Old School Machines

 

With the help of my son running the camera, we decided to check out another car show, this time centered around North America vintage customs and classics (but not too exclusively)....

 

Meet And Cruise

A Car Club.

Joining one of these has been a goal of mine for a long time, but I finally took a serious chance on joining one after I got my 2000 Subaru Impreza. If what I have read on the internet is to be believed, a Subaru Club should be a very open and welcome place.

Through the magic of Facebook, I found this and sent in a request to join. A few days later, I was accepted. In the beginning, I read previous posts, questions and replies, to get a feel for this group. I was liking what I was seeing.

I credit them as an indirect recommendation to take my Impreza to a local speedshop called Classified Motorsports to get the thermostat taken care of, but there was something missing, mostly due to this whole COVID-19 pandemic, in person meetings.

It has been just about a year since I had the opportunity to go out and mingle with other car enthusiasts and I was yearning to have more adventures in reality. Trust me, hours and hours of YouTube videos and/or asking questions through the use of the written word doesn't even come close to being there for real.

 

 

Then out of the blue, a member of the Club put out the feelers for a cruise!

I jumped at the chance for two reasons, to meet up with real people and to gauge the Impreza on a long, but fairly close to home trip, since getting the thermostat replaced. The time and meeting place was set and 10 days passed by that felt more like 10 years. Seven cars and thirteen people gathered and I felt like I was part of a family. Other than a few posts on the Facebook page, these people never really met me, but I felt and talked like I was among old friends.

After less than an hour, we all hit the road.

The planned route was to be 167 Kilometers (or 104 Miles for you other folks) long, during the height of the day temperatures (32°C or 89.6°F) in a car I have owned less than three months and traveled no further than 50 Kilometers (or 32 Miles) as it's longest trip.

As a group we through the City of Vernon, hung a long left and made a stop in a small town called Falkland (94 Kilometers or 58 Miles from our starting point) for a washroom break and refreshments. The Impreza was problem and worry free (even the air conditioning was working, to my pleasant surprise).

From Falkland, it was just highway cruising through the curves and rolling hills towards Kamloops. Other than seeing the terrain change to a more desert like environment from the greener, more temperate zone of Kelowna, there isn't too much to tell about this part of the trip.

 And we made it, to some parking lot downtown Kamloops.

Despite the working air conditioning in the Impreza, the early Summer sun was beating through the windows and I was just exhausted (thanks to my Irish heritage, I don't do well in direct sunlight for long periods). My son, who take pictures and video was feeling "heat beat" as well.

I don't know if I misunderstood what the "end plan" was, but when we left the parking lot downtown for a placed called McArthur Island Park, I was expecting a crowd of other Subarus to be there to meet us. Instead, it was the same group that left Kelowna and joined with two others we pick up from Falkland.

The day was getting hotter as the sun was closing on it's apex and I decided to give it another 30 minutes of waiting. The time had come and gone, so I told the organizer of this cruise we were going to head back. He thanked us for coming and we left with some mixed feelings.

Although I got to hang out with some real people who were passionate about their Subarus, I was hoping for more (and somebody else who had and brought a first generation Impreza, which is what I have). The big bonus for me was the fact the car performed flawlessly, the only issue was the heat gauge climbing up fairly high, but then drooping down to the mid point.

A few hours later, we made it all the way home and with high anticipation for the next event, whenever, wherever that will be...

Saga of My Subaru, Part 1

 

I finally get an issue with my Subaru looked after, the thermostat!

 

Rapid Roadside Review - 2000 Subaru Impreza

It took a while, but my son and I finally shot a video of my "new" old car. Good thing the weather let up shortly after we started....

The Trade Off, Part 2

Picking up where I left off, I reached out to the seller of a 2000 Subaru Impreza with the hopes of trading my 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier, if everything worked out in equal favor. We agreed on a time and place to have a look at what each other had to offer, beyond the pictures and description.

First off, I would be giving up three model years and gaining two extra doors. Some might see that as a "trading down," but those details didn't really bother me too much. I was able to get into and out of the car with only the slightest of pulling from my lower back. Granted, a two door car opens wider than a four door, making entry and exit a lot easier, but I could tolerate the Impreza and the discomfort subsided rather quickly.

