This week will be dedicated to two (hopefully) pretty popular subjects: JDM and wagons. So it makes sense to start with Subaru, whose main claim to automotive fame, it could be argued, is their legacy (see what I did there?) of AWD wagons powered by flat-4 engines. If you go back to the very beginning of the species though, the drivetrain was front-drive only. But it’s still whence the bloodline that begat the Leone, Legacy, Forester and Impreza wagons finds its source.
Subaru’s early history is a little convoluted. Originally known as Nakajima Aricraft, the Gunma-based company became Fuji Industries in 1945 and switched to manufacturing a cornucopia of products, from scooters and bus bodies to kettles and baby carriages. The company was broken up in 1950, and one of the branches (Fuji Heavy Industries) developed a car in 1955. It was quite advanced, a RWD design with a unit body and a 1.5 litre OHV straight-4, but it proved a false start. Then, in 1958, the famous Subaru 360 appeared, kicking things into gear.
But the 360 was not universally admired within the company. It was quite a successful kei car and its derivative, the Sambar van, was also a hit, but Subaru’s engineers wanted to compete in the big leagues with Nissan and Toyota.
Initially, the 1500cc route was explored yet again – though now, the idea was to go with a FWD design, with an air-cooled flat-4. But the prototype’s engine was troublesome and the car deemed a bit too ambitious, so Subaru scaled things down and went for liquid cooling, launching the 1000 (above) in 1966.
Our feature car is an evolution of this first family-sized Subie. The FF-1 was a 1000 with a slightly larger engine, essentially ensuring a transition to an even larger engine in short order. And by short order, I mean to say just over a year: Subaru launched the FF-1 in March 1969 only to halt production in July 1970.
Nonetheless, the FF-1 has a special place in Subaru’s history, as it’s the first 4-cyl. model they exported to the US – marketed there as the Star. I’m not sure whether the wagon also made it across the Pacific, though.
The 4-door wagon, known as “van” in Japan even if it was more of a family car, joined the 1000 saloon in late 1967. A 2-door wagon variant was further proposed in early 1968 – mostly aimed at the delivery market. Both had a rather old-fashioned two-piece tailgate. Subaru were ahead of the game in many respects, but not for everything…
The four body variants (4-door saloon and wagon, 2-door saloon and wagon) were naturally carried over when Subaru changed the 1000 into the FF-1. The main new feature was the 1088cc engine, declined in two flavours: standard issue cars – perversely called Super Deluxe – had 62hp (gross) to make do with, while the saloon-only Super Touring got the twin carb 77hp motor.
External improvements were few, beyond badging, from the rear of the vehicle. Our feature car does have a peculiar windscreen shade arrangement, but I doubt this was on the options list at the time.
The front end was given a bit more attention, by comparison: the grille was all new, now made of plastic and decorated with a trapezoidal piece of trim. And the model name got slapped on the hood for good measure. That was it. The original 1000’s face was still largely unaltered, with its Ford Taunus-like face.
The dash was not tinkered with much either. By this point, most saloons were ordered with their four on the floor, but the original column-mounted gearshift was still standard in the wagons. This, along with the horn ring and general design of the dash, gives the FF-1 more of an early ‘60s feel.
This would all change within a couple of years. In 1970, the first AWD prototype was made at the request of the Tohoku Electric Power Co., who needed a light but roomy four-wheel-drive wagon for maintenance work on their grid, located in a mountainous (and seasonally snowy) part of the country.
By 1971, with the 1.3 litre engine providing a much-needed complement of torque and horsepower, Subaru were ready to display their AWD invention to the wider public, though only eight cars were made, mainly for the power company who had ordered them. A year later, the new Leone took over and AWD wagons were part of the range for good.
The Subaru 1000/FF-1/1300G sold quite well in its native land, apparently. However, being a lot more complex than a Mazda Familia or a Toyota Corolla, as well as suffering from a dearth of parts, the survival rate for these machines is said to be very low. This particular wagon is one of the few still about – and it’s been featured in a number of Japanese websites already, probably because these are so rare now.
It’s a pity that Subaru did not have the foresight to help keeping their first-generation wagons on the road, but then they are not the only carmaker to have little time for their own history. For instance, Citroën recently closed down their museum, which had a uniquely complete collection of their models from beginning to present. At least Subaru still have their collection open to the public in Ota, which I aim to visit in the not-too-distant future.
In the meantime, play that flat-4 again, Subie.
Related post:
Vintage Road & Track Road Test: 1970 Subaru Star (FF-1) – The Anti-Maverick, by PN
I think it was 71 or 72 that Sube first showed up at the Detroit show. I used to have the brochure I picked up at that time, but donated most of my brochures to the Gilmore’s archive some years ago.
iirc, the car was billed as the “FF1G”, and had the 1.3l engine. They made a feature out of the lack of a cooling fan. The brochure went on to explain that the car had two radiators, and a “clever device” would come into play if things got hot. From my perspective, the car distinguished itself from the other Japanese products in offering me an adequate amount of headroom.
Durability was lacking though, at least in Michigan. I saw an FF1G in late 76, so no more than 5 or 6 years old. The rocker panels were already completely rusted away.
