Hi guys, I realized the other day that it has been months since I bought a car. :( So I was looking on craigslist for anyone who was looking to trade for my BMW e28. (Have to keep the fleet within reason, if another one comes in another needs to go.)
Anyways THIS came up and looks pretty interesting.
Supposedly rust is very minimal, though there is a hole in the floor.
Supposedly it runs really well and has low original miles. The ad says it can be driven anywhere.
I have no idea what these are worth, how hard it is to find parts, or what any common issues are.
For reference on whether it is a good deal or not, I value my e28 at between $3k and $3.5k.
I had one- Subarus of that era feel like they're designed by people who weren't sure how to make a car yet, and as a result are kind of strange but have lawnmower levels of simplicity. You need to put the jump seats back in, anyone who rides in them instantly turns into a giggling idiot. If that car is actually clean and fully functional it's a reasonable price, but look EVERYWHERE for rust, because they rust everywhere.
To answer your actual questions:
Parts availability:
-You can't get wheels really, they are a super weird bolt pattern
-You will have to wait for almost anything, but can typically find most stuff online
Issues:
-Rust
-Everything else that comes with having a 70s, carbureted car
I had an e28 too- and I'd trade it for a BRAT of equal condition every time, unless I needed something that could go on the highway (the BRAT can, but it's not fun).
Waaaaaaayyy more than I would pay for one, I've seen 5 under 2k recently.
I had a friend with a few of these. Interesting little cars, they rust everywhere, aren't exactly fast either.
Also am I the only one that thinks " coated engine compartment and undercarriage with motor oil" means "massive oil leak"?
I would definitely need to see it in person and definitely need to check for rust.
The jump seats would definitely be going back in. I think they are the highlight of the car! (My brothers would have so much fun.)
I am used to having to wait for parts from online, so that's not a big deal. (I own an e28 remember. ;) )
The oil on the undercarriage thing, I have heard of similar before. There is some sort of spray sticky oil that apparently keeps rust away pretty well that I've seen once before.
I didn't realize that it is carbureted... That may be a deal breaker for me as I refuse to buy anything carbureted after all that I am dealing with with my motorcycle.
Also, how desirable are these? As in, after I own if for a few months and want to move on how hard will it be to sell it?
Here's one on my local craigslist to give you an idea of how high that price seems....
Brat
Not super desirable, they are slow on pavement and meh off-road.
They are just....odd. There's one running around here with a huge confederate flag in a pole in the bed with exhaust stack too lol.
In reply to AWSX1686:
Ordering/finding parts for one of these is considerably harder than on an e28. The carb isn't as difficult as say, 4 tiny motorcycle carbs, but it's definitely not the best either.
One of my neighbors back in Hawaii had one of these when we were kids. His was a later one. As a kid the jump seats were the highlight of that thing for sure.
In reply to Antihero:
When I looked on CL near me I found a few similar to the one you just linked, for similar prices, but those are the second gen aren't they? And it doesn't look nearly as nice of condition.
It is isn't just carbureted, it's the epitome of crummy carburetors. I once test drove an extremely cherry Subie wagon of this same era and everytime I would let off the gas to exit the interstate, it would just cut off.
I feel like the brat would be fun for about a week before you really start missing that e28.
AWSX1686 wrote:
Also, how desirable are these? As in, after I own if for a few months and want to move on how hard will it be to sell it?
Autotrader called it the scarcest based on search volume compared to listing quantity.
http://www.autotrader.com/car-news/top-10-scarciest-cars-on-autotradercom-130792
You could make the argument that Autotrader I'd the place you go to for a five year old Accord, not a thirty year old oddball Subaru.
Furious_E wrote:
I feel like the brat would be fun for about a week before you really start missing that e28.
It really depends. Do you want a "cool car" that is still very much a car, can go on the highway, and won't make your friends laugh/fear for their lives? Then you want the e28. Or, do you want a weird-ass little truck with rear jump seats, that you have drive like you're Colin McRae just to keep up with traffic, and constantly wonder how the berkeley it was ever sold as a street legal, new vehicle? That would be the BRAT.
NickD
Dork
5/26/16 11:18 a.m.
Love these little rigs. Been trying to find one but they've all but vanished. These old EA71/EA82 Subarus have some oddball engineering (Like axles that press into the wheel bearing which in turn presses into the knuckle and then the rotor and hub slip on over the end and bolt on) and some oddities but they are stupid easy to work on (I did a water pump and timing belts in 2 hours, intake gaskets in 1 hour, thermostat in 2 minutes) and pretty damn reliable. And parts are still pretty widely available, both replacement and stuff like lift kits and EJ engine swap kits.
