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The 1800 culture in Iceland was rather big not so long ago, but among the youngins, my age 18 to 29 is rising a little around now I think, there is an Icelandic Subaru Elite club with a couple of members.

I decided after I just sold my Subaru Justy i should try a bigger subaru next time, an 1800 with a clutch job necessary but new rear shocks, not too rusty(except the rear wheel wells), needs a paint job and perhaps a head gasket or two as there is an oil leak(have yet to clean the mess up under there and see for real where it is leaking.


It has 246k kms on it and that is considered rather little compared to other 1800s in Iceland.



My plan with the car are basically just making it look a little better than it is now, the engine has no ticks at all which I believe is rare(among my friends´ 1800s that is)

Gearbox is sound, diffs are super and suspension is, subaru...


I really like the car, but the only thing I´ve got to compare it to are my Suzuki 4x4s.
I am the webmaster of the Icelandic Suzuki offroad club, http://sukka.is


But I´ve fallen in love with the Subaru at least temporarily, (it has better seats and more power)




Anyway, here´s the bugger













The first things I did with this car was aligning the wheel, I´m a car mechanic and work at a shop where we have professional wireless wheel aligning tools. The car drives like a dream compared to before, and the steering wheel is dead center straight.

And I did the rear brakes, they were rather worn and rusted solid to be honest, the brake cylinders looked fairly new but the previous mechanic must´ve forgot to lubricate the moving parts of the drum brakes. Now the brakes in the rear work, and I also loosened up the front handbrake mechanism which was stuck solid and had appearantly overheated the brake pads, which also were stuck in the sliders, so the brakes are solid now.

Rear shocks are brand new,


I need bushings for the control arm in the front which holds the castor angle steady, the wheel jumps back and forth under hard acceleration because of free play in this bush. Any feedback on poly bushings or should I leave them stock? Road noise?



Well that´s all there is to it for me, I fiddle to get it lifted sometime but the main project is making it look better and fix the rust in the rear wheel wells before the thing collapses in the back.

I see you have the raised Touring Wagon roofline, and the same hubcaps (wheel trims) that were the standard issue here in Australia. I have replaced inner lower control arm bushes with standard rubber many years ago.

you have light washers. I want a set of those to replace mine!!

It has exactly come to my attention that very few details of the car have been lost or damaged during its 24 year lifetime, the interior is spot on, nothing cracked broken or scratched.

The outside shows a little more wear, the top has two bumps and the right side has some too, the rear bumper has been bumped at least once and both of the taillights are broken away. But these are details of which are easy to fix, and I believe easy for me to find here anyway.


I plan spraying the outside of the car white, tint the windows black, and spray the rims white aswell. Leave other trim black, perhaps paint it again as it has gone rather mat.



Thanks for the replies.

You may have missed Chris's pont - we did not get the luxo headlamp washers on L Series sold new in Australia. They forgot to print the options offered to other markets. think Chris has a recent import from the better choice markets which is probably why he spotted yours in the first place. Do you have L Series sedans in Iceland? We did. Factory diagrams show sedan also got a rear window wiper. Love to see a photo of one !

That's a nice wagon you have there Sævar. Now you just need to visit me in this week so we can make my wagon running good.

steptoe wrote:You may have missed Chris's pont - we did not get the luxo headlamp washers on L Series sold new in Australia. They forgot to print the options offered to other markets. think Chris has a recent import from the better choice markets which is probably why he spotted yours in the first place. Do you have L Series sedans in Iceland? We did. Factory diagrams show sedan also got a rear window wiper. Love to see a photo of one !

We have Sedans and Coupes as well.

I don´t believe I remember seeing a Sedan with a rear window wiper but the coupe has a humongous rear wiper unit.


Tonight I bought some spoke rims which I plan to paint snow white like the Sub.

New tires will need to have a white strip in them too!

And when winter rolls along - will you be able to find your snow white car with snow white rims and white stripe tyres or leave it 'til the thaw?
We got ripped off again in Australia - no coupes

The salt they use on the roads here when it snows would kill this subaru if I were to use it in the winter season.

So if I plan to keep it for a longer period then I will probably keep it stored between the summers.

Ok, - Back here, with a new user account unfortunately, this is the one I'll keep, the old one seems to have been blocked for an unknown reason, not recognized at all.

My wagon is on overhaul right now, I´ve replaced the clutch set, got a nice set from RedEx on ebay, looks very pro- like. not cheap china junk, kit included disc, pressure plate, bearing, bearing into flywheel and an alignment tool.

The clutch change went really well, 1 man job, done in about 3 hours total.

