Subaru Legacy BC

Subaru's catalogue lists the Vi as E-BC2 with the 1,820 cc engine, five-speed manual and front-wheel drive. The E-BC3 manual Mi has part-time 4WD; an E-BC2 manual Mi has front-wheel drive. The Ti (E-BC3) uses the EJ18 at 110 PS. The E-BC5 VZ shares its type code with the RS; Subaru also lists a front-wheel-drive E-BC4 VZ. The VZ has manual and automatic versions.

The GT Touring Wagon is E-BF5, the Brighton 220 is E-BF7, and the air-suspension wagons carry their own codes: E-BFA for the VZ and E-BFB for the Brighton 220. A type code therefore gives the body and engine family. The grade and drivetrain come from the full designation and the car itself.

The February 1989 RS has an intercooled turbo EJ20 of 1,994 cc rated 220 PS at 6,400 rpm and 27.5 kgf·m at 4,000 rpm. It is a five-speed manual with full-time 4WD and a limited-slip differential as standard, on a 2,580 mm wheelbase, and it uses premium unleaded with a 60-litre tank. First to fifth gears are 3.545, 2.111, 1.448, 1.088 and 0.825, with a 4.111 final drive.

These are Subaru's PS ratings, not SAE horsepower. The GT Touring Wagon is rated lower at 200 PS and 26.5 kgf·m. HKS lists the EJ20G engine for BC5 and BF5 in its application chart; that is a parts maker's fitment chart, not a Subaru build record. Subaru's Cartopia dates the GT wagon to October 1989; its English March 2005 summary says 1993, although that document's chronology says October 1989.

Japan did have a 2.2-litre Legacy. The Brighton 220 Touring Wagon in the June 1992 catalogue uses the naturally aspirated EJ22 of 2,212 cc, rated 135 PS at 5,500 rpm and 19.0 kgf·m at 4,000 rpm, with a four-speed automatic and full-time 4WD. Subaru lists it at 1,370 kg and 4,620 × 1,690 × 1,500 mm. An air-suspension version, E-BFB, is catalogued separately, so check the type code if the car has air springs.

STI's first complete car went on sale on 3 August 1992 as a Touring Wagon limited to 200 cars built to order. Subaru says the engine was computer-tuned to 220 PS and the E-4AT was tuned to suit, and that the car carries BBS forged aluminium wheels and a front strut tower brace. The 200 is the announced limit for this edition only, and the page does not state how many were completed.

Before the launch, three modified RS-based development cars ran 100,000 km at Subaru's Arizona test centre. They started on 2 January 1989 and finished on 21 January, in 447 hours 44 minutes 9.887 seconds, an average of 223.345 km/h. That was an endurance record on modified cars. Subaru's chronology dates Legacy World Rally Championship participation from April 1990 and its first win to the New Zealand rally in August 1993. Those were competition cars, so their figures do not describe road cars.

Subaru notified recall 479 on 9 July 1997. Some first-generation cars had an insufficiently tightened accessory crank pulley bolt, which can cause noise. Left alone, the bolt can drop out, the pulley can come off and the power steering can lose its function, and in the worst case the engine can stop. The remedy is to retighten the bolt and replace the pulley where its mounting is damaged.

The recall lists BC and BF chassis ranges built between 29 December 1988 and August 1993, so check the chassis number. The US 25-year rule is judged on each car's own build date (49 CFR 591.5(i)), not on model year or launch date. EPA's over-21-years exemption requires the original engine model and configuration, or an equivalent or newer EPA-certified replacement with its emission controls. State registration and emissions rules differ, and Canada counts 15 years from the month and year of manufacture.