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Post by sikari2015 on May 9, 2013 12:33:21 GMT -4
Greetings! I'm new to the forum, Rowan is my name. I'm another Aussie. I currently own a 1983 Sherpa van (Super Deluxe, is there any other lol). I bought it four years ago for the princely sum of $250, registered. It had a leaking water pump, which turned out to be a missing drain screw, I siliconed one in and all was good. I bought the car as a cheap commuter as my main car is a bit more thirsty and I wanted to reduce the kms I added to it. To be honest, the Sherpa is the best purchase I ever made. It paid for itself in less than 6 months and is so fun to drive. I moved interstate for work two years ago and left the car with my dad who was going to replace the head gasket, which we suspected of needing replacement as the car burns oil. Well, he never got around to it so I've recently reconstructed what he did pull off and got it back on the road. In the meantime I've discovered more engine rebuild parts online, so I now plan on taking the car back to where I live now and fully restoring it. It's rusted in what I gather to be usual spots, and some of the interior plastics have deteriorated. However being such a nifty little car I feel confident I can return this stunner to its former glory. I'll add photos once I can and keep updating the project so hopefully other Sherpa owners out there can be inspired and educated.
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Post by lincolntbird on May 9, 2013 12:41:40 GMT -4
You did better than I did, I paid $450 with 12months rego for my '86. I use the '86 as my work vehicle, as a mobile mechanic. I replaced the engine as it had a suspected cracked head a noise balance shaft chain. Have also reworked the rear suspension as outlined in the Sherpa section. Look forward to see pics of your Sherpa.
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Post by justyfied on May 9, 2013 14:58:23 GMT -4
Greetings! I'm new to the forum, Rowan is my name. I'm another Aussie. I currently own a 1983 Sherpa van (Super Deluxe, is there any other lol). I bought it four years ago for the princely sum of $250, registered. It had a leaking water pump, which turned out to be a missing drain screw, I siliconed one in and all was good. I bought the car as a cheap commuter as my main car is a bit more thirsty and I wanted to reduce the kms I added to it. To be honest, the Sherpa is the best purchase I ever made. It paid for itself in less than 6 months and is so fun to drive. I moved interstate for work two years ago and left the car with my dad who was going to replace the head gasket, which we suspected of needing replacement as the car burns oil. Well, he never got around to it so I've recently reconstructed what he did pull off and got it back on the road. In the meantime I've discovered more engine rebuild parts online, so I now plan on taking the car back to where I live now and fully restoring it. It's rusted in what I gather to be usual spots, and some of the interior plastics have deteriorated. However being such a nifty little car I feel confident I can return this stunner to its former glory. I'll add photos once I can and keep updating the project so hopefully other Sherpa owners out there can be inspired and educated. Welcome Rowan: nice to have another new member here. Iam busy so beside's a big hearty WELCOME I wanted to draw your attention to the electronic version of the Subaru Factory service manual we have for you free of charge: classicsubarujusty.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=sherpastuff&action=display&thread=17
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Post by sikari2015 on May 10, 2013 1:50:43 GMT -4
Thanks for the warm welcomes. Hopefully these images work. Yep, thats the Roadrunner, originally fitted at the dealership. Cool story about ownership actually. The car was first sold in 1983 to a young woman. Within 12 months, however, she was unable to make the payments, so the woman working at the dealership who sold the car to her bought the car back and kept it for herself. 25 years later I bought it from her with the promise to keep the little beauty running. That's what I'm doing. In January this Sherpa celebrated its 30th birthday... Hopefully by its 31st birthday it will be much cleaner and well on the way to original condition.
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Post by justyfied on May 10, 2013 2:08:26 GMT -4
Now that is a Cougar, In car years 30 is getting up there in years. But what a beauty! Shouldn't look as good as it does. ;D
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Post by lincolntbird on May 10, 2013 6:07:53 GMT -4
Nice ride, I like the story & the fact that the Roadrunner was fitted at the dealership. What sort of work do you need to do to it? Are the rear louvers factory? I haven't seen them fitted to a Sherpa before. Does it have any other factory accessories? My '86 has a factory sunroof complete with storage bag so that you can drive around with the roof out, there are even straps on the cargo floor to secure the sunroof. I also fitted a factory bull bar off one of my spare cars.
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Post by sikari2015 on May 10, 2013 13:42:54 GMT -4
The louvre is an aftermarket Aunger one. Work needed includes; Rusted rhf fender Rusted door bottom edge Random rust spots Engine smokes and is noisy sometimes - suspected valves/head work needed Wheel bearings and possible cv joint, they're getting noisy Second gear synchro, irregular clunk changing down (typical) Interior door armrests have crumbled General clean up and eventual respray
So, yeah, not a lot LOL.
