Liberty White is the color (or tone) name for this 1986 Subaru GL 4WD Sedan, known in other markets as the Subaru Leone. You can see a few cosmetic issues on this car, the biggest of which is the right front corner of the bumper, and the hood appears to have been repainted. The seller has this example posted here on craigslist in beautiful Flagstaff, Arizona, and they’re asking $3,300. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Rocco B for the tip!
Maybe this would have been a better leading photo; you can’t notice the bumper or the hood color, or the adjustment being off in this photo. The only apparent issue on this side is the driver’s door trim that’s partially missing. The third-gen Leone was made from 1984 through 1994, and we got them as the DL, GL, RX, and similar two-letter designations. The seller is the grandson/granddaughter of the long-time owner of this car, and they say it has a rebuilt (“restored”?) title, and I’m assuming it’s related to the different hood color/tone, and the right front bumper ding/dent. We don’t know what happened to cause that title listing, and neither do they.
I get flashbacks seeing this Leone, or GL, as I had a somewhat similar one, at least a white, third-generation Leone, or GL, as they were known here. Mine was a 1988 RX Turbo 5-speed sedan, but from across a parking lot, they may have looked similar. Up close, the differences were pretty apparent. The boxy design of the third-generation Leone was striking compared to other cars from different eras, like a 2002 TT from Audi’s melted-bar-of-soap era.
For those who don’t care to shift for themselves, you’re in luck; this GL has a three-speed automatic. The shifter in my ’88 RX Turbo sedan was great, although not exactly WRX-quality, or even Audi TT quality. The automatic shifter or selector in this car looks as nice as the rest of the interior does, that is to say, it looks great. I don’t see any dash cracks, and Flagstaff has a more forgiving climate than Phoenix or Tucson, so hopefully the steering wheel cover is there for another reason than a cracked wheel. I’d lose it within 0.04 seconds after this car rolled off the trailer, though. The rear bench seat looks as perfect as the front bucket seats do. The seller says everything works as it should, and the air-conditioning is ice-cold!
This GL sedan is powered by Subaru’s EA-82, a 1.8-liter SOHC boxer-four, which, with its 2-barrel carburetor, had 82 horsepower and 101 lb-ft of torque when new. My ’88 RX Turbo engine had fuel-injection and 115 horsepower, but it seemed like 15 horsepower, really, I can’t believe it was a 28% jump in power over the base engine. Backed by Subaru’s 4WD system and a three-speed automatic sending power to all four wheels as needed, $3,300 seems like a reasonable price for a car with so much technology – albeit four-decade-old technology – in the drivetrain. It has a new alternator, new tires, a new battery, new timing belts (there are two), and more. The title is another issue, and the exterior glitches. Any thoughts on this 4WD Gl sedan? Yea or nay?
I remember these being very popular around where I lived. We had a good Subaru dealership in the area and a lot of people bought them. For what it is, it’s held up very well, most, if not almost all of these Subies were used up as commuter cars. So to see one thats in good shape is a bit of a treat. Personally, I’d want a stick. But thats me. Hopefully someone will get this and appreciate it.
I had a 1993 4-door 2WD 5-speed. Low mileage mint condition I bought at an estate sale in 2000. I really liked the hill-holder feature on the transmission. I had it for about a year before the engine was damaged. One of my coworkers crawled underneath and punched a hole in the oil filter with a screwdriver. I didn’t realize that until I drove it about a mile and ran it out of oil.
Why in the world with a coworker do that to your car?
Some of my coworkers were trying to run me off because I was part of the LGBT community.
Really wonderful people.
Co-worker sounds like too much of a nice name to call that loser.
I hope he/she paid for the replacement, got arrested, or at least lost their job.
Never found out who it was and management didn’t care.
Ruined a really good car.
I lived in Alaska in the early 80’s and these were the epitome of “cool” especially in the snowy climate – this is a great find, and the asking price is more than fair. For someone with a kid looking for a first car this is IT!
Lake Placid Whiteface mountain special. Or Vermont. Or Quèbec.
Ski 🎿 County ❄️ 🏔
Based on the number of these I saw, Subaru is the official car of Vermont.
I agree. We had a number of family vacations in VT. It’s just absolutely beautiful there, love the fall. My wife and I laughed because more than half the cars were Subarus, we said it must be the official state car. Funny thing is, now we own two of them.
She flipped you off for absolutely no reason, Terrry? Just because she was an “old liberal Seattle woman,” who apparently can’t drive like the rest of the old liberal Seattle women? Not to generalize…
We had an ’87 GL turbo wagon, 5-speed and 4wd. It was a neat little car that served us well. Sadly, it rusted out from under us before it was used up mechanically. I remember bringing it to our mechanic to check it over first.
He took one look under the hood and said:
“Jeezum crow- Whatcha got here is ten pounds of s__t in a five pound bag!”
For that price,I’m surprised it’s not sold already.
40 years ago, anyone could drive these old classic Subarus & I wouldn’t think anything about it. In fact, the well-to-do teachers in my schools drove these & always showed up to teach no matter the weather.
However & I say this purely as an observation, anyone driving a Subie nowadays, I give a wide berth. They tend to be very reactive, erratic & extreme drivers. What does that say about the brand as a whole?
I think the same about jacked-up pickup drivers, acemobilesrq. At least Subaru drivers aren’t usually aggressive rear-bumper-pushers. Although, if they’re in the left lane doing 54 mph… ok, now I see your point, ha!
If the car is sound that would make a perfect first or a spare car. I worked for a Subaru dealership from 81 thru 2008. The GL was the fancier version. The DL’s were the bean cans.