IdahoJak Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Hi, this is my first post. I just bought a 75 2dr DL 1400 on ebay for $1376. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4600289922&sspagename=ADME%3AB%3AAAQ%3AUS%3A1 I have no idea if this is a good buy or not and I have not yet seen the car. But to me it seemed like it was cheap enough to find out. Will probably pick up the car later this month. Hope to drive it from Portland to my home, Weiser, Idaho. Also just purchased a factory repair manual on ebay for $10. I hope there is lots of good info on these little cars on this forum. Will probably do some searches later tonight or tomorrow. My wife's car is a 99 Forester, so we know Subarus are well made cars. We have never driven one of the older models, so this will be a new experience for us both. I welcome any comments, questions, or advice. Thanks Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Welcome! We've actually been watching the ebay auction for a few days here on the board. Quite a nice little car you have now. Stick around here and you'll be able to find anything you'd ever want to know or where to get parts as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoJak Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 Yeh, I just read the thread where you guys where watching and discussing the auction. When I bid, I did not know the car was not running properly. The lady selling it told me later she had so many email questions she did not have time to answer them all (including mine). She is taking the car to her mechanic tomorrow to get it checked out. I guess I should have done my Subaru homework before I bid on it. Did not know the automatic tranny was not very reliable, and that the engine was susceptible to blown head gaskets. Just hope this one works out for me. At least the body sure looks clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subieguy Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Well head gaskets don't seem to be a real problem in the older Subarus. The mid 80's EA82 cars well, That is a different story. But you got yourself a good one there. At least the old Subarus are fairly easy to fix even if you are not the most experienced at working on cars. So don't worry about that. And, If you have questions the people here on the board will without a doubt be able to help you out. So, good luck with your new Subaru toy;) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagonsOnly Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Ummm...no. Sorry, but head gaskets and cooling issues on these cars (1400cc and earlier) are major pains. Yours should be okay with a reseal and a new gasket, if that's what it even needs, for many miles; they worked out the bugs around 1974-75 and didn't see many gremlins return 'til the mid '80s. My 1973 wagon, though, has service records for 2 new sets of heads and a head gasket change, with 83K original miles! Early automatic transmissions can be very problematic; just make sure you baby it and come to a complete stop before shifting or parking. This is not a car you want to cruise for hours at highway speed in. It wasn't built for it, and though it will do it in a pinch, it's much more fun and more rewarding to drive these babies around town for the rest of their lives. Signed sincerely, The idiot who drove a '73 wagon back from Georgia in 24 hours this past summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoJak Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 Assuming we get it running OK to make the 400 mile drive from Portland to Weiser, what speed do you think would be good for the car? It's freeway the whole way, but there are some mountains to climb. I'm not a speed demon kind of guy, especially with older cars. I was thinking about 60 MPH and shifting down on hill climbs--do you think that will be OK? Thanks for the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tailgatewagon Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Hi IDahojack,,, i have some stuff for you for this car. let me know which factory manuals you have,,, you see the made a master set in 1972, and every year they came out with a supplement so in order to have a complete factory service manual for your car you need 1972-1975, and low and behold i have everything you need sept for 73 but that year was a very small supplement anyway... anyway if you do decide you want them just pay shipping and give me priorty on rebuy if you sell them.....and there yours... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry DeMoss Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 That would be a cool car to restore!Someone on ebay had a new set of 1400 pistons.Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoJak Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 Hey Tailgatewagon, thanks, I'll jump all over that offer. The manual I bought is MSA 105, here is the ebay link showing it: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8024786268&sspagename=ADME%3AB%3AEOIBSAA%3AUS%3A31 My address is: Jack Kyle 558 Day Rd Weiser, ID 83672 Send me yours and I'll send you a check for the postage, if you let me know what the postage is, I can send the check before you mail it. Thanks again, and I'll definitely give you the first option to to get them back if/when I don't need them anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUBARU3 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Congrats!!! A 1975 DL red automatic 1400 was my 1st car! Yes, it did have head gasket issues, but it was an easy fix! If I can help you , let me know. I have lot's of mechanical parts, however no body stuff for stage one. Send us some more pictures!!!!!!! Todd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoJak Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 I'll send some more pics once I have the car. The ones on ebay weren't the greatest--resolution was not very high. Sure nice to find this forum with all you good folks ready to help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Yes,Congrats!! Don't fret! For one thing there's several of us well experienced with the 1400 engine you have. THe first 1400's were VERY prone to headgasket failure and warped heads.The revised edition which I believe you have is more reliable but still not what the 1600 is. The 1300 was a total workhorse and I believe was called the best engine displacement/config for fuel efficiency by some well known brainiac I can't recall right now.The 1400 was punched out and many believe the material removed was enough to cause the excess heat and pressure on the cylinder sleeve,which loosened it and made it slop around and chew up headgaskets and cause warpage. Then they decided it was time for the US market to get automatics and very soon,4WD,so they revised the 1400 to the bored,2 port exhaust version which carried on,and on,and on......well,that reason and the fact that they were replacing heads and gaskets faster than ....... Good luck,hang in there.The price you paid really wasn't bad at all. I sold a 37k '76 sedan for $2,000 and it's now sitting in Sweden,so there's certain folks who'll go all out for these things.Just have to wait it out sometimes.But,I really hope you never have to sell it. Email me as you need to. