At just under 10 feet long, just over 4 feet wide, and weighing just 1,180 pounds, you could say this is a small van. Small vehicles are a-ok in my world, and these vans don’t come up for sale too often. This 1970 Subaru Sambar Van is posted here on Facebook Marketplace in Hartford, Wisconsin, and the seller is asking $5,900. Here is the original listing, and thanks to NW Iowa Kevin for the tip!
Crumple zone? We ain’t got no crumple zone. We don’t need no crumple zone. I don’t have to show you any stinkin’ crumple zone! – to paraphrase one of the best movies ever made: Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Subaru made the Sambar in either pickup or van body style and, of course, they were never meant to be on American freeways, so there’s no need to spend too much time saying how incredibly unsafe this thing would be on the freeway. It’s like saying a rowboat would be incredibly unsafe on the freeway. Although the rowboat may be safer and get up to speed faster… ha.
Subaru made the second-generation Sambar from 1966 through 1973, and if you’re 6′-5″ tall like I am, although I hope you’re not because it isn’t as much fun as most people think, you can modify the driver’s seat to get enough legroom to actually drive this van. If you have a Sambar pickup, you’re out of luck as there’s no way to move the seat back. That’s one benefit of the van variation of the Sambar.
The other benefit is that you can actually haul five people and enough luggage for a weekend trip, hopefully taken down a 45-mph two-lane road in the country. This van appears to have a lot of wrinkles and/or dimples in the body (whose doesn’t?!), but rust doesn’t appear to be a big issue, which it often is. The interior looks great from what I can see, and the seller mentions that a lot of the panels and other interior bits have been taken out to work on the restoration, but they come with the sale. There is a back seat, and it’ll need work, but that’s the least of your worries when restoring a 10-foot-long micro-van.
There’s the engine in all its glory, newly accessed from the exterior for 1970. It’s Subaru’s EK33, a 356-cc two-stroke air-cooled parallel-twin with about 26 horsepower. It sends power to a four-speed manual and then to the rear wheels, and is said to run and run well, but, as is the case 90% of the time, it needs work on the brakes, and this one also has a boat gas tank as the factory one is bypassed. Those can be hard to find, but hopefully the original one can be fixed. I can’t remember when I’ve seen such a nice, solid Subaru Sambar project van. These things can sell for several times this amount, so if anyone has any interest in a tiny project, this one is worth checking out. Any thoughts on this one?
I like this little buggy. One observation I made, and maybe its just me. But the one view of the front door and side door open at the same time….. It kind of looks like its clapping!! ( Its probably just me)
Its hard to believe the Subaru I drive today, is a descendant of this. But I like it, and I think it would be fun to run around town in. Subaru had some humble beginnings, but the cars they build now are very solid.
I liked your write up and this little Subbie Scotty.
I actually owned one of these many years ago and used it to do local flea market and junkyard runs. Driving it on the highway was – an interesting experience.
The US-spec Sambars were only sold for the ‘68-‘70 model years (‘68s being 3-speed), though many weren’t actually sold and registered until a year or more after production, leading to a notable amount of them being registered with the incorrect year of manufacture. They all had the EK32 with 25 horsepower. The EK33 was only used in the R-2 and the later front-hinged-door Sambars, neither of which were ever sold in the US. The engine was ALWAYS accessible from the exterior, as well as having the interior access panel. The engine is also behind the axles, so it technically sends the power forwards to the rear wheels, rather than BACK to the rear wheels as mentioned.
Thanks for the info, John. I was going by this:
“Starting with the 1970 model year, the engine was accessed from outside the vehicle, and the front doors were conventionally hinged.”
I totally missed the rear-hinged doors not syncing with the listed model year, and should have researched all of the different years, along with looking at photos, to make sure first. I think you’re right, this is most likely not a 1970 model with rear-hinged doors, dang.
It could definitely be a 1970, as the US-spec 1970s still had suicide doors and the EK32. The rest of the world saw the switch to front-hinged doors and the EK33 during 1970, but not the US. Not sure where that source came up with the mention of exterior engine access being new for 1970, though, as they were always accessed from the outside. That’s how you access the air filter, generator, oil tank, rear mounts, carburetor, distributor, fuel filter/sediment bowl, timing plug, etc., as well as being how you would remove the engine (remove engine access door and bumper, then just slide the drivetrain out when ready).
Having owned a 360 SS Young Coupe some years ago, what I can say is parts are next to impossible to find for these things, axles and brakes being at the top of the list! The coupe was fun to drive, aside from sounding like a Jap bike of the same era, and of course the copious amounts of smoke thanks to being liberal with the 2 stroke oil!!!
At least for the sedans, the rear brake cylinders from a Subaru Justy will fit a 360. Those tiny brake shoes would need to be relined. The Subaru 360 Driver’s Club has a pretty extensive list of part substitutions and technical information. Whoever buys this thing will definitely want to join.
Anyone have experience electrifying something like this? An electric motor with 25 HP & instant 25 lbs torque would seem fine for Island Life. Light weight should support limited batteries giving a 50-75 miles range. Although I might want an exoskeleton for safety and to hold Surfboards.
Like this, Sunshine?
https://barnfinds.com/?s=jet+industries
These were originally imported by Malcolm Forbes. I had a 1969 Sambar van. Lots of rust around the windshield. White with red interior. They were 2 stroke with oil injection rather then premix. Mine would do 50 mph with no problems if you were brave/stupid enough to do it. Painted mine like a Wonder Bread loaf wrapper. Later Sambar kei vans will do highway speeds and are well accessorized.
Imported by Malcom Bricklin not Forbes
No title.
OOPS. Sorry.