hello all.

 

Lookin at a mid 80's hatchback thats for sale down the street from me and wondering if theres anything in particular i should keep my eyes open for?

 

Little background on myself. Been in the rockcrawling world since i was born. started buying and heavily modifying 4wd's when i was 14. spend way to much time and money on rigs, and am thinking about this little soob for a small lift and tires for a little DD'er.

 

anyway.. if anyone's interested heres my current project.

 

and its full build thread if anyone cares.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=292502&highlight=gravelmaker

 

another curent project- new jeep for dad to flog.

 

build thread. http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=404014&highlight=evolution

 

and i have lots more if anyones interested.

 

anyway. hope to do alot of reading and searching around here soon.

 

looks like a great bunch of people who know thier ins and outs on these rigs.

 

~Nate

Welcome.That is a really nice tube chassis you have there.How big are those tires?Looks really good!

Welcome.That is a really nice tube chassis you have there.How big are those tires?Looks really good!

 

thanks they are 14r20 goodyears (48" tall)

 

the entire chassis sits at a static height of 7' overall. same hieght as the jeep, on 42's.

Lookin at a mid 80's hatchback thats for sale down the street from me and wondering if theres anything in particular i should keep my eyes open for?

Check for rust, nothing else really matters as it can all be swaped easy and cheap.

Check for rust, nothing else really matters as it can all be swaped easy and cheap.

 

 

any problem areas to double check? wheelwells? floorboards?

 

thanks

Check under the carpet in the front footwells. Also, rear wheelwells - check them from the inside if possible. Under driver's seat (especially at rear) is another common rot-through. But, these are not deal breakers, given your fab. skill. Mine was rotted through at all these spots (and more) and I could still jack up any corner right off the ground and open/close all doors without trouble.

Buy it, mod it, drive it, show us what you did.

 

P.S. If the car has been in NM all it's life, you probably won't see much rot anywhere.

If there's any chance that the car came from out east or the ocean, poke around with a screwdrive or ice pick. I almost bought one wagon that looked great but was entirely held together with bondo. What made me suspicious was the amount of surface corrosion on the engine and the fact that the seller was a surfer dude.

This should be really fun watching what you do with a Subaru! Please keep us posted.

Look deep down inside the rear fenders. I found six inches of standing water and mosquitoes in mine.

 

The drain holes had been plugged by the previous owner to keep dust out.

 

The rear taillights had been leaking water in for a long while, especially when the car was parked tail downhill on a slope (the caulk was dry and dusty where the plastic contacts the body, and water running down behind the hatch was slopping over instead of going around).

 

Water may also be getting in through crevices between the taillight plastic.

 

If you find half an inch of water in the taillights below the bulbs, that's a clue there's more down inside the fenders.

 

I found this all thanks to having to replace a taillight that had a loose cracked bulb socket.

 

Siphon, wipe, wash out with isopropyl alcohol, repeat .... and check again.

Welcome!!! The hatches are AWESOME!!! Here's mine......

 

 

The rest of the Pirates might give you some grief about getting a Subby, just kind of an inside joke around here. Whene you get 50+ post's we'll fill you in. Have a good one, Tim

i have a hatch, nothing special at the moment though.