Stubies Subie

I haven't messed with my clock yet, the cars still tore down for a re-seal, but I did do a little wrecking yarding to get some parts mine was missing, and I snatched a clock out of one of the wrecked Loyales so I could play with it. I measured it out, and found a really close match in a thermometer, as seen in the picture below. I had a thermometer built into the instrument cluster on my old 1986 VW GTI, and it was quite handy I thought, I always watched it when the outside temperature was close to freezing so I could be aware of black ice. on the GTi, the temperature probe was located inside the driver’s side front fender in front of the wheel well, so it was pretty accurate. if one were to put this thermometer in the dash, in place of the clock, I think it would be real easy to locate the probe in the same location as was found on the GTi

I never even thought of that, we can ad that to the list of options, but I can install that myself when I have mor money, those are fairly easy.

I used to have a VW GTi, it too had a little 1800cc engine in it, and I towed a little utility trailer full of camping gear, I rolled over many a scale to see what my weight was at any given time, the trailer most generally weighed out at around 1,000 lbs, give or take 100 lbs or so, now add to that, me, and 4 kids in that little Rabbit, we were loaded to the max. In all the miles we drove that car and trailer combination, never once did we have any kind of problem, not from overheating, not from stopping, and for all practical reasons, that car could have cared less that it had a trailer hooked to its hind end, you could hardly tell it was even back there. We got at least 35 miles to the gallon, and drove that setup all over the Pacific Northwest for a number of years until he kids grew up and the car was sold. And that trailer never had trailer brakes. The Loyale has a towing capacity of 1,300 lbs with no trailer brakes, and 1900 with trailer brakes, that is about the same rating at the GTi. This time around, the Loyale will have a brake control valve under the dash, the trailer will have brakes, and it will have an empty weight of 800 lbs and a loaded weight of about 1300 lbs, real close to the utility trailer I used to pull with the GTi. There’s no question in my mind that the Loyale can and will pull that trailer, I’ve done it before, I’ll do it again. I may not be able to do Warp 9 up the mountain, but then again, I couldn’t do warp 9 in the VW either, and from a truckers stand point, you go down the mountain at the same speed you went up the mountain, I averaged about 30 MPH up the mountains if I remember correctly, I could go fast if I wanted to push it, but why push it, I’ll be over in the slow lane going up the mountain with my old truck driving friends, enjoying the view as I rumble up the mountain, and going slow enough on the way down to smell the flowers as I pass them by …and that is what recreation is all about. And that’s the reason I want this car. If for some reason I’m wrong, I’ll admit it, but at this point, until it’s been tried, you can’t say “it can not be done” I’m not 20, I’m 50, I’m not just starting my working carrier, I’m approaching the end of it, so speed and performance are not foremost in my mind, having fun on a budget is, and I think the Loyale is an economical car, so lets see how it does with a trailer behind it.

Granted, you got me on that one, and that deserves a response. I do appreciate your responses, and opinions, when it came to choosing between a Legacy and a Loyale, even with everything you guys told me, I was a bit confused as to which Legacy would be best, the Loyale on the other hand, was narrowed down, they all have the same motor, and as long as it's got SPFI and a 5 speed, I "thought" it would be ok. for a Legacy, I saw ads, but wasn't sure if the year was right, most were automatics which I didn't want, I'm pretty sure I wanted the EJ22 but wasn't sure which car that came in and most ads didn't list what motor the car had. When I looked at Legacy ads..I simply didn't know if it was a "jump on it" or "keep looking" and if it's a good deal, you have to jump, if you don't, someone else will snatch it out from under you. and I found myself wanting to post the ads here, and ask, which meant I'd have to wait until someone responded by which time, if the car was a good deal, it was to late for me because someone else would have already snatched it up. when I saw the Loyale ads, it seemed easer to me to determine on my own if it was a "grab it" car, and a "turn tail and run" I'm going to gain Subaru experience with this one, and this won't be my last Subaru, and while I own this one, you can be rest assured, I'll be learning all I can about the Legacys. Next time, I'll be able to make a better educated decision. as for this car, we'll fix it, I'll drive it, and if I like it, I'll keep it, it doesn't do what I want it to, it would always make a good spare, it seems like at any given time, one of my kids is always needing a car for one reason or another, so it may even make a good loaner. If and when I do find a Legacy, it will go through the same thing, it will end up at GD's place, with him and Rugby_Subie giving it a real good reseal and going over. Meanwhile, when I get a chance to get back over to GD's place, I'll get more pictures and start a build thread on the Loyale.

