The AUSubaru.com.au Forums

Hey Suba Dudes,

As the title says I am wondering if the 1989 GT legacy is a good car to buy? The one I am looking at is the jap import version and has all the bells and whistles on it and everything seems to work ok and it appears to be in A1 condition. The price is around 5K. Any problem in particular that I should be aware of in regards to this model? Thanks for all opinions/info.

Cheers,
Corax.

yeah great car, I love mine.
Fantastic platform for all the popular and numerous upgrade mod paths. You can turn it into a full-on track car, an offroader, or a great all-rounder, the sky is the limit.

I paid $3800 for mine in pretty decent condition but I consider it a real bargain. It did have a few issues which I had to fix. $5k is still an okay price if it is in as good condition as you say.

A typical problem for these is lifter tick with the engines, if it doesn't have it already it will get it eventually. Most people end up swapping an early WRX engine in which solves the problem, but it isn't really that much of a problem anyway just annoying.
Still a great engine, tough as nails (fully closed deck) and will last for centuries if serviced regularly and not boosted to ridiculous levels.
Also the original coils almost always go faulty causing misfiring under load - this is easily solved by installing either late model wrx coils or Bosche HEC-716 coils.
They also have an issue with the plastic radiator header tanks splitting and leaking with age. Also easily and cheaply solved by swapping it for an early wrx metal one.
Those are just some of the common problems. You may also encounter some minor difficulties with the aging interior - sunvisors are almost always either broken or floppy. Quite often the electric window switches might break and fall into the door. Just typical of old plastic things getting a bit crusty with age but spares are available and some parts from GX or LX libertys are suitable depending on what it is.

Wonderful, just freakin' wonderful. Turn up today with the cash and he had sold it half an hour before. Bugger, bugger, bugger!:(:(:(:(

ouch.. number two happens..
Cheers
AP

Make sure it is a legit import and has a compliance plate to say so, Thats the biggest hiccup to look for!