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EA81 Auto?

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 9:42 pm
by midnight
Did the EA81 ever come out in an auto? D/R?

Thanks.
midnight
chris

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 9:53 pm
by Suby Wan Kenobi
Yep the EA81 had an auto in a 4wd version no Dual range on any Subaru auto to date

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 10:33 pm
by stinky
stay away from any EA auto box! IMHO the auto didn't even get remotely okay until EJ and even then I think it was Gen2 before they started to get strong.

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:11 pm
by tim_81coupe
stinky wrote:stay away from any EA auto box! IMHO the auto didn't even get remotely okay until EJ and even then I think it was Gen2 before they started to get strong.
Agreed. I have been stuffing around with one lately and I'm about ready to challenge the wall to a head-butting fight!!

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 8:28 am
by midnight
I dont like the sounds of this.


Ok, I know its a long shot, but does the 'good' EJ auto bolt up to an EA81?
Or would it be better if I went and got an EJ20 auto front cut?

4WD isnt neccessary (would just mean I would have like a PTO drive :P), and actually, 4WD would be a big PITA.

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 10:35 am
by Suby Wan Kenobi
Go completely EJ.


Agreed the EA auto box suffered with poor design of the governer which had a tendancy to break teeth. If you dont have an EFi EA dont even consider the EJ auto. The EA auto box will be ok if you are only using it as a road car and driving sensible (like my dad) but if you hoon it they die quickly

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 12:48 pm
by steptoe
well that helps me decide whether or not to try my GLAT as an auto for a while to begin with - just to experience the turbo torque of just three ratios.

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:20 pm
by stamp_licker
Chris i have 2 dead and one good ea auto boxes in my backyard.I've spoke to a auto shop and they reckon the earlier boxes were ok for there time and they could be tweaked.Mine had been offroad and pushed and had a tendency to leak around and flog out front diff seals.Yes go completely ej .i have a fair bit of info on the ej boxes and a good understanding on how to make em work.

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:46 pm
by Xtreme_RX
Will how much do you want for the working auto?

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 3:52 pm
by stamp_licker
Xtreme_RX wrote:Will how much do you want for the working auto?
give us a call .

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 5:07 pm
by midnight
Thanks for the input guys. Just means its going to cost me more.



What Im doing is (I scrapped the other idea for now. Ive been swayed easily by the need to go really fast) Im going to build like a beach buggy thing.

Image


A bigger version of that. Single seater, rear engine, AWIS (All Wheel Independant Suspension), Spoiler (for the takeoffs), and yeah. 4Wdisc brakes, Subaru 5 stud rims, 15" rims, and a slightly worked EJ20T Auto.

The reason being Auto, is the shifter mechanism will be much simpler. I can just run a bar from the bottom of the shifter, down to the back, to another piece of flat steel, into the box............


If anyone has any ideas, please do post them. Only constructive ideas only please. (None of this "It wont work" stuff, cos I will make it work).

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 5:28 pm
by Xtreme_RX
Hey....
I have been working on one of these for some time now.....
Just actually have to find time to build it.....

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 8:52 pm
by stamp_licker
midnight wrote:Thanks for the input guys. Just means its going to cost me more.




Image




The reason being Auto, is the shifter mechanism will be much simpler. I can just run a bar from the bottom of the shifter, down to the back, to another piece of flat steel, into the box............

just use the ej auto cable turned round.

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 9:15 pm
by stinky
How are you gonna do the EJ gearbox if the engine is in the back ?

Why not look at a rhino-buggy ? Build it up from EA81 parts first, get it all working then swap the EJ gear int.

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 9:45 pm
by BaronVonChickenPants
You could use an FWD box.

Jordan.

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:17 pm
by tim_81coupe
Mid mounted engine I'd guess, with the trans hanging out over the rear wheels.

Been having evil thoughts about something similar, although with the huge amount of projects I've got going on I'll never get there.

Best of luck Midnight, hope you go ahead with it.

Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 1:16 pm
by El_Freddo
tim_81coupe wrote:Mid mounted engine I'd guess, with the trans hanging out over the rear wheels.

Been having evil thoughts about something similar, although with the huge amount of projects I've got going on I'll never get there.

Best of luck Midnight, hope you go ahead with it.
Dad's done this with a VW fast back. Turned the engine and gearbox around to make it mid mounted for better front and rear weight ratio. The diff was put in backwards to make the car go in the right direction. Before he did this he had already put a 13B in it... now looking at an injected subaru motor, that'll be a while though, we've got too many other projects :D

Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 1:32 pm
by El_Freddo
Oh, and he used a manual, made up gear linkages using steering knuckles from some other japanese cars (civic comes to mind)... and made the cluch hydrolic (not hard to do)...

Cheers

Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 10:24 pm
by subanator
In Perth, Kim Ledger (rotary engine car fame and Heath Ledger's Dad) made a mid mount racing vehicle for rally sprint and hill climb I think. It is a tube frame fiberglass look body, with a Legacy turbo engine mid mounted driving a 2wd Legacy gearbox to the rear wheels.
I have only read about it in a magazine article, and havent found any reference to this vehicle on the net so far.

Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 10:24 am
by brumbyrunner
I don't know if you guys follow off-road racing but you can pick up a used offroad 2WD buggy pretty cheap. The top drivers are in new cars that cost over 200 grand but the older, older technology buggys that are not fast enough nowadays can be picked up for as little as 5 grand. They would almost certainly have VW torsion bar suspension with multiple shocks, race seats, five point harnessess and be ready to go play. Probably with a spares package as well. Engines and gearboxes vary enormously so it pays to do some research. Have a look on offroadracing.com.au or my105.com for stuff in Aust.
Just a thought guys. Depends wether you would rather be building/working on a buggy or driving it.
By the way, we bought (and subsequently sold) a full A-arm 2 seat buggy with a worked and injected EJ16 ready to race for 20 grand so they're certainly out there.