Yes, fellow SVXers.....I know ......you've been restless wondering just when I would again post the yearly report card of my life behind funny windows & escaine. Well, today is the fourth anniversary of that day that I drove the beast home in the snow after its purchase from a private owner in Frederick, MD. I paid the then princely sum of $6,500 for the ebony '92 with 78K on it.
You'll have to
back in here somewhere to read about years one through three, but after three years of using her as a daily driver, averaging about 18K per year, back in March she became a garage queen. Yes, my other S*X, the Nissan 240S*X that bought for $100, became the daily beater. Thus I only put about 6500 miles on the batmobile this year, with a few weekend trips & lots 'o Saturday runs to the discount wine store.
Total mileage sits at 134,525. The rebuilt tranny that came with the car is still using all four gears, & shifts flawlessly. The stock CD player still doesn't skip, & the antenna still fully retracts (thanks, WD40). I finally replaced the no-name battery that was probably a year old on day one, with a genuine Subaru unit that I stole from John, (thanks, SVXcess). The TPS was "adjusted" to proper specs (thanks, SVXfiles) & the car now runs better & burns more gas doing so (thanks?, SVXfiles). The wheel bearings are another matter as we replaced one this spring from a parts car (thanks, Rufus), & another one two days ago with a new one I bought from another Network member (thanks, calmone), & had it mashed in by Homer, my all purpose mechanic, for $210.00, & it's still quiet after 40 miles of suburban driving. I drained the tranny fluid, replaced the campaign filter, & replaced about six quarts of red stuff. I had a "power flush" done two plus years ago at 100K, & decided not to push my luck a second time. Throw in a couple of oil changes with Mobile One, & that's about all the mechanical attention I've had to pay to her in 2004. Oh...I forgot to mention that Homer failed to fully tighten the oil filter after the last oil change, & I got to sweat bullets for a day until I found the source of that 4 inch driveway puddle. No permanent harm done, & Homer knows he owes me one.
So....that's it for another 365 days. My point of posting this fascinating, compelling diary, is not just to win a Pulitzer Prize for boredom in literature, but to show that when treated with reasonable care, (autocross?....Moi??!!!), the SVX can endure, & provide eye-catching transportation for years... maybe decades.
I'm counting on it.
Ron (looking forward to a burial at sea in an ebony mica metal coffin).