Friday 20th January 2012

PH Blog: a blat in the Brat

It's not just Ronald Reagan who has a thing for Subaru pick-ups

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I was hoping to bring you this story on the fabulous Subaru Brat you see before you as a 'spotted'. But Jon Mathers, boss of current custodians Cross Roads Subaru, isn't having any of it. "It's not for sale. Never." Oh well.

A shame really because you don't see 'em like this any more.

This is to blame for a life of Subaru fandom

I have a particular soft spot for these Subaru pick-ups (apparently shared with Ronald Reagan!) and can credit them with my continued affection for all things Subaru. One shared by at least one of my brothers too, both of us heavily influenced by early childhood exposure to Subarus courtesy of a farmer friend of the family who ran both MV pick-ups and the estate car version too. I can vividly remember him bombing us around his land in them, the shock at his habit of just veering off tracks, through hedges and across fields clearly as an effective marketing tool on the impressionable Trent mindset as any you could wish to encounter. Ever since my brother and I have automatically equated Subaru with cool, resulting in shared ownership of a WRX a few years back followed, in his case, with a Forester.

So when Harris and I pulled up at Cross Roads yesterday it wasn't the American cop car, the mint Mk1 XR2, the Sierra RS Cosworth or the rank of Impreza STIs that made me point and beam - it was this.

Crosshairs bring back childhood memories

Raised in North Yorkshire these things are part of the backdrop of my youth. Back in the day they were a feature of every rural high street, caked in a thick layer of mud and driven by ruddy faced chaps in tweed. And they'd always have the following in the load bed: a sheepdog, a manky bale of hay and at least one anonymous blue barrel containing something probably highly toxic.

A shame the mechanical toughness wasn't an attribute shared by the bodywork though - most of these pick-ups have long-since rusted away to nothing. No wonder Cross Roads leapt at this one when it came up, paying £3K for it. You can pay more too, there being a small but passionate following.

Emerges, stage right, covered in mud...

Last time I went in one of these things I wasn't big enough to reach the pedals, let alone old enough to drive. But it's amazing the things you remember, the curious crosshairs dash display among them. I had a quick punt along the lanes near Cross Roads and was grinning all the way, though it took some self discipline not to emulate our farmer friend and take an off-road diversion and bounce around some fields. It's no STI in terms of performance but the flat-four thrum is there and the Brat is packed with the quirky eccentricity that continues to make Subaru such a fascinating brand, and one close to the hearts of country lads everywhere.

[NismoGT]

Quite appealing.

[Frimley111R]

The first one I remember

[matbat]

Love these!

My first car was a 1983 Subaru Leone (basically a Brat in estate form).

Would love another one but you'd more chance of finding life on the sun then finding one in good condition!

[vrsmxtb]

Frimley111R said:

The first one I remember

My first thought too!

[RB Will]

There is a white one in Wilts with Impreza running gear

[AWG]

Whats that cross hair for in the pic?

[vdubbin]

Did the cross hairs do anything?
I don't I've ever seen one of these in Ireland, I think the VW Jetta or Massey Ferguson filled the same niche here…

[r7ehw]

I remember being driven around in oe of these in my first summer job in about 1988. It was metalic light green. the guys dad had a subaru coupe and the wife had an estate. For them there was no other brand.

[fingersprice]

RB Will said:

There is a white one in Wilts with Impreza running gear

Shows up at various shows at Castle Coombe as well. Never used to be that fast on the track sessions but went quite quickly last time I saw it......

[Mark-C]

Loved the baby El Camino shape of these. I know of two still doing service on Norfolk farms.

[Gorbyrev]

Mechanic acquaintance of mine had a piston go on one of these. Ran it successfully for 20,000 miles as a 3 pot before it finally succumbed. How's that for tough!

[Ozzie Osmond]

Totally indestructible! You'll still find one parked out in a barn on many farms.

Primitive 4wd system makes for very heavy steering if you engage 4wd other than in slippy conditions.

[1111giles]

fingersprice said:

RB Will said:

There is a white one in Wilts with Impreza running gear

Shows up at various shows at Castle Coombe as well. Never used to be that fast on the track sessions but went quite quickly last time I saw it......

Hi Guys,
The white truck is actually from Just south of Bath. It belongs to Tim aka 'Bratman'. Its a real potent weapon and is around 370bhp ! I have had a ride in it and it goes like the preverbal !
There is a UK based website for these trucks www.mvbrumbybrat.co.uk on there are nearly 150 members and a range of trucks from basket cases in restro / run-abouts / mint / modified.
We hope to have a club stand at both of the Japfests in 2012 (Castle combe and Donnington. If your interested take a look at the site - also a few of us have related cars - ie Hatches / Saloons / Estate (subaru call em Wagons !)
My own truck is a fully restored Red MV1800 loaded with extras like A/c / PAS / rear discs / C/L / weber carb / it will be at Donnington along with (I hope) my Hatch back GLF based on the same running gear.
And NO my truck is NOT FOR SALE !

Hope you like it !
Cheers
Giles - Halifax W.Yorks.

Edited by 1111giles on Friday 20th January 10:46

[alexmckie]

O.K I'm sure I'm not the only one that went to fleebay....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Subaru-Pick-Up-1994-Petr...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Subaru-Pick-Up-1994-Petr...

I feel a project coming on.... Full size!!

[Bobdenero]

They look fantastic, I was recently tempted by one that went on E-bay for £760, however a call to the seller who was honest enough to point out that it would very shortly require a lot of bodywork repair resulted in a reality check and I passed in favour of a Skoda Pick up which did a job in moving bits of old carpet and assorted junk collected over the years, now moved on for a £300 profit!

[Veeayt]

I had this for a couple of month and thought it was absolutely meaningless - crap NVH, poor plastic interior and nowhere near as useful as a regular outback. Probably appealing to yanks and perverts though.

[gweaver]

Frimley111R said:

The first one I remember

My first R/C car - I wish I still had it. I was only five or six, so Dad made a two cell battery pack instead of the usual six cells. That blunted the performance enough to prevent me bending it! It later received various mods and morphed into a Frog. I finally sold it after about 10 years (and several replacement differentials).
I still have the Top Force (4WD buggy) that replaced it, but that wasn't as much fun - until I converted it for drifting by replacing the tread with electrical tape :-)

[Munich]

Have no need for one but that doesn't stop me really wanting one!

[10 Pence Short]

There used to be loads around here in rural Cumbria. Sadly, tinworm has had its way with most of them and they're now a rare sight indeed.

[StuttgartJem]

gweaver said:

My first R/C car - I wish I still had it. I was only five or six, so Dad made a two cell battery pack instead of the usual six cells. That blunted the performance enough to prevent me bending it! It later received various mods and morphed into a Frog. I finally sold it after about 10 years (and several replacement differentials).
I still have the Top Force (4WD buggy) that replaced it, but that wasn't as much fun - until I converted it for drifting by replacing the tread with electrical tape :-)

Electrical tape, never tried that one. Do remember many hours at the kitchen table applying silicon to tyres for additional grip though