ebarb

I don't have any parts and am not even remotely nearby, but welcome aboard! The 87 GL turbo coupe sounds pretty cool. PICs!

One of the parts wagons I got a few years ago came with an older roof rack that mounts into the rain gutters. It's a pretty basic clip on sort of thing with round bars to mount whatever hardware you want to it. I suppose it could be modified to be lockable, but currently just uses thumb screws. I actually don't need it any longer since I don't have a wagon it fits. If you're ever near Springfield MO swing by and the whole setup is yours.

Have you searched RockAuto? Seems like I went through this a few years ago and there is a substitute available if the OEM is no longer available. Someone else will need to chime in with a specific PN.

i should have bought that red 100k mile amazing wagon that listed for 6k on ebay when it was listed on the auto salvage yard for a few hundred dollars in califonia last december. i appreciate the encouragement guys, but there will be another opportunity. this will give someone else here the chance for a super cool find. i need to thin the herd anyways. anyone want to buy a couple old Fiats? Eli

This one will be a great one, so hopefully someone from the forums will snag it. I let the guy know I'd put up a listing for it in the for sale section. I've got probably too much of an obsession with trying to find an 81 or 82 so I'm just going to hold out a bit longer. I will say it would be awesome to get this sort of a "barn" find and bring it back to life, but the plaid 4spd cyclops calls out to me from it's grave. So I wait till something like the one I had to leave behind in Nebraska pops up again.

He was pretty persistent with 850. He had another like 87 sedan that he was also selling that he had an offer for 450. I'm also terrible at talking people down.

Think my wife convinced me to pass on this one. If anyone here interested I can get you connected to the seller, he pulled the add a few days ago. It's an unmolested gold 84 GL 4x4 automatic trans, power steering, power windows, good interior, A/C and is in NW Alabama. I'm going to speculate it was a one owner old lady car. I've got pictures and a semi grainy video walkaround I can pass along too. He's an older gentleman and doesn't live nearby the car so he went up a few days ago to take pictures and call me from there to answer questions about it. He would prefer to pass it on to someone that's into these older Subarus and knows what they're in for. Nice guy and I feel bad about backing out. Will talk to him later today to let him know.

@jono that's a good warning for me to keep in mind. I won't actually be firing it up on spot, just taking a break over bar to make sure it turns over. I'll be trailering it home where I'll take a look at fluids, hoses, all the stuff that should be looked at or refreshed after sitting for a long stint. It's a crap shot on whether the tank is dry or filled with varnished gas, but at least the drain plug is easy to access. I'm guessing it would be a good idea to change out the AT fluid too. The guy is selling two old subys and he was saying he remembered one had to be continually topped off with some sort of fluid, but wasn't sure which one had that problem. He checked the AT fluid level and said there was an inch or two on the stick, so that's hopeful. The draw for me comes back to it being a light duty car driven by an older lady and the fact that the body though covered in dust is in better shape then most of these that I see. Is 800 a decent deal considering the work likely ahead of me with the refresh? If I want a manual GL4x4 should I let this one pass and just wait till another turns up?

I was thinking just 81 and 82 had chrome and 83 and 84 are black. Either way this is a black bumper unit. Unfortunately missing the fun cyclops light that came on 81 and 82.

I have the chance to buy what the seller thinks is either an 83 or 84 wagon. It's been off the road for 10 years and was his elderly mothers car. He sounds somewhat old himself so that would mean this is truly a grocery store and back kinda car. He doubts his parents ever used the 4wd. It has 160K on it and from the pictures it looks to be in good shape inside and out. Ran when parked, but hasn't been fired up in a while. I'm not terribly concerned about this, these are pretty sturdy engines and I have a decent amount of experience getting them running. The body is straight and minus a very small spot completely rust free, it had a regular service history, but it is a 3speed automatic. I've read just a bit this afternoon about auto to 4/5spd swaps though not enough to know how much work is involved or what I'll need to do to source the parts. I'll do all of that research over the next few days, there are quite a few guys that have documented this stuff. I guess my question is for 800 bucks is it a moderately safe gamble that the 3AT will last a bit longer before I consider major work to replace it? Any thoughts? I'm selling my Fiat's to pursue this so I'd like to consider how much work is ahead of me. Furthermore being in Missouri spare parts or pick-n-pulls to scavenge from are few and far between. Eli Just couldn't shake these old wagons and have been jonesing to get back into one.

the dang title sitting with the car. it sounds like he wasn't planning on coming back for her and was a class act enough to leave the paperwork behind for the next care-taker.

re-iterate crazyeights! That's freakin awesome! We can't wait to see photos soon.

Awesome!

cool!

Holy cow that's a beautiful car. Congrats! You'll enjoy every second of owning it.

