Any Justy -'s still alive out there?

[David Buchner]

I have fond memories of the tiny car, and wish I could find one cheap
just to modify and plow around in the woods with. I loved that red
button on the gearshift.

 

[Atif I. Chaudhry]

My brother drives my old '88 Justy GL 4wd. It has about 120K on
it...When I drove it he mocked me for driving a "go-cart" but now that
he drives it he really likes it too!

 

[Snowcatcher]

Its funny you bring this up today. I was at a supermarket today and had to
deal with an elderly driver, driving a Justy. It was pitiful, that care can
fit in the bed of a Baja and after backing out of her space, instead of
cutting the wheel to drive away she just let it creep towards the back
bumper of the SUV parked next to her.

I don't know what year it was, but it wasn't kept up well at all. They're
out there, just few/far between.

 

[Rat]

I have fond memories of the tiny car, and wish I could find one cheap
just to modify and plow around in the woods with. I loved that red
button on the gearshift.

They're out there - and they're bad
Check out this turbo justy!
http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=740808

 

[David Buchner]

I don't know what year it was, but it wasn't kept up well at all. They're
out there, just few/far between.

Yes, it's kind of sad. They never went over that well, and I kinda doubt
many of their current owners think they're as neato as I do. I don't
know why-all, but it probably had something to do with them coming out
near the tail-end of the first "SPEC" wave, with the Geo Metro and such
-- and Subaru has since responded to people's willingness to have more
room and safety with bigger cars again. Also, I think it was a good bit
more expensive than other SPECs on account of the 4WD -- and most of the
market for that sort of thing was looking for dirt cheap.

Great idea, just not a big enough market to support it?

We loved it, though -- scrambled around on trails in the Black Hills,
drove it through a very snowy Minneapolis winter, it was great. We got
rid of it when we moved out into the woods and it seemed not strong
enough for the relentless pounding of bad roads, kept eating up its
oddly-sized expensive little tires, and wasn't up off the road high
enough and kept packing snow under itself on unplowed roads: getting
propped up on compacted snow with its little wheels spinning helplessly
in the air. Lots of shoveling under the car, for a while there.

 

[K5]

I have fond memories of the tiny car, and wish I could find one cheap
just to modify and plow around in the woods with. I loved that red
button on the gearshift.

A gal at work took $50 for a trade-in on hers - pretty good condition too.
I didn't want it (insurance, registration, parking, etc.) but thought about
it for something to drive around in the hills.

 

[Jeff Rattray]

I have fond memories of the tiny car, and wish I could find one cheap
just to modify and plow around in the woods with. I loved that red
button on the gearshift.

I have one - it's in terrible shape, but that's the condition I got it in.

My other car is a Chevy Suburban. I needed to refuel on 9-11 ("the"
9-11, when gas stations were gouging), and I decided I needed something
more fuel-efficient. I bought the Justy from a graduate student who had
purchased a newer car, and I use it for commuting and for single-person
road trips. It gets 30 mpg even though it's not in good shape, and the
4wd is invaluable for getting up my driveway in the winter. Plus it
fits nicely in the "compact car only" parking spaces on campus.

Mine is the '88 4wd model, and I had LOADS of fun when it needed a new
driveshaft - one of the universal joints gave way and the driveshaft
fell off while I was going home one day. This driveshaft and u-joint
was evidently only used on 1988 4DW Justys. I ended up having to get it
from the dealer, who took pity on me and knocked quite a bit off the
price. BTW, if you need one, get one son, becasue their computer says
there are 5 driveshafts left in the Subaru system, and that was a year
ago...

If you really want one to play with, they go by on Ebay every month or
two. I'd love another one, preferably without all the body rust my
current one has.

Jeff