I enjoyed this video far more than I expected. Tommy's witty remarks were on point and seeing Roman jumping and "woofing" like a happy puppy was hilarious. Any obstacle named the @$$ scratcher is going to generate some buzz and laughter. Great job guys and great job by the old Subie gal.
I absolutely love stories where the underrated, unappreciated, underdog makes the big guys stop and take notice. I would love to have that Subaru as a daily driver.
pssht...better hurry cause it aint gonna last at this rate. in fact did you hear him at the end? it definitely has a new rattle... i remember these cars new and they were hard to keep running! and i got really use to hearing that cranky Suby starter motor
4 года назад
@@philtripe Why were they apparently so hard to keep running?
@RollinRat - I took mine around a friend's motocross track. We even jumped it. The only thing that happened was the battery shifted (wasn't tied down) and pulled the cable off the starter.
I own a 1992 Subaru l-series in Australia. These things with a 2 inch lift and minor mods, make it the ultimate budget offroader. The car has cost me well under 5k, including purchase, upgrades and accessories. And it goes many places it shouldn't. Even out conqours some vehicles which allways pisses them off ahahaha
I'm in WA, you in Ausubaru? I was years ago, l built a WRX offroader, check Pimpreza Lancelin on RU-vid, also a couple of posts after this for my Liberty.
In college my girlfriend had one in red. We lived in NM and could go anywhere in it. We'd leave my almost new 88 civic at home and take the old Subaru when we were going to hit snow or dirt. These are amazing cars.
Awesome video! My daily is a ‘77 Subaru wagon and it always surprises me the places it can get me on camping trips here in Australia. So small you can drive around wheel ruts of the big 4WDs without getting stuck in them 😊
Just went through this trail in my 08 2" lifted forester with rear torque locker. It's not that tough if you pick good lines and have an auto box with 4.44 gearing!
@@dirttales It just shows how much better of a rig a Subaru could be if it had decent non CVT trans option. I had a 5 speed XT Outback but then you had the issue of slipping the clutch when trying to move slowly over obstacles or uphill.
Lived in Colorado my whole life, and I can't remember the last time I saw a 70s or 80s Subaru that wasn't a rolling ball of rust. Seriously in awe of how clean that little wagon is.
Tommy seems to be learning what all us old guys who drove under-powered 4 cylinder “foreign jobs” back in the ‘70s would remember. You have to get off that clutch quick and keep the revs up when doing anything where power was likely to be an issue - such as steep hills. You definitely didn’t want to be slipping the clutch to try and go too slow. Most of those cars weighed so little that they just bounced around a bit and you rarely broke anything as long as you didn’t go beyond “moderately stupid.” Carbs were another story and they took up way too much of my time back when I could still look under the hood and not feel like it would cost me $5,000 if I experimented a little.
I completed Fins and things no problem in a 2019 forester. Of note, towards the end of the first half there is a 33” tire and locker recommended obstacle that my forester also conquered. I have a 2” lift and 30” tires
Heck yeah! I know exactly which obstacle you are talking about. I go down for the EJS almost every year. I do it in my AMC Eagle SX/4 on 28" BFG KM2's. Here's some of Metal Masher from last year. My son following in his '85 Toy. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-k3pBRUdnE0c.html
@@markv78 Let's see how their new ralley cars will be, if they really do re-enter the WRC in 2022. The Subaru Impreza was a total legend as a ralley car.
Loved this video. Entertaining through & through. That Subaru has some skills. I didn't think it would be able to conquer half those obstacles but turns out that little thing is one very capable vehicle. Great job as always guys 😊👍
I had a a 1974 dl wagon (same body) when I was in high school. It was my first car. I took it off road all the time. Your video really takes me back to some great times. Thanks for sharing
They are great vehicles. I owned a 1989 L Series Touring Wagon with the 1.8 EFI engine and a low range gearbox and could tackle anything that was thrown at it. Great entry point for a novice offroader and fun to drive. Conquered the Brindabella and snowy mountains through mud and snow and a heck of a lot of fun.
Michael Schmidt you can get hold of the ea82T engine and gives you a little more torque but some here in oz do a 2.5T upgrade and all the sti bolt ons...downside is the spare has to go on the roof or in the boot. Notorious for the roof liner sagging at the worst possible moment and ball joints are problematic.
Watching this reminds me of my buddies '81 wagon we routinely took from L.A. to Baja, Mx. on holiday weekends. Beer, tacos and miles of sandy beaches. Great times.
I have a dual-range '84 with a Weber 1.8 liter that does great! I just wish I could afford a locker or two. 13" traction tires are about extinct. Using snow tires.
That was fantastic! Great production on that video and I’m just amazed by that little car. I believe it’s greatest asset is it’s size and weight, like the Suzuki, it could just bound over anything. Thank you TFL.
