(First posted July 14, 2013) My brother called me one day with the news that the roommate of a good friend was selling a car and would I be interested? Somehow word had apparently spread that I seemed to consider buying anything and everything for sale…In actuality I had been complaining about having to deal with snow chains in the mountains on the few occasions that I actually went, and the car for sale was a 4WD Subaru…
I called my brother’s friend, got a few more details and set up a time to see it. It was located in San Jose – about an hour away. When we arrived we were directed to the carport in which it sat. Nice! A 1982 (I think) Subaru 4WD Wagon in blue with a blue vinyl interior.
Looking at it from the back it looked OK, just a small dent below the 4WD badge and a cracked taillight. The left side had some minor scuffs but the right side had a fairly mangled front fender. The odometer read about 195,000miles and the price was very reasonable, asking $450. The roommate just wanted it gone.
I started it and drove it around for a few miles, everything seemed to work fine, I was excited at the prospect of 4WD and a wagon so I think I haggled him down to about $425 and drove home in this new (to me) car. Some may think it peculiar that I had previously (and fairly recently to be honest) had a VW GTI, a Buick LeSabre T-Type, as well as a brand-new VW Jetta.
And now I had what can fairly be described as an old car with a lot of miles on it. Nothing had changed for the negative in my work or living situation; it’s just that it’s easy for me to like and appreciate almost any car for what it is, and can usually find a positive aspect to it. In this case a low price, 4WD and being a wagon were huge positives.
I said it was a 1982; in reality it could have been anywhere from 1981 to 1984, I just do not recall and no longer have any documentation. The picture at the top is my actual car, if anyone here can somehow identify the actual year, please make a comment. The front had the single square headlights as opposed to the earlier round ones or the later four-light setup. My future wife can sort of be seen just on the other side of it by the tree. She’s on the small side…
I loved the fact that it was blue inside, and by that I mean it was blue all over the inside, in a way that nobody seems to do anymore. It was not particularly roomy, but big enough; the doors had frameless windows, there was a crappy radio (that worked) and a manually operated 4WD engagement lever. Once engaged, to disengage it I recall you had to push the lever down and reverse for a short distance, although that could have been a peculiarity of my particular car.
Outside it seemed fairly loaded up, with the rear wiper, the “4WD” mud flaps, a roof rack and even the little spoiler above the rear window that is meant to keep the window free of snow and water at speed. Mine just had standard steel wheels, not the 8-spoke white steel ones that you used to commonly see on these. The upside of that was that the tires were so small that I recall buying two new Goodyear’s for the front and with installation and everything the charge was under $100. Very nice.
The one feature I wished it had but did not is the Cyclops headlight. This was a feature where a small portion of the front grille with the Subaru logo on it would flip upwards and there would be a smaller headlight mounted behind it. Very weird but interesting concept.
The car was definitely slow as far as acceleration goes, but cruised fine (if a bit loud with those frameless windows). That mangled fender helped a LOT in San Francisco traffic as when you needed to merge you just kind of started veering in the appropriate direction and one look at the fender would leave drivers of nicer cars (i.e. everybody else) slowing down and happily allowing me to go ahead of them.
Let’s talk mechanicals for a minute. This, like Subarus to this day, was powered by a horizontally opposed (flat) four cylinder engine; with 1.8 liters of displacement it generated more noise than momentum. I’m sure the high mileage on the car didn’t help any, but the manual gearbox (four speed if I recall correctly) was smooth if a bit sloppy.
The 4WD system had a single range transfer case without a center differential so using it on dry roads was a no-no. (GL’s though had a dual range transfer case). Later on in the model cycle a turbocharged version was also offered; I suppose it was the progenitor of the WRX…Subaru always having been a bit off-beat, the spare tire was housed in the engine bay – they had the room, it’s a fairly good use of the space when you think about it but the heat really can’t have been good for the tire.
