1983 Touring Wagon - It begins

GunFactory · Post by **GunFactory** » Sun Oct 28, 2012 9:15 pm

Hi all,

New to the AUSubaru forums, and Subaru's!

Just purchased a 1983 Touring Wagon over the weekend in Sydney.

[ATTACH]3644[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]3646[/ATTACH]

128,000km or so, Automatic, 4x4, no rust, and very clean inside.

CV boots split on both sides as well as a small split in on of the the power steering boots.

Loving everything about the car, drove back down to Wollongong and didn't miss a beat! handled it all very nicely.

Major issue visually is the bonnet (below), massively dodgy mess.

[ATTACH]3645[/ATTACH]

Any pro-tips would be great, comments welcome!
Cheers.

Post by **TOONGA** » Sun Oct 28, 2012 9:24 pm

very nice, what happened to the bonnet? and what plans do you have for your wagon?

TOONGA

GunFactory · Post by **GunFactory** » Sun Oct 28, 2012 10:04 pm

Hey,

The bonnet remains a mystery. Appears to be a misguided attempt to address cracking and peeling paint, with bog and liberal used of a spray can. Im really not sure how to address it yet. Thought perhaps a spray can job, I figure it cant look that much worse than how is at the moment.. although Im all ears!

Immediate plans are to fix the CV's and Power steering boots. Replace the fluids and filters as well as get a tune up, and finally head off for a bit of camping.

guyph_01 · Post by **guyph_01** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 1:27 am

HI and welcome. Cool nice clean car you got there. Where abouts do you plan to go camping? Any plans of lift etc?

You could also try and raise the car by tightening the rear torsion bolt, think its a 19 and tighten the two nuts on the front shock, just under the spring. This will give you about an inch of hight..

Keep the pics coming..

Cliff R · Post by **Cliff R** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 4:32 am

Hi and welcome.
Wish my 82 Touring wagon looked that good, 265 thousand k's and 30 years have not been kind to the metalic silver paint.
My rims are the same as yours but I was forever trying to keen the shine up to them so took them off and put white Subaru Sunraiser rims of my L series on. If you keep your rims on constant cleaning, even with car wash will help. I pulled the auto about 11 years ago in favour of the 4 speed, dual range box. Had to change the diff too to match the ratio. I sometime regret this as the auto wasnt too bad.
If you do choose to lift the car a 2" lift gives you that bit of extra height which helps.

GunFactory · Post by **GunFactory** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:34 am

Ahh yes, I've been madly trying to get info on the car, tracked down the 'How to keep your Subaru alive' .pdf and also a service manual; both of which noted that you can lift the suspension. I will be trying that out soon! Cant believe these cars have so many features stock.

I have a house mate with a dual cab 4x4 triton and 2" lift. We have been camping down in Yadbro state forrest, Pigeon house mountain and a place called Wombat Flat.. all south of Wollongong. Depending on how reliable the car is perhaps further afield!

I'm not sure about lift just yet, still at uni and cash flow is not the best, however, over summer things could change! The wheels are pretty stubborn things to clean.. I think i've seen some on the forum that have been painted whit - didn't look half bad. Yeah wasnt particularly keen on the auto, however it seems to drive and shift well, shame about only being a 3 speed.

Any ideas about where one would source a power steering boot? And parts in general is there any go-to website, or is it just a matter of hunting around?

Also I remain at a loss as to the actual model name/what to refer to this thing by! Is it an L-series or is that what the later models were called (Like in your DP, Cliff R) Ive just been hunting around under '1800 Touring wagon 1983'. Any further knowledges appreciated!

Post by **TOONGA** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:45 am

the model is "MY" and yes they are hard to get parts for, and if you ask for brumby parts expect them to cost more

even though 99% of the time it is exactly the same part.

Power steering boots are still available through subaru but cost $160+ for one. otherwise you can go after market and they cost way less but you will replace them way more often.

