New member and new owner!

cartwheels · #1 04-30-2009, 03:47 PM

I just picked up this 92 for free (sitting in someone's garage for 3 years, they wanted nothing to do with it anymore). It was involved in an accident a while back, and has sat relatively untouched ever since. I've got pictures of the damage below... but my question is how easily can I fix this (or is it a lost cause) and where should I source my parts? The car starts and runs nicely when jumped, though seeing as the suspension is pretty torn up I haven't had a chance to see if the transmission is there. I'd love to get this thing back on the road where it belongs... I'm a current Legacy SS owner and I've always wanted to add an SVX to my garage.

y2daniel1981 · #2 04-30-2009, 03:53 PM

welcome, got to love free

Mike621 · #3 04-30-2009, 04:15 PM

Welcome to the SVx World Network.

It looks like the snapped trailing arm would be the first thing to replace, to make the car mobile once again. Drive and check for frame damage, misalignment, etc. Get that sorted first.

As for the body, removal of the side and rear glass is in order, along with the trunk lid, and a new quarter panel MUST be welded on to repair this properly.

They list for $398~ from Subaru and there are a handful left. This could be done and would effectively save the car.

Good Luck with your project.

cartwheels · #4 04-30-2009, 05:13 PM

Thanks for the info! Think it'd be more economical to get this chassis up and running, or should I transplant the engine and transmission into a cleaner shell? The whole outer skin of this car is pretty beat up, every panel either has huge dents or peeling clearcoat, or some combination of the two.

Example:

Mike621 · #5 04-30-2009, 05:17 PM

It looks fixable, and itd be cheaper to save one than to buy another and part this one out

cartwheels · #6 04-30-2009, 05:30 PM

Hey, I hear ya. My original reasoning behind getting this car (aside from the obvious... a free car!) was that I didn't want to see another one of these things get junked. Of course I'm a jobless 19 year old college student who is just about to complete his first mechanic's class, but hey, the practicality of the situation takes a backseat when a car like this is concerned!

AyeJaye · #7 04-30-2009, 07:28 PM

Welcome to the forum, and nice find indeed! If you do fix her up, make sure you document it and take lotsa pictures for us!

ensteele · #8 04-30-2009, 11:42 PM

Welcome to the site.

Even though it is in poor repair, go to the registration forum and list your car on the owners list. Thanks

SSSVX · #9 05-01-2009, 12:59 AM

Does this car have a salvage title?

How many miles on the engine/tranny?

Good luck for fixing her up!!

cartwheels · #10 05-01-2009, 03:18 AM

Salvage title... 143,820 miles on it. Hopefully by the end of summer she'll be on the road again!

Thanks for the encouragement... I can't wait to cruise PCH when she's all done

SVXdc · #11 05-01-2009, 03:06 PM

Welcome to the forum, Will!

What model is yours? (L, LS, LS-L) This site can tell you some more information about models and features: www.cars101.com/subaru_svx.html

That rear quarter doesn't look too bad. And if you were going to have to repaint anyway, a lot of the other surface issues aren't adding significantly to the amount of work you'd have to do. Definitely worth trying to repair that one rather than parting it out, especially if you can do any of the work yourself.

Let us know how it progresses.

Green1995SVX · #12 05-01-2009, 04:35 PM

Wow. That's so rust-free! Fix it!

cartwheels · #13 05-04-2009, 11:06 PM

This was NOT what I wanted to see when I got the spare off the car. A quick peek at where the fender had seperated from the body, and I realized that the body was what had bent, not the fender... which in turn was caused by the rear subframe tweaking out of shape. This impact must've been REALLY hard

Seeing this has caused me to rethink this whole project. Any recommendations guys? I'm fearing that the time and cost involved in repairing this particular car is just too much. Thoughts/comments? Anybody got a shell they're desperate to rid themselves of? :P

subbieatnz · #14 05-05-2009, 02:31 AM

Maybe you could find another. use this 1 as a parts car then what ever parts you dont want sell them off

dcarrb · #15 05-05-2009, 05:34 AM

First thing I'd do is get a hands-on professional opinion on what it would take to properly repair and align the car. (It's gonna be lots more than you want to spend.)

dcb