We drove this thing a lot over the year or so that we had it, both in the city–thanks to no worries about dings and dents–and then also into the mountains. Boy, was it slow up hills! The odometer turned 200,000 miles as we were ascending Hwy 50 just past Strawberry on the way to Lake Tahoe loaded up with four of us and all of our snowboarding gear on the roof and in the back. Like the Energizer Bunny it just kept going and going. And going. It never needed anything besides the two tires I mentioned earlier and some wiper blades while I had it.
It had character, bags of it, and just worked well at its mission. When it was time for me to sell it (after we moved into the suburbs), the first person who called me came over and bought it on the spot for $600 (yes, a profit!). His plan was to take it up to his cabin in Forestville (Sierra Nevada foothills) and attach a plow blade to it for his driveway. For all I know it is still there waiting for the snow to fall in order to get to work.
Interesting car! Yeah the engine bay is a very unusual place for the spare tire. Though as long as you never smelled burnt rubber, I’m sure it was fine.
When I was little, my neighbor owned a mid-80s Toyota Tercel 4WD wagon in a similar color blue. Your blue Subbie made me think of it.
Fiat Uno had its spare under hood. The Brazilian version at least also kept it there until about 2012, almost 30 years. It actually came from the 127, and IIRC the 128 also. I owned two of those, a base Uno and its derivative Elba 4 door station wagon, for 16 years. No spare in the back combined with a low and flat floor allowed for excellent space. And no, no problems ever with the tire, even after two overheating events with each car.
Renault 16’s also had an underhood spare.
So did all but (I think) the earliest Corvairs, though of course the hood was in the rear.
Renault R5, the “LeCar,” also had its full-sized (if you want to call 145-R13, “full-size” ) spare located under the hood.
it was held in place by a “sandow,” a term used by bicyclists, referring to an elastic strap with a hook at each end. Today, it might be called a tie-down.
While most all our neighbors drove cars from the Big “3”, the “cool people” that lived down the street from us in our West Chicago subdivision had a bright green AMC Pacer, a real straight ’65ish Chevy pickup with a 6-cylinder, and a red Sunbeam Alpine that resided under a bunch of hay bales in their small horse barn.
When the Pacer’s unibody frame broke as it was driven over a rough railroad crossing, they replaced it with a new Subaru GL wagon: the first one I’d ever seen. It was maroon, had the white wagon wheels, a 4 or 5-speed transmission and that cool Cyclops headlight. They loved the car.
I remember the wife paying me $5 to vacuum it out one day: they hauled bales of hay in the back of it & it took fo-eva to extract all the little pieces that were trapped in the carpeting. This brings back nice memories of them — they were wacky and very cool people to hang out with…the Subaru fit them perfectly.
Thanks for the great pics– this is my favorite Subaru bodystyle ever produced (2nd gen WRX/Impreza wagon a close runner-up).
I miss the days of these narrow-body wagons with the white rims… Some of my neighbors just came home with a new Outback. Good God, that thing is HUGE.
I’ve never personally seen any short haired women driving a Subaru like these.
Short hair wasn’t en vogue with that demographic until many years later, that’s why.
I had a 1980 4WD GL with that snazzy center light in the grill. I recall it being on a momentary switch–what an odd feature. I too bought mine well used for $475. It was slow, had only a 4 speed transmission, so not really an interstate cruiser, but it was stone cold reliable.
I had a 1983 GL wagon. Really liked the size and practicality; was wonderful in snow. Also liked the styling, which looked a bit like an AMC Eagle. The biggest downside was reliability, e.g., for some reason the clutch cable kept on snapping at inconvenient locales.
Cool car! I have a soft spot for these, because we had one when I was little. We had the 81 4WD wagon and it had the cyclops light also. As I recall it was on a push-button switch that said “passing light”. We always thought that was funny as there were not too many cars, even in 1981 that a 4WD Subaru could pass. 🙂
Ours also had a factory tubular brush guard on the front, which was painted cream color to match the steel wheels. It also had a rock slider / skid pan underneath the engine.
I also remember my dad telling me that the 4WD was outstanding off road, or in the snow, but that it was not very good for use in the rain without the center diff. Felt like the back was trying to pass the front in turns.