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoJak Posted January 5, 2006 Author Share Posted January 5, 2006 The ebay seller just had her mechanic check out the car. He confirmed that it had an overheating problem. He replaced the thermostat--that helped. He also found that the electric fan was not coming on when it needed to. So he rewiried it to make the fan stay on all the time. He also noticed the CV boots are cracked open. I told them that if he can replace the boots before Jan 23 to do it. He is not sure if he can find the boots in time, so I'm waiting word back from him about that. Another problem that really concerns me is the oil light comes on when the engine is idling with the tranny in gear. It goes out as soon as you start driving. The mechanic felt this was not a serious issue, but I'm not so sure. Is this a common problem with older subies? I asked about the head gasket, the seller said it had been replaced just before she got the car, and that the mechanic found nothing to indicate it was leaking. Keeping my fingers crossed. So the current plan is for me to pick up the car on Jan 23 and drive it to its new home in Weiser, Idaho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet82 Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 My bet is you'll be fine on your drive. I'd give the car a quick "once over" before you set out, but 400 miles is not that far. My biggest concern would be the tires. Welcome to the board, Good Luck, Glenn 82 SubaruHummer 84 GL Mad Max 01 Forester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 You might be able to score some axles and have the shipped to the mechanic,and forget just repacking. When the car is tuned up properly the oil light won't go on,or shouldn't.Probably needs a little tweeking,etc. Warm it up,drive normal till it's warm,then wind it out on the highway.I'm guessing it'll idle a lot better with the oil light out when you hit the stop at the exit. 400 miles you said,right? Does the heat work?Might want to make sure.Those cars weren't as windproof as later Subies.Plus the heater core could be clogged.Better to know now.Maybe think about having the mechanic install a T fitting for flushing.He can do the flush and you can easily do it after that as needed. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tailgatewagon Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 i know subaru3 here on the board had a bunch of axle boot.s that would work, i have some from his stock also if he cant ship ill ship but he has first dibs of course..... as long as the axels arent clickin gin corners they well be fine with just a repack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoJak Posted January 6, 2006 Author Share Posted January 6, 2006 Thanks again for all the tips and advice. The tires are supposedly in good shape, the front two are new. Haven't been able to contact the mechanic or seller today, but will verify the heater is good. Looks like I'll probably not get the boots replaced before the trip home, so when I'm ready to hunt for axle boots I'll get in touch with Subaru3. Thanks, Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoJak Posted January 26, 2006 Author Share Posted January 26, 2006 The little '75 DL made it home just fine! It's in very nice condition. The interior, is almost perfect. The exterior is almost as good, it does have a couple small surface rust spots back around the tail lights. It did not even come close to overheating. In fact, I disconnected the power wire to the electric fan (a mechanic had wired it up to stay on all the time) and it still stayed about 1/3 on the temp gauge. Today I wired things back to the original Subaru configuration to see how that will work. Everything works on the car, (horn, radio, lights, heater...everything). The only problem is the door and window seals are not sealing right. When the car was parked outside for the past three months in Portland in got rained on almost every day and water got inside. I am drying it out now and will park it under a shelter to prevent more water from getting in. I babied it driving home, didn't want to chance blowing something up. When I got close to home I opened it up once to see what it would do, got up to 65 and was still speeding up, so decided that was good enough. Did not use any oil on the 400 mile drive. I will say that on hill climbing the 55 horse engine got pretty slugish. The automatic would be better if it had an overdrive for level highway driving. I'll try to get some pics of the car this week. My wife still prefers her '99 Sub Forester and I'm thinking a Brat would be more fun than the '75 DL, so I will probably put this up for sale after I go through everything. Brian, thanks for the repair manuals, they came in the mail while we were gone. I got a check going out in tomorrows mail for the postage. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagonsOnly Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 Congratulations, and good to hear it's in such good shape! If you do end up selling her, and you think she'll make a decently long road trip at that time (I'm in New England), I'd be interested. Please send me an email with photos and asking price if you do: aparker4.mac.com@earthlink.net As I also have a couple of 1400cc Subies I can certainly help you with parts so long as the coupe is in your care. I also have a spare '75 factory service manual, if you need one. Take care, Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoJak Posted January 26, 2006 Author Share Posted January 26, 2006 Andrew, I'll definitely let you know when the car is ready for sale. My wife says the car will have to go (for some reason she thinks seven cars is more than we should have). She won't even ride in my '67 Toyota Stout pickup--she says it has to go too. I think she's just upset because the shelter the '75 is parked in was her '99 Forester's place. Now she has to park in the driveway. I won't need the '75 repair manual, just got one from Brian. I'll try to get some pics posted soon. Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowboystrait Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 well jak over on the east coast a [freind] of mine her in western north carolina has a couple of them some people iam lyin but he does no chit he does he's a wrecker driver tons of them but if need parts email me ill tell to call u. i got a com but no scanner but i make do with what i got but he does have i give you my word Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagonsOnly Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 Andrew, I'll definitely let you know when the car is ready for sale. My wife says the car will have to go (for some reason she thinks seven cars is more than we should have). She won't even ride in my '67 Toyota Stout pickup--she says it has to go too. I think she's just upset because the shelter the '75 is parked in was her '99 Forester's place. Now she has to park in the driveway. I won't need the '75 repair manual, just got one from Brian. I'll try to get some pics posted soon. Jack Thanks, I'll look forward to your email. Any chance you could either upload some pics or send me some (higher resolution than the ones on eBay)? Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoJak Posted January 27, 2006 Author Share Posted January 27, 2006 Got some pics of the car today and my wife spent about 6 hours loading them on a website: http://www.geocities.com/idahojack03/Jack_Subaru.html We lost some resolution because the website limits pixels, but they came out fairly well. Andrew, if you want to see the better resolution pics I can probably email one pic at a time to you. Let me know. Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75subie Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 hi Jack, i`m interested if you are interested in selling it. pm me with a price if possible. thanks Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagonsOnly Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 Jon, what happened to calling dibs on anything pre-'74? Jack, you have mail, just need to see if I can get the time off to drive her home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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