I bought this little van on a bit of a whim last autumn after seeing it on eBay. It caught my eye as I'd never seen one before. It had recently failed its MOT and the previous owner (who'd owned it from new) decided it was time to move it on. I had the MOT work done and have been using it for local pottering around since then.
It's a 700 van, which uses the same basic bodyshell as the Sumo, but with a shorter front end with single round headlights instead of the twin rectangular lights of the Sumo. Instead of the 3-cylinder engine in the Sumo, this has a 665cc parallel twin mounted at the back, driving the rear wheels through a 4-speed gearbox.
When I bought it, it had failed the MOT on welding to the driver's side cab step and floor, a driveshaft boot and a binding brake. I had the work done and it passed the test, albeit with an advisory that more welding may be required next year (but then my Peugeot Boxer van is going to need a load of welding for its upcoming test, and that is 17 years the Subaru's junior). It still has about 9 months' MOT left.
Bodywork isn't bad for a 28-year-old Japanese van. It has areas of bubbling in the usual places (arches, edges of doors etc), but nothing too unsightly. The worst dents are in the rear bumper - the rest of the body panels have survived fairly unscathed. It has had a few "old boy" style repairs over the years - apart from the bottom half repaint in a lighter shade of blue, the tailgate lock has packed up and has been replaced with a padlock and hasp; the driver's door handle has obviously broken at some point and has been replaced with a random bit of tin pop-rivetted in place (does the job though), and the offside sidelight lens appears to be made from the side of a 500ml Volvic bottle, which fits better than you'd think. It's also lost its fuel cap cover.
The interior is probably best described as "lived in". The original vinyl seat upholstery has split, as it tended to do, and the driver's seat has been covered with a stylish '80s checkered seat cover, which itself has seen better days. The glovebox lid hinges are also broken, although the lid stays in place held by the catch. The electrics, such as they are, all work apart from the fuel gauge. The heater is surprisingly effective. In-van entertainment is provided by a Wharfedale radio / CD player mounted in the dash and connected to a pair of '80s black ash home hifi speakers laid loosely in the load area behind the seats. Works though. The previous owner has also cut a thick sheet of foam to fit the load bay floor - this helps somewhat in keeping the noise down, albeit at a loss of around 4" in loading height.
Mechanically it seems pretty good. The engine starts easily and sounds healthy enough, in a lawnmowerish kind of way, although it does have a slight oil leak from the rocker cover. The gearshift isn't bad considering the length of the linkage, and the brakes are good. It ain't a fast vehicle though. The engine was rated at 31 bhp when it was new, but Subaru evidently considered this to be too much as they restricted it through the simple expedient of a bracket mounted under the accelerator pedal. With the pedal (or the bracket) to the floor, the butterfly on the carb is only about 3/4 open. The net result is a top speed of around 55, and a realistic cruising speed of 50. The gearing plays a part here too - it's almost comically low-geared, at 55 in 4th the engine is already spinning at around 5,000 rpm. It's very much designed for round town, where the combination of the gearing and reasonable torque from the engine makes it nippy enough off the line, and the small turning circle comes into its own. It feels slightly out of its depth on A-roads - apart from the lack of top speed, directional stability isn't great due to the tiny wheelbase, and being tall, narrow and light it has a tendency to be blown around by crosswinds. It's hilarious fun to drive in its own way, but the 40-mile round trip from home to work is about as far as I'd want to take it.
As I see it, this would suit either someone who's looking for an interesting and cheap-to-run runabout for round town, or someone who wants it as a project to do something daft with (bike engine?).
It's in NE Norfolk (about 15 miles NE of Norwich), and I'd like £700 for it.
Pics:
It's a 700 van, which uses the same basic bodyshell as the Sumo, but with a shorter front end with single round headlights instead of the twin rectangular lights of the Sumo. Instead of the 3-cylinder engine in the Sumo, this has a 665cc parallel twin mounted at the back, driving the rear wheels through a 4-speed gearbox.
When I bought it, it had failed the MOT on welding to the driver's side cab step and floor, a driveshaft boot and a binding brake. I had the work done and it passed the test, albeit with an advisory that more welding may be required next year (but then my Peugeot Boxer van is going to need a load of welding for its upcoming test, and that is 17 years the Subaru's junior). It still has about 9 months' MOT left.
Bodywork isn't bad for a 28-year-old Japanese van. It has areas of bubbling in the usual places (arches, edges of doors etc), but nothing too unsightly. The worst dents are in the rear bumper - the rest of the body panels have survived fairly unscathed. It has had a few "old boy" style repairs over the years - apart from the bottom half repaint in a lighter shade of blue, the tailgate lock has packed up and has been replaced with a padlock and hasp; the driver's door handle has obviously broken at some point and has been replaced with a random bit of tin pop-rivetted in place (does the job though), and the offside sidelight lens appears to be made from the side of a 500ml Volvic bottle, which fits better than you'd think. It's also lost its fuel cap cover.
The interior is probably best described as "lived in". The original vinyl seat upholstery has split, as it tended to do, and the driver's seat has been covered with a stylish '80s checkered seat cover, which itself has seen better days. The glovebox lid hinges are also broken, although the lid stays in place held by the catch. The electrics, such as they are, all work apart from the fuel gauge. The heater is surprisingly effective. In-van entertainment is provided by a Wharfedale radio / CD player mounted in the dash and connected to a pair of '80s black ash home hifi speakers laid loosely in the load area behind the seats. Works though. The previous owner has also cut a thick sheet of foam to fit the load bay floor - this helps somewhat in keeping the noise down, albeit at a loss of around 4" in loading height.
Mechanically it seems pretty good. The engine starts easily and sounds healthy enough, in a lawnmowerish kind of way, although it does have a slight oil leak from the rocker cover. The gearshift isn't bad considering the length of the linkage, and the brakes are good. It ain't a fast vehicle though. The engine was rated at 31 bhp when it was new, but Subaru evidently considered this to be too much as they restricted it through the simple expedient of a bracket mounted under the accelerator pedal. With the pedal (or the bracket) to the floor, the butterfly on the carb is only about 3/4 open. The net result is a top speed of around 55, and a realistic cruising speed of 50. The gearing plays a part here too - it's almost comically low-geared, at 55 in 4th the engine is already spinning at around 5,000 rpm. It's very much designed for round town, where the combination of the gearing and reasonable torque from the engine makes it nippy enough off the line, and the small turning circle comes into its own. It feels slightly out of its depth on A-roads - apart from the lack of top speed, directional stability isn't great due to the tiny wheelbase, and being tall, narrow and light it has a tendency to be blown around by crosswinds. It's hilarious fun to drive in its own way, but the 40-mile round trip from home to work is about as far as I'd want to take it.
As I see it, this would suit either someone who's looking for an interesting and cheap-to-run runabout for round town, or someone who wants it as a project to do something daft with (bike engine?).
It's in NE Norfolk (about 15 miles NE of Norwich), and I'd like £700 for it.
Pics:
?