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1978 4x4 wagon build thread


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The trans mount has been installed and the driveline is at a shop getting lengthened. The wiring harness is getting trimmed down by someone here on USMB and I have the radiator fans in the mail...

 

Just need to get the fuel system figured out. I'm finally making more progress on putting this thing together! :headbang:

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I plan to run a fuel pump from an EA82T on a custom mount next to the fuel tank, well first i had it in the engine bay, but it growled and hated life, I'm a long way from getting mine back together(too many projects), but the parts are slowly coming together. Good to see your progress, old scoobies rock!

 

You can find me at fallingoats at g****.com

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  • 3 weeks later...

Modified wiring Harness is in the mail. Thanks GeneralDisorder! Should be here in time for tinkering this weekend. We just got a bunch of snow here in Denver, so we'll have to see how ambitious I'm feeling.... hopefully it warms up.

 

Next steps:

- Radiator hoses/fans

- Fuel pump and fuel return lines

- Wiring harness

- try to start it.... "try"

 

After that:

- CV-axles

- Throttle cable

- Clutch cable

- Cover old shifter hole in trans tunnel

- Change trans and diff gear oil

 

Then it should be "good to go"

 

 

Questions:

- recommendations for leveling the suspension? the front is sagging a bunch with the new engine

- Anyone know where I can get new carpet for the front? mine is shot

- Recommendations for new seat covers/uphostery? I'd love to keep the classy 70s plaid...

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  • 1 month later...
way to go man! i like the oregon/washington liscence plate combo.

 

 

RV

 

Yeah get that fixed, A really nice friend of mine got pulled over and she was treated like a criminal because the body shop put on a new bumper and forgot to switch out the plates, so she had an Oregon plate on front and Washington on the rear.

 

 

Great build, I am looking to pickup a 70s Leone here in the next few days.

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  • 1 year later...

So (if anyone's reading here) I have bought and am taking over this project from the noblesablepuma . I'm really excited about it, but I'm also very newbie and will be having a lot of questions.  I'm new to the car and new to the forum but am ready to go.  

Edited by julianco
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OK.  So thinking out loud, things she needs right away:


First order of business is getting the exhaust to fit.


It came with manifolds through cat from the donor '97 impreza - and it's really close to just bolting in, but it's bumping into - and I don't know the name of the part but it's some sort of control arm stay.  The rear end is attached to the frame with a double convex disk thing with bushings and the front straight bolted to the a arm.  The exhaust hits one of the disks on one of it's joints so the exhaust isn't modifiable there so I need a way to lengthen a little (maybe 2") from the manifold side on the exhaust - probably this means cutting and welding in a ~2" segment of pipe.  This should lower the whole system and help it clear the part I don't know the name for.  Anyone?


 


So then,


 


fuel return line.


 


Electrical connected on the engine bay side (other side should be good to go).


 


New front CV - at least boots


 


Hook up the radiator push fans


 


And then all the other littler details..


 


 


Any help, tips, tricks etc. would be very much appreciated!


Edited by julianco
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And some more pics.... IMG_2656.jpg

IMG_2655.jpg

 

IMG_2660.jpg

 

The EJ22 - I had a bit of trouble finding a belt that went only generator to dynamic balancer.  Found this one but it's a stretch fit - anything wrong with that option?  Undue stress on the bearings or something like that?  Should I be running that pulley (I think was part of the power steering before) as part of the system though it's not driving anything?

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Cool.  Thanks Uberoo.  Picked up a 4 rib that will do the trick.  

Looking to chop the exhaust at the manifolds to add a few inches to lower it past the contact point later today.  

I'm also looking for a pinout for the '89 5sp d/r tranny.  It's really just the two plugs, but for some reason this is the only diagram I can't seem to find.  Anyone able to send one my way?

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  • 1 month later...

I'll take some more up to date pics in the next few days.  The new issue is air intake.  Since the EJ engine needs all the vacuum lines installed I was going to try to use most of the stock intake but the battery is taking up that space so I would like to do something like this pic posted by Mr. Brat in this thread . Any ideas on where to buy this spectre set up?

Mine as it sits IMG_2779.jpg 

IMG_2780.jpg

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Yeah, that's the other option, but it's the more time consuming option (I would have to lengthen a lot of wires) and I had some other plans for that zone.  What did you do to make a new battery platform?  

Sheet metal. Pretty sure that another battery platform was removed from another car and tack welded into that spot, just like it'd be from the factory. You would have to lengthen some, but some may be able to be rerouted.

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Any thoughts on the vacuum lines?  Im running really well but then I'll come to a stop sign or light and it will idle really low and almost die and then throw a P1500 or 1507 and then not run quite right until I kill it and restart - then it runs fine again.  Is it wrong to have vacuum lines changing diameters? 

 

In other news, I have parts for a pitch stopper to be fabbed up from the incredibly helpful people at SuperRupair in Boulder.  They've been very helpful and I can't say enough good things about those doods.

 

Another question.  The two O2 sensor connectors in my wiring harness - from a '97 impreza - are one that's female, white, that clips right in on the first 02 connector.  But the connector for the rear sensor is male and dark grey with 4 pins.  Everything I've found for the extension harnesses should also plug right into another female so I just got two and spliced a female to the male end thinking it would plug right in and go, however, the grey connector doesn't even mate to the white female connector.  So I thought I'd cut it off and splice on another white male connector however the wire colors are not the same layout.  

No one local seems to be able give me any info here and was wondering if someone on the forum might be able to.  See pics below.

IMG_2793.jpg

 

The one I cut out of the '97 harness is on top -grey - you can see they're not the same.

 

IMG_2794.jpg

 

The wire colors from top right corner and going clockwise incase you can't tell are:

Grey Connector:

YR, W, Y, BrownWhite

White Connector:

WB, Kind of a dark Green maybe Blue, W, YR

 

As you can see, the wire colors are not arranged in the same way on the connectors and not all 4 are the same.  Can any one figure this for me?

Edited by julianco
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While I'm fishing, I'm also looking for the pinout for the transmission leads.  From and '89 GL 5sp dual range.  For some reason, this has been the hardest bit of info to find and it would make my life a lot easier to not have to trial and error it.

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Heater is not working for some reason. Could it be hooked up backwards?

 

 And almost everything is working but heat - which is pretty important in Colorado right now.

Nobelsablepuma had already hooked up the heating hoses, and says that the heat worked great in the '78 before the swap project was started.  

I'd really rather not tear everything out, so I was wondering if someone might know how this goes.

 

Engine bay side from the '78,

Top hose comes from the back driver's side of the heater core, and the bottom hose comes from the front driver's side.

 

Right now top hose is connected to the top hose on the EJ, bottom to bottom.  

 

Are they hooked up backwards perhaps?

I'm assuming that matters ... right?

 

PhotoDec06114504AM.jpg

Pic from drivers side footwell.  Left hose comes out top in the engine bay.

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Another big step is giving my VSS a signal.

 

The speedo cable is completely covered the entire way or I could hook up some sort of reader.  

My choices are either to trick the ECU into thinking it's always moving with an artificial pulse signal from some sort of chip, hook up some sort of hall effect sensor on the drive shaft or front axle, or try to cut away some of the speedo cable housing and hook up maybe an optical sensor...

This is a bit above my pay grade.

 

Looks like the VW swap guys usually buy adapter kits that either bolt to a bracket on the stock vanagon speedo or bolt to a CV flange.  

The airplane guys seem to prefer to trick it with homemade pulse generating chips.

American made swap guys seem to usually do a driveshaft hall effect / reed sensor deal.

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