One Year! (And One Month) Living With My Subaru Sambar Japanese Kei Truck!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ส.ค. 2021
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We should have US versions of these little trucks and vans in America. Not everyone wants or needs a pickup truck costing $55,000 and up!
It probably won't pass a DMV safety standard as always. and most American won't fit them, leg room would be an issue and suspensions too.
@@haringusbaw6132 I can't see how they be any more dangerous than a smart car ... government is crooked
These trucks get nowhere near 50mpg. The best I've seen and personally achieved is about 32mpg. Still great for a 4x4 truck.
If they were made here they would be 50k
We did have small trucks in America in the 1980s and the early 90s but the automobile manufacturers decided they wanted to sell us big four wheel drives and big SUVs and phase them out! We had the Volkswagen truck that was like a car, the Dodge D50 and other such trucks but the manufacturers decided to go big and not keep small it was us that let us happen if we didn't buy the big trucks they wouldn't be making them
I'm that viewer he sold it to last time. If he sells that one count yourself lucky to be the one who bought it. I have no regrets on my little truck for machine shop delivery out of my shop and a daily driver.
Interesting. I'm in PA, and I know of a machine shop in my area(they primarily build American racing engines) that run one of these around. I'm not even sure if they're legal here. :-) I just thought it was a cool coincidence that you use one for a machine shop also.
@@mtnvortex it's perfect for the job for lean manufacturing areas that call for machine shop work but I am just north of Mr Subaru in North Carolina and I service local endustial business machining needs
A big advantage of the Subaru Sambar is having the engine mounted behind the rear axle gives it better weight distribution. It isn't as front heavy as some of the Kei trucks with front mounted engines. This gives better rear wheel traction in the wet and snow and it handles better. Not to mention easy access to the engine for service.
I am 6'2'' 275 lbs and drive mine everyday love it. The other I was going 60 mph in a 40 mph zone and got zapped by radar, I think the cop did not want everybody to go by and laugh at him so he flashed his lights and siren, I waved LOL
I was just thinking to myself "no bumper, no airbags, no abs? This is so dangerous." Then I had to remind myself I also ride a motorcycle from the 70s
In Canada we can import 15 year old models. Quite a few of them in my neck of the woods. Came across a mint supercharged one last week at my local home depot. It drew a bigger crowd than the Ferrari parked two aisles over.
I'm interested in purchasing one can you please give me eny information greatly appreciated
I'm here in Canada in the middle of looking into importing one, Admittedly the thing IREALLY couldent expect was how cheap they are to import.
I think 25 is just too old for America. I wish we could do 15. The newer models seem quite a bit nicer. And way less rust of course 😂
Chicken tax
@@Corkoth55 I don't mind the 25 years but agree that 15 would be much better - I prefer the fuel injected models over the carb ones.
Finally, something affordable, simple, and durable !
Those mini trucks are a literal moving ergonomic work bench... Genius!
I want one!!!
Just bought my first Sambar today. Drove it 200km home. Burning oil something fierce so it was a fantastic deal. Body and interior are in beautiful condition. Motor will be rebuilt real quick. Watching all of you sambar videos and learning LOTS!!! Thanks!
fantastic deal for a oil buring pollutin gvehicle. thats super daft
@@PazLeBon Nah you're just dumb. It's an easy fix which lowered his price, just because you're useless doesn't mean we are.
Awesome video, thanks for putting it out. I'm definitely enamoured with these trucks, and now researching to make the right first choice.
What a fantastic/educational video! Hats off to you young man, outstanding!
That is one of the best reviews I've watched on these trucks!! Very informative
I love when you show off this gem!!
Thank you for this video. I'm 6'3 200lbs so this has answered alot of my question.
I really appreciate how thorough you are in your videos. I learned pretty much everything I could want to know about these in one video and it was pure information from start to finish. Thank you.
Best overview of Kei truck.....on you tube. Nice work!
So nice to have someone in SC who knows so much about what's up with these. Really hoping to snag one one of these days
Thanks for letting me live vicariously through your channel!
Hard to believe it’s been a year! No way I could get away with buying one (wife) plus better not have another project… thanks for letting me live vicariously through your channel!
i’m buying one of these tomorrow and i’m very excited
I saw one yesterday! A van. And you're right, I had a loooong conversation with the owner. He was very cool about it and showed me all the important details. The van's rear seats fold completely flat and dramatically increase the usable cargo space. The guy has used it for car camping. I didn't think that engine would fit on the floor behind the rear bumper. Really cool vehicle.
Hey, I love you guys driving this little runabout! Most farmers in Japan have one of those trucks. It is not a heavy duty Dodge RAM, but like you said, it gets the job done!