The mileage did raise a "yellow flag" for me.

 

Not to walk into any deal blindly, I did some research into Subaru Imprezas of this era and read a lot of the issues with the engine, known as the EJ25. Based on the fact the ad claimed it was an Impreza, I was pretty sure it wasn't going to be equipped with the more powerful, turbo-charged EJ20, but I had high hopes....

 

 
  ....that were quickly dashed upon seeing this.

 

At any rate, the engine didn't look too bad, a few oil/fluid stains here and there, a frayed wiring cap and minor other items. To me, it looked like it was just driven and not cleaned. I asked the seller about the timing belt and head gaskets, the two major issues I read about these motors and he didn't know, having only owned the car for a year and a half.

Moving on to the exterior, the driver's side fender was wearing a very serious "war wound," the current owner claimed came with the car when he bought it. I can neither confirm nor deny his story, so I will take it at face value. I know I can't fix it myself, so a visit to a body shop for an estimate might be in order.

An odd thing to see was the weatherstripping on the bottom of both driver's side doors was dropping. Upon close examination, the rubber had separated from tiny mounting nubs on the bottom of the doors. I tried to just push them back on/up, but they wouldn't stay, so I am assuming a adhesive is needed?

 

 

The interior was a gritty, grimy and had various stickers placed in odd and obvious spots. There were only two major issues I had with what was going on in here, aside from a really good detailing....

 

 

....was a new cover for the center dash glovebox....

 

....and a new shifter knob. When I drive a vehicle with a manual transmission, I shift the gears with an open palm and the texturing on this was chaffing my hand.

Hopefully sooner rather than later, I would want to replace that with a "ball type" shifter, which would be more comfortable on my hand.

 Despite the mess you see here, the backseat area was cleanish, with no major rips or tears.

 

 

The back window tint is....past due to be removed or replaced, not something that is very high on my list for things to do.

 

As it goes for corrosion (aside from the driver's fender), only the rear quarters were showing obvious signs. I read this was common for Subarus from this era, so I wasn't too overly surprised to see it. The car is also wearing what appears to be nearly new tires on four matching, original rims. The 205/55/R16 Goodride tires are manufactured by ZC-Rubber, also known as Zhongce Rubber Group Co. Ltd, and have a decent looking tread pattern for an All Season.

Oh, did I mention it has a working, electric sunroof?

 

Even with all the issues I was told about and discovered on my own, I went ahead and made the deal happen. I traded off a 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier coupe in yellow with a manual transmission with 277,000 kilometers for a 2000 Subaru Impreza GC6 sedan, that was originally silver (some areas of the car show this color, inside the roof when the sunroof panel is back is one, under the hood is another) and repainted red and black, with 336,000 kilometers.

I guess we shall see if the stars will shine on me and this decision.

The Trade Off, Part 1

 

Almost seven months have passed since I brought a dormant 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier back to life and proceeded to rack up 12,000 kilometers (or just about 7,500 miles for you other folks). Just a short while ago (at the time of this posting, it has been a week), I decided it was time to let it go, not that there was anything wrong with it, but I believe I found something that will better cure my "nostalgia ailment." 

The more I was driving the Cavalier, the more I wanted my 1982 Toyota Supra back. Despite the two cars have very little in common (other than four wheels, two doors and both had manual transmissions), one was inexplicably reminding me of the other.

I highly doubt my old Supra is even still around after all these years and if it was, it wouldn't be the same car the last time I drove it. So, what are my options? Well, getting another Supra (like my old '82 Mk II through '98 Mk IV) is out of the question since all of them are unrealistically priced, in "not worth saving" condition or automatics (and paying to convert one to a manual would be pricey, since those transmissions are becoming more and more rare with each passing year). I can thank the social hype towards these cars for driving up the prices.

The next car on my list "that would do" were Datsun/Nissan Z/ZX cars. Just like the Supra, 240Z's through to the current 370Z (with all the models in between) suffer from the same pricing/condition/transmission symptoms. Same goes for it's cousin, the Infiniti G35/G37 (which are Nissan Skylines for the North America market, speaking of Skylines, those are "above and beyond" what I was willing to spend).

