the_bard

Oh, that looks like such a good idea. I'll have to throw that on my list of things to do when I get that new Sube... If'n I remember right, the old archives had a thread that mentioned switches with lights embedded within 'em, available at Radio Shack. Create a custom decal for the switches, and it might be pretty interesting. Now all we gotta do is figure out what to hook 'em up to

The chime is ridiculous. It's either too quiet & useless, or too loud & obnoxious. Always made me think "It's chiming to remind me that the lights are still on, and the ignition's off. I never want the lights on when the ignition's off. Just turn the lights off, fer gawd's sake!" Guess Subaru was listenin'... Another minor "I love Subaru's!" event happened tonight... as I pulling out of the parking lot at work, and out on the four-lane to back home, I checked my left mirror for traffic. Didn't help, 'cause the mirror was pointed right back at my window . Checked my blind spot, then moved over. I knew I hadn't adjusted the mirrors (got electric mirrors, too ), so I figured somebody had knocked the mirror off as they were parking (I work at a retail store in a popular mall... lots of opportunities for things like that, and Albanier's won't leave a note with insurance contacts, either :argue: ). So I ran down the window, stuck my hand out, grabbed hold of the mirror housing real tight, and pushed it back, expecting it to come off in my hand. Nope, it didn't . Seems the housing itself is mounted on a pivot, which allows it to swing freely. It's practical things like that which makes me love my Subaru. A little extra effort on the part of the engineers just saved me a bunch of trouble replacing a mirror. :bday:

I've wondered about that switch... mostly 'cause you can put on the marker lights (I've always called 'em parking light) by twisting the headlight switch one spot. Twisting it two spots gives you headlights & parking lights. Maybe the one on the column provides lighting with the ignition off, and the headlight switch does not? I'll have to see tomorrow...

I've noticed on my Loyale that when I turn off the ignition, the headlights shut off, too. I've never heard/seen this on any other car (most I've known give ya all kinds of audible warnings), but I rather like it. I have no reason to keep the headlights on without the engine turning over... and it keeps me from draining the battery accidently. Somebody before me had rigged up a set of foglamps, though... the relay, fuses, switch, and wiring are all still in the car (though it's been disconnected. If somebody's been in there, playing around with the electricity, I'm not sure what's standard anymore :brolleye: .

I put mine just to the left of the emergency brake lever. There was just enough to room to mount the cup holder there, and so far it's held. I'll get a pic or two up of it when I get around to it :-p

I'm going to have to swap out the rear shocks if I'm taking the Loyale's rear suspension and putting it on the GL. They're shot . Friend of mine thinks it's hilarious to bounce up and down on the car... :argue: If I end up doing the swap down at my parent's place, I'll be able to have my dad helping me out... he's rather decent at lining things up. If not, I've got enough friends down at work (not counting my fiance, too) that ought to be able to help out. Heck, most of 'em think I'm crazy to be even considering a project like this. The entertainment value alone ought to bring 'em along. 'Course, these are the same people that like to take a light pickup truck and lower it 'til it's about two inches off the ground .

And that, Calebz, is why you excel... I've been thinking so much about the tranny and rear drive assembly that I never even considered the fact that the auto won't have the clutch pedal. Ain't nothing quite as illuminating as removing your blinders Assuming the mounts on the Loyale haven't been too affected by rust, I'm guessing that it shouldn't be too hard to cut those off with a cutting torch, and re-weld them onto the GL? Hardest part I can see there is getting the car high enough off the ground to be able to comfortably get in there with the torch (I hate small areas with a torch nearby)... although Dad still has that custom built engine hoist. I really ought to get some pics of that, too... that'll show you what kind of background I'm from Never underestimate an old farmer with an arc welder...

I've located an '85 GL wagon that should be in pretty good shape, body wise (thanks John! ). Problem is, it's 2wd auto, and I'm loving the 4wd manual that's sitting in my Loyale right now. John originally picked it up for that same conversion, but he's been sidetracked a bit. I want to do a lot of research before I get into this, though... I want to know what to expect, how to expect it, and what I ought to do about it, before I get ther *grin*. This is a project, after all... not a repair . Between the Loyale and Harry's, I'm guessing that I'll be able to find the parts to do the swap, but I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to need. Unless I'm having a huge problem finding a 4wd d/r tranny, I doubt I'll be using the 5 speed pushbutton tranny out of the Loyale. From what I understand about transmissions, the transaxle is directly attached to the tranny, and the d/r transaxle is probably different than the pushbutton. So I won't be able to save the Loyale's transaxle, or need to, if the 4wd d/r tranny will come with it (it should, right?). Behind the transaxle ought to be the driveshaft. From the driveshaft on back, everything else ought to be exchangeable from the Loyale, right? I'm hoping I'll be able to pull the rest of it out, all the way back to the rear axle, and swap it into the GL, considering how good of shape that rump roast'y is (unlike the body on the car *sigh*). While I'm in there, should I bother converting the drum brakes to disc brakes? I should have everything apart back there to the point where I may as well do it, rather than having to tear everything else apart later... Any thoughts?