Cool car. There is something about this generation of Subie that appeals to me. I also enjoy your meandering ways on cars – much like my own. It is so much more fun if you either set out looking for a car with no idea of anything in particular, or if you just happen on one when you are not really looking. What will my next car be? As a Supreme Court justice once defined pornography, “I’ll know it when I see it.”
You also hit on one of my favorite traffic truisms – the guy with the oldest, least valuable car wins every traffic situation. This is one of my favorite parts of driving my 93 Crown Victoria (when my kids allow me to drive it, anyway – usually involves filling it with gas).
Not really a fan of this make/model, or green-colored vehicles (I was in the mid-90s however!–Yuck), but the last picture of the green one is so handsome/sporty/classic!
It will not surprise you that these were thick as flies on a cow pattie in Eugene when we first moved here, and for some years afterwards. There’s still a few in front-line service, but their ranks are thinning. It was this generation of Subaru that really got their ball rolling. They were wider and more civilized than their narrow-body predecessors, and tough little goats. Some still can’t give them up.
That’s how I feel about our ’03 Legacy 5-speed wagon with 100K miles. In 10 or 15 years I’ll still be trying to keep it going (assuming fuel remains available).
The first Subarus in my family were two 1986 wagons from the generation after the featured car: a GL-10 4WD automatic (eventually traded for a first-year Legacy LS AWD wagon) and a GL FWD 5-speed with a/c and manual steering, which lasted 13 happy years but had to be retired because of rust in the motor mounts.
Thank you for the report on your Subaru,and for me a trip down memory lane. I was the proud owner of a 1979 Subaru Brat in 1980. Though it was obviously different than the wagons, it had I believe the same quirks common to Subarus of the late 70’s-early 80’s.
My Brat was a DL with the 1.6 flat four, four speed manual transmission and same 4 wheel drive system. Stone cold reliable, but slower than the second coming…
For what its worth , my Brats 1.6 engine with 15,000 miles on it was just as noisy as you say your wagons engine is with 200,000.
It did great in the snow, though it did seem a bit light ,and tended to wander a bit in deeper snow. I remember being impressed with the outstanding build quality of my Brat vs other domestic vehicles available back then. My Brat had the same blue /blue color combo as the featured wagon also.
Always liked these DLs. It was the first small crossover when you think about it.
I think it would have benefitted from a good pet name like BRAT, Forester, Outback.
Done lots of mud miles in one of those I’d say 84 because it doesnt have round headlights like the 83 I drove and having to reverse to release 4wd points to transmission problems good little cars but the WRX was an outgrowth of the Legacy once a Kiwi called Possum Bourne discovered just how fast a gutless Subaru Leonie could be driven on gravel on rally stages the later Leonie 1800 was turboed but they were still gutless and underpowered it was only the 4wd traction that allowed Subarus to win rallies and in 1998 all that came to an end when the Citroen Xsara was released and went rally racing real cornering ability put Subaru back to the drawing board and out of the WRC.
It’s rather ironic that during the minivan boom, Subaru never joined the fray, and kept their station wagons ‘pure’. The big reason Subaru could get away with it was the AWD draw. It’s served them very well, especially in the snow belt. It’s a shame that rust takes such a toll on them because they otherwise seem to enjoy a quality/reliability reputation that rivals the best Japanese manufacturers.
Like VW and Jeep, Subaru really found a niche by supporting both AWD and station wagons across their car lines (and steadfastly resisted the temptation to venture out with a raft of new models into territory solidly occupied by others). By sticking with this successful plan, they’ve managed to cultivate a very loyal following, as well as maintaining solvency in a very cut-throat business.
This was the first Subie that seemed truly competitive out here in the Midwest. And I love that dashboard.
I might add ,that on a recent trip to a northern city this year(Duluth Mn) I swear every fourth car on the city streets was a Subaru….
I had an 81 GL Hatchback FWD and an 84 Brat 4WD (with T-Tops FTW). Loved both of them, wish I still had them, but rust took it’s toll.
