$400 Craigslist Overland Build: My 1988 Subaru GL (Leone/Loyale)

Here's a little more about my old Subie. The ad called it a "desert race car" and I've finally fixed it up to where it lives up to that description.

[edpoe]

You, sir, are my newest hero. You had me at "shitboxes" that's all I've ever owned.First trail rig I ever owned was a 79 Subaru wagon. Got a lot of confused looks from Jeep newbies on the trails. Your comment about them was spot on too. My Subie sported a bumper sticker that read"Shitbox from hell"!

[visiondigital]

I have written it before. Of all the many Subarus I have owned the 87 dual range possibly had the most character. The low range really kicked butt for a 1800cc engine. The 5 speed seemed to have a perfect gear ratio for each gear and it was fuel injected which helped a lot on cornering. Yes many more rugged rigs out there, but few to get around 25mpg.

[ferp]

ive got a 91 loyal did the duel range swap 5 inch lift 30 inch tires sliders tube fenders plate bumpers all welded together and built as one peice so it works as a subframe and stiffens the whole car up a roof rack and a snorkle 2 inch recivers front and rear for the 12000lb winch
i also built the ea82 for the fun of it shaved heads decked block ported and polished heads 4 angle grind on the valves ported exaust manifold and custom exhaust custom intake manifold to fit the narrowed block and heads and ported throtle body and the snorkle system that let 3 times more cold air in to the motor
it dident last vary long but what a beast it had more power on 3 cylinders than the stock motor on all 4
the last run on that motor towed another loyale on a car hauler through the mountains to the shop so i could steal the motor out of it lol
pulled another loyale + the trailer up a big hill on a dirt road to the garage after throwing a rod and only running on 3 cylinders
i love that motor
if i could only find another set of uncracked heads i might build another one but really its too much work for how long they last the ej swap is alot easyer and 100 times more reliable

[moosebonsai]

I lived out of a 1989 Subaru Loyale wagon for about a year in 1994. I was a wilderness guide in Idaho at the time. We all loved the Loyale wagons.

[BeardedWrencher]

Instant subscribe after the first few seconds!
I absolutely LOVE these old wagons! I have owned many Toyota Tercel 4wd wagons but no Subaru 4wd wagons yet. If you ever wanna trade, hit me up!

[CountCocoChris]

Great watch. I imagine your channel will blow up if you keep posting such quality content.

[adventuretrailsato]

30 years ago this was my 1st car I had an 85GL10 wagon. Yeah I put it through the paces.. Is great video...

[itsalpca]

Found this regarding the Rusty Jones sticker:

Well, for those that have never heard of it before, Rusty Jones was a car rust proofing company in the late 70's early 80’s. They worked with dealers to provide an aftermarket rust proofing/ undercoating option on new cars. They drilled holes in the doors, pillars, and rockers and sprayed a tar-like substance inside all of the panels to prevent rust, and then covered the holes with plastic plugs. They also undercoated the whole underside of the car. They gained a bad reputation for causing the cars to rust more because the undercoating would clog the drain holes causing the panels to hold water. They went bankrupt in 1988.

[thomasjehnkins]

BEST car/snow plow I EVER had! I could plow 20"+ wet New England snow NP! (chains all around & back full of firewood, lol)

[hebrewsvs]

Oh! Rusty Jones! I forgot all about that one! My dad got an 1986 when I was a wee lad.

[mojavedesertsonorandesert]

Once had a 2009 Suzuki Forenza Station wagon picked up for cheap. Drove it off road & daily driver, never let me down, never got stuck out in the Mojave Desert. Worked great up in till I sold it and bought a Kia-worst mistake! 🤕

[stevenmontero]

Nice video. I have a Subaru Gl Station Wagon 1987, greetings from Costa Rica!!!

[rwarts]

Hell yeah 👍💯👍I got an 86 gl wagon with the hi/low range 4×4 5 speed I got it 15 years ago with only 74 thousand original miles I'm planning on getting a 2 inch lift and keeping the 13inch wheels so I can get these 165/80R13 mud tires I'm just not sure if the 2inch lift is tall enough for the 23.4 inch diameter mud tires 👍

[pattiinla]

I still have my 1988 Subaru 4 Wheel drive stick shift I love this car. I drive her almost daily. I just wished I could find a mechanic that can work on her and knew what they were doing in the Los Angeles, CA area.

[ryanfischer]

I got my lift for my08 outback through ADF too. But you got a tough old subie there

[AWDfreak]

Is there even parts support for these vehicles anymore? One of the bigger reasons I've abstained from the Leone-based Subies is that they don't seem to have much left in replacement parts.

[jacobwippie]

How have your cv’s held up over these years with the adf lift. I’m in between the sjr and adf but would like to know how the adf has held up over time

[taniavoltios]

Hi there, I'm thinking of buying this car, 1987, to drive in LA, but I'm reading it's kinda slow, and it does have a smaller engine. Could you tell me a bit about driving it in the highway? And have you had any issues so far? Thank you and great video!

[luisarcepiutrin]

Subaru es Subaru!!!, unas verdaderas maquinas

[gambinofachino]

WHERE DID YOU FIND YOUR I can’t find annnyyy for my 91’ (same bolt pattern).