I've heard too many stories about people welding their tools across the battery terminals not to be careful where I'm putting tools,even with covered battery terminals. For that matter, I've got nightmares about getting a tool stuck between a belt and a pulley. Or, have it fall, hit a belt, and get spun off to hit (or penetrate) gawd knows what. Makes me triple check that engine compartment before I drop the hood...

No to steal your thread, but this is awesome... making me feel a lot better about being a Subie fanatic in the Great (*cough* *cough*) Northeast. There's more than just me out here...

Call me naive, but I'd be just as happy doing a bit of research on whoever I'm sellin' or buyin' from. I'd prefer thinking that everybody's intentions start out honest at least, and go from there. Gettin' a database of previous "transactions" might make it a lot easier and faster to figure out someone's reputation... but I could see where it could sour things up a bit, and allow people's attitudes to grind together a bit. Pro's and con's

Chrikey. That's just about my backyard . Roadtrip!

Where's this Harry's? I'm out in Albany, NY, looking for a late eighties GL. the_alleyboy has a car that I might be picking up, 'cept the fact that it has a 2wd auto tranny in her... I'd want to put in a 5 speed 4wd d/r, if my fiance doesn't cut me off first

Take a look over at http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4240 . Had quite the discussion concerning this exact problem

I wondered... seems too easy. If you could just swap out the dash, and legally change the VIN number on the car that easily, then it would be happening a lot more often. 'Course, then again, swapping out the dash ain't exactly what I'd call an easy job, from what I've seen of the operation. John, your email is on the way :-). Mine's the_bard at airpost.net

Huh. Never thought of that. If the VIN and the odometer were transferred over to the new car (swapping out the dash), is it the same car, as far as the good ol' State of New York is concerned? I would assume that they'd put some sort of limitation on it, like the old one not having a title. Never though of it before though... thanks for stirring up the brain, Fox Calebz: That's a pretty good idea... I was just figuring on giving the engine from the Loyale an overhaul while I was at it (it may still be running reasonably well, but she has hit 220k... while I've got the engine out, I may as well). I've got a feeling that pulling the engine and giving it a good overhaul is going to take some time... I don't want to overstay a welcome, ya know? ;o) P.S.: Thanks for all the help, Calebz, and all the other members that have thrown in suggestions... you guys rock

I like the paypal idea, myself. Either that, or an address that I can send a money order to. The auction idea is nice, but I don't want to have to drive the price up on somebody else's potentially needed purchase to donate.

As I've stated in another thread or three, I'll be looking to replace my Subie after the end of this winter... probably late spring or summer. Seein' as I've got all this time on my hands until then (and time to start saving up, too ), I figured I'd start up some research and documentation on exactly what it is I want to replace Subie (my Loyale... not the most original name, I know) with. The engine's still running (and running rather well, if'n you ask me) in my Loyale. So I've got an engine. Driveshafts are still good... front brakes are fair, haven't looked at the rear. Sound system is decent. Interior and body are shot, though I can pull the seat covers out... the previous owner had dogs in the car, and they've torn the original seats apart something fierce. The floor pan is also rusting out... not to the point where it's bad, but I agree with everybody when they say it's gonna get worse. It sounds like a parts car, so I'm looking for something that's gonna be compatible. As for what I want, I'd love to find a good GL body that hasn't been hit with anything other than minor surface rust (the stuff that I'd have a prayer of stopping with some elbow grease and a can or two of POR-15). I don't think I need to worry about the condition of the engine much, since I ought to be able to pull the EA82 out of the Loyale and put it in the GL (and give it a good overhaul at the same time). I'd probably want the old engine to be SPFI, though, same as the Loyale (right? Not sure how to tell on this one), to simply the rewiring. I'd hope for a good tranny... I don't mind the thought of having d/r, and the synchro's are wearing out on the Loyale. I'm getting tired of forgetting to shift into fifth, and subsequently grinding reverse. It's going to have to be d/r 4wd, manual. I've heard the GL's can come in 4 or 5 gears... is there all that much difference between the two? I don't plan on going off-road... 40% street and 60% highway driving, with a bunch of snow thrown in (I'm in Albany, NY, remember?) Those are the major points... I'd also like the touch-ups, like power everything. That Loyale's got me addicted to power locks, windows, mirrors. The power seatbelts I could do without, as I've got a tendency to forget the lap belt, but I never forget to buckle in with manual seatbelts. I could do without a sunroof, too, but it'd be something interesting . Judging from what I want, I seriously doubt I'll be able to find anything remotely close to Albany, NY. First off, everything up here seems to be coated in rust. Most of the Loyale's I've seen around here are ate up worse than mine, the one Justy I've seen looked like it had been dunked in salt water, and I can't find a GL anywhere (have they all rusted away completely?! ). The newer Sube's seem to fare pretty well, and I've seen a Loyale sedan that was in near mint condition, but that's it. Not a single GL that I recognized as such. So I'm probably going to end up looking farther west. Somewhere there's got to be a GL sitting somewhere with a trashed engine (as much as I'd love to stumble across one that's not, I'm not keeping my hopes up) that I can pick up fairly easily. Transportation isn't too much of an issue... I could probably talk my father into taking his truck and double-axle trailer out to wherever we need to go, as long as I'm paying for gas. Last I knew, it had a good sized winch on the front of the trailer... if he took it off, I could always grab a come-a-long. I just have no clue how to go about finding it. I can't imagine that most yards are going to have their inventories on the web, much less going into detail about the car's condition (That'd be one heck of an inventory system, though). I could call around, but where do you start? There's driving out west, too... but "Hey Dad, ya wanna take the truck and trailer out west, searching for a GL that's not rusted out?" ain't gonna cut it, I think. Driving aimlessly from yard to yard in states I've never been to before hauling a double-axle trailer just doesn't sound like a good start to me :wave: . Anybody have any suggestions to this? Feel free to take the screwdriver to the rust spots in my ideas... I've got more than a couple months to find ways around 'em .

