kookeyes

....for the round-eyed body style, I mean, before they squared up the entire lineup for the eighties, including the headlights.

You'd know you were in a GL the second your butt hits the plaid seats. No GL/DL designations for year model 1978. Only in 1979 for the 4WD wagons, and 1979 through 1981 Brats.

https://m.ebay.com/itm/1979-Subaru-DL/233866084760?_mwBanner=1&_rdt=1 Glad to know it exists.

Thanks for the info. The guy I talked to who knew the owner of the property said he would not sell any of the cars or any parts on them. The rust is pretty bad all along the bottom sides of the car, with holes eaten through in areas/doors/ wheel wells. Too many weeds around it to see under it, but safe to say it sits in some decent snow for about 5 months a year, so chances are everything underneath it is pretty thick with rust. The seat fabric looks like the same kind they used in the GF Hardtops. Looks and feels almost like blue suede.

The past five years I do a fall road trip that ends up passing by this somewhat abandoned 4-eyed 78/79 freak of nature DL sedan, that I have deemed "Imogene". I may need some help from a few of you 70's models experts who knew them well back in the day. What perplexes me is that she has a DL badge on the back, has the DL steering wheel, the seats are not vinyl, but a soft cloth, more in line with what the GF hardtops came with that looks stock. Everything looks stock on her. But.....Subaru never sold a 4 eyed , 4 door sedan in the US. They sold models like these overseas in Europe as the 1600 custom, with maybe some other naming/badging in other countries. My question is do you think Subaru offered a custom order US 4 eyed DL sedan from the dealership, or was she most likely bought new overseas and made it to our shores somewhere along the way? She is beyond hope to ever get back on the road, but please pay homage to her, as she is a rusty, underappreciated beacon of these simple and ingenious 78/79 models. She also has a super cool tiny luggage rack over her trunk....and a stone tiara (as seen in the photo).

Saw this on craigslist. Looks like these might have lots of usable parts on them (love the roof racks).... if they would still part them out. 4 eyed 78 4WD model and 2 eyed 79 2WD model (bro and sis). https://portland.craigslist.org/clk/cto/d/heisson-1978-and-1979-subaru-wagon/6856903863.html

Funny, the pictures look life sized, like they are in a driveway next to a fence.

Depending on what the interior condition is, you might be able to sell it on ebay for a nice figure as a survivor car. A recent survivor low miles all original 79 Subaru 2wd wagon went for 6k in Texas and an 80 4WD wagon with Desert Fox graphics sold for 10k in California. Sure, drive it for a year or so and have fun (plus insure it properly with classic car insurance), but I would recommend keeping it all original and get it in pristine condition so you can sell it at some point and use the profit to do an engine swap on another vehicle that is less rare and less valuable. Selling it when it is 40 years old in great condition with lots of pictures and detailed info on ebay is definitely the way to get the most out of your 300.00 investment. I was just in Spokane, Coeur D'Alene, Sandpoint and Post Falls almost exactly a year ago looking for old Subarus, but the ones on Craigslist had sold by the time I got there. Guess I should have driven the back roads a bit more. There's a reason why there is so little info/pictures online about the 78/79 GF Hardtops. There just aren't any left around.

It looks in great shape. Love the super-rare vinyl top. It's in great condition to be 40 years old.

Post pictures,please. Very rare car. There is one posted on Craigslist in Eastern Washington not too far from you. He has it listed as a Leone, though. Hope yours is in better shape. Only other one I found was a year or two ago in Colorado Springs on CL. Guy was a three word responder CL flake, so nothing became of it. It was a white one. You can get the original 1978 Subaru brochures on eBay to see what they looked like brand new. Keep it as original as possible. It always pays off in the end. What color is yours? Congrats on your find!

Nice Sube. I had one very similar in the late 80's ( 1979,same color, luggage rack and spoiler, I guess you call it), but I had a 2 eyed 2wd model. Loved the car, but had two rounds of cv joint clicking issues, once when I bought it and a few years later before I traded it in. Nostalgia found me buying another one last year (79 blue 2wd automatic). Too cheap and in too good of shape to pass up. One CV axle will need to be replaced as the boot is torn and beginning to click on turns, so a common issue to these models, I guess. Found a weird listing on Craigslist about this car. Calling a beloved Gen 1 "worthless" is heresy in my book, but wondering what's up with this ad? Sour grapes, maybe? https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/6095140459.html Good luck on the car. It's a beauty. Hopefully inexpensive to fix the drive problem . I just bought a new cv axle on Ebay for 60 bucks. Doesn't look to complicated to replace.

You got a nice little Brat, there. I looked at it about a month ago when they listed it on craigslist. I was afraid it wouldn't pass the emissions requirement test here in Phoenix, so I didn't buy it. When I went back to look at it again, he said he had sold it to someone who was shipping it to Florida. Sorry you had to pay so much to get it shipped, It looked like a really nice little truck and will probably clean up really nicely. Glad someone got it who will take good care of it. Don't let the rust get it in Florida, though. Cheers!