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Bringing home a new one...


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Well, new to me.

 

1984 Subaru DL Sedan.

154k miles

5 speed

As far as I know, just FWD, but that may change someday (D/R)

EA81 engine

Shes missing one trim piece on the passenger side that I can see

 

What she needs:

Maybe that trim piece (priority 8/10)

Axle (Priority 1/10)

2 tires (Priority 2/10)

Spark plugs and wires (Priority 2/10)

Oil change (Priority 3/10) had one at 152k miles, but shes almost at 155k.

 

Im STOKED! Been driving around in a Pontiac Vibe, and bleh, not happy with Automatics. Pics in a few minutes.

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That thing is beautiful. Don't touch it or change it. Regular maintenance only. Don't do a 4WD swap, don't paint it, DO NOT TOUCH.

 

Drive - be happy about being able to drive. Read, learn. Someday you can consider tasteful mods, etc or pickup another one to totally devalue. You just aren't ready for a project at this point in your life and with the skills you have.

 

Seriously - that's the BEST advice I can give you. Don't make me shake my head in disgust with some rattle can job or plywood wing on the back. :rolleyes:

 

GD

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Okay :) 4WD out for now.

 

I plan to enjoy it, mostly because its hard to find one in such good of shape... I was quite bummed when he wasnt replying, 9 days later, he sends me a message saying that Saturday works for him.

 

I even plan to keep that radio stock.. The RPM gauge Im guessing isnt stock lol.

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Nice looking Sedan! Congrats!

 

One tasteful Mod that you might consider after you've done some research is the third eye which is another headlight that sits in the center of the grill behind the Subaru logo. Not a huge change and not terribly difficult to do except the wiring.

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Nice... ya the added tach is not stock :rolleyes:

 

But if you wanted a genuine tach you would have to swap the whole dash pretty much I think.

 

You should be able to get well over 30 MPG once you get the car maintained right. Maybe over 40 if you baby it on a level highway at 55, behind a truck :lol:

 

Like GD said, you can use what you learn from this car, to build a 4x4 beater wagon or something later.

 

Its missing the center emblem for the steering wheel too. :(

 

But I like it... should be pretty reliable, too bad its not a GL though.

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Oh, the radio, if replaced with something for CD or iPod hookup will be done professionally, so that it flows with the console...

 

The emblem on steering wheel, Ill look for :)

 

DL was what my dad had, so I am fine with it :)

 

The third eye, I will think about, I will look around on here and see if there are some pictures so I know what Im looking at.

 

The Tach, Im okay with, it looks cool and from the pictures, it looks like it was done right, no BS there.

 

I will baby this for maintenance... Probably full synthetic oil after I do a complete flush of all fluids. (will have a separate posting about how to replace/empty and clean gas tank.)

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But Rick has a good point... I had to get rid of my 84 GL because it had electrical issues, caught fire and I couldnt save it..

 

Now I need one I can drive, safely from point A-point B and everywhere else. This is the one, and since I baby my cars, this will probably have a good life. My dad's 1985 DL had 456k on it, VERY hard miles, hard shifts and 456k was in town driving as a courier, turning engine on, driving 3 blocks, engine off, etc.

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AND

Although I have a pretty good sense under the hood as far as replacing things, I am not so familiar with tear-downs and such... So this will be my "maintenance practice and get to school" - mobile

 

I saw a posting on headlight rules... Is this "Third Eye" gonna be an issue with local law enforcement?

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Third eye doesn't look too shabby

What's it do lol? Extra visibility?

 

It does give better visibility, and it looks cool, from the factory it was only wired up to work on high beam (the way mine still is) but you could wire it up so it would work anytime. And my .02 keep it stock you won't be disappointed with it. My 82 wagon is pretty much stock with the exception of a weber and a full custom exhaust (built by professionals not myself), I have never owned a more reliable automobile :)

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It does give better visibility, and it looks cool, from the factory it was only wired up to work on high beam (the way mine still is) but you could wire it up so it would work anytime. And my .02 keep it stock you won't be disappointed with it. My 82 wagon is pretty much stock with the exception of a weber and a full custom exhaust (built by professionals not myself), I have never owned a more reliable automobile :)

 

I was wondering that..

If a Weber and Custom exhaust would give me a little more acceleration? and if done professionally could it still flow and not be a reason for GD to "shake his head in disgust" :lol:

 

EDIT: Flow as in looks lol

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I was wondering that..

If a Weber and Custom exhaust would give me a little more acceleration? and if done professionally could it still flow and not be a reason for GD to "shake his head in disgust"

 

EDIT: Flow as in looks lol

 

It peps it up a little bit I wouldn't say its "fast" or anything but it adds a few hp and on a car with 72hp stock, it makes a difference. I don't have any under side shots of the exhaust but I can get some (yes it still has a converter) but the link below has some pics of where it exits, and I also had the same shop do the green Impreza in the album. I think the pics are on the third or fourth page if you are looking at all of my photos.

http://s1207.photobucket.com/home/1982gl4/index

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Looks good :)

 

My dad had a 2 inch pipe outta my Loyale put on, sounded pretty good and was very clean looking.. might do that.

 

Third eye questions...

It looks as though the grill lifts up in a cut out section? I dont think mine has the cut out, would a shop do that?

Would it be controlled by a switch?

 

Im considering this (for future as I need to fix a few things first)

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Yes it does flip up there is a motor on a bracket behind the bumper that runs it! You could cut a hole in the grill you have zzz, or find a grill with the hole in it when you find the third eye assembly. They seem most frequent on the 1982 Gl 4x4s they may have come on the years previous to 1982 but I have never owned one so I have no idea. A switch runs it, it's located in the panel that's under the steering wheel with those holes kind of precut into it.

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No problem - that thing totally deserves a Weber and I'm glad you got realistic and went with this DL. It's completely perfect for what you want/need at this stage of your life. Not too fast, not a cop magnet, and excelent mileage/reliability. If only other young people your age were gifted with that much foresight :rolleyes:.

 

The Weber makes a fabulous addition to the EA81/FWD 5 speed combo. It will be much quicker and fun to drive. But of course compared to everyone else on the road you will still be slow so you won't attract much attention from the constabulary. :)

 

GD

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Well, I do like speed, but my sisters boyfriend has a 1993 Nissan 240sx with 325hp for drifting and his latest addition: 2011 Subaru WRX STI :banana:

 

So I can be dumb on the track with those, so having a neat, tidy car is good :)

 

How hard is it to replace the windshield? This one has a crack in it, across the entire windshield, hard to see, but of course Im examining the pictures full 4000X3000 size lol

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If it's not leaking then don't touch it. First you need to find a shop that's willing to replace it (lots won't touch it because it's a pop-in style) and then you will have to get a new gasket and probably new chrome as well.

 

It's a messy, nasty job. But as I said if it's not a horrible crack and it's not leaking - don't touch it. The chances of having some kind of issue if you mess with it are high.

 

GD

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