psychsurf

I know I'm way off track from my original subject here, but oh well... May as well just clog my own thread rather than starting a whole new one. I found the one I really want. 1983 GL, looks totally pristine, only 60k. Problem is, its 1200 miles away, and on ebay. No way to check it out in advance, getting it home would cost either $500 to ship it, or $250 in plane ticket and gas and 2 days of my time. And that's hoping it's running right, since I can't check it out in advance. Damn. I hate wanting stuff that's relatively cheap, but hard to find.

Hey KBD! Can't you see I'm drinking koolaid here? How am I supposed to adopt someone else's informed opinion as my own when other informed people are expressing dissenting opinions? Damnit... Ok, let me give you the rundown on the car I am considering... First it is here in the classifieds, linky: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=82624 Now, don't anyone else buy it out from under me until I know if I want it or not! I talked to the seller tonight, really nice guy, gave me a killer history on the car in the half-hour we talked. The belts have about 25k miles on them, the CVs have like 60k and 20k IIRC. Most recent work includes fixing a coolant leak, fixing a short in the tail lights. He's put 60k on it in the last 2.5 years. "normal" oil leaks to the tune of 1/2 qt every 5k miles. Second owner, maintenance records all the way back, sounds incredibly clean and well-taken care of. My confidence was running extremely high, and was just pending a good test drive to make an offer. But one of the reasons I'm here is to suss out known reliability issues in the different models because I am indeed planning on making a 1000-mile trip to mexico. Home for us is texas, so after my contract is up here in Alabama, we'll have a long shakedown run heading back to San Antonio, figured that would be a good time to see how a new car would behave on a long trip. But again, I don't want to take any more risks than necessary. So, any more input is certainly welcome at this point! By the way, what does this emoticon mean, exactly?

Ok, I just did a craigslist search of all the surrounding states (GA, MS, IL, TN, FL, NC, SC, KY, AL, TX). Thanks to craigshelper.com, by the way... What did I find? Bupkis. There's a few around with AT, and a few sedans with manual trans, but nothing in a 5spd wagon from 90-94. Ok, time to look farther afield... Just hate the idea of burning the time and gas to make a multi-day trip to see cars. What's the story on the Auto trans for these guys? I'm a big proponent of having a cheap clutch to replace rather than an expensive AT, but some are better than others. I know this thread is getting way off track from where I started, but again I really appreciate the advice. I was totally going to get that '88, it really did sound like exactly what I was looking for.

Thank you for the great explanation, GD. I really appreciate you taking the time. I have had friends with the legacy wagons, and they all have raved about the reliability. Kind of ugly, but what can you do? So then, you'd jump in a new-for-you early 90's legacy and head south of the border? I would still rather have a ea81... But I wonder how hard those legacies are to find with standard trans?

Well, the earlier GL is what I had in highschool, and was what I was looking for to begin with (the ea81?). But they seem way harder to find in good condition. So, then am I to understand that the ea82 doesn't represent the same level of "bulletproofness" that the ea81 and the 22RE from my 4runner are reputed for? That is an important consideration, and one I'm glad you brought up, because marathon trips to mexico are something I do at least 2-3 times a year.

Monstaru, is that $3000 including the $2000 for the car? Just in the little I've looked into it, it seems doable... $500 for the 4" lift, then rims/tires. The important question would be if I could put it all together before heading out on the next surf trip to mexico in January!

I thought the reason there were so many in Alaska still was that they had a top-secret subaru captive breeding program in Homer? I always said if I ever wanted to rob a bank up there, I wouldn't need a fast getaway car... Just a brown GL. They'd have to pull over half the state. I showed my wife the front page to the SJR website, she was much more impressed with the lifted roos. I think we're making progress!

I grew up in Alaska, my first car was a '84 GL, so I don't need any convincing. But my wife does. I'm a surfer, so some of the biggest demands I put on my cars is getting in and out of tight access trails to get to the beach. My last surfmobile was a 1994 4runner with the 22re 4cyl. No suspension mods at all, stock rims/tire size. It worked great. I've been looking at small trucks (toyotas, nissans, etc..) with the same kind of 4cyl engines as a replacement for my now-departed 4runner. They start at about $6000 for something in decent shape. More if they don't need work. As I was shopping, I happened across an ad for a 1988 gl in great shape, 110k miles, and kind of slapped my forehead. Like duh, this would be a great alternative. 4x4, lots of space to store surfboards inside, rock-solid dependable, you guys know the drill. I told my wife about, and she's less than convinced about the off-road ability of the suby. Says that if I get it I'll be disappointed later when I can't go the places my 4runner used to go. She also thinks I won't be happy with the image of driving a station wagon. As I said, I'm a subaru lover. I know from my highschool experience what these things are capable of. There were times when they were the only things still moving in Feburary in Alaska. But for my wife's edification, could some folks kindly step forward and compare the off-road capability of a 1988 GL with a 1994 4runner? On a related note, how much could I expect to spend for a 3 or 4" lift, tires and all related necessary parts for this car? Thanks!