The ongoing saga of the Tin Can...

[l75eya]

Cats outta the bag! I am the mysterious new owner of user tincan's 1993 5 speed FWD Loyale, the aptly named "Tin Can".
Long story short, I happened to be perusing the boards here when he posted a classified ad for the car which I saw pop up under the recent threads section. Literally AS I WAS SENDING HIM A PM about the car, I got a text on my phone, from him (we had exchanged numbers previously) asking me if I wanted to buy it!

So I went out the NY and checked it out and it's just what I need to replace my GL and the price was right.

Here is a photo tincan took shortly after he got the car;



After some time he decided he did not like the dated appearance the side mouldings give the car and they, along with the rear window trim, were stripped.
Another of his photos:


Sans mouldings and mudflaps user tincan sought to maximize fuel economy from the 1.8 boxer (nicnamed the "ECOBOXER" on the rear tail panel) and got up to a high of 45 mpg or so, if I remember correctly from his thread.

Here is the Tin Can under my ownership, stopping at a gas station to fuel up:

And a few quick snaps of him posing with Ben, the OTHER 1993 FWD Loyale (auto though) the night I got him home and the next morning.



That basically sums up retrieving the car and it's state when I got it. So we'll move on to two days later, today.

Thoughtfully, tincan had saved most of the trim he removed from the Tin Can, including the hubcaps, and though the more streamlined look of the Loyale without it's mouldings does look interesting, I mulled it over and decided to replace the fender, door, quarter, and rear window trim. I also replaced the Pass. Side mirror with a donation from my (soon to be scrapped =( ) 87 GL, that can be seen behind the Tin Can, in a sorry state.

 

Achieving this, I also decided that I didn't like the look of the badge-less and non matching trunk lid. And considering moving the luggage rack from my GL trunk lid to this one would be a pain, why not just swap lids out.





I am going to have to remove the 4wd sticker I bought for the GL however, as it is now a lie. And I will have to order a new Subaru badge of ownership

From the 80s gen cars to the 90s, Subaru must have switched paint and the silver on the GL and the silver on the Loyale is slightly different in appearance. It doesn't look too off though, thankfully.

From the GL I also swapped the door handle plastic trim, as the Loyale ones were all scratched and discolored. Surprisingly the blue doesn't stand out too much and I never really noticed just how perfect the ones in the GL are.



And that is where the car stands with me now. I want to thank user tincan for all the extra bits he gave me with the car, and acknowledge his personality, which is pretty damn cool. It was cool to meet you and congrats on the new Sonic! You'll have to update in here with a picture of the Tin Can's successor when you get it!

So we will see what adventures await this car. The GL is going to get stripped out and most of her body panels are going to be used to restore the other Loyale, Ben.

Here are a couple bonus pictures to wrap up this initial (long!) introductory post:



PS: There is an easter egg *AWESOME* 80's car in the last picture. Bonus points to the first person that notices it!! =P

 

[bratman18]

Nice. Thought about making it 4wd from your old one?

 

DeLorean?

[l75eya]

I have! I'm not sure about undertaking a project like that right now though, and, though this Loyale is in really good shape, there are spots of rust that are bordering on bad. Not many, but a couple.

Time will tell! Depends on how intense it is to do lol

[l75eya]

And YES! Delorean! It's been parked outside my place here for about 2 weeks now. Just moves from side to side as the street sweeper day comes. Oddest thing! Looks so awesome though..

[tincan]

It looks really good having some refreshed panels and the bits added back. That luggage rack really does look good on it, always wanted one for him!

 

Damn, you blew up my spot with the Sonic! Sure will be weird not driving a Subaru for a while! Well, until I break down and buy one for the winter or something... Lol...

 

Oh, and I have a Roebuck arc welder in the basement I forgot to pass along, in case you feel inclined to tackle the cancer. Otherwise, any competent welder can make short work of it and squash it before it goes from bad to "problematic".

 

How's the gas mileage and air? Figure out how to get the radio to stream music? You'll need an extension cable to connect the aerial for FM, but, I used Spotify for my own radio station.

 

Enjoy him!

[TomRhere]

Liking this...

 

So maybe you will want that good Fog Light lens after all?

[AdventureSubaru]

Nice refresh to a good faithful car.

 

Save that 4x4 stuff if it's in good shape. Becoming a rarity on the east coast, so even if you don't use it, someone will be wanting it out there. Or stash it for a rainy day when you get the itch to do some wrenching.

[l75eya]

The Tin Can has received a replacement purge solenoid from the GL that has cured it's code 35 and oxygen sensor codes. It has also received a temporary EGR solenoid from the other Loyale (as it's not being driven much right now). These two things, and a few lines of replacement vac hose has cleared the Check Engine light and the motor is running nice and smooth.

Have installed rear speakers from the GL (The incredible, undying factory speakers that have been juiced with way more than their rated 8 watts RMS), took the amp and subs out of the Oldsmobile and they are now taking up plenty of valuable trunk space in the Can.

Have noticed damp carpet in the trunk on pass side after the heavy rains we've had. Not sure if it's splashed up through a bit of rust in the wheel arch, or if the GL trunk lid is not sealing well.

Oil change from 5/30 to 10/40 later this week as I'm going to be making a 500 mile trip for the fourth of July weekend and, flipping through the owner's manual, found it explicitly stating 5/30 is not recommended for sustained high speed driving.

