1986 Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter

[MDW]

Im still a little groggy today from an 18 hour commute into the boondocks of Ohio to pick up a gem! I was slacking off at work on friday when I stumbled across a 1986 Brat with only 84,000 miles! I then bribed a friend with $50 to ride with me to pick it up. The guy I bought it from was not a Subaru enthusiast, but he was your typical Subaru owner, aka cool and down to earth. The car was passed between a few different people in the town, sounds like it sat in a few garages. I was able to purchase the car for $2500. 

 

 

The car is in pretty good shape, but in need of a few basics before she runs like she should. Any links or tips to fixing the issues are always appreciated. 

 

What needs to be done:

 

• The shifter has about 10" of play, It's the craziest shifter I have ever felt. I read a thread on here were someone called it shifting in oatmeal, which fits so damn well!

 

• The car needs an overall tune up. The guy I bought it from did not fully understand what he was doing. The car runs decent, but stales out when cold and is currently idling at about 2,5000 RPM. It will occasionally stall in mid turn if I don't rev the engine. The previous owners solution was a new carburetor, which he handed off to me to install at my leisure; however it's probably a much more simple fix than replacing an entire carburetor. Im going to go a little crazy with a can of carb cleaner and a new fuel filter this evening.

 

• There is an incredible amount of air in the lines. My guess is that he must have run the master dry while bleeding. I tried replacing all the fluid last night by using this method: 
  an TON of air bubbles came out of the front left, hardly any out of the rest. I bled all brakes, but it did not have the effect I was going for. I only did about 8 peddle strokes for the rear tires (i was running out of brake fluid and couldn't do more. I think I may have to buy a spoob ton of fluid and try to bleed more to get the air out of the system. Right now I have to pump the brakes for pressure. The guy I bought it from gave me a new master cylinder because he thought that was hte problem; but i don't think that is the problem at all, feels like air and not a bad master. 

 

• Of corse it leaks some fluids, I need to clean the engine compartment to figure out where its all coming from. Looks like a majority of it is coming from the oil pump. Im replacing the oil this evening and will have a closer look. 

 

If you have any suggestions for things to look at or inspect or do to a car that was just rescued, please let me know. I want this thing to run like new and run for MANY more miles. 

 

What am I going to do with it? 

 

I have not made to many plans for the future, I'm just kind of letting it all sink in.

 

• First move is to remove the rear seat mounts and install some sort of lock box. I do a lot of campaign and will need the water proof storage. 
• I would like to get a water proof fabric cover, not the topper, for the back 
• Would like a Roll bar, Skid Plate, Fog lights 
• considering how much to lift, would like to go a little crazy with a 6"

That's all so far. 

 

What would you do, if you were me, and had this beauty sitting in your driveway?