Good morning! I hope you all had a good holiday yesterday. While you’re nursing your cookie hangover and watching the kids play with their new toys, I’ve got a couple of old cars for you to check out. And since it’s Boxing Day in some places, they’re both boxy – and both boxers.
On Wednesday, we looked at a couple of clean, low-mileage ’70s cars, and I knew going in that the old Chevy didn’t stand much of a chance. And you’re right; it’s an Impala, not a Caprice. I could have sworn I saw a Caprice Classic badge on the front fender, but now I see it’s just a rust spot. And it does say “Impala” right on the dash in that one photo. The only excuse I can give is that I’m in the middle of moving, and my mind is a thousand places all at once.
But screw that car anyway. We know the Mazda is way cooler. Sure, the old faded paint doesn’t quite match the new paint in places, but that houndstooth interior is to die for. I’m in agreement with the majority of you; make mine the old Mazda 626.
Now, I don’t need to tell anyone in Canada, the UK, or much of the rest of the world this, but Boxing Day has nothing to do with organized pugilism. Nor does it have anything to do with horizontally-opposed engines, but why should we let that stop us from looking at a couple of boxer-powered rides? I’ve got one from each of the engine design’s most prolific makers: Volkswagen and Subaru.
1985 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia – $4,600
Engine/drivetrain: 1.9 liter OHV flat 4, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Petaluma, CA
Odometer reading: 146,000 miles
Operational status: Runs well, but needs brake work
Almost no vehicle in the world is more instantly recognizable than a Volkswagen van. Whether it’s the earlier Type 2, or this later Vanagon, when you see one, you know what it is immediately. And that goes double for the pop-top camper models, like this Westfalia.
The Vanagon follows the mechanical design of the old VW vans, with a flat 4 engine under the rear floor , and driver’s and passenger’s seats over the front axle. This is a “Wasserboxer” van, with a water-cooled 1.9 liter engine. The radiator is up front, receiving airflow from the extra grille just above the front bumper. This one has been sitting for a few years, and the seller has done some work to revive it. It has a new fuel pump, and it runs great, but apparently it needs some work on the brakes. Whether or not you could drive it home, I don’t know.
It’s a little rough inside; the seat upholstery is worn through in some places, and the carpet isn’t in great shape. It does have a barefoot gas pedal, as any good VW van (or any old van, frankly) should have. We don’t get any good views of the rear area, where it’s supposed to have seats that fold down into a bed, a sink, and a small stove. If it’s anything like the front, it’s livable, but not what you’d call nice. But really nice Westys cost a lot more than this these days.
It’s rust-free outside, but man, that rear bumper has seen better days. I get that a brick on wheels is hard to maneuver from way up high in the front, but if you back into something, you’re supposed to try not to back into it again. Maybe it needs one of those special Japanese mirrors on it.
1990 Subaru Loyale Wagon – $3,650
Engine/drivetrain: 1.8 liter OHC flat 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Bloomingdale, NJ
Odometer reading: 86,000 miles
Operational status: Runs well, but needs brake work
For many years, Subaru’s standard line of cars, known as the Leone in Japan, had no model name in America. It was known only by its trim level, usually DL, GL, or GL-10. But when Subaru introduced a new, bigger car with an actual name – the Legacy – the old model needed a name. Rather than call it the Leone, Subaru badged the old model here as the Loyale.
The Loyale is powered by an overhead-cam version of Subaru’s flat 4, displacing 1.8 liters. This one has an automatic transmission. The seller seems to think it is four-wheel-drive, but it is not. The rear hubs tell the tale, but in case there was any doubt, there’s an undercarriage shot that clearly shows the lack of a rear differential. It runs well, but the seller says the front brakes lock up, and the tires are old and dry-rotted. They suggest towing it home, and I concur.
It looks like it’s in great shape inside, except for a little fading. It does have motorized seat belts, I’m sorry to say; Subaru didn’t spring for airbags in its cars until they were required. I’m sure that makes it a no-go for some of you.
