<long post, but incredible experience for me>
My friend and I are fans of older Subaru's, and we've been keeping an eye out for them. I've always wanted a manual, and over the years I've had another friend test drive a couple of older subaru's for me. A few months ago though, I picked up a 90 Civic Si to learn stick on.
A few days ago I saw an ad in the local classified area of our paper for a 1990 Loyale 4wd. The car is a 5spd wagon. So I called and talked to the father of the son who owned the wagon this morning. He was a real nice guy and told me to come on down and I could check out the car and drive it around. So I picked up my Subaru loving friend and drove on over.
The wagon looked good, there was rust over the rear wheels that the son had patched up and painted. The paint matches the stock silver very well. The engine bay looked slightly corroded, but I'm in CT, so salt basically covers the roads all winter long. The inside was very clean and in great shape.
The father gave me the keys and told me to go for a drive:) . The car started up well, maybe a little rough though. The idle seemed fine. The clutch felt like it has 1/2 inch of travel and the gas pedal had maybe 1/4 of travel, and I'm being serious. I thought maybe I would stall the car, but WOW, this transmission had to be one of the most simplt and easy 5spd's I have ever driven. Ther shifter did feel very sticky and was slightly difficult to get into gear. My on road impression of the car was that it had to be one of the easy 5spd to drive. I don't think the car would have even stalled if I let off the clutch without giving it gas. The car did feel very very slow though, but even though I was accelerating up one hill very slowly the car felt like it was really pulling hard.
***Best part is below****
---The wagon has push-button 4wd---
When I got back to the house, the man told me to drive through the yard:eek: . He said his son does it all the time. Feeling a little uneasy about it I drove down a gravel driveway that belonged to the neighbors and then back up. The father was halfway down his lawn, and was waving me down it, so I looked over to my friend and decided what the heck. I drove onto the grass, and pushed the 4wd button. The dash lit up with the 4wd engaged sign, and I took off. I went down the side of the yard, into the backyard. Down a little hill, going between two trees, and then around the back yard, back up the hill, going between two trees again and back onto the front lawn. WOW, this thing kicks but, I thought. Going through the back yard, I had the car in 1st gear the whole time, yet the car almost felt like an auto. It never felt like it would stall and never once rev-ed too high. The way the wagon went up the slight hill was just incredible. With old, cheap looking tires, the Loyale just powered up the hill without the slightest slip or sign of trouble. To make it even more impressive the backyard was moist, soft dirt/grass.
This was my first ever experience with a 5spd Subaru and I got to go "off-roading".
<<<Cliff notes>>>>
Went off-roading on the owner's lawn with a 4wd loyale wagon that I was testdriving.
<<<End Cliff notes>>>
Now, I need a little advice about Loyales. The wagon is a 1990 5spd, with push-button 4wd. The miles are around 96k, I was so excited driving it, I didn't even get the exact mileage.
I talked to the son over the phone and learned that he had the car since June of this year. He has no records of any serivce and doesn't know anything about the seals or timing belt(my biggest worry). I guess the transmission did feel rough, the clutch pedal travel being so short was odd. The 4wd definately works though.
The asking price is $1,050. What would you do?
(If the owner of the car is on this forum, then Hi and thanks for the awesome test drive. I say this because the owner had a first gen legacy and another newer subaru I did not see.)
