edrach

I'm only interested in the Rallycross on the 19th. Here's the long range weather forcast for Astoria. http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Astoria%2C+OR For those interested in the entire weekend, here's more info courtesy of Paul Eklund. The Triple Threat Rally Weekend is August 17, 18, 19th. It starts with a Cascade Sports Car Club Friday Nighter TSD Rally on Friday August 17th with registration at 6pm at the K-Mart parking lot 13750 SE Johnson Rd in Milwaukie, Oregon ( Directly off I-205 Exit 13 on Hwy 224 (West)/Milw. Expressway, near Lowe's.) http://www.cascadesportscarclub.org/roadRally.asp?page=home The Mountains to the Sea TOURING Rally is next on Saturday Morning (the 18th), starting from that same K-Mart at 9am. It is a scenic, fun, easy TOUR from Portland to the coast, near Astoria, ending with a big beach party and BBQ dinner (always a lot of fun). Bring a friend and a convertible and have a blast! Stay at a motel, or get a campsite in the park. But bring your Subaru (or Audi, VW, Neon, etc), if you want to complete the TRIPLE THREAT by also entering the Oregon Rally Group RallyCross competition on Sunday in Astoria! The site is great (large and flat grass field) and you can even camp there after the beach party Sat down at Fort Stevens for cheap. The competition is 4 runs on a timed course with you times added together for your total score. www.oregonrally.com for RallyCross info. Your scores for all 3 events are added together to determine the winner of the big-rump roast Triple Threat Rally trophy. So do all 3 events if you can, or make it to just 1 or 2. Fun for all.

Rob, I didn't check inside the car for the centercaps so I don't know if they are there. If you want the wheels, let me know soon since the wagon is in the row scheduled for the crusher on Monday or Tuesday. I'd be glad to pick them up for you today if I can make the time. Do you want two or all three?

Found three motion wheels yesterday; couldn't find the fourth. but if someone needs three they are there; two on the car and the third in the back of a red wagon.

I saw a set of actual yellow foglamps at Harbor Freight yesterday. Not too expensive either. You can probably find them by searching www.harborfreightusa.com. If you can't find them, I have the p/n and price written down in my car.

I have an aversion to the stupid audible alarms that tell me to remove my key or close the door. First thing I did after buying my '91 Legacy was unplug the noisemaker. When I did that one of the lights started flashing continuously on the dash. Rather than plug the noisemaker back in or try to work around it again, I just put a piece of black electrical tape over the offending flashing light. Not elegant, but it works for me.

Another vote for the radiator.

If you want, I can pick up a case of it for you from the local Bow Wow shop here in Lynnwood. They have the best local price. Case is 12 quarts; I'll split a case with you if you like. I'll be in Astoria in two weeks and can bring it down then.

I just had to pass this on for those of us with older Legacy models with a manual 5 speed. I bought my '91 Legacy wagon about 5 years ago with 93K miles on the odo. I got a pretty decent price on it since the transmission had a minor crunch when shifting into 2nd and the previous owner figured he'd get rid of it before it got too bad (he did tell me it had a crunch even before I test drove it). I put in the Redline 75W-90NS because of their claim of "friction modifiers" to make it easier for the synchros to work properly. The difference wasn't instaneous but the crunch went away after about two months. I wasn't complaining but I figured I must have been compensating for the gearbox. Either way, the crunch was gone. And it stayed gone until recently. About a month ago, I had the Legacy in for some work that I didn't want to do myself. With 191K on the car now, I thought it would be smart to have the gearoil replaced also:rolleyes: . I didn't have any Redline so I got some Lucas 75W-90 and had it installed. Less than a week later, the crunch was back. Worse than that, I was getting it going into second, third and sometimes into fourth also. I had checked the clutch adjustment and it was normal. Today, after using the Lucas gearoil for the past 2000 miles, I drained it and filled it with new Redline NS again. I just took it for a drive around the block! The crunch is gone. Transmission is shifting as smoothly as ever. I know this sounds like a commercial, but I can't argue with success.

I was there again; another early Legacy with fine seats and a '77 wagon have been added since last time.

Sorry I didn't look that hard.

Walked the yard again today. Three EA81 wagons, one EA81 (Hatch, Standard model), a well smashed '93 Legacy and another EA82 wagon since the last time I was there.

Can't have a corner store if you haven't got a corner! You are right about the personality of the place.

Me too the first time I heard about it. Having grown up in northern NJ, Brooklyn means something else to me.

http://historicbrooklyntavern.com/directions.htm

Definitely, AWD unless you want better gas mileage, then get the 2WD version. Up to '95 only the 1.8 engine which should be cheaper but is still a strong engine and has better gas mileage. EJ22 started in '95 I believe but I could be wrong. In the '97 model year the EJ22 FHI used became an interference engine (note I said model year, not manufacture date; I have a '97 which was built in 10/96 and has the interference engine:mad: ). I personally prefer the wagons but the sedan/coupe is just fine. Get a 5 speed manual since it has more control.