Outside, it looks pretty good, but there are a few rust spots here and there. But there are quite a few underside photos in the ad, and it doesn’t look bad under there at all. There is, however, one bit of weirdness I want you to see:
Is that old license plate covering up a rust hole in the quarter panel? I have a feeling it is. Interesting choice.
Volkswagen has, I think, finally given up on boxer engines, though Porsche has kept the flame alive. But Subaru grabbed the concept and ran with it early on, and shows no signs of abandoning the design anytime soon. These older ones have a good reputation, but later ones have been a mixed bag. And the old VW Wasserboxer engines have corrosion problems if you’re not judicious about keeping the coolant clean. Life is probably easier with a more typical inline or V-shaped engine, honestly, but I know a lot of folks who still love their boxers. If you had to choose – and you do, that’s how we play this game – what’ll it be: the VW you can sleep in, or the rusty but trusty Subaru?
The VW seems like a decent deal. Campers tend to command premiums.
I’ll take the Westie and a AAA RV plan and go campground to campground on the 101 as long as I can afford the repair bills.
My parents had both of these, though the Loyale my mom had was a turbo and hilarious to drive when the boost eventually hit and would upset the chassis. The VW is my pick this go around, mostly because that particular Loyale isn’t worth anything in my eyes. I also have fond memories of both of my dad’s T3s, the first being an air-cooled one and the second being a water-cooled one, so that helps too.
Manual or all wheel drive and I would have taken the subbie. But I’ll take the van this time around
I had a Vanagon Syncro Westfalia. It is the only car my wife ever said, “is this as fast as it will go?” Even with an upgraded engine it was a moving guardrail, VW really scrimped in building Vanagons, the wiring is cheap vinyl clad crap. The connectors crumble and the sensors are as reliable as Xmas tree lights. The brakes are abysmal. I ended up upgrading to rear disks and better front brakes as well. It was an endless run chasing poor manufacturing choices by VW. It was so hopelessly unreliable my wife got platinum towing with AAA. Really, the electrical system was so poorly thought out, it would have made the 70’s era Lucas engineers burst out laughing. Sad, since the actual package for light camping was a nice and comfortable. Too bad it was surrounded by very poor choices in the actual running gear by VW. If you want your wife to leave you, get this one, it will drive, well tow, her away.
This is why I want a Mazda Bongo Friendee. It’s equivalent to a VW Weekender but has a powerful turbo diesel, a reliable 4 speed automatic and air conditioning that works. The same goes for a HiAce, but pop tops are harder to find.
Keep an eye on Delicas too –they had their vanlife heyday but prices have kinda topped out. Lots of good vans with decent camper conversions on the used market (esp PNW and Colorado). I had a non-camper Delica for a few years that I wish I still had…very reliable, reasonably efficient for what is essentially a square block going down the road. On the manuals, the gearing could be pretty short, so at 75-80 it’d be revving pretyt high.
I had a non-Westy Vanagon Syncro. Loved it, but good lord you hit the head on the nail with the wiring issues. Mine melted its ignition switch. Twice. Most comfortable driver’s I’ve ever had in a car, though, and the standing-height eye position and front-row-of-the-rollercoaster feeling made it great fun offroad and on trails.
The VW is closer to being a house if you can find a place to legally park it for the long term, so I suppose in that context $4600 is a good deal. As transportation, it looks like just a big down payment for more misery.
I’ve got a thing for Loyale wagons, but $3600 seems expensive for that one. Still, I’d trust it more than the VW. Subie + an annual case of Fluid Film for me.
Couldn’t pay me that price to own that abominably ugly, slow, and useless POS VW even if it was in brand new condition. Those garbage things should all be rounded up and recycled. Not a fan of EA82s, either, but my experience with EA81, Impreza, and Legacy FWDs were that they drove better than the AWDs and got significantly better mileage. Also, motorized mice are a huge plus over early air bags and I will say that every damn time it’s mentioned. That was true when they were new, never mind after 35 years. Not only were early airbags apt to kill smaller people (even though I’m not one), but they came with hideous steering wheels that couldn’t be changed out.