TOONGA

Cliff R · Post by **Cliff R** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 3:16 pm

For the Power steering boot you could try the usual car places like Auto 1 etc but I dont recall ever changing one on the MY. They could be the originals for all I know.
Othewise original Subaru is the way to go.
With the alloy rims, I was wondering if when they were polished some sort of specialised clear lacquer could be applied onto the polished metal to retain the clean look. I have hand polished only one of mine and it took ages using Mothers metal polish but most of the work was needed due to my slackness in constantly keeping them clean.
I cant tell if your paintwork is metallic or not but if it isnt you are lucky as 30 year old metallic paint is totally stuffed.
It is interesting to see the differences between the 82 and the 83 model. Different bumpers, mirrors and tailgate badging etc.
I cant see from your photos but I hope you dont have the factory "screw to the roof" roof rack system. very unattractive and not very functional and if I decide to remove it a lot of work to fix holes.
I guess you have the digital dash. I am lucky as the 82 has the full analogue instrument panel.
If you are able some more photos would be good.
If you decide to go to a manual gearbox you will have to change the front section of the center console where the stick comes up as they are different.
I have no idea where anyone would get a good one of these anymore and I got mine from a wreckers in about 2001 so finding one now would be a challenge.
Keep us informed on any issues you find as I and others like the idea of keeping the old MY's touring wagons on the road (as well as all Subaru's of course)

Cliff R · Post by **Cliff R** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 3:21 pm

Sorry, just noticed from one of your photos I can clearly see you DONT have the roof racks. Im envious !
One other thing for now, the centre caps on those rims get very brittle. I took mine off as they were cracking from behind (no cracks on the front) and as I have no idea where to get new ones (someone let me know if they can tell me) I didnt like the idea of loosing one.

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 3:57 pm

Nice!

That is one sweet score you got there, so few k's on the clock, looks completely spotless apart from that bonnet and I bet you got it for a song. Consider me jealous:-P Never seen these with the indicator thingies on the rear doors, would have thought they'd get knocked off pretty quick. As for winding up the adjustable suspension I've read in a couple of books of the era to not leave it raised all the time...could be them trying to limit warranty claims though

Welcome aboard!

Post by **TOONGA** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 4:03 pm

oops I was half asleep when I wrote my post this morning, the price is for 2 boots not one. from memory it was 168 dollars for 2 boots from subaru.

sorry

TOONGA

Mitchhsj · Post by **Mitchhsj** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 4:04 pm

nice wagon mate, i have a second hand 3 inch body lift for it for $200 if your looking at doing a lift down the track.. cheers

Cliff R · Post by **Cliff R** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 4:07 pm

Silverbullet
The rear door thing is actually a rubber part with a reflector that pushes onto any car door to stop the door bumping into things when it is opened and yes, you do bump them a bit. Dont know if you can even buy them anymore. I have some in the shed somewhere from back in the 80's.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 6:16 pm

Very nice touring wagon indeed!

I'm guessing the auto should in good nick. Anyone know if this also uses the clutch packs for 4wd? I'm thinking it does but I'm not 100% sure.

No rust? Probably kept in a garage by an oldie

Cheers

Bennie

GunFactory · Post by **GunFactory** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:46 pm

Thanks all for the comments!

I'll get some more photos up soon. Yes, the reflector things on the doors just slide on and off, they have left some horrible residual filth underneath that needs to be cleaned off.

My memory failed me but the car has 123,482km

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[ATTACH]3653[/ATTACH]

and yes the digital dash... Certainly a lovely sight at night! I was actually so impressed, I imagined it was a delorian, or Tron.

I visited R & C Automotive today in Wollongong, noticed they were mentioned by someone on the forum a little while back. Spoke to Chris about the car, turns out he has worked on subaru's since they have been Imported into Australia and was very familiar with the vehicle.

We put it up on the hoist and he looked over the engine bay and underside of the car. Noticed the car has brand new break pads all round as well as a recently replaced water pump.

