Hello SVX ..... Goodbye SVX

I have been looking for an SVX for some time (over 2 years thinking about it, then seriously for the last 3 months) and finally bought one (of which more anon). I've posted here on the subject of my search, but I was looking for a black 96 or 97 with low mileage; and I finally found one - here in Winnipeg of all places - a private sale with only 55000 km (34000 mi). I took a look at the car and was very disappointed. Specifically:
- the tan upholstery which so looked so rich and creamy in the Subaru brochures was a dull, insipid brown, and the leather felt harder than I remembered from other SVXs (I've only ever had the opportunity to examine/drive three 92s). Strangely enough, the seats somehow looked out of place; with the grey leather the interior looked to be an integrated whole, but with the tan the seats seemed to be an afterthought. I know - I'm weird!
- the car was not all that well looked after. Quite a few rattles and some noises from the suspension.
- most serious of all from my viewpoint, the power just seemed to die once the revs climbed past 5000 rpm. This was a very abrupt transition; up to 5000 it was a strong 6 cylinder, 5500 and above it was an insipid 4. Maybe there was something wrong with this particular car, but the 92s that I have driven were strong up to 6500 rpm. I have heard many times that the later models were detuned by Subaru and I'd be interested in knowing if other people have noticed the same.

OK, this didn't seem good, and put me right off the 97 and, by implication, the 96s as well. However, Frontier Subaru here in the city were in the process of reconditioning a black 92. Lots of miles (174000 km, or 108000 miles) but I had them do a leakdown test and the results were extremely good; 3 cylinders dropped 5 psi and the rest were 6 psi. I spoke with them and they were doing a very thorough job: remanufactured transmission, new front and rear differentials, new engine seals, valve adjustment, all new belts, new paint, new suspension bits, etc. The car came with 17" wheels (not great, but better looking that the factory ones) and 225/45 performance tires. I got to thinking about this, and with the money that I'd save compared to buying a 96 or 97 I could do things like a new exhaust system a lot earlier. I took a test drive and was favourable impressed, the power was good up to 6500 rpm and generally the car rode well (even with the low profile tires) and stuck to the road tenaciously. I found a number of things that needed fixing but I decided to take the plunge.

At this point, things started going wrong. I negotiated my price (including fixing the problem areas - putting in a tranny filter for example) then there were various delays, like the wheels and tires being stolen! The problems were not Frontier Subaru's fault so no blame on them. The details don't matter but it took quite a while to sort things out and I finally took delivery on Oct 28 - only to find a tranny trouble code appearing and only one speaker working. The trouble code was for Duty Solenoid A and Frontier Subaru said that it had always been there even when they put the new tranny in and they hadn't been able to find the reason for it, but that everything seemed to work OK. I'd noticed that the shifts were quite firm so I asked if they had checked the dropping resistor. "What resistor?" was the reply. I suspect that the resistor is just open circuit but I haven't had a chance to check it. Then I saw that the mileage was just awful, and the car was running very rich. Then, last Friday, on the highway I got this awful banging and rattling sound and the power just disappeared (to simplify the story). I pulled over, popped the hood, and there was the engine trying to jump out of the engine bay. Needless to say, a tow to Frontier Subaru was in order. Their comment after they started it was "It sounds like a broken piston ... but it doesn't".

I had heard from a couple of sources that the previous owner drove the car very hard, and since this happened I have heard the same story. I had assumed that the good results of the leakdown test meant that the engine was in good shape - I guess that I was wrong. What else might be on the verge of failing? I don't know but, with all the delays and bad luck I experienced before I took deliver of the car, I am inclined to go along with a friend of mine in his opinion that "the car is cursed". I have a 90 day money back guarantee and I plan on going in tomorrow and asking for my money back; I just think that I'd be asking for trouble to keep it.

So, what now. To say that I am disappointed and dejected is putting it mildly . My son started suggesting other project cars but I didn't want to buy a "car", I wanted to buy an SVX. I may just give up totally on the project car idea and stick to basic transportation.