the_bard

Figured I'd go Subaru huntin' today... I knew there was a GL wagon for sale here in glorious Troy, so I figured I'd go find out where it was, if it was still there, and what kinda shape it was in, if it was still there. It wasn't. But I found something else. Just on the other side of Hoosick Street sits a GM dealership. Had a set of keys made for the Calais I owned before I picked up Subie, so I've got a tendency to glance over at it whenever I head over that way. Toady, sitting right in front of the lot, parked on the street, is a beautiful baby blue Loyale. No rust on her, anywhere. One slight ding in the left front fender, looks like it'd be easy to pull out. Either 124 grand or 224 grand on the odometer, couldn't read that first digit. Don't remember seein' a 4wd emblem on the rear end, and I was too busy slathering over the pristine body condition to see whether it was auto or manual *helpless shrug*. I could swap out a tranny, but I can't turn back the rust, ya know? Left one of those "If you ever decide you want to sell this car, here's my phone number and email address. Oh, btw, check out http://www.ultimatesubaru.org." All this was balanced by the fact that I boogered my exhaust on the way out. The dealership lies on a side hill (sorta makes me wonder what ain't on a side hill in Troy...). To get out of the lot, you've got to drive up that hill, over a sidewalk, then through a dip before you get to the street. With the condition of the struts in Subie right now, coupled with the rear cat sitting a few inches lower than it should with the rig job I've got set up on it, I scraped. Opened up a hole in that cheap flexible exhaust tubing that I used. If I knew somebody out here that could weld a tube in place inexpensively... *sigh*. At least she sounds like she's got some teeth, now *grin*. There's a silver linin' to just about any cloud... P.S.: Been a while since I ranted on about Subaru's... guess I needed to get it out of my system ;o)

I second that... I love the Outback-ish look you've got with the black trim. If'n I remember right from another thread, that was done using underbody coating, right? That's going on my list of projects when I get that new Subaru...

One of 'em windshield-wide decals: "Jeeps need not apply"? I'll try to think of some more as I become tired enough to sleep...

Guess I'm going to have to look at the PS reservoir cap... learn something new every day

From that little snippet, I'm gathering that he's replaced the power steering fluid with ATF... at which point, if he does top off the pump with power steering fluid, it probably would foam...

If'n it makes you feel any better... I work down at a local mall, repairing computers. My "tech bench" is located about fifteen feet from the parking lot doors. This gives me plenty of viewing space to the parking lot. Every time I see a earlier model Subaru go past that's in relatively good shape (not often, in Albany, NY), I go ape... The other techie's think it's hilarious...

How soon are you lookin' to get rid of it? Originally, I've made plans to look for a wagon from the 80's, but it'd have to be late spring. I'm not sure you'd want to wait until next summer to sell it . Doesn't help that you've done a lot of work on it already... if you hadn't done the work on it, it almost would've been my perfect car. I'm really liking the sound of that GL, though...

That's something we might want to put in the repair manual... it looks useful to me. *thoughtful* We don't have archives any more, do we?

It'd be nice if we could get some of the more spectacular/interesting off-roadin' pics, and combine 'em all into a calendar...

There's apparently a junkyard up in Hoosick Falls, NY, not far from where I'm at... I'm planning on heading up there within a week or two. I'll look around for you, see if I can find anything that hasn't been rusted, by some minor miracle. My hometown's Elmira... probably not really close to you, but close enough for me ;o)

Gee... I thought I had it bad here in Troy, NY. Things got chilly tonight, but it's still not supposed to snow. 37 degrees is the low overnight. 'Course, I'll get my turn eventually, and for longer than you... from what I've heard, winters in the NW are fairly balmy . In Troy, they've given up plowing for the most part. Seems like there's always three to four inches laying on the side roads in Troy...

How's the body on it?

Just be careful with that off-road use stuff... from what I understand of it (being raised up on that small farm), it's not taxed like the road use stuff. It's dyed another color, too, so if someone does suspect you're using it for road use, it's not too difficult for 'em to catch you. They made a big fuss a few years back about it around my parent's farm... apparently they've got a hefty fine for using it for road-use.

That's alright. I prefer to think that we've got quality versus quantity.

I've been thinking the same thoughts as I'm planning what my new Subaru's going to go through, just as soon as I can afford it, and find it. Keep in mind that, currently anyhow, I'm planning on doing a 2wd auto -> 4wd d/r manual conversion. I'll have pretty much all of the underside of the car apart at that point... I'm even thinking about pulling the engine, depending on its condition, and overhauling it, then painting it. Anyway, while I've got everything apart down there, I figured I'd use apply POR-15 to the underside. PRP-Pro Shop has a frame coater special that I figure I'll pick up, and apply to the bottom. It might be overkill to apply underbody on top of the POR-15 after it cures, but I plan on doing that, too... might help keep the POR-15 intact. I'm probably going to go over the exhaust system with their high temp stuff... tired of having exhaust pipes rust through. I need to figure out what I'm doing with the interior of the car, too. I've been tempted with the though of redoing the rear cargo area with bedliner, and finding a set of panels to place on the floor.