I'm quite happy with the EA82, and I have had one before, I chose that car based on the upkeep cost, and style, and once GD is done with it, I will have no reason to question its reliability. cars are easy come, easy go, if it doesn't work for me, I can always find something else and put a for sale sign in the window of this one, but at this point, I'm going to at least try it, and for all practical purposes, I see no reason why this one won't work for my intended use of the car ...so I say, we keep going with it, and make it the most near perfect EA82 that can be had. heck, for that matter, if it doesn't work out, I'm sure my daughter would be happy to have to for transportation to and from collage, it will certainly haul all her stuff. For such a problematic model, I have to say my cards have fallen perfectly, when I think about it, how fortunate am I that I’ve got friends like Ruby_Subie, and met people that live so close like GD, personally, I think what I have was meant to be, I couldn’t ask for a more experienced watchful eye then GD, any while Rugby_Subie may have learned everything he knows from GD, I got to give him credit, he’s good at what he does. So we’re going to make this car the best that an EA82 can be

I think we're ok on the motor, and being at General Disorders House, it's in good hands. we got a whole list of things were doing to it, a complete reseal, including the rear main seal. new head gaskets, new timing belts and pullys and such, new water pump, plus we're installing a set of high torque cams, GD is also doing the electric fan conversion on it, and it's getting a new radiator plus, I'm super paranoid about over heating issues, so were also installing a radiator coolant filter, plus a heater core filter from Gano. and because it's going tp be pulling a little pop up camping trailer, he's also installing an XT clutch and pressure plate, and I think a new flywheel as well, plus all the bearings that go with it. also NGK plugs, and I think Rugby suby said something about new spark plug wires as well. am I missing anything? I'm kinda leaving it up to them to figure out what I want or need, their going to know better then I do. I want to get over there before the motor goes back in the car so I can do a thoro pressure wash of the engine bay area, I'd really like to get all those years of grease out of there, so I may be doing that this coming weekend:) no matter what, when it's done, it should be a very nice dependable ride

It’s lucky for me I live in the Pacific North West, and it’s also lucky for me I had Rugby_Suby with me on the trip to work ….. We we’re sitting on the side of the freeway, with steam rolling out from under the hood, Rugby_Subie says: “general Disorder lives right back there” as he pointing to the exit we just passed. It’s something like 4 miles to the next exit where we could turn around (which would make an 8 miles round trip) there’s n o way this car is going another 8 miles, OR if we could just somehow do a Uie, we’re only a mile or so from General Disorders house. The first thought that entered my mind was “oh great, I buy a car everyone told me to stay away from, and now I have to go before the lord of the Subaru Gods and confess my sins”. We chose the Uie, if you take note of the attached photo, shooting across the freeway median and changing directions out here in the North West is a rather fun adventure, and my first real off road experience with my new Subaru

Ok, I got some splain’en to do: I bought a car, and against everyone’s advice, I got a Loyale, I know, I know, I shoulda listened …but wait till you hear the rest of the story. This old guy advertised a really nice Loyale on craigslist, it only had 145,000 miles on it, and he had bought the car so he could use it to do a paper route in his retirement, but alas …his wife said ….oh no you ain’t ..your sell’en the car. Then along comes me …oh and the car looked so good, new head gaskets, valve cover caskets, new water pump and timing belts, 1,500 bucks, and he wasn’t gonna budge a plug nickel. So I forked over the 1500 bucks …… This old guy was so proud of himself for fixing up the car, he had to show me every little imperfection it had, he even had to explain every little squeak, right down to imperfections in the paint, plus everything he done to it ….I just smiled and thought, “this sure is a nice old man” “but this car hasn’t got hardly any imperfections at all” ……. Or so I thought ….. in the photos below, please take note of what's under the hood ....or not I haven’t really got to drive it much ….I bought it, rushed down to DMV to get it licensed, Rugby_Subie was with me, and we had to hurry because I had to go to work, so after I got the car licensed, we drove back to the old mans house, and picked the car up, and drove it from the old mans house to my house, a distance of about 10 miles. We put the new license plates on it, then left my house for the 30 mile drive to work and to Rugby_Subies house, I figured he could drop me off at work, take the car home, and give it a really good looking over …. We never made it ….blew a head gasket on the freeway … This is where General Disorder comes into the picture …..I’ll explain that one later, I’m going to bed …..to be continued.

ok, that nerrows it down a little bit, still want a stick shift though, I've had automatics for years and I'm just ready for a change .. Day 14, and the search continues ....

would something like this be worth looking at? I'm thinking to many miles ... http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/cto/2598916829.html

I just did a google search for "50/50 4WD just by installing a switch for the duty-c solenoid" and got some good hits, now I know what it does, I have to remember ...google is my friend ....lol I'm probably not going to be able to get out and test drive anything until this weekend, unless some screaming deal shows up that's so good I have to call in sick to work just to go look at it .. I'll try to find a Legacy wagon I can test drive.

