I haven't been on the forum for a while...but back several months ago I was looking to pick up a 4WD wagon beater to use as a trail car. As luck would have it I live in Washington State so Subarus are pretty plentiful.

 

 

I ended up with an 86 4WD (dual tranny) GL Wagon (poop brown) with 182K on it. My 3 year old son nicknamed it brownie and informed me he loves brownie. It's pretty clean (although has seen a few too many snowdrifts with the front bumper). The engine is super clean, it has new CV boots, new timing belts, brakes and new water pump. My father-in-law is a mechanic and while he doesn't know Subaru's he says the exhaust manifold is leaking (the muffler is a mess and I can see more than a few holes).

 

...and of course the clock doesn't work.

 

Overall it drives well (surprisingly well for a 20 year old car) and I'm thrilled with it. So next up for brownie is some performance enhancing. There are some cosmetic things inside I need to fix (broken knobs etc.) and what I would really like to do is to peppy it up (a little) and give it some additional trail worthiness. I'm a graduate student that goes into the back country meaning I'm living on the cheap. So, I'm here at the temple of all things Subaru asking for some advice.

 

Any suggestions??? BTW, I just saw the EA performance page on this site (lucky me it uses an 86 GL Wagon as an example).

 

:cool:

 

kevin

Hrm, not really a hole lot u can do to make it more peppy. Of course open up the exhaust and intake a bit. weber carb those kind of things. now u say trail riding

 

 

i suggest lifting it and get some bigger tires and stuff.

...mmm lifting...

 

BTW, small perfomance enhancements are fine, I'm not expecting to turn brownie into a racecar (besides I rather like brownie's offbeat character) I'm really just looking to maximize what's there and smooth out some of the edges.

 

that is Tex's wagon, probably same color? i love it

Having a weber will help a LOT. I put one on my 86 sedan I use as my daily, and it's great. Just the simple fact that the secondary is mechanical is invaluable on the trail (on my EA81 lifted wagon). You can't get it to open when in the deep muck and hardly moving. The stock hitachi just doesn't have the oomph for the job. They can be had cheaply - I got one from a board member for $90 shipped - adaptor plate: $38, rebuild kit: $25, New electric choke (it was water when I got it): $32, and three new jets as it was jetted for a BWM: $18, so for about $210 I got a brand new carb for the sedan - rebuilt and properly jetted. Compare that to the price of the Weber "kit" from Redline - $375.

 

It's like a whole different car. The EA82's are sooo gutless with the stock Hitachi. I just couldn't stand it.

 

GD

My carb'd ea82 rips with the hitachi carb. I ripped all the vacumn lines off it and plugged them off. 2 inch straight pipe with gutted cats. Use a SPFI air intake and airbox instead of that stupid peanut airbox. MSD Blaster Coil, 8mm wires, platnium plugs. Turn the timing up til it detonates.

 

Having 4 low is key for offroading. I snapped a couple teeth on the 4lo gear so I only have 4 high, but even then 1st gear WOT gets my 25 1/2 tires spinning.

 

LSD rear end will help also

 

GD - the trick is to NOT get stuck.....

Well - I have a welded rear end, 28" MT's, and 5". When the mud is deep and the water up past my rockers.... the Weber comes in handy. I've been stuck - very, very stuck. The trick is knowing what you can get into, and probably get out of. If I never get stuck I won't know what the capabilities truely are. Ask the people I go with.... I'm certifiable.

 

GD

Speaking of poopy brown, my new ride:

Haha you said Poopy. Sorry if you all cant tell i have the mentality of a 5 year old.

If the clock don't work I would take it back

then there'd be a whole lot of returns because I have yet to see one with a closk that works

 

the clock on my hatch works just fine.