That was a top-quality video! You hit on everything that we need to know. Thanks 😊 🙏
WOW! I want one, Thank you for doing such a thorough review. I saw a Honda version that was lifted slightly with nice meaty tires, looked super cool.
I daily drive a Subaru kei car as well. Honestly, it is very comfortable on American roads. It can easily handle 70 to 75 mph, and I regularly get 40 to 45 mpg. My car has the same basic engine, the only major difference is that mine is fuel injected, but still naturally aspirated.
Vivio? Maybe they're geared differently than the trucks.
What state? Are they street legal in Texas?
@@DFranco23 As far as I know the kei trucks can only be registered for off-road use in Texas, not sure about the cars. They are all street legal where I live, but it is difficult to register if you don't get it titled in another state first, like Virginia makes it easier to register imported vehicles.
@@Corkoth55 I'm not sure about the gearing, but mine is also fwd instead of the awd that the sambar has
@@southernkei I want it to be street legal but won’t be getting in the highway
Badass lil truck! I love it 😁 thanks for sharing!
These Kei-class trucks and vans were exported to many countries, especially Asian countries, South America, Africa, the Caribbean etc. I learned to drive initially on a Subaru L-Series station wagon 1.6 DL that we had, and I finished my lessons and driver's test on a Daihatsu HI-Jet van. In Barbados the most popular of these small trucks/vans was the Suzuki Carry. It had a bouncy ride and flipped over easily and frontal accidents were as you described. In our market the Subaru Sambar was called the Subaru 700 van as it had the 665cc 2 cylinder engine, just like the Subaru 700 (REX) mini car (my first car). This engine was later replaced by the Clover 4 cylinder like the 758cc one in the Subaru REX kei car (M80 in our market). I had one of those too ! The E-Series van was identical to the Sambar with slightly different styling (4 headlights instead of two) and the same engine as the J-Series (Justy in your market). E10 van and J10 car had the 1.0 litre engine, and the E12 van / J12 car had the 1.2 litre like the US market Justy. I had a J12 4WD too. The difference with the Subaru Sambar and Domingo (E-Series) compared to the other Japanese makes was that the Subaru vans were the only ones with fully independent suspension and torsion bar suspension which gave a smoother ride and better handling than those other vans.
Thanks for so much vital information especially the dangers of Kei Truck vehicles.
I recently bought a 97 sambar truck. I can't wait for more sambar content. I'm subscribed! :D
Excellent vid! Answered all my questions plus some I hadn’t thought of.
Great review. I'm sure you will have no problem selling the Sambar when you're ready.
Well done video Mr. Subaru! Thanks for sharing
Great video man. Thank you
A Sambar was delivered to me yesterday ( 4mar2023 ) ; really jazzed to start commuting to work -15 mi. All-around visibility is fantastic. 🏆
Great explanation of this mini!
Awesome thorough video, answered a lot of questions I had about these
My wife's mother(from Philippines) have one of those susuki that was mentioned. We call it multi-cab in Philippines. They use it for business and they upgraded the engine to bigger one and its more powerful and faster. I was told it was toyota engine but I didn't bother to ask. I loved it. They also reinforced the chassis. Thumbs up.😊
I've had 2 have another on the way,love all the kei vehicles subies are my favorite
I just received delivery of my Sambar Van (super charged, hooray!) yesterday! Thanks much for the video, I knew the back bumper came down, but I couldn't figure out how for the life of me! This little cutie is going to take some work to be safe to drive on the roads, but I'm totally excited!
They did build something similar for city government, like local parking enforcement and maintenance. I think they were all specialized for the job.
20:26
Subaru would have a customer right here if they brought that over!
i love the sambar! its so cute looking! I want one so bad
Great and informational video, thank you.
I'm from SC as well and considering a Kei truck. Thanks for the video!
"658 cc's of fury" is a line that MUST be delivered in a Carolina accent for full effect.
Very flexible little fun vehicle. MPG is a shocker though! Would have thought a dinky engine would return better but I suppose if it is running at high rpm most of the time. There are also camper styled versions available in the UK....the mind boggles.
I love your sensible and complete review of the sambar, I used to have a Honda acty Van and at highway speeds it got shockingly bad fuel economy even though it was only a 550cc 2 cylinder, the funny thing with the acty motor is that it was based on the right two cylinders of a Honda goldwing, I used a spare right hand head gasket left over from a repair on my 1000cc goldwing. I now have a Mitsubishi minicab miev EV van.
Yeah at highway speeds, aerodynamics don't care what size the motor is 😂 coefficient of drag is king.
Love the channel and all the content.
