I am back after many years.

[Terpodion]

I'm on my sixth (6th) Soob now. It's a 2002 Impreza (non-turbo) hatchback. 

Long story - short. I sold my beloved 1984 wagon with dual range 4 wheel drive about 12 years ago. I deeply regret selling it but I had too many cars, the landlord was raising hell, it was problematic with rust, bad tires and an exhaust system that kept falling apart. 

Fast forward. I just bought my daughter a car. She had been driving the Impreza that her mom (my ex-wife) gave to her. Now my daughter is giving it to me. It needs some TLC - bald tires, steering and suspension are very loose, paint is going, etc., but is saraight and solid. I'm going to put it into good shape and go from there. I may sell it because what I really want is an older 4WD Soob, pre-1986 with the pushrod engine because I can insure it as a classic, put "QQ" plates on it for cheap and I know how to work on them and still have some spare parts. But as you probably know, they are getting pretty rare. 

We live in New Jersey at the edge of the famous (infamous) Pine Barrens. We like to explore things like abandoned  and unusual places in "The Pines." There are hundreds of miles of unpaved "sandroads" in there. If you try to drive a 2WD car in there you will get stuck in the "sugar sand" for sure. 

I'm glad to have a Soob again with AWD - well I will have one shortly. I'm taking delivery after we visit them for Christmas dinner. I hope it makes it home. 

[moosens]

Hey now , I’ve driven through the Barrens FWD fivespeed from the ranger station on 206 straight thru even past the Quaker Bridge super soft stuff. That’s the scariest part when you’re FWD. And we’ve gone off the main trail too , countless miles in that area. My son and I love it down there. Camped raw in there several times. Usual around the Mulica camp. 

Wishing , hoping , trying to work in a day trip down there - maybe even today - but schedule is tough. My son is home from school and I want to see that Gen one Brat for sale that’s up to $21k and ends in a day or so.

 

Welcome back. If I head down I’ll let you know. Cheers ! 

[Terpodion]

The scariest part is "The Pineys". 

I drove the car home last night. I got about 15 minutes down the road and noticed the gas gauge was just below E. (!!!!!) That's just so typical of my daughter and I should have known.

I well remember a time when I went to visit her and she came driving home in the s-box Taurus she had at the time. Knowing her habits with automobiles, I gave it a quick check. Every conceivable fluid was low - transmission, brake fluid, coolant, even the windshield washer fluid. I pulled out the dip stick and it squeaked. I don't know how it was still running. One of the tires was near flat, the rest were low. Luckily there was a Pep Boys nearby. A quick trip there (in my car) and I bought all the necessary fluids and one of those little air compressors that ruins on DC from the lighter socket as well as a tire pressure gauge (I showed her how to use it too).

She now lives with her husband (who also abuses motor vehicles) and my granddaughter (who is four years old and only drives a little battery powered, 3 wheeled motorcycle around the house) near Princeton. That's close to an hour away from my house. It was late (not to mention Christmas Day) and every gas station I passed was closed. After driving around in circles a couple times and getting frustrated with my smartphone sending me to yet more closed gas stations, I found one that was open in Princeton Junction - which I should have known would be open because I worked very near there when the aforementioned daughter was a wee babe and I had gassed up at that very same station many times after working late. I should also mention that it was at that station that I first saw a Subaru with the hood open. I think that's what got me hooked. "Why is the spare tire in there?" 

The Impreza isn't as bad as I thought. It's filthy, of course, but the paint is fairly good, only two of the tires are bald and there is only a faint exhaust leak from the header. Hell, I know how fix header leaks. Every single one of my 80's Soobs had header leaks. Some things never change. It's the aspirated 2.5 engine. It doesn't take off like a fighter jet like my SAAB 2.3 ARC with the high pressure turbo but it has respectable power. My 80's Soobs were so underpowered that I seriously considered mounting JATO rockets under the rear bumper so I could safely pull out of the parking lot of my rented workshop on to rush-hour Rt.33 in Freehold. 

I have to say that I do enjoy driving a Soob again. I have "a thing" for unusual cars. A SAAB with the engine installed backwards, Saturns with plastic body panels and DOHC engines that sip less gas than a VW. Funny that they all start with "S". 

[el_freddo]

“S”trange

if it’s awd, get those tyres replaced for the same make and tyre model - all four need to be the same including how worn they are. 

If not you can kill the centre diff.

Sounds like you had a good adventure trying to find that fuel station!

Cheers 

Bennie

[Terpodion]

2 hours ago, el_freddo said:

“S”trange

if it’s awd, get those tyres replaced for the same make and tyre model - all four need to be the same including how worn they are. 

If not you can kill the centre diff.

Sounds like you had a good adventure trying to find that fuel station!

Cheers 

Bennie

Yes, it's AWD. I hate to think what damage has already been done. I cleaned out the trunk yesterday and noticed that the donut spare was fairly worn. It was recently driven for about two weeks with the donut on the left front because of a leaky tire that would go flat overnight. I finally fixed the tire and put it back on. 

I am rather obsessive about tires and am very big on all four of them being the same. In addition to chewing up a diff, having different tread patterns can cause unpredictable behavior in an emergency maneuver.