General Disorder, not knowing much if anything at all about a Legacy, can you explain to me what you mean by 50/50 4WD just by installing a switch?

ok, as we go into day 14, I did a quick scan of craigslist and found nothing other then this one: http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/cto/2597181610.html but good luck getting them to call you, I messaged them twice yesterday, and they never called back. I'll test drive a Legacy, I'll go back now and see if there's any that are worth looking at, I agree, I can't knock somethig if I haven't tried it.

that's what I'm starting to think I'm gonna have to do, I've thought it over, and while the Legacy is a good car, and in many ways better then a Loyale, I need to stick to my original plan and keep looking for a Loyale, they are becoming few and far between from the craigslist ads I've been watching, but something is bound to turn up sooner or later, So as we trudge through day 13, the search continues.

Concerning mileage, everything I have now (except the Jeep) has over 200,000, I'm sure having high miles isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it would be nice to find something with less. I am now looking at craigslist for Legacy's, and am finding quite a few in my price range, with around 160,000 miles or so, which to me is acceptable. reading the Legacy ads, it's kind of hard for me to determine if that particular car in that particular ad is what I'd want, it's not as easy for me to weed out the "don't wants" like it is with the Loyales, (no carb, no turbo, no auto, ect) On the Legacy, what is it that I don’t want? Are the Turbo’s bad news as is on the Loyales, and what about an automatic? (would rather have a 5 speed manual) but auto would be fine if it was the right price I suppose.

A few years ago, I decided I wanted a boat, so I went shopping, and found what I thought was a great and wonderful boat, so I bought it, and then I joined a boating forum, and posted pictures of my great find. All the comments to that thread in that forum basically said …someone saw you coming; I’d get rid of that boat as fast as you can, if you know nothing about a boat, join a forum, ask questions, and we will help you find the perfect boat for you. Once I got rid of the nightmare I had just bought, that is exactly what the people in the forum did, they helped me find the perfect boat for me, and it’s has served me very well over the years without hardly any maintenance, it turned out to be perfect, just as they said. So, here I am, joining a Subaru forum, before I buy my first Subaru, and with your help and advice, I know when the time comes and I find that perfect car, I’ll know it’s the one for me. As for why I don’t like AWD: that takes me back to the rest of the story, I’m an avid camper, I have traveled a lot, and I own a 1998 Grand Cherokee, and a 20 foot 4,500 lb travel trailer, the grand Cherokee is AWD, it does have 4 high and 4 low which is nice, but I’ve never liked it being AWD, and it’s a common thing in the jeep forums to change out the transfer case so it’s a part time 4WD instead of AWD On the road, the jeep gets about 20 MPG when not towing, when it is towing the trailer, it gets anywhere from 6 to 10 MPG. That is what brought me here, I want to down size, trade the 20 foot trailer for a little pop up, and find a Subaru to pull to that will do better on gas then the Jeep.

I have given that some thought, I still want a 5 speed, but I don't want full time 4 wheel drive, and I haven’t researched out the Legacy's enough to know exactly what it is that I want in one. I know the first generation Legacys are kind of (don't want to say ugly) but maybe a plain Jane kind of car? (I like the looks of the Loyale better then the first generation Legacy’s) I do like the body style of the 95's, and I believe that's the last year of the non interference engines? (I don’t want an interference motor) So if I could find a reasonable 5 speed 1995 Legacy (weren’t they also calling them the Outback by then?) I'd be happy with that, but at the same time, I'm thinking that a newer legacy might be out of my budget, plus I'm probably not going to spot the "deals" quite as fast as you are. One of the reasons I’m looking for a Loyale is because I believe that for the money I have to work with, I can find a better Loyale then I can a Legacy (I belive a Legacy is a bit more expensive, therefore lower quality car for the money I have) hope that makes sense. If I could find a legacy for the money I have on hand, that ran ok, was a 5 speed manual, I’d buy it. Rugby_Subie is looking at a Loyale in the morning for 300, it’s supposed to have a bad clutch but a really nice body, if it’s a half way ok car, that leaves me 1,700 to fix it up. If I go for a Legacy, from what I can tell at this point, I’m going to want a 1995 model, but if I’m wrong, someone should straighten me out, this is exactly the reason I’m posting, I want to stop any mistake I’m making, before I make it. Stuart

My daily ritual is to get up in the morning, check craigslist for new Subaru’s then message Rugby_Suby to see if he found anything, and he’s found one or to, but when the people write back, the cars have something like 250,000 miles on them and they don’t run …needs to be towed for one reason or another. I’m not opposed to fixing a broken car, if it can be done reasonable enough, but without a pickup and car trailer at the moment, getting one of those cars home isn’t very cost effective. I’m also finding that people are basing the values of their cars with NADA or Kelly Blue Book, considering todays economy, the NADA and Kelly Blue Book values don’t mean a thing, that’s why you see ads running week after week that read something like this: 98 GL Turbo DR 5speed KBB value is 3,650, I have it below KBB at 3,295, what a steal!! ….2 months later that supposed “steal of a buy” is still for sale, why? Because it’s priced way to high for the current economy, in reality, it may be worth 1,500 to 1,600?

