Old 1983 subaru wagon leone

Maiden · Post by **Maiden** » Sat Apr 27, 2013 9:04 am

Hi every one I;m new here, but have been the owner of two Subaru's for years, just love them. I have this old Subaru 1983 which has just died. Its a station wagon Leone model. Not sure what to do with it is there a market for people doing up old Subarus for parts or should I just get it toed to the nearest wreckers and be done with it .

All advice welcome please.

Esubie · Post by **Esubie** » Sat Apr 27, 2013 10:06 am

If you love it you might want to tell why it 'died'. Might get some pointers here to 'raise' it.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Sat Apr 27, 2013 12:37 pm

Esubie wrote:If you love it you might want to tell why it 'died'. Might get some pointers here to 'raise' it.

Too true!

Unfortunately these usually end up as scrap as the owner is looking for at least scrap value, while others looking for a parts car don't want to be shelling out the couple of hundred that's usually asked. Therefore they end up scrapped

Try and revive it!

Cheers

Bennie

Maiden · Post by **Maiden** » Mon Apr 29, 2013 5:08 pm

The body is in bad shape , and I think the head is cracked , there is oil on the inside of the water cap ?? cracked head gasket, this car would cost me too much to raise to a good level if I was a mechanic I might have a crack at it. Our mechanic doesn't really want to touch it, thinks it a can of worms. we have had it about 15 years, its been great - but its time!

I guess I will just get it towed to the wreckers , I htough someone here may be interested in it for parts that all .

Looking at an Impreza used as a 2nd car, already have a Forrester 98, any thoughts on the Impreza ?? expensive to fix and run ?

any thoughts appreciated

cheers chris

555Ron · Post by **555Ron** » Mon Apr 29, 2013 7:27 pm

Is it a sports wagon or touring wagon? What colour is the interior? If it was a grey touring wagon interior in good condition I would have it. The a/c and power steering setups can fetch a pretty penny just depends on what you have.

It's sad to see them go but all things must pass...

dfoyl · Post by **dfoyl** » Mon Apr 29, 2013 7:30 pm

Or a slanted console if it's a base model...

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 1:48 am

Maybe some pics could be good?

Cheers

Bennie

Maiden · Post by **Maiden** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 3:22 am

I'm working night shift at the moment but will try and post some pics in the next few days we have just rung aroiund a couple of places, the best offer was $200 and free removal

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 7:28 am

oil contaminated by water could be welch plug in head - six 2 buck parts!

I;m guessing you are not stripping bits off yourself then ?

Maiden · Post by **Maiden** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 4:31 pm

No not stripping myself no although have thought about it , neither my self or my husband are mechanically minded.

Maiden · Post by **Maiden** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:01 pm

update with as much info as I can

It's a 1983/84 S/W L series awd 1800... manual, tan colour (no bull bar although it used to have one) The clutch needs work, brakes are Ok, tyres are good, everything works except the AC. It has been used these last 16 years (5 days a week - every week - barely missing a beat) for my husband's cleaning business. It has a few dents on the bonnet and drivers side panel, (where, one night, some clowns chose to run over the bonnet and roof, smash the original windscreen and mirrors, and kick driver's side panels... arrrggghh). It has some visible rust near hatch door. And inner passenger door. But overall, the body is still semi-decent shape (technical term that)

The engine drips a tiny amount of oil.. and has always lost a bit of water - needing top-up every now and then - but has needed topping up daily these last few years; although there is no obvious water leak. It has a very strange 'quirk' which is, that it will suddenly, abruptly, on a day of it's own choosing, empty the entire radiator......... And then once the radiator is refilled, with no leaks anywhere, it will be fine for 4 or 5 or 6 months (still requiring daily top ups) until, suddenly, no warning, it will empty water again... maybe 2x a year this might happen.

This last time, it did it again... but now will not travel more than 10-15km before needing water - and once radiator is filled, it will stay filled, overnight, no leaks to be seen... until car is driven 10-15 km and will again empty.

So enough is enough for us... time to move on.... any thoughts/help gratefully accepted.

We are looking at getting a small car, either something like a Mazda 323 or Subaru Imprezza Hatch.. 98 to 2002 models, around the 5-7k mark .... any thoughts and suggestions from you guys for the Imprezza will be most helpful - ta!

Cheers.

60766244 · Post by **60766244** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:38 pm

Maiden wrote:... any thoughts and suggestions from you guys for the Imprezza will be most helpful - ta!

Cheers.

Had a 1997 Impreza wagon and though it was flawless as a car I found it dull to drive and unexciting. Very comfy though. Don't plan on sleeping in the back though! To small even with the seats down.

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Thu May 02, 2013 9:35 am

It is head gaskets by it using that much water. A subaru mechanic should be able to do it in like 8 hours from driving to driving.

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Old 1983 subaru wagon leone

Old 1983 subaru wagon leone

hope this helps a bit