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1983 GL Wagon build thread


83subaruGLchick
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I have a friend who has a 2 door GL wagon and hes taking the front end and the drive train for his wrecked brat then he said I can have it so ive been tossing around that idea because it would be a 2 door which is my favorite and it has a little bit less rust and I can just gut mine out into that one

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  • 4 weeks later...

Didn’t stay clean for long had to fully test it out and take it to one of the lakes where I live. It did great everything seems to be working how it’s supposed to but dang I need to do the engine swap this thing is gutless with the lift even more so than before. Just gotta tough it out and fix the sti first don’t ever own 2 money pits it’s rough lol 

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On 4/22/2019 at 7:31 PM, alexbuoy said:

Talk to Sam he's gonna scrap the loyale soon. Grab the front end off of it and the motor to put into the 2 door

The guy I was going to get the 2 door from ended up just scraping it because he didn't tell me that it was missing a bunch of stuff that is irreplaceable in a way, But I wish Sam wasn't doing that!

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On 4/23/2019 at 12:46 AM, el_freddo said:

Two door wagon? Or he’s got a two door and a wagon? 

The wagon is so much better for offroad trips - more space for gear, can sleep in them if you want. 

Cheers 

Bennie

He has one of the 2 door wagon/hatches but I'm going to stick with mine because of exactly that from a realistic standpoint I have a dog and my boyfriend has a dog and they're both big plus camping gear plus I like making the bed in the back of the GL :)  I need all the space I can get which is also why it now has an even bigger roof basket

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3 hours ago, 83subaruGLchick said:

Just gotta tough it out and fix the sti first don’t ever own 2 money pits it’s rough lol 

 

Ummmm....

Ok i never thought i would hear an L body described as a money pit. Even if you break stuff a lot!

Audi and porsche is what you need if you want a money pit damn vws. 

And fix sti? Why? Engine issues?

If trans, body, or suspension work is needed then put the sti engine in that gorgeous wagon! Then put it back when the sti is ready! Or ea82 in sti body :P

What's your wagons name? Drive her to CO i have a 95 ej22 with harness and plate but im putting it into my xt soon.

If youre serious tho phase one ej22 is $200 and adapter plate is $200. Whole harness is like $15.

I also have a 92 ej22 with trimmed harness, if i put that in my 88 all my subes will have ej22! But i really want to keep the ea82t :wub:

I swapped my 86 gl almost three years and im sad to admit only 15,000 miles ago.

She is beautiful, nothing beats that subaru light blue. Are you installing a brush guard style bumper to match the roof rack? You made the rack as well? The second gen is a rare sight here. The five lug swap is top notch. Is she sporting an ej already? I have a couple of turbos as well, depending on if the one in my xt is good.

Cheers man, keep it up!

Edited by sparkyboy
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1 hour ago, sparkyboy said:

Ummmm....

Ok i never thought i would hear an L body described as a money pit. Even if you break stuff a lot!

Audi and porsche is what you need if you want a money pit damn vws. 

And fix sti? Why? Engine issues?

If trans, body, or suspension work is needed then put the sti engine in that gorgeous wagon! Then put it back when the sti is ready! Or ea82 in sti body :P

What's your wagons name? Drive her to CO i have a 95 ej22 with harness and plate but im putting it into my xt soon.

If youre serious tho phase one ej22 is $200 and adapter plate is $200. Whole harness is like $15.

I also have a 92 ej22 with trimmed harness, if i put that in my 88 all my subes will have ej22! But i really want to keep the ea82t :wub:

I swapped my 86 gl almost three years and im sad to admit only 15,000 miles ago.

She is beautiful, nothing beats that subaru light blue. Are you installing a brush guard style bumper to match the roof rack? You made the rack as well? The second gen is a rare sight here. The five lug swap is top notch. Is she sporting an ej already? I have a couple of turbos as well, depending on if the one in my xt is good.

Cheers man, keep it up!

My sti just needs little things. Nothing major. I would personally never put an sti engine in my GL because I’m keeping the dual range in it so it’s a capable off road machine and those trannies can’t handle all that power. 

I have almost everything for the swap all I really have left is to send the harness to SJR for him to trim it for me. But thanks for the offer. 

 

Its a 6 lug conversion not a 5 by the way I wanted more off-road style wheels and those are easier to come by in 6x5.5. 

 

I bought the roof rack off eBay I did not make it and yes I plan to make a front bumper but not a brush guard style that’s not really the look I’m going for. 

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8 hours ago, el_freddo said:

Going with a dual range 5 speed swap as well? 

Looks good and she (or is it a he?) certainly does scrub up well! 

Cheers 

Bennie

Yes eventually I am not right at first just because I am on a budget but once the 4 speed fails(which I'm sure it will eventually) I will be doing that swap.

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  • 1 month later...

Started the work on tearing down the donor motor and replacing seals and cleaning it up and it is an engine out of an automatic 1992 Subaru Legacy it’s the EJ222 I always thought if I just take the torque converter off my clutch and all that will just bolt right up. Is this true for these years? Can’t find much info online. Sorry if it’s a dumb questions.  

863A0EBE-FE46-4BBF-A535-F68D1FE6527D.jpeg

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4 hours ago, 83subaruGLchick said:

Started the work on tearing down the donor motor and replacing seals and cleaning it up and it is an engine out of an automatic 1992 Subaru Legacy it’s the EJ222 I always thought if I just take the torque converter off my clutch and all that will just bolt right up. Is this true for these years? Can’t find much info online. Sorry if it’s a dumb questions.  

863A0EBE-FE46-4BBF-A535-F68D1FE6527D.jpeg

nice!!!! keeping the 4 speed or going 5 speed?

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Use your MY flywheel. You’ll have to dremel out the mounting holes. 