I saw a print ad around this time with an aerial view of an ff-1 with an insect superimposed on it, headlined “The Subaru is not just a Japanese Beetle.” It had the reference to the “clever device.” Also something about the gas tank being fairly far forward “in case some dummy clops you from behind.”
The German Ford Taunus 12M (which was also going to be the Cardinal but ultimately wasn’t) also used the heater core as an auxiliary radiator.
This was an impressively advanced car when it first came out. The flat four ahead of the front driven wheels was seen for some time as the platonic ideal for a FWD car, until the Primula showed the way forward with its inline transverse engine-transmission unit.
The Alfasud that arrived a few years later was very similar in its concept.
These had been hard to find in the US for a very long time; I gave up ages ago.
I’ve always felt that Subaru’s use of a horizontally-opposed, longitudinally-mounted, FWD drivetrain came straight from the Citroen 2CV playbook. I wasn’t aware that it was the “platonic ideal”. And now that I know the first flat-4 prototypes were air-cooled, I feel that tightens the link to Citroen.
I’ve always felt that Subaru’s use of a horizontally-opposed, longitudinally-mounted, FWD drivetrain came straight from the Citroen 2CV playbook. I wasn’t aware that it was the “platonic ideal”. And now that I know the first flat-4 prototypes were air-cooled, I feel that tightens the link to Citroen.
One of my alt history scenarios has VW, immediately upon acquiring Auto Union, bolting the flat four from the Type 3 into the power train and suspension of the DKW F102, to create a more modern replacement for the Bug and Type 3. Then evolving a water cooled version of the engine. The VW 1.5 and the two stroke DKW triple of the F102 are amazingly close in hp and torque.
In the 80s, VW did bolt the Bug engine into a modified B1 platform to create the Gol for the Brazilian market, but that idea hit too late to prevent the downturn VW suffered in Europe for clinging to their rear engine architecture too long.
The 1961 Lancia Flavia had the layout that Subaru copied.
It is said that Subaru also bought a Lloyd Arabella and a Goliath 1100 to look at. When I see the Subaru’s dash, it makes me think ‘Mk2 Arabella’!
The engine design probably owes as much to the Lancia, though.
There are suspension similarities too – but I find the idea of running the torsion bars forwards (Arabella had coilovers) a curious choice. One usually takes the loadings to the centre of the structure for torsional rigidity, not the front panel! I always presumed that a shunt could turn it into a jousting tournament…
Fascinating things though – the Taunus-like cooling system (only has a big heater with an auxiliary front radiator) and spare wheel under the bonnet are very European influences.
Do the torsion bars run forward? Have a look at this cutaway, and there are strange bars also running backwards. Perhaps one is an anti-roll system? Damned if I can tell.
You do have to keep in mind that prior to this Subaru had been making the 360 an air cooled horizontally opposed RWD vehicle. I bet that had a lot of influence on the design of the FF-1.
The Subaru 360 was a vertical inline twin mounted transversely, not a boxer.
If you can’t find one in Oregon, they must be very rare indeed.
In the early 70’s at college my independent VW mechanic had the opportunity to cover for a friend of his who was having major surgery. This friend had one of the first Subaru dealerships in Massachusetts. My mechanic was asked if could cover for him, which he did. At the time there was one a Subaru in for service in which the engine was pulled and partially disassembled. My mechanic proceeded to finish the job. As he was working he realized that the internal parts seemed very familiar. After a while he came to the conclusion that what he was rebuilding was essentially a water cooled VW engine from Japan.
Well, all flat four engines share certain basic characteristics so to the unfamiliar eye, I can see why he thought that. Subaru looked at a number of flat fours, especially the water cooled boxer in the Lloyd Arabella and the Lancia unit before they designed theirs. They did not need to copy any one particular engine (and did not). Flat fours had been around for a long time.
No doubt they probably looked at several flat fours, but this mechanic did note that valves were virtually identical to the VWs he worked on.
The terrific tech cutaway shown looks more like something you might get from Renault or even Citroen, and I can’t think of a mass-market Japanese sedan that had rack and pinion steering at this point in history.
Unfortunately, the slightly forward-leaning styling got worse in the next iteration, and it became gawky (too much nose and not enough arse). Also, that wet-sleeve engine gave trouble, only fixed after a complete re-do in (I think) about ’77, after which it of course became legendarily long-lived.
I like the ambition of the bench seat, three across if the middle one lies side-on like a pole – these aren’t wide cars.
The rear shade thing on this one is utterly peculiar, but I think the owner might have a sun or heat phobia: not only all that tinting, but it appears that the 1.1 powerhouse also has an a/c fitted. Six aboard and a/c on – alright, sorry, someone has to get out….
A friend had about a 2-door ’71 or ’72 26 years ago, but being uninterested in Japanese cars at all then, I took no notice of it, other than to note that it didn’t work very often (and was soon thereafter scrapped). It’s probable that that engine is the cause of their scarcity now.
Remember seeing “Subaru’s” that look like the white one in the glossy “ad’. Think our town got it’s “Subaru” dealer in “73”.
