legacycentral bbs

That's right, I just can't leave well enough alone.

A really nice guy from the USMB dropped off a 1979 Subaru GL 4WD wagon in my driveway, let me sign my name on the title, and took $300 of my cash!

It needs TLC to say the least... he has informed me that the transmission main bearing is making noise. Believe it or not, I've already sourced all the bearings in the transmission, OEM from Subaru!! I dunno if I'm gonna rebuild this one and throw it back in, swap a different one, or what.

It also has an electrical issue with the fuel pump, so it will only run if I put a little gas in the carb. I heard it start up and then die, but the engine runs sweet, and the exhaust is completely silent!

It has all the original paperwork, owners' manual, etc. It's not even a 17-digit VIN either, it's something weird!

There's a tiny bit of rust, but only one spot that I'm concerned about. The rest is mostly surface.

Either way, it will be a fun project. I might restore it and sell it, or I might keep it.

Anyway, enough blabbering. Here's the pics of Gretchen (yes, I've already named her ):

The body's dirty, but in decent shape:


Interior is kinda yucky:

This vicious beast might be putting out 60hp y0!!

Owner's manual, etc.

The one rust spot I'm concerned about:


Who's old school now, biatches??

JDM mad tyte old school FTW1!!111one

wow, there is a lot of room under the hood, you could hide stuff in there!

if I may ask a question, why did you buy this thing?

Why not?

You're never going to get a turbo are you Mike?

Good buy!

THAWA wrote:Why not?

You're never going to get a turbo are you Mike?

Good buy!

Hahahaha, I was waiting for you to chime in Hardy...

Bite thy tongue though, I might have a turbo project sooner than you think

I bought it coz I wanted a Gen1. Since the 78 Brat that was for sale near my house a couple years ago, this is the first Gen1 car I've seen with my own two eyes in several years. It was also in the FL Panhandle, so I only had to give the guy a couple extra bucks in gas to bring it down here, as opposed to a car somewhere on the other side of the country. And, it gives me something to play with and learn on. This is my first carbed car, so a lot of this stuff on this car is new to me.

As for there being lots of room under the hood, that's coz the spare's not in it

EJ22 Swap! That thing's sick! Where's the spare?

Spare? You don't need a spare. Just pick the car up and carry it home .

More info on this turbo project is needed for your survival.

Damn, makes me want a GL.... and dump an EJ22T into it.

Does the 4WD still work? If so..I smell a beach vehicle.

I need to track the posts that I've seen suggesting an EJ swap, it's already in the teens

The spare is actually on the left rear corner, the regular wheel is in the hatch with a flat tire.

THAWA wrote:More info on this turbo project is needed for your survival.

Put your gun away coz you already know about it

Drop in an ej22t and auto-x it!!!! That would be a sight to see

Oh yeah. Cool.

Also, I'm sure you're going to anyway, but stick with the EA that's in there.

How many first gens in florida? less than 10?

I would guess that to be the ONLY gen1 in FL.
subyluvr, give us a measure and see if the EJ will fit between the gen1 framerails.

A friend of mine had an XT Turbo that had a TD04 on it. That thing was wild.

It's not the ONLY Gen1 (a guy on the USMB has a Gen1 in West Palm Beach), but Douglas might not be too far off. I see WAY more XTs than I see Gen1's.

That said, it's another resto project, so the EA71 is staying in it

There is a Gen1 Brat down under (they call em Brumby down there) that has an STi swap in it, so I know an EJ will fit But I'm just gonna stick with what's in it.

Patti is my sort-of-mods car right now, so don't say I'm ignoring performance altogether

Would be a bad autox car with torsion bars and floppy chassis. I'm seam welding and reinforcing the '84 hardtop I eventually get. These cars are tough as nails, but flexible.

This thing would plan HAUL ASS with a turbo EJ. The 79 brochure and the title both say this car weighs approx. 2200 lbs.

Gave it a quickie bath today. It cleaned up pretty good. The paint is faded as hell, of course, but it looks better than I thought it would.


EA71 baby!

Too bad these aren't the real miles. It's likely rolled over, and the speedo's broken so even these 5 digits aren't accurate.

By the way, I have gotten THIRTEEN suggestions of swapping some form of an EJ engine in it from all the forums I've posted this on

I am honestly envious...


I wish I had an old EA Subie to get good mileage with...


Well...I guess I am picking up my free GL Turbo Traction Wagon in a couple weeks, but still, I love the old body style!!


Good find man

subyluvr2212 wrote:There is a Gen1 Brat down under (they call em Brumby down there) that has an STi swap in it, so I know an EJ will fit But I'm just gonna stick with what's in it.

there are a few brat STI's, but are any of them ea71? the owner of several ea71's that I know has mentioned the ea71 frame rails are quite a bit narrower.
anything is possible of course, with enough grinding wheels and welding wire.

Yeah, the Brat STi is a EA81 Car...