The Subaru SVX World Network

(I wrote this a few weeks ago - I bought the car on Dec 24th 2017 - Just remembering to post it.)

TL;DR:
- I own a black 1992 Subaru SVX and found a rust hole
- so I bought a white 1992 Subaru SVX to fix instead

Soooo, a few weeks ago I found a fist-ish sized rust hole my Black 1992 Subaru SVX (148K on it). It was one of several rust spots, but it's placement and size left me a bit sad, and not eager to put more money/parts into it (needs a wheel bearing, and few other things over due)...

What should one do? Get a nice sensible, modern, reliable car (like my wife keeps suggesting)? Maybe I should... but then I see craigslist ad, $2000, 1992 Subaru SVX in Pearl White, 15 minutes from my house, 47K miles on it...

My first SVX was a 1992 Pearl White, and it's a beautiful color scheme (and one of the three colors I would own, Black and Silver being the others). I call the ad immediately (9am Friday morning), the seller is at work and says he'll call me at 5pm when he gets off. At 6pm I call him, offering to come over, he says he'll text me the address. No texts come. I pester him again, he's text me an address with "12pm tomorrow". In the mean time I pull the carfax report after figuring out the license plate from a photo. I'm guessing the car doesn't start or something and he's playing for time to figure it out, maybe...

During the night the seller updated the craigslist post adding that the car has a recent rebuilt transmission (~7K miles ago) with an image of a $3200 receipt, still under warranty.

Saturday, 11:30am, the address doesn't exist, well, kind of it does, if it was an address, it would be a bus stop. I wait near the given address, I text, I call and leave voice mails. After an hour I figure he must live close by and wanted to meet near his house without giving his home address. I hop back into my SVX and start driving around the area looking for his house, I think I can use the craigslist photos to ID his garage door/house. 10 minutes later I find the house with the Pearl White SVX parked outside. It looks good, straight body and only minor (to me) scuffs on the bumpers.

I text him, "I drove around the block and found the car, are you around to sell it?", and give him a few minutes to process that before calling him. He agrees to come out and show me the car.

Let's take it for a test drive he says. Ok... Interior is nice, other than the (p)leather has gone rock hard (and starting to crack) and I can't stand the air freshener smell (driver side sunvisor is missing, passenger side won't stay up). The left rear wheel bearing (mentioned in the ad) is so loud I can't think - I guess mine isn't so bad after all... A lot of electrical stuff isn't working, the missing sunvisor might be a clue. Power steering belt is a little loose. Brakes could be better, but are ok. Otherwise I think found fine SVX (or at least a fine starting point to a brilliant SVX).

After the test drive I open the hood, the top of the radiator is cracked and leaking, "that must of just happened" he says.... "yeah right" I think. The belts are possibly original, old and cracking, and power steering fluid or oil leaking on them. I guess the timing belt is original too.

I close the deal, pay the $2000 asking price without haggling. The seller's phone is going crazy with ad response since he added the bit about rebuilt transmission...

I drive it home. My wife is very understanding when I pull up in my "new car". Steam is pouring from under the hood, coolant forming a puddle where I park (it didn't over heat the engine)...

Next steps:
- do the major service (timing belt, water pump, sparks, other belts).
- cam and crack seals (easy when doing the timing belt)
- new radiator (and hoses)
- replace rear wheel bearing
- smog it
- debug the electrics
- make brakes great
- figure out what else I'll need to do
- install all the nice parts of my black SVX (custom coil over suspension, etc.)

Future
- new upholstery
- 6 speed manual transmission conversion
- paint
- new stereo maybe

At the moment I'm just waiting for the radiator to get shipped. Then I'll start getting it road worthy again.

I'll update the thread when I get it working (or screw something up).

Cheers!
Ian.