Kidney, Anyone? 44,000-mile 1979 Subaru BRAT

Here in SoCal, the one marque of nostalgic we rarely see is Subaru. There just wasn’t much need for 4WD passenger vehicles in the perpetually sunny climes of Los Angeles. Subaru BRATs occasionally show up in junkyards — and judging by the layers of dust only after sitting immobile for years — but I can’t even remember the last time I saw one on the street. That’s why this all-original 1979 with just 44,726 miles on the clock just blows my mind.

Not only does this car lack any rust, it comes with an OCD logbook of every mile driven. The seller’s lengthy treatise on the condition of the paint makes one believe he’s gone over it with a fine tooth comb. Though some the rear quarter has been repaired and repainted, the only other bits of non-factory paint are small touch-up jobs.

The interior is as clean and shiny as the chrome. BRATs, like any small pickup, were pretty well used up and discarded, making one in such fresh condition an extremely rare find. With just under three days to go, the bidding is at $6,766 and there’s no reserve. You don’t see many mint Subarus these days, but when they appear they’re a thing of beauty.

[via BaT]

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26 Responses to Kidney, Anyone? 44,000-mile 1979 Subaru BRAT

  1. Dan says:

    Wow! Just wow! Looks awesome.

  2. Doug says:

    This is a great looking BRAT!!!! They are a lot of fun! I got mine two months ago and they get a ton of attention.

  3. Aaron says:

    Plastic rearward facing bed seats? Two please!

  4. kay_dubbs says:

    Spare tire stored on top of the engine? Thats a new one for me.

    • Tyler says:

      Honda did that with its N600.

      This Subie is a thing of beauty. The’re strange looking but I love em for it. The underside is absolutely amazing- almost unbelievable.

  5. MOCMAN says:

    I believe Subaru did the spare tire under the hood thing on several different models for several years. If I recall correctly they did it all the way up in to the late 90’s.

    • Kostamojen says:

      The Loyale was the last Subaru with an engine bay mounted tire, and its last year was 1994. All Imprezas, Legacy’s, Foresters, SVX’s, etc. after that model no longer had the engine bay mounted tire.

      The tire in the engine bay makes for HUGE trunks on these cars. My FF-1 has trunk space that rivals large sedans due to this.

  6. bert says:

    Old Subarus are rare every where! Although, here in Washington we see a few more than you SoCal guys. I have a Subaru dealer in Shoreline, that has a 360 van that the owner bought 40 some years ago. It still runs, they had it out a couple weeks ago, but unfortunately they don’t really do anything with it. The owner of the lot died awhile back, and they took the 360 out of the showroom and stuck in a corner of the shop! Sadness fills my heart. There is also an early 70’s Leone coupe that I see in the employee parking lot sometimes. Mostly we have old Subaru wagons here in PNW.

    @ kay-dubbs I had a 92 GL that had the spare tire sitting on the motor. Subaru did that on all their cars for many years.

    • MOCMAN says:

      Mentioning the dealer in Shoreline, WA brings back many memories because I grew up in that very neighborhood and remember it well. I live in Las Vegas now and the dealer here has a 360 van too that is totally restored as their pretend parts delivery van. It says “Fast Parts, Slow Delivery” on the side.

      http://www.subaruoflasvegas.com/sema2009-coverage.htm

      • Tyler says:

        What is it with Subaru kei cars and gaudy paint jobs? I swear half the ones I see have some weird graphics, colors etc.

      • bert says:

        The one at Carter Subaru is pretty original and looks great, they just don’t do much with it since Wade Carter died. I wish I had a chance to meet him, he sounds like a great guy, being a complete car nut with quite the collection and an extensive racing career under his belt.

  7. bert says:

    The back seats on these cars are very usefull for hauling poeple you don’t like! I had some friends that were ejected very rapidly from the back of one of these, as their drunk buddy rolled it in the sand dunes around Wenatchee, WA! Fortunately everyone survived, but the friendship did not.

  8. Steve says:

    I almost bought one of these but “chickened out” at the last minute and stuck with the tried-and-true Toyota Celica. Who would have thought that Subaru with its funky style would rise up instead of die away like Daihatsu… I like my Celica but occasionally I wish I had bought a BRAT back then.

  9. Lincoln Stax says:

    I remember the first time I saw a BRAT was at the auto show in the Kingdome in the late ’70s. I was so blown away by it, I had to keep asking if it was a custom Subaru, because it was too cool to be a production car.

  10. Bart says:

    There is a guy here in Reno I see driving one of these now and again, but it isn’t in even close the condition…

  11. Wayne Long says:

    This one here is an instant favorite! Not to mention affordable!

  12. ManuelMTZ says:

    Here in Denver, CO I see many Subarus of all types. Even Brats this old. But none this super clean.

  13. Bob says:

    I had a 1979 Brat. Great car and was beyond incredible off road.

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