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First Question:
I'm going back(home) to the UK for a vacation towards the end of September and I would like to know if it's worth getting my cousin to source me out a pair of head lamps from a UK wrecker?? They are still glass in the UK right? I'm not really concerned about if the beam is more for RHD cars either... These are mostly to make the car look better and slightly improved lighting (when I've got to see at night i've got a much better arsenell to turn to, a good set of hella 4000's in euro beam, and I just put on a set of 500's for daily driving). I've tried the whole sanding and clear coating but it only works for around a month with how much I drive.

Second question:
This may be the STUPIDIST question ever... but. How the f__k do you get the wiper arms off of the car to paint them?? Or do you just stick newspaper under them and tape off areas you don't want to paint? I've never done this before, and I think I need to because my wiper arms are getting rusty.

pull the plug out to get access to the nut, loosen nut, take wipers off

Sorry to jack your thread, but what do you think of the 4000's in Euro Beam?
Do you have the city light? What the heck IS a city light? I never got much help out of Hella's support.

Gary, when you try to take out the wiper arm, you have to un-bolt it and push toward to the glass then the arm will pop out.
Don't try to pull it out.
Hope it help!

Ben

Ben and I understand your problem. The spring pressure that holds the blade to the windshield puts pressure against the threads of the motor bolt at an angle. This makes it really difficult to simply pull the wipers off. Pushing the wiper blade hard against the windshield should relax the spring and allow you to take the wipers off smoothly...

A city light is a little bulb mounted inside the main headlamp's reflector housing. They're installed instead of parking lamps in most of the world.

For your 1991, UK-spec headlamps may or may not have glass lenses (they did both plastic and glass). The beam pattern will be a right-hand-drive European pattern, with a horizontal cutoff on the right and a sharply rising cutoff on the left. The idea is to see well to both sides, not shine up into the eyes of oncoming traffic, and still shine up to light up signs and other important things on the near side of the road.

If you aimed them correctly by UK standards, you'd be able to see pretty well but you'd blind oncoming drivers (it would look to them like you had your high beams on). If you aimed them in such a way as to not blind other drivers you wouldn't be able to see at all with them.

You'd probably be better off with your stock lamps. Even though they have a crappy US-spec beam pattern and transverse-filament 9004 bulbs, they'll still work out better. Run good wiring to them to make sure you get full intensity, and if the lenses are yellowed, use Josh's method to sand away the yellow and then clear coat the lens (or just use metal polish if you're feeling lazy). When other traffic isn't around, you have your other lights anyway.

One thing - it is theoretically possible to mask away some of the rising portion of the cutoff on the UK-spec lamps. If you look on the flutes of the lens you can see where it creates the shape, and you can put electrical tape over that part. The result is a decent approximation to a completely horizontal cutoff. It still won't illuminate signs, deer, and children coming from the right as far up the road (like a proper LHD pattern does) but it won't blind people.

Or upgrade to a 92-94 front end, since the 92-94 BC/BFs have ECE-compliant headlamps. :)

sam: The 4000's are great, although I think if I prep this car for more than TSD rallying / playing around up north I'd go for the HID lamps. It definatly helps when you're wiring to set up each lamp on it's own switch and also having a master switch for all lights. Having each on it's own makes aiming sooo much easier.

Thanks for the advice on the wiper arms, I thought it had to be something stupid like that, and yes... I was pulling as hard as I could to get them off

As for the headlamps, I think I'll just leave them... I've just got to stop being lazy and actually polish them!

Cool, yeah, just go to an auto parts store and pick up a three dollar container of "Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish." Rub it into the lenses with a towel or sponge, and then wipe it off. They won't be as good as new, but after three bucks and 10 minutes they'll look much much better.

Best bet is to call Subaru Spares when you're back in the UK and see what they have in stock - I get all my used parts from them. They're based up in Yorkshire somewhere - number is 01422 846868. They're extremely helpful and pretty cheap too - I got a replacement ABS pump for £40 (about $60) delivered next day!

Subaru Spares is good in my experience too... Andy Lord there got me my intercooler from a 1994 WRX.

When painting the wiper blaids make sure to at least slightly sand every part, otherwise the paint underneath flakes off along with the new stuff. BBQ paint works really well.

They're based up in Yorkshire somewhere

Excellent! I'm from Leeds and I'll be in Scarborough for most of my trip. I'm sort of hoping to find one of their cruises going on so I can see in person all the maddness I've been reading about in Max Power!

Get the Euro lights and just drive on the wrong side of the road and you won't have the problem with beam pattern.

But then you'll get blinded by oncoming headlights! :)

Excellent! I'm from Leeds and I'll be in Scarborough for most of my trip. I'm sort of hoping to find one of their cruises going on so I can see in person all the maddness I've been reading about in Max Power!

If you want I'll go and rake out one of my receipts and find out their exact location - I don't think they have a web presence (yet).

Rob