mtsmiths

I wonder what the rear suspension is. It seems that the strut towers would be too long to allow for the position of the flat bed. As far as the look, I don't think the aero front looks right with the flatbed truck concept ... too Okie for me. I think a Forester would work better. But it IS an attention getter.

Thanks for the link, carried by COURIER? Ye Gods! Anyhow, I've contacted them for clarification. None of the Vancouver area stores carry Vegemite, only Marmite, ecccch ... disgusting stuff.

We do on occassion. We own a place at Pt Ludlow with our daughter. usually we just hop over to Kingston from Edmond and return. This coming Sunday we have to go from Vancouver, BC to Pt. Ludlow and haven't figured out our route yet. Return will be the usual.

... well, Oh-Dark:30 tomorrow, Whitefish to Port Roos, then swing up to Cranbrook and back down to the border highway through the Rockies. Anything we musn't miss along the way? We're staying at the Guilford Sheraton, where the Pretty One will be at a Hula Ho'oiki (workshop) for three days, and I will just be goofing around Vancouver, and maybe a day trip somewheres. Suggestions are welcome. Also looking for a wrecking yard where I might find a pair of doors for the Barbie jeep ('95 Sidekick/Tracker ragtop). Follow-up edit: Does anyone know it there's a market in Vancouver that stocks Vegemite, in the real size (1/2 litre or so) jars? All we can find in AB is those silly little 'sample' size jars. And of course NO place in the US stocks Vegemite.

Within tolerances, but maybe slightly abnormal. Clean replace your PCV valve, and Seafoam it while you're at it, then change the oil. Our 2000 Legaback (175,000 mi) uses 1 qt about every 4,000 miles. If it's a qt low, it's time for an oil change anyhow.

Very regional ... that Outback, if really clean could bring $10,000 in NW Montana, but then we're not scared by high mileage in anything, especially Subarus. Western highway miles are easy on cars.

Seafoam is great stuff, but running a can of Techron every month or so does a lot to keep things flowing smoothly ... at your friendly Standard Oil station ... which we don't have in western Montana. I grab a couple cans whenever we go to WA. Which is this weekend, come to think of it, by way of three days in Vancouver, BC.

My take would be marketing ... trumps sound engineering every time.

Here I am. And yes, we've had four Subarus (two GL-10s and two Legacies) while we've lived with our steep snowy driveway in Whitefiish, and we drive a LOT in deep snow, because we are on the low priority plow routes. I find the AT to deliver smoother power and far less likely to spin than the MTs. 'Sides, I'se gettin' old and lazy.

The time honored (and endorsed by Tom'n'Ray) method is to get a spray can of propane, or a propane propelled product, and spray it around the hoses, gaskets, etc. When the engine speeds up from ingesting the propane, you've found the area of the leak. The exhaust leaks, you use liquid detergent or soap (or kids bubbles?) in a spray bottle and squirt it around and look for bubbles. Gotta work fast tho, once the exhaust heats up, the stuff evaporates on contact.

It's called a "wallet flush' in the trade. If you're 'smelly cat' is rotten eggs smell (sulfer dioxide) it's prolly shot. Try some Seafoam.

I'll see, I plan on Coopers. The tech that did the strut/spring swap moved to the local indie Cooper dealer when Big Mountain Tire closed. I like Coopers anyhow. But the way the existing tires are wearing, that won't be 'til 2010 or so! :-p

Our 2.5L 2000 Legaback (Outacy?) gets 24-26 around town and 28-29 on the highway at 70. It should do better (and gain a little more lift) when the tires need to be replaced and I go with the tallest I can fit. We're running on the fourth summer with the small tires that came with the Impreza alloys I fitted in '02.

Leave it to a Chef to use a real cheese grater, rather than a hand rasp called a 'cheese grater'!

I'd go for the wagon, the better to send her off to college in.

In Montana, 55 on state highways or interstates can get you killed ... even in the slow lane.

I would start (heh, heh, heh) by checking, removing cleaning and reattaching your grounds. A bad ground can do funny things. It may not be it, but it won't hurt, it may help, and it's free.

OH LORDY! I can see it now, with $4.00/gal gas on the horizon, can the return of the double-nickle be far behind?

Does this make the questioner a 'semi-virgin'?

'nother Subaru virgin down!

Tha's why they're no longer virgins, eh?

HEY, why do we keep explaining this switch to the newbies. We're using up all the virgins, what will the Sons of Abraham do in paradise?

Two words Zone Rep. It's new, it's warrantied, make them live up to it.

I saw those last night, but was on a computer that firewalls USMB. Wonder how high they'll go?

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre' http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040897/