Hello all, name is Aaron from Mansfield, OH. Just picked up a 83 GL 10 Wagon off craigslist...35,000 original miles. Needs some slight bodywork to get her back to mint. Seems to have a small stuttering problem. Dealership said it had original plugs/wires/cap/rotor/fuelfilter and that may be the problem. Got it for $500 plus to scrap escorts. I dont know much about the Subaru's, I have always been intrested in them. I stumbled into this car, it was not really what I was searching for but Im always up to trying something new. I got it after my wifes uncle recommended it, he had the same model only an 82 (even the same color) and got close to 300k on it.

 

here she is, i pick her up tomorrow.

 

Welcome to the board:banana: that's gotta be pretty rare w that lo mileage. You probably already saw the section that's all about the '80's ones. Perfect timing.

i couldnt find something definitive (but then again i didnt look to hard yet)

 

but what motors swap in easily to this thing? what about AWD?

Hey what do ya know! I saw that car on craigslist just the other day. Wow only 35k for $500. I'd say you got a deal. I might have bought it had it not been almost 2000 miles away.

i couldnt find something definitive (but then again i didnt look to hard yet)

 

but what motors swap in easily to this thing? what about AWD?

 

Why do you want to swap motors? The ea81 in there is a good engine, if you can fix the stuttering with a tune up I'd do that.

 

Is it the 2wd model? If so (others correct me if I'm wrong) a 4wd swap would entail replacing trans, rear driveline, rear diff, and axles. I think it's possible...

Yep it's a 2wd it has chrome bumpers! Still a nice ride! And with 35k a ton of miles left! A gas tank would also be needed for a 4x4 swap, but i 100% agree that the ea81 is a great engine, it may be slow but you can not kill that thing!

Also, welcome aboard!

-SB

This isn't funny or anything but the 2nd post and you're ready to yank the engine and convert the driveline. Just a day ago there's a guy who was adament about keeping his origional because it was lo miles etc. Not excactly the same model. It's the way it is. I hope you get it running to see how it was.

im one of those guys who cant leave anything alone...its a sickness really, alot of people say i need help. i just got done building a hayabusa powered dragbike...full chrome moly chassis (frame not built by me)...i managed to gut the efi system and get the bike to run with no airbox, sensors, etc...it was a pain but worth it.

 

the plan right now is to get it running right. it will be drove for a while..the plan was for me to get a beater until i get a job (going to school for phlebotomy) and get something else, but i wouldnt consider this car a beater.

 

we shall see what happens with the swap stuff. im a mini truckin guy but dont really wanna lower or airbag this beast. dont know what direction it will take, its hard for me to mess with a low mile model like this.

Well if you are going to swap a good engine choice would be an eg22 out of later model Subaru! You can build what is called a frankenmotor as well, using an eg25 block with eg22 heads, you get high compression and more power!

(I'm doing this in my brat right now) With whatever direction you go in with you have a good car to start with!

-SB

are these cars suppose to be really rough riding? i know its an 83 and shouldnt be as smooth as my saab or neon...but its almost as rough as my nissan 720 truck i had that was 5/7 static dropped.

 

speaking of suspension..i cant find replacement coil springs..are they unavailable?

ok...so is my car what they call an EA81? im looking at the different things that can be done and i believe this is the car i have.

Yes the engine in your car should be an being an EA81 if I'm correct. That's what most people referred to that body style as. There are sooooo many things you can do to these! Lift them, swap the engine, fuel inject your current engine, the list goes on pretty much forever. You have come across an amazing resource for your car the people on here have an abundant amount of information and knowledge!

Ok so i picked her up today. Drove her 50 miles from Akron to town my family lives in and we work in. She has a stumble when taking off. When I first left Akron it was having some problems keeping speed on the hills on 76/224 out of Akron. After about 20 miles it was fine. After I went and seen my wife at work the stumble is back. I just ordered new fuel filter, distributer cap/rotor, and new plug wires. gonna start there and see how she runs.

 

I know nothing about these cars...How hard are these plug wires to change? I cant see where they go!

Welcome! Sounds like you scored a sweet deal. I'm sure you'll love your little Subie. As far as modifying/improving it goes, as someone mentioned you have a tremendous amount of possibilities to choose from. You've already heard from folks with widely differing philosophies-those telling you not to change a thing, and those who aren't afraid to tinker or alter something good. I endorse the "modify it all you want" school of thought. After all, even Subaru didn't leave the little beast alone, did they?! Compare your car with one even 10 years newer and you'll find vast improvements and technological advancements. I believe this concept is called "Progress". Of course, you could leave it as stock as it is and live happily ever after, if you are content with low power and front wheel drive, but again, even Subaru didn't do that, and with good reason. The benefits of fuel injection, dual range 4wd, full time awd and more torque and horsepower are good things. I've done a few major mods to my own vehicles over the last 30 years and have had both great and disastrous results, but I learned a lot and really enjoyed it. If the internet and forums had been around, my learning curve would have been entirely different, and that's the point of this forum-to share expertise, experience and the avoidance of most disasters. Bottom line is how much are you willing to spend in both time and money; other than that you're pretty much only limited by your imagination! And how much fun do you want to have!

Thus endeth the lecture.

Looks almost like my mom's first one (save the sunroof) that I rolled with my baby sitter when I was twelve years old! Fun car. Have a great time tinkering with it. Oh and welcome to the forums!