One would think that last being registered in 1999 plus the memories of Hitler’s Revenge (my 1969 VW Variant with Year Two of D-Jetronic – which had 37 components, each of which could and would brick at random, decades before OBD and home scanners) would steer me away, but I’ll take the Westie.
The Loyale is FWD, Automatic, and has Mousetrap seat belts. The only saving grace is that it’s a wagon, but it’s about as boring as you can get in an automobile.
Any Westie selling for less than $5,000 on the west coast is ROUGH!!!
That said the Subaru is really only good for scrap metal so the Westie wins by default.
The van, with a little work could be sold for more AND the seatbelts on the sub make it a no go do the van gets the vote.
Sorry. Just can’t bring myself to step into either of these shit boxes today.
I thought you were going to get the Volvo?
Nah, too boxy.
(Arrested Development evading the censors.)
I personally wouldn’t want either, but I feel like the poor Subaru is out of its league in this matchup.
This is the first time I wanted a link to one of the choices.
Voted for that Westie.
Click the car’s sub-title for the link to the ad.
Thank you
My father had a ‘91 Loyale FWS coupe that was an ok car.It was underpowered even for a car of that era.One thing I remember about that car was it had a weird decal next to the license plate.One day he pulled it off and it had a rust hole the size of an egg underneath it.He just looked at me and laughed.All those old Subaru cars turned to dust pretty quickly up here in NEPA.
I was thinking Subaru instantly, but then you tell me it’s rusty, it’s an Auto, and it’s only fwd? Nah I’ll take the brown, manual wagon, er, vanagon.
Person 1: Oh no, we’re out of Bondo.
Person 2: Don’t worry, I’ve got this.
Me: If that Subie had been a Jersey/NE car for its entire life, there’s a lot more rust repair than the license plate.
Talk the Subaru down a few, and I could make it a winter car with a bit of work and new tires.
But to think a plain old automatic that needs brakes ($) and tires ($) is worth that, I’m sure you could find a much newerAltima that is “driveable” for less.
The ad for the Vanagon doesn’t have any pictures with the top raised. Gee, I wonder why not? The cost of repairing or replacing that will make the brake work look like pocket change.
I’ll take the Loyale and buy a block of cheddar on the way home, so I can say I have a Loyale with cheese.
I’ve changed the tent on an early Vanagon. It’s not that hard and costs less than $300.
AWD is the only thing a Subaru has going for it.
I’ll take my chances with the Van.
This was actually a hard choice because on the one hand, the wasserboxer is not as easy as an air-cooled VW which I understand well, and the Subaru looks like it’s rusty and I have never been able to do anything effective about rust once it’s to the point that you are welding license plates and assorted junk to the car to cover it up. So I decided Wasserboxer today. Maybe there’s some way to swap the engine with an air-cooled version and ditch the Bosch electronics in favor of dual carbs or something? Dunno, but it’s more likely to work than rust repair.
The Westy is rough as hell but it’s actually worth something after you put work into it. The Subaru is already overpriced IMO, and ultimately just a fairly boring FWD automatic wagon devoid of the two things that actually make old Subies cool…weirdness (see: XT) and 4wd (see: many other models), not to mention non-turbo and an automatic.
Turbos weren’t faster enough to be worth it, especially the EA engines. FWD got closer in performance through reduced weight and driveline drag, at least in regards to Legacys.
A Wasserboxer with the mystical Bosch computer system that no one seems to know how to work on (been there, done that)……I’ll take the Subaru.
Well, maybe Testerossa vs. 959 would’ve been a better way to go, but all the ones on Craigslist are total crapwagons. So I guess, if I have to pick, I’ll take the Subie.