Late 70s early 80s were great days for playing around in the hills like this. Subaru just plain, simple, functional, economical, and capable got it done!!! Our mountain rigs were all trucks or vehicles like Cherokee, International Travelall, Jeep truck, full-time 4x4 Ford F250 'Ranger' Supercab, etc. Subaru changed that... other than still having pickup trucks. Looked like this was a great outing and having lots of fun. One of my favorite videos you have done.
I bet that was Tommy's most fun day off-roading ever. Point and shoot lifted trucks are fun but when you have to really pick a line and are not sure if it can make it, well you just can't beat that for excitement. I had a Wagoneer and I would get similar comments 'I can't believe you got that back here' and stuff like that. Tommy, hats off to ya for trying and succeeding.
I enjoy watching every moments of father and son having a great time together doing what both enjoy on a nice day. The cars (especially the Subaru) are really just a bonus of the whole show. Would love to raise my kids on the same path. Good job Roman and keep up the good work guys!
I had half dozen Subaru 4 wheel drive wagons from 76 to 84. Although I did 4 wheel all of them, the best was definately the 84 dual range 5 speed. It actually could handle seriously gnarly stuff. I had one that I raised the suspension an inch or so and put on large mud tires. I loved it.
LOL people knew what flat 4s were in 1978, back then there were Volkswagen Beetles EVERYWHERE. In fact I'm pretty sure it was the best-selling import car from the early 1960s right on up to the late 1970s when the Japanese makes finally got a solid foothold.
Stuff like this is why you retain subscribers like me. This just became my favorite video you guys have ever uploaded. I knew older Subaru vehicles had quite some capability, but not this much.
My first car in 1985 was a 78 4-door sedan. Loved that little car. My friends and I called it the Little Roo. Blew the engine a year later. My step-dad and I found a used replacement engine for $25 that was just about to be cut up for scrap metal. It was so small, he and I could lift it up and put it in the backseat of his car. Changed it ourselves.
My first car was an '83 GL wagon with 4wd. Mine had the 2hi-4hi-4lo selector with the 4-speed stick. Loved that car, but it was in rapid disintegration mode from rust and everything was breaking on it too. We gave up when the clutch finally went, as was going to cost 4x the value of the car to fix!
I have a 83 GL wagon, I've spend almost twice what it cost me in repairs, it has had an awful life before me, but every time I drive it I fell it's thanking me, always cracks a smile, even if I only go to grocery shopping, I love going out to the mountains and road trips on it, so It's worth it :)
I once owned an '81 DL wagon. It also suffered from uncontrollable oxidation which surprised me one day after work. I had a frustrating work day and was looking forward to getting out of there and going home. I got in, SLAMMED the door and heard a large "clunk" from outside. Opening the door I saw a rather large piece of metal lying on the ground. Oops! I guess it's not a good idea to slam the door. I finally had to get rid of my '81 after I crawled underneath one day to check the muffler and saw several holes rusted through the floor.
We owned a 2004 Subi Forrester for about a decade. We never did extreme boldering, but it could easily get through some pretty crazy stuff. One thing I noticed was that when passing traffic on fire roads, many Jeep owners would warn us that we'd never make it up in "that" car. We quickly learned that many jeep owners think only jeeps can do anything. We never knew whether to take their warnings seriously. Most of the time it wasn't even that bad or any worse than what we'd already done up to that point.
I do love those old cars. My first Subaru was a 1971. It was a rocket. My newest is a 2014. How fun! My sister was a ranger for the Canyonlands and drove her old 1976 front wheel drive on some places where 4x4's thought were theirs alone. It was fun long ago. These cars were awesome in snow. I lived in the mountains west of Denver when I grew up. We got these cars and they were good on gas and great in snow. Win win.
I have an 84 gl wagon with LOTS of miles and the dual range transmission, I have ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT it would conquer this course with ease. It also enjoys mud too! I've had mud up to the battery so far...The 4wd system just dont know how to stop.......Thanks for the AWESOME SUBARU video!
Have had 2 second gen and 1 third gen GL wagons. Absolutely loved them. Had the 1.8 ltr with "Dual Range" and manual trans. My 85 had little white spoke wheels, Bridgestone mud and snow tires, grill guard with 1500 lb Superwinch and skid plate...dealer installed when new. Took it into a canyon hunting one time. Slimy red clay that you couldn't walk on. Chained up all 4 wheels, low range, 2nd gear and the dang thing crawled up it like nothing. It thought it was a Jeep CJ. The Subies only limitation is ground clearance. Want to restore a 2nd gen BRAT now.
Had one these as my first car, it had the low range box which made go anywhere the big boys could go. It was unstoppable, it even survived a a 6 foot high jump i launched it off.
Had a 1987 wagon with same sorta drive train. A little more HP. Drove it for years. It got me out of a few very bad snow storms in the mountains. I’d see broncos and pickup in the ditch while my Rú would tractor through anything.