Previously, there was a bit of a wiring modification where the thermo fan would run immediately when the key was turned to accessories. This if i remember correctly was apparently facilitated by disconnecting the thermo switch on the side of the radiator. This was reconnected. And appeared to work fine. - However tonight I noticed the temp gauge rise (still within the green), popped the bonnet and the thermo fan wasn't running. May just keep an eye on it, as the car was obviously being excessively cooled prior to this so a different operating temp is to be expected I guess.

Anyone by passed a thermo switch or come across something similar before?

Finally Chris and I took the car for a drive around a couple of blocks, and thought the Auto was in good condition - I was curious about how real these low KMs were and he thought everything seemed in order.

All of that for FREE! I was amazed. Appears to be a good workshop more than happy to offer advice.

However this brings me back to the CV issue..... Have people on the forum used ebay CV's

ie.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Subaru-Brumr ... 4524wt_121

or is something like that a no go zone? Ive had a hunt around via the search tool but is there a definitive CV thread? In return for advice/links.... I offer this treat from inside the depths of A & C Automotive

[ATTACH]3655[/ATTACH]

GunFactory · Post by **GunFactory** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:12 pm

GunFactory wrote:
This was reconnected. And appeared to work fine. - However tonight I noticed the temp gauge rise (still within the green), popped the bonnet and the thermo fan wasn't running. May just keep an eye on it, as the car was obviously being excessively cooled prior to this so a different operating temp is to be expected I guess.

[ATTACH]3655[/ATTACH]

I should add that the temp on my digital dash (with full time thermo fan sat at 3 bars) rose an additional two bars. Chris from A & C suggested that the car would have been too cold, (increased warmup times etc) so maybe i'm just being paranoid!

Edit: Yep, the manual suggests that the normal temps are between 4 - 7 Segments (of 10).

Edit 2: And again, the temp bar went to 6 then returned to 3, the fans did kick in. Yay.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 7:05 am

the centre caps gt brittle - huh, shiny metal , brittle? Think he means the plastic clip that helps hold the metal cap in place can get brittle.

Just check the condition/integrity of the fusible links in the box leading from batt pos, hides just under wiring loom inside right front guard under bonnet . The might not blow ever, but can corrode and cause all sorts of grief. Going camping off road - I'd be putting radiator in for peace of mind service and new thermostat, dose the power steering with a preventative Lucas power steering oil leak fixer from SCA about $14.
Every oil change lift the rear wheels clear of the ground and adjust the rear drum brakes or get adjusted by qualified person if you not fully up on this task

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 7:07 am

Cliff R wrote:Silverbullet
The rear door thing is actually a rubber part with a reflector that pushes onto any car door to stop the door bumping into things when it is opened and yes, you do bump them a bit. Dont know if you can even buy them anymore. I have some in the shed somewhere from back in the 80's.

SCA carry Oz made door bumpers, soft black rubbery feel with built in reflectors of red, white or blue, self adhesive, about ten bucks.
Yes , made in Aus !

Any more pics of the red beast? Looks like an L Series RX ?
REPCO do CV shafts with 100,000 5 year warranty. I have had a few replaced under warranty - best follow advice of your new mechanic esp if he is to fit them

GunFactory · Post by **GunFactory** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 7:55 am

Cheers 'Steptoe',

Ill see if I can track down some of the power-steering leak fixer and will definitely be looking at a new thermostat. Will also take a look at the fusible links. - A new radiator you say?

Unfortunately no more pictures - maybe next time I'm at the workshop, the car was under a cover and the guy just popped the bonnet and gave me a look. Yes If i recall correctly an 1985 L series, looked to have had a full body respray so damn clean.

Hmm I'll investigate REPCO then, 5yr 100,000km warranty is far better than the 20,000km offered on the ebay parts.

revmax · Post by **revmax** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 2:54 pm

nothing but bad reports about the ebay CV's
Love ya wagon