Finally got Bandit pretty enough to post on this thread. He's a 1984 EA81 GL Wagon with a four speed four-wheel-drive Dual Range standard transmission. He was my dad's daily driver for about six years until my dad recently upgraded to a Toyota truck, and I received bandit as my first car in April. I've been fixing him up as much as possible. I'm trying to make sure he's well taken care of because my dad never really did much for him. He would change the oil when it needed to be done and would fix things when they broke but other than that he didn't do much. Now almost 8 months later, Bandit is sitting real pretty and looking and running great. I'll upload a list of all the things that I have fixed/improved on it since I got the car. In the mean time here are some pics.

Edited December 23, 20178 yr by Sapper 157

Very nice.   Lake Blue is my favorite color.   If you take care of it, you will own this car for a VERY long time.

Start looking for a good deal on 13" tires... getting harder to find these days.

Thanks! Yeah I have winter studs on right now. Snow storms have been hitting our area and then rain comes and washes it all away, then the snow comes again, etc. As you can see in the engine compartment I have a full size studded spare instead of the annoying donut tire. As far as street tires for next year, I talked with my local auto shop and they said they can fix me up with four brand new tires by a company called Kenda, balance, and alignment.... all for $288. Pretty good deal right? I think it is hilarious because when I told my friend who drives this big  longbed 94' Ford turbo diesel that I was getting that kind of pricing for everything, his jaw about hit the floor and he was like      "$288!?! ONE of my tires costs almost $288!!" 

Edited December 5, 201411 yr by Sapper 157

Sapper, the wagon is looking good! I like the black on the hood a lot.

 

Any chance you'd want to part with the roof rack crossbars? Those would be great for my restoration of the Ski Wagon.

That black on the hood is a rubberized spray-on bug bra that is made by ArmorAll. Its called Custom Shield and it can be removed at any time. One can costs about $13. Without the bra it just looks kinda plain so im super happy with it.   Adds a lot of character to the car

 

As far as the roof rack goes, im sorry but I just couldn't bring myself to sell those, they're so darn useful. I have a roof box that a friend gave me and for long trips where we need to haul a lot of gear I just throw it on those cross bars, tighten it down, an in under 5 minutes its on and ready to go. I also use it for holding our skis during snow season. If I ever do get rid of them youll be the first to know. I'll keep my eyes and ears peeled for some other ones for ya.

Edited December 5, 201411 yr by Sapper 157

And you can go places he can't go.

here is the carpeted back. On the left is my tool bag and on the right is my survival kit.

That black on the hood is a rubberized spray-on bug bra that is made by ArmorAll. Its called Custom Shield and it can be removed at any time. One can costs about $13. Without the bra it just looks kinda plain so im super happy with it.   Adds a lot of character to the car

 

As far as the roof rack goes, im sorry but I just couldn't bring myself to sell those, they're so darn useful. I have a roof box that a friend gave me and for long trips where we need to haul a lot of gear I just throw it on those cross bars, tighten it down, an in under 5 minutes its on and ready to go. I also use it for holding our skis during snow season. If I ever do get rid of them youll be the first to know. I'll keep my eyes and ears peeled for some other ones for ya.

 

The ArmorAll bra sounds like their brand's take on plasti-dip. I've considered putting one like that on my Forester. After seeing your pics, I just might have to now.

Here is the list of things that I have so far improved or changed. 

 

 

1.      New V-belt

 

2.      Fixed overhead light

 

3.      New seat covers

4.      Carpet added to back

5.      Coolant flushed & refilled

6.      New Transmission fluid

7.      New rear differential fluid

8.      Oil & oil filter changed 

9.      New OEM clutch cable

10. Seat belt fixed (twisted)

 

11. Sun visor fixed (wouldn’t stay up)

12. New wind shield wipers

13. Rough left turn fixed

14. New oil pan gasket

 

15. Fixed gas tank leak

16. New back hatch lift supports

17. Repainted/repaired rust spots

 

18.  Repainted lettering

19. New spark plugs

20.  Cleaned carburetor w/ additives (GUMOUT cleaner/ Seafoam)

21.  New starter

22. Undercoated inside of hood

23. Undercoated backside of bumper

24. New speakers

25.  New thermostat/thermo gasket

26. New thermostat bolts

27. New 10 blade Flex-a-lite electric fan

28. Animal whistles installed

29. Fire Extinguisher installed

30.  Tool kit added

 

31. Survival kit added

32.  Windshield chips filled

 

33.  New fog light switch

34.  OEM oil press. Sending unit

 

35.  Radiator leak fixed

 

36. Radiator wobble fixed

 

37.  Fuel filters changed

 

38.  New air filter

39. New PCV (or is it PVC?) filter

40.  Undercoated spot where battery sits

41. New distributor cap and rotor

 

42. Armor All bug bra applied 

 

43. New flood lights

 

44. Emergency tools put in: shovel, 12V air compressor, tow strap, fire extinguisher, StopLeak,

one quart of emergency 10W-30 oil, one extra gal antifreeze

The ArmorAll bra sounds like their brand's take on plasti-dip. I've considered putting one like that on my Forester. After seeing your pics, I just might have to now.

