KiwiGL

Two options, either weld the diff and pull an axle on road, or if you've got piles of cash, stick an r180 in with an ARB air locker...

All you need now is the JDM WAIC from a first gen RS. Would look sweet and probably make a bit more power too, especially with more boost.

I didn't know the Loyale came with the later badge. In NZ all Leones seemed to come with the old badge and Leagcies with the new.

EJ22 twin crab could be a sweet setup, but you'd have to fab up some custom intake. Like this one:

My SG Forester with 208000km ticks a bit after starting but it quietens down quickly enough. It's fine once it warms up and you rev it a bit. I'd try putting some 5w-30 fully synthetic in it. I've run Castrol 5w-30 in Subbies before with good results. If it's ticking constantly and badly the lifters may need adjusting or replacing.

The Leone was the US GL. The Omega was your Loyale. But we tend to call Omegas Leones too as it just saves confusion. With the odd mix of Japanese imports and NZ-new cars we have here and the various things Subaru called them over the years, we just group them all under 'Leone'. Apart from the Brumby (BRAT). In NZ I've seen Leone badges on Touring Wagons too, even NZ-new ones. Although my old wagon didn't have a Leone badge on it anywhere. Subaru's naming made no sense back then anyway. The suspension was available in the US, I've seen threads about it.

So these use conventional coil springs and shock with the height adjustable pneumatic bit at the bottom? Pretty cool design. If my old wagon had had these and a sunroof it would've been complete with 80s options and probably worth keeping. There's a cool cutaway drawing of a red on grey sedan with this suspension from a JDM sales brochure somewhere, Jeszek will know... I though I had it but can't find it. I know they also fitted these (or a similar version) to the 1st gen Legacy, my Dad had an '89 imported JDM Legacy VZ with these. He used it offroad a bit but the lack of low range on the JDM model wasn't ideal... He also had to replace the pump as it was worn out by 1997. Turns out that whoever installed the seatbelts at the Subaru factory had put the bolt through the hose for the suspension so it was continually being pumped up! It must have been a rare option though as I look in all the 1st-gens I come across but I've never seen another with the height-adjusties. The Legacy version was also a true air suspension I think, with a compressor and air hoses, not a mixed version like the L series. Unfortunately Dad sold the car 15 years ago so I only have this picture... There's also this thread of mine from last year about some NZ-designed custom air suspension. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/142616-interesting-custom-glleoneloyale-suspension/?do=findComment&comment=1198348

Well, on one of these cars there's no 'transfer case' as such, unless he means the centre diff housing? So it's probably got a destroyed auto trans. So if you can source one cheaply and swap it yourself it could be a good deal, especially if he's done so much work already. But watch out for rust, I got burnt on that when I bought my turbo wagon (same drivetrain).

The turbo wagon is dead unfortunately. Terminal rust in the firewall and windscreen pillars/corners, and the paint had gone through on the roof and bonnet and was starting to rust badly. Also had a lot of rusty stone chips down the doors. Engine needed a complete rebuild too. I just don't have the money to restore it, not until I graduate anyway. I've currently got a Forester. http://offroadsubarus.com/showthread.php?t=5568 Not as much fun as the L though, I loved that turbo and it actually used less petrol than the Foz. That 2.5 has a serious drinking problem. I agree, keep us updated on the wagon! If it was a dual-range with the plaid interior it would be perfect, but it's still nice. The last time I saw a touring wagon on the road was about this time last year... * I know this is a gen-1 BRAT but I was using the seats as an example...

Any progress on this build? The FF-1s are just the best and I'd love to know what happened to this one.

Sweet! I saw this on TradeMe and was really hoping someone would pick it up, there's precious few EA81s on the road here anymore, let alone touring wagons (probably my favourite). One of my neighbours used to have a brown Touring Wagon just like this one. As far as the engine goes, any Brumby engine will bolt in but you probably know more than me anyway. There's a wrecker in Cromwell, Central Otago who has a yard full of old Subarus, he's got a couple of EA81 RXs, imports from Japan. A sweet build would be to put a full-time 4wd 5-speed from an EA82 RX or RXII in it. This guy over on AUSUBARU has done a full restoration on quite a rusty one. http://www.ausubaru.com/forum/showthread.php?s=0c4e29b0272dd0b8c86ad7af75a2a308&t=23019 I'd love to see this thing restored and back on the road rocking the black plates! As far as rust goes, could be worse: I took that picture up Highcliff Rd, on the peninsula. Luke.

16 seconds to reach 60 sounds a little slow, even for an auto EA82t. I'm sure my old wagon was faster than that, and it had the same drivetrain. But a sweet ride all the same, digging the horns. Pity the flush-indicator bumper bit the dust though, I'm no fan of the recessed indicator US bumpers.

Don't sell it! You'll regret it, I regret selling my old turbo wagon ,and that was a rusted-out POS, not a nicely restored one.

As above. Late GLs were fuel-injected and had the DR gearbox. Loyales (early 90s) were FI but only had push-button 4wd, so not as cool. Also lacked a bit of trim, they were essentially the DL model from what I can gather. A late fuel-injected GL would be a great car if you looked after it, and if you fold down the rear seats flat and put a mattress in they are long enough to sleep in if you're not huge, so they're great for an easy camping trip too. My Foz is just a tad shorter in boot length which is really annoying.

Pity, the body on the BRAT didn't look that bad apart from the pillar dent. It's never nice seeing a crushed BRAT.

