Introduction.

[MockingBird]

Howdy,

Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Karl and I have owned a few Subaru cars over the years.  We currently own a 2018 Crosstrek (Jurassic World themed, still a work in progress...Have decals on and the UpTop rack will go on soon, pic included) and before that owned a 2010 Outback which we put over 180k miles on driving all over the US.  I joined this forum though not because of those cars but more for the fact that I am looking at getting a XT or XT6 as a project / fun weekend car. I love the 80's design aesthetic and feel the XT cars have it in spades!   Would love to know more about them... how hard it is to get parts for them?  Common issues? Will they fit someone over 6ft or is it a tight squeeze? How hard are they to work on? &tc, &tc.  Other non-Subaru vehicles I have owned in the past include a 72 VW Beetle, 93 Ranger, 01 Mazda Protege Mp3, 87 Toyota 4runner Turbo, 05 BMW f650 Dakar, and a 15 JKU. There are a few others in there as well.  I have done my fair share of work on cars (mostly on the 4runner and VW), and am not afraid to get my hands dirty.  I know this was a bit of a ramble but thanks for reading and hopefully some of ya'll will pop in here and impart me with some Subaru wisdom.   Can't wait to learn and contribute.  Have a great day and stay safe out there in this crazy FN world. 

-Karl

[moosens]

Sweet ! Right on Karl ! And the 650 Dakar , cooool. When you have a few minutes I suggest you check out this blog I guess it is , of an old rider who favors the 650 as his best to ride for his incredibly lengthy “career” of adventure riding. 
 

http://pietboonstra.blogspot.com/?m=1

 

Looking at your rides I see a few we also had through our family. My dad’s 92 Ranger is still going strong same as my 92 year old dad. 
 

Enjoy ! 

Quick quote from Piet’s blog:

During my 67 years and 1¼ million miles of riding, my records show that I owned and rode 33 different motorcycles:

  2 1947 Harley Davidsons 74 cu. in. OHV
  1 1949 Harley Davidson 74 cu. in. "Hydra-Glide"
  1 1986 Harley Davidson 80 cu. in. FLHT
  1 1955 Harley Davidson 125cc Hummer
  1 Used 1957 165cc Harley Davidson/Puckett
  1 Used 1929 Harley 74JD
  4 Triumph 500cc T100C ('62, '64, '66 and '68)
  1 Triumph 250cc Single
  2 Triumph 500cc TR5T Trophy Trail
  1 Triumph 750cc 3-cyl Trident 
  1 1977 Suzuki GS750
  1 2003 Suzuki VStrom 1000
  1 2007 Suzuki VStrom 650
  1 1971 Suzuki TS250
  1 1976 Suzuki PE250
  1 1982 Honda 1100cc Gold Wing
  2 1986 1200cc Gold Wings
  1 1987 1200cc Gold Wing
  1 1979 Honda XR500R
  1 1982 Honda FT500 Ascot single
  1 1984 BMW R80ST
  1 2001 BMW R1150GS Boxer Twin
  1 2003 BMW F650GS Dakar Single
  1 1997 Yamaha 750cc Virago
  1 1992 Yamaha 225cc Serow
  1 Used 1956 250cc Maico
  1 1957 250cc Villiers-DMW

   Of all the adventure touring motorcycles that I owned, the two with the best handling on unstable surfaces were the BMW F650GS Dakar and the BMW R80ST. Of those, the F650 Dakar had the best reliability and lowest repair and maintenance costs.

Edited January 27, 2021 by moosens

[Subasaurus]

if i remember correctly, oil pump and waterpump are the non existant parts on a XT6.

[idosubaru]

20 hours ago, MockingBird said:

t I am looking at getting a XT or XT6 as a project / fun weekend car. I love the 80's design aesthetic and feel the XT cars have it in spades!   Would love to know more about them... how hard it is to get parts for them?  Common issues? Will they fit someone over 6ft or is it a tight squeeze? How hard are they to work on? &tc, &tc. 

 

Hey boss, welcome. 

Someone over 6ft will *fit* but they might not like it. How much over will certainly matter. It's certainly not the ideal vehicle for them, and they would want to put up with lack of creature comfort which is kind of part of an 80's car anyway.  Sometimes my 6'3" cousin would sit in the back with his legs across the center and behind the opposite side front seat from where he was sitting for extra room over the front. 