I used the chance to fix the leaking valve covers and also glued back the oil pan. If leaks persist I worry it might be the front crankshaft bearing or head gaskets(rare right?)

Well I will be needing a new radiator, wouldn´t be surprised if this is the original once, 24 years old it is then.


The car will also need some body work, the sills around the rear wheels are rotted away and the wheel arch is starting to burn.

The rear quarterpanels are surprisingly whole, but they will be serviced as well.

The rear wheel subframe is also broken and needs replacing, I´ve gathered some parts but the radiator is yet to be found, perhaps a brand new one will be bought, this is a restoration project after all...

Here are a few images. The car is off plates right now to avoid paying expensive insurance, but I will be registering it around christmas time, thats when it is 25 years old and considered an antique car, which makes it a tax-free car and low insurance.

Here are some pictures which speak more than my words



0- engine, dirty engine compartment, I flushed it with oil cleanser and set it overnight, morning after brushed it a little and took on it with the pressure washer, looks much brighter and better, still dirty though, but good enough for me.



Dirty engine with new clutch, I realized motor mount-to block bolts were loose, might explain a few noises which appeared with rapid acceleration and hard deceleration/ down gearing.


Engine cleaned, valve covers and oil pan sealed back. Should be sound now...



Fitting the engine back was a little more hassle, as me only being alone there with too short hands, telling the hoist to go up-down-up wasnt working so aligning things took some time, but nothing an Icelander can´t take care of. Patience is all it took.



Earlier this summer I attempted selling this car, I see now that I would have cried had I succeeded in selling it... there was a lot of attention brought to it but nobody had cash in their pockets.

New-ish rear shocks



All original papers were found in storage compartments all around the car, in mint condition.





I hope you enjoy this as much as I do...


Myself in front of my friends' GL when it was being hand painted...



Some older images from summer 2010....






Some foolishness caught on camera last summer... before I started caring about him...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgXtVQ5STZ8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTlpNRpM6Qw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yck8E4V2vfI -> This one you must see!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBYNgIKXkUQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCqyqEW7k9s

Thanks for your interest and please leave a suggestion/comment

the oil leaks could be from the oil seal on the front of the crankshaft. it is an easy/cheap repair, only a few dollars, but you do have to remove the radiator and timing belts. (easier if you have the motor out of course)
would pay to replace belts anyway if they have done high mileage (over 80,000k) or had oil on them they will break down.
wish we had the concessional licence like you and many other EU countries, but we are penalised to the maximum, the authorities here want as much money out of us as they can.

Thanks for your info, I've replaced the rear seal along with the clutch kit, however it wasnt leaking at all, just pre-caution. It is after all a pretty worn car although it doesnt show it.

I will probably be driving the time belts until they slip, as this is an obsolute non-interference engine right?

I'm a cheap mechanic, I dont feel like replacing things that still do their job even if they are a little worn and dont do severe damage if they fail.

But I will probably remove the engine again if Id change the belts and the seal. Id probably buy a rebuild kit for the engine including all seals and head gaskets etc. They don´t come that expensive really if I look around bid items on eBay.

Now one more thing, the hill holder valve on my Subie is a little stiff, (This car sat unmoved for 4 years before I got it)


Ive made the valve a little less stiff now with some lubricant and pliers, but I´m not sure exactly where it should be pointing as it seems it can turn a whole circle with ease, I have the cable but I can´t be sure how to adjust it.

A mechanical adjusment would take ages... I think.

So is there a schematic and a proper procedure to adjust this valve? I´d like it to work.



Thanks in advance.

Summer tires in the snow beg for trouble, bit it was all great fun!!

had a bit of the -'ol japanese drifting camber- issue going on in my subby







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here´s why











Got this brand new looking piece from Guðni F here on Ausubaru... and swapped it in..






the rust isnt so bad, body wise, its mainly in the rear end sills and rear quarterpanels, and also a hole is forming in the kickplate in the front...




bushing refreshener compound for the rear diff pinion hanger

removed sound dampener, now the real subaru orchestra is revealed




no more camber, + some ride height gained back, everyone happy

In january I sold this car, i traded it for a suzuki vitara 1997, but i missed the subaru so much that I bought it again from the guy who traded with me, in hard cash...

Then i made a big mistake by painting it black and lowering it, i hope to soon spray it white again professionally... or find a more reliable subaru l to restore.





So far Ive taken out the tinted windows again and put it to normal ride height, soon I hope to find time to sand it down and paint it white again

I............ Kinda like it lowered. I think
Would make a great sleeper like that!

looked good but this car is not to be looked at only, i use it daily and having no springs in the suspension at all is not my cup of tea