Jack in Norfolk

It may just be that I am a bit of a contrarian, but I think there are some positive aspects of you buying a rover that are being overlooked. Your husband is knowledgeable in repairing them. That is a huge plus! The main reason I would not buy a rover, or any european vehicle right now is the cost of maintenance. Unlike the majority of people, I do not belive that rovers are unreliable. Its just that when something does break, its very expensive to fix. My good friend is the service manager at a repair place. He fixes all sorts of yuppie-mobile SUVs and cars, foregin and domestic. His shop is in the ritzy part of town. he says that Audis and rovers are great values because they are actually quite affordable used because most people don't know anything about them and therfore do not trust them, but in the case of these two, they are pretty reliable. I am a Subaru fan. But I like the old ones. I had an 86 wagon. The old subarus were very utilitarian for cars. They had real 4wd that you could shift into or out of and mine (like many others) had a low range. The new Subarus are AWD. You can debate the pros and cons of 4wd vs awd for hours, but personally, I prefer to turn it on when I need it. In your part of the world, with the weather up there, awd is probably not so bad, but here in the south, it just seems like a waste of money and excess wear on the drive components 9 months out of the year. A major criticism I have of the newer Subarus is all of the plastic that they have in critical areas. I know a lot of people take them off of paved roads and some folks do some serious off roading with them, but it seems inevitable that the plastic valence under the front bumper will get crushed. The rocker pannels also seem vulnerable. The ground clearance that they have is more than average for a car, but nothing compared to a rover. Another major plus with the rover is the ability to pull a sizable trailer. If you want to tow a boat or a horse trailer or a large utility trailer for moving or firewood, you won't be able to do it in a subaru. I'm sure that someone has done it, but it is not a good idea. Now, the strong points on the subaru. Gas milage. This is an issue that does not look like it is going to go away anytime soon. Unless you can find a turbo diesel rover, you are going to be spending at least twice what you will to fuel a sube. The way an AWD or 4wd subaru handles in the snow or heavy rain is tough to compete with in any car. You ca't touch it in a truck. I have a grand cherokee. My transfer case has 4wd and AWD. Its fun to drive in the snow, but nowhere near as much fun as the 86 Subaru wagon I had was. Subarus are uni-body cars. Rovers (if I am not mistaken, and I might be) are ladderbox frame trucks. The rover will not "bob and weave" through traffic like a subaru. It won't take the curves like a subaru and it will be much less forgiving. But if you had an old 4runner you are no stranger to a rough ride. I am sticking to my point that Rovers are not unreliable (and believe me, I know unreliable; I have a Jeep!). However, it is a safe bet that a Subaru will be more reliable. So, as far as practicality, the sube takes the cake unless you have to tow (I race a 24' sailboat which I tow to regattas so a sube doesn't cut it right now. In fact, the Jeep is near the top of its capacity to tow the boat, but I really don't want to drive anything bigger.). The rover may be more fun in that it will take you places that a subaru never will. Its up to you. Either way you will have a fun, quality vehicle.

get one of those big ones and mount it on the hood like a 70s muscle car! Just kidding.

I don't know man. The prices on Brats seem to be all over the place. Out here if it didn't have any rust it would probably be worth it. Does it have t tops? what color is it? GL or DL? What kind of shape are the decals in? What about the tailgate? Does it have a slider back window? Brushguard, rollbar or camper top? Are the wheels anything special? All of this would add to the value obviously.

I don't know anything about wrneching on Justys. When I had a tercel wagon, I wanted to add a tach. The sr5 models had them so I figured it could not be that hard. I was told that there was a hook up on the distributor. I don't know if any Justys got tachs. I also don't know if Justys had distributors, but I would guess they did. I hope this helps somehow...

Was the ea81 turbo coupe called an RX in this country? Did it have a special interior? Perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me.

no love on this one huh? I'm just curious to know if there would be any milage improvement from switching steel wheels for alloys.

I thought all small displacement, high compression (Japanese) engines had to be readlined to get anything out of them. If the tack in my girlfriend's Honda isn't dancing, then we are probably at a stop light. In regards to how long the engine will last; it will last longer than your rocker pannels and your first 3 sets of cv joints, probably twice to 3 times as long. If your wife doesn't like you driving like that, put her behind the wheel so she can see that if you want to get anywhere before the next ice age you have to wind it out. Enjoy your Subaru. Learning all of the little quirks that make them different from other cars is part of the fun of owning them. It is also the first sign of addiction:eek:

How many classes are there and how are they divided? Do they seperate the stock cars by thier horsepower to weight ratio?

If you have accidentaly touched a speaker wire to a 12v wire then that speaker is done. At least this is what I have ben told. If you are getting lights and everything seems to be working, but no sound, check the speakers. Good luck. If all else fails, call Crutchfield.

Oh yeah... But Paul was actually in my yard. That was like 7 years ago. I had just run out to get something.

I don't think I heard about that one. What's the story on the coupe?

If you tighten up the linkage it might help this problem.

Wow. That is complicated. Glad to hear things are on the up swing.

you wouldn't happen to know where a picture of the 4wd ea81T sedan might be would you?

I guess I'm a little late here, but did anybody make these this year? I seem to remember this a few years back.

BushBrat (haven't seen him on here in a while). I just missed Paul. Also, a fellow from Fredricksburg (VA) bought 2 sets of wheels from me quite some time ago. I completely forgot his name and I feel bad about it.

I looked into it too, but now don't they use lasers too? And what the hell is VASCAR?

Did subaru ever offer an ea81t 4 door sedan 4wd? I thought I had seen a picture of an ea81 turbo traction sedan with the cool checkerboard interior. Also, did turbo ea81 hatches ever come from the factory? Thanks. -Jack

I'd be interested to know the difference in weight between the steel wagon wheels and the stock 13" alloys.

So is it a pipe dream to think that I can go out in an early 80s coupe and have a good time and maybe win a race or two without seriously tweaking the engine?

I like that better than the dodge viper motorcycle.

I never liked my hitachi much. I think the webber is the way to go.

Didn't Andrew get it? Did he drive it back or have it shipped yet? Anymore pics?

NOAA is hiring. Nat. Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin. I forget Washington's geography, but we have 2 big places in Seattle. Also there's a place in Port Angeles. I have worked for them for the past 4 yrs and they have taken really good care of me especially considering I dont have a degree. You have to go to http://www.noaa.gov Then scroll down and look on the left side of the page where it says "opportunities". Click there. On the next page select the link to the acronym "aces". You have to fill out a profiel before you can see the open jobs. Its kind of a hassle but you only have to do it once. Also, you don't have to get the profile/resume perfect the first time, you can go back and change it at any time. The hiring process is very very frustrating. It may be the worst thing about the job. But its stable work with good benefits. If you have trouble understanding "govt. speak" and you just want to know what the hell the job is and how much it pays, feel free to pm me and I can help translate. I'll be glad to help anyone try to get on with NOAA. We have intallations all over the country and we hire all types of positions from janitors to astrophysists. Go for it!

Can a non-turbo ea sube be compettitive in a car class?