I know my neighbor got a yellow one when he graduated “HS”, started working at the same rubber stamping plant my brother had worked at.
Thinking that car was a “74”, could a been a “73”.
Was pretty nifty.
Did rust within a few years though.
Great find. And you can pull the engine out about quick as a VW Beetle, and no need to even take the hood off. Just move the prop rod to a different location, and it will hold the hood perfectly vertical.
I have to make a comment regarding the Citroën museum. Seems its not Citroëns wish, but they have to relocate since the landord has finished the lease.
Calling the base trim “Deluxe” seemed tp gradually happen in the 60s and 70s, GM called their base trim pickups “Custom Deluxe” from the mid 70s into the 80s. I’ve never seen an early Subaru 4 cylinder in the US although I have some 360s and an early Sambar pickup.
As an aside another spin off of Nakajima was Fuji Precision Industries, which formed Prince automotive with Tachihara and made the Skyline sedan and a number of light trucks before being adsorbed into Nissan.
I always felt these were amazing cars, just so different from the Japanese norm.
These models were theoretically available in Australia. Yes, I’ve read Justy’s comment. Back in the early days of Japanese cars they had different distributors for each state. I don’t think these were available in Victoria; I certaainly never saw one, though I have a book from the 1971 Melbourne motor show that has a copy of the brochure in it. I’ll have to see if I can find that.
I remember teenage me thinking at the time that these were a very advanced, intelligent piece of design, an engineer’s car, a cut above your average Toyota or Datsun. I had only a vague awareness of Lancia, but the emergence of the Alfasud and the Citroen GS made me think Subaru was onto something.
See below, Pete. I distinctly remember Dicko’s car, as car nuts tend to do, and for that same car-nut reason, I trust the memory above anything else I might claim to remember from 1996!
Funny I wasn’t interested in it then, because I too liked the different-ness of Subies, and I’m quite sure it was the only one of this type I’d ever seen (or since, come to that).
The 4-door wagon did indeed make it to the US (the 2-door wagon did not). I can’t confirm but would be willing to bet money that all US-market cars, possibly all left-hand-drive ones anywhere, had the individual front seats and floor-mounted shifter.
The 4 door sedan version of this model appears on the cover of a 1970 Wheels magazine. An example was brought to Australia for evaluation.
From memory the article, which provided a positive review of the car, indicated that it was definitely going to be sold here. I’ve never ever seen one. Can anyone confirm if they were officially sold here?
Apparently yes, through to ’71, when seatbelt laws ended it, by State-based distributors (not in Vic or NSW). I presume my mates one was one of those, somehow lost and old in Vic by ’96. Here’s a link to one in SA, with original plates.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/30474136@N07/25600982590
Subaru Aus itself says they opened in ’73.
And this.
https://www.adelaideantiqueauto.org.au/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=95
I worked on one of these in the mid 80’s. It was just a basic tuneup, the points and condenser must have been used on the later Subies because they were on the shelf at my favorite local “import car” parts store as were the plugs. But yeah I didn’t know what to make of it at first since I was familiar with the later cars but had never seen one of those before.
This just brought up a memory. In August 1972 I had to live in the dorms at SDSU as my parents moved from SD to the Bay Area in June. My roommate drove a mustard colored Subaru sedan. I thought it was a funny looking Japanese car of which I had never heard of that name, especially when compared to Datsun, at the time. So could it be a 71 or more likely a 70 for a 2nd year college student? Two years later it was gone and replaced by a 71-72 MGB which I remember riding in.
I too worked on one somewhere around the late 70’s. Leaky brake cylinder on the front. A royal pain as it had inboard drum brakes. Had to pull the front axle, broke a couple of sockets as there was virtually zero clearance. My mechanical skills have improved since then, but I wasn’t too bad. But for a simple job, it wasn’t. Inboard drum brakes. I think that’s the only car I’ve ever seen that on. First and hopefully the last.
It was 4WD as I recall, if I drove it, it was just to do a brake test so I didn’t get much of a feel, good or bad. But I hated those brakes.
The Citroen 2CV had inboard drums at the front, I agree that they are a pain to service.
Citroen changed to disc and LHM fluid IIRC in the 80s which were a lot easier.
These were the cars that made Subaru “respectable” in 70s Israel when I was growing up there (not even in Israel of the time did anyone consider the 360 as more than a rudimentary transport device). Simple, (most importantly) mechanically reliable and with the twin carb surprisingly quick (well they weighed very little). Rust was not really an issue in the Middle east…
Here’s one being used by a florist, somewhere in Jerusalem – or maybe Jaffa.
I thought Subaru never made an inline 4, knew about the inline 3 in the Justy. But interesting there were some (very few it seems) in 1955. As mentioned a ‘false start’. So maybe not offered for sale.
If ever there were a carmaker that wouldn’t give up it was Subaru. I remember when these first came in to the states as the Star. IIRC one of the Tonkin boys (Marv?) was selling them in Portland, and selling very few. They may have been a decent car but the memory of Malcom Bricklin and the 360 loomed large over these and a lot of people wouldn’t even consider them. But look at them now, they make one of the most popular cars in the state.