I just replaced the GR2's on my '91 Legacy after 120K miles; still okay but I thought it was time. Fronts were still tolerable but the rears were toast. Installed another set of four GR2's. I wouldn't have anything else on my daily driver.

My three guys all learned to drive on "beaters" and occasionally on the "family" car for special occasions. They did okay, but I couldn't see it in me to have them learn on the "family" car. Anyway, back to our search. I looked on the USMB, nasioc, Craigslist, and autotrader searching for a 5 speed, AWD, Impreza wagon for my wife. Even planned a "getaway" weekend with her in Portland (190 miles one way) with three leads for Imprezas while we were there. First two were gone minutes before we got there; the third one was junk (IMHO) on a dealer lot---sort of like the one you recently saw; too much wrong with it and too high a price. Anyway, we enjoyed the weekend and kept looking. Finally, after about six months of looking I pulled up Autotrader (my search radius was 300 miles!) one Sunday evening and found a '97 with 118K on it for $3995. The dealer was only 4 miles from our house! I called the next morning at 8:30 and got the owner/salesman (small, independent car lot) who told me the car was still there and he opens at 10AM. I was there at 9:45. It looked pretty decent; just a cracked tail-light lens on one side. I took it for a ride to where my wife looked at it. She asked me what I thought; I didn't find anything major wrong and she liked the color; she didn't need to drive it if I liked it. I went back to the carlot, gave the man a small deposit, took all the information on the car and headed for the credit union. Came back at 2PM, signed all the papers, and my wife and I picked it up at four after she got off from work. And the rest is history. You'll find what you want soon enough. They are scarce but they are out there. Best of luck in your search and I hope it won't be a long one.

If the dealer refused to deal with those issues before putting the car up for sale, he's either clueless or has very little intention of following up within the terms of the warranty. Definitely not worth the hassle. There are lots of Imprezas out there with more potential and less price. It's just a matter of biding one's time until the right car comes along. We "looked" actively for over 6 months before finding my wife's current daily driver.

I can do that but I usually don't plan a special trip. I do most of my work in downtown Seattle around the U-district. So at quitting time I have a choice of crossing Lake Washington and heading up I-405 or taking I-5 north. When I take I-5 north I can always get off in Lynnwood and take a walk in the yard. It's sort of a last minute thing, but if I make a special trip I'll give you a call before hand.

Judging from the shock condition I'd give it a soaking with rust penetrant daily for a week before I'd even try to remove the bolts. This looks like the only way to remove them would be with a torch. If you break off the bolt you are hosed so take it slowly and easily when you replace the shocks. Better yet pay a professional to do it!

7/16 update: Three new Legacies (early '90's); two wagons, 1 sedan. One new GL wagon (red) No disk brakes except on the Legacies; no alloy wheels.

He has about 20 cars left in the back yard. Most of them are fixer uppers. He's pretty honest about the condition and what might be wrong with most of them. He's easy to find: Take Redmond Fall City Rd. and just as you come into Fall City look on the left for a yard with lots of Subarus. If you get to the intersection in town you missed him by 100 yards.

You can tell you live in the sunbelt. If you lived in the rust belt east coast you wouldn't say that the ball joint comes out so easily. However, there are lots of ways to get the hub loose enough to get the DOJ off the stub axle. Do what works best for you.

Good luck with whatever you purchase. However, a bit of advice from someone who's taught three sons to drive: Teach him to drive a stick! You (and he) will be happier for it. He'll be able to drive any car in the future, stick or not. Gas mileage is about 20% better. More control with a stick than automatic, especially on "challenging" surfaces like snow or ice. And best of all.....It's more fun!

EJ18's get a bum rap. Only real difference is you need to shift more often. I rallycrossed a '94 Impreza last year and was beating most of the EJ22 cars on a regular basis. Out of 26, I finished 5th for the season. Only reason I didn't finish higher is my inexperience and not the EJ18. This year in my '97, I'm running fourth for the season. Not much of a difference. Comparing the EJ18 to the EJ22 in my '97 is that the EJ18 revved more freely and needed 4th gear up the longest, steepest hills on the freeway rather than 5th. Don't make the mistake of putting 15" or 16" tires on an EJ18 (it'll become a "stone"); leave the 14" tires on it and it'll be fine. Besides, an EJ18 in the hands of a teenager probably makes a lot more sense. The other difference between the two engines is the EJ18 gets significantly better gas mileage. In any event, check out the engine; if it is an EJ18 it's all the more reason to negotiate a significantly lower price.