim. Though it is true that the switch from small intake valve to large intake valve heads did net a whopping 1 HP increase - that change occured in '83 and ALL the EA81's got them - not just the hydro engines. So '80 through '82 EA81's are 73 HP, and '83+ are 74 HP. And actually the solid lifter engines with large valve heads ('83 and '84 Manual transmision's) would be the most powerful since the hydro lifters cause drag on the valve train and reduce the performance. The difference is negligable at the power levels of the EA81 though and wouldn't even be measureable except under lab conditions.

 

3. Correct - any GL hatch from '82 to '89 will have the EA81 engine. DL's too. STD will have the EA71 (good engine too but 65 HP....).

 

GD

Forgive me, but...what is a STD??

Thanks a LOT, guys, for all the info. Much appreciated.

OK...here's a link for an 83 wagon that the seller says is a 1.6 engine...

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/cto/1976555223.html

STD is below the DL. Even MORE stripped down than the DL and with the EA71 (1.6).

 

That '83 wagon is a GL and it's a 1.8 (EA81) not a 1.6. People don't really know what they have most days.

 

That would be a $500 car here. And you could have your pick. For less than $1k you could have it shipped. Not really a good deal no matter how you look at it for the price being asked.

 

GD

Thanks again, GD. I asked the guy twice and he said...all I know is that it's a 1.6. Could be an engine swap for some reason.

Well....now you see the quandry I'm in. Buy a rust free one here for more money or buy one in Oregon for less but more in the end. I inquired, with only ONE shipper, about shipping here from Klamath Falls...the price was $1250. I'm sure there are those that are cheaper but it sure would be nice to lay hands on the one I may want to buy. Your area is over 2000 miles away.

By the way....this wagon is at a dealer so the price would be considerably less with no trade. I had a used car lot and know the ropes. Although, a rust free old Subie brings good money in WI. Not the car that I REALLY want, anyway.

Edited September 29, 201015 yr by suberfox

Thanks again, GD. I asked the guy twice and he said...all I know is that it's a 1.6. Could be an engine swap for some reason.

 

Unlikely - the 1.6 was not common in the correct bell-housing to fit that car's transmission. It would have had to come from a JDM car or from a late 80's STD model hatch. If they had bought a JDM engine there would be no reason to install an EA71 in place of the EA81 because EA81's are more common and probably cheaper anyway.

 

But I do see your quandry, yes. If you find something near Portland or Salem send me a PM and I'll take a look at it for you.

 

GD

Thank you for that, GD. That is a kind gesture and I appreciate it very much. I see a lot of them out your way but few hatches, of course. Keep your eyes open for me if you would, please. Isn't Portland and Salem a little far North for rust free? I'm not familiar with the PNW. I know that the totally rust free car I was looking at was down toward the CA border.

The entire west coast is rust free unless you are ON the coast where there is salt in the air.

 

I own three EA81's and non have even a spot of rust. I also have a '69 GMC truck that's got no rot at all.

 

 

GD

Yeah....it's nice to not know rust. I lived in California for a few years and was astonished at the old cars driving around as DD's. People thought nothing of driving around in their 30 year old cars. When I came back to Wisconsin I brought a 65 Pontiac Tempest with me that was showroom. CA was full of showroom old cars.

By the way, GD...I had printed out a section on the Subie EA engines from wikipedia that confused me with the apparent overlap of engines. Apparently, when you said that there was no EA71 engine from 82-89 you must have meant in the hatch? I'm posting the section of the article on the history of Subie engines below so you can see why I was/am confused.

 

Subaru EA engine

The EA was used from 1966 until 1994 in most models. It is a basic 2 valve per cylinder design with siamese ports.

 

 

Subaru EA82 EngineEA52: 977cc OHV, 55 hp@6000 used in the 1966-1971 Subaru 1000

EA61: 1088.8cc OHV, 62 hp@6400 used in the 1970-1972 Subaru FF-1 Star and Subaru G

EA62: 1267.5cc OHV, 80 hp@6400 used in the 1971-1972 Subaru G

EA63: 1362cc OHV, 58 hp@5200 used in the 1973-1976 Subaru Leone

EA71: 1595cc OHV, 67 hp@5200 or 68@4800 used in the 1976-1987 Subaru Leone and 1978-1980 Subaru BRAT

EA81: 1781cc OHV, 73 hp@4800 used in the 1980-1984 Subaru Leone and 1981-1993 Subaru BRAT

EA81T: 1781cc OHV Turbo, 95@4200 used in the 1983-1984 Subaru Leone and Subaru BRAT

EA82: 1791cc SOHC, 84-97 hp used in the Subaru Leone and Subaru XT

EA82T: 1791cc SOHC, 115 hp@5200 used in the Subaru Leone and Subaru XT

 

I don't know if the hatch is included in the Leone class??

It is - but that listing doesn't show which *trim line* got which engine. ONLY the STD model hatch (pretty rare) got the EA71. No other Leone body got the EA71 after 1981 (in the US). All '82 through '89 DL/GL/GL10 Leone body Subaru's in the US got the EA81 from the factory. And in fact the 80/81 EA71 won't even fit due to a completely different bell-housing so EA71's that will fit into the '82 to '89 Leone's are relatively rare - being made only for the STD hatch or imported.

 

And in any case that listing is wrong because they made the STD hatch (all hatch's actually) till '89 in the states and the EA71/EA81 continued in other countries till at least '94 that we know of.

 

EA82 stuff is generally refered to as the "Loyale" body to distinguish it from the Leone which were sold at the same time from '85 to '89.

 

GD

Edited September 30, 201015 yr by GeneralDisorder

Well....I'm not a real fan of wikipedia. I have found many errors in their stuff. Thanks for the info! This is important info for me to have and I have been searching for a good source. Looks like I found one....even though it happens to be called General Disorder!

Maybe I'll email the guy with the wagon here in WI and tell him he's full of it!