In 1979 I began my Air Force career with an assignment to Plattsburgh AFB in upstate NY – an hour north of Lake Placid and an hour south of Montreal – yes, it snowed……. a lot…….
My 1976 Plymouth (Mitsubishi) Arrow, was a great little car but rear drive and light in the back – it had a hard time in the fluffy stuff. I’d admired Subarus so I bought a red 4WD wagon – a little backpack of a car – even smaller than the Arrow on the inside. At 6’6″, it was quite a tight fit. But the car was an animal in the snow – would just scamper thru the stuff.
Besides being small, the only other downside was fairly high gearing and only 4 gears in the manual box – on the highway, it would run above 3K rpm at 60 – very buzzy……….
I totally adore this era Subaru and were it not for my obsession with Hondas I’d have owned a few of ’em. However – and this is a BIG caveat – I’m not buying any of the more recent Subarus with the head gasket munching 2.5 liter mill. Unfortunately this marks a decade of them off my desired list and that’s a shame because they’re otherwise world class autos.
I’ve got to agree with you Piston Slap. The 2.5 engine makes good power but the dual head gaskets and their propensity to leak is no good. The earlier mid-1990s 1.8 and 2.2 liter engines are reliable and probably my favorite engines. Sounds crazy right? But I’ve got a 1993 impreza with 162k and that engine is smooth, no leaks passes emissions with no issues. They are relatively easy to work on too.
You know, you could always look into used WRXes -they have a 2.0L engine that is reliable as dirt -assuming the previous owner didn’t beat on it too much.
Always looking for 1984 ea81 engines 4×4 someone has one please let me know
After reading all these other posts about others trips down memory lane, I have to post one of my own.
My first car was a 1981 subaru DL four door sedan, light brown in color. It had manual steering, a four speed manual transmission, and one side mirror on the drivers door, not on the passenger side. Oh yeah, round headlights too.
Since I live in northwest Pa, it rusted pretty fast. It was my brothers car before me. I got it when it was around 6 yrs old.
I had many memories in that car. It was in that little 81 subaru that I took my first girlfriend for a ride. She remembers the car too. We used to hold hands and plan our future. We loved each other so very much.
If I could find a 1981 in decent shape I would buy it and restore it. I actually look daily on ebay and other sites for a 1981 for sale. I seem to find a few that are 83 and 84, but hardly any that are 83 and almost none that are 81. Seems there are more 79 and older than anything. The picture below is not my old 81 DL, but one very similar. It is an ’81 and is just a different color.
Anyway, thanks for the walk down memory lane. I felt young again if only for a few minutes.
Owned a 1982 GL 1800 wagon for many years. That car absolutely loved the snow (even if I didn’t), and the third center headlight was great for those times I had to run the back roads at night. Bumpy, buzzy, loud and leaky (never could get the oil pressure switch to stop dripping)…it ate clutch pressure plates, but it never let me down and always got me where I was going in one piece.
hey just bought a 1982 gl 4×4 wagon live in mountains of so. cal going to tow it behind motorhome and trips to beach. came with four new tires and enough spare rims to supply two more subs . third eye works great and even huge old fog lights. look out here we come. if only it had more power. ah what the #$&$. its vintage,a true classic? everything works.going to test 4×4 if we ever get any snow.
I have a 1982 gl wagon. The ’82 was actually a limited edition, in which all parts for ’76-81 and 83-86 are interchangeable. Most parts for any other year will not fit the ’82. When I purchased mine the passenger taillight was broken and it took me endless searches to finally locate one (the last one in existence by my account) 6 states away My car has the “Center Lamp” and works only when the brights are on.
I believe your car was an ’83. I have a friend who has the exact same blue all over with no center lamp and it is an 83. In fact when I looked at the picture of yours, I thought it was his brand new.
My ’82 has 97,000 miles on it and is going strong. Just gave her a tune up and needs an O ring replaced at the oil pump. Other than that, the 4wd works like a beast! The original owners parked it in a ski town in Colorado and only drove it when they went skiing (2-3 times a year for 25 years), so it has some rust. I actually have paperwork from 1982 where the original owners purchased rust protection, with a ten year warranty.