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Post by sikari2015 on Apr 26, 2014 5:12:21 GMT -4
Hello Again All! Time for an update, it's only been 12 months. GOOD NEW EVERYONE! I've finally got my settlement money from selling my share in an investment property. I can now afford to get my Sherpa trucked over from storage at my folks place in Perth (interstate) and I've already lined up all the engine parts I need to rebuild it. Tools are at the ready and waiting for transport quotes to come in. On a recent holiday back to Perth I worked on the body and repaired most of the major rust (except lower front skirt and lower rear skirt) and touched up the paint. Obviously the paint has faded as the correct code paint is a little darker. I intend to do a complete respray eventually but for now that will do for the body. So hopefully within 2 months the Sherpa will be in my own garage and be completely rebuilt. I'll be sure to take plenty of photos of the rebuild process. Cheers!
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Post by justyfied on Apr 26, 2014 8:59:31 GMT -4
Hello Again All! Time for an update, it's only been 12 months. GOOD NEW EVERYONE! I've finally got my settlement money from selling my share in an investment property. I can now afford to get my Sherpa trucked over from storage at my folks place in Perth (interstate) and I've already lined up all the engine parts I need to rebuild it. Tools are at the ready and waiting for transport quotes to come in. On a recent holiday back to Perth I worked on the body and repaired most of the major rust (except lower front skirt and lower rear skirt) and touched up the paint. Obviously the paint has faded as the correct code paint is a little darker. I intend to do a complete respray eventually but for now that will do for the body. So hopefully within 2 months the Sherpa will be in my own garage and be completely rebuilt. I'll be sure to take plenty of photos of the rebuild process. Cheers! Updates are good, this place moves at a slow pace sometimes so it is all good. So for interest sake what would it cost roughly to truck your car from one side of the continent to the other? glad to hear it is doable now. Good job of keeping up the appearance on a non running car, shows some dedication for sure. However it is already in enviably great condition!
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Post by sikari2015 on Jun 22, 2014 5:43:10 GMT -4
Speaking of things moving slowly... I have FINALLY got the Sherpa on a truck heading over to me as I type. It's costing $550 door to door delivery. I've also ordered the parts I believe I require to rebuild the engine, around $260 worth. I've got the following coming: Gasket set Ring set Main bearings Con-rod bearings Water pump Timing belt I've also got almost all of the tools I'll need, but I need to find or fabricate the crankshaft pulley remover/holder tool. The tools will be reused on many vehicles so I'm not including their cost in the rebuild tally Photos will start when the car arrives and I'll try to take photos as I progress.
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Post by lincolntbird on Jun 22, 2014 11:41:39 GMT -4
Hi sikari, Good to hear the car is on it's way to you. Where did you get your parts from? I got my parts from a local Subaru dealer & from Precision International & the pistons are Justy ones from Canada. I found that I didn't need a holder/remover tool to remove the bottom pulley, but would be interested to see photos of your remover when you have it made. Will be interested to see what water pump they send you, because when I made inquiries about there pump what they described was incorrect. I bought 3 genuine pumps.
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Post by justyfied on Jun 23, 2014 12:03:31 GMT -4
Be great to see this fine example back on the road again someday. Don't forget to look at your chain drive for the Oil pump/ water pump and the slack adjusting wear bar for it. Hope all goes well now that it is back home with you.
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Post by sikari2015 on Jul 8, 2014 22:20:06 GMT -4
So I've ordered a few more tools from ebay... piston ring compressor, compression tester, universal pulley holder. I've also discovered my previous rust-proofing hasn't really held up and needs a bit more done. I've decided to do a full engine removal and rebuild so will get an engine stand too. I can then clean up the engine bay, fix some rust spots, get my mate to reproduce the stickers, tidy up the body and do a complete respray with the original colour. I've had a colour match sample made, but it's darker than the car due to it fading over 30 years. It's not a big job when you think about it and it will make the car sooooo much better. There's a company on ebay advertising the front windscreen also, which I will need to get as someone threw a bottle at the car when it was stored at my parent's place and it cracked the windscreen. I hope I can also find a new seal kit for the front windscreen, it will definitely need it. I haven't tried Subaru for any parts yet, but will do once I start the strip down. No work has actually begun yet, so no photos thus far. They will come... promise.
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Post by justyfied on Jul 8, 2014 23:29:36 GMT -4
Man , you are gearing up to really fix this car up right. Hope you can find a windscreen seal, why are people so ignorant as to trash someones car? Kind of like kicking a dog when it is down!
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Post by sikari2015 on Jul 18, 2014 22:23:04 GMT -4
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