#18 - "Mike's (svxpert) RX is now pulling on Ben's Brat, which is pulling on Dave's car... Dave's car seems to think this is just a sand throwing contest." LMAO...Oh, that's hilarious! Those pics of EJ's hatch actually have me intrigued... I think the thought of having a hatch is starting to grow on me. Guess that means I'll have to have two Subaru's *exaggerated sigh* Good pics! Assuming I've got a replacement Subie together by April, I'll seriously be considering stopping on by... Carlisle shouldn't be a problem either. I'm definitely going to need to stop by one or three of these meets...

Heck, for $10, assuming it doesn't put too much of a load on the alternator, what could you loose? If it helps, it helps, and if it doesn't, you're out $10.

I'd probably start out the same way... point out the rust & mileage, and see if you can't get down to $600-$700. And see if they've got another one they want to get rid of towards the end of spring I can handle a drive down to PA.

I concur. Body's way too nice to part out. 'Course, you're talking to the guy that considers the body & frame the only piece that's not replaceable...

So what doesn't (or does) my manual 4wd '92 Loyale have? Seein' as I'm not supposed to run it on 4wd on dry pavement, since the rear end will eventually bind up as I go around turns...

Check out http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/067/chapter175/chap175toc.html#175.6. ... it seems to be filled with enough legalese to look legit. I'm with Akira... my family's got a few *friends* back home, too. Shame I'm three and a half hours away. After doing a little research, looking at what it takes to get inspected in NY, I'm a little scared... no wonder I've heard those ad's claiming one out of every four cars won't pass an inspection. Take a strict enough definition, and quite a few won't pass, I'm thinking. No wonder these big shops (*cough* Firestone *cough*) find something wrong with my car every time I go to get tires.

I've only been pulled over for a speeding ticket once... 82 mph in a 65, along I-90. Amsterdam, to be precise, a forty five minute drive west of Albany. Trooper was an @$$&@(# about it... I've heard some cops will chat with you, ask you if you knew what speed you were doing, or maybe why you were going that fast. He basically said "I clocked you at 82 mph. Have you ever received a ticket before? Yada yada yada." Then he handed me the ticket, and walked away. No "Goodbye", "Have a nice day", or even a "Make sure you slow it down in the future." Took it to court, though, without a lawyer. Showed up, the trooper didn't . A trooper showed up instead of him, though . When it was my turn to be called up in front of the judge, he asked if I wanted to talk outside for a bit, I said yes... the rest of the conversation went like: Him: "So what did you want to talk about?" Me: "Well, I had been driving for a long time that day, and I got on the gas going up the hill..." Him: "So you wanted a reduction?" Me: ":confused:... um, yeah... that'd be great." Him: "What would you like it reduces to?" Me: "Um...." Him: "How's a parking ticket?" Me: ":slobber: Um... yeah, that sounds great." Him: "Great. Let's go back inside." :bday: :wave: $120 ticket, no points against me. I'll take that any day... as long as it doesn't raise my insurance payment. Everybody else in that room, with the exception of one guy, got off on a parking ticket. Seems that if it's a speeding ticket, the state got the money... but if it's a parking ticket, then the state and the town split the fee, or something like that. I sure wasn't gonna complain. Incidently, the one guy that didn't get off had a six month old ticket, or something like that... he was driving professionally, and his company stated they'd take care of the ticket for him. Four or five months later, the company folded, and he assumed the ticket had been taken care of. Nailed him for that one, they had.

Two nights ago, there was a grey GL sedan sitting on campus. Interior was good, exterior wasn't shabby excluding the front fenders... they had the typical rust. Front wheel drive, though, and automatic. Would be in decent shape, if the owner swapped out the fenders. Can't say I like the auto & fwd, though. This morning, as I was driving my fiance to clinical (her Saturn was acting up), I saw a beautiful red wagon pass by me. It was in heavy traffic, as we were turning left into the school, so I didn't get much more than a glance at the front and the driver's side... the quick glance I got said "Beautiful & rust free," though. I haven't gotten good enough to tell a GL from a DL from a Loyale yet, either, at least without walking around the car . Do you think it's a little over-kill to post a sign on the sign of the road that says "I want your red Subaru wagon!" ? I've come to the conclusion that there's a lot of Subaru drivers out here in the Northeast, or at least around Albany. I don't think any of 'em know about usmb, though... or, they just aren't Subaru lovers :boohoo:

Those pics are just plain awesome! I like the exterior color, personally... though I guess I'd have to see it in camo.

Could be worse. I've got a college friend out in Rochester (though I believe he's back home in Buffalo...) who owned an old station wagon, Chevy, I believe. He was able to remove the key from the ignition while the car was running, without shutting the engine off. Talk about a worn ignition...