The description “subcompact hatchback” doesn’t exactly draw the muscle car folks out in droves, but there are more than a few of us who like these unusual little vehicles and we’re an equal opportunity car shop here at Barn Finds. This 1988 4WD 5-speed Subaru Justy can be found here on eBay in Charlotte, North Carolina with no reserve and a current bid price just over $1,100.
Crunch, ouch. The first photo looked so good, too. I’m not sure what happened there. It appears that this one may have had some JDM-style outside mirrors on the front fenders that were partially removed. An early “low roof” Justy is fairly desirable to fans of these cars. I prefer the later cars with fuel-injection rather than the carburetor-equipped cars. The last of what I call the square Justys were the 1988 models so that’s another reason for Justy fans to like this car. The Justy was available in the US from 1987 to 1994 and I have been looking for a nice, rust-free, fuel-injected, 5-speed, 4WD Justy for years. I have yet to find one with all of those things going for it.
You may have noticed my triple-cylinder logo/user name pic thingy? Yes, it’s because I was such a rabid Justy fan a few years ago, but I have all but given up my search for one after this many years. Back to this particular Justy. Other than the driver’s door and left front fender, this car looks great on the exterior. I don’t really see any rust which is unusual for almost any climate. They say that there is no “rust through” anywhere and the floors are solid, that’s good news. 4WD was an option and I love the fact that such a small car had the option of having all four wheels providing traction.
The button to switch on the 4WD system is on the top of the 5-speed shift knob. Some cars had a CVT, or ECTV (electronically controlled continuously variable transmission) but some of those were troublesome as they were still pretty early in the development and they weren’t as refined – if you can call it that – as they are today. Although even before my time, in 1490, Leonardo di Vinci came up with an idea of a CVT, so the idea had been kicked around for several hundred years before Subaru offered them in the Justy.
The front seats aren’t original which is unfortunate, but they do have one original front seat that goes with the sale. Parts aren’t exactly easy to find for these cars, which is why I don’t own a Subaru 360, either. The back seats are original and they look great. Plan on spending some money on a windshield as this one is badly cracked.
The Subaru EF12 1.3L inline-triple engine was rebuilt 13,000 miles ago but there is a bad knock that developed two years ago and it hasn’t been driven since. It looks good and I’m sure that the Weber carb conversion helped on the power and driveability, but a knock isn’t good. I’m guessing that it may be from the oil pump which is a known issue/flaw on the Justy engine. Or, the oil pump failed which caused a problem or a failure with another internal component which is even worse. In any case, the next owner will have to tear into this one. A rust-free 4WD 5-speed Justy is certainly worth saving. Would any of you rescue this Justy?
Hmm, I thought the 3 cylinder thingy was for a Saab.I knew someone with a Justy. She bought it to replace her 360. For an early offering for Subaru, it was quite a step up from the 360. Made out of recycled tin foil, I’m sure the wind caught the door and kinked it, imagine in a side crash, but you had to start somewhere, and look where Subaru went from these humble beginnings. I’d have to think parts are non-existent.
I think it was for 3-cylinders, in general, (Saab corn popper, Yamaha XS750E, etc.), but I added it when I got into the Justy pretty heavily. I should change it to a two-stroke cloud of blue smoke maybe.
That’s what I remember about these: 3 cylinder, CVT, AWD made these quite a unique vehicle.
I would have put my money on either Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha, or Triumph triples. I thought all Subarus had four cylinder boxers.
They started selling Subarus around Pittsburgh in 1977. The road salt killed all of them.
My friends girlfriend drove a teal Justy 4X4 with the ECVT transaxle. I did pretty good for her but I remember the CVT was not very reliable as a whole.
Some kinda fore & aft torsion bars in one of the underside photos????
Glad it’s far away in NC, or I’d be tempted. The price is right. The knock is a little troubling, but shouldn’t be too hard to tear down and get right, provided you can find parts…
Scotti, I have to say I like your taste. These little jems have been off the radar for years. Cool to see.
I liked the Mutsu or whatever that Colt was better (few w/AWD, many w/the twin stick). Lill more durable.
Now the CCVT is seen, updated, in several vehicles. Like to get 1 in the shop and disassemble…
Hint for Subaru 360 owners since that car was mentioned: the rear wheel cylinders on a Justy will fit the rear brakes on a 360!
I thought it was a Yugo at first. Since it’s a Subaru I am sure it’s much better!
I bought a FWD-only Justy for $550 from a Yuppie couple in Nashville. I was impressed with the bale of service records it came with, less so with the head’s disintegrating on my way to work the next morning … thanks to the car’s sitting parked for a year with old antifreeze. That’s hell on aluminum, turns out. I bought a good rebuildable head – my first online purchase! – from a guy in Wisconsin, and my wrenchin’ buddy Bob gave me a list of nuts, bolts and gaskets to buy, then rebuilt the head in his kitchen while watching Monday Night Football.
So I kinda fell in love with that engine while putting it back together, except for the ghastly “electric” carb – engine was exactly half the size of my ’60 Falcon’s, but almost 2/3 the horsepower. My job was about to go away, and the last month had me commuting from Nashville to Bowling Green, a trip the Justy could do in 45 minutes most days. I was also making a killing in mileage payments!
I gave the car to my son when we moved to California. That carburetor was a constant problem and it eventually killed the engine, despite all his very good mechanic could do. But that is still car I would not mind having again. A hoot to drive, especially in snow!
Auction update: SOLD for $1,225! A potential steal for someone who knows these engines.
I love the 83-94 4wd wagons, I wouldn’t want to get hit in the 4 cly, the 3 cyl is a no go
Sold for $1,225.