We have seen quite a few Subaru BRATs (Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter) over the years here on Barn Finds but a few of them have been in somewhat rugged condition. That doesn’t seem to be the case with this nice 1984 Subaru BRAT GL. This 4×4 can be found listed here on eBay in Pacific, Missouri, 40 miles west of St. Louis. The current bid price is $5,100 and there is no reserve. This could end up being a crazy bargain.
As they say, whoever they is, always buy the nicest car that you can find as it’s less expensive than repairing a cheaper one. This is one of the nicest, most well-equipped BRATs that I have seen in a long time, and the price is way too low given how nice it looks. Hagerty is at $9,900 for a #3 good condition example and they have sold for much more than that in recent years so I’m not sure why the price is so “low” on this one. The little rectangular boxes in front of the rear wheels are called side steps and they were used on 1982 through 1985 BRATs. Only the passenger side was functional and the cover would swing in when you put your foot there – it provided a bit of a boost to get into the bed to use the jumpseats from the sidewalk side.
Yes, this BRAT has the famous/infamous rear jumpseats! That usually comes up in the comments section when we see a Subaru BRAT. I would rather have the center passing light, known by some fans as the cyclops light, but those were only on the 1980 through 1982 BRATs and GL models so this car doesn’t have that feature. The jumpseats would go away after the 1985 model year.
The BRAT was made for the 1978 through 1994 model years and less than a decade later, Subaru introduced a more family-friendly BRAT-like vehicle, the Subaru Baja. The seller of this Subaru doesn’t mention what is typically the biggest issue with any Subaru from this era: rust. It doesn’t look like there is any rust at all, could that be true?! The interior looks good and they mention a small “spot of damage” on the dash.
The engine is Subaru’s EA-81, a 1.8L boxer-four with around 75 hp. I don’t know how this BRAT has seemed to escape the ravages of rust but it sure looks solid. Are there any Subaru BRAT owners out there?
How many of you have a fond or maybe not so fond memory of cruising around and getting drunk or something else in the back of one of these?
How completely rad! remember these so well when I was an undergrad at CU in Boulder! Sitting in the rear seats as we headed to the slopes! What’s the longevity of these engines because this one has nearly 168k miles.
Nice! A more accurate statement would be, how many BRAT owners WERE there? Great concept, an all-wheel drive, economical, mini-pickup, it answered all the right questions,,,,except one, the rust. For a vehicle designed to run in the snow, it sure melted away fast. And if I remember, they were a bit pricey, and a full size 4×4 could be had for about the same money. Still, rust issues aside, this and and the cars( which this, with the jumpseats technically is, to escape the “chicken tax” at the time) helped cement Subaru as the AWD champ to this day. Oddly enough, as popular as they were here, I read, they were never sold in Japan. Great find for sure.
I contacted the owner and he is going to send me pics of the underside tomorrow which he says was undercoated and a pic of the dash issue which he says is minimal while most BRATs or Subarus of this era had dashes that disintegrated.
Make sure to ask what the tape covering the warning light is hiding. Look at the picture of the instrument cluster in the eBay ad.
I can’t find any dash warning light pics for this, but I’d bet a stack of bills, it’s the “check engine” light. Been my experience, VERY common with Subarus. I have a friend with an older Outback, and in NY, you need an inspection every year. Well, the check engine light was on, and nobody would pass it. And you can’t just put tape over it, because the mechanic “plugs it in” and all sorts of problems came up. I forget what it was, but took like 5 tests to get it right all, at $75 bucks a shot. Might want to think about that if your state requires tests.
1984 was 36 years ago, and that was before the OBD era. If it’s like the 1982 Rabbit I had there was a red dash light that meant it was time to replace the oxygen sensor. You took the dash bezel off and reset the light with a hooked wire. I think that the interval between was 25,000 miles or so.
The motors in these things were bullet proof but as Howard A said the problem was rust!! Like most of the Toyota’s, Datsuns and even the Suzuki Samurai they fell apart long before the motor was ready to expire!! I have a 89 Toyota pickup that I had to weld the frame together to keep it from breaking in half!! I wish I could post a picture of it!! The doors are falling off the bed has been replaced but you can get in it and turn the key and it starts right up!! I use it to pull trees out of the woods for winter firewood!! It hasn’t been out of 4 wheel drive in ten years!! I paid $200 for it when the previous owner couldn’t get it inspected due to the frame rot!!!
The Japanese ElCamino was a huge hit in Mew England . All over the roads in NH, VT and ME. Really cool trucks
New England.. typo
Bought one in very nice condition in the mid 80’s for a daily commuter to save mileage and gas savings on my other cars. It was a fun little commuter, engine was strong, but could never get the shifter issue squared away and eventually sold it to one of the mechanics that had tried to remedy the shifter issue. It probably promptly got fixed.
I owned a 1978 and drove it everywhere. But like someone else mentioned, rust ruined these before the motors were shot.
That’s what happened to mine: the right rear swing arm bracket rusted off at the body.
My wife and I missed that little car. We had a lot of adventures in it.
These were really popular in the adirondack mts of NY state, you would see these running around with the fenders rusted competely off them. In the snow they were like a snowmobie. Nice to see one again.\
Cheers
GPC
Neighbors of my folks had one, southeast Ohio. Would have been in the early-mid 80’s. I remember noticing how the rust got to it quickly, and severely.
168k, it is nearing a full rebuild. $5k seems like a lot for a Brat. Unless it was primo and under 50k miles.
The owner sent me a series of pics of the underside and there’s not so much as even surface rust. Really really impressive. The dash imperfection is a small hole or crack. If someone is interested they can contact me and I can send them the pics unless he puts them online with the listing
Please send me any photos you have. Thanks
Ray
Sorry just saw your message and I see the auction is over with it having sold @ $ 6900
Owner sent me more pics. Under seat covers are nearly perfect condition orginal seats. He also is including many parts.
I ran a Subaru store in Kansas in the early 80’s.
We could not keep BRAT on the lot. A turbo version was alot of fun to drive. Funny story, our Grand Opening allotment got hit by a hail storm.
We accepted the cars with the damage, took the insurance money to discount the cars and had a “Hail of a Sale’! Sold every car we had.