Need some opinions on what to look for.

[dodik]

Hey all, I most likely be buying another Legacy and soon. This will be my and not my family DD, this will be only used to commute to work and haul crap that Tribeca is too clean for.
With a budget of 2k.
I've looked around and have my choices kinda narrowed down to two its either 1st or second gen, possibly a fozzy.

While I love to get me another BD, the headgasket issue is not something i want to do in the middle of winter in a driveway and lets be honest they will eventually fail and at the worst time possible.
Next up is first gen for the money im looking to spend most likely it would be a base wagon, all SS's are way too shot. But I know almost nothing about first gen, were they prone to HG's issues, my guess they are OBD I not II, what are other common issues with them.
From what i remember the only "bulletproof" motor is pre 1996 ej22, all other are interference or HG issues.
How easy is it to find parts for 1st gen.
There are a few fozzies that fit the bill but im not sure on which engines they came with that are somewhat reliable.
Loyale, GL and 80's are not out of the question.

Basically what would you get.
Requirements are manual and have 4 doors to fit two car seats(gotta drop kids of at day care) so no GC8 coupes or SVX or Brat.

[98legwag]

I have a 98 Legacy wagon with an ej22. Overall it has been a good car. I would say look for a BD with an ej22. The 96 Outbacks with a manual trans also have an ej22 instead of the ej25, from what I have read on the interwebs.

[thenines']

legacycentral is a great place to look for 1st gen leggies/and parts-lots of members are on this forum as well-I still miss my '91 AWD wagon-still got my '91 FWD sedan. Have fun shopping!

[Dead91silvia]

I would like it if you got a BD! :)

Pretty much all 2.2's up to '98 and pretty strong, not too many HG's problems. The '98 Forester actually has a EJ25D, but in '99 they got the EJ251 (I think I got that right). Those motors still have HG's issues, but not as bad and working on them is much much simpler. The earlier 2.2 is also super easy to work on.

[nepbug]

You will be able to get more car for your money with the Legacies than a Forester. The Foresters are not as plentiful and the demand is there so the prices are higher.

If you want a good future engine swap candidate then I would bet a first gen, they were OBD1, which would make doing some of the cheaper JDM swaps or EG33 swap easier. Ej22s are "bulletproof", even after they went to an interference engine. But you can find 1995 non-interference EJ22 legacies out there in your price range too. The head gasket issue of the EJ25 has been addressed so often that it's easy to tackle yourself so that shouldn't be a big deal, as long as you don't need to do it during the winter.