Well the car ended up being a completely clapped out piece of crap. I got the car running no problem and even drove it to a nearby town to fill up for gas. However on the way back I knew I just wasn't going to be happy with the car. A previous owner/operator butchered the body around the transmission cutting it open sardine can style so it blows hot air onto your legs, the front clip had been completely replaced and put back together like a 3rd grader, the 4x4 was permanently engaged and they'd somehow managed to remove the lever so it can't be operated. Everything was cut up so badly I had to have a reality check that it wasn't going to be worth it. I did meet up with Greenley, who's a cool dude and bought a wicked awesome A-frame bull bar from him...which I eventually had to give back because the car in Quincy was a bust. He worked tirelessly to try and help me source another wagon and we almost got there. There's a mint condition 82 wagon in Carson City that I talked with the owner about, but in the last moment she just couldn't bring herself to part with it. And it is just about mint with A/C, tilt wheel, plaid seats, four spoke steering wheel, roof rack, hatch spoiler and the really stylish Peugot rims w/ lower profile tires, overall it's super sharp. I'm starting to believe the Curse of the Subaru looms over my head. I spent the last two days missing flights, working out standby contingencies, jockeying car rentals, driving all over the place, thoroughly pissing off my wife for spending all this time, money and effort only to come up empty handed and finally having to arrange a flight out of here. Is there some sort of dead man's marker above my head? You guys would tell me right ha - whatever. This area of the country is beautiful and I got to meet a really cool board member and even though the Suby in Quincy ended up being garbage the lady was really nice and completely understanding. Guess I'll slink back into the shadows lurking until the holy grail of subys comes up, 35K miles, gorgeous blue paint, plaid, wicked awesome rims, and filled with bars of gold, all for under 1200 bucks.

Ha, that sounds like a blast!

Well I've had some flight issues, but hopefully I still make it out today. The last one was a wagon as well, in that beautiful sky blue with plaid seats. She was quite the looker. My goal is to piece together a roadkill show style piece on the whole trip. I'm tentatively calling it the "import trash edition". -writer's note: i don't actually think they're trash, but the self abasement kinda fits with the roadkill show & crew.

My two cents is that you'll almost never find a replacement for these unique items that have found a place in your heart. Even though RubySu broke down on my honeymoon trip and I sold her, she'll always be the ideal Subaru in my mind. I'd say hold onto it or at least keep it close by with a friend. At least if a friend has it they'll allow visitation rights. I've done that with a few Fiats and it makes the hurt at least a little less. Eli

Hey Neil, sounds like you had an epic first subaru! Welcome to the forum.

That sounds great! Would you be able to help with a ride out to Garden Springs? I'll PM you my contact info.

Thanks! Much appreciated. I'm the mechanical woes stay to a manageable level. It's only got 180K and original owner was an old lady.

Hey guys I bought a Gen 2 wagon about 80 miles away from Reno for cheap. It sounds/looks decent, but I have yet to see it in person. Once I get to it I figure it'll take a half day to get road worthy again so I'm bringing tools and a few spare parts with me. Then I head south to San Francisco to pick up seats and a windshield for my old Fiat, then on to San Diego for a week for work, then after all of that I'll head back home to SW Missouri. All along the way I've charted out pick'n'pulls with Gen 2 Subarus just in case there's anything I need. It's going to be about 2300 miles total in this old wagon. I drove an 81 wagon from Seattle to Missouri a few years ago and it worked out mostly fine minus the broken window and bad oil pressure sensor that kept me nervous the whole trip. It's yet to be seen which of these trips is the most ambitious, but I'm definitely more skilled with Subarus now than I was then. Where I could use a little bit of help with my adventure though is on that first leg of the trip near Reno. I'm flying in on June 4th and need to find a way to get out to Quincy to get to the car. I thought maybe we might have some members here that would be wiling to help out and give me a lift. Gas is on me and I could throw in a bit extra for the trouble. My other option is renting a U-haul truck and dolly for a couple hundred bucks to pick up the car and then tow it back to a U-haul drop off location before continuing with the trip. If anyone is up for a bit of adventure I would sure appreciate the assist in Reno. Eli B. Here's the new ride, a good wash will do wonders.

Dangit, I was super pumped about the possibility of towing a GL with a GL until I read through this post. I've come to realize how crazily unsafe that idea is. Bummer.

Dorman OE Solutions. It looks like it is the only one they have listed on their site for the inners. As a sidenote now that I have spent three times the value of the car on replacement parts I think it is going to be up for sale soon. Anyone looking for an 81 wagon in the Midwest? I have literally replaced just about everything you can replace. I have a completely rebuilt engine with about 2000 miles on it, a new weber carburetor and a slew of other items. I doubt that it is even worth 2500 but that's what I have to at least try to ask for it. Plenty of extra parts included (80 & 81 parts cars included for a bit extra) Eli