OEM parts are largely unavailable, oil pump, 6 cylinder timing pulleys and radiators, and air suspension are the problem areas mechanically speaking.  Those have all been unavailable for a very long time (there's one or two timing pulley not available). from OEM and aftermarket - nothing exists and in most cases is not, and has never been, aftermarket supported.  Most first time XT6 owners think they're amazing googling skills lead them to the only new XT6 radiator on the planet - wrong.  Waste of time.  Your money will get refunded or you'll end up with a 4 cylinder radiator which isn't even close to fitting - neck is the wrong angle, lower legs are spaced the wrong distance apart, and the hoses are the wrong diameter. But being 30+ years old the parts databases haven't all updated them. 

Finding good working air struts is problematic and the air suspension is a beast to trouble shoot and they slam hard when they leak, like you better where a bicycle helment when you hit bridge joints.  Also obviously no longer available OEM and no aftermarket support at all.  But they're relatively easy to convert to modern coil over suspension but you there's some guesswork into getting the ride height correct. 

Alternators are low grade aftermarket only. 

Aesthetic parts are also no longer available so if you like your cars looking pristine it takes significant effort to find the parts you want and basically none are available nor have been in a very long time. 

They're easy to work on, simple, no special tools required, and they're reliable except for age. 

[idosubaru]

23 minutes ago, Subasaurus said:

if i remember correctly, oil pump and waterpump are the non existant parts on a XT6.

water pumps are available, oil pumps are not. 

[Subasaurus]

2 hours ago, idosubaru said:

water pumps are available, oil pumps are not. 

that's what it was, thanks for the correction!

[MockingBird]

Thanks all for the honest replies!  It is always hard going on a forum and asking questions because often it is difficult to get real answers.... like asking the inmates at an asylum if you are insane or not.    Sounds like if I wanted to get my 80's car kick on as someone who is 6ft 2in  and 250lbs I should probably look other places.  I will certainly stick around the forums though since we have the Crosstrek and will be doing stuff to it to further the JW theme.  At some point in the coming weeks we will be pulling the headliner and removing the stock rack so we can install an UpTop Overland low profile Alpha roof rack.   I will try and take pics and document the process so hopefully it will be a help to others looking to go this route.   Thanks again.

-Karl

PS- Moosens,  If you ever get the chance buy a f650 Dakar!  It was an incredible bike.  Easy to work on, tough as nails, and fairly comfortable to ride long distance.  When I had it I did multiple long trips into Southwest Texas and Mexico. Also did a 2 week trip to the Grand Canyon (mostly on road) where I pretty much lived off the back of the bike.  If set up right and with the right rider that thing seems like it will go anywhere you point it.

[MockingBird]

So question.... I am guessing an SVX would fit a taller driver fine.  How are they compared to the XT for parts and ease of maintenance? Granted it lacks the 80's aesthetic but hey the early 90's ain't too bad :). 

[1 Lucky Texan]

Forester will fit tall drivers. The turbo cars are quick and there are plenty of bits available to flatten cornering, improve braking, and tune the engine, etc.

would make a fun 'sleeper'

Edited January 29, 2021 by 1 Lucky Texan

[Subasaurus]

On 1/28/2021 at 4:34 PM, MockingBird said:

So question.... I am guessing an SVX would fit a taller driver fine.  How are they compared to the XT for parts and ease of maintenance? Granted it lacks the 80's aesthetic but hey the early 90's ain't too bad :). 

i see about 1 SVX per 2 years at the junkyard, so the odds are much better at finding parts than an XT, i've only ever seen 1 XT on the road EVER, never been up close to one personally if that says anything.

[idosubaru]

On 1/28/2021 at 5:34 PM, MockingBird said:

So question.... I am guessing an SVX would fit a taller driver fine.  How are they compared to the XT for parts and ease of maintenance? Granted it lacks the 80's aesthetic but hey the early 90's ain't too bad :). 

The SVX is a nice ride - it’ll make up for some of the small size by its comfortable seats and ride. 

Parts are difficult at times but certainly better than XT6s, some things are EJ compatible, reliable engine, robust 4EAT trans and they have a much more modern engine design and control overall. Almost an 80s look with less 80s baggage.

[idosubaru]

On 2/2/2021 at 10:02 AM, Subasaurus said:

i see about 1 SVX per 2 years at the junkyard, so the odds are much better at finding parts than an XT, i've only ever seen 1 XT on the road EVER, never been up close to one personally if that says anything.

I have seen an SVX or two for sale in the last year locally and see them ocassionally. Besides mine I haven’t seen an XT6 in well over 10 years. 

That being said SVX availability is getting worse by the day (but so are any older Subaru’s including XT6).