For Sale: The Best Car In The World (probably)
The Mk 3 Subaru L-series made from 1984 - 1994 is a remarkable machine and my favourite car. I’ve been driving these incredibly practical cars for almost thirty years as they do everything you could ever want a daily driver to do. They also have optional 4 wheel drive with a low ratio, and being low weight are absolutely brilliant off-road. Not made for luxury, this is an inexpensive car with exquisite engineering and I’ve yet to find a daily driver that is so satisfying on so many levels.
The small stock of Uk registered vehicles is in single figures now. My version, the 4x4 wagon was, a couple of years ago, the only one left registered as roadworthy by the DVLA. Since then, mine has been off the road and two others have appeared so some are being restored or revived but in tiny numbers. Two. Now that really is rare…
The video below outlines what’s on offer in this sale. I had planned to restore the car to perfection at some point in my life but need to concentrate on my other project, the Nagara MG Midget Continental 1500 prototype. I’m also moving to a new workshop soon. My beloved Subaru needs a new owner who can keep it on the road and look after it properly.
What is Included in the sale?
The red car pictured above plus a dark green spares car that is identical apart from the exterior colour, and numerous spare parts and some body panels.
Red Subaru J566 NOD
1992 Subaru L-Series 1.8 DL 4x4 Wagon has a manual 5-speed gearbox with selectable four-wheel drive that gives the driver a choice of front-wheel drive for regular roads, high-ratio four-wheel drive for slippery regular roads (ice and snow) or low-ratio four-wheel drive for off-road use. When in 4X4 mode the front and rear drives are locked together (thankfully there is no centre differential between front and back) for amazing off-road ability.
Condition.
The interior of the car is not perfect but very, very good considering it has been a hard-working no nonsense work-horse all its life. The body work is tatty but largely undamaged though the doors are rusty; they could be repaired or swapped with doors from the green car that are in excellent condition. Everything works as it should except: the heater (I made a temporary matrix for it as a new one wasn’t available at the time) which is warm enough to clear a misty windscreen in the winter; the rear tailgate gas struts and the rear screen washer. There is also a weep from the fuel tank. It needs new tyres a bit of welding, a fixed or new fuel tank and some odds and ends for an MOT.
The Engine is a superb 1.8 litre all alloy horizontally opposed 4 cylinder (boxer) with single overhead cams per bank. It was, when built, one of the lightest 4 cylinder car engines in the world at only 85 kg. It is a non-interference engine so if a timing belt ever breaks, no damage is done. I rebuilt the engine about 8 years ago because previous owners had neglected it for years and years. I carried out the following:
crankshaft grind with new main bearings and big-end bearings, a re-bore with new pistons and rings, ground and resurfaced block, new (then) timing belts, water pump, oil pump and, naturally, new gaskets, oil-seals and pipework. I also fitted a new clutch. Since the rebuild, I have changed the cam belts again, about 3 years ago though they have few miles on them because I stopped using the car shortly afterwards.
About the cylinder heads. The weak points in these engines are a design fault in the cylinder heads - if they over-heat they can crack. Many owners (in the USA and Australia and elsewhere) ignore the cracks because the engine will run very well if they are not too serious though that does mean topping up the coolant more often than usual. I had the cracks welded up by a specialist near Luton who worked for Cosworth Race Engines and he did a wonderful job. The heads were then machined, fitted with new valve seats and skimmed.
About the valve lifters. After a high mileage, the hydraulic (oil-pressure operated) lifters/tappets can fail’ The car, when I bought it, was so afflicted though it ran very well. During the engine rebuild I replaced them all with new ones and I have eight more new ones if ever they are needed.
Rust. When I bought the car, almost 10 years ago, it had a full MOT and looked pretty good underneath. But on closer inspection it was a rust bucket that had been bodged together. So I set to work. I removed the suspension, the engine, the interior and many other parts and cut out all the rust and welded in new metal. But now, some of the rust is coming through again in other places, though none of it is difficult to fix. Some more welding is required, but nothing serious.
The Spares included in the sale.
The Green Subaru J598 LTA. This car is included the sale and is identical to the red car apart from the exterior colour; even the interior colours and fabrics are identical so the project will have the vast majority of those hard-to-source parts such as trim. As far as interior and exterior trim is concerned, you should have pretty much two of everything. The green car is probably too far gone underneath to make a restoration viable so it is perfect as a spares car. All the exterior panels are pretty good and so many could be transferred to the red car. The green car is missing: it’s fuel tank (I still have it but it is rusty), the exhaust system, and front seat-belts. The tyres don’t hold air for long but long enough for the car to be winched onto a trailer. The carburettor, alternator, radiator, fan and HT leads are off the car in a box.