Finally bought a 1990 sambar s/c. I am loving it. Commute 60 miles a day. Thing is great.
I need one of these in my life!....from Wyoming USA 🇺🇸 🤠
Great overview video, thank you!
Love the Video, Keep up the good work! Make a video of the Supercharged model !
Saw a blue one couple weeks in a farm in rural Ohio. Farmers used them for transportation in between farmlands. Also saw a white Mitzi cruising around
A light green one I saw nearby here to work on trimming the forest also the Orange old one at my wife’s aunt house, it’s a lawn ornament.
lot of great info, thank you!
Hour and half drive on that thing. Damn, they must've been almost twenty miles away 🤣😂🤣
The best Sambar review out there
I am driving a Hino 500, 30 feet flat bed truck. This small subaru looks like a little sibiling of my truck. Pretty similar.
This was extremely helpful, thank you
Just an FYI they do make those in a left hand drive. They built them for other countries that have left hand drive so you'll have to buy them from left hand drive countries if you want a LHD.
Thank You for all the info !!!
Something that apparently helps a lot is progressive springs.
I freakin love these .. you make me wanna move to South Carolina ..great content thanks
IM IN SC! You just helped me out a TON
I know you added the sweet rims, but the factory yellow fogs are making my mouth water! JDM Goodness my brother!
I liked how he added the cicada sound that everyone hears in Japan. There is one for sale near my area but they want $9k for it with 33k miles. I might import a better and newer one.
Perfect video everything I needed to know.
You can get a left-hand drive version. They made, and exported them to South korea. I saw tons of them when I was in South Korea, and drove a few when I was in the Army. I wish we could import them to the US, the modern ones are super cool.
The thing I love about these little Kei car engines, is that they were built to rev (some of them up to 8000 RPM) in order to squeeze every last bit of power out of them. I've had a couple of them in the past, one of them being an export market spec Daihatsu Cuore. That had a 1 litre 3 cylinder normally aspirated engine with dual overhead cams and 12 valves. This engine revs to 7200 RPM easily and I had it pegged at 6500 RPM (at 90 MPH)for nearly 75 miles. Took it like a champ, coolant temps barely creeped up above normal. Pretty impressive.
They won't last long at that speed (spin a bearing). Speed limits on highways in Japan are tops 80KMH not 80MPH. Also peak toque is at roughly 3800rpm. Going past that = Horrid MPG.
soo cool. Tiny 660 cc and has so much punch
I absolutely love this little thing. I could easily see me owning one.
Coming from KY, I would be utterly shocked if some red neck hasn't shoehorned either a Harley, Ford or Chevy engine into one of those LOL! I knew a guy that put a Chevy 5.7L, complete w/a 350 TH tranny and a 3.10 axle into a 60's VW Bug. It topped out at like 85mph but it would straight up smoke a ZR-1 off the line.
I knew another guy that did the same to a Chevy S-10 but added a B&M racing shifter. Craziest vehicle I've ever rode in. It would spin the tires shifting into 3rd gear. That thing should have had harnesses instead of seatbelts. It was a rocketship without wings.
Years ago we had a little Suzuki truck (front engine ) at the winery would pick it with our giant yard forklift and screw with Coworkers, good fun little truck until the framework rotted and the floor pan was like the flinstones..lol I wanted to fix her up but the boss man said dump her in the steel garbage container. .....that was a sad day...
i had one of this back home 35 years ago and was Subaru 2 cylinder and 2 Strock and i couldn't get this thing faster then 30 MPH.
I’ve had 3 Honda actys and a diahaustu hijet. Waiting on my Sambar now 🥶
I spent some time in Singapore. These little trucks were extremely common and very practical. I do wish something this size was available in the US.
Sadly US Dealers know that profit is based on the pound of metal that they sale and they prefer big, heavy, gas guzzlers.
And all the safety regulations like airbags, abs, safety glass...etc. Every company that comes out with a minimal vehicle in the USA turns it into a luxury vehicle in a few years.
I saw these all over the place when I was stationed in Okinawa. I really wanted one of the vans.
Im in the Piedmont of SC. Been looking at a Kei truck for awhile love Hondas, but the Subaru seems the best idea.
Dude, you truck looks great. Not sure if you’ve done a lot of cleaning but it’s in great shape. Would love to have it.
A lot of the ones I’ve been looking at on here (TH-cam) look rough.
Congratulations, very nice.
All I've done is wash it. It's just a super clean example of a Super Deluxe Sambar.