I am the third owner of this car and immediately put in a new clutch upon purchase (I bought it for $500 in 2013). Since then I have rebuilt the carburetor, replaced a muffler, and done normal maintenance (hoses, belts, plugs etc.).
The easiest way for me to tell that your car was not an 82 is the taillight. That taillight is on the ’83. In fact other than some other body components that is the only thing that really differs in the other models.
I have attached a pic of my 82 taillight. This is the only taillight that will fit ANY ’82 gl wagon.
I am sure your car was an ’83 based on the taillight alone. That seems to be the most distinguishing features on these old cars.
So I’ve been driving these early 80’s GL wagons for twenty years. I got my first one when i was 22, though I actually first took interest in them during high school but they were still fairly new back then and out of my price range. (dated myself) I’m currently on my 4th one. I have sold two, one I still have and a third is actually freshly mangled by an accident, no one was hurt and it wasn’t our fault. Such a shame, it had close to 300,000 miles and would have gone for ever.
I can verify with 100% accuracy that your car was an 81′. I say this because as mentioned the 82 had the center high beam, and in 83 they switched to the dual headlinghts, and the 80 still had the round headlights.
These cars are still highly sought after out west, though by a smaller and smaller pool of collecters I think. Right now any model from 1980-1984, in good condition, can fetch about $2,000 or more depending on condition and buyer. One of the few examples of the original 4wd cars, they still get great gas milage, around 25 mpg, and handle the mountain roads like a sports car. They also look tiny compared to modern cars, though they are solid steel and can keep you safe in low speed impacts. I’ve thouroughly loved driving these cars for 20 years and will keep one around for as long as I can.
i have a subaru dl 1884 4×4 wagon my transmission stopped going into gear i need a new transmission but cant find one anywhere if any one of yall know were one is for cheep please email me
I had a ’83 GL 2WD, 5speed, And my brother had a ’84 GL 4WD that he bought new. Mine was little faster being somewhat lighter and the 5speed. But cram either one full of camping and you are measuring 0-60 with a calendar. I did drive an ’84 GL 4WD turbo one. And it was fun
Thanks for another trip down memory lane. We bought a new ’80 GL Wagon as a more comfortable alternative to my Jeep CJ5. The Jeep had power to spare (304 V8), but could make you deaf on longer trips. The little Subie was underpowered (oddly, the bigger 1800 motor was only offered on the fwd models), but on ice, snow, and off-road the lack of power wasn’t really a disadvantage. It acted more like a self-imposed traction control device. The ’80 was later traded for a ’83 (and brought an astounding trade-in value), which was later traded for a ’85. They were all great, trouble-free cars that went almost anywhere, got decent fuel mileage, but required a certain amount of patience in arriving at your destination.
As our family grew, the last Subaru made way for a Volvo GL Wagon. Back then, Subaru’s were fairly rare, and Volvo’s were common as dirt here. Today, Subaru is the second largest selling brand in Oregon, behind Ford. Considering Ford’s pickup sales volume, that’s nothing short of astounding. What started out as a nutball brand that appealed to a limited number of buyers has morphed into a very mainstream brand.
The ex and I had matching ’83 2wd GL wagons back in the early 90s, mine with the 5 speed, hers with the three speed auto. With the auto’s gearing, highway trips were buzzy but otherwise smooth. They both had a propensity for eating CV joints and the transmission (but not the clutch) in the 5 speed failed at about 125,000. I found the gas mileage to be disappointing for such a low powered four, as it was difficult to get past 31 on trips.
The auto died on the highway about a mile from the Subaru dealer on my daily commute, it was towed in by the dealer who determined that the cpu had fried, it would cost more to fix than the car was worth . He gave me the value of the carcass towards a new Justy.
I find the Subaru 4wd wagon more attractive than the Toyota Tercel wagon. It also has what I call the “proper” 4wd system. The only other 4wd car I’d buy from the same era would be the American Motors Eagle.