Tofutti

Hi there! Not trying to hijack the thread at all, but I wanted to gleam a little more info from NorthWet, based on his reply above. Before I get to that though... (OP) From the pictures it looks like you've got a very nice old gem there, (low miles and not really leaking all that bad..) and the vehicle is certainly worth correcting the issues it has. As others have stated, again, it's up to you to decide what level of work you are willing/able to perform on it, and what it's financially worth to you. I can tell you for a fact, even not knowing what you've paid for it, that it won't do you wrong if you do it right. It's kind of a mutual respect with these cars. Good luck, and if you decide it's not for you, look me up.. That one's in good shape for this area.. Back to my question... NorthWet, regarding engine RPM at certain speeds... Backstory: I just bought a '92 Loyale (EA82 (non-turbo)), AT3 tranny with 102k miles for $300 from a co-worker. There are 4 of us at this place and about all we've ever driven are Subies (family member works for a wrecker service and gets them cheap and rebuilds..). The one I picked up was not a rebuild. I am the third owner of the car and all records came with it. I just changed the plugs for the forth time in the cars' life. The only rust on the thing is in one of the front fenders; rock solid underneath (RARE for Vermont..). Anyway, as I've only had one other EA82 previously (preferred the Legacy's) and it was a 5-speed, I've never dealt with the 3AT. I'm looking at ~3100 RPM @ 50mph, on a flat. I have not dared to drive this thing much faster except for brief periods for testing it. It will do 70 but I don't think it likes it. I feel bad for it just doing 50.. I can count each gear/shift up through the range and it IS hitting three gears. Fluids are perfect, etc. I just want to know if I should be apprehensive about running it at, say, 60 mph, where it's revving about 3700... The mechanic in me says even the 3100 at 50 is too much (considering I commute 60 miles/day) but are these little engines simply ok with that? Is it really just normal to let it run that RPM for an hour and not worry about it? (assuming oil pressures are fine and all..) I know these engines are short-stroke and all, but I really don't want to burn up rings and whatnot. Just seems so wrong to me to hear it whine and drone away constantly at that kind of RPM, yet I know this was the design of the car... I feel like I'm just revving it and killing it. Looking for some reassurance perhaps?!

Nice car! Love the mods, esp the the exhaust. It's pretty rare to find a Subie that's not structurally rotted out around here.. Also nice to meet a fellow Vermonter who knows what I mean by "structural rot" lol.

I love the old Justy! I wish I could find one around here... Back in High School a buddy of mine had two of them. One was a 5 speed, the other an auto. With the 5 speed, he used to have my fat rump roast sit in the back seat, set the e-brake and roast the front tires. He'd get it to sit still and smoke tires in third gear... That little three-cylinder couldn't handle spinning in forth, but impressive none-the-least. We had so much fun with his Justy's. I used to be able to grab a rear fender-well, lift the car and turn it around. (Pissed off a couple others in school that had them when they came out and found their car sideways in their parking spot..) We rolled my friends' Justy over on its' roof. Crawled out. Pushed it back on it's wheels, gave it a minute for oil to collect and drove off.. Such great little machines! I want to restore one but there are NONE to be found in Vermont anymore :/