glALABAMA83 Posted August 30, 2022 Share Posted August 30, 2022 I am new to Subaru and have acquired an 83 GL station wagon, straight body, garage kept and she runs!...kinda. It starts but floods because my metering rod is seized inside the carter weber carb. I seem to have purchased the last rebuild kit in the US (or so I've been told) for just about $300! Now I'm being told I should get a new carb and haven't had any luck finding anything to fit the carter/weber intake manifold on this EA81 engine. I'm learning to work on this car, not a mechanic so my knowledge is very little on conversions. I want to see her drive but may not be the project for me since parts are rare and no sentimental value to encourage me to spend the $$$. The interior is immaculate, the original owner has everything down to the dealer keychain in the leather case. One dent in the drivers door but other than that, the car appears brand new. He treasured this car and hoped I could get it on the road again but been hitting dead ends so this is where I'm at. I can either find the right manifold to accept a new carter redline carb or hitachi carburetor, or find one to adapt to mine but the last thing I want to do is start parting it out or sell it all together. Upon waiting for my carb kit and sending back the redline carb that won't mount to my manifold, I've cleaned the fuel tank, new filters, pump and fuels lines. unseized the back brakes and got all new parts and haven't run into a snag until now. I am hoping to get some information on where I can find a hitachi manifold or work around for the original carb. Any information will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted August 31, 2022 Share Posted August 31, 2022 Keep it! You won’t find another one in that sort of condition! Any manifold off another EA81 will fit and work the same. The EA82 manifolds will fit and work but may need some grinding under the centre of the manifold for it to bold down properly and the thermostat is on the front of the manifold. Small work around to plumb back into the factory rad hose, or just run the EA82 factory upper hose. What you’re looking at isn’t a difficult job as far as conversions go. Others will tell you to throw a Weber on it while you’re at it. Then enjoy! Cheers Bennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glALABAMA83 Posted August 31, 2022 Author Share Posted August 31, 2022 Thank you el_freddo! You and others on this site are inspiration for a newbie getting her back on the road but I have other project cars I hope to do the same, this just fell in my lap and I'm saving her from salvage. So there isn't a way to adapt the Redline Weber aftermarket carb to my non-Hitachi manifold I assume? I had this aftermarket carb in my hand a couple months ago but sent her back with hopes to stay original but with a seized metering rod inside my carter-weber I'm thinking a new carburetor is going to save me headaches in the log run. -Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted September 1, 2022 Share Posted September 1, 2022 G’day Alan, Anything is possible so you probably could adapt the Weber to the carter carb intake manifold. I’m not overly familiar with this intake or carb but I think it’s a single barrel job and the intake has a smaller hole for the carb as a result. Someone will know more than me on this. As for the resto, this to me is an easy one to sort out over all of the vehicle is in as good condition as you’ve described. Even if the carb isn’t factory, it allows the rest of the car to do original/factory thing - and the carb allows the car to be used/enjoyed for what it is. The old carb and intake can be boxed up for someone who wants to be full original if they ever feel the need. Other option is a bigger project - EJ conversion for a sleeper - classic looks with a stealthy and more modern level of performance and reliability Cheers Bennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newmexguy Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 (edited) Since you already sprung for the $$ rebuild kit for the Original, I'd find a Carb Guy to fix what you have. Keeping it all original. I do know one here in Las Cruces, he was employed by the now defunct Pony Carbs for a spell. Frankly I'd look for one that has a Japanese focus, or sideline, there has to be more than one out there. The southeast is not a hotbed for these cars, and if you desire to part it out, you'll sell one critical part, and since then the vehicle is disabled, there's no way to sell the rest. For above Scrap value - say $150 when brought across the Scale. Shipping and Logistics kill me in southern NM, as pretty much everything I sell in my main focus of 64-81 GM classic has to be shipped out of here. Would suspect you'll have the same problems, with Subaru parts, in the Southeast. The areas of interest for the older Subaru tend to be the Pacific NW, the Northeast, and Colorado/Wyoming. In a very general sense. There are always exceptions. Edited September 4, 2022 by newmexguy Grammar, corrections Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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