You totally should, it would look awesome! I cant imagine mine without it now! 

The ArmorAll bra sounds like their brand's take on plasti-dip. I've considered putting one like that on my Forester. After seeing your pics, I just might have to now.

 

Hey - Why aren;t you answering my messages man? I have money for you....

45. Took a heat gun to the bumpers to bring the black back.

 

just a suggestion.  Your ride looks great.

Hey - Why aren;t you answering my messages man? I have money for you....

Weird. I didn't get ANY notifications for my messages, but have a few from you and others. I'll reply right now!

 

Sapper, sorry for the thread hi-jack.

 

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming!

45. Took a heat gun to the bumpers to bring the black back.

 

just a suggestion.  Your ride looks great.

Great idea!

Well I have been working hard on bandit lately. I finally got a chance to take off those rusty wheels and grind and repaint them the glorious glossy white that the used to be. I also saw some of the armor all custom shield on sale for $5 a can so I got two and sprayed my trim, bumpers, and grille to bring that black color back and so they would be protected from further damage by UV rays and the weather.

 

So first off are the before pics.

 

And like a moron I forgot to take a before pic of the back. So y'all are just gonna have to imagine a rear bumper that has seen 31 years of sun, rain, snow and wind. ????

Edited December 22, 20169 yr by Sapper 157

After many hours of grinding, priming, painting, and frustration... The wheels are on and they look fabulous!

The finishing touches I did were armor all Extream Tire Shine, polish all Crome and aluminum, a good wash, and Thunderbolt wax. Enjoy!

After pics

Edited December 22, 20169 yr by Sapper 157

Well yesterday I refitted the carb that Ferox sent me and got the new gaskets on. No more jerking but it is running rich so im gonna have to adjust the float. I think the thing that controls the choke plate is messed up as well. Also my main jets are leaking a few drops of gas because like an idiot I forgot to put the washers in  . After those adjustments, and a little more fine tuning and emissions deleting I should be sitting pretty.

Edited May 14, 201510 yr by Sapper 157

Did you end up getting the Kenda tyres? They're a good company, have been making serious mountain bike tyres for years. Sweet ride anyway mate

Did you end up getting the Kenda tyres? They're a good company, have been making serious mountain bike tyres for years. Sweet ride anyway mate

No not yet. Im gonna save the tires for either late this year or early next year. Your good report of them makes me glad im getting them!

Yeah I've got a set of Kenda Nevegal mud tyres on my MTB and love them! I've got no idea what their car tyres are like but if they're anywhere near as good as their bike tyres they won't be crap, like some Chinese brands.

So I looked at my skid plate the other day and decided, why wait for it to rust? So I took it off and applied two coats of Rustolem undercoating, and then three coats of Rustolem gloss black enamel paint. im not able to post the pic for some reason. Will try again later.

Edited May 22, 201510 yr by Sapper 157

Been really busy lately. I got a new set of KENDA tires mounted and balanced for $290. I also had Burneel Tire Co. mount a newer tire I had on one of my spare rims so now I have a full size, barely used spare. GOODBY DOUGHNUT SPARE! I hate those stupid things! in my opinion they are just plain worthless! Anyways, I also installed new ball joints, a new drivers side CV joint, and replaced the bad bearings on the passenger side, Also fixed the high idle and put new threads and bolts in the thermostat housing. (old ones were stripped and causing major coolant leak) Also replaced fuel filters (twice unfortunately) and drained bad gas

Edited August 15, 201510 yr by Sapper 157

Kenda tires are great! I'm in the bicycle industry and one of my good buddies is a rep for them. How do you like the car tires?

Kenda tires are great! I'm in the bicycle industry and one of my good buddies is a rep for them. How do you like the car tires?

 

So far they're great! I love em'!

NIce wagon! A friend of mine had one just like it years ago. We used to abuse that thing all the way from Florence to Christmas Valley and back again and it never missed a beat.