My new SVX

[DavieGravy]

If you recall, my black SVX is history due to a very stupid driver that skidded out in front of me. However, life goes on and I have another one. :-) Since I was out of a car for a while, Tom (subymtnguy) offered to sell me his since it needed repairs and we could make a good one out of two.

It needed major mechanical repairs, but fortunately I have connections. At first, I had the engine re-sealed and the valve cover gaskets replaced as well as timing belt, water pump, and other misc stuff, but when I got it back the temperature would rise up really high, then fall back down. It would do this in cycles. Upon further investigation, subymtnguy and I concluded there were head gasket issues. So I took it back to my connection, who has three parts cars. One had a perfectly good engine with 97k on it. We took all the new parts off the original pearly engine and put them on the 97k engine. My connection gave me the engine for two cores. The one out of my black one, which I sold to him for 1k, and the core out of the new pearly. I just had to pay labor to have it swapped in. All the new parts came off the original engine (that had about 190k on it).

After the swap was complete, the car was test driven hard to make sure all was well. However, the same day I got it back after the engine swap, it blew the upper radiator hose and I immediately shut it down to avoid any damage. I then had it towed back to the guy who was working on it and he replaced both radiator hoses. Now, I have it and all appears to be fine. The low mileage engine is so smooth and quiet you can't even hear it run at idle. Also, the tranny has about 25k on it and was re-built with a shift kit.

Bottom line, I came out with a better car then when I started. The body of my new white one is in much better shape than the black one. No rattles and fewer door dings. The front and rear bumpers have weather-related blemishes (driving too fast :-)), but I plan on fixing them.

Some of you may remember Tom's SVX from the 10th anniversary meet in Lafayette, IN, Tom took extremely good care of his car. Here's a picture. Also, Tom is now looking for a liquid silver.

[ensteele]

The car looks great. I am glad things worked out for the better on this deal. Sometimes blessings come from what we think are bad at the time. Good luck and happy driving.

[shelfy]

nice car, david. have you undone the seatbelt light mod yet?

[DavieGravy]

Thanks for the kind words.

Originally Posted by shelfy

nice car, david. have you undone the seatbelt light mod yet?

he he I guess Tom and I are both adverse to bright lights. I go even one step further and turn the dash lights way down so I can barely see them.

[The Korean]

Sweeeeeeet doOd!

Did you do the engine work yourself... or have CCR do it? My buddy that works over at CCR told me there were like 3 SVX's there maybe like 1-2 weeks ago.

Regardless, glad everything is better than before...

[Zeppelin]

Congrats on the new wheels Dave! Tell Tom I said hello, he was the first guy I met at the 10th Anniversary meet!

We went on a beer run and got lost in a crazy neighborhood and almost got shot at!

[SSSVX]

Congrats, car looks good. Glad you have a better one and hope the lower miles engine and tranny serve you well.
How did you guys conclude that was the head gasket issue?

[Electrophil]

Love that color scheme. Good job!!

[DavieGravy]

Originally Posted by The Korean

Sweeeeeeet doOd!

Did you do the engine work yourself... or have CCR do it? My buddy that works over at CCR told me there were like 3 SVX's there maybe like 1-2 weeks ago.

Regardless, glad everything is better than before...

Oops, just noticed this. Yeah, CCR did it. You probably know Shawn from the ultimate Subaru web site.

It was losing coolant and overheating, but there were no visible leaks, so they concluded head gaskets. The car had once been driven with out the fuse for the cooling fans and it over heated as a result, which I believe may have caused the issue.