OR: have a machine shop fill the current holes and redrill for the EJ crank bolt pattern. I’ve seen it done on the forum before. 

You’ll also need an adaptor plate. 

And I hope you got the wiring loom and computer for the engine too. You’ll need that! 

I know that engine as the EJ22E, could be the same as the EJ222, but I don’t know. What I do know is that it’s an awesome engine and you’ll love it in your beast. Expect gearbox to become a loose gearbag in no time flat... start working on the gearbox replacement now. 

Cheers 

Bennie

PS: also have a read of this file, it’ll tell you exactly what you need in parts and what you need to do for the conversion ;)  

http://www.mediafire.com/file/edqqit6xq9tthx6/Numbchux+EJ+to+EA+Swap+Guide.pdf

Edited by el_freddo
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On 6/24/2019 at 4:16 AM, el_freddo said:

Use your MY flywheel. You’ll have to dremel out the mounting holes. 

OR: have a machine shop fill the current holes and redrill for the EJ crank bolt pattern. I’ve seen it done on the forum before. 

You’ll also need an adaptor plate. 

And I hope you got the wiring loom and computer for the engine too. You’ll need that! 

I know that engine as the EJ22E, could be the same as the EJ222, but I don’t know. What I do know is that it’s an awesome engine and you’ll love it in your beast. Expect gearbox to become a loose gearbag in no time flat... start working on the gearbox replacement now. 

Cheers 

Bennie

PS: also have a read of this file, it’ll tell you exactly what you need in parts and what you need to do for the conversion ;)  

http://www.mediafire.com/file/edqqit6xq9tthx6/Numbchux+EJ+to+EA+Swap+Guide.pdf

I have that guide already, it's been like a bible I have everything I need and I know that is what I have heard, I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a dual range 5 speed trans because I know the 4 speed isn't a permanent solution.  I just am wondering I swear all the 5 speed dual ranges I have seen are like a push button vacuum actuated style...do they make the 5 speed dual range thats a lever for 4 hi and lo like the 4 speed?

I have the wiring harness and computer sitting in my garage going to send it out to SJR here soon, and the adapter plate is sitting in my garage as well :)

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There is a dual range 5spd box. They’re most common after mid ‘87 models when it seems the single range was phased out (in Oz they’re super rare and I’ve never seen a series 2 with a single range. It could be different for the US market).

Cheers 

Bennie

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Cleaning up the donor motor and doing a tune up. She’s almost ready to pop in just have to order the flywheel. The GL has been my daily these past few weeks and it’s been fun but also really hard on it. That 1.8L is not enough power for that car.  I’m hoping the EJ222 makes it a more pleasant daily. 

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1D52FACB-C210-4DDD-99AA-0DC1EB3C64E7.jpeg

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The EJ makes these things wicked rides! Mine can be daily’d If I want it to be. And I have no issues jumping in it for off-roading or a full day of driving, eg batting out 800km isn’t though about from a reliability point of view, I just know it can do it and it’s got some power for taking off at the lights and for passing when needed - yet if driven nicely I can still pull in under 10L/100km :D 

Cheers 

Bennie

 

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Alright guys update time yet again,

No good news sadly, I have been dailying the GL before I wanted to because my STI just has problem after problem and I don't have money to throw at it,  now the GL is taking a toll and it's not looking good.  I keep going through CV Axles on this thing luckily I bought them with a lifetime warranty so I just use that but O'Reillys seems to be getting annoyed at the fact that I'm now on my 4th in a 4 month period...  On top of that my transmission mounts need replacement my driver side brakes are digging into the rotor and only on the backside on the most inside part and I'm unsure why, thinking the caliper is just bad?  It needs an alignment like no other and the e-brake cable on the driver side is destroyed, these are just things I noticed grazing over the car, I'm honestly at a crossroads here I can't keep dumping money into both of my vehicles and not have a reliable daily, I only drive maybe 15 miles round trip a day, thinking about buying a cheap daily, but once again that involves more money I don't have.  I realize I'm venting now on things that don't matter to you guys so I'm just going to sign off for today.  PLEASE PRAY TO THE SUBARU GODS FOR ME ITS NOT GOING WELL OVER HERE!

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You really shouldn't be installing aftermarket axles in the GL.  If you had done some research on the board first, you would have read multiple threads where people complain about the exact same issues you're having; axles bad out of the box or fail shortly after being installed.  The lifetime warranty means jack squat if you're replacing axles once per month (though I'm sure you've got the repair down to a science now! :lol:)

15 miles isn't that far at all, is public transportation an option for a short while?  We have pretty bad public transit around here, but my sister still commutes over 20 miles each way by bus into Seattle for work every day.  You could also take up cycling (not trying to be a jerk or jester, just throwing out options).

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  • 1 month later...

Good Afternoon everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted much new content I have been in the process of moving lately.  Now that I'm all settled at my new place I can focus on some other things.  The GL has become my daily driver as I sold the STI to have more money to dump into this baby, she has been a blast!  I agree with what you are saying carfreak and the axles I am getting are just not withstanding what they need to, that being said I am going to buy some new front ones and me and a friend of mine are going to extend them and beef them up to hopefully make them more durable for what I am doing.  I also became VERY aware of the fact that the transmission mounts in that car are toast.  I will be buying another daily here soon so that I can start the swap and the beefing up of the GL.  I have that whole write up on the EJ swap into these cars and I am actually thinking I am going to tackle the wire trimming myself, between me and my friend we should be able to knock it out, anyone know if there is an additional write up of what exactly to trim out of the harness?  I will be taking a ton of pictures and making the whole process an in depth write up on here so you guys know whats going on and so that it can be a reference point for more people in the future.

 

Happy Subaru'in 

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