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Hello! I have for sale my 1993 Subaru Legacy. It is the L model 25th anniversary edition. The vehicle is an AWD with manual transmission and is rusty green in color. I came upon this vehicle on August twentieth. As far as I can tell, this vehicle has lived a lot of its working life in Homer. My intention for this car was to fix it up and use it for sliding around on the ice this winter. I have gotten plenty of that activity in and I am about ready to sell the machine to it’s next loving victim.
Since I’ve owned it, the car has gone through a partial engine rebuild to include both head gaskets, valve guide seals in the driver head, both exhaust valves for cylinder #1, thermostat and heater bypass hose, knock sensor, spark plugs and wires, and a clutch adjustment. Engine aside, I have also had to replace headlamps, wipers, and both rear struts & mounts. I dismounted the 4 leaking tires, cleaned the wheels, and rebalanced them all. The wheels are stock for the car, and the all season “Tiger Paw” tires were manufactured 2012 and have about 7/32” tread. She also got a better battery mfg. 2/19. Overall, I’ve performed a lot of work to this machine and it is entirely functional as a daily driver again, minus some comfort features.
The car features a radio, cassette player, and a fancy digital clock. It has power locks, windows, and mirrors with rear defrost. It comes with two soda can size cup holders. The rear seats fold nearly flat, and it has a spare tire with storage area.
Issues:
This machine is old. so notably, I have to mention the rusty look. The quarter panels are the worst, but the bottom of the tailpipe is rusty right at the muffler end. There are also rusty holes near the rear license plate. Those are the stage 4 rusty bits. The rest of the vehicle is at a 0-2 stage. The unibody up front is surprisingly not rusty, perhaps from oil. The suspension and brakes are no more than stage 2 rust, where the nuts and bolts need a little oil before disassembly. Physical condition is not nearly as bad as visual look. I swear! Speaking of visual look, some of the interior plastic trim pieces are uninstalled. I think I have them floating in a storage unit somewhere, if you want them.
The rear hatch kind of sucks. If you open the door, you must set the latch handle back home before you close it. Lube helps, but the latch return spring is broken. The rear wiper does not work unless you’re back there to help it along. If you manually wipe, the motor will kind of help when it catches. The door does stay up on its own though!
The A/C system is currently bypassed. I did not have access to R-12 refrigerant after replacing the head gaskets, so I left the belt off until the system can be recharged. No big deal.
The power door locks all seem to work except the driver front, which can still be opened from outside when “locked”.
The ignition key is extremely worn out. I would be scared to use it on the door locks. Care must be taken with it.
The parking brake is out of adjustment, and the service brakes will need periodic help over the summer. I’ve replaced the driver front rotor/pads to buy me time until then. It does stop smooth and hard, and doesn’t pull.
There is a crack in the passenger front marker/turn lens, bulb still works. One of the 4 interior dome lights is still hanging on. The instrument cluster has one burnt out bulb in the fuel gauge area.
The exhaust system was poisoned with copious amounts of engine oil. It entered from the leaking valve stem seals, most of the oil has long burnt away but it does cause an intermittent check engine light. It seems to be more prevalent when the engine is cold.
The speedometer is about 5mph fast. The tires are the stock size, I suspect a worn speedometer cable.
The driver auto seat belt mechanism doesn’t work, you have to buckle both belts. The passenger side front shoulder belt has a partial rip, but the auto mechanism works.
Some statistics:
The last production year for the first-generation Subaru legacy wagon, 1993.
EJ 2.2L naturally aspirated engine (130ish BHP)
Manual 5 speed transmission
Symmetrical all wheel drive
14” wheels on a 5 X 100mm bolt pattern
4-wheel disc brakes (NON ABS)
instrument cluster “low fuel” lamp and 17 gallon fuel tank. About 400 mile range
OBD 1 with two check plugs. One for “live” readings and “at rest” code checks.
Multi point fuel injection system with cable actuated throttle & cruise control
“smokers package” with rear door ash trays and cigar lighter
Working analog radio with cassette player (I have not tested the cassette device)
Courtesy lamps in glovebox, and ash tray
Engine coolant block heater
Bruce Willis approved! (Fun fact: He was a part of some advertising for these vehicles in Japan)
1993 Legacy operating cost for 176 days:
Buy @ $450
14,000 miles @ 20mpg is 700 gallons of gas
$2100 fuel @ $3/gal.
parts $950
$3500 total operating cost to date
$1400 for car and parts
How far it’s taken me and at what cost:
4 miles per dollar spent (total cost of car)
4.6 miles per dollar with (fuel + parts cost)
6.6 miles per dollar (fuel cost only)
14.7 miles per dollar (parts cost only)
Okay, so the nitty gritty price point. I am firm on a thousand dollars for this car. My math is justified by purchase price and parts, minus rust. If I could compare the car between my purchase and sell condition, you’d agree. Take it for a drive and revel in how much it’s worth running past 300k.
I feel it is totally appropriate given how much sheer work It’s taken to put some “ponies back into corral” and to restore overall reliability. I acknowledge this car will never be worth my total operating cost, but you’re pretty much buying this car for the parts value. If I were to be greedy, I’d love $1500 to cover what I’ve spent to bring this automobile from its grave. Hell, I’d even give you my tool kit and a copy of the service manuals to keep you going.
It never has and probably never will ever leave anyone stranded unless the operator completely neglects the car for extended periods of time. I have made a lot of questionably risky choices and have never felt more confident to take this car through it all. This platform surely is a personal favorite of mine.
Currently, this car is hiding in Anchorage. If you see this ad in another part of the state and are interested in the car, I can absolutely work something out to get it to you. Also, if you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to ask! Ill happily answer any questions.
P.S If you have one of these cars in your world that nobody will miss, I’d love to scab some parts from it.
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