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Got a daily driver, ended up with a project!


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I've been a Subaru addict ever since I got Gran Turismo 2 and was tearing up the rally courses in an Impreza. Unfortunately, fate has never deemed me fit to own a Subaru... until now.

 

I'm a motorcycle guy through and through, spent all last year commuting by moto. 30 miles each way, in any and all weather. Even in 13* weather with freezing fog.

 

I'm over it!

 

So I decided to clip one from the herd and get a commuter car for the winter. Why not a Subi? I traded this here CB750F:

 

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Straight across for a 92 Loyale with 330k on the clock. 5 speed, push button AWD, body is fantastic for being almost 20 years old. Has new clutch, t belts, water pump, front axles, rear pads, a/c charge, plug wires/cap/rotor, and transmission oil. I only had about $80 out of pocket into the bike (I'm kind of like the paperclip for a house guy on Craigslist) so it wasn't a huge risk for me financially, I figured worst case scenario it will need head gaskets sometime.

 

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However about 40 miles into owning it, head gaskets went bye bye. The guy I got it from is good people and gave me money to fix it however, so here's where I am currently...

 

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And am very skeptical about the internals looking THIS good after 330k miles... (I spent about an hour cleaning the old HG gunk off) Is there any easy way to see if the engine is not the original one? I couldn't locate a VIN to match to the body anywhere.

 

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So as of right now, my heads are being decked, and a full gasket set is en route. In addition to the obvious, I'm going to put all new motor mounts in, new front pads, flush the brakes, accel coil, new plugs, and hopefully something stereo wise. I'll probably put a different exhaust on and open the intake a little bit for a little extra pep.

 

Long term: 5 lug, ej25, yadda yadda... you know the drill.

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Wow, that body does look great for that many miles! That would pass for 100k around here.

 

Luckily we have mostly rust free vehicles here in OR. I had a 69 bug with original floor pans and rockers.

 

From what I'm guessing, the car was rear ended at one point. I found the emblems from a GL-10 hatch in the rear area and the paint is slightly different. No worry of mine, I just like tracking down things like that.:)

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  • 2 weeks later...

fancy seeing u here.. i'm well me on pnwriders :) blue cbr.. anyways.. i've been a scooby gear head for many many years..

if ya need any help with anything let me know.. i think i passed your house the other day on my bike..

 

ohh and if the car was taken care of remotely, the internals can look that good after 300k :) i had a turbo wagon with 300something on it and it looked clean like that..

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fancy seeing u here.. i'm well me on pnwriders :) blue cbr.. anyways.. i've been a scooby gear head for many many years..

if ya need any help with anything let me know.. i think i passed your house the other day on my bike..

 

ohh and if the car was taken care of remotely, the internals can look that good after 300k :) i had a turbo wagon with 300something on it and it looked clean like that..

 

I waved at your yesterday while (futilely) attempting to put manual belts in. I love the look and sound of that old CBR.

 

The car still put down about 130# on all 4 cylinders and I've put over 400 miles on it this week. Still have a handful of bugs to work out, but it's serving it's purpose well; I commute in warmth and good fuel econ.

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I definately think a meet up is in order. Think this coming Sunday at the Dutch Bros on 6th and D is possible? Say noon? This thread is totally hijacked by the way :)

 

I recommend G Street Dutch personally. Less annoying hipsters with iMacs and fixies to deal with...:Flame:

 

Either way, I'm in. And I fully endorse this hijacking.

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Rich, will do. I might be going out there tomorrow when they open since I have to run to Medford to drop off stuff at work.

 

On a side note, I think I may have finally found my mysterious sporadic coolant leak. I turned into my driveway tonight and notice that the power steering wasn't operating at all. Opened the hood and had coolant raining on my from the belts. I think I might have missed something putting the waterpump back on.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Aw crap... I did it again!

 

I took this off of subcyclist's hands this morning. Figured that instead of all the time and money involved in converting the Loyale to a 2.2 with 5 lug and discs, I could buy a Legacy. Not like it's going to see trails or much more off road than the road to the ski area or some fire roads heading out to go camping.

 

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Nice and rough. Body needs a bunch of work, engine is going to get HGs, t belt, water pump, etc etc. Left rear wheel has some positive camber, so something may be bent. Axle noise in the front end. Interior needs some serious love. 240k.

 

Going to keep and drive the Loyale while I dink with this on the side. Get them both running and daily drivable, and go from there.

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