- Joined
- Jul 3, 2022
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I bought my first Subbie back in 93' and it was a well used 84'(perhaps 82?) 1.8L? station wagon. It was only a 2WD which was a bit uncommon even then. I was living in Ottawa at the time as had the car been....well that meant alot of rust. Subarus used to have quite the problem with rust. I got the grinder, sheet metal, riveter gun, bondo etc and somehow squeezed by the safety inspection.
Then I hit the road for BC and as I quickly wanted to reunite myself with mountains I went via Colorado. There I was surprised to see the relative abundance of Subarus on the road, and I attribute that to rust being less of an issue there. After hanging around Boulder etc for a couple days I met up with a traveller who was heading to Seattle. Between her and her luggage there was another 200 pounds added to the Subbie's load. I didn't think that should be a problem but as we headed west on the I70 the car was struggling; after being passed by a transport going up one steep grade I was looking in the rearview mirror to see if there was any black/blue smoke being emitted from us. Concern had certainly set in when I saw the road-sign mentioning the Mtn Pass we were at and what the elevation was. Doh! the carb had not been getting the oxygen that she had been craving. We were soon back to 80MPH in Utah.
I had many more experiences with that car over the next couple years until one night on the freeway both of the headlights got real bright for a second or two and then blew out. This was from a malfunctioning voltage regulator I was told and this happened after someone had tried to hotwire the car; they must of been very desperate! I had a cold sleep that night and the next day sent her to her final resting location. So as if late last year I find myself with a new 21' Forester, living back in Ottawa again and missing the mountains.....
Then I hit the road for BC and as I quickly wanted to reunite myself with mountains I went via Colorado. There I was surprised to see the relative abundance of Subarus on the road, and I attribute that to rust being less of an issue there. After hanging around Boulder etc for a couple days I met up with a traveller who was heading to Seattle. Between her and her luggage there was another 200 pounds added to the Subbie's load. I didn't think that should be a problem but as we headed west on the I70 the car was struggling; after being passed by a transport going up one steep grade I was looking in the rearview mirror to see if there was any black/blue smoke being emitted from us. Concern had certainly set in when I saw the road-sign mentioning the Mtn Pass we were at and what the elevation was. Doh! the carb had not been getting the oxygen that she had been craving. We were soon back to 80MPH in Utah.
I had many more experiences with that car over the next couple years until one night on the freeway both of the headlights got real bright for a second or two and then blew out. This was from a malfunctioning voltage regulator I was told and this happened after someone had tried to hotwire the car; they must of been very desperate! I had a cold sleep that night and the next day sent her to her final resting location. So as if late last year I find myself with a new 21' Forester, living back in Ottawa again and missing the mountains.....