1969 Subaru 360 Van 4x4 Supercharged Project!

What an amazing project; the birth of my child. subsequent divorce and joint custody of that same child leaves this a low priority for me. The time has come to move it on to someone with more time than me (sob). Here's the story. I purchased a 1990 Subaru Sambar from an insurance auto auction sight unseen. It had about 40k miles on it before it fell over in the Utah snow and was declared salvage by the insurance company. Right hand drive and not legal for use on interstate highways; it was used as a delivery truck for a local bakery. As you can see in the pics. the body was forever squished but the drivetrain was fine. I drove it around the neighborhood a few times before disassembling. It started and ran well right up until the moment I shortened the frame for it's new (ancient) body. The frame was welded professionally and will probably last longer than we'll ever be alive. The 1969 Subaru Sambar 360 van was found in a garage in Los Angeles. No cancer to speak of and I've included some current before and after time with a grinder in the pictures so you can see the shiny metal underneath. It's been garage kept the entire time I've owned it (3 years now?). The windshield is cracked but all other glass is intact. Original seats. carpet and door cards are included to finish the interior. Even a set of bows for the headliner are there. I had a set of CAD drawings made before I began the project so I had confidence in the shortening of the frame. The frame and drivetrain sit well underneath the antique body. Why did I do this? Because I've owned several of these Subaru 360 vans and after you re-sleeve the brakes and rebuild the engine you are still driving a vehicle that has less road manners than a modern golf cart. I was hoping to bring some modern things like 4wd. disc brakes and a fuel injected engine into play while driving around. A pic of my first van (in blue) is attached for sentimental and representative reasons. Everything is there for someone to continue the project. The wiring harness was carefully removed and each connector properly labeled. Your first order of business will be to fabricate a brace for the steering column and pedal box. Luckily this is all one unit and shouldn't be to hard to make. I kept all of the 1990 cross bracing and front body if you need a head start on fabrication or just want to bolt and go. The 1990 dash could be shortened or you could just use the original. The HVAC worked well when pulled. Even the A/C worked! Included is the 1990 service manual translated from Japanese as are several shelves of well labeled parts. You've got some work to do but you won't be confused as you do it. It's a project but one with excellent bones and begun with extensive technical research of both vehicles before their marriage. Before stopping work on this project I brought it to the California Highway Patrol for inspection and thus it has a valid certificate of title and is currently on non-operational registration. No smog necessary since it is titled as a 1969. It even has plates. It's a Subaru. Parts are readily available. I encourage potential bidders to come take a look for themselves. Everything could be transported home in an open dual axle u-haul trailer. Or easily rolled onto transport of your choice. Uship. com will be able to provide you a price for shipping this tiny jewel to your neck of the woods. I hope it goes to a good home instead of being parted out. Long time e-bayer. Please search my past vehicle sales. All enthusiast owned by me and sold satisfied. Wish I could finish this one. On Apr-04-15 at 14:07:45 PDT. seller added the following information:What an amazing project; the birth of my child. subsequent divorce and joint custody of that same child leaves this a low priority for me. The time has come to move it on to someone with more time than me (sob). Here's the story. I purchased a 1990 Subaru Sambar from an insurance auto auction sight unseen. It had about 40k miles on it before it fell over in the Utah snow and was declared salvage by the insurance company. Right hand drive and not legal for use on interstate highways; it was used as a delivery truck for a local bakery. As you can see in the pics. the body was forever squished but the drivetrain was fine. I drove it around the neighborhood a few times before disassembling. It started and ran well right up until the moment I shortened the frame for it's new (ancient) body. The frame was welded professionally and will probably last longer than we'll ever be alive. The 1969 Subaru Sambar 360 van was found in a garage in Los Angeles. No cancer to speak of and I've included some current before and after time with a grinder in the pictures so you can see the shiny metal underneath. It's been garage kept the entire time I've owned it (3 years now?). The windshield is cracked but all other glass is intact. Original seats. carpet and door cards are included to finish the interior. Even a set of bows for the headliner are there. I had a set of CAD drawings made before I began the project so I had confidence in the shortening of the frame. The frame and drivetrain sit well underneath the antique body. Why did I do this? Because I've owned several of these Subaru 360 vans and after you re-sleeve the brakes and rebuild the engine you are still driving a vehicle that has less road manners than a modern golf cart. I was hoping to bring some modern things like 4wd. disc brakes and a fuel injected engine into play while driving around. A pic of my first van (in blue) is attached for sentimental and representative reasons. Everything is there for someone to continue the project. The wiring harness was carefully removed and each connector properly labeled. Your first order of business will be to fabricate a brace for the steering column and pedal box. Luckily this is all one unit and shouldn't be to hard to make. I kept all of the 1990 cross bracing and front body if you need a head start on fabrication or just want to bolt and go. The 1990 dash could be shortened or you could just use the original. The HVAC worked well when pulled. Even the A/C worked! Included is the 1990 service manual translated from Japanese as are several shelves of well labeled parts. You've got some work to do but you won't be confused as you do it. It's a project but one with excellent bones and begun with extensive technical research of both vehicles before their marriage. Before stopping work on this project I brought it to the California Highway Patrol for inspection and thus it has a valid certificate of title and is currently on non-operational registration. No smog necessary since it is titled as a 1969. It even has plates. It's a Subaru. Parts are readily available. I encourage potential bidders to come take a look for themselves. Everything could be transported home in an open dual axle u-haul trailer. Or easily rolled onto transport of your choice. Uship. com will be able to provide you a price for shipping this tiny jewel to your neck of the woods. I hope it goes to a good home instead of being parted out. Long time e-bayer. Please search my past vehicle sales. All enthusiast owned by me and sold satisfied. Wish I could finish this one. Answers to some new questions from potential bidders -Does it look like it could lowered without cutting out wheel wells if I put smaller tires on it? Or does it look like it's not gonna happen easily? I don't think it's going to happen easily. I was looking for a lower stance and cut small amounts of the body away to do so. It's as low as it will go without major surgery. I found a set of 12" Minilight wheels I was going to use and perhaps cut the coils down a bit. - Did engine fit in rear of van without cutting interior metal? Any pics? It did not. I drilled out all of the spot welds that connect the rear floor to the engine box. It doesn't dramatically alter the shape and a seam weld across the length would finish it off nicely. I'm at my limit with the 24 pictures posed and ebay won't let me change them because the auction is in progress. Send me a message and I'll send you the pics. Is new body actually fully mounted in final position ? After about 100 hours of dangling the body on a davit and hoisting it up and down; It is resting well on the frame and there are 6-8 places where you would drill a hole in the frame to run a bolt and body mount. I have both in a gigantic cup of hardware I kept from the 1990 Sambar. Bolt and go.