Here's what's on my '92 Loyale... don't know what's standard, and what's an option, though. 5 speed, single range, pushbutton 4wd manual transmission Fuel injected Black bumpers Automatic seatbelts Power locks Power windows Power mirrors No front map light (Grrrr...) No rear cargo light (Anybody dug around a box for tools without a cargo light? Not fun) No rear speakers Center top brake light Recessed turn signals in the front bumper Washer nozzles on the top of the hood Wiper on the rear window (I love that) Tachometer I think those are all the differences that have been noted here... I've never physically seen a GL before, so it's hard to tell anything else.

Huh. I've heard that heater cores can be really really bad in vehicles, but I didn't think they'd be that bad. When it went out on my Old's Cutlass Calais, I just had to pull the center console, the trim around the radio, and there it was. 'Course, I think that (and acceleration) were the only things it had on my Subie

I figured... but I also figured it's a heck of a lot easier to ask now than it is to spend the next nine months or so assumin', then find out I'm wrong

So when I finally part out my Loyale late next spring or early summer, I'm going to be looking for a new baby to baby. I've been doing some research, and I'm thinking about a late 80's GL Wagon. I love my Loyale, and from the sounds of the GL, I think I'll like it even more. It'll have to be rust free, though... I'm not going to deal with any more body rust that's any worse than surface. Unless something falls into my lap, whatever I find is probably going to be trashed engine or tranny wise (and half-way 'cross the country... haven't quite figured out how I'm going to find it, too ). Now the Loyale I'm running right now has 220k miles on the engine, but she's not doing too badly. Question is: If I do manage to find a late 80's GL with an intact tranny & body, can I pull the EA82 out of the Loyale I have currently and put it in the GL, without too much difficulty?

Hypothetically speaking, if I do manage to find a Loyale or GL (I'm actually leaning towards the GL), what would y'all recommend to prevent the rust in the first place? As far as I know, the best solution would be to take as much off the bottom of the car as possible, coat it with POR-15 (use the high temp. stuff for the exhaust system), recoat it with the underbody coating, and reassemble. That, and keep a good eye on it, trying to catch it as early as possible.

I'll try that handle holding idea next time I go out... though I'm rather fond of having to actually turn the key to lock it. I don't have to worry about locking the key in the car... and somehow I doubt I have to worry about anybody attempting to car jack me (a rusted out Loyale just doesn't look fast, ya know? At least there's a silver lining to that cloud )

Well, there's no gaping holes in the floor pan, but there are a couple that are thumb sized near the damage on the right rear. I've come to the decision that I'm gonna give her up... start saving up for that next Subie that comes along. Things'll be tight until my fiance graduates come May, but once she's out, I'll be able to pick something else up. I've got a feeling it might be pretty difficult finding a GL in the NE, but I'll keep an eye and ear out for one in the rest of the country. Picking it up wouldn't be too difficult... Dad's got a Ford sitting at home that's big enough to pull a double-axle trailer with a winch mounted on the front end. As long as I pay for gas, he'll pick it up. It'd get awful expensive hauling that trailer to Washington or Oregon, though . *sigh*