@@MrSubaru1387 I have to give it to you. It looks nice. I drive a 68 Chevy c10 just about everyday to and from work. It’s a 50 foot-er but I’ve been entertaining the idea of a Kei truck. I live in Virginia and only drive about 10 miles round trip. Mostly flat land and pretty much all paved but would love to take it camping, fishing, and whatever else.
Again, nice truck Man.
I’m so ready to pull the trigger on one.
Cool little Truck
Just a Kool car. Mpg on highways is all about aerodynamics, in the city it's about weight.
For more mpg, speed and crash zone just add a nose cone and an aerocap truck bed cover.
Nice truck, mine is a 93 Suzuki Carry, the only thing I don't care for is the engine location.
Yes. We drive our little Fiat 500e 90% of the time for all for daily errands in the city. We use our Suzuki Samurai almost 100% at the farm, except when we need to haul a bunch of people in and out.
We must accept that the Japanese and European people were right about sizing actual practical & functional vehicles. with abundant options for bigger and heavier tasks properly scaled up as necessary.
There’s a guy I see at the dump that has one, sorry not sure the brand, but it’s a army green with mags and it look so sweet, he loves it and everywhere he goes he spends a lot of time talking to people talking about it, people just Love these things! I think it may be a Dihatshu, not sure how you spell it.
We got several Kei cars and vans brand new in the UK, we had the Suzuki carry and Bedford Rascal which were the same van just different Badges and also the Suzuki cappuccino and Daihatsu coppone alot of people never understood why we could get those brand new UK supplied why not all Kei vehicles were sold brand new, we can import brand new Kei cars everyone that own them seem to adore them.
my '74 VW Super Beetle was the same HP, and I got around with it just fine even on the freeways. So people my age would probably be used to to driving something like this
Great review from someone who clearly loves their Sambar :-) All points spot on. Have had my '95 KS3 for three months and it's hard to not be happy wheeling it around. Quick question...did you coat your tailgate chains with anything? They sure look better than my rust streaked versions. Terrific channel and appreciate the effort you put into your productions.
They're a brand new OE Subaru set. This truck didn't come with chains from the factory.
Hi, I'm from Korea, and my first car was something like yours, but in a van configuration. My Italian friends who rode Ducatis, loved to be in my car and call it "Korean Ferrrrrarrrrri" with those Italian 'R'. I still have such a fond memory of the machine. Too bad the vehicle and the whole category of it have been banned in Korea.
This is awesome. Could you do a driving video of it next?
We'll see if I have a wide enough angle lens! 😂 🤣
It would be really cool to see maintenance and service videos if you have the time. I’m super curious how to work on one of these as a shade tree mechanic :)
I have a few already. 👍🏻
@@MrSubaru1387 I have been looking at picking up a kei truck for a while, but I was looking at Honda since I’m mostly a Honda guy. But I think you might have convinced me to go Subaru for when I do purchase one. I have no need for a giant truck these days, though a 90s single cab Tacoma would be perfect but the prices on those are insane. Thanks for sharing your videos about this, your work is high quality.
That was a great go-over. Thanks. I’m looking to get one for my steep mountain property. Building trails, hauling wood and rocks. What do you think about its capabilities for that kind of work?
Dude why cant Toyota/Subaru just make this design slightly bigger, with American DOT compliant parts, and proper safety features like an airbag, bumper, and crumple zone, then move the steering column over (or leave it because its neat), then sell this in to the U.S market?
Awesome video, all info that I was looking for, thank you very much. I am also tall and was wondering if I can fit this thing
Hey can you do a in depth video of carburetor tuning? Stopping bog when cold etc
your all that and more i salute you
Most Excellent!
35 years ago I drove a Chevy Luv for work. People laughed at me but that truck never died and if it got stuck two men could lift the rear end.
Cool little truck. I'm sure you know it, and apologies for the smart ass coment: The [Osaka] licence plate is for a passenger Kei car. The trucks have a 4xx number. Great video btw.
Thank you for all the great info. Been pining for a Dias II van ever since I first saw one. Through luck I met a guy that does importing and hope to have my hands on one soon, with a truck to match later on. Also in SC (upstate) so good to know getting it plated won't be an issue.
Question - What would be your recommended 'care package' for maintenance parts you would recommend for ordering for the clover-4? Once I know I have one in route, I'd like to order the parts and have them ready by the time it arrives. Thanks again, subbed.
Timing belt/water pump, cam and crank seals, oil filter, thermostat, belts, rocker cover gasket. Good to swap fluids and filters and get right with the timing so you know where you're at as far as scheduled maintenance.
Good video thank you.
Can you post more information on kei van, i am looking 👀 forward thanks for the knowledge in all of your work
God bless South Carolina! I need to buy one
Another name for Subaru Sambar is "Porsche of farm road".