[A testament to Loyale]

Sorry guys. I'm not sure how to post photos yet!

[A testament to Loyale]

I have to say something: my name is Austin Jones, I am twenty two. I arrived in Fairbanks late August on a shoe string, and NEEDED wheels. I found someone on CL to buy a legacy with a broken timing assembly. I ended up begging him for a different car from his graveyard, it had to be a stick shift, running, and last a thousand miles, I said. He produced an old 1990 Loyale. The lifters knocked, belts squeaked, light lenses broken, leaky tires, and she was VERY clunky on the road. Odometer said 252K, he popped the hood to reveal a clearly worn CV axle on the passenger side, and a SPFI EA82 power plant. He showed me around to the driver seat. I got in it, the seat belt is stiff, and hardly works. A large note I had was that the clutch engages at the opposite end of the pedal, which was very awkward! Test drive revealed the engine has oil pressure issues, coolant seeps into one of the combustion chambers, The passenger ball joint was worn to the nub as well, and the whole wheel shook under any load. Only one window worked, no radio. I didn't care. It was perfect.

Upon negotiating the final sale, I hear about how the car was his best friends, mothers. She bought it in Fairbanks and drove the thing from 1994 to 2009. The engine died, which is Where she sold it to whom I found. His history with the vehicle appears to be a rally. Him and the friend tried to kill this car. They put in an engine from a similar car that had died a different death, and They'd run it down as far as they were comfortable. They then parked it on his lot at the end of summer 2010. It sat, and sat. Until I happened upon it August 2015. We negotiated $500, and I got to keep the battery from his ford ranger.

I sit here tonight typing to you idling in the driveway of my cabin, at 262,597 miles. I have to tell someone, because this car is a miracle. It's like driving the dead. The third day I owned the car, I took it from Fairbanks, to Homer and back. It did very well for not running in four years. I just had to add gas. It earned an oil change. Not long after, I had to go to anchorage and back. It was the second snow storm of the season, and I HAD to go that day. A plow truck threw a rock at the perfect time and smashed a hole in my windshield. NO penetration to the stock glass. I was going 75 downhill, the plow truck 55 up. The rock was about the size of a golf balI, it stays in the glovebox now. Overall, I got three thousand miles on nothing but fuel.

As far as maintenance, I've changed the tires, coolant, and oil. Repairs? I've had to remove four dead mice from the air box, a month later; clean the tufts of hair from the MAF sensor. I finally broke the lower passenger ball joint at 255k. It happened when I Turned into a lot with a sharp bump down, And it popped out of the socket. I limped the car to a parking spot, wrote a note on the glass, and went to work. I eventually propped it from the bumper on a log, and had the thing rolling again in three days, balancing my work schedule. ALL clunking was gone. I did not know how severe the problem could be if the ball joint broke on the journeys to Homer and Anchorage.

I cold soaked the car on Friday the thirteenth of November, it wouldn't start all day, I HAD to call for a jump start. The next week I hit a moose on gold stream road. Going 55, but it started crossing the road on the left. I slowed down ASAP and watched it cross the road. I would barely clear it, but I didn't notice the second one still in the middle of the road following the first. I squeezed my brakes a little harder and slid the car right, Impact inevitable. I did a J and hit the moose on the rear driver quarter panel at about 20 mph, coming to rest facing the wrong way on the shoulder. I looked back, both moose were gone. Nobody was around.... I turned back onto the road and headed to the laundry. It drove well, further Inspection revealed zero damage. No dents, scratches, not a thing! Im so mad I don't have evidence!! The heater blower motor died and I fixed it yesterday. Total, I've spent about a hundred bucks in actual parts. I still drive on that worn out half shaft, too! I drive this thing like a madman, because I am. I am VERY impressed with the performance of this platform, and I have personally tried hard to kill it myself. This soldier lives on to take the beating!

Although I have not personally taken this car a hundred thousand miles, it's been around the block. I will never know how deep this one has gone, either. I feel I have to post here as a testament. and as more undeniable proof that these cars are nearly Indestructible. From this day forth, I shall respect this car for what it is and slowly return it to its former glory!

 

Sincerely,

-AMJ

 

P.S photos coming soon, this is my first post.