eulogious Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 (edited) Hello all! I am once again a proud Subie owner. It's been a while, and it's good to have a Subie in the driveway! The biggest mistake I have made is selling my 1987 GL-10 wagon a few years ago. Being young and dumb at the time I sold it for a saturn But now I am a proud Subie owner again! I just purchased a 1990 Loyale turbo wagon for 1200 bucks ! This thing is in FANTASTIC shape. It makes the mistake of selling the first Subaru seem alright. It's got 195,000 miles on it, but... The motor has been pulled out and every seal/gasket replaced and it doesn't leak!, the CV's are new, everything works, including the AC, and the interior is in excellent condition! My wife doesn't even mind driving/riding in it, it's the first time she hasn't complained about being in my car in years (I have a 1985 toyota MR2 that was my daily driver and she hated it, so it's now the "project car")! The only thing that is wrong with it is that speed number one for my ventilation system doesn't work, but all the other speeds do so it's no big deal, and the front passenger side under the bumper is a little banged up, but they gave my the new piece for under the bumper, I just have to fix the fender (pics below). The turbo works and is putting out 6.5 to 7 psi according to my new boost gauge, so it's still works great! The cooling system seems good, the gauge never gets above a 1/4 of the way up, so it's running cool. The thing I am a little concerned about is the tranny, since no work has been done to it that I know of. It shifts fine out of park, shifts great in all the gears and it doesn't make any noise, but with 195,000 miles on it, I am a little concerned about old age. But hey, what can you do? I still can't believe I got this car for soooooo cheap! I love it! I am never going to sell this car. I will fix it, but I will not sell it. I have made that mistake once before After putting about 500 miles on it, it's still running great! Ok, I cannot figure out how to post pictures of him (I don't have ANY pictures options in my user cp, or attachment options for this post... help? I looked in the FAQ...) but here is a link to my picasa (google) photo page... http://picasaweb.google.com/harris.donald/Subaru# Is there anything that I should be looking out for with this car? I think most of the things that could go wrong have been fixed, but any pointers would be great! Thanks! Looking forward to many faithful years with my Subie! Edited September 28, 2009 by eulogious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john in KY Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Once owned the exact same model. Served me well for the 5 years I had it. My advice is to install a new radiator. The transmission is the fairly rare 4EAT. I would be on the lookout for a spare. 88 and newer XTs and the XT6 used that transmission and it was an option I believe in the 88/89 GL-10 models. Would be nice to have on stashed away should yours ever fails. I know mine did and it took months to find a replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eulogious Posted September 28, 2009 Author Share Posted September 28, 2009 Were you looking for a used tranny, or a new one? I am totally willing to buy a new one/rebuild the one that I have. I know that it will cost a fair amount ($1500 - $2000) to do that, but I really don't care. I want a good car that will get me around in the snow and be able to haul stuff, and I don't mind putting a little bit of money into a car that I am going to keep for a long time (10+ years for sure). It's good to hear that you didn't have any problems with it besides the tranny! The radiator looks in great shape and keeps the car cool so far, but I will most definitely keep an eye on it. I know that heat KILLS the turbo engines like no tomorrow (specifically it cracks the heads if I remember correctly...). I love older cars, and I refuse to buy myself a "new" car. My wife gets the new "nice" car, and I get the '85 MR2, '90 Subaru, and the '06 YZF600R . I am going to dump about 10 grand into the MR2 to rebuild it to have 300 whp and 15 psi of boost, so I really don't mind dumping $2000 into a great Subaru that will last forever and be a great daily driver. That's just me, and some people think I am nuts, but I love older cars, and I hate losing money on newer cars. That and they just don't make cars like they used to Just my 2 cents on that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domesticated Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 imo, i dont think you need to pay 2000 for a good tranny, an putting 10,000 into an MR2 isnt a bad idea, but i would be gettin a whole hell of alot more power than 300hp. 1000 bucks will get you a good strong reliable 300hp. i just bought a 90 loyale wagon myself w 150k, i really wish i had the turbo though. but then again i only paid 200 for it. but good luck with the builds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eulogious Posted September 28, 2009 Author Share Posted September 28, 2009 imo, i dont think you need to pay 2000 for a good tranny, an putting 10,000 into an MR2 isnt a bad idea, but i would be gettin a whole hell of alot more power than 300hp. 1000 bucks will get you a good strong reliable 300hp. i just bought a 90 loyale wagon myself w 150k, i really wish i had the turbo though. but then again i only paid 200 for it. but good luck with the builds! Thanks, I will need all the luck that I can get! My MR2 needs a whole bunch of work besides the turbo addon (motor (complete rebuild from the lower end up), suspension (shocks, bushings, tie rods, rack and pinion, the works), tranny, cvs, etc, basically the whole car). The 10 g's includes the interior getting leather I hope that I won't have to spend 2000 on a tranny, but if that's what happens so be it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domesticated Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 well 10k into any tuner will get you a nice show car and track monster in one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eulogious Posted September 28, 2009 Author Share Posted September 28, 2009 well 10k into any tuner will get you a nice show car and track monster in one. That's the idea I drove the MR2 into the ground for the past five years, so the least that I can do is fix him Now that I have my new turbo wagon, I no longer have to worry about snow and bad weather, and I can focus on the project car. I really love my wagon though, and it's going to be hard not to invest in a lift kit before I start working on the MR2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domesticated Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 That's the idea I drove the MR2 into the ground for the past five years, so the least that I can do is fix him Now that I have my new turbo wagon, I no longer have to worry about snow and bad weather, and I can focus on the project car. I really love my wagon though, and it's going to be hard not to invest in a lift kit before I start working on the MR2 exactly same story with me. ill be boostin the 2.4 i put in my neon this winter. im already runnin low times but im shootin for 10's on some custom steelies and street tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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