The spares list - all 2nd hand or used unless stated new.
Front Exhaust system - totally rusty but handy to use as a pattern.
Lower bull-bar (probably home-made) from the red car, it didn’t really do much so I removed it.
Electrical spares.
2 x dashboard binacles, both from GL models so you could upgrade if required.
3 x instrument clusters complete with all fittings and gauges, all from either GL or turbo models with rev-counters so, again you can upgrade if required.
3 x rear light units, 1 left, 2 right.
2 x front side/indicator light units both right-hand.
5 x headlamp units, 3 left, 2 right.
A Fuse and relay box complete with fuses and relays for a GL model if you wanted to upgrade some items.
A complete column stalk switch assembly (lights, wipers, indicators)
6 x central locking solenoid servos, 5 large for doors and one small (possibly for something else such as fuel flap or tailgate) from a GL model if you wanted to upgrade.
A digital dashboard clock
A wiper control unit
4 x relays
An electric window multi-switch unit (see body panels list for whole GL doors)
An electric mirror multi switch unit
A rear tailgate switch
3 x single electric power window switches
A vacuum relay and vacuum tank for heater controls
A windscreen washer pump (looks broken)
An air-suspension (I think) pump with bracket
A dashboard lamp holder
2 x headlamp control units (you will need them!)
A rear wiper switch
A power window relay on a bracket.
Body panel spares.
One right-hand wing mirror
2 x front doors (left and right) complete with glass, trim, handles, everything etc from a GL with electric windows.
1 x tailgate from a GL ‘high-roof’ model, it won’t fit but it can provide repair pieces for the rear window surround.
One damaged bonnet
2 x New (new old stock) front wings, one left and one right, in factory primer still in their cardboard cases.
Various small trim pieces and shaped underlay.
Mechanical Spares.
A broken fuel pump and bracket for reference.
A used clutch release bearing in good condition.
3 x alternators for exchange or repair including one bracket off the green car and a long mounting bolt.
A starter motor for exchange or repair.
A broken hot air feed tube for the carb intake as reference.
A new, boxed (new old stock) front drive shaft complete.
An old broken front drive shaft for repair or parts, complete but with sheared end threads.
3 x steering rack gaiters, one pattern, two universal.
Engine Parts.
8 x new and boxed hydraulic tappets
2 x used cam belts, idlers and a toothed pulley (non-interference engine so for emergency use)
A steel heater pipe
1 x set new old stock (8 shells) boxed big-end bearings (-0.5mm)
2x set new old stock (6 shells) main crankshaft bearings (-0.5mm)
1 x set new old stock boxed std piston rings (12 rings)
A used oil pump rotor set
Various used piston rings std.
A new oil-seal (possible crank)
A new boxed water-pump, new old stock, with gasket, O-ring and fasteners.
1 x New unopened full engine gasket set and two opened part-used sets.
The radiator and fan from the green car.
Wheel Bearings and brakes
Pair of boxed new (new old stock) wheel bearings VBK718
Pair of boxed new (new old stock) wheel bearings 906100007
Pair of boxed new (new old stock) wheel bearings QWB 714
1 x rear wheel cylinder (brakes)
2 x front brake disks that need surfacing.
Alloy Wheels: 2 sets of 4
Also for sale, but available separately if required, are two sets of alloy wheels.
Subaru Alloys: One set is of 4 genuine Subaru 14” alloys that are much sought-after by owners of the ‘Brat’ pick-up trucks because there is a wider range of off-road tyres for the 14” wheel. The wheels are in fair condition having been used off-road by previous owners. They have some old tyres on them that need replacing.
KN Engineering Alloys: This set of 4 wheels is exceedingly rare. 5J 13” marked ‘Mercury’. KN made alloy wheels in the UK for many brands including Ferrari. The ones for sale here are very light at just over 5 kg each and I think they might be magnesium but they could be aluminium. Anyway, they are truly gorgeous and in as near perfect condition as you could imagine.
Prices.
Everything above including both sets of alloy wheels: £4,350
Everything above excluding the alloy wheels: £3,750
If you’d like the Red car supplied with a new MOT, add £1,500 To include all the welding, a new fuel tank, new tyres and so-on.
The images above are a few of the huge numbers taken during the engine rebuild and the extensive welding done to the car a few years ago. The new owner will have a memory stick with all the images I can find relating to the car. Note that the car has never been fully restored, just repaired to a good standard to keep it on the road.
The cars and parts are situated in S. Devon, UK.
If you have any questions, please do comment here or via Messenger or Facebook and I’ll endeavour to answer them.
Nick Nakorn
7th August 2020