On Orcas Island, absolute creampuff, not a spot or stain on the interior, exterior perfect except for some scratches over the passenger side front wheel well (caused by a dog biting the car). 84,000 miles, all by the same person who bought it new (we've known the lady for at least five years). Now the car is sitting, under shelter. Pushbutton 4WD, cloth interior, power everything ... including the damn shoulder belts, steam guages.

 

It has a come and go miss in one cylinder. The owners son (professional mechanic) tore it down and redid the entire front case and top end, and says he thinks it'sa collapsed valve actuater. But sometimes it runs perfectly, and sometimes a slight miss, and others a three-cylinder engine. All new points, plugs, wires, and condenser ...

 

Any ideas?

 

I want to grab this while we're visiting the PNW and ship it to Hawaii

Buy it. Fix or find and rebuild an engine. I choose fixing driveline over rust any day.

Contact Mizpah to rebuild hydralic valves.    Nice find on Orcas.   Any pics?    I'm planning on shipping my '84 wagon to Maui.. very soon.   Good luck with purchase and the repair.   Also, trying running the motor in total darkness ... look for any intermittent sparks coming from plugs or plug wires.   Could have a cracked insulator.

Hydraulic valve lifters are $40 each at any Subaru dealer.  With parts growing even harder to get, I would think that Hawaii would be a bad place to ship it.  And then it will turn to rust.

Edited September 9, 20169 yr by scoobiedubie

Subarus turn to rust if driven on salt roads (ie., Northeast).    A little marine air doesn't hurt a thing ...

  If a guy has 13 old-school soobs and wants to ship one to Hawaii to avoid paying insurmountable rental fees, and have a reliable 4wd for jungle crawling, then I say go for it.