I had to watch. I used to have a 1979 Subaru Brat., the tiny truck version of what you tested in Moab. This was back in the 80`s and it was relatively new, but I used to take it on drives through desert trails and it proved very capable. It kept up with the Toyota truck's and Jeeps sharing the trail. I took it through dry stream beds. It conquered large rocks and some steep climbs.
Boy, did that take me back! My 1972 yellow Subaru was front wheel drive. It could get 38 miles per gallon. I drove it around the logging roads in the the foothills of the Western Adirondacks. Once in winter I got lost and found myself on a snowmobile trail that little thing just kept right on going until I found a road. My father use to say he knew I was coming home because he could hear me coming down the road and it sounded like a coffee grinder.
For my 1975 DL 4WD I have 2 sets of wheels with aggressive treads, one has Cooper Trendsetters in 185/70 13 and on the other set I have TOYO Extensa 155/70 13 (The older ones had pizza cutters for wheels), they are pretty great in the mud and dirt! Love the channel btw, especially this little gem.
I really thank the RU-vid algorithm for suggesting this video and this channel, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. It was like the underdog winning a bout.
My mom had one of those and we nicknamed it the "roach". At 14 I would take it and wheel it down by the Skagit river. I rolled it on it's side in a trenched out mud hole. Broke the mirror off and put some scratches in it but thankfully nothing too noticeable and some other wheelers were nice enough to help me get it back on it's wheels. Mom never found out and I went on to roll several other Subaru's during my teens and twenties. I'd love to find a clean 83 GL like the one I had when I moved out and joined the ski bum life. Thanks for a trip down memory lane.
This is how Subaru generated so much love in the first place with it's rabid fanbase. Cheap, cheerful, and surprisingly capable. I didn't really get it until I got a used forrester (2004) a while back. It is slow, understeers like a pig. But here in Costa Rica, it is an absolute goat! Reliable and just happy to climb things. Easy to fix too!
Great video. With monentum alot of 4wd can make it up....But, as Tommy mentioned, you exponentially increase the likelihood of damaging your vehicle. Slow as possible and fast as necessary.
I gotta say, these 78 scoob videos are putting the BIGGEST smile on my face :) I had a 78 wagon for a little while too, but couldn't get it to pass smog :(
I had a 79 Brat (pickup truck version) and a 86 wagon with the dual range transfer case. To this day I've never had a vehicle that did better in the snow. Both were indestructible.
Ah! this is exactly what I want to do with my 91 Civic Wagon. I've been trying to get to Moab for two years with it, but between the virus and everything I'll try again at the end of this year.
We had a ute version as a farm hack around 2005 , we took it up a wet rutted hill track on our neighbors farm and it got up there , Dean was surprised we made it to the top , admittedly some ground clearance would've been a benefit but it's amazing how capable these vehicles are . In NZ the Subarus are very popular for the ski season and frosty winters , great vehicles no doubt
great test, I want to be out there ASAP!!! I had an '85 Subie 2 door and it was so fun, I put slightly beefier tires on so I could do crazy stuff like that. There were ride height adjustment bolts so of coarse I maxed them out... the best part had to be the center trail light behind the flip-up grill logo!
wuss, I learned to 4wd in a 80s wagon. It taught me how to use momentum, pick lines, and shame thoses in jeeps and large trucks that could not really drive. Now I drive a 4d rubicon, and a 2001 TJ. I go where I want, with no problems.
This is one of the best vids I've seen lately. Awesome to that little car do that. Back in the 70s and early 80s, I drove a Scout II. It's what I learned to drive in.
I had the same car, here are some tips. 1. Lower your carb float level a little bit. The only time your engine should quit is when you jump and land badly, never going up or down the hill. 2. If it is legal where you live, removing the bumpers helps your approach and departure angles. 3. You are the computer in the Subaru, a good driver is necessary for the car to shine. (You are pretty good, except...) 4. You need to hit every hill at your horsepower peak (4000+RPM) and finish every hill at or above your torque peak. (2800RPM) No exceptions. Learn that your car is good for unlimited air time and you can drag it everywhere without hurting it too much. 5. 80s Subarus had 15 inch spare tires. Real VW Beetle tires fit perfectly and give you a little more clearance and more traction everywhere but sand. (They do hurt the gearing a bit, just remember to keep the revs up and they are a big plus.)
I owned a 78 GL and took it off roading all the time with my truck friends. I often had to go a lot slower but I managed to keep up quite well. My favorite memory was pulling a jeep out of a snow drift after he laughed I couldn't do it. I think the weakest part however was the clutch as I remember smelling it overheating all the time. BTW great video and very comical!
That little Subie would make a bad ass restomod! Throw a WRX motor in there, mild suspension lift, modern white mag wheels, and a winch up front. Good looking capable little car!