wagonist

The Kia Soul is considered an SUV over there? SUVs tend to sit higher off the ground, have a higher roof and taller tyres, and initially AWD. But the line has gotten very blurred over the last few years. Most of the wagons in Aus have disappeared over the last decade because SUVs have taken over. I suppose the Outback sedan makes sense considering the number of lifted Leones & Legacy sedans now getting around But still looks wrong. Saw a few Bajas while over there. Having not seen any in the flesh before, looks like someone just took a big saw to a wagon

Yeah, well, the L series "coupe" doesn't fit into your category either And probably not many other (mostly modern) coupes where there's a sedan version either. I saw many 2 door sedan versions of 4 doors in the US which we don't get here, and apart from limited access to the back seat because there's only 2 doors, I don't recall any seeming to have more limited space. I would bet that most people would call them coupes. Even the Subaru MY coupe isn't smaller than the sedan version. I guess "modern" being the important term here. The car you mentioned is well over 20 years old (prob more likely 30).

meh, we just need to admit that the combination of our tough design rules, small population and right hand drive mean that it's often too hard for manufacturers to put as much effort in. Fiori's were sold here, just that not in big numbers because our fuel is relatively cheap compared with a lot of places still, and wide spaces between cities with largish animals to hit means I (and others) wouldn't be driving one out of suburbia.

Sportswagon is the later (1991- ) povo pack. This is 3 years of the 9 year model life, hence so many, plus newer, so still around & not rusted away. Before the Liberty was released there were more versions (85-90). GLs, RX Turbos (sedan only), Touring wagon (GL spec), Leone (FWD sedan, DL & GL), Leone Royale (late 80s GL sedan). Still not as many specs as other places, but the bodyshells are identical.

Nope, Aus always had the plastic backed headlights. I've had 2 85 models (the ones with the mirrors on the doors not in the corner of the glass), an 87, and now an 88. Thanks for the information.

@Ziginox: you're saying that even the RX Turbo hatchback never had power door locks? I find that hard to believe. It's only 4 wires, and the coupe would require 2 fewer solenoids than a sedan, and 3 less than the wagon. And I still can't believe that seatbelts aren't compulsory. But if you guys want to kill yourselves, don't let the rest of the world stop you

No. it's a bit hard to see on the pics, but the US one has 2 screws one above each other, the Aus one has 2 screws beside each other. Maybe could cut & reweld the 2 different brackets. They both head upwards at the same place, just that the bottom where they are secured is different, and the top where they meet the headlight is different. I'm now really curious about reports previously saying that these lights were interchangeable.

On my recent trip across the Pacific Ocean, I picked up a pair of USDM corner lights. Now I've got them home & am trying to fit them up to my Australian wagon. There are a few differences between the lights because of their use and mounting. The first attached pic shows the backs with the US one at the top. You can see that the mounting holes for the globes are different, with different sizes. I want to get rid of the US style bayonet style globe & replace it with the ADM wedge style globe. To do this, I'm aiming to cut out the back of the ADM lens and fix it to the back of the US version. As shown by the red circles on the 2nd attached pic. As the ADM is smaller, I'm hoping to fit it inside the raised circle. But the question is how to do this so the 2 pieces of plastic are joined well and don't fall off. Any advice? I already need to modify the wiring so I'm aiming to re-using the US side light & globe, and join it into the ADM wiring, as the side light is supposed to be an indicator for us. It still won't quite meet ADR, but maybe near enough The other problem is the metal tab that holds this light to the headlight. ADM lights are the plastic bucket type & you can see that the US version is a good 10mm higher (as shown by the blue circle). When I've fitted the US one to the car (held by the side screw), the US one is also further backwards. A couple of options I've come up with are: 1. cut & reweld the US bracket. This would be difficult to get right because of the tight space to tack back together, and I don't have any spare brackets if I stuff it up 2. make up some small bracket from the ADM headlight up to the US bracket. This might look a bit strange once the bonnet (hood) is open. Open to any other opinions. Thanks

Any word on this? Having now driven around your west coast & north east corner, I can see why cars like the BRZ aren't popular. Your roads between everywhere are dual highways. To find any roads that suit the BRZ, you need to get quite a ways out of any population areas, and then still get even further off the highways. Your cheap gas doesn't help it either. Also doesn't help that whenever you find a nice mountain roads, that there's mile upon mile of double yellow line. There were many places near Yosemite that had this which would have allowed passing in Aus. I started to resort to passing on double yellows out of frustration, despite the 1.5L auto Mazda I was driving not having much grunt (or maybe because of ) In places like Europe & here, where fuel is a lot more expensive (it's about double in Aus), and our single lane roads through mountains are more easily accessible & twisty, the BRZ & Toyota make a lot more sense. BTW, I miss the amount of V8 burbles now that I'm home. Still get some, but nowhere near as many...