 

Nothing much else to report other than the exhaust leak is on high priority to fix after somebody yelled at me to slow down, when I was only doing about 15 - 20 mph in 2nd gear. =P
 

TId-bit of history on the Tin Can;

The original scheduled maintenance booklet notes that the car was off the road from 11/94 to 2/95 (this Loyale is a 93) due to an accident. That's a damn long time off the road lol, I'm wondering what happened. I did notice frame-rail damage up front. Would never know it though, car tracks nice and straight. Tires wear even.

Edited June 28, 2015 by l75eya

[KiwiGL]

I'd definitely keep the 4x4 bits off your old GL! It won't take long to remove them before you scrap it and you'll probably want it for future cross-country road trips... Fun DIY project anyway.

 

It looks to me like the bootlid has been bent up slightly at the window side? Doesn't look like it closes quite flush with the rear quarter panels especially in the hinge corners... Could be why it's leaking.

 

You'll probably also want to get onto that rust in the rear arches too to prevent a repeat... I know the pain of having your beloved GL rust out, never good.

Edited July 7, 2015 by KiwiGL

[l75eya]

The tin can has gotten me stranded for the first time. Alternator went. Battery started dying 140 miles in to a 240 mile trip. Did an immediate Walmart Google search. Limped him 10 miles to the Walmart, driving at night with no headlights on Pennsylvania back roads. Died as I pulled in to the lot. Buying two batteries to make sure I get home.

[bratman18]

I went through a fair amount of those old alternators, so I always kept a spare in the rear storage tray just in case. Hope you made it home safely.

[l75eya]

Made it home! Boy was I tired though. 500 miles roundtrip. Still can't believe I made it to that Walmart, stalling in the parking lot. The little guy got me there though!

[l75eya]

New battery and a fresh 1990 Nissan maxima alternator, the tin can is happy again.

[MR_Loyale]

You are a Loyale Whore. I am jealous! 

[l75eya]

Tin Can's first milestone with me! Slightly after this the alt died

[tincan]

I'm slightly surprised it did bite it, I changed it out last Sept.

 

Is the Maxima one a better choice? Had always read up about using them, never did it though.

[l75eya]

I was too (surprised), believe me! It wasn't fun having a finite amount of driving time left trying to find a 24 hour Walmart lol!

 

I'm thinking maybe it was the rpms, I remember it was a low mile junkyard find right? And it seems to me you always drove the tin can at lower speeds, 65, 70? The last two trips had the engine in the 3500, to 4k range and I think the age of the alternator just came in to play there. The sub and amp may have, too. And then there was the old battery which sounded weak at times. Who knows! That's all replaced now. The maxima alternator is great, 90 amps, there's always one on the shelf at the auto store, and it's cheaper to buy!

[l75eya]

Gave the Maxima alternator something to challenge it with;

Moved the XT fog lights from the GL to the Tin Can. Considering I spent so much time figuring out the wiring when I put it in the GL, thankfully the harnesses are the same in the Loyale and installation was pretty straightforward.

Tin Can got some brights!

And to round out the win win situation, the passenger side headlight seems to have fixed it's grounding issue on it's own! I'm so proud of it!
Or maybe it was my fiddling with the harness under the dash? haha, who knows, all I care about is that I have four bright lights in the front of the car now

Edited August 3, 2015 by l75eya

[l75eya]

Wired up some independent lines to the front door speakers and installed new pioneers up there.

 

While routing lines through the door grommet I noticed the factory harness there covered in some electrical tape. I didn't mess with it but now the car sometimes randomly thinks the driver's door is open; will have to investigate further.

 

Other than that, smooth sailing!

[TomRhere]

Failing door switch or it's connection is the issue.

 

Door switch is at the "B" pillar area. Has nothing to do with harness going to the door.

[l75eya]

Thanks, Tom. I'll give that a look at.

[l75eya]

Photo dump! It's the beginning of the Autumn season and I took this nice October 3rd morning to drive up along the Hudson river to historic Palisades Inter-state Park, overlooking the Hudson valley and the George Washington bridge, the Bronx, and Harlem.

This time of year (and winter, when snow is on the ground) are my favorite times to check out the scenery. Here are some shots of the Tin Can taking in the scenery.













 

[tincan]

How many miles have you managed to put on it so far?

 

Found the skidplate and some other bits I missed when you took the car, including the "over the road" spark plug wrench (it attaches to the tire iron). Will put them in a crate and arrange to drop them off for you when I visit Rockland.

[l75eya]

Well since July of last year to this date today, I've amassed a bit over 13k miles on the tin can. He's sitting at 108,xxx right now and I'll be putting another 450 miles on him tomorrow. I put 2,000 miles on him over the past 2 1/2 weeks. I've been doing a lot of driving lately.

[l75eya]

Well I'm at 112k now. The EJ I got to drop in has new headgaskets installed, gotta reassemble the engine now.

 

Put my old front bumper from my 87 GL (damn I miss that car) on today. Much nicer look. Also installed the fender liners the previous owner removed, put on the skid plate from my old 87, rebalanced and rotated the tires. Gotta get my old 87s instrument cluster up to 112k with a drill and then I'll be swapping that in so I have oil pressure and amp gauges. Can't wait to get that EJ in.

Edited January 14, 2017 by l75eya