Depends how old you want. A sweet car that's getting rarer but would still be a fun DD could be a GL or Loyale wagon - a good one with no rust and not too many miles would be reliable, economical (switchable 1.8L 4wd) and reasonably priced. You'd want to look for a good one though, most are shagged. My old turbo AT wagon got around 9l/100km combined driving, which is better than my current 2.5L Forester. Coming from an STi though all GLs/Loyales will be gutless, my Forester (2.5L SOHC NA) is faster than my 1.8 turbo GL... Although the GL was more fun. EJ swapped GL would be perfect.

And one of an NZDM Omega RX: Possum Bourne's old RX: My now-deceased L: And this bizarre thing: 6" lifted Brumby, EJ20T, E-4AT, 6 stud Cheviot Turbo mags, 30 something muddies... http://www.autotrader.co.nz/used-cars-for-sale/subaru-brumby/1260802 For sale!

Some pretty sweet pics: And this one, I love the tyre tread:

Video not a pic but thought I'd share a bit of Japanese import, nz-style: Yes that is a genuine JDM RXII on a beach in NZ. No, it is not my video and it makes me cringe in pain. I'd love that car, and I saw that very one drive past my intermediate school when I was a pupil there. It was the first L-series coupe I'd ever seen, and I didn't know they existed till then. Also this video, interior footage from same video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_C7mDU8GDg

I know this is a complete necro-post, but I saw this today and it looked awesome! You were pulling into AB autos opposite the railway station.

Interesting to hear about the brake fluid. I know that the Shimano hydraulic brakes on my mountain bike require mineral oil to be used as brake fluid rather than normal DOT fluid, probably for the same reason of leaking seals. I've also been following the project for the last couple of years, and really love it - the FF-1 has to be one of my favourite cars, being the first Subaru with the flat-4 driveline. Great work and keep it up!

I love the look - it's amazing how the wheels look with the black detailing. Also, the car looks a bit odd without the rearmost section of kit, and I reckon you should paint the bootlid pillars black like on the GL model. Props for the paint job though, looks awesome.

Do you mind if I ask how you pranged it? Glad it wasn't any worse and that you're okay!

If you're painting bare metal I'd recommend self-etching as it'll stick to the metal better due to the chemical reaction, but if you're priming over existing paint epoxy should be fine. Since you've sanded it back I'd go with the self-etching. One thing though, it's not a rust-converting paint - so if you spray t over rust it won't stop the rust. It's just designed to etch new, clean metal. Cheers.

Thought I'd share my Forester with you all. I know it's new-gen, but it is 12 years old with 207,000km so it's a long way from mint, the photos make it look waaay better than it is. Basically, it's a 2002 SG Forester 2.5X. NZDM, so it has the 1.19:1 D/R 5-speed, a vLSD rear, rear discs, and the EJ251, not the EJ202 like JDM Foresters. Plans are to just build it up a bit, get a set of cheap snow tyres off a Jap import for 4x4ing and just drive it. Snow tyres are cheap here as we don't ever get enough snow to really need them, my photos say otherwise, but they are all taken above 600m (1200ft) and the amount of snow is low anyway. The tyres come in on Jap imports from the mountains over there. My main build thread is over on offroadsubarus.com at http://offroadsubarus.com/showthread.php?t=5568 I bought the car early June, and immediately started modifying it - nothing too obvious as the laws are fairly strict here in NZ, but just a few things that would give it a unique look. Started off with a skidplate from my old Leone - it died a natural death from multiple causes, had terminal rust in the firewall and A-pillars, as well as surface rust on the roof and bonnet and too many rusty stone-chips to count - basically needed a full respray. The engine was rattly, ticked, leaked and burnt oil and coolant and the 3AT was on its way out (nasty rattle and erratic shifting), and the suspension was shot... If I had a spare 5 grand and a lot of time I'd have restored it but yeah, I'm way too busy with studies and that. So a Forester it was, as the L had failed its last warrant and I needed a car for the winter's skiing. The manual in the Foz was a bonus, I was sick of driving auto. Here's one of the Leone: The other attraction with the Foz was the dual-range full-time AWD and the better ground-clearance, without the need for a lift kit (which requires an engineer's certification in NZ). While the reduction isn't amazing at 1.19:1, it's a lot better than nothing, and it works well from the offroading I've done so far. Bashplate: Stickers: Diff breather: DRLs: I also screwed the bottom corners of the number plate in to prevent it getting ripped off when fording rivers, I've seen it happen before. Intake: I did this to make water ingestion less likely when fording, as the stock airbox wasn't the best design. I've since added another PVC elbow to replace the first box too, sealed the joints with silicone. Changed the plugs, they were toast, as well as the gearbox/diff fluids. I also touched up my stone-chips to prevent a repeat of my previous car. To give you an idea of how bad rust can get in the Dunedin climate, here's an old MY wagon from up the Peninsula, just before the Karetai Rd. turnoff: There's pretty much nothing left below the doors. Previous owner bent a couple of the pinch welds on the sills. A shot of it the day I got it, prior to new tyres (slightly oversize at 215/65R16 vs 215/60 stock), RallyArmor mudflaps and removal of the little flaps before the front wheels. A few shots of it in various scenery: A bit of flexing. I could have flexed more, but I had to reverse out, I was by myself down a long dirt track and I didn't want to get stuck due to diagonal spin. Anyway, that's probably enough pic dumping for one day.