You've got a short in the wiring somewhere. The switch on the door earths out the wire (ie the light has power all the time). So if the wire has gotten the protective coating stripped off by rubbing or something, it will earth out via that point instead of via the door switch. You also may have gotten something stuck in the door switch. You can check by removing the switches & unplugging them, to see if the problem persists. Then reinstall, one by one. Hopefully, it's easy to find, cos there's a long length of wire in in-accessible places to trace.

Personally then, I would put them on the car as is (though maybe with a coat of clear to protect them a bit). You can always repolish them later when you find someone who can do the right thing by you. A lot of people paint wheels in "2-pack". It's harder than normal paint, and a lot easier to do with different areas on the same object.

@ Loyale 2.7 Turbo, In Aus, a coupe is a sedan with only 2 doors, or at least has a boot(trunk). Like the early 80s model or the XT. So yes, I mean the coupe, but still is a hatchback to me.

For Aus, we simply call all of them "L" series. You might see Leone also for the FWD sedans. We only got 2 specs: Leone sedan: DL (pretty much 1985 only) GL (85-87) then "Royale" (88-90) in either FWD or part time, dual range 4wd (but mostly FWD) GLTA (turbo automatic) & RX turbo (85-87) Wagon: DL (85-94), though anything after 90 didn't have any DL badging GL (85) FWD & single range 4wd low roof GL Touring wagon (85-90) GL's (so Leone Royale & Touring wagon) got MPFI standard in 89-90, and always with a tacho dash. Everything else except for the turbos is carbed engine and no tacho. Touring wagons always had PW, but sedan didn't get this until they got MPFI. GL after 90 were the povo pack DL with carpet, cloth seats, and maybe a cargo cover. We never had the option of volt/oil pressure gauge, nor digi dash or cruise control, and no turbos after 87 And we never got the hatchback version

Right, now we need to see the pics of these wheels fitted to the car

Sull, can you come around to convince my wife of this? I'm trying to convince her about the benefits of the RX Turbo replica Touring Wagon I'm building... Mind you, if it was a sedan, she might be more convinced.

Jono, sorry to disappoint you, but that's not an unmolested Series 1 engine bay, it's a Series 2. It has the Hotwire airflow meter & injector resistor pack And remember, Germany is now in Spring. I keep getting confused after being back down under after being up & over for so long.

I'd be go EG33 from an SVX over an ER27. DOHC, bigger capacity, can put a FWD Legacy trans behind it which share the front diff with rally turbo 4wd subies (and hence can get an LSD for it later if you wish). EZ30 would be better again, but newer, & hence more $$$$

We still have problems with the rubber hoses on the back of the core failing. Stupid RHD design, the LHD version has the pipes attached as one piece all the way out of the firewall.... Unlike the pre 85 models, these cores always have the coolant running through them, there is no tap. It's only the internal flaps that stop the air flowing through it or not.

But before you go to this extreme, have you tried to clean it? 20 years of oil & gunk on your hands falls into the space between the switch & the gear stick. If you push down the rubber boot, you've see a roll pin through the knob. Knock this through & then the knob should come off the top of the gearstick. Then on the dash side of the knob is a small screw which holds the switch in. Remove this & with a bit of careful effort the switch will come out the top of the knob. Clean away & re-assemble. Small time used, small amount of cleaning used, small amount of $ used

BTW, the 2 solenoids don't both get activated when you want 4wd. 1 solenoid is to engage 4wd, the other is to disengage it.

The wires are (sorry, I don't know what colours relate to each): - ign on power - 4wd activated - 4wd de-activated The switch only operates the 2 small air solenoids behind the LHS strut tower. They don't draw much power (it's the engine vacuum that does all the work), so they don't need relays. You'll need a switch that has ON at both ends, and no OFF position in the middle. So yes, it kind of is 2 switches in one. If you can't find this kind of switch, get a normal switch, and then wire it up to a cross-over relay. ie one that has a pin active when the relay is charged, and another pin when it isn't.

I'd run with a 2nd hand one also. There are the occasional failure, but the newest L series in now 20 years old. Don't know if Aus ones would be in better condition now because of our warmer, dryer climate.

I've had this happen to me also. Luckily I was only going about 40km/h (25MPH). Kind of could feel what happened & stomped on the brake pedal to lock up the wheels, causing the car to skid left. Problem was I was in a small country town, on the main street, which was due to be closed 15 mins later because of the annual parade...

What knuckle is in the way of the roll pin(s)? Looks like it's vertical. Don't forget it's a double pin (ie one pin inside the other, you need to knock out the inside first to make the outside one loose). Apart from that, the stay brace above the shifter is only bolted onto the back of the trans with 2 bolts, you can unbolt that to give more room.

re the body brace mentioned by Nipper (for some reason I can't quote...) Maybe from Legacy models onwards (because of the airbags), but not on any Loyales or earlier.