It was a bitter sweet moment selling the Lada Niva but the 90% wrench time could never make up for the 10% of fun I had driving it around.
Enter the 98 Gen 2 Outback.
After a month of scouring gumtree, ebay etc. for a replacement camping/towing/general purpose rig, an untidy outback popped up. I gave my money to the man and drove it home. What can I say, it immediately felt familiar - cruise control, power windows, air con. Subaru did well with this one and just a bit of a step up in comfort from the Niva. It seems to drive nicely considering the 316k km on the clock and aside from a dull knocking sound from the rear passenger side and an O2 sensor throwing a cel every now and then didn't seem like anything I couldn't handle. It's amazing what you can pickup for less than $2000.
The paintwork leaves a lot to be desired with a whole bunch of paint chips which have started to rust and the front bar missing a bit of paint but considering the purpose, I think it will serve me well. This isn't so much a build thread because I don't believe any building will take place with this one ...famous last words. So, in its raw state:
There's a heap of work to do and it should be a good little project but yeah a good cruiser to tow with and a vehicle that will most likely become a daily driver.
Work i've done so far:
- Car washed and vacuumed
- Can of upper engine cleaner
- Air filter replaced
- Oil filter and oil change
- MAF sensor cleaned
- Fuel additive added to tank (I had a bottle lying around)
- 580cca battery installed, with normal sized terminals.
- Gen 3 RX steering wheel installed (airbag detonator delete)
- Driver door handle replaced
- Wipers replaced
- Front speakers replaced (Some splits I found at the wreckers)
- Boot globe replaced
- Coolant overflow topped up
- Front rego plate straightened
- Grill clips fitted
- Front bumper clips fitted
- Fog lamps installed properly and aligned
- Headlights aligned and polished
- Dodgy remnant spotlight loom removed
- Mounted the Air con condenser with some bolts
- Headlights polished
- CEL codes checked
To Do:
- Replace O2 sensor
- Investigate noises at the rear passenger-side wheel
- Remove remnant window tint glue from rear windows
- Fit wheel arch front bumper brackets with correct clips (or any clips for that matter)
- Fit old front speakers to rear doors (surrounds on the factory speakers have rotted)
- Touch up rust spots
- Oh and rocker cover gaskets are leaking...
Would be nice:
- Some sort of lighting upgrade, the factory headlights are not amazing.
- Small sub
I'll try to keep this updated with pics as I progress.
Cheers
Tim.