There were other cars I considered as "extreme compromises" such as the Honda Prelude and Accord/Civic coupes, Hyundai Tiburon, Mitsubishi 3000GT/Dodge Stealth and Toyota Celica to name a few. Between Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and a few other online classifieds, I wasn't liking what I was finding. Perhaps I was being too narrow in scope, so I decided to broaden my search beyond coupes.

A Subaru? To be honest, they are on my list, at the bottom....fading to black.... This ad on Facebook Marketplace caught my attention and I can't put a finger on exactly why. The pictures were decent and the description was....read for yourself....

"Scoobie the subie up for grabs. 1300 OBO Will trade for dirtbike was my daily for the last year and a half. Electric everything works (windows & sunroof) has dule 12” subs. Also has classic subie issues (burns oil) & thermostat needs to be replaced ($100)."

 

Perhaps I was having a flashback to last year when I took a Subaru Outback for a test drive and walked away due to high sticker-shock (with a lot of negative equity rolled in for good measure). However, I was cautiously intrigued and reached out to the seller of the Impreza to arrange a look, listen and sit in.

Confirming Some Conclusions

 

It has been just over a year since I traded in my 2015 Mitsubishi RVR for a 2017 Kia Sportage and I am not completely happy. I knew there was going to be a "give and take" from moving out of a naturally aspirated 2.0 litre that produced 148 horsepower through a CVT into a 240 horsepower, turbo charged 2.0 litre and a 6 speed automatic. I see the "take" part in the form of driving range and the cost to fill up with gasoline.

The old saying goes, "You don't know what you got, until it's gone." 

I didn't really keep that close an eye on fuel expenditures and range with the Mitsubishi, committing those numbers to short term memory for conversations and a few snapshots shared on this blog and a few other places. Despite being less powerful than my current crossover, I know it was much better on gas.

This little fact really didn't become more evident until my Chevrolet Cavalier was resurrected this last August. A very high mileage, naturally aspirated 2.2 litre Ecotec mated with a 5 speed manual transmission was costing me about 2/3 the price in gas over my Kia. Granted, there are a lot of other factors to consider (car vs suv, aerodynamics, weight, etc) but the more I drover the Cavalier, the more I was having a lot of nostalgic fun.

A short while ago, it was service time for the Sportage, which required a trip to the same dealer I got it from. Despite the aches and pains for me to get into/out of a car, I was exploring the idea of trading in my current Kia for something new. The Stinger is still at the top of my list, that would most defiantly be pain I could live with, but with the overhang of negative equity on top of the sticker price, that is a dream to possibly come true in the far future (I also doubted they would have opened the showroom doors for me to take the only one they had on display for a spin).

If I wanted to stay within Kia, there was a lower cost option, the Forte.

The Forte I wanted to try out they didn't have, which was the LX 6 speed manual, so I settled for the CVT and tried to let my imagination shift gears and pedal the clutch.

 The car itself wasn't all that bad, the step in and sink down distance gave me a few "pin pricks" of back pain, but once I was settled on the fabric seats, I was good to go. Despite the CVT, the Forte had decent "get up and go" from it's naturally aspirated 2.0 litre putting out 147 horsepower. Not a fast car by any means, "spirited" would be the word I would use.

I could best equate the Forte to my 2014 Dodge Dart in just about every way. However, the Dart had more power, torque (184 horsepower) and felt more stylish in the interior. My biggest gripe about the Forte....

 ....is the stand up style infotainment screen and lack of navigation (But, at this trim level, that is to be expected).

 

To give the salesman credit, he did his very best to get me numbers that would entice me to commit to a deal. Between the sticker price and my trade in value, a gap of about $4,500.00 remained to be financed. On it's own, that looked like a fantastic deal! But once I started factoring rough numbers, such as negative equity, the non-transferable warranty, taxes and dealer fees, all this before any discussion of discounts and other incentives....the deal died a quick, quiet death.

After paying for the scheduled maintenance, I collected on a promotion the dealer was having. Spend $200.00 or more and get a free dash cam. Here's a video on that....