They are dog slow, both in acceleration and top speed. I have a '93 Loyale 4WD which has the 85hp fuel-injected 1.8L and at 55mph she's screaming pretty good. It'll go faster but I don't like pushing it that hard. They are a dream in bad weather or offroad conditions though. I would plow through 12"+ of snow on 13" pizza cutter Douglas Xtra-Tracs and even in 2WD, it would go anywhere our 4x4 Chevy 1500 would go.
As mentioned above, they use an oddball bolt pattern of 4x140 (which is only shared by Peugoet 405 and 505s) and from the factory only had 13" tires. SJR Lifts makes an adapter to use the old VW wide-5 wheels, people have drilled out the hubs to use Nissan/Toyota 6-lug wheels or Diamond Racing and the such will cook up a set of wheels for cheap.
No mention of it, and the owner seems like the type of guy that would mention it, but I wonder if it has the "Cyclops" grille. There was a foglight option where the Pleiades emblem in the grille flipped up and there was a single foglight behind it. And when you had the foglight "off" and the headlights on, the badge was translucent so that the badge glowed in the grille.
AWSX1686 wrote:
In reply to Antihero:
When I looked on CL near me I found a few similar to the one you just linked, for similar prices, but those are the second gen aren't they? And it doesn't look nearly as nice of condition.
The one I posted is newer but....in my experience no generation is more desirable.
Even in the greatest of shape I wouldn't go much higher than 2k. Its a car with no real purpose. It can't haul like a pickup. It can't off-road like most suvs etc. It doesn't do well on the street and its not valuable.
NickD
Dork
5/27/16 5:30 a.m.
Antihero wrote:
AWSX1686 wrote:
In reply to Antihero:
When I looked on CL near me I found a few similar to the one you just linked, for similar prices, but those are the second gen aren't they? And it doesn't look nearly as nice of condition.
The one I posted is newer but....in my experience no generation is more desirable.
Even in the greatest of shape I wouldn't go much higher than 2k. Its a car with no real purpose. It can't haul like a pickup. It can't off-road like most suvs etc. It doesn't do well on the street and its not valuable.
Actually, these old Subarus rock offroad. And the early ones, like this, have torsion bar suspension that allows you to lift them up a few inches without a kit or any modifications, and if you want to go really crazy, there are kits to put up to a 10" lift under them from companies like SJR Lifts.
Just get a high mileage Baja.
NickD wrote:
Antihero wrote:
AWSX1686 wrote:
In reply to Antihero:
When I looked on CL near me I found a few similar to the one you just linked, for similar prices, but those are the second gen aren't they? And it doesn't look nearly as nice of condition.
The one I posted is newer but....in my experience no generation is more desirable.
Even in the greatest of shape I wouldn't go much higher than 2k. Its a car with no real purpose. It can't haul like a pickup. It can't off-road like most suvs etc. It doesn't do well on the street and its not valuable.
Actually, these old Subarus rock offroad. And the early ones, like this, have torsion bar suspension that allows you to lift them up a few inches without a kit or any modifications, and if you want to go really crazy, there are kits to put up to a 10" lift under them from companies like SJR Lifts.
Interesting, I didn't know anyone did lifts for them. It looks like it takes quite a lift to get 235/75s under them, or the stock tire on my explorer. Plus iirc most didn't even have a 4 low.....so even so not great off-road, even modified it's not as good in dirt as an explorer
NickD
Dork
5/28/16 5:41 a.m.
Antihero wrote:
NickD wrote:
Antihero wrote:
AWSX1686 wrote:
In reply to Antihero:
When I looked on CL near me I found a few similar to the one you just linked, for similar prices, but those are the second gen aren't they? And it doesn't look nearly as nice of condition.
The one I posted is newer but....in my experience no generation is more desirable.
Even in the greatest of shape I wouldn't go much higher than 2k. Its a car with no real purpose. It can't haul like a pickup. It can't off-road like most suvs etc. It doesn't do well on the street and its not valuable.
Actually, these old Subarus rock offroad. And the early ones, like this, have torsion bar suspension that allows you to lift them up a few inches without a kit or any modifications, and if you want to go really crazy, there are kits to put up to a 10" lift under them from companies like SJR Lifts.
Interesting, I didn't know anyone did lifts for them. It looks like it takes quite a lift to get 235/75s under them, or the stock tire on my explorer. Plus iirc most didn't even have a 4 low.....so even so not great off-road, even modified it's not as good in dirt as an explorer
On a 2" lift, which is doable just by adjusting the torsion bars, you can put a 27" tall tire under them. This early they did not have a Low Range transfer case, but the '85-'88 Subarus did have a twin-range transfer case that bolts in. There are also guys that have put a divorced transfer case setup in, not sure if anyone makes a kit for it yet or not.
That seems to be in shockingly good condition and I don't think the price is all that out of line. I bet five grand would buy it and you couldn't get one of those $1000 ones into this kind of shape by adding another $4000 to it.
