So, I bought a GL-10.

[l75eya]

First and foremost a big thank you to user Glensz for bringing this car to my attention when it came up for sale; thank you Glen!

 

Here it is. Subaru number 3. Practically 4 if you count my ex's which, yeah, she bought, but I kept alive. And drove. To Toronto. anyway...Including the ex's car it's been;

 

The 93 Loyale that started it all, Ben. Front wheel drive with a 3at and 52k miles when acquired for $1k

Then the first one of my own, the 87 GL. The flying Magpie. Carbureted, later Weber-ed, 5 speed dual range, later 3.7 RX swapped dual range. 46k and I got him for $1,200.

Then after parting out the GL very reluctantly and scrapping him due to rust (Motor lives on in superpoo's wagon!) I acquired the infamous Tin Can. 93 Loyale with 92k miles on him, 5 speed, front wheel drive, $500. (Currently for sale)

And now, after all these wheezy naturally aspirated EA82s, I have gotten myself a forced induction 86 GL-10 with 78k miles on it. Automatic, with push button 4WD (3 speed) As yet unnamed.

Air suspension. Digital dash. Sunroof. Sky blue. 9/10 interior. 8/10 exterior. Here it is:

 

 

And, naturally, the absolute very first thing I did was swap over those 84 GL alloys to it.

 

 

And, well..here's the rest of the pictures that I have so far:

 

 

 

Cell phone makes the digidash look all washed about but it looks great in person

 

 

Priorities:

3.7 dual range is going in ASAP. The 3AT leaks trans fluid and doesn't like to function until warmed up.

Needs brakes. Bordering on badly

Air suspension works! BUT! (of course) The shocks leak and the fronts are disconnected from the system and tied directly to Schrader valves. (If you air suspension people know how to either repair the bags or replace them, please help a brother out)

Reinstall the clutch fan

 

Plans:

Top mount intercooler

Some type of more accurate temperature gauge. I don't trust the one on the dash, especially knowing how sensitive these heads and gaskets are to being overheated

Investigate surging

Read much more about turbos and boost and wastegates and downpipes and up-pipes and turbo-back and all that other turbo stuff I know nothing about but need to now.

 

That is all for now. As she sits, the driver's side bags seem to stay inflated. The pass side bags do not last overnight. Haven't looked at the plugs or anything yet. She made it 230 miles home though with no problem other than the smoke screen behind me from the trans leaking (pass side, right onto the exhaust, naturally).

Edited February 27, 2016 by l75eya

[MR_Loyale]

Very nice. I am digidash jealous most of sll.

[KiwiGL]

If I were you I'd go with a WAIC off a first gen legacy RS or GT, so you don't have to cut a scoop.

 

Super tidy, looks awesome! I love the 4wd turbo on the boot, always thought those were cooler than having the plate there.

[rpholz]

 

Legacy A2W FTW

 

 

 

[l75eya]

I reconnected the original air lines to the front struts. The whole system seems to work fine. I have no idea why the previous owner disconnected then and put Schrader valves in, but I'm happy it all works now. Air suspension is so cool!

[l75eya]

 

She cleaned up very well.

[l75eya]

Well, the GL-10 has been sitting for a bit as I garner some cash to do certain maintenance that really needs to be done before she can safely be driven around regularly. The radiator is the original, and it is falling apart.  The brakes were shot. The oil needed changed desperately. There's more to the list, but today I got around to some of the rockauto stuff I've had laying about and got some installed, and changed the oil.



Axle seals for all four wheels, inner and outer. Rotors front and back. Pads (front ones were WRONG!!!), new convex washers for each wheel. New PCV valve. I didn't do the axle seals yet, and the back rotors will have to wait for another day.

As I was going over this car, I noticed so much shoddy mechanic work. Whoever used to maintain this car back in jersey was a complete spardnubbin.
-The front axles are BOTH installed a tooth off center of the roll pin hole. spardnubbin's solution to not being able to install a roll pin because the axle was a tooth off? Shove a bolt in the pass side and snap the head off, and shove a phillips screwdriver in the driver's side.
But wait! There's more
- None of the balljoints, tie rod ends, OR AXLE NUTS had any cotter pins in them.

-The oil pan has a huge dent in it from apparently being used as a jacking point.



NO COTTER PIN!



NO COTTER PIN!!!



That's what was left of the front pads.



This car is dirty. Eventually I will have all of those suspension components off the car and they will all be cleaned, brushed, cleaned, and painted.


Gritty, nasty stuff.



NO COTTER PIN!!!!!



NONE!!! WTF!



Brake components removed.





Out with the old, in with the new!



Every bolt I took out got brushed down and cleaned before going back in. I'm surprised the caliper bracket bolts didn't snap.



Everything is back together now, and look what's in the axle nut! (And the ball joints and tie rod ends, not pictured!)

Just gotta fill up the coolant with new, and finish the oil change and she's done getting worked on for the night. Soon will be a new radiator. Then maybe I'll get around to that intercooler piping.......

[l75eya]

Well, this car got parked for awhile because the water pump went out.
First the radiator needed replaced, it was leaking and just very, very deteriorated. 

I guess having a new radiator installed that actually held pressure lead me to the next weak link in the cooling system as about a week after I put the radiator in, the water pump went out. That pissed me off, so I just parked it and it's been sitting for a while now.

In the interim time I've been driving (the spoob out of) the Loyale. What a great car that Tin Can is, I love it. 
I got my hands on a 95 Impreza with a 2.2 in it with only 133k on the odometer for $200 last month though, and with that, I have decided to EJ swap the GL10 because it is such a nice car. 

Today I got the engine and trans removed, posted up for sale in the parts classified.