92_rgby_subie has been helping me, we’ve looked at a few, driven countless miles in search of the perfect one, like the one in Roseberg that was a 94, ran fine, just needed a fuel pump, had 117,000 miles on it, for an asking price of 1,500. Turned out to be a piece of junk, took all day getting there and back home, logged over 500 miles on the trip, and it wasn’t even a car I would have trusted to the end of the sellers driveway. Then there’s the 1990, looks like the perfect car, 98,000 miles, the seller is asking 2,300 for it, has everything I want in a car including working AC, but it’s an automatic, and I ain't to thrilled with the rusty front fenders, although it is maroon everywhere else there isn't rust and where the paint isn't flaking off. A tranny swap to a 5 speed DR doesn’t look that bad from what I’ve read on the subject, but still a lot of work and it would take every dime I have to buy it leaving me with no money to swap out the tranny for 3 or 4 months, and honestly, I don’t think I could put up with an automatic that long …thank god 92_Rugby_Subie keeps holding me back, otherwise I’d probably own it already.

What does it take to find that “perfect for you” Subaru? ……….. As the search continues. I’m not sure what day to call this, I know I’ve been looking for at least 3 months, but haven’t been actively looking (ready to buy) until a couple of weeks ago, so with cash in pocket, join me as the search continues for the Holy Grail of the GL/Loyale line. I’ve studied, asked questions, researched, and came up with a “list” so to speak of what I would want in a Subaru that would make it the perfect NW outdoorsmen’s camping car, capable of hauling a small load and or towing a tiny travel trailer. I’ve found the Loyale/GL ,models had a tow rating of 1,985 lbs if the trailer is equipped with brakes, and a tow rating of 1,213 lbs if the trailer doesn’t have brakes, I will be installing a trailer brake controller in the car, and will be putting brakes on the tent trailer, but I will stay on the lighter side with a weight of around 1,300 lbs for the trailer dry, that gives me room to work with the trailer without being maxed out. I’ve broken It down to the following: Needs to be a 4x4 Needs to be of simple construction, (for cost and ease of repair) Duel range 5 speed EA82, for simplicity and cost (about the cheapest motor out there and very easy to change out) It needs to have air conditioning, (we have pets, and a long ride in a car without AC would be miserable for them) Needs to be fuel injected, (no carbs, and no turbos) Needs full instrument cluster, (no idiot lights) Less then 150,000 miles Red or maroon in color would be a plus, but not necessary. That pretty much leaves me looking for an 85 to 95 GL or Loyale. My best bet, would be an 88 or 89, and I realize that my chances of finding a car with all these features is slim at best, so I am willing to accept a happy medium, what I end up with may not have everyting I want in a Subaru, but what it lacks, I can ad at a later time as I set my new car up to be my perfect vacation outdoor camping rig. So follow along as we try to find that perfect car.

I got me a bit of a dilemma, and am looking for some opinions or a bit of advice. I’ve been shopping for a GL/Loyale for months, and I’ve saved up the cash, and have been somewhat picky about what I wanted. I want SPFI, DR 5 speed, Air conditioning, full gauges, plus I’d like it to be red in color. I know I’ve been a little to picky and that’s why I haven’t got one yet. There is this one car how ever that I have looked at and test drove and it’s sweet, it’s got everything I want, right down to the red paint, it’s in good shape, except for a dent in the hood and two rusty front fenders, which is no big deal, my son in law has a body shop, so the hood and fender problem is an easy fix, and the dent and rust are miner anyway. The car is an automatic, so I originally wanted to stay away from it, but after looking at mile foxes videos on doing a trany swap from an auto to a manual, it don’t look like it’s that bad of a job, and my thinking is that I may be better off buying this car and doing the swap rather then keep looking. An older guy own it, it’s been well taken care of, no oil leaks, not an oil burner, and it has less then 100,000 on it, and it’s had regular service, so I’m starting to think that maybe I should make him an offer, but I think his asking price is a little high, he started out at 2500, dropped to 2300, and now I’m thinking that maybe I should offer him 2000. Probably a little high for what the car is, but I guess my main question is, how bad is it to swap from an automatic to a DR 5 speed, from what I see it don’t look